Time for Détente With Iran
Ray Takeyh
From Foreign Affairs, March/April 2007
Summary: To tame the growing power of Iran, Washington must eschew military options, the prospect of conditional talks, and attempts to contain the regime. Instead, it should adopt a new policy of détente. By offering the pragmatists in Tehran a chance to resume diplomatic and economic relations with the United States, it could help them sideline the radicals and tip Iran's internal balance of power in their favor.
Ray Takeyh is a Senior Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations and the author of "Hidden Iran: Paradox and Power in the Islamic Republic".
A RISING STAR
Over five years after the Bush administration vowed to transform the Middle East, the region is indeed profoundly different. Washington's misadventures in Iraq, the humbling of Israeli power in Lebanon, the rise of the once-marginalized Shiites, and the ascendance of Islamist parties have pushed the Middle East to the brink of chaos.
In the midst of the mess stands the Islamic Republic of Iran. Its regime has not only survived the U.S. onslaught but also managed to enhance Iran's influence in the region. Iran now lies at the center of the Middle East's major problems -- from the civil wars unfolding in Iraq and Lebanon to the security challenge of the Persian Gulf -- and it is hard to imagine any of them being resolved without Tehran's cooperation. Meanwhile, Tehran's power is being steadily enhanced by its nuclear program, which progresses unhindered despite regular protests from the international community.
This last development has put Washington in a bind. Ever since the revolution that toppled the shah in 1979, the United States has pursued a series of incoherent policies toward Tehran. At various points, it has tried to topple the regime -- even, on occasion, threatening military action. At others, it has sought to hold talks on a limited set of issues. Throughout, it has worked to box in Iran and to limit its influence in the region. But none of these approaches has worked, especially not containment, which is still the strategy of choice in the Iran policy debate.
If it hopes to tame Iran, the United States must rethink its strategy from the ground up. The Islamic Republic is not going away anytime soon, and its growing regional influence cannot be limited. Washington must eschew superficially appealing military options, the prospect of conditional talks, and its policy of containing Iran in favor of a new policy of détente. In particular, it should offer pragmatists in Tehran a chance to resume diplomatic and economic relations. Thus armed with the prospect of a new relationship with the United States, the pragmatists would be in a position to sideline the radicals in Tehran and try to tip the balance of power in their own favor. The sooner Washington recognizes these truths and finally normalizes relations with its most enduring Middle Eastern foe, the better.
NO GOOD OPTIONS
When discussing Iran, President George W. Bush commonly insists that "all options are on the table" -- a not-so-subtle reminder that Washington might use force against Tehran if all else fails. This threat overlooks the fact that the United States has no realistic military option against Iran. To protect its nuclear facilities from possible U.S. strikes, Iran has dispersed them throughout the country and placed them deep underground. Any U.S. attack would thus have to overcome both intelligence-related challenges (how to find the sites) and thorny logistical ones (how to hit them). (As the Iraq debacle has shown, U.S. intelligence is not always as reliable as it should be.) And even a successful military attack would not end the mullahs' nuclear ambitions; it would only motivate them to rebuild the destroyed facilities, and to do so with even less regard for Iran's treaty obligations.
What about holding a conditional dialogue, like the one proposed by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice? In May 2006, Rice seemed to take a major step forward when she announced that the United States would be willing to participate in multilateral talks with Iran over the nuclear question if Iran suspended its uranium-enrichment activities. But the statement miscast the dispute between the United States and Iran as a simple problem of disarmament. In fact, the political and strategic differences between the two countries run much deeper -- and require a far more comprehensive approach.
Given these unpalatable realities, many U.S. policymakers have begun to gravitate toward what they see as the least objectionable option: containment. Their hope is that the systematic application of diplomatic pressure and economic sanctions will counter Tehran's nefarious designs in the short term and eventually usher in a new Iranian government more democratic and more amenable to U.S. interests.
The idea of containing Iran is not new; in one form or another, it has been the de facto policy of the United States since the inception of the Islamic Republic, and it has enjoyed broad bipartisan support in Washington. Yet to endorse it in good conscience today, one must answer important questions: Can a state that projects its influence through indirect means, such as supporting terrorism, financing proxies, and associating with foreign Shiite parties, truly be contained? Will other states in the region be willing to help the United States isolate Iran?
Were Washington to rationally consider its alternatives, it would quickly realize that the answer to these questions is no. But U.S. policy has long been dominated by a visceral suspicion of Tehran. During the heady days that followed the 1979 revolution, Iran's Islamist rage appeared awesome and dangerously expansive. The ruling clerical elite viewed Iran's borders as relics of a discredited past and seemed committed to exporting the revolution. The regional order, however, proved more durable than the mullahs had expected, and most of Iran's revolutionary dreams perished on the battlefields of Iraq in the 1980s. The costly war with Baghdad forced the clerical elite to realize the limits of its power and the impracticality of its ambitions. Tehran persisted with its universalist rhetoric, but its foreign policy became quite pragmatic. Still, a perception of Iran as a destabilizing force congealed in the U.S. imagination and has endured ever since, even though Iran stopped being a revisionist state long ago and has now become a medium-sized power seeking regional preeminence. Containment, in other words, ceased to be appropriate a while back because Iran stopped being a revolutionary state bent on forcibly exporting its model of government.
In fact, containment never worked -- and it has even less of a chance of working in the future. Its failures have been well documented in yearly reports by the State Department, which detail Iran's ongoing support for terrorism and warn of advances in its nuclear program. Sanctions and other forms of U.S. pressure have failed to prevent Iranian misbehavior. Worse, the Bush administration has taken steps recently that make containment an even less effective policy. Washington's ill-advised invasion of Iraq has benefited Iran by empowering local Shiite parties sympathetic to Tehran. Long gone are the days when a powerful, Sunni-dominated Iraq could function as a counterweight to Shiite power in Iran. Iraq's Shiites are hardly homogeneous, but the leading Shiite parties in power in Baghdad -- Dawa and the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq -- have intimate ties to Tehran. This does not mean that Iraq's new leaders are willing to subordinate their interests to those of Iran, but they are unlikely to confront the Islamic Republic at the behest of Washington.
Nor is any other country in the Middle East likely to stand up to Iran today. A long tradition of purchasing security from the British Empire and then from the United States historically offered the Arab sheikdoms of the Persian Gulf a degree of independence vis-á-vis their powerful Persian neighbor. But the Bush administration's impetuous behavior and its inability to pacify Iraq have shattered local confidence in U.S. capabilities. Widespread anti-Americanism has made it harder for governments in the region to cooperate with Washington or to allow U.S. forces on their soil. The United States may be able to keep offshore naval forces and modest bases in reliable states such as Kuwait, but it is unlikely to have a significant presence in the region, as it is too unpopular with the masses and seems too erratic to the elites. Many Persian Gulf states now have more confidence in Iran's motivations than in the United States' destabilizing designs. And so as Iran's power increases, the local sheikdoms are likely to opt for accommodating Tehran rather than confronting it.
The international community has also seemed relatively indifferent to Iran's actions. Over the past year, the Bush administration has scored a number of procedural points against Tehran: for example, at Washington's insistence, the UN Security Council has censured Iran and urged suspension of its nuclear program. Despite such symbolic successes, however, few great powers now support the imposition of strenuous sanctions on the Islamic Republic. This is not because the French are pusillanimous or the Russians are unprincipled but because Washington's allies do not agree that Iran poses a major and urgent threat. For them, Iran's nuclear ambitions and even its penchant for terrorism are disturbing but manageable challenges that can be addressed without resorting to military force or coercive economic measures. During the early days of the Cold War, the United States was able to garner support for containing the Soviet Union because most of its European partners were as concerned about the Soviets as it was. Not so with Iran today; with the exception of Israel, few of the United States' friends seem very worried.
AN AFFAIR TO REMEMBER
In order to develop a smarter Iran policy, U.S. leaders must first accept certain distasteful facts -- such as Iran's ascendance as a regional power and the endurance of its regime -- and then ask how these can be accommodated. Despite its incendiary rhetoric and flamboyant claims, the Islamic Republic is not Nazi Germany. It is an opportunistic power seeking to assert predominance in its immediate neighborhood without recourse to war. Acknowledging that Iran is a rising power, the United States should open talks with a view to creating a framework to regulate Iran's influence, displaying a willingness to coexist with Iran while limiting its excesses. In other words, Washington should embrace a policy of détente.
As far-fetched as this call may seem, the United States does have experience dealing with seemingly intractable powers. In the late 1960s, as the U.S. presence in Asia was waning, China began to flex its muscles in its neighborhood. President Richard Nixon and Henry Kissinger, his national security adviser, did not respond by denying the reality of Chinese power. They started talking to Beijing, soon winning China's assistance in ending the Vietnam War and in stabilizing East Asia. Similarly, the Nixon administration's détente policy toward the Soviet Union succeeded not only in averting conflict with Moscow but also in gaining its cooperation on critical arms control issues.
It is not entirely clear whether Iran would be as willing a negotiating partner today as China and the Soviet Union once were. But there is reason to hope so. Recent developments in the Middle East and Iran's own internal convulsions have placed Tehran at a critical juncture: Iran's emergence as the most powerful state in the Persian Gulf means that Tehran might finally alter its relationship with its great nemesis; it must move toward either coexistence or confrontation with the United States.
Throughout previous attempts at negotiations with Washington, the Iranian government had favored comprehensive talks over discussions of a single issue. In its latest response to the joint offer by the United States and the European Union last summer, Tehran stressed its readiness for "long-term cooperation in security, economic and political and energy areas in order to achieve sustainable security in the region and long-term energy security." It also argued that "to resolve the issue at hand in a sustainable manner, there would be no alternative except to recognize and remove the underlying roots and causes that have led the two sides to the current complicated position."
Getting past this "complicated position" may require Washington to pay closer attention to recent changes in Tehran. Iran's need for a foreign policy better adapted to changes in the Middle East, the regime's perennial factionalism, and, perhaps most significant, the rise of a new generation of leaders in Tehran have sparked important internal debates within the regime. If the United States plays its cards right, it could become an important arbiter in those deliberations.
Westerners tend to see Iran's domestic politics as a contest between hard-liners and pragmatists. Jockeying by the former president, Hashemi Rafsanjani, and the supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, along with the periodic ebbs and flows of the reform movement, have long preoccupied foreigners hoping to nudge Iranian politics toward democratization. But these observers have failed to realize that the old model of liberals versus conservatives no longer holds. The Iranian regime is in the process of transforming itself, under the influence of a rising group of young conservatives. The elders of the revolution still retain ultimate authority, but they are increasingly reacting to initiatives launched by their more assertive disciples. There no longer is a main fault line running between the left and the right; today, fissures in Tehran run between the old and the young -- and among the young of the new right.
Unlike their predecessors during 1980s, these new leaders -- even the provocative Iranian president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad -- have refrained from denouncing and plotting the overthrow of the monarchies of the Persian Gulf and the pro-Western regimes in Egypt and Jordan; they are more concerned with these states' external relations than with their internal composition. They have also refrained from exporting the Iranian Revolution to the fertile grounds of Iraq. Anticipating opposition to such attempts from senior Iraqi Shiite clerics and politicians, Iranian officials have preferred to focus on more practical concerns. Although they want a sympathetic and accommodating neighbor, they have no illusions that Iraqi Shiites would yield to Tehran's mandates. They continue to support Shiite parties in Iraq not because they wish to install an Iranian puppet or proxy there but because they hope to prevent the rise of another hostile Sunni-dominated regime.
This is not to suggest that the new right is not seeking meaningful changes in Iran's international relations. But the debates gripping Tehran today focus on how the regime can consolidate its sphere of influence and best exploit its status as an emerging regional hegemon. The displacement of the Taliban in Afghanistan and of Saddam Hussein, as well as the United States' entanglement in Iraq, have led callow reactionaries in Iran to perceive unique opportunities for their country's ascendance. Iran now sees itself as the indispensable nation in the Middle East.
DIVIDED WE STAND
As is customary for any leading faction in Iranian politics, however, the new right is itself fractured. And one of the matters that divide it is whether Iran's interests are best served by coexisting with the United States or by defying it. On one end of the spectrum are the radicals, whose most prominent exponent is President Ahmadinejad but who also include individuals in other critical posts, such as Morteza Rezai, the deputy commander of the Revolutionary Guards, and Mojtaba Hashemi Samareh, the deputy minister of the interior. Drawing their strength from the Revolutionary Guards (particularly its intelligence apparatus), the Basij paramilitary force, and groups such as the Alliance of the Developers of Islamic Iran and the Islamic Association of Engineers, the radicals cannot be easily ignored. Although many senior members of the clergy dismiss Ahmadinejad's religious pretensions, he has won the support of a narrow segment of the clerical class, especially the archreactionary Ayatollah Muhammad Taqi Mesbah-Yazdi, a spiritual guide to many young reactionaries.
The formative political experience of many of these radicals was not the 1979 revolution but the war against Iraq in the 1980s, which left them disdainful of the United States and the international community and obsessed with self-reliance. According to these veterans, the war showed that Iran's interests cannot be safeguarded by adhering to international treaties or appealing to Western opinion. In particular, Ahmadinejad and his allies see the United States as "the Great Satan," a source of cultural contamination and a rapacious capitalist power that exploits indigenous resources. In their view, the United States has caused all of Iran's misfortunes, from the shah's regime to the country's invasion by Iraq under Saddam. But they also see the United States as a declining power. General Hussein Salami, a commander of the Revolutionary Guards, said in March 2006, "We have assessed the ultimate power of global arrogance, and on this basis there is nothing to worry about."
Despite his deep religious convictions, Ahmadinejad is not a messianist seeking to usher in a new world order; he is a canny manipulator trying to rouse public indignation in a chaotic neighborhood. He understands that the carnage in Iraq, the stalled Israeli-Palestinian peace process, and the inability of Arab rulers to stand up to Washington have created intense anti-Americanism throughout the Middle East and that there is growing popular hunger for a leader willing to stand up to Israel and the United States. And he very much wants to be that leader. To that end, he has used incendiary rhetoric about the Holocaust and Israel, support for Hezbollah, and appeals to Muslim solidarity to overcome sectarian divides, turning his Shiite Persian country into an object of admiration even for Sunni Arabs.
Understandably, too, Ahmadinejad and his allies view the acquisition of nuclear weapons as critical to consolidating Iran's position and helping the country eclipse U.S. influence in the region -- a prize worth suffering pain and sanctions to achieve. Ayatollah Mesbah-Yazdi has declared that task a "great divine test," and the newspaper Kayhan, a mouthpiece of the extreme right, has argued that the "knowledge and ability to make nuclear weapons" are "necessary in preparation for the next phase" on "the future battlefield." Given their distrust of Washington, the hard-liners assume that the United States' objections to their nuclear ambitions have less to do with countering proliferation than with exploiting the issue to enlist the support of U.S. allies against Iran. As Ahmadinejad has put it, "If this problem is resolved, then [the Americans] will bring up the issue of human rights. If the human rights issue is resolved, then they will probably bring up the issue of animal rights."
