By Mark Schug, Ph.D.

Florida voters narrowly swung for President Trump giving him 4,617,886 (48.6%) votes over Mrs. Clinton’s 4,504,975 (47.4%) votes.  It was close but it was enough to give Mr. Trump Florida’s 29 electoral votes and to help propel him to victory.

So, what does President Trump seem to have in mind for the economy and how might his policies affect the Sunshine State?

President Trump has promised to reshape tax and spending laws to increase economic growth.    Florida’s business climate is already ranked high by various reports.   The respected Tax Foundation’s State Business Tax Climate Index ranks Florida fourth in the nation behind the small population states of Wyoming, South Dakota, and Alaska.  Florida is the home to numerous corporations, many of which do business in Central and South America.

Let’s talk about taxes and trade.

President Trump has expressed interest in bringing back overseas corporate funds by changing the way profits earned in other nations are taxed.  He would substitute a lower tax rate on repatriated profits for the full U.S. corporate tax which now applies.  Almost certainly this change would benefit Florida businesses and workers.

President Trump has also expressed interest in reducing the overall corporate tax rate down from its current level of 35% which is one of the highest in the world.  Europe, for example, has a corporate tax rate of 25% (average of eight countries) and Ireland clocks in at 12.5%. Again, this move would almost certainly help Florida.

Lower taxes, of course, may aggravate the federal deficit which, according to the Congressional Budget Office, is about to take off.  So, tax cuts need to be carefully crafted in order not to make matters worse in terms of the federal deficit and the national debt.

President Trump has often promised to tear up the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).  Most economists think that is not a good idea.  Florida has a lot at stake.  Canada is Florida’s biggest trade partner ($3.9 billion in exports in 2015) and Mexico is our third biggest trade partner ($2.7 billion in exports in 2015).

Florida agriculture – especially tomato growers – has been hurt by NAFTA.  However, hundreds of thousands of Floridians owe their jobs to international trade and investment. Clearly, the overall benefits of NAFTA to the Florida economy outweigh the costs.

President Trump campaigned on many other issues with important economic implications including immigration, health care, regulations, and infrastructure spending.

On March 21, 2017, from 4:30 – 6:00 p.m. at FAU LLS Jupiter, I will be joined by three FAU economists – Dean Daniel Gropper, Professor Keith Jakee, and Professor Kanybek Nur-tegin – to explore President Trump’s economic policies.  Hope you can join us.

By Kami Barrett-Batchelder LLS Associate Director

Elise Jordan will give a one-time lecture, “America’s New Foreign Policy,” on Tuesday, April 4 at 2:15 p.m.

Elise Jordan

Elise Jordan, a political veteran who has worked in presidential politics and campaigns for several years, is a columnist for “Time” and a political analyst for NBC News and MSNBC. She was most recently a policy advisor and speechwriter to Senator Rand Paul’s presidential campaign. During the Bush administration, Jordan worked in the White House Office of Presidential Speechwriting and at the State Department as speechwriter to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. In 2007, she joined the National Security Council, where she worked on press and communications strategy for the administration’s Afghanistan, Iraq and Pakistan policies. While at the White House, Elise also worked for extended periods at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad and for the Commanding General’s Strategic Advisory Group at the International Security Assistance Force (IS-AF) headquarters in Kabul, Afghanistan.

Jordan’s one-time lecture at LLS will focus on America’s foreign policy under President Donald J. Trump. During President Trump’s campaign, he offered plenty of political theater when it came to foreign policy, but few specifics except in his praise for Russian President Vladimir Putin. Other than his international business dealings, Trump entered the Oval Office with no experience in foreign relations and a disparate vision for America’s engagement with the world that marks a major shift from what we’ve seen since the end of World War II. America’s democratic, economic and security alliances are on new footing in the Trump era. This lecture will discuss these alliances, as well as the significance of American commitments to liberty, democracy and free trade under President Trump.

