Pat Schwind Presents: Strategic Edge Thursday, 01/15/2009

Don Robinson: Even You Can Learn to Draw Cartoons!

Minutes of 12/18/2008

1. Attended 12/18/2008 : Frank Rickey, Mark Sorhdal, Olga Strickland, Ernie & Donna Hancock, Pat Schwind, Howard Crowe, Ed Stroup Jr. & Sr., Mary Lou Benigno, Noreen Rink, Corey Holmes, Tom Costanzo, Rich Woods, Keith Mckinney, Doreen & Greg Tivnan, & our speaker Powell Gammill, senior editor of Freedom's Phoenix.com.

2. We've just suffered thru 8 years of a national tragedy, in which science & reason were ridiculed as the crutches of wimps, too weak to rely on their 'gut feelings' or strong religious beliefs. Facts & wisdom were 'thrown out the window', in the rush to crush the "Evil Doers". The real casualties weren't just the (~ 1 million) innocent Brown folks our military killed, in Iraq & Afghanistan, or the millions displaced or crippled in the process. Horrendous damage was also done to our nation's moral standing in the world. And now there's the messy issue of all our wounded & 'whacked out' soldiers, in need of care, coming home to the 'Bush Depression'. To help our sick fiscal position, I wish we could immediately identify all the stupid, greedy & religious nuts that voted for 'W', especially the second time, & impose on these mowads, an extra "BOZO TAX", perhaps an extra 5 - 10% of their income for the rest of their lives, since our nation is DOOMED, financially, forever, from just what the GOP rip-off-artists & hate mongers did to US in the last 8 years. An old adage, "the first casualty of war is the truth", was on display daily even before the W regime came to power: they planned to invade Iraq before they even stole the election. We were "feared into" all kinds of idiotic stuff, (e.g. the 'Patriot Act' & ridiculous airport searches). If you stood up against the fascists, as I did, you were denigrated as "Un-American". I just wanted the truth. Do we really have to shred the constitution, to protect ourselves from the terrorists, supposedly lurking everywhere? How dangerous is this anyway? So I asked my good friend & retired molecular biologist, Powell Gammill, to speak on the topic: Bio-Terrorism: Real Threat or Outright Hoax? He was a clinical virologist, & worked on both disease causing bacteria & viruses; he's a scientist. In '99 he was asked by the state of Az. to create & manage a bioterrorism detection laboratory, at the state public health lab. He's worked extensively with anthrax, plague, tularemia, brucellosis, & other pathogens of man. There's no room on this one page to convey the great job Powell did, 12/18, making very detailed information both mentally digestible & interesting. The 'Anthrax Letters' ('01-'02) killed 5 of 22 infected victims; the official gov't story on how this happened is terribly suspect for a # of reasons. Primarily the fact that anthrax must be pulverized to be effective, which promotes rapid deterioration, & is most dangerous as fine dust in breathed air. Small amounts sent thru the US mail 'don't fit the bill'. The bigger issue is simply this: The gov't is lying to us about almost everything important, especially the danger posed by "terrorism", & how much freedom they want us to surrender, in order to "feel safe". Most Americans deserve neither.

3. Our next meeting is this Thursday, 01/15/2009

   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: Even You Can Learn to Draw Cartoons!

   Bring Guests!

4. Future Speakers
   • 1/15/9- Professional Coach, Motivator, Speaker & Cartoonist, Don Robinson: Even You Can Learn to Draw Cartoons!
   • 1/29- Financial Survival; Financial �Pro�s� Discuss the Economy & How to Protect Your Assets & Future.
   • 2/12- Get �HEART SMART� with Naturopathic Cardiologist, Dr. Decker Weiss.
   • 2/26- Economist, Dr. Stephen Happel: Economic Update & Critique of the FED.
   • 3/12- Marriage Survival 101: Lessons from the front lines of marriage longevity, with my good friends Bill & Barb Blewster (45 years, Dr. Paul & Cybil Eppinger (50 yrs), and Steve & Sanda Alonge (50 yrs).
   • 3/26- Phoenix NORML: What's Up with that wonderful WAR ON DRUGS?
   • 4/9- John Chester Stuart: One Man's Struggle Against an Unjust System.
   • 4/23- OPEN SO FAR
   • 5/7- Kenpo Instructors Ted Goldberg & Jack Wimbish: Self Defense for Women. Note: Pending Permission from Jim's Coney Island, we'll have a real live 'Hands On' demonstration, in the parking lot, (on thick carpet).
   • 5/21- DEBATE: Do Gay & Lesbian Folks "Choose" to be Homosexual, or are they JUST BORN THAT WAY?
   • 6/18- Secular Humanist Monti Gaither: How Religion has Messed Up the World, Forever!
   • TBD'd- Former Olympic Wrestler & Current Mixed Martial Arts Fighter, Mike Van Arsdale.

Sincerely, Pat Schwind, MBA