Ahmadinejad's antics have succeeded in turning him into an object of international attention over the last two years, making it easy for outside observers to overlook the emergence of another important camp within Iran's new right. This group, while also conservative, tends to stress Iranian nationalism over Islamic identity and pragmatism over ideology. Among the leaders of the group are Ali Larijani, the head of the Supreme National Security Council; Abbas Mohtaj, the commander of Iran's navy; and Ezzatollah Zarghami, the head of the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting -- all nationalists who, like the radicals, were shaped by the Iran-Iraq War but who drew different conclusions from it. During the 1990s, as reformers took over many of Iran's state institutions, these conservatives retreated into research centers, particularly Imam Hussein University, to reassess Iran's international relations. Judging by their writings and speeches, they seem to have concluded both that the end of the Cold War and Iran's unique geographic location made it a natural regional power and that Iran's progress had been thwarted by the regime's ideological excesses and its unnecessarily hostile approach to the West. The only way for Iran to realize its potential, they argued, was for it to behave more judiciously, and that meant limiting some expressions of its influence, acceding to certain international norms, and negotiating mutually acceptable compacts with its adversaries. In the last two years, many members of this pragmatic faction have risen to influence within the Supreme National Security Council, the intelligence community, and the military. Using their links to traditional clerical networks and their intimate ties to the supreme leader, they are trying to wrest control of Iran's international relations from the militants.
The real significance of Iran's municipal elections in December 2006, in which Ahmadinejad's camp scored disappointing results, lay not so much in the revival of the reform movement as in the fact that many younger conservatives who are uneasy about Ahmadinejad's policies did well.
Nothing divides the two groups of the new right more than their attitude toward the United States. The pragmatists argue that Iran's predominance cannot be guaranteed without a more rational relationship with Washington. In an interview in late 2005, Larijani said, "We may be sure that the Americans are our enemies," but "working with the enemy is part of the work of politics." He added, "The strategy of curbing and reducing disruptions and normalizing relations is itself beneficial in the long term." Like the hawks, Larijani and his allies argue that the U.S. presence in the Middle East is bound to diminish, but, unlike the hawks, they worry that it could continue to block Tehran's resurgence. In their view, smoothing relations with the United States would pave the way for Iran to increase its influence in the region.
The moderates agree with the radicals that to enhance its influence Iran needs a nuclear weapons capability. As the deputy head of the Supreme National Security Council, Ali Hosseinitash, has noted, "The nuclear program is an opportunity for us to make endeavors to acquire a strategic position and consolidate our national identity." But the moderates also believe in restraint. They advocate continued adherence to Iran's obligations under the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT) and stress the importance of offering confidence-building measures to the international community. They hope that by improving Tehran's relationship with Washington they can assuage U.S. concerns about Iran's nuclear development without having to abandon the program.
Hovering over this debate is the indecisive supreme leader, who so far has tentatively supported the pragmatists' drive for negotiations with the United States. On the one hand, Khamenei, a stern ideologue suspicious of the United States, seems to endorse Ahmadinejad's fiery denunciations of the West and his assertive Islamism. Khamenei has deficient religious credentials -- his lack of erudition places him at a disadvantage in the hierarchical clerical estate -- and that weakness has forced him to rely on reactionary elements to bolster his power; it would be difficult for him to rein in the determined Ahmadinejad. On the other hand, Khamenei's relationship with the hard-liners has always been uneasy, as they have doubted his resolution during times of crisis. In order to survive the treacherous politics of the Islamic Republic, Khamenei has balanced different factions without unduly empowering any one of them.
So far, the pragmatists have managed to nudge Khamenei toward accepting potential negotiations with the United States over issues of mutual concern. But Iran's political landscape is changing rapidly. The United States' declining fortunes in Iraq, Hezbollah's touted victory against Israel last summer, and the success of Ahmadinejad's defiant nuclear diplomacy seem to prove right those who call for confrontation. The supreme leader, who is generally prone to indecision, now seems disinclined to settle the internal debates in Tehran in a conclusive manner.
THE UNITED WAY
The most effective way for Washington to resolve this uncertainty in its favor would be to practice more imaginative diplomacy. That would require more than a policy shift; it would require a paradigm shift. Guided by the notion of containment, U.S. policymakers have long seen the normalization of relations as the end result of a long process of negotiations. But with a new policy of engagement, normalization would have to be the starting point of talks; it would then facilitate discussions on issues such as nuclear weapons and terrorism. A strategy that seeks to create a web of mutually reinforcing security and economic arrangements has the best chance of tying Iran to the status quo in the region. In essence, a new situation would be created in which Tehran's relationship with Washington would be more valuable to the regime than either its ties to Hezbollah or its pursuit of nuclear arms.
To provoke such a change, Washington must strengthen the hands of the pragmatists in Tehran by offering Iran relief from sanctions and diplomatic relations. Washington's recognition of Iran's regional status and deepened economic ties with the West might finally enable the pragmatists to push Khamenei to marginalize the radicals who insist that only confrontation with the United States can allow Iran to achieve its national objectives.
As the United States reconsiders its Iran policy, it should dispense with the notion of offering Tehran security guarantees. It is conventional, even routine, in Washington policy circles to suggest that the Iran conundrum can be resolved only if the Bush administration pledges not to attack Iran. This argument reflects a fundamental misunderstanding of how the Islamic Republic perceives its power and its place in the Middle East today. The guardians of the theocratic regime do not fear the United States; they do not relate to the international community from a position of strategic vulnerability. Tehran now seeks not assurances against U.S. military strikes but an acknowledgment of its status and influence.
The United States does need to make important changes to its approach to Iran, however, in terms of both substance and style. Given the theocratic nature of the Iranian regime and its paranoia, Washington will have to adapt its rhetoric. U.S. officials can no longer denounce Iran as an "outpost of tyranny" or the "central banker of terrorism" in one breath and propose negotiations in the next. Like all regimes born of revolution, Tehran insists that the international community not just recognize its interests but also legitimize its power. Iran's theocrats are in no way unique; remember that for decades the Soviets demanded that the United States officially acknowledge postwar demarcations of Eastern Europe. A new U.S. policy toward Iran will have to officially recognize the authority of the Islamic Republic.
In this spirit, Washington must abandon its hopeless policy of regime change, including its paltry award of $75 million to Iranian exiles and for broadcasts into Iran. For one thing, such idealism is misplaced. Unlike Eastern Europe in the 1980s, Iran simply does not have a cohesive opposition movement willing to take direction and funding from the United States. For another, calls for regime change are counterproductive. Washington's fulminations and its provision of aid to the (nonexistent) democratic opposition have convinced many Iranian hard-liners that Washington's offer to negotiate is an attempt to undermine the regime in Tehran. Thus, any effort by moderates to engage with the United States is routinely denounced as a concession to the Great Satan's subversive ploys. Iran will certainly change, but on its own terms and at its own pace. The United States has an interest in promoting a more tolerant government in Tehran, but it will not help itself by broadcasting tall tales from Iranian exiles or with Bush's appeals to an indifferent Iranian populace. Integrating Iran into the world economy and global society would do far more to accelerate its democratic transformation.
RULES OF ENGAGEMENT
The best way toward an effective, engaged relationship with Iran is for Washington to open direct negotiations on issues of critical importance, along four separate tracks. Since the purpose of the talks would be to normalize relations, the first track should deal with setting a timetable for resuming a diplomatic relationship, gradually phasing out U.S. sanctions, and returning Iran's frozen assets. Holding out meaningful incentives such as these would go a long way toward facilitating productive discussions on more difficult issues and would likely enhance goodwill toward the United States among the Iranian public.
Given the progress of Iran's nuclear program, this issue deserves priority in second-track talks. The notion that the Islamic Republic will follow the Libyan model and completely dismantle its nuclear infrastructure is not tenable. The task of negotiators working on this issue would be to devise measures that Tehran could take to win back the trust of the international community, such as submitting to a rigorous inspection regime to show that its nuclear program is not being diverted for military purposes. Iran should be granted its NPT rights to develop a limited capability to enrich uranium; in turn, however, it should have to submit to verification procedures such as snap inspections, allow the permanent presence of personnel from the International Atomic Energy Agency, and make full disclosures about its previous activities. Iran's ultimate goal may be to produce nuclear weapons. But the case of Iraq demonstrates that an exacting verification process backed by the international community can obstruct such ambitions.
Negotiations on a third track should focus on Iraq. In light of the Baker-Hamilton report, many Washington policymakers and pundits have been busy offering reasons why Iran will not be helpful. But many of these arguments are fallacious. The first myth is the notion that Tehran would prefer to see U.S. troops remain and die in Iraq since mounting casualties will deter the United States from embarking on another misadventure. In fact, after nearly four years of an inconclusive war, Iranian officials believe that the United States' imperial ambitions have been sufficiently deflated -- that the giant requires no further bleeding. The second myth holds that gaining Iran's cooperation would require shelving UN sanctions against its nuclear program. But such reasoning presupposes that there is a robust UN process that needs to be retarded, which is inaccurate. And unlike their U.S. counterparts, Iranian leaders perceive little connection between their Iraq policy and their nuclear policy. The prevailing consensus within Tehran today is that the U.S. occupation in Iraq prevents measurable political progress there and that the only way Iraq can be stabilized is by gradually removing U.S. forces.
Whatever the perceptions and motivations of Tehran, its influence in Iraq makes it an indispensable partner. Although Iran has been busy enhancing the fortunes of its Iraqi Shiite allies and arming their militias, and Washington has responded with recriminations, the two governments have many objectives in common. Tehran, like Washington, is interested in defusing the ongoing civil war and maintaining Iraq's unity. The Iranian ruling elite also appreciates that the most suitable way to realize its aims is through elections, which are bound to further empower the majority Shiite community. A functioning Iraqi state would facilitate the departure of U.S. forces, neutralize the insurgency, and incorporate moderate Sunnis into the governing order -- all goals that serve the interests of both Iran and the United States.
Instead of bemoaning Iran's influence in Iraq, U.S. policymakers should focus on the challenge of managing that power constructively. Once Iran's legitimate influence is recognized and a framework for harmonizing the two countries' policies is established, it may be easier for Washington to make demands of Tehran. Washington would be in a better position to pressure Tehran, for example, to temper the Iraqi Shiites' secessionist tendencies and rein in recalcitrant actors such as the Shiite militia leader Muqtada al-Sadr. Moreover, Iran today is one of Iraq's largest trading partners. The United States should further facilitate such trade because it helps stabilize southern Iraq. The sooner Washington realizes that Tehran can play a useful role in Iraq, the sooner it may be able to prevent the fragmentation of Iraq and the further destabilization of the Persian Gulf.
The fourth -- and thorniest -- set of negotiations would have to focus on the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, which Tehran has steadfastly opposed, often by supporting terrorism. Tehran's antagonism toward Israel is based on its Islamist ideology, which denies the legitimacy of the Zionist enterprise. Iran's support for Hezbollah and Hamas gives Tehran a voice in an area beyond its military reach. With Hezbollah emerging triumphant and more popular than ever from its conflict with Israel last summer, Iran's resolution has stiffened further. Washington will need to change that posture. If Iran and the United States attempt to normalize their relationship, then, for the first time, Tehran's belligerence toward Israel could lead to its losing real benefits.
A careful look at Iran's history reveals that its behavior can change for the better. In the 1990s, for instance, the right incentives persuaded Tehran to stop assassinating Iranian dissidents in Europe and supporting certain terrorist activities in the Persian Gulf. In 1997, a German court convicted Iranian government agents of murdering Kurdish opposition leaders in a restaurant in Berlin five years earlier, leading European governments to withdraw their emissaries from Tehran and impose restrictions on trade. The Islamic Republic quickly abandoned the practice of targeting dissidents in exile. In a similar vein, Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states agreed to normalize relations with Iran in the 1990s only if it stopped supporting radical elements within these states.
In this case, too, the strategic advantages of détente convinced Tehran to change its ways.
Washington should apply those lessons now. As the United States and Iran attempt to resolve their differences, a natural momentum is likely to push Tehran away from its opposition to the Middle East peace process and its reliance on terrorism. That shift should be helped along with diplomatic and economic inducements. The point would be not to persuade Tehran to abandon Hezbollah, for example, but to pressure Tehran so that it, in turn, can persuade Hezbollah to play a constructive role in Lebanese politics and stop attacking Israel.
For nearly three decades, high emotions and irresponsible rhetoric have obstructed the development of a rational relationship between the United States and Iran. Too often, pragmatism has been sacrificed at the altar of ideology, and common interests have been obscured by convoluted historical grievances. Today, however, there exists in Iran at least one powerful faction -- the pragmatists among the new right -- willing to consider accommodation with Washington. Should Washington reciprocate by devising a comprehensive strategy of détente, it might be possible for Iran and the United States to finally overcome their mutual hostility.
A new paradigm cannot preclude tension, or even conflict, but it could persuade Tehran that its interests would be best served if it voluntarily restrained its radical tendencies. Iran will remain a problem for the United States for the foreseeable future; the question is how best to manage its complexities and contradictions. An offer by the United States to normalize relations and start talks on all outstanding issues between the two states would give Iran a chance to choose whether it wants to be a nation defending legitimate imperatives or one guided by self-defeating delusions. And for the first time in decades, there is an indication that Iran may opt for the former.