Jordan’s writing on foreign policy and politics has been featured in publications such as “The Atlantic,” “Buzzfeed,” “Daily Beast,” “Marie Claire,” “National Review,” “Time” and the “Wall Street Journal.” She was born and raised in Holly Springs, Mississippi and is a graduate of Yale University.

To register for the class, visit www.fau.edu/llsjupiter.

By the Honorable Francis J. “Bing” West

On Tuesday, March 21, 2017 at 2:15 p.m., the Honorable Francis J. “Bing” West will give a one-time lecture, “Why Does America Win Battles and Lose Wars?” in the LLS Jupiter Auditorium.

Stanford University/Hoover Institution

“Likely,” when considering what strategic realignments the Trump administration will embrace to restore American deterrence and enhance global security, is the least likely adverb to apply to predictions. A Wall Street Journal review of 6,500 market predictions by economic experts found that most were wrong. I don’t know what the Trump administration will do, or how that will affect global security. So here are my guesses—acknowledging most are likely to be incorrect:

1. Overt Bargaining. President Trump appears to view geopolitics as business deals, with the actors on opposing sides having legitimate interests that can be accommodated by compromise. Thus, he employs bluster and hyperbole to provide leverage for reasonable settlements between masters of the universe. President George W. Bush displayed a similar belief that kings decide the course of their nations. He thought he could steer Vladimir Putin, Nouri al-Maliki, and Hamid Karzai onto righteous paths, while the citizens of their countries placidly followed. Trump has similar confidence in his own magisterial magnetism. However, a Trump administration devoid of evangelical vision will not overreach, as did Bush. And while President Obama’s global retreat will cease, a merchant creed of quid pro quo deals cannot be America’s lodestone. Some doctrine has to emerge as guidance.

2. Return of Balance of Power. With the economy as his top priority, Mr. Trump will leave the fundamental management of foreign policy to his Cabinet. The Secretaries of State, Treasury, and Defense, as well as the Director of the CIA and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, are centrist pragmatists. Under their tutorship, the Trump administration will seek some variation of the balance of power that began with the Peace of Westphalia (1648) and reached its apex following the Congress of Vienna (1814-15). That balance was shattered by the two world wars of the 20th Century. America’s reign as the world’s sole superpower was transitory, lasting for only a decade after the Soviet Union disintegrated in 1991. What followed was overreach by George W. Bush and retreat by Barack Obama. Now the Trump administration is certain to resume a restrained competition against our adversaries. Given Trump’s choices to lead his Cabinet, over the next two years some variation of the traditional balance of power will evolve into written doctrine.

***

Mr. Obama sought to divest America of global leadership. He believed the arc of history, independent of the acts of man, bent inexorably toward democracy and tranquility. In the real world, maintaining a balance of power among Russia, China and America demands American resolve. Under the Trump administration, America will resume competing, as it has since 1945. After eight years of passivity and retrenchment, this reversion to the mean in American foreign policy—modest as it will be—qualifies as a strategic realignment.

So far, Trump’s competitive instincts have focused upon short-term transactions, while America’s global leadership is based upon lasting principles. Conjoining the evanescent with the enduring will require growth while serving in the Oval Office. Whether and how that growth occurs is unpredictable.

To continue to read the remaining points of the article please click on the link below.

http://www.hoover.org/research/trumps-strategic-realignments

By Sandi Page, Member of the FAU LLS Jupiter Marketing Committee

The gift of intellectual curiosity has provided me with some of the biggest delights of my life. It has put me on planes to discover lands I had only read about and taken me to museums I have waited for years to visit. No passports are necessary this spring and summer at LLS Jupiter to satisfy our cravings for knowledge and novelty.  Our professors will be offering it all.  Check out their intriguing anecdotes about their upcoming courses/lectures and then sign up for the trip!  Bon Voyage!

Some FAU LLS Jupiter Spring 2017 Courses

Taylor Hagood, Ph.D.
Four American Poets
Mondays, March 20 – April 10, 2017 – 2:15–3:45 p.m.

