NOV 14, 2024 - Virtual Forum: 2024 Election - What Did We Get? Where Do We Go From Here?
Virtual Forum: 2024 Election - What Did We Get? Where Do We Go From Here?
THURSDAY, NOV 14, 2024, 7:00 - 8:30PM EST
Join us as Michael Krasner, former Professor of Political Science at Queens College returns IN PERSON at the Forest Hills Library to discuss the outcome of this consequential election – what happened and what it means moving forward.
Forest Hills Library
10819 71st Ave
Forest Hills, NY 11375
Join Us! All Invited!
We depend on you to get the word out so tell family, friends, neighbors, co-workers.
ABOUT PROF MICHAEL KRASNER
An expert in American government and politics, Michael Krasner is co-director of The Taft Institute for Government, which promotes better understanding of the political process among young people, and Professor Emeritus of Political Science at Queens College. Since 1970 he has taught courses on politics and the media; presidential, gubernatorial and mayoral elections; American foreign policy; public policy; and arms control and disarmament.
Virtual Forum: Elections of 2024 - Our Future in the Balance
THURSDAY, OCT 24, 2024, 7:00 - 8:30PM EST
With a presidential election like no other in so many ways, it is a pivotal moment in our history. The Harris/Walz team, despite coming on so late in the cycle, has amassed an incredibly broad coalition...from AOC to Dick Chaney. Donald Trump and JD Vance have been alienating voters, from Taylor Swift to Nikki Haley...and then there’s the unpopular Project 2025...it’s clear they have a different path in mind for victory. The stakes are high. How will this all turn out?
Join us just 12 days before this most consequential election as Michael Krasner, former Professor of Political Science at Queens College helps us understand what to expect on November 5th, when the margin of victory and down ballot races are close and all critically important.
FREE VIRTUAL ZOOM EVENT
Join Us! All Invited!
We depend on you to get the word out so tell family, friends, neighbors, co-workers.
Zoom login info available a few days before the event right here.
ABOUT PROF MICHAEL KRASNER
An expert in American government and politics, Michael Krasner is co-director of The Taft Institute for Government, which promotes better understanding of the political process among young people, and Professor Emeritus of Political Science at Queens College. Since 1970 he has taught courses on politics and the media; presidential, gubernatorial and mayoral elections; American foreign policy; public policy; and arms control and disarmament.
IN-PERSON FORUM - Project 2025: A Challenge to our Democracy
THURsday, SEPT 26, 2024, 6:00 - 7:30PM EST - at the FOREST HILLS LIBRARY
We're back again at the Library with an exciting in-person review of Project 2025. You’ve probably heard of Project 2025, but do you know what’s in it? This comprehensive plan developed by the Heritage Foundation, and over 100 conservative organizations, seems to promote an autocratic government that will upend our democracy along with our freedoms, so WE IGNORE IT AT OUR PERIL! Join us as community members of Let’s Talk Democracy review sections of this document. With greater understanding we will be better prepared to reach our own conclusions on the direction we want our country to take. We anticipate and encourage a lively discussion. You won’t want to miss it!
We depend on you to get the word out so tell family, friends, neighbors, co-workers.
MISSED THE FORUMs?
VIEW THE RECORDINGs BELOW!
Virtual Forum: Elections of 2024 - All Important...Too Close to Call
Part 1: the Presidential Race - THURSDAY, MAY 16, 2024, 7:00 - 8:30PM EST
Part 2: the Congressional Races
TUESDAY, JUNE 25, 2024, 7:00 - 8:30PM EST
Justice Louis Brandeis’s famously said, “The greatest menace to freedom is an inert people.” In November, we will be confronted with an existential choice, a stark contrast of candidates. But confusion and misinformation abound. Are we as divided as they say? Join us for a better understanding as Prof. Michael Krasner returns for a 2-Part Series on a deep dive into the upcoming Elections of 2024. Part 1 will focus on the Presidential Race. Part 2 will focus on the Congressional Races.
FREE VIRTUAL ZOOM EVENT
Join Us! All Invited!
We depend on you to get the word out so tell family, friends, neighbors, co-workers.
Zoom login info available a few days before the event right here.