Time for Détente With Iran - Foreign Affairs Magazine
Summary of basic considerations for action v. deterrance vis-a-vis Iran's nuclear program (including the Islamic belief that Islamic martyrs by-pass The Judgment Day coupled with Osama bin Ladin's Fatwa to Nuke 10 million Americans (please see below for reference materials re the Fatwa)) + Foreign Affairs article on nuclear detente with Iran
Return to “Action v. Deterrance (+ Detente) - for Dec 13”
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- ↳ Discussion Outline – The Assault on American Excellence by Yale Law School Prof. & Former Long-Time Dean Anthony Kronman – Jan 17
- ↳ Participant Comments – The Assault on American Excellence by Yale Law School Prof. & Former Long-Time Dean Anthony Kronman – Jan 17
- ↳ Original Proposal – The Assault on American Excellence by Yale Law School Prof. & Former Long-Time Dean Anthony Kronman – Jan 17
- ↳ Reference Materials – The Assault on American Excellence by Yale Law School Prof. & Former Long-Time Dean Anthony Kronman – Jan 17
- ↳ 12/16/23: EX POST FACTO “CROSSING SWORDS” VIS-À-VIS THE THRICE-FAILED “TWO-STATE SOLUTION” (NB: Both the Netanyahu/Dermer Plan for Gaza and the Two-State Solution are compatible with our 12/16/23 Plea to Pres. Biden for a Palestinian “Marshall Plan”)
- ↳ 12/16/23: RE-DIRECTING TO PRES. BIDEN OUR 10/14/2009 PLEA TO PRES. OBAMA FOR A PALESTINIAN “MARSHALL PLAN”
- ↳ Discussion Outline – The Samson Option: Israel’s Nuclear Arsenal and American Foreign Policy by Pulitzer Prize Winner Seymour Hersh – Dec 13
- ↳ Original Proposal – The Samson Option: Israel’s Nuclear Arsenal and American Foreign Policy by Pulitzer Prize Winner Seymour Hersh – Dec 13
- ↳ Participant Comments – The Samson Option: Israel’s Nuclear Arsenal and American Foreign Policy by Pulitzer Prize Winner Seymour Hersh – Dec 13
- ↳ Reference Materials – The Samson Option: Israel’s Nuclear Arsenal and American Foreign Policy by Pulitzer Prize Winner Seymour Hersh – Dec 13
- ↳ 11/24/23: LTR TO PRES. BIDEN RE SOLVING GLOBAL WARMING 100% WITHOUT MILITARY ACTION
- ↳ 11/24/23: LTR TO PRES. BIDEN RE BENFITTING AMN TAXPAYERS FOR SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERIES OF BASIC RESEARCH THEY HAVE FINANCED
- ↳ Discussion Outline – Life After Capitalism: The Meaning of Wealth, the Future of the Economy, and the Time Theory of Money by George Gilder – Nov 15
- ↳ Original Proposal – Life After Capitalism: The Meaning of Wealth, the Future of the Economy, and the Time Theory of Money by George Gilder – Nov 15
- ↳ Participant Comments – Life After Capitalism: The Meaning of Wealth, the Future of the Economy, and the Time Theory of Money by George Gilder – Nov 15
- ↳ Reference Materials – Life After Capitalism: The Meaning of Wealth, the Future of the Economy, and the Time Theory of Money by George Gilder – Nov 15
- ↳ 10/26/2023: LETTER TO PRESIDENT BIDEN RE EXPORTATION OF AMERICAN JOBS AND SALE OF AMERICAN CROWN JEWELS TO PAY FOR CONSUMER-GOODS IMPORTS
- ↳ Discussion Outline – No Trade Is Free: Changing Course, Taking on China, and Helping America's Workers by Robert Lighthizer – Oct 18
- ↳ Original Proposal – No Trade Is Free: Changing Course, Taking on China, and Helping America's Workers by Robert Lighthizer – Oct 18
- ↳ Meeting Report – “Poverty, by America” by Prof. Matthew Desmond – AND Letter to President Biden re the United Nations War on Modern Slavery
- ↳ Participant Comments – No Trade Is Free: Changing Course, Taking on China, and Helping America's Workers by Robert Lighthizer – Oct 18
- ↳ Reference Materials – No Trade Is Free: Changing Course, Taking on China, and Helping America's Workers by Robert Lighthizer – Oct 18
- ↳ Discussion Outline – “Poverty, by America” by Prof. Matthew Desmond – Sep 20
- ↳ Original Proposal – “Poverty, by America” by Prof. Matthew Desmond – Sep 20
- ↳ Participant Comments – “Poverty, by America” by Prof. Matthew Desmond – Sep 20
- ↳ Reference Materials – “Poverty, by America” by Prof. Matthew Desmond – Sep 20
- ↳ Discussion Outline - When Race Trumps Merit: How the Pursuit of Equity Sacrifices Excellence, Destroys Beauty, and Threatens Lives - Aug 16
- ↳ Original Proposal - When Race Trumps Merit: How the Pursuit of Equity Sacrifices Excellence, Destroys Beauty, and Threatens Lives - Aug 16
- ↳ Participant Comments - When Race Trumps Merit: How the Pursuit of Equity Sacrifices Excellence, Destroys Beauty, and Threatens Lives - Aug 16
- ↳ Reference Materials - When Race Trumps Merit: How the Pursuit of Equity Sacrifices Excellence, Destroys Beauty, and Threatens Lives - Aug 16
- ↳ Discussion Outline – The U.S. Supreme Court vs. Lower-Court National Injunctions – July 19
- ↳ Original Proposal – The U.S. Supreme Court vs. Lower-Court National Injunctions – July 19
- ↳ Participant Comments – The U.S. Supreme Court vs. Lower-Court National Injunctions – July 19
- ↳ 6/21/2023: The Safer Communities Act of 2022 Proves To Be A Cruel Hoax Vis-a-vis Preventing School Shootings
- ↳ Discussion Outline – Rabbi Van Lanckton’s 16 Gun-Safety Ideas, Providing Our Schools The Same Protection As Airports & Office Buildings, Etc. – June 21
- ↳ Reference Materials – The U.S. Supreme Court vs. Lower-Court National Injunctions – July 19
- ↳ Original Proposal – Rabbi Van Lanckton’s 16 Gun-Safety Ideas, Providing Our Schools The Same Protection As Airports & Office Buildings, Etc. – June 21
- ↳ Participant Comments – Rabbi Van Lanckton’s 16 Gun-Safety Ideas, Providing Our Schools The Same Protection As Airports & Office Buildings, Etc. – June 21
- ↳ Reference Materials – Rabbi Van Lanckton’s 16 Gun-Safety Ideas, Providing Our Schools The Same Protection As Airports & Office Buildings, Etc. – June 21
- ↳ Discussion Outline – Oliver Stone’s “Nuclear Now” + “A Bright Future: How Some Countries Have Solved Climate Change and the Rest Can Follow” – May 17
- ↳ Original Proposal – Oliver Stone’s “Nuclear Now” + “A Bright Future: How Some Countries Have Solved Climate Change and the Rest Can Follow” – May 17
- ↳ Participant Comments – Oliver Stone’s “Nuclear Now” + “A Bright Future: How Some Countries Have Solved Climate Change and the Rest Can Follow” – May 17
- ↳ Reference Materials – Oliver Stone’s “Nuclear Now” + “A Bright Future: How Some Countries Have Solved Climate Change and the Rest Can Follow” – May 17
- ↳ Meeting Report – “Marked for Life: One Man’s Fight for Justice from the Inside” – April 19
- ↳ Discussion Outline – Marked for Life: One Man's Fight for Justice from the Inside – April 19
- ↳ Original Proposal – Marked for Life: One Man's Fight for Justice from the Inside – April 19
- ↳ Participant Comments – Marked for Life: One Man's Fight for Justice from the Inside – April 19
- ↳ Reference Materials – Marked for Life: One Man's Fight for Justice from the Inside – April 19
- ↳ Discussion Outline – The Coddling of the American Mind: How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas Are Setting Up a Generation for Failure – March 15
- ↳ Original Proposal – The Coddling of the American Mind: How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas Are Setting Up a Generation for Failure – March 15
- ↳ Participant Comments – The Coddling of the American Mind: How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas Are Setting Up a Generation for Failure – March 15
- ↳ Reference Materials – The Coddling of the American Mind: How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas Are Setting Up a Generation for Failure – March 15
- ↳ Discussion Outline – Future Peace: Technology, Aggression, and the Rush to War by Maj. Gen. (Ret.) Robert Latiff – Feb 15
- ↳ Original Proposal – Future Peace: Technology, Aggression, and the Rush to War by Maj. Gen. (Ret.) Robert Latiff – Feb 15
- ↳ Participant Comments – Future Peace: Technology, Aggression, and the Rush to War by Maj. Gen. (Ret.) Robert Latiff – Feb 15
- ↳ Reference Materials – Future Peace: Technology, Aggression, and the Rush to War by Maj. Gen. (Ret.) Robert Latiff – Feb 15
- ↳ Discussion Outline – “Bibi: My Story” by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu – Jan 18
- ↳ Original Proposal – “Bibi: My Story” by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu – Jan 18
- ↳ Participant Comments – “Bibi: My Story” by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu – Jan 18
- ↳ Reference Materials – “Bibi: My Story” by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu – Jan 18
- ↳ Discussion Outline – “Doom: The Politics of Catastrophe” by Prof. Niall Ferguson (husband of Ayaan Hirsi Ali) – Dec 14
- ↳ Original Proposal – “Doom: The Politics of Catastrophe” by Prof. Niall Ferguson (husband of Ayaan Hirsi Ali) – Dec 14
- ↳ Participant Comments – “Doom: The Politics of Catastrophe” by Prof. Niall Ferguson (husband of Ayaan Hirsi Ali) – Dec 14
- ↳ Reference Materials – “Doom: The Politics of Catastrophe” by Prof. Niall Ferguson (husband of Ayaan Hirsi Ali) – Dec 14
- ↳ Discussion Outline – A Pox On Both Former Sen. Phil Gramm and Pres. Biden Re Jonathan Kozol’s “Restoration of Apartheid Schooling in America” – Nov 16
- ↳ Original Proposal – A Pox On Both Former Sen. Phil Gramm and Pres. Biden Re Jonathan Kozol’s “Restoration of Apartheid Schooling in America” – Nov 16
- ↳ Participant Comments – A Pox On Both Former Sen. Phil Gramm and Pres. Biden Re Jonathan Kozol’s “Restoration of Apartheid Schooling in America” – Nov 16
- ↳ Reference Materials – A Pox On Both Former Sen. Phil Gramm and Pres. Biden Re Jonathan Kozol’s “Restoration of Apartheid Schooling in America” – Nov 16
- ↳ Discussion Outline – Volt Rush: The Winners and Losers in the Race to Go Green – Oct 19
- ↳ Original Proposal – Volt Rush: The Winners and Losers in the Race to Go Green – Oct 19
- ↳ Participant Comments – Volt Rush: The Winners and Losers in the Race to Go Green – Oct 19
- ↳ Reference Materials – Volt Rush: The Winners and Losers in the Race to Go Green – Oct 19
- ↳ Discussion Outline – What We Owe The Future by Oxford U. Prof. William MacAskill – Sept 21
- ↳ Original Proposal – What We Owe The Future by Oxford U. Prof. William MacAskill – Sept 21
- ↳ Participant Comments – What We Owe The Future by Oxford U. Prof. William MacAskill – Sept 21
- ↳ Reference Materials – What We Owe The Future by Oxford U. Prof. William MacAskill – Sept 21
- ↳ Discussion Outline - “The Dumbest Generation Grows Up: From Stupefied Youth to Dangerous Adults” by Prof. Mark Bauerlein - Aug 17
- ↳ Original Proposal - “The Dumbest Generation Grows Up: From Stupefied Youth to Dangerous Adults” by Prof. Mark Bauerlein - Aug 17
- ↳ Participant Comments - “The Dumbest Generation Grows Up: From Stupefied Youth to Dangerous Adults” by Prof. Mark Bauerlein - Aug 17
- ↳ Reference Materials - “The Dumbest Generation Grows Up: From Stupefied Youth to Dangerous Adults” by Prof. Mark Bauerlein - Aug 17
- ↳ Discussion Outline - Climate Change and "How The World Really Works: The Science Behind How We Got Here and Where We’re Going" by Prof. Vaclav Smil - July 20
- ↳ Original Proposal - Climate Change and "How The World Really Works: The Science Behind How We Got Here and Where We’re Going" by Prof. Vaclav Smil - July 20
- ↳ Participant Comments - Climate Change and "How The World Really Works: The Science Behind How We Got Here and Where We’re Going" by Prof. Vaclav Smil - July 20
- ↳ Reference Materials - Climate Change and "How The World Really Works: The Science Behind How We Got Here and Where We’re Going" by Vaclav Smil - July 20
- ↳ Discussion Outline – Caste: The Origins Of Our Discontents - Oprah’s Book Club – June 15
- ↳ Original Proposal – Caste: The Origins Of Our Discontents - Oprah’s Book Club – June 15
- ↳ Participant Comments – Caste: The Origins Of Our Discontents - Oprah’s Book Club – June 15
- ↳ Reference Materials – Caste: The Origins Of Our Discontents - Oprah’s Book Club – June 15
- ↳ Discussion Outline – “Red-Handed: How American Elites Get Rich Helping China Win” by Peter Schweizer – May 18
- ↳ Original Proposal – “Red-Handed: How American Elites Get Rich Helping China Win” by Peter Schweizer – May 18
- ↳ Participant Comments – “Red-Handed: How American Elites Get Rich Helping China Win” by Peter Schweizer – May 18
- ↳ Reference Materials – “Red-Handed: How American Elites Get Rich Helping China Win” by Peter Schweizer – May 18
- ↳ Discussion Outline - The Dying Concept of Citizenship & America’s Southern Border – April 20
- ↳ Original Proposal - The Dying Concept of Citizenship & America’s Southern Border – April 20
- ↳ Participant Comments - The Dying Concept of Citizenship & America’s Southern Border – April 20
- ↳ Reference Materials - The Dying Concept of Citizenship & America’s Southern Border – April 20
- ↳ Public-Policy Letters Sent to the European Union President & the NATO Secretary General – America’s 1994 Written & Signed Guarantee Of Ukraine’s Independence and Territorial Integrity For Ukraine Surrendering Its 1,900 Nuclear Missiles – March 16
- ↳ Discussion Outline – America’s 1994 Written & Signed Guarantee Of Ukraine’s Independence and Territorial Integrity For Ukraine Surrendering Its 1,900 Nuclear Missiles – March 16
- ↳ Original Proposal – America’s 1994 Written & Signed Guarantee Of Ukraine’s Independence and Territorial Integrity For Ukraine Surrendering Its 1,900 Nuclear Missiles – March 16