This year, my courses have focused on very well-known writers and their works—Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes stories and novels, and the plays of William Shakespeare—but for the spring, I have decided to offer a lecture series on four Modernist American poets who are not so well known but whose writings are wonderful. The first will be Marianne Moore, a Missourian who became a New York poet, whose work is most recognizable because of the way it plays with lines, spreading them all over the page in jagged forms that look like abstract drawings. Robert Lowell was a Bostonian who channeled the New England literary and artistic tradition of somber beauty, writing densely-crafted poetic lines full of the silver images of the northeastern sea. Elizabeth Bishop also hailed from Massachusetts, but where Lowell wrote in a thundering voice, hers was quiet, capturing the silence of fog, the magnificence of animals, and the humid deliciousness of Latin America. James Wright grew up among steel mill workers along the Ohio River and forged a style that balanced the hard realities of life with those most delicate of sensibilities. As a group, these poets offer some of the very best of late Modernist poetic output, the talented inheritors of T. S. Eliot, Gertrude Stein, Wallace Stevens, and William Carlos Williams. I realize that for every person who is passionate about poetry, there are about three who are either not so sure about it or intimidated by it. My goal in this course will be to introduce these lesser-known but outstanding poets, making their poetry accessible and fun while also highlighting its profundity of thought and insight. I will talk about these writers’ lives but will largely focus on the poems themselves, reading some of them aloud and noting their craft, their metaphorical power, and their significance. Even if you’re not a poetry fan, I think you will find this series fascinating.

Kurt F. Stone, D.D.
The Sons of Sam Spade – Six Detective Films From Around the Globe
Mondays, March 20 – May 8, 2017 (No class on April 10, 17)
(Full 6 weeks) – 7-9 p.m.
March 20 – April 24, 2017 (First 4 weeks)

The First Sam Spade

In 1929, author Dashiell Hammett published The Maltese Falcon, which introduced Sam Spade, the first of the hard-boiled detectives. Soon, Hollywood came calling, and paid Hammett a hefty sum to make a movie version of his novel.  The original, produced by Warner Brothers in 1931, starred silent film-era Latin lover Ricardo Cortez as Spade. The public was anxious to hear what the great Latin lover sounded like. Would he be believable? Would he be understandable? (Of course, no one in the movie-going public knew, because up to that point, all his films had been silent.) It turned out that “Ricardo Cortez” was really the Brooklyn-born Jacob Krantz; dark, handsome and sounding like a fellow raised on the Lower East Side. Oops! From that point on, Cortez played mostly character parts (and attorney Perry Mason) and would spend nearly 40 years working as a Wall Street stockbroker for Salomon Brothers.

Ashley Graham Kennedy, Ph.D.
Philosophy of Medicine
Tuesdays, March 21 – April 11, 2017 – 12-1:30 p.m.

It was 4 a.m. in the emergency department (ER). An 83-year-old woman had come into the ER after experiencing an episode of disorientation and shortness of breath earlier in the evening. The resident physician and I entered her room and he introduced himself to the patient. “Hello Ms. Stanley, I’m Dr. James. I will be taking care of you this evening.” “Well, isn’t that nice? I’m Dr. Stanley.” “What kind of doctor are you?” the resident asked. “I’m a social psychologist,” she replied. The woman’s message to her physician was clear: “Treat me with respect. I am your equal,” and with it she toppled the clinical hierarchy at the hospital in one fell swoop. In this course, you will learn about the current medical paradigm, including how it is taught and practiced in the U.S. medical schools and hospitals, as well as how to navigate it in your clinical encounters with your own physicians.

Ralph Nurnberger, Ph.D.
Benedict Arnold, Aaron Burr, Alexander Hamilton and the Duel
Thursdays, March 23 – April 13, 2017 – 9:45-11:15 a.m.