ABOUT PROF MICHAEL KRASNER
An expert in American government and politics, Michael Krasner is co-director of The Taft Institute for Government, which promotes better understanding of the political process among young people, and Professor Emeritus of Political Science at Queens College. Since 1970 he has taught courses on politics and the media; presidential, gubernatorial and mayoral elections; American foreign policy; public policy; and arms control and disarmament.
To join our Zoom Meeting, you have to have the Zoom App. Click on the link provided above to go to the Zoom website page. You will be prompted to download the app (very quick process) and then prompted to enter the meeting ID and the password (also provided above). You can join with video/audio or audio only. Once the hosts admits you, you will be able to see the speaker and participants. Make sure you click the video camera icon so initate your video.
If you have a question or comment we ask that you use the "raise hand" feature to indicate when they would like to speak. To accomodate everyone, please keep to a 2 minute limit.
See you at the meeting!
IN-PERSON EVENT: Can Your Vote Fix America?
THURsday, JUNE 6, 2024, 6:00 - 7:30PM EST - at the FOREST HILLS LIBRARY
We're back at the Library with an exciting in-person forum discussing the power of the "youth vote." In the next presidential election, 40.8 million members of Gen Z (ages 18-27 in 2024) will be eligible to vote, including 8.3 million newly eligible youth (ages 18-19 in 2024) who will have aged into the electorate since the midterms. Our Let's Talk Democracy Youth Advisors are voting for the first time this year!! They have organized an amazing panel of speakers to address the questions and concerns of their peers in order to get them registered to vote. Please join us to support these young people in any way we can, with our experience, perspectives and hopes for our democracy.
We depend on you to get the word out so tell family, friends, neighbors, co-workers.
Virtual Forum: The Past, Present, and Future of the Right to Keep and Bear Arms
RESCHEDULED TO: THURsday, MAY 2, 2024, 7:00 - 8:30PM EST
In 2022, The Supreme Court ruled, in a 6–3 decision, that the ability to carry a pistol in public was a constitutional right guaranteed by the Second Amendment. Gun violence is a uniquely American problem and many in New York City now feel the increased threat to our personal safety as we navigate our crowded urban environment. What about the state’s compelling interest to protect the public by restricting possession of guns in public spaces? If you want to understand the history and meaning of the Second Amendment and what we can do to approach this issue intelligently, JOIN US for this Let’s Talk Democracy Forum when Andrew Willinger, Executive Director of the Duke Center for Firearms Law, will discuss the right to keep and bear arms.
FREE VIRTUAL ZOOM EVENT
Join Us! All Invited!
We depend on you to get the word out so tell family, friends, neighbors, co-workers.
Zoom login info available a few days before the event right here.
ABOUT ANDREW WILLINGER
Andrew Willinger is the Executive Director, Center for Firearms Law at Duke University School of Law. He writes and comments on Second Amendment decisions and issues related to firearms law. Andrew has been quoted and interviewed by CNN, NPR, The Wall Street Journal, and The New York Times, among other outlets, and his scholarship has been published by the Washington University Law Review and is forthcoming in the Notre Dame Law Review and the Duke Law Journal Online. He also writes regularly for the Center’s blog, Second Thoughts.
Virtual Forum: Dismantling the Disinformation Economy: AIM AT ADS!
THURsday, APRIL 11, 2024, 7:00 - 8:30PM EST
Companies care about “brand safety” and activist Nandini Jammi is right there to let them know when their ads appear next to controversial and inflammatory content. The technique has worked! Once alerted, advertisers have fled shows by the likes of Tucker Carlson, Steve Bannon, and Breitbart. Now, the adtech industry’s first watchdog is aiming at Google. Join our Let’s Talk Democracy Forum with Nandini Jammi to learn more about this opaque beast called online advertising, and what we can do to dismantle disinformation by following the money.
FREE VIRTUAL ZOOM EVENT
Join Us! All Invited!
We depend on you to get the word out so tell family, friends, neighbors, co-workers.
Zoom login info available a few days before the event right here.