- ↳ Participant Comments – America’s 1994 Written & Signed Guarantee Of Ukraine’s Independence and Territorial Integrity For Ukraine Surrendering Its 1,900 Nuclear Missiles – March 16
- ↳ Short Quiz and Suggested Answers – America’s 1994 Written & Signed Guarantee Of Ukraine’s Independence and Territorial Integrity For Ukraine Surrendering Its 1,900 Nuclear Missiles – March 16
- ↳ Reference Materials – America’s 1994 Written & Signed Guarantee Of Ukraine’s Independence and Territorial Integrity For Ukraine Surrendering Its 1,900 Nuclear Missiles – March 16
- ↳ Discussion Outline – NYC Harvard Club Book Promotion – “Our Broken Elections: How the Left Changed the Way You Vote” – Feb 16
- ↳ Original Proposal – NYC Harvard Club Book Promotion – “Our Broken Elections: How the Left Changed the Way You Vote” – Feb 16
- ↳ Participant Comments – NYC Harvard Club Book Promotion - “Our Broken Elections: How the Left Changed the Way You Vote” – Feb 16
- ↳ Reference Materials – NYC Harvard Club Book Promotion – “Our Broken Elections: How the Left Changed the Way You Vote” – Feb 16
- ↳ Discussion Outline – The Deficit Myth by Democratic Party Economic Guru, Prof. Stephanie Kelton – Jan 19
- ↳ Original Proposal – The Deficit Myth by Democratic Party Economic Guru, Prof. Stephanie Kelton – Jan 19
- ↳ Discussion Outline – President Obama’s Dept of Energy Under-Secretary for Science (Prof. Steven Koonin) on “Unsettled: What Climate Science Tells Us, What It Doesn’t, and Why It Matters” – Dec 8
- ↳ Participant Comments – The Deficit Myth by Democratic Party Economic Guru, Prof. Stephanie Kelton – Jan 19
- ↳ Reference Materials – The Deficit Myth by Democratic Party Economic Guru, Prof. Stephanie Kelton – Jan 19
- ↳ Original Proposal – President Obama’s Dept of Energy Under-Secretary for Science (Prof. Steven Koonin) on “Unsettled: What Climate Science Tells Us, What It Doesn’t, and Why It Matters” – Dec 8
- ↳ Participant Comments – President Obama’s Dept of Energy Under-Secretary for Science (Prof. Steven Koonin) on “Unsettled: What Climate Science Tells Us, What It Doesn’t, and Why It Matters” – Dec 8
- ↳ Reference Materials – President Obama’s Dept of Energy Under-Secretary for Science (Prof. Steven Koonin) on “Unsettled: What Climate Science Tells Us, What It Doesn’t, and Why It Matters” – Dec 8
- ↳ CONTINUATION OF THE PREVIOUS SECTION
- ↳ Discussion Outline – An Elegant Defense: The Extraordinary New Science Of The Immune System – Nov 10
- ↳ Original Proposal – An Elegant Defense: The Extraordinary New Science Of The Immune System – Nov 10
- ↳ Participant Comments – An Elegant Defense: The Extraordinary New Science Of The Immune System – Nov 10
- ↳ Reference Materials – An Elegant Defense: The Extraordinary New Science Of The Immune System – Nov 10
- ↳ Discussion Outline – Revisiting The Issue Of Charter Schools: Stanford University vs. Stanford’s Hoover Institution – Oct 13
- ↳ Original Proposal – Revisiting The Issue Of Charter Schools: Stanford University vs. Stanford’s Hoover Institution – Oct 13
- ↳ Participant Comments – Revisiting The Issue Of Charter Schools: Stanford University vs. Stanford’s Hoover Institution – Oct 13
- ↳ Reference Materials – Revisiting The Issue Of Charter Schools: Stanford University vs. Stanford’s Hoover Institution – Oct 13
- ↳ Discussion Outline – Discrimination and Disparities by Thomas Sowell – Sept 8
- ↳ Original Proposal – Discrimination and Disparities by Thomas Sowell – Sept 8
- ↳ Participant Comments – Discrimination and Disparities by Thomas Sowell – Sept 8
- ↳ Reference Materials – Discrimination and Disparities by Thomas Sowell – Sept 8
- ↳ Discussion Outline - The Non-Partisan Public-Policy Issues of Whether, For Example, Michael Lewis’ “The Premonition: A Pandemic Story” Is A Classic Political “Hit Piece” and Whether, As Such, It Should Be (vs. Is) Protected by Freedom Of Speech - Aug 11
- ↳ Original Proposal – The Non-Partisan Public-Policy Issues of Whether, For Example, Michael Lewis’ “The Premonition: A Pandemic Story” Is A Classic Political “Hit Piece” and Whether, As Such, It Should Be (vs. Is) Protected by “Freedom Of Speech” – Aug 11
- ↳ Participant Comments – The Non-Partisan Public-Policy Issues of Whether, For Example, Michael Lewis’ “The Premonition: A Pandemic Story” Is A Classic Political “Hit Piece” and Whether, As Such, It Should Be (vs. Is) Protected by Freedom Of Speech – Aug 11
- ↳ Discussion Outline – “1620: A Critical Response To The 1619 Project” by Peter Wood – July 14
- ↳ Reference Materials – The Non-Partisan Public-Policy Issues of Whether, For Example, Michael Lewis’ “The Premonition: A Pandemic Story” Is A Classic Political “Hit Piece” and Whether, As Such, It Should Be (vs. Is) Protected by Freedom Of Speech – Aug 11
- ↳ Original Proposal – “1620: A Critical Response To The 1619 Project” by Peter Wood – July 14
- ↳ Participant Comments – “1620: A Critical Response To The 1619 Project” by Peter Wood – July 14
- ↳ Reference Materials – “1620: A Critical Response To The 1619 Project” by Peter Wood – July 14
- ↳ Meeting Report – “Predict & Surveil: Data, Discretion & the Future of Policing” by Prof. Sarah Brayne – June 9
- ↳ Discussion Outline – “Predict & Surveil: Data, Discretion & the Future of Policing” by Prof. Sarah Brayne – June 9
- ↳ Original Proposal – “Predict & Surveil: Data, Discretion & the Future of Policing” by Prof. Sarah Brayne – June 9
- ↳ Participant Comments – “Predict & Surveil: Data, Discretion & the Future of Policing” by Prof. Sarah Brayne – June 9
- ↳ Resource Materials – “Predict & Surveil: Data, Discretion & the Future of Policing” by Prof. Sarah Brayne – June 9
- ↳ Discussion Outline – “How To Avoid A Climate Disaster: The Solutions We Have and the Breakthroughs We Need” by Bill Gates – May 12
- ↳ Original Proposal – “How To Avoid A Climate Disaster: The Solutions We Have and the Breakthroughs We Need” by Bill Gates – May 12
- ↳ Participant Comments – “How To Avoid A Climate Disaster: The Solutions We Have and the Breakthroughs We Need” by Bill Gates – May 12
- ↳ Reference Materials – “How To Avoid A Climate Disaster: The Solutions We Have and the Breakthroughs We Need” by Bill Gates – May 12
- ↳ Discussion Outline – “Cancel Culture: The Latest Attack on Free Speech and Due Process” by Prof. Alan Dershowitz – April 7
- ↳ Original Proposal – “Cancel Culture: The Latest Attack on Free Speech and Due Process” by Prof. Alan Dershowitz – April 7
- ↳ Participant Comments – “Cancel Culture: The Latest Attack on Free Speech and Due Process” by Prof. Alan Dershowitz – April 7
- ↳ Reference Materials – “Cancel Culture: The Latest Attack on Free Speech and Due Process” by Prof. Alan Dershowitz – April 7
- ↳ Discussion Outline – “The New Map: Energy, Climate & the Clash of Nations” by Pulitzer-Prize Winner Daniel Yergin – March 10
- ↳ Original Proposal – “The New Map: Energy, Climate & the Clash of Nations” by Pulitzer-Prize Winner Daniel Yergin – March 10
- ↳ Participant Comments – “The New Map: Energy, Climate & the Clash of Nations” by Pulitzer-Prize Winner Daniel Yergin – March 10
- ↳ Resource Materials – “The New Map: Energy, Climate & the Clash of Nations” by Pulitzer-Prize Winner Daniel Yergin – March 10
- ↳ Discussion Outline - “Enlightenment Now: The Case for Reason, Science, Humanism, and Progress by Prof. Steven Pinker – Feb 10
- ↳ Reference Materials - “Enlightenment Now: The Case for Reason, Science, Humanism, and Progress by Prof. Steven Pinker – Feb 10
- ↳ Original Proposal - “Enlightenment Now: The Case for Reason, Science, Humanism, and Progress by Prof. Steven Pinker – Feb 10
- ↳ Participant Comments - “Enlightenment Now: The Case for Reason, Science, Humanism, and Progress by Prof. Steven Pinker – Feb 10
- ↳ Meeting Report – Civilization: The West and the Rest by Prof. Niall Ferguson – Jan 13
- ↳ Discussion Outline – Civilization: The West and the Rest by Prof. Niall Ferguson – Jan 13
- ↳ Original Proposal – Civilization: The West and the Rest by Prof. Niall Ferguson – Jan 13
- ↳ Participant Comments – Civilization: The West and the Rest by Prof. Niall Ferguson – Jan 13
- ↳ Reference Materials – Civilization: The West and the Rest by Prof. Niall Ferguson – Jan 13
- ↳ Discussion Outline - Great Society: A New History by Amity Shlaes - Dec 9
- ↳ Original Proposal - Great Society: A New History by Amity Shlaes - Dec 9
- ↳ Participant Comments - Great Society: A New History by Amity Shlaes - Dec 9
- ↳ Reference Materials - Great Society: A New History by Amity Shlaes - Dec 9
- ↳ Discussion Outline – “The Square and The Tower: Networks and Power, from the Freemasons to Facebook” by Prof. Niall Ferguson – Nov 11
- ↳ Original Proposal – “The Square and The Tower: Networks and Power, from the Freemasons to Facebook” by Prof. Niall Ferguson – Nov 11
- ↳ Participant Comments – “The Square and The Tower: Networks and Power, from the Freemasons to Facebook” by Prof. Niall Ferguson – Nov 11
- ↳ Reference Materials – “The Square and The Tower: Networks and Power, from the Freemasons to Facebook” by Prof. Niall Ferguson – Nov 11
- ↳ Discussion Outline – The Human Network: How Your Social Position Determines Your Power, Beliefs and Behaviors By Stanford U. Prof Matthew Jackson – Oct 14
- ↳ Original Proposal – The Human Network: How Your Social Position Determines Your Power, Beliefs and Behaviors By Stanford U. Prof Matthew Jackson – Oct 14
- ↳ Participant Comments – The Human Network: How Your Social Position Determines Your Power, Beliefs and Behaviors By Stanford U. Prof Matthew Jackson – Oct 14
- ↳ Reference Materials – The Human Network: How Your Social Position Determines Your Power, Beliefs and Behaviors By Stanford U. Prof Matthew Jackson – Oct 14
- ↳ Discussion Outline - The Revolutionary Lives of Malcolm X and Martin Luther King by Prof. Peniel Joseph - Sep 9
- ↳ Original Proposal - The Revolutionary Lives of Malcolm X and Martin Luther King by Prof. Peniel Joseph - Sep 9
- ↳ Participant Comments - The Revolutionary Lives of Malcolm X and Martin Luther King by Prof. Peniel Joseph - Sep 9
- ↳ Reference Materials - The Revolutionary Lives of Malcolm X and Martin Luther King by Prof. Peniel Joseph - Sep 9
- ↳ Discussion Outline – "Tightrope: Americans Reaching For Hope" by Pulitzer-Prize Winners Sheryl WuDunn and Husband, NY Times Columnist Nicholas Kristof – Aug 12
- ↳ Original Proposal – "Tightrope: Americans Reaching For Hope" by Pulitzer-Prize Winners Sheryl WuDunn and Husband, NY Times Columnist Nicholas Kristof – Aug 12
- ↳ Discussion Outline – “The Age of Addiction” by Prof. David Courtwright – July 8
- ↳ Participant Comments – "Tightrope: Americans Reaching For Hope" by Pulitzer-Prize Winners Sheryl WuDunn and Husband, NY Times Columnist Nicholas Kristof – Aug 12
- ↳ Reference Materials – "Tightrope: Americans Reaching For Hope" by Pulitzer-Prize Winners Sheryl WuDunn and Husband, NY Times Columnist Nicholas Kristof – Aug 12
- ↳ Participant Comments – “The Age of Addiction: How Bad Habits Became Big Business” by Prof. David Courtwright – July 8
- ↳ Original Proposal – “The Age of Addiction: How Bad Habits Became Big Business” by Prof. David Courtwright – July 8
- ↳ Reference Materials – “The Age of Addiction: How Bad Habits Became Big Business” by Prof. David Courtwright – July 8
- ↳ 6/3/2020: CALL TO ACTION – ONLY 10 MINUTES NEEDED FOR YOU TO PARTICIPATE – “SIX DEGREES OF SEPARATION” E-MAIL CAMPAIGN TO ADDRESS THE ROOT CAUSE OF RACISM (VS. ONLY A MERE SYMPTOM) – AMERICA’S PERMANENT 30% UNDER-CASTE
- ↳ Discussion Outline – Jonathan Kozol “The Shame of the Nation: The Restoration of Apartheid Schooling in America” and Free Tuition for Public Colleges and Vocational Schools – June 3
- ↳ Original Proposal – Jonathan Kozol “The Shame of the Nation: The Restoration of Apartheid Schooling in America” and Free Tuition for Public Colleges and Vocational Schools – Mtg Date TBD
- ↳ Participant Comments – Jonathan Kozol “The Shame of the Nation: The Restoration of Apartheid Schooling in America” and Free Tuition for Public Colleges and Vocational Schools – Mtg Date TBD
- ↳ Reference Materials – Jonathan Kozol “The Shame of the Nation: The Restoration of Apartheid Schooling in America” and Free Tuition for Public Colleges and Vocational Schools – June 3
- ↳ Mail Campaign to ABC’s The View – Money in Politics – March 18
- ↳ Discussion Outline – Money in Politics – March 18
- ↳ Original Proposal - Money in Politics: Michael Bloomberg & Tom Steyer, et al. - March 18
- ↳ Participant Comments - Money in Politics: Michael Bloomberg & Tom Steyer, et al. - March 18
- ↳ Meeting WED Evening Feb 19 – Proposed E-mail Campaign Re “Hunger in America” – Your Opportunity To Strike A Blow For BASIC HUMAN DECENCY
- ↳ Feb 19 Meeting Report – Proposed E-mail Campaign Re “Hunger in America”
- ↳ Original Proposal – Utah Taxing Groceries of Our Neighbors Living on Less Than $2.00/Day – Feb 19
- ↳ Participant Comments – Utah Taxing Groceries of Our Neighbors Living on Less Than $2.00/Day – Feb 19
- ↳ Reference Materials – Utah Taxing Groceries of Our Neighbors Living on Less Than $2.00/Day – Feb 19
- ↳ CALL TO ACTION – ONLY 5 MINUTES NEEDED FOR YOU TO PARTICIPATE – “SIX-DEGREES-OF-SEPARATION” E-MAIL CAMPAIGN TO SOLVE THE PALESTINIAN ISSUE (AND AVOID “THE TWILIGHT OF THE HUMANS” - Jan 15
- ↳ Original Proposal – “REPRISE: A Marshall-Type Plan For Palestinians” – Jan 15
- ↳ Suggested Discussion Outline – “REPRISE: A Marshall-Type Plan For Palestinians” – Jan 15
