Humanist Forums

link to our entire video library (started Nov 2009)

blurbs for 2012 Forums

Jan 1: There will be no Forum today.

Jan 8: Police Oversight: A View from San Jose’s Independent Police Auditor
Retired Judge LaDoris Cordell will describe her unique work as the Independent Police Auditor for the City of San Jose. Judge Cordell, in addition to serving on the bench for 19 years (where she was the first African American woman to hold that position), also served for 8 years as Special Counselor to the President for Campus Relations at Stanford, has been an on-camera legal analyst for CBS-5 television and Court TV, and was elected to the Palo Alto City Council.
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Jan 15: Money: Understanding the US Monetary System and the Present Financial State of our Economy
Humanist Community member Martin Squibbs will recap (from his Nov. 13, 2011 Forum talk) his discussion of money as a measure of exchanged human value and an estimate of real wealth. He will then seek to explain as simply as possible how the U.S. economy operates, based upon its fiat banking system, and review some of its 20th century history, in order to put its highly unbalanced state today in an historical perspective. Finally, he will consider the possible future paths it may follow to regain its balance, and some precautions we may ourselves consider in order to be prepared for such possibilities. Slides for this Forum
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Jan 22: SAFE California: The Campaign to Replace the Death Penalty
Ashley Morris of the SAFE California Campaign will speak on the SAFE California Act, a California State Initiative that would replace California’s dysfunctional death penalty with life without the possibility of parole, saving $1 billion over the next five years. SAFE CA creates the SAFE California Fund which invests $100 million of the savings into the budgets of local law enforcement in order to solve more rape and murder cases. As long as we have the death penalty, we will always risk executing an innocent person. For example, experts now say that Cameron Todd Willingham was innocent when he was executed for a fire that killed his three children, and in California this past March, Franky Carrillo, age 37, was freed from prison after 20 years of incarceration for a crime he did not commit. (See http://www.safecalifornia.org/)
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Jan 29: The Humanist Community Board Meets the Membership
Members of the Humanist Community Board of Directors will discuss their work with the Board, and will take part in a Q&A and discussion with audience members about the future of the Humanist Community.

Feb 5: The Evolutionary Pageant - What Miss USA Can Teach Us About Evolution
Josh Rosenau, a Public Information Project Director at the National Center for Science Education (NCSE) since 2007 will discuss the answers Miss USA contestants gave when asked for their views on evolution education. Josh is a Doctoral candidate, University of Kansas (Ecology and Evolutionary Biology), and works with grassroots groups from Florida to Texas, testifying before school boards, meeting with legislators, and speaking with journalists across the country. (See www.ncse.com) (This will be our only offering related to Darwin Day this year.)
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Feb 12: Move to Amend
David Cobb, the 2004 presidential candidate of the Green Party, will discuss the Move to Amend movement (see www.movetoamend.org), whose credo is: We, the People of the United States of America, reject the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in Citizens United, and move to amend our Constitution to firmly establish that money is not speech, and that human beings, not corporations, are persons entitled to constitutional rights. The Supreme Court is misguided in principle, and wrong on the law. In a democracy, the people rule. We Move to Amend.
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Feb 19: Cool Cuisine - Feed Your Body, Mind and Planet
Foods best for the health of our people are also best for the health of our planet. True or false? Why does it matter? And why should food-lovers especially take notice? Based on the book, Cool Cuisine - Taking the Bite Out of Global Warming, and a partnership between Harvard University and the Culinary Institute of America, Chef and author Laura Stec looks at how the four most common dietary habits which negatively affect human health (being overweight and eating too much sodium, simple carbohydrates, and red meat) are also ruining the health of our environment. She addresses how agricultural practices can enhance or destroy the taste and nutrient-quality of food, and what motivates eaters (especially youth) to make healthy changes to their diet. (See www.laurastec.com)

Feb 26: Forgiveness
Dr. Fred Luskin is an international authority on forgiveness. His research demonstrates that learning forgiveness leads to increased physical vitality, hope, greater self efficacy, enhanced optimism, and conflict resolution skills. Forgiveness also reduces stress, hurt, anger, depression, and blood pressure. Dr. Luskin has written three books on forgiveness, is Director of the Stanford University Forgiveness Projects, and is Associate Professor at the Institute of Transpersonal Psychology. (See www.learningtoforgive.com)

Mar 4: Yet Another War? Iran in the Crosshairs
After a decade of war in the Middle East — wars that have cost the lives of thousands, and over a trillion dollars, wars that have left two foreign countries in shambles and our own flat broke — the drumbeats for yet another war in the region are beginning to syncopate our news. This time it’s Iran that finds itself in the crosshairs. While the U. S. imposes crippling sanctions on Iran and moves massive firepower into the Persian Gulf, someone is assassinating Iran’s nuclear scientists and sabotaging its facilities. In response, Iran has vowed to choke off one of the world’s critical oil supply routes. What are the possibilities of war with Iran? What are the likely consequences? And why on earth are we even thinking about another war right now? Paul George, Director of the Peninsula Peace and Justice Center, will discuss these issues.