Hamilton, the award-winning Broadway musical, has elevated public interest in the life and contributions of Alexander Hamilton to an all-time high. We will seek to answer the question raised in the opening lines of the musical: “How does a bastard, orphan, son of a whore and a Scotsman…grow up to be a hero and a scholar?”
The story of the life of Alexander Hamilton is one that not even the most gifted novelist could have invented. The more one looks at what happened in his 49 years, the more improbable it seems. We will cover why many consider Hamilton the second most important of all of the “founding fathers”; second only to George Washington.
It is impossible to discuss Hamilton without also looking into the life and character of the man who shot and killed him in a duel in New Jersey in 1804, namely Aaron Burr. Why did Burr, the sitting Vice President of the United States, shoot Hamilton, the first Secretary of the Treasury? Was Burr a significant hero of the Revolution and an important founding father of the country or was he a scoundrel and a traitor?
We will also be examining the life of Benedict Arnold, who is still seen as the greatest traitor in American history, and discussing why the most significant American general during the Revolution, other than George Washington himself, decided to sell out his comrades and his cause.

Irving Labovitz, J.D.
OBJECTION! Current, Contentious and Confusing Legal Battles
Thursdays, March 23 – April 27, 2017 (Full 6 weeks) – 12-1:30 p.m.
                    March 23 – April 13, 2017 (First 4 weeks)

Please accept this tender of my modest, albeit belated, valentine to my students at LLS.
My course title accurately alerts LLS students to expect only continuing classroom colloquy as to “Current, Contentious, and Confusing Legal Battles”.  Unlike my medical friends, I am never afforded the opportunity to provide “well checkups” as to any subject. Rather, dissecting the often disconcerting legal and constitutional consequences resulting from adverse factual happenings inevitably circumscribes each lecture.
Nevertheless, it remains uplifting and encouraging that I continually learn from, as well as teach my well-read students in our animated interactive discussions, resulting in an often surprising and always mutually rewarding mutual learning experience.
So I tender this modest valentine to all LLS students whose intellect, curiosity, and stamina have motivated them to share with me a search for better understanding of the critically important legal and constitutional conundrums that directly affect their lives and those of their children and grandchildren.

Katie Muldoon
From Our “Exotic” World: Four Remarkable International Films
Thursdays, April 6-27, 2017 – 2:15-4:30 p.m.; Post-film discussion – 4:30-5:00 p.m.

Peeking Behind the Film

Lately, my husband and I find ourselves lingering behind after a film, watching the credits roll, looking for additional tidbits that will fill in those little extras about the film we have just gotten so involved in that we want even more than it had already graciously provided.  Superior films give a lot but they can also leave a thirst for even more information because they have awakened a spark in you that you probably didn’t know was there.
In my upcoming “Exotic” World Films, four immensely different characters in four exceptional films will somehow manage to overcome challenges utterly specific to their time and countries.

A young cellist from Japan has to break a respected tradition; a young German woman learns the heartbreaking truth about her country, forcing impossible choices; tensions mount as an Iranian woman seems to have purposely disappeared – or did she; and two French men seem destined to meet and make decisions that transform their lives forever.
Join me in peeking behind these films and understanding some of the background leading up to their messages, then spend time discussing and understanding the content behind the actions.  We’ll have a chance for more in-depth review of the intriguing how and why per character and country.

Terryl Lawrence, Ed.D.
Have You Found Your Arcadia?
PART I –  Fridays, March 31 – May 5, 2017 (Full 6 weeks) – 12-1:30 p.m.
March 31 – April 21, 2017 (First 4 weeks)
PART II – Tuesdays, May 16 – June 20, 2017 – 1:30-3:00 p.m.

Arcadia is defined as a place of poetic fantasy or a pastoral paradise.
Every one of us has a special place where we are most relaxed and inspired, and that location often includes those persons who allow that feeling to blossom. Artists are particularly sensitive to such sensations because creativity can work its magic there.
One of my consuming interests is how artists get started on their work. Some require the serenity of a particular studio, or work with a favorite type of music playing, and there are many other concerns. The great American sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens studied in Rome. When he