- ↳ Participant Comments – “REPRISE: A Marshall-Type Plan For Palestinians” – Jan 15
- ↳ Reference Materials – “REPRISE: A Marshall-Type Plan For Palestinians” – Jan 15
- ↳ CALL TO ACTION – “SIX-DEGREES-OF-SEPARATION” E-MAIL CAMPAIGN TO SAVE THE U.S. GOVERNMENT $86 BILLION/YEAR BY ADOPTING MEDICARE-FOR-ALL – (only 5 minutes needed to participate)
- ↳ Discussion Outline – “The Price We Pay: What Broke American Health Care And How To Fix It” by Johns Hopkins Surgeon and Prof. of Health Policy Marty Markary – Dec 11
- ↳ Participant Comments – “The Price We Pay: What Broke American Health Care And How To Fix It” by Johns Hopkins Surgeon and Prof. of Health Policy Marty Markary – Dec 11
- ↳ Original Proposal – “The Price We Pay: What Broke American Health Care And How To Fix It” by Johns Hopkins Surgeon and Prof. of Health Policy Marty Markary – Dec 11
- ↳ Reference Materials – “The Price We Pay: What Broke American Health Care And How To Fix It” by Johns Hopkins Surgeon and Prof. of Health Policy Marty Markary – Dec 11
- ↳ CALL TO ACTION – “SIX-DEGREES-OF-SEPARATION” E-MAIL CAMPAIGN TO PROTECT POSSIBLE GLOBAL-WARMING SOLUTION (HYDROGEN EXTRACTION) FROM BEING KILLED!!! – (only 5 minutes needed to participate)
- ↳ Discussion Outline - Possible Global Warming Solution (Hydrogen Extraction) In Danger Of Being Killed!!! - Nov 13
- ↳ Original Proposal - Possible Global Warming Solution (Hydrogen Extraction) In Danger Of Being Killed!!! - Nov 13
- ↳ Participant Comments - Possible Global Warming Solution (Hydrogen Extraction) In Danger Of Being Killed!!! - Nov 13
- ↳ Reference Materials - Possible Global Warming Solution (Hydrogen Extraction) In Danger Of Being Killed!!! - Nov 13
- ↳ Suggested Discussion Outline - “Tech Titans Of China: How China’s Tech Sector Is Challenging The World By Innovating Faster, Working Harder and Going Global by Rebecca A. Fannin – Oct 16
- ↳ Original Proposal - “Tech Titans Of China: How China’s Tech Sector Is Challenging The World By Innovating Faster, Working Harder and Going Global by Rebecca A. Fannin – Oct 16
- ↳ Participant Comments - “Tech Titans Of China: How China’s Tech Sector Is Challenging The World By Innovating Faster, Working Harder and Going Global by Rebecca A. Fannin - Oct 16
- ↳ Reference Materials - “Tech Titans Of China: How China’s Tech Sector Is Challenging The World By Innovating Faster, Working Harder and Going Global by Rebecca A. Fannin - Oct 16
- ↳ CALL TO ACTION – Six-Degrees-Of-Separation-Email-Campaign – A Suggestion To President Trump Re How To Support the United Nations 19-year Campaign Against “Trafficking In Persons, Especially Women and Children” – only 5 minutes needed to participate
- ↳ Suggested Discussion Outline - Sex Trafficking: Inside the Business of Modern Slavery - Sep 18
- ↳ Original Proposal – Sex Trafficking: Inside the Business of Modern Slavery – Sep 18
- ↳ Participant Comments – Sex Trafficking: Inside the Business of Modern Slavery – Sep 18
- ↳ Reference Materials – Sex Trafficking: Inside the Business of Modern Slavery – Sep 18
- ↳ Participant Comments – Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson – July 31
- ↳ Suggested Discussion Outline – Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson – July 31
- ↳ Original Proposal – Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson – July 31
- ↳ Reference Materials – Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson – July 31
- ↳ Suggested Discussion Outline -- "The Great Revolt: Inside the Populist Coalition Reshaping American Politics” -- June 13
- ↳ Original Proposal -- "The Great Revolt: Inside the Populist Coalition Reshaping American Politics” -- June 13
- ↳ Short Quiz -- "The Great Revolt: Inside the Populist Coalition Reshaping American Politics” -- June 13
- ↳ Reference Materials -- "The Great Revolt: Inside the Populist Coalition Reshaping American Politics” -- June 13
- ↳ The Quartet – Three E-mail Campaigns “Approved” – May 16
- ↳ Suggested Discussion Outline - "The Quartet: Orchestrating the Second American Revolution, 1783-1789" by Prof. Joseph J. Ellis – May 16
- ↳ Original Proposal - "The Quartet: Orchestrating the Second American Revolution, 1783-1789" by Prof. Joseph J. Ellis – May 16
- ↳ Reference Materials – "The Quartet: Orchestrating the Second American Revolution, 1783-1789" by Prof. Joseph J. Ellis – May 16
- ↳ Participant Comments – "The Quartet: Orchestrating the Second American Revolution, 1783-1789" by Prof. Joseph J. Ellis – May 16
- ↳ Cancellation of Official Status of April 11 Meeting on Joseph Califano’s “Our Damaged Democracy: We The People Must Act” + John Karls’ Research on Harvard as “Cambridge University in New England” 1636-1816
- ↳ Original Proposal - Our Damaged Democracy: We The People Must Act by Joseph Califano Jr. - April 11
- ↳ CALL TO ACTION – “SIX-DEGREES-OF-SEPARATION” E-MAIL CAMPAIGN TO HOLD CHINA RESPONSIBLE FOR NORTH KOREAN ACTIONS (only 5 minutes needed to participate)
- ↳ Suggested Discussion Outline - “American Tianxia: Chinese Money, American Power and the End of History” by Prof. Salvatore Babones - March 14
- ↳ Original Proposal - “American Tianxia: Chinese Money, American Power and the End of History” by Prof. Salvatore Babones - March 14
- ↳ Participant Comments - “American Tianxia: Chinese Money, American Power and the End of History” by Prof. Salvatore Babones - March 14
- ↳ Reference Materials - “American Tianxia: Chinese Money, American Power and the End of History” by Prof. Salvatore Babones - March 14
- ↳ Suggested Discussion Outline - “$2.00 a Day: Living on Almost Nothing in America” - Feb 7
- ↳ Original Proposal - “$2.00 a Day: Living on Almost Nothing in America” - Feb 7
- ↳ Participant Comments - “$2.00 a Day: Living on Almost Nothing in America” - Feb 7
- ↳ Reference Materials - “$2.00 a Day: Living on Almost Nothing in America” - Feb 7
- ↳ Meeting Cancellation - The Working Class Republican: Ronald Reagan and the Return of Blue Collar Conservatism - Jan 10
- ↳ Original Proposal - The Working Class Republican: Ronald Reagan and the Return of Blue Collar Conservatism - Jan 10
- ↳ Reference Materials - The Working Class Republican: Ronald Reagan and the Return of Blue Collar Conservatism - Jan 10
- ↳ Suggested Discussion Outline - Heretic: Why Islam Needs a Reformation Now by Ayaan Hirsi Ali - Dec 13
- ↳ Original Proposal - Heretic: Why Islam Needs a Reformation Now by Ayaan Hirsi Ali - Dec 13
- ↳ Participant Comments - Heretic: Why Islam Needs a Reformation Now by Ayaan Hirsi Ali - Dec 13
- ↳ Reference Materials - Heretic: Why Islam Needs a Reformation Now by Ayaan Hirsi Ali - Dec 13
- ↳ Suggested Discussion Outline - Strangers in Their Own Land: Anger and Mourning by the American Right: A Journey to the Heart of Our Political Divide - Nov 8
- ↳ Original Proposal - Strangers in Their Own Land: Anger and Mourning by the American Right: A Journey to the Heart of Our Political Divide - Nov 8
- ↳ Participant Comments - Strangers in Their Own Land: Anger and Mourning by the American Right: A Journey to the Heart of Our Political Divide - Nov 8
- ↳ Reference Materials - Strangers in Their Own Land: Anger and Mourning by the American Right: A Journey to the Heart of Our Political Divide - Nov 8
- ↳ Suggested Discussion Outline - A Fine Mess: A Global Quest for a Simpler, Fairer, and More Efficient Tax System by T.R. Reid – Oct 4
- ↳ Original Proposal - A Fine Mess: A Global Quest for a Simpler, Fairer, and More Efficient Tax System by T.R. Reid – Oct 4
- ↳ Participant Comments - A Fine Mess: A Global Quest for a Simpler, Fairer, and More Efficient Tax System by T.R. Reid – Oct 4
- ↳ Reference Materials - A Fine Mess: A Global Quest for a Simpler, Fairer, and More Efficient Tax System by T.R. Reid – Oct 4
- ↳ Suggested Discussion Outline - The War On Cops: How the New Attack on Law & Order Makes Everyone Less Safe by Heather MacDonald - Sep 6
- ↳ Original Proposal - The War On Cops: How the New Attack on Law & Order Makes Everyone Less Safe by Heather MacDonald - Sep 6
- ↳ Participant Comments - The War On Cops: How the New Attack on Law & Order Makes Everyone Less Safe by Heather MacDonald - Sep 6
- ↳ Reference Materials - The War On Cops: How the New Attack on Law & Order Makes Everyone Less Safe by Heather MacDonald - Sep 6
- ↳ Meeting Cancellation - American Amnesia: How The War On American Government Led Us To Forget What Made America Prosper – For Aug 9
- ↳ Original Proposal - American Amnesia: How The War On American Government Led Us To Forget What Made America Prosper – For Aug 9
- ↳ Reference Materials - American Amnesia: How The War On American Government Led Us To Forget What Made America Prosper – For Aug 9
- ↳ CALL TO ACTION – "SIX-DEGREES-OF-SEPARATION" E-MAIL CAMPAIGN RE SAVING THE U.S. GOV $300 BILLION/YEAR BY ENACTING “MEDICARE FOR ALL” – (only 5 minutes needed to participate)
- ↳ Original Proposal - An American Sickness: How Healthcare Became Big Business and How You Can Take It Back by Elisabeth Rosenthal – For July 12
- ↳ Suggested Discussion Outline - An American Sickness: How Healthcare Became Big Business and How You Can Take It Back by Elisabeth Rosenthal – For July 12
- ↳ Participant Comments - An American Sickness: How Healthcare Became Big Business and How You Can Take It Back by Elisabeth Rosenthal – For July 12
- ↳ Reference Materials - An American Sickness: How Healthcare Became Big Business and How You Can Take It Back by Elisabeth Rosenthal – For July 12
- ↳ Suggested Discussion Outline - How Everything Became War and the Military Became Everything by Rosa Brooks – June 7
- ↳ Original Proposal - How Everything Became War and the Military Became Everything by Rosa Brooks – June 7
- ↳ Participant Comments - How Everything Became War and the Military Became Everything by Rosa Brooks – June 7
- ↳ Reference Materials - How Everything Became War and the Military Became Everything by Rosa Brooks – June 7
- ↳ Discussion Outline – Authoritarian Rule by Our Intelligence Services – May 10
- ↳ Original Proposal – Authoritarian Rule by Our Intelligence Services – May 10
- ↳ Participant Comments – Authoritarian Rule by Our Intelligence Services – May 10
- ↳ Reference Materials – Authoritarian Rule by Our Intelligence Services – May 10
- ↳ April 12 Meeting Cancellation
- ↳ Original Proposal - Thank You For Being Late: An Optimist’s Guide To Thriving in an Age of Accelerations – For April 12th
- ↳ Reference Materials - Thank You For Being Late: An Optimist’s Guide To Thriving in an Age of Accelerations – For April 12th
- ↳ Participant Comments - Thank You For Being Late: An Optimist’s Guide To Thriving in an Age of Accelerations – For April 12th
- ↳ Discussion Outline – Killing Millions of Sesame Street Miss Piggy’s For The Human Organs – March 8
- ↳ Original Proposal – Killing Millions of Sesame Street Miss Piggy’s For The Human Organs – March 8
- ↳ Participant Comments – Killing Millions of Sesame Street Miss Piggy’s For The Human Organs – March 8
- ↳ Original Proposal Reference Materials – Killing Millions of Sesame Street Miss Piggy’s For The Human Organs – March 8
- ↳ CALL TO ACTION - OPPOSING THE WANTON DESTRUCTION OF GREAT SALT LAKE – FEB 8TH
- ↳ Discussion Outline - The Mormon Church Condoning The Wanton Destruction Of Great Salt Lake – Feb 8th
- ↳ Original Proposal - The Mormon Church Condoning The Wanton Destruction Of Great Salt Lake – Feb 8th
- ↳ Participant Comments - The Mormon Church Condoning The Wanton Destruction Of Great Salt Lake – Feb 8th
- ↳ Reference Materials - The Mormon Church Condoning The Wanton Destruction Of Great Salt Lake – Feb 8th
- ↳ Discussion Outline – Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters In The End – Jan 11
- ↳ Original Proposal – Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters In The End – Jan 11
- ↳ Participant Comments – Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters In The End – Jan 11
- ↳ Reference Materials – Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters In The End – Jan 11
- ↳ Discussion Outline – Makers and Takers: The Rise of Finance and the Fall of American Business – Dec 14
- ↳ Original Proposal - Makers and Takers: The Rise of Finance and the Fall of American Business – Dec 14
- ↳ Participant Comments - Makers and Takers: The Rise of Finance and the Fall of American Business – Dec 14
- ↳ Reference Materials - Makers and Takers: The Rise of Finance and the Fall of American Business – Dec 14
- ↳ Discussion Outline - The Terror Years: From Al-Qaeda to the Islamic State – Nov 16
- ↳ Original Proposal - The Terror Years: From Al-Qaeda to the Islamic State – Nov 16
- ↳ Participant Comments – The Terror Years: From Al-Qaeda to the Islamic State – Nov 16
- ↳ Reference Materials - The Terror Years: From Al-Qaeda to the Islamic State – Nov 16
- ↳ Discussion Outline - Helping Children Succeed: What Works and Why - Oct 19
- ↳ Participant Comments – Helping Children Succeed: What Works and Why - Oct 19
- ↳ Original Proposal - Helping Children Succeed: What Works and Why - Oct 19
- ↳ Reference Materials – Helping Children Succeed: What Works and Why - Oct 19
- ↳ Discussion Outline – Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of Family and Culture in Crisis - Sep 14
- ↳ Original Proposal – Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of Family and Culture in Crisis - Sep 14
