Pat Schwind Presents: Strategic Edge Thursday, 08/14/08

Don Robinson: Author, Professional Speaker, & Coach of the ASU 1986 National Championship, NCAA Men's Gymnastics Team.

Minutes of 07/31/08

1. Attended: Frank Rickey, Mark Sorhdal, Ed Stroup, Pat & Marie Schwind, Mike Speakman, Brian Mackey, Ed Adler, Keith Cyrnek, Beryl Rousseau, Ruth Brooks, Bernie Page, Mike Ross, Bill Searle, Darwin Shultz, Russ & Margot Wittenberg, Susan Wearly, Randy Kafka, Anita Leafty, Steve Pressler, Trudy Perez, Blair Gadsby, Kyra Baehr, Mike Shoen, Olga Strickland, Geri Seckinger, Powell Gammill, Dr. Paul Eppinger, Tom Costanzo, Rich Woods, Mark Manoil, & Sean Larkin. This was a new "record crowd"!!

2. A few months ago, the media firestorm re: the controversial statements of the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, was so grossly unfair to this great man, I just couldn't stand it! I had to 'step up' & defend those statements. I thought I'd be walking into 'the lion's den', given the daily vilification the Rev. was getting from the 'lame stream media', & 'lunatic fringe' right wing talk radio. I got lots of irate calls, e.g. "have you lost your mind"! In the week before 7-31, at least a half-dozen pro-war friends of mine told me, "you better bring your best game, Pat, 'cause I'm gonna fire some tough questions at you!" So where were they? Most right wingers have way more "balls" than most 'lefties'. It's just a sad fact of life & results in the Dems "gettin' creamed" for much of the last 30 years. ('06 was a 'blip on the chart', & even if the GOP's dirty tricks aren't enough to steal this election, like they did in both Y2K & '04, they'll be back sooner than you think, because they're so mean, evil & effective. That's life!) Despite the 'record crowd', I was really 'bummed' to be "preachin' to the choir"; because I love to fight. I should get a 'T-shirt' made saying: "This Machine Fights Fascism"!! So much of what I do these days involves finding good speakers for the S/E, & getting 'warm bodies in the seats' for our meetings. The theory is that, while the mortgage biz is so slow, as I tell folks about our great meetings & the heated conversation, many will remember me when they need a loan, because most of my 'reminder calls' for the meetings usually include the comment, "Rates Are Great...Call me for a Real Estate Loan", & my S/E flyers have "Pat the Mortgage Guy" all over 'em. But since that isn't working like it used to, years ago, I try to 'find value' in life by promoting civil discourse & good ideas. I spent many hours preparing for the Rev.'s Defense; I had a huge 'flip chart' with the major quotes in big letters, & dozens of articles, books, statistics & personal stories to back up most (but not all) of the Rev.'s most hated comments. But I was disappointed, because I really 'came to fight', & my 'opponents' didn't show. That's life. I can handle it. Something else bothered me even more; I'll get into that in a moment. I'm not even going to get into the gist of my presentation here. If you can get past "God Damn America", & dissect the real words of the Rev., you don't need my assessment. If you can't, then facts, science, reason & 'what's right' just don't matter to you anyway; you're going to vote for the wrong people & support bad ideas until you have some 'Saul on the road to Damascus' epiphany, or you die. I need to use the little space left to say something very important, that will prob'ly get me labeled "Racist", despite the fact that I do more 'good things' for Black folks than most Black folks do for themselves. I can handle it. I invited, via phone calls, 'snail mail', & handing a S/E flyer to somebody 'in person', over 100 Black folks. One showed up! If most Blacks paid as much attention to what's really important in life, e.g. politics & why they're often on the 'losing end' of life, instead of B/S like the ball game, boxing match & 'American Idol', they'd be a real FORCE, with real power, able to overcome 'White Privilege" & WIN (elections) all the time!

3. Our next meeting is this Thursday, 8/14/08

   Please arrive before 7:30 Am at “JIM’s CONEY ISLAND CAFE”, 1750 No. Scottsdale Rd., Tempe, at the southwest corner of Scottsdale & Cavalier, Click Here for a map, 1 block south of McKellips, ~ 1 mile north of the 202 Freeway.

   Our speaker will be Don Robinson, Coach of the ASU 1986 National Championship, NCAA Men's Gymnastics Team. Bring guests!

   Bring Guests!

4. Future Speakers
   • 8/28- H.L. 'Buster' Quist, author of "The Aftermath of Greed; Get Ready for the Coming Inflationary Boom".
   • 9/11- Barbara Blewster re: "The Real Origins of Nursery Rhymes & the Cultural Implications".
   • 9/25- Randall Holmes of the Az. Advocacy Network, re: “Election Fraud 2008 — How Bad Can It Be?!”
   • 10/09- Local Progressive Radio talk show host, Cynthia Black, re: "Election Preview".
   • 10/23- Open Forum for candidates; If you have any candidate in mind, for any office, call me directly.

Sincerely, Pat Schwind, MBA