Mar 11: Arthur M. Jackson’s Book How to Live the Good Life
Arthur M. Jackson, longtime Humanist Community member and leader, will for the first time provide a PowerPoint presentation about his book How to Live the Good Life: A User’s Guide for Modern Humans. This book is the result of over fifty years of struggle to find a naturalistic model for ethics and morality able to provide existential and emotional support to the individual. He was looking for a fundamental understanding of life and the world in which we find ourselves, based on the science paradigm rather than tradition, authority, or cultural relativism. He proposes that this has led him to a science of religion and ethics capable of supporting a religion of wisdom.

Mar 18: Thorium Nuclear Power
Dr. Alex Cannara will review the three key reasons for nuclear power, summarize key reactor design choices, and discuss (a) why Thorium is important, (b) key legislation being drafted, and (c) what citizens & groups can do. Dr. Cannara has years of experience as an engineer and professor, and is the lead developer of a proposal on safe nuclear power for the 2011 MIT CoLab Competition now being judged.

Mar 25: Counting votes — Which Flawed System Do You Prefer?
The elections in San Francisco last fall highlighted once again the thorny issue of how votes are counted, with the poll results being counted on that occasion using the ranked-choice system. Is that the best method? On the face of it, you’d expect mathematics to provide the answer, as it does on so many occasions. Unfortunately, when it comes to the democratic process, the one thing mathematicians are sure of is there is no perfect method. Dr. Keith Devlin, Executive Director, H-STAR Institute, Stanford University, and "the Math Guy" on National Public Radio, will explain some of the flaws of all the systems.

Apr 1: World Peace Education Project
Many diverse ideas related to the goal of world peace and security, free of nuclear weapons, have been proposed in numerous books and articles. But what ideas have national governments already agreed to? And what progress have they made so far? Using information from the United Nations and national governments related to this goal, Humanists Tim Lee, Dianne Jacobsen, Sena Havasy, Alex Havasy and Bob Gauntt will discuss the World Peace Education Project (founded by Bob in 2010 — see www.WorldPeaceEd.org) aimed at increasing public awareness of these issues.

Apr 8: Peace Building from the Personal to a U.S. Department of Peace
Lorraine Norby and Nancy Kivette from the Northern California Campaign for a Department of Peace will discuss their efforts to advance peace in our country.

Apr 15: More Militarism and War = More Guns But Little Butter
Michael Eisenscher (a veteran trade union activist, labor educator, organizer and writer) will discuss the economic consequences of a militarized foreign policy and economy. He will describe how a decade of militarism and war has contributed to the economic crisis and how continuing to prosecute the "war on terror" will prolong and deepen that crisis, while actually undermining national security. He will report on the emerging Bay Area and national movement for "new priorities" - which seeks to redirect revenue from the bloated military budget to create jobs, repair the social safety net, protect the environment and meet a host of other urgent social needs - and will suggest what is required for a transition to a peace economy.

Apr 22: Globalization, an Ironic Economic Theory, and Time and Money
This presentation will contain ideas that longtime Humanist Community member Martin Squibbs has developed from the presentations on "Values and Wealth" and "Money", that he gave respectively in November 2011 and January 2012. Firstly, he will discuss globalization, and how we might differentiate its meaning into material and human categories in order to discuss the subject more intelligently and more usefully (from the point of view of looking forward to a better future). Secondly, he will present and discuss a model of the US economic system which may extend to many other economic systems and which may offer some ironic connections between government debt and stock market valuation. Finally, if time allows, he has some additional thoughts on time and money. Slides for this Forum