- ↳ Participant Comments – Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of Family and Culture in Crisis - Sep 14
- ↳ Reference Materials – Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of Family and Culture in Crisis - Sep 14
- ↳ Discussion Outline - San Bernardino and The F.B.I. vs. Apple – Aug 10
- ↳ Original Proposal – San Bernardino and The F.B.I. vs. Apple – Aug 10
- ↳ Original Proposal – How The Other Half Banks: Exclusion, Exploitation, and The Threat To Democracy – July 13
- ↳ Participant Comments – San Bernardino and The F.B.I. vs. Apple – Aug 10
- ↳ Reference Materials – San Bernardino and The F.B.I. vs. Apple – Aug 10
- ↳ Reference Materials – How The Other Half Banks: Exclusion, Exploitation, and The Threat To Democracy – July 13
- ↳ Cancellation – How The Other Half Banks: Exclusion, Exploitation, and The Threat To Democracy – July 13
- ↳ Suggested Discussion Outline – 5 Easy Theses: Commonsense Solutions to America’s Greatest Economic Challenges – June 15
- ↳ Original Proposal – 5 Easy Theses: Commonsense Solutions to America’s Greatest Economic Challenges – June 15
- ↳ Participant Comments - 5 Easy Theses: Commonsense Solutions to America’s Greatest Economic Challenges – June 15
- ↳ Reference Materials – 5 Easy Theses: Commonsense Solutions to America’s Greatest Economic Challenges – June 15
- ↳ Suggested Discussion Outline – Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City – May 18
- ↳ Original Proposal – Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City – May 18
- ↳ Participant Comments – Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City – May 18
- ↳ Reference Materials – Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City – May 18
- ↳ Suggested Discussion Outline – Dark Money: The Hidden History of the Billionaires Behind the Rise of the Radical Right – April 20
- ↳ Original Proposal – Dark Money: The Hidden History of the Billionaires Behind the Rise of the Radical Right – April 20
- ↳ Participant Comments – Dark Money: The Hidden History of the Billionaires Behind the Rise of the Radical Right – April 20
- ↳ Reference Materials – Dark Money: The Hidden History of the Billionaires Behind the Rise of the Radical Right – April 20
- ↳ Suggested Discussion Outline - Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption – March 16
- ↳ Original Proposal - Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption – March 16
- ↳ Reference Materials - Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption – March 16
- ↳ Participant Comments – Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption – March 16
- ↳ Suggested Discussion Outline – Capitalism vs. The Climate – Feb 17
- ↳ Participant Comments – Capitalism vs. The Climate – Feb 17
- ↳ Original Proposal – Capitalism vs. The Climate – Feb 17
- ↳ Reference Materials - Capitalism vs. The Climate – Feb 17
- ↳ Suggested Discussion Outline – The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History – Jan 13
- ↳ Original Proposal – The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History – Jan 13
- ↳ Participant Comments – The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History – Jan 13
- ↳ Reference Materials – The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History – Jan 13
- ↳ Original Proposal – Saving Capitalism by Robert Reich – Dec 16
- ↳ Suggested Discussion Outline – Saving Capitalism by Robert Reich – Dec 16
- ↳ Participant Comments – Saving Capitalism by Robert Reich – Dec 16
- ↳ Reference Materials - Saving Capitalism by Robert Reich – Dec 16
- ↳ Suggested Discussion Outline - The Teacher Wars: A History of America's Most Embattled Profession - Nov 18
- ↳ Original Proposal - The Teacher Wars: A History of America's Most Embattled Profession - Nov 18
- ↳ Participant Comments - The Teacher Wars: A History of America's Most Embattled Profession - Nov 18
- ↳ Reference Materials - The Teacher Wars: A History of America's Most Embattled Profession - Nov 18
- ↳ Suggested Discussion Outline - Phishing for Phools: The Economics of Manipulation and Deception by George Akerlof and Robert Shiller – Oct 14
- ↳ Original Proposal - Phishing for Phools: The Economics of Manipulation and Deception by George Akerlof and Robert Shiller – Oct 14
- ↳ Participant Comments - Phishing for Phools: The Economics of Manipulation and Deception by George Akerlof and Robert Shiller – Oct 14
- ↳ Reference Materials - Phishing for Phools: The Economics of Manipulation and Deception by George Akerlof and Robert Shiller – Oct 14
- ↳ Suggested Discussion Outline - The Impending Adverse Impact Of New Technology on Employment and Income Inequality – Sep 9th
- ↳ Original Proposal - The Impending Adverse Impact Of New Technology on Employment and Income Inequality – Sep 9th
- ↳ Participant Comments - The Impending Adverse Impact Of New Technology on Employment and Income Inequality – Sep 9th
- ↳ Reference Materials - The Impending Adverse Impact Of New Technology on Employment and Income Inequality – Sep 9th
- ↳ Suggested Discussion Outline – Joan Walsh’s “What’s the Matter with White People?” – Aug 12
- ↳ Original Proposal – Joan Walsh’s “What’s the Matter with White People?” – Aug 12
- ↳ Participant Comments – Joan Walsh’s “What’s the Matter with White People?” – Aug 12
- ↳ Reference Materials – Joan Walsh’s “What’s the Matter with White People?” – Aug 12
- ↳ Suggested Discussion Outline – The Lonely War: One Woman’s Account of the Struggle for Modern Iran – July 15
- ↳ Original Proposal – The Lonely War: One Woman’s Account of the Struggle for Modern Iran – July 15
- ↳ Participant Comments – The Lonely War: One Woman’s Account of the Struggle for Modern Iran – July 15
- ↳ Reference Materials – The Lonely War: One Woman’s Account of the Struggle for Modern Iran – July 15
- ↳ CALL TO ACTION – "SIX-DEGREES-OF-SEPARATION" E-MAIL CAMPAIGN – POPE FRANCIS AND 23% OF U.S. CHILDREN IN POVERTY
- ↳ Suggested Discussion Outline - The Hoax of the School-Privatization Movement - June 17
- ↳ Original Proposal - The Hoax of the School-Privatization Movement - June 17
- ↳ Suggested Discussion Outline - Why Foreign-Government Corruption Threatens Global Security – May 13
- ↳ Participant Comments - The Hoax of the School-Privatization Movement - June 17……………………………………… AMERICA’S APARTHEID “JUSTICE” SYSTEM -- BALTIMORE, AMERICAN INNER-CITIES AND TOM BRADY
- ↳ Original Proposal - Why Foreign-Government Corruption Threatens Global Security – May 13
- ↳ Reference Materials - The Hoax of the School-Privatization Movement - June 17
- ↳ Participant Comments - Why Foreign-Government Corruption Threatens Global Security – May 13
- ↳ Reference Materials - Why Foreign-Government Corruption Threatens Global Security – May 13
- ↳ Suggested Discussion Outline - Corruption in America - April 8
- ↳ Original Proposal - Corruption in America – April 8
- ↳ Participant Comments - Corruption in America – April 8
- ↳ Reference Materials - Corruption in America – April 8
- ↳ Suggested Discussion Outline - Leon Panetta’s Worthy Fights and President Obama’s Military Force Authorization - March 11
- ↳ Original Proposal - Leon Panetta’s Worthy Fights and President Obama’s Military Force Authorization - March 11
- ↳ Original Proposal - Losing Our Way: An Intimate Portrait of a Troubled America - Feb 11
- ↳ Participant Comments - Leon Panetta’s Worthy Fights and President Obama’s Military Force Authorization - March 11
- ↳ Reference Materials - Leon Panetta’s Worthy Fights and President Obama’s Military Force Authorization - March 11
- ↳ Suggested Discussion Outline - Losing Our Way: An Intimate Portraith of a Troubled America - Feb 11
- ↳ Participant Comments - Losing Our Way: An Intimate Portrait of a Troubled America – Feb 11
- ↳ Reference Materials - Losing Our Way: An Intimate Portrait of a Troubled America – Feb 11
- ↳ Suggested Discussion Outline - Hillary Distancing Herself From Pres. Obama Re The Islamic State - For Sep 3
- ↳ Original Proposal - Hillary Distancing Herself From Pres. Obama Re The Islamic State - For Sep 3
- ↳ Participant Comments - Hillary Distancing Herself From Pres. Obama Re The Islamic State - For Sep 3
- ↳ Reference Materials - Hillary Distancing Herself From Pres. Obama Re The Islamic State - For Sep 3
- ↳ Original Proposal - American Exceptionalism: Fact or Fiction??? - Aug 6th
- ↳ Participant Comments - American Exceptionalism: Fact or Fiction??? - Aug 6th
- ↳ MEETING CANCELLATION + SABBATICAL
- ↳ MEETING CANCELLATION + SABBATICAL (Continued)
- ↳ Original Proposal - The Hoax of the School-Privatization Movement - May 7th
- ↳ Suggested Discussion Outline -- NUCLEAR FUSION AND 50 MORE YEARS WANDERING IN THE WILDERNESS SHUNNING THE PROMISED LAND -- Apr 9th
- ↳ Do-It-Yourself-Six-Degrees-Of-Separation-Email-Campaign -- Nuclear Fusion and 50 More Years Wandering in the Wilderness Shunning the Promised Land
- ↳ Participant Comments -- Nuclear Fusion and 50 More Years Wandering in the Wilderness Shunning the Promised Land -- April 9th
- ↳ Reference Materials -- Nuclear Fusion and 50 More Years Wandering in the Wilderness Shunning the Promised Land -- April 9th
- ↳ Original Proposal -- Nuclear Fusion and 50 More Years Wandering in the Wilderness Shunning the Promised Land -- April 9th
- ↳ Suggested Discussion Outline - Angry White Men: American Masculinity at the End of an Era – March 12th
- ↳ Original Proposal - Angry White Men: American Masculinity at the End of an Era – March 12th
- ↳ Participant Comments - Angry White Men: American Masculinity at the End of an Era – March 12th
- ↳ Reference Materials - Angry White Men: American Masculinity at the End of an Era – March 12th
- ↳ CALL TO ACTION – "SIX-DEGREES-OF-SEPARATION" E-MAIL CAMPAIGN TO PRESIDENT OBAMA – RENEWING 1968 EXECUTIVE ORDER 11387 TO HALT THE EXPORT OF AMERICAN JOBS
- ↳ Discussion Outline – 12 Years A Slave, the 1853 autobiography of a free black man who was kidnapped in Washington DC in 1841 and sold into slavery, which became a famous part of the Abolitionist Movement – Feb 12th
- ↳ Original Proposal – 12 Years A Slave, the 1853 autobiography of a free black man who was kidnapped in Washington DC in 1841 and sold into slavery, which became a famous part of the Abolitionist Movement – Feb 12th
- ↳ Participant Comments – 12 Years A Slave, the 1853 autobiography of a free black man who was kidnapped in Washington DC in 1841 and sold into slavery, which became a famous part of the Abolitionist Movement – Feb 12th
- ↳ Reference Materials – 12 Years A Slave, the 1853 autobiography of a free black man who was kidnapped in Washington DC in 1841 and sold into slavery, which became a famous part of the Abolitionist Movement – Feb 12th
- ↳ Discussion Outline - Magnificent Delusions: Pakistan, the U.S., and An Epic History of Misunderstanding – Jan 8th
- ↳ Original Proposal - Magnificent Delusions: Pakistan, the U.S., and An Epic History of Misunderstanding – Jan 8th
- ↳ Participant Comments - Magnificent Delusions: Pakistan, the U.S., and An Epic History of Misunderstanding – Jan 8th
- ↳ Reference Materials - Magnificent Delusions: Pakistan, the U.S., and An Epic History of Misunderstanding – Jan 8th
- ↳ Suggested Discussion Outline – Third-Trimester Abortions – Dec. 11th
- ↳ Original Proposal – Third-Trimester Abortions – Dec. 11th
- ↳ Participant Comments – Third-Trimester Abortions – Dec. 11th
- ↳ Reference Materials – Third-Trimester Abortions – Dec. 11th
- ↳ Discussion Outline - Will Ayatollah Khomenei Destroy The World??? - Nov 13
- ↳ Original Proposal - Who Is Ayatollah Khamenei by an Iranian Journalist/Dissident - Nov 13
- ↳ Participant Comments - Who Is Ayatollah Khamenei by an Iranian Journalist/Dissident - Nov 13
- ↳ Reference Materials - Who Is Ayatollah Khamenei by an Iranian Journalist/Dissident - Nov 13
- ↳ Discussion Outline - Austerity: The History of a Dangerous Idea - Oct 9th
- ↳ Original Proposal - Austerity: The History of a Dangerous Idea - Oct 9th
- ↳ Participant Comments - Austerity: The History of a Dangerous Idea - Oct 9th
- ↳ Reference Materials - Austerity: The History of a Dangerous Idea - Oct 9th
- ↳ CALL TO ACTION - SIX-DEGREES-OF-SEPARATION E-MAIL CAMPAIGN TO PRESIDENT OBAMA REGARDING THE DEVELOPMENT OF THORIUM AS THE GREEN ENERGY SOURCE FOR THE FUTURE WHICH WILL, INTER ALIA, SOLVE OCEANIC ACIDIFICATION
- ↳ CALL TO ACTION - SIX-DEGREES-OF-SEPARATION E-MAIL CAMPAIGN TO PRESIDENT OBAMA REGARDING THE ENFORCEMENT OF OCEAN CONSERVATION
- ↳ Discussion Outline - Oceana by Ted Danson - Sep 11
- ↳ Original Proposal - Oceana by Ted Danson - Sep 11
- ↳ Participant Comments - Oceana by Ted Danson - Sep 11
- ↳ Reference Materials - Oceana by Ted Danson - Sep 11
- ↳ Discussion Outline - Our Current House-Of-Cards National Banking System - Aug 14
- ↳ Original Proposal - Our Current House-Of-Cards National Banking System - Aug 14
- ↳ Participant Comments - Our Current House-Of-Cards National Banking System - Aug 14
- ↳ ELLEN BIRRELL & JIM HUTCHINS – RSVP’S FOR AUG 14
- ↳ Reference Materials - Our Current House-Of-Cards National Banking System - Aug 14
- ↳ Discussion Outline - The Thistle and The Drone - July 10th
- ↳ Original Proposal - The Thistle and The Drone - July 10th
- ↳ Participant Comments - The Thistle and The Drone - July 10th
- ↳ Reference Materials - The Thistle and The Drone - July 10th
- ↳ Meeting Cancellation - The New Digital Age by Google's Eric Schmidt & Jared Cohen - June 12th