ABOUT NANDINI JAMMI
Nandini Jammi is co-founder of Check My Ads, the adtech industry's first watchdog. She previously co-founded Sleeping Giants, the social media campaign that led advertisers to flee Breitbart and Fox News' Tucker Carlson and Bill O'Reilly. She is a trusted advisor to Fortune 500 brands and she has testified on her groundbreaking work against ad-funded disinformation at the EU Parliament. WEBSITE
Virtual Forum: Class Consciousness, Organized Labor, & Democracy in the U.S.
THURsday, FEBRUARY 29, 2024, 7:00 - 8:30PM EST
Trade unions have been, and can continue to be, organizations that contribute to the health of our democratic society. Though they do not have an unblemished history, a broad view of trade union history in the U.S. since the 19th century can help us appreciate this vital connection between workers’ organizations and American democracy. Join us as Prof. Donna Haverty Stacke takes us on a deep dive into trade union history and its relevance today. We will review the political effectiveness of organized labor in the U.S. and explore the role of “class consciousness” as it relates to this history. By expanding our understanding of class, and the ways that class consciousness can be formed, we can consider alternative paths to empowerment that can help strengthen our democracy and give workers a voice, both in their workplace and in public policy.
FREE VIRTUAL ZOOM EVENT
Join Us! All Invited!
We depend on you to get the word out so tell family, friends, neighbors, co-workers.
Zoom login info available a few days before the event right here.
ABOUT PROF. HAVERTY-STACKE
Donna T. Haverty-Stacke is a Professor of History at Hunter College and the Graduate Center, City University of New York, where she teaches courses in U.S. cultural, urban, labor, and legal history. She also is currently the chair of the History Department at Hunter College. Haverty-Stacke is the author of The Fierce Life of Grace Holmes Carlson: Catholic, Socialist, Feminist (NYU Press, 2020), Trotskyists on Trial: Free Speech and Political Persecution Since the Age of FDR (NYU Press, 2015), and America’s Forgotten Holiday: May Day and Nationalism, 1867 – 1960 (NYU Press, 2009). She has published articles in The Journal of American History, Labor: Studies in Working-Class History of the Americas, and The Catholic Historical Review. Haverty-Stacke has been interviewed about her research on NPR’s The Takeaway and On the Media and on LABORonline.
VIEW THE POWERPOINT PRESENTATION
Virtual Forum: Health Care Access: The Urgency in Protecting Reproductive Health and Abortion Care
THURsday, JANUARY 25, 2023, 7:00 - 8:30PM
Among wealthy nations, the U.S. has the highest rate of maternal mortality with rampant and widening racial and socioeconomic disparities. Now enter the Dobbs decision by the Supreme Court and the lengths to which certain states have restricted abortion access, and you see how dangerous this can be if a youth is suspected of being pregnant. Doctors take an oath to do everything they can for the benefit of their patients. But in this case, different rules apply, often causing delay and lack of treatment and risking serious injury and death. And what does the ERA have to do with this? JOIN US as we explore these issues with Rhea Simon of Planned Parenthood Advocates of Virginia and Elizabeth Brubaker of Generation Ratify Virginia.
FREE VIRTUAL ZOOM EVENT
Join Us! All Invited!
We depend on you to get the word out so tell family, friends, neighbors, co-workers.
Zoom login info available a few days before the event right here.
ABOUT ELIZABETH BRUBAKER
Elizabeth Brubaker is a long-time organizer with Generation Ratify Virginia, the youth-led movement to finalize the Equal Rights Amendment and secure gender justice for all. In collaboration with GRVA, she helped organize walkouts at 56 high schools across the Commonwealth following the leaked Dobbs Decision and has worked on legislation to increase minors' abortion access. Besides working with Generation Ratify Virginia, she has worked on many campaigns and conducts political science research while at college. She is a second-year at Emory University, majoring in political science and women, gender, and sexuality studies. WEBSITE
We are deeply grateful to Michael Krasner for his scholastic contributions to our first workshop series. His willingness to show up to our first session in spite of a personal injury that day is a testiment to his unfailing commitment to our cause.
We greatly appreciate the extraordinary support of The Taft Institute at Queens College and the help that allowed us to realize our dream.
We are very grateful to Queens Library for their ongoing support of our organization and to the Forest Hills branch in particular for providing a welcoming venue for our events and activities.
Special thanks to the NY Public Library and the Seward Park Brnach for their help in our expansion to Manhattan.