Apr 29: The Religious Right’s War on Sex—and Democracy
Sex and religion are constantly in the news this election year—typically in ways quite aggravating to humanists. With razor-sharp wit and 30 years of clinical experience, Dr. Marty Klein will analyze the news, describing what he calls America’s War On Sex (www.WarOnSex.com). "The Religious Right is using the issue of sexual regulation to undermine secular democracy," he says. "Its War On Sex uses phony categories, dangerism, and a broad Sexual Disaster Industry. It is successfully re-conceptualizing private sexual expression into public behavior, which is therefore subject to public control." The subject of sexuality is currently missing from much of humanist thought. But a humanist approach to sexuality, says Dr. Klein, would address people’s fear of their own–and others’–sexuality without supporting their ignorance, superstition, narrow categories, and anxiety about not being “normal.” What a great way to attract people to humanism, he says—and what a great way to make supernatural religion obsolete. Dr. Marty Klein is a Palo Alto-based psychotherapist, sex therapist, and international lecturer in sexuality and public policy. He has been an expert witness or invited plaintiff in many important state and federal obscenity and anti-censorship cases. His landmark book America’s War On Sex, with a foreword by the ACLU’s Nadine Strossen, was honored as Book of the Year by AASECT, and will be re-released on April 30. Join us for a creative, thought-provoking, and entertaining talk.

May 6: When the People Speak - Deliberative Democracy and Public Consultation
All over the world, democratic reforms have brought power to the people, but under conditions where the people have little opportunity to think about the power that they exercise. Stanford Professor James S. Fishkin will discuss his book whose title is the title of this talk. In this book, he combines a new theory of democracy with actual practice and shows how an idea that harks back to ancient Athens can be used to revive our modern democracies. Professor Fishkin is a Professor of Communication and Professor of Political Science at Stanford. He is also Director of Stanford's Center for Deliberative Democracy and Chair of the Dept. of Communication.

May 13: In the Wake of Disaster
Derek Joe Tennant has many stories to tell from his work with FEMA following recent large hurricanes. He has also performed volunteer work in Haiti and Thailand (for Burmese refugees). In addition to discussing his own experiences, he will facilitate a discussion about our own disaster preparedness and ways we can help each other become more resilient.

May 20: The Climate Literacy Imperative: Toward an Adult Conversation About Climate and Energy
Mark McCaffrey from the National Center for Science Education (NCSE) will discuss NCSE's just-initiated efforts to promote climate change education via resources that it has developed in the areas of "Climate Change 101", "Teaching Climate Change", "Climate Change Denial", and "Taking Action". (See http://ncse.com/climate)

May 27: Sappho
Sappho was a renowned poet in Ancient Greece who was born on the island of Lesbos. She was a feminist and her poems were known and appreciated all over the ancient world. What was the source of her fame, and what happened to her work is the subject of this talk by Ken Abraham, a long-time member of the Humanist Community in Silicon Valley.

Jun 3: Planet Earth: the Most Colorful Thing We Know
In the known Universe, the Earth is the most complex object. It is also the most colorful thing that we have seen - Blue, White, Green and Red. Each of these colors have an intimate connection to the history of Earth. In this presentation, Earth's formation is given in the sequence in which the four primary colors of the planet came to exist. The Red came with iron. The White from frozen water. The Blue from liquid water. The Green from life - photosynthesis. By exploring the primary colors of our planet, the principle characteristic and process of life-bearing planets are appreciated. The surprising conclusion? Mars is Red and White for the same causes that made Earth Red and White. Aram Harijan will present striking viewgraphs while he discusses this topic.

Jun 10: The Humanist Community: An Update
Marie and Jon Stephens will be facilitating a collection of mini-presentations by HC members to inform us of a variety of issues and activities. We will see the new website and talk about what we hope it will do. We will hear Martin Squibbs and Peng Chang talk about the nature of humanism and the possibility of a new study group. We will take a look at the community's financial status with a report from the Treasurer (Marie) and Carl Angotti. We will hear about a premeeting discussion group from Rick Coccaro. We welcome questions and comments from the group.

Jun 17: Surviving the Holocaust in Bulgaria
Lily Robins will speak from personal experience on how the Jews in Bulgaria survived the Holocaust with the help of the king, the Orthodox church, and their neighbors.

Jun 24: Operation Marriage
Cynthia Chin-Lee will discuss her new children's book, "Operation Marriage" (see www.reachandteach.com/s/operation_marriage), which was created with illustrator Lea Lyon, and published by publishing company Reach And Teach, co-founded by Craig Wiesner and Derrick Kikuchi. The book is based on a true story about two Bay Area children who convince their moms to get married during the months leading up to the 2008 election, when Proposition 8 put marriage equality on hold. The "moms" the book was based on, and the book's publishers, may also be in attendance and say a few words about this wonderful story.

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