- ↳ Original Proposal - The New Digital Age by Google's Eric Schmidt & Jared Cohen - June 12th
- ↳ Participant Comments - The New Digital Age by Google's Eric Schmidt & Jared Cohen - June 12th
- ↳ Reference Materials - The New Digital Age by Google's Eric Schmidt & Jared Cohen - June 12th
- ↳ Discussion Outline - Federal Bailouts of Illinois and Detroit, Etc., Etc., Etc. - May 8th
- ↳ Original Proposal - Federal Bailouts of Illinois and Detroit, Etc., Etc., Etc. - May 8th
- ↳ Participant Comments - Federal Bailouts of Illinois and Detroit, Etc., Etc., Etc. – May 8th
- ↳ Discussion Outline - Salt-Sugar-Fat: How The Food Giants Hooked Us – April 10th
- ↳ Reference Materials - Federal Bailouts of Illinois and Detroit, Etc., Etc., Etc. – May 8th
- ↳ Original Proposal - Salt-Sugar-Fat: How The Food Giants Hooked Us – April 10th
- ↳ Participant Comments – Salt-Sugar-Fat: How The Food Giants Hooked Us – April 10th
- ↳ Reference Materials – Salt-Sugar-Fat: How The Food Giants Hooked Us – April 10th
- ↳ UNOFFICIAL SIX-DEGREES-OF-SEPARATION E-MAIL CAMPAIGN TO PRESIDENT OBAMA REGARDING ANNUAL DEFICITS AND ACCUMULATED DEBT
- ↳ Discussion Outline - How To Regain America's Competitive Edge And Boost Our Global Standing - March 13th
- ↳ Original Proposal – How To Regain America’s Competitive Edge And Boost Our Global Standing – March 13th
- ↳ Participant Comments - How To Regain America’s Competitive Edge And Boost Our Global Standing – March 13th
- ↳ Reference Materials - How To Regain America’s Competitive Edge And Boost Our Global Standing – March 13th
- ↳ Discussion Outline - John Brennan's Nomination To Head The CIA - Feb 6th
- ↳ Original Proposal - John Brennan's Nomination To Head The CIA - Feb 6th
- ↳ Participant Comments - John Brennan's Nomination To Head The CIA - Feb 6th
- ↳ Reference Materials - John Brennan's Nomination To Head The CIA - Feb 6th
- ↳ Discussion Outline - Assisted Suicide - Jan 9th
- ↳ Original Proposal - Assisted Suicide - Jan 9th
- ↳ Participant Comments - Assisted Suicide - Jan 9th
- ↳ Reference Materials - Assisted Suicide - Jan 9th
- ↳ Discussion Outline - It's Even Worse Than It Looks by Mann + Ornstein - Dec 12th
- ↳ Original Proposal - It's Even Worse Than It Looks By Mann + Ornstein - Dec 12th
- ↳ Participant Comments - It's Even Worse Than It Looks By Mann + Ornstein - Dec 12th
- ↳ Reference Materials - It's Even Worse Than It Looks By Mann + Ornstein - Dec 12th
- ↳ SIX-DEGREES-OF-SEPARATION E-MAIL CAMPAIGN TO PRINCETON ECONOMICS NOBEL-LAUREATE PROF. AND NY TIMES OP-ED COLUMNIST PAUL KRUGMAN – YOUR HELP DESPERATELY NEEDED TO AVERT ANOTHER ECONOMIC MELTDOWN - ONLY 5 MINUTES NEEDED TO PARTICIPATE
- ↳ Discussion Outline - The Price of Inequality - Nov. 14th
- ↳ Original Proposal - The Price of Inequality - November 14th
- ↳ Participant Comments - The Price of Inequality - November 14th
- ↳ Reference Materials - The Price of Inequality - November 14th
- ↳ SIX-DEGREES-OF-SEPARATION E-MAIL CAMPAIGN TO D.O.E. SECRETARY CHU – R&D FOR THORIUM, THE GREEN ENERGY SOURCE FOR THE FUTURE - ONLY 5 MINUTES NEEDED TO PARTICIPATE
- ↳ Discussion Outline - Thorium: The Green Energy Source For The Future – October 10th
- ↳ Original Proposal – Thorium: The Green Energy Source For The Future – October 10th
- ↳ Participant Comments - Thorium: The Green Energy Source For The Future – October 10th
- ↳ SIX-DEGREES-OF-SEPARATION E-MAIL CAMPAIGN FOR PROSECUTION OF BILL AND MELINDA GATES AT THE INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT FOR "CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY" (only 5 minutes needed to participate)
- ↳ Reference Materials - Thorium: The Green Energy Source For The Future – October 10th
- ↳ Discussion Outline – DOES CALLING A RATTLESNAKE A CANARY SOLVE THE PROBLEM IF THE “CANARY” BITES YOU??? – September 12th
- ↳ Original Proposal - Gates Foundation Crimes Against US Education Policy – September 12th
- ↳ Reference Materials - Gates Foundation Crimes Against US Education Policy – September 12th
- ↳ Participant Comments - Gates Foundation Crimes Against US Education Policy – September 12th
- ↳ Discussion Outline - Winner-Take-All-Politics – August 8th
- ↳ Original Proposal – Winner-Take-All-Politics – August 8th
- ↳ Participant Comments – Winner-Take-All-Politics – August 8th
- ↳ Reference Materials – Winner-Take-All-Politics – August 8th
- ↳ Discussion Outline - Gates Foundation's "Crimes Against Humanity" - July 11th
- ↳ Original Proposal - Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman - July 11th
- ↳ Participant Comments - Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman - July 11th
- ↳ Reference Materials - Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman - July 11th
- ↳ Discussion Outline - How Invisible Policies Undermine American Democracy - June 13th
- ↳ Original Proposal - How Invisible Governmental Policies Undermine American Democracy - June 13th
- ↳ Participant Comments - How Invisible Governmental Policies Undermine American Democracy - June 13th
- ↳ Discussion Outline -- Merchants of Doubt -- May 9th
- ↳ Reference Materials - How Invisible Governmental Policies Undermine American Democracy - June 13th
- ↳ Participant Comments -- Merchants of Doubt -- May 9th
- ↳ Original Proposal -- Merchants of Doubt -- May 9th
- ↳ Reference Materials - Merchants of Doubt - May 9th
- ↳ Discussion Outline -- The Gardens of Democracy: A New American Story of Citizenship, the Economy, and the Role of Government -- April 11th
- ↳ Original Proposal -- The Gardens of Democracy: A New American Story of Citizenship, the Economy, and the Role of Government -- April 11th
- ↳ Participant Comments -- The Gardens of Democracy: A New American Story of Citizenship, the Economy, and the Role of Government -- April 11th
- ↳ Reference Materials -- The Gardens of Democracy: A New American Story of Citizenship, the Economy, and the Role of Government -- April 11th
- ↳ Discussion Outline - Insight Into Life In North Korea - The Orphan Master's Son by Prof. Adam Johnson - March 14th
- ↳ Original Proposal - Insight Into Life In North Korea - The Orphan Master's Son by Prof. Adam Johnson - March 14th
- ↳ Participant Comments - Insight Into Life In North Korea - The Orphan Master's Son by Prof. Adam Johnson - March 14th
- ↳ Reference Materials - Insight Into Life In North Korea - The Orphan Master's Son by Prof. Adam Johnson - March 14th
- ↳ Discussion Outline – Real Politik (aka National Interest) and Libya vs. Iran -- Feb 8th
- ↳ Original Proposal -- Real Politik (aka National Interest) and Libya vs. Iran -- Feb 8th
- ↳ Participant Comments -- Real Politik (aka National Interest) and Libya vs. Iran -- Feb 8th
- ↳ Reference Materials -- Real Politik (aka National Interest) and Libya vs. Iran -- Feb 8th
- ↳ Discussion Outline - All The Devils Are Here: The Hidden History Of The Financial Crisis - Jan 11th
- ↳ Original Proposal - All The Devils Are Here: The Hidden History Of The Financial Crisis - Jan11
- ↳ Participant Comments - All The Devils Are Here: The Hidden History Of The Financial Crisis - Jan 11
- ↳ Reference Materials - All The Devils Are Here: The Hidden History Of The Financial Crisis - Jan 11
- ↳ CALL TO ACTION -- "SIX-DEGREES-OF-SEPARATION" E-MAIL CAMPAIGN = TRillions Being Printed To Bail Out Foreign Banks and Governments -- (ONLY 5 MINUTES NEEDED TO PARTICIPATE)
- ↳ Discussion Outline - Balanced-Budget Amendments & Redeeming National Debt With “Wallpaper” In Both Europe and the U.S. - December 14th
- ↳ Original Proposal - Balanced-Budget Amendments & Redeeming National Debt With “Wallpaper” In Both Europe and the U.S. - December 14th
- ↳ Participant Comments - Balanced-Budget Amendments & Redeeming National Debt With “Wallpaper” In Both Europe and the U.S. - December 14th
- ↳ Reference Materials - Balanced-Budget Amendments & Redeeming National Debt With “Wallpaper” In Both Europe and the U.S. - December 14th
- ↳ CALL TO ACTION -- "SIX-DEGREES-OF-SEPARATION" E-MAIL CAMPAIGN = Benefiting American Taxpayers For The Scientific Discoveries Of Basic Research They Have Financed -- (ONLY 5 MINUTES NEEDED TO PARTICIPATE)
- ↳ Discussion Outline - That Used To Be Us By Thomas Friedman - Nov 9th
- ↳ Participant Comments - That Used To Be Us By Thomas Friedman - Nov 9th
- ↳ Original Proposal - That Used To Be Us By Thomas Friedman - Nov 9th
- ↳ Reference Materials - That Used To Be Us By Thomas Friedman - Nov 9th
- ↳ Discussion Outline - Can The Middle Class Be Saved - Oct 12th
- ↳ Original Proposal - Can The Middle Class Be Saved? - Oct 12th
- ↳ Participant Comments - Can The Middle Class Be Saved - Oct 12th
- ↳ Reference Materials - Can The Middle Class Be Saved? - Oct 12th
- ↳ Suggested Discussion Outline - Even Silence Has An End by Ingrid Betencourt - Sep 14th
- ↳ Original Proposal - Even Silence Has An End by Ingrid Betencourt - Sep 14th
- ↳ Participant Comments - Even Silence Has An End by Ingrid Betancourt - Sep 14th
- ↳ Reference Materials - Even Silence Has An End by Ingrid Betancourt - Sep 14th
- ↳ Discussion Outline - Blood Brothers by Elias Chacour - August 10th
- ↳ Original Proposal – Blood Brothers by Elias Chacour – August 10th
- ↳ Participant Comments - Blood Brothers by Elias Chacour - August 10th
- ↳ Reference Materials - Blood Brothers by Elias Chacour - August 10th
- ↳ Discussion Outline - America's Climate Problem, The Way Forward - July 13th
- ↳ Original Proposal - America's Climate Problem, The Way Forward - July 13th
- ↳ Participant Comments - America's Climate Problem, The Way Forward - July 13th
- ↳ Reference Materials - America's Climate Problem, The Way Forward - July 13th
- ↳ Post-Meeting Discussion - Monsoon: The Indian Ocean and the Future of American Power - June 15th
- ↳ Discussion Outline - Monsoon: The Indian Ocean and the Future of American Power - June 15th
- ↳ Original Proposal - Monsoon: The Indian Ocean and the Future of American Power - June 15th
- ↳ DO-IT-YOURSELF SIX-DEGREES-OF-SEPARATION-E-MAIL-CAMPAIGN = Insuring The Survival Of The Democratic Party Following A Nuclear Attack On The U.S. By Terrorists - ONLY-5-MINUTES-REQUIRED-TO-PARTICIPATE
- ↳ Participant Comments - Monsoon: The Indian Ocean and the Future of American Power - June 15th
- ↳ Reference Materials - Monsoon: The Indian Ocean and the Future of American Power - June 15th
- ↳ SIX-DEGREES-OF-SEPARATION-E-MAIL-CAMPAIGNS = Taxing-Corporate-Profits-From-Exporting-American-Jobs + Benefitting-American-Taxpayers-For-The-Scientific-Discoveries-Of-Basic-Research-They-Have-Financed - ONLY-5-MINUTES-REQUIRED-TO-PARTICIPATE
- ↳ Discussion Outline - Debtor Nation: The History Of America In Red Ink - May 11th
- ↳ Original Proposal - Debtor Nation: The History Of America In Red Ink - for May 11th
- ↳ Participant Comments - Debtor Nation: The History Of America In Red Ink - for May 11th
- ↳ Reference Materials - Debtor Nation: The History of America in Red Ink - for May 11th
- ↳ DO-IT-YOURSELF SIX-DEGREES-OF-SEPARATION E-MAIL CAMPAIGN – Apr.13th
- ↳ Discussion Outline - President Obama’s Nuclear Stand Post-Japan - April 13th
- ↳ Participant Comments - President Obama’s Nuclear Stand Post-Japan - April 13th
- ↳ Original Proposal - President Obama’s Nuclear Stand Post-Japan - April 13th
- ↳ Reference Materials - President Obama’s Nuclear Stand Post-Japan - April 13th
- ↳ Discussion Outline - Religious Freedom And National Security - Mar 16th
- ↳ Original Proposal - Religious Freedom And National Security - Mar 16th
- ↳ Participant Comments - Religious Freedom And National Security - Mar 16th
- ↳ Reference Materials - Religious Freedom And National Security - Mar 16th
- ↳ DO-IT-YOURSELF SIX-DEGREES-OF-SEPARATION E-MAIL CAMPAIGN – Feb 9th
- ↳ Discussion Outline - Reports By Two Deficit-Reduction Commissions - Feb 9
- ↳ Original Proposal - Reports By Two Deficit-Reduction Commissions - Feb 9
- ↳ Participant Comments - Reports By Two Deficit-Reduction Commissions - Feb 9
- ↳ Reference Materials - Reports By Two Deficit-Reduction Commissions - Feb 9
- ↳ Discussion Outline - Making Our Democracy Work by US Supreme Ct Justice Stephen Breyer - Jan 12th
- ↳ Original Proposal - Making Our Democracy Work by US Supreme Ct Justice Stephen Breyer - Jan 12th
- ↳ Post-Meeting Participant Comments - Making Our Democracy Work by US Supreme Ct Justice Stephen Breyer - Jan 12th
- ↳ Participant Comments - Making Our Democracy Work by US Supreme Ct Justice Stephen Breyer - Jan 12th
- ↳ Reference Materials - Making Our Democracy Work by US Supreme Ct Justice Stephen Breyer - Jan 12th
- ↳ Discussion Outline - The US Gov's "Kill List" To Assassinate US Citizens in Yemen - Dec 15th
- ↳ Original Proposal - The US Gov's "Kill List" To Assassinate US Citizens in Yemen - Dec 15th
- ↳ Participant Comments - The US Gov's "Kill List" To Assassinate US Citizens in Yemen - Dec 15th
- ↳ Reference Materials - The US Gov's "Kill List" To Assassinate US Citizens in Yemen - Dec 15th
- ↳ Unofficial Six-Degrees-Of-Separation E-mail Campaign - Obama's Wars - Nov. 10th
- ↳ Original Proposal - Obama's Wars by Bob Woodward - Nov 10th
- ↳ Participant Comments - Obama's Wars by Bob Woodward - Nov 10th
- ↳ Reference Materials - Obama's Wars by Bob Woodward - Nov. 10th
- ↳ Discussion Outline -- Murder City – What Does Juarez say about our future? -- Oct 13th
- ↳ Original Proposal - MurderCity - What does Juarez say about our future? - Oct 13th
- ↳ Participant Comments - MurderCity: What does Juarez say about our future? - Oct 13th
- ↳ Reference Materials - MurderCity: What does Juarez say about our future? - Oct 13th
- ↳ Discussion Outline - - The Big Sort: Why The Clustering Of Like-Minded America Is Tearing Us Apart - Sep. 15th
- ↳ Original Proposal - The Big Sort: Why The Clustering Of Like-Minded America Is Tearing Us Apart - Sep. 15th
- ↳ Participant Comments - The Big Sort: Why The Clustering Of Like-Minded America Is Tearing Us Apart - Sep. 15th
- ↳ Reference Materials - The Big Sort: Why The Clustering Of Like-Minded America Is Tearing Us Apart - Sep. 15th
- ↳ Suggested Discussion Outline - Greg Mortenson's Stones Into Schools: Promoting Peace With Books, Not Bombs, In Afghanistan and Pakistan - August 11th
- ↳ Original Proposal - Greg Mortenson's Stones Into Schools: Promoting Peace With Books, Not Bombs, In Afghanistan and Pakistan - August 11th
- ↳ Participant Comments - Greg Mortenson's Stones Into Schools: Promoting Peace With Books, Not Bombs, In Afghanistan and Pakistan - August 11th
- ↳ Reference Materials - Greg Mortenson's Stones Into Schools: Promoting Peace With Books, Not Bombs, In Afghanistan and Pakistan - August 11th
- ↳ Suggested Discussion Outline - The Broken Branch: How Congress Is Failing America And How To Get It Back - July 14th
- ↳ Original Proposal - The Broken Branch: How Congress Is Failing America And How To Get It Back - July 14th
- ↳ Participant Comments - "The Broken Branch: How Congress Is Failing America And How To Get It Back" - July 14th
- ↳ Reference Materials - The Broken Branch: How Congress Is Failing America and How To Get It Back - July 14th
- ↳ Suggested Discussion Outline - Arizona's New Immigration Law - June 9th
- ↳ Original Proposal - Arizona's New Immigration Law - June 9th
- ↳ Participant Comments - Arizona's New Immigration Law - June 9th
- ↳ Reference Materials - Arizona's New Immigration Law - June 9th
- ↳ Meeting Cancellation - After Iran Gets The Bomb (Foreign Affairs Magazine Lead Article) - May 12th
- ↳ Original Proposal - After Iran Gets The Bomb (Foreign Affairs Magazine Lead Article) - May 12th
- ↳ Participant Comments - After Iran Gets The Bomb (Foreign Affairs Magazine Lead Article) - May 12th
- ↳ Suggested Discussion Outline - "The Shock Doctrine: Rise of Disaster Capitalism" - April 14
- ↳ Reference Materials - After Iran Gets The Bomb (Foreign Affairs Magazine Lead Article) - May 12th
- ↳ Original Proposal - The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism - April 14
- ↳ Participant Comments - "The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism" - April 14
- ↳ Reference Materials - The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism - April 14
- ↳ “SIX-DEGREES-OF-SEPARATION” CALL TO ACTION = The Supreme Court’s Recent Corporate-Campaign-Contribution Decision - (ONLY 5 MINUTES NEEDED TO PARTICIPATE)
- ↳ Suggested Discussion Outline - US Supreme Court 1/21/2010 Decision on Campaign Contributions by Corporations - March 10
- ↳ Original Proposal - U.S. Supreme Court 1/21/2010 Decision on Campaign Contributions by Corporations - March 10
- ↳ Participant Comments - U.S. Supreme Court 1/21/2010 Decision on Campaign Contributions by Corporations - March 10
- ↳ Reference Materials - U.S. Supreme Court 1/21/2010 Decision on Campaign Contributions by Corporations - March 10
- ↳ Suggested Discussion Outline - When China Rules The World - Feb 10th
- ↳ Original Proposal - Martin Jacques' "When China Rules The World" - Feb. 10th
- ↳ Reference Mats + Participant Comments - When China Rules the World - Feb 10th -- including Suggested Answers to the Short Quiz and the NY Times Book Review on "When China Rules The World"
- ↳ “SIX-DEGREES-OF-SEPARATION” CALL TO ACTION = The ONLY Way To Transform The Prevailing SINGLE-DIGIT Inner-City High School Graduation Rates to 65%-70% And Beyond - (ONLY 5 MINUTES NEEDED TO PARTICIPATE)
- ↳ Suggested Discussion Outline - Oprah Winfrey's "Precious" - Jan. 13th
- ↳ Original Proposal - Continuing Our Oprah Tradition With "Precious" – Jan 13th
- ↳ Participant Comments and Reference Materials - Continuing Our Oprah Tradition With “Precious” – Jan 13th
- ↳ “SIX-DEGREES-OF-SEPARATION” CALL TO ACTION = Eliminating Unemployment With A “National Security Work Force” (ONLY 5 MINUTES NEEDED TO PARTICIPATE)
- ↳ Original Proposal - Dorothy Kearns Goodwin's Pulitzer-Prize Winning "No Ordinary Time: Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt: The Home Front in World War II" - Dec. 9
- ↳ Participant Comments and Reference Materials - Dorothy Kearns Goodwin's Pulitzer-Prize Winning "No Ordinary Time: Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt: The Home Front in World War II" - Dec. 9
- ↳ "SIX DEGREES OF SEPARATION" CALL TO ACTION - General Motors & the EPA Perpetrating Fraud Re the Chevrolet Volt (ONLY 5 MINUTES NEEDED TO PARTICIPATE)
- ↳ Original Proposal - General Motors + the EPA Perpetrating Fraud Re the Chevrolet Volt - Nov 18
- ↳ Participant Comments - General Motors and the EPA Perpetrating Fraud Re the Chevrolet Volt - Nov 18
- ↳ Reference Materials – General Motors and the EPA Perpetrating Fraud Re the Chevrolet Volt – Nov 18
- ↳ CALL TO ACTION - "American Policy Toward Palestinians = The Key to Middle-East Peace" - ONLY 5 MINUTES NEEDED TO PARTICIPATE
- ↳ Original Proposal - American Policy Toward Israel - Oct 14th
- ↳ Participant Comments - American Policy Toward Israel - Oct 14th
- ↳ Reference Materials - American Policy Toward Israel - Oct 14th
- ↳ Suggested Discussion Outline - Health Care/Insurance Reform - Sep. 9th
- ↳ Bill Lee's Original Proposal - Health-Care (or Health-Insurance) Reform - Sep 9th
- ↳ Participant Comments - Health-Care (Health-Insurance) Reform - Sep 9th
- ↳ Reference Materials - Health-Care (Health-Insurance) Reform - Sep 9th
- ↳ Original Proposal - Three Cups of Tea - August 12th
- ↳ Participant Comments - "Three Cups of Tea" - Aug. 12th
- ↳ Suggested Discussion Outline - How to Change The World - July 8th
- ↳ Original Proposal - How To Change The World - July 8th
- ↳ Participant Comments - How To Change The World - July 8th
- ↳ Original Proposal - Come Home America - June 10
- ↳ Suggested Discussion Outline - Come Home America - June 10
- ↳ Reference Materials - How To Change The World - July 8th
- ↳ Participant Comments - Come Home America - June 10
- ↳ CALL TO ACTION - The ONLY Way To Transform SINGLE-DIGIT Inner-City High School Graduation Rates to 65%-70% - Only 5 Minutes Needed to Answer the Call to Action
- ↳ The Banking Imbroglio - Come Home America - June 10
- ↳ Reference Materials - Come Home America - June 10
- ↳ Suggested Discussion Outline - A Report Card for U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan - May 13
- ↳ Original Proposal - A Report Card for US Education Secretary Arne Duncan - May 13
- ↳ Participant Comments - A Report Card for US Education Secretary Arne Duncan - May 13
- ↳ Reference Materials - A Report Card for US Education Secretary Arne Duncan - May 13
- ↳ CALL TO ACTION – Human Intelligence vs. Surging in Afghanistan From 17,000 U.S. Troops to 70,000 and Beyond
- ↳ Suggested Discussion Outline - Afghanistan, President Obama's Vietnam and Pakistan, His Cambodia - April 8
- ↳ Original Proposal - Afghanistan, Pres. Obama's Vietnam and Pakistan, His Cambodia - April 8
- ↳ Participant Comments - Afghanistan, Pres. Obama's Vietnam and Pakistan, His Cambodia - April 8
- ↳ Suggested Discussion Outline - How Should Pres. Obama Reform Health Care - March 11
- ↳ Reference Materials - Afghanistan, Pres. Obama's Vietnam and Pakistan, His Cambodia - April 8
- ↳ Original Proposal - How Should Pres. Obama Reform Health Care - March 11
- ↳ Suggested Discussion Outline - Saving the Democratic Party from Extinction: Foreign Policy - Feb. 11
- ↳ Participant Comments - How Should Pres. Obama Reform Health Care - March 11
- ↳ Feb. 11 Topic = Saving the Democratic Party from Extinction - Foreign Policy
- ↳ Report of the 2007 Democratic Congress' Commission on the Prevention of WMD Proliferation and Terrorism - Feb. 11
- ↳ Participant Comments - Saving the Democratic Party from Extinction/Foreign Policy - Feb. 11
- ↳ Other Background Mats - Saving the Democratic Party from Extinction/Foreign Policy - Feb. 11
- ↳ Suggested Discussion Outline - Leaving Children Behind - Jan. 14
- ↳ CALL TO ACTION - Separate BUT UNEQUAL Public Schools
- ↳ January 14th Topic = Leaving Children Behind
- ↳ Background Mats + Participant Comments - Leaving Children Behind - Jan. 14
- ↳ Suggested Discussion Outline - "It's The Economy, Stupid" - Dec. 10th
- ↳ Text - 2007 Supreme Court Reversal of School Integration - Leaving Children Behind - Jan. 14
- ↳ Participant Comments - "It's The Economy, Stupid" - Dec. 10th
- ↳ December 10th Meeting = "It's The Economy, Stupid"
- ↳ Suggested Discussion Outline - Al Gore's Challenge to America - Nov. 12
- ↳ Reference Materials - "It's The Economy, Stupid" - Dec. 10th
- ↳ CALL TO ACTION - Al Gore's 10-Year Challenge to America
- ↳ Participant Comments - Al Gore's Challenge to America - for Nov. 12
- ↳ Additional Ref Materials - Al Gore's Challenge to America - for Nov. 12
- ↳ Text of Al Gore's July 17th Challenge To Re-Power America's Electricity Grid Within 10 Years - For Nov. 12
- ↳ To Go "Beyond The Call of Duty" - Info About Three Background Books - For Nov. 12
- ↳ Suggested Discussion Outline - Team of Rivals - Oct. 8
- ↳ Suggested Discussion Outline - Barack Obama's Bible - Sep 10
- ↳ Participant Comments - "Team of Rivals - Oct 8
- ↳ Participant Comments - "Barack Obama's Bible = Rules for Radicals" - Sep 10
- ↳ Ref Mats - "Barack Obama's Bible = Rules for Radicals" - Sep 10
- ↳ Suggested Discussion Outline - Aug 13
- ↳ Comments of Participants - Obama From Promise to Power - Aug 13
- ↳ Reference Mats - Obama From Promise to Power - Aug 13
- ↳ Suggested Discussion Outline - Everything About Oil - July 9th
- ↳ Comments of Participants - Everything About Oil - July 9th
- ↳ Reference Materials - Everything About Oil - July 9th
- ↳ Tim Russert Eulogies
- ↳ A Fine Mess: A Global Quest for a Simpler, Fairer, and More Efficient Tax System by T.R. Reid – Oct 4
- ↳ Reference Materials – Revisiting The Issue Of Charter Schools: Stanford University vs. Stanford’s Hoover Institution – Oct 13
- ↳ Original Proposal - Blood Money: Why the Powerful Turn a Blind Eye While China Kills Americans by Peter Schweizer - April 17
- ↳ July Meeting - Possible Topics (historical)
- ↳ Suggested Discussion Outline - "Infidel" - June 11
- ↳ “Infidel” by Ayaan Hirsi Ali – for June 11
- ↳ Comments of Participants - "Infidel" - June 11th
- ↳ Suggested Discussion Outline - Bush's Law - May 14
- ↳ Reference Materials - "Infidel" - June 11th
- ↳ Eric Lichtblau's “Bush’s Law: The Remaking of American Justice” – May 14
- ↳ Participant Comments - "Bush's Law" - May 14
- ↳ Reference Materials - "Bush's Law" - May 14
- ↳ Suggested Discussion Outline - Apr 9th
- ↳ Clone Rights: Involuntary Soldiers, Sex Slaves, Human "Lab Rats" Etc. - Apr 9
- ↳ Participant Comments/Ref Mats - Clone Rights for Apr 9
- ↳ Suggested Discussion Outline - Mar 13
- ↳ Critiques of Benezir Bhutto’s “Reconciliation: Islam, Democracy and the West” - Mar 13th
- ↳ Benazir Bhutto's "Reconciliation: Islam, Democracy and the West" - for Mar. 13
- ↳ Comments of Participants - Mar. 13
- ↳ Background Materials - Mar. 13
- ↳ DRINKing Liberally Presentation - Fri Eve Feb 29
- ↳ Suggested Discussion Outline - Feb 14th
- ↳ Proposed Solution to The Cesspool that is Washington DC - for Feb 14
- ↳ "The Best Gov Money Can Buy: Bribery and Extortion" - Text of Original Proposal for Feb 14
- ↳ Participant Comments - The Best Gov Money Can Buy: Bribery & Extortion - Feb 14th
- ↳ Illegal “Bribe” vs. “Legal” Campaign Contribution - Feb 14th
- ↳ Suggested Discussion Outline - Jan 10th
- ↳ Background Mats - The Best Gov Money Can Buy: Bribery & Extortion - Feb 14th
- ↳ Illegal Immigration = Topic for Jan 10th
- ↳ Participant Comments on Immigration - Jan 10th
- ↳ Leading Dem Candidates on Immigration - Jan 10
- ↳ Leading Rep Candidates on Immigration - Jan 10
- ↳ Reference Materials - Immigration - Jan 10
- ↳ Call to Action - Meeting Report for Dec 13th
- ↳ Suggested Discussion Outline - Dec 13th
- ↳ Hillary's Bashing Bush as "Soft on Iran" - for Dec 13
- ↳ Is War With Iran Inevitable??? - Topic for Dec 13
- ↳ Action v. Deterrance (+ Detente) - for Dec 13
- ↳ Bombing Syria 9/6/2007 Re Iran & N Korea - for Dec 13
- ↳ Participant Comments Re War With Iran - for Dec 13
- ↳ Suggested Discussion Outline - Nov 8th
- ↳ Ref Mats - Osama's Fatwa To Nuke 10 Million Americans - Dec 13
- ↳ The Controversy That Is Bill Cosby for Nov 8th
- ↳ The KKK - "All The Best People In Society Belonged" - for Nov. 8th
- ↳ Participant Comments - School Integration & The Jena Six - for Nov 8th
- ↳ Background Mats - School Integration & The Jena Six - for Nov 8th
- ↳ Suggested Discussion Outline - Oct 11th
- ↳ Participant Comments Re Global Warming for Oct 11th
- ↳ Suggested Background Materials Re Global Warming for Oct 11th
- ↳ Suggested Discussion Outline - Sep 6th
- ↳ Suggested Discussion Outline - Aug 2d
- ↳ Comments of Participants - Universal Health Care for Aug 2nd
- ↳ Suggested Background Materials on Universal Health Care for Aug. 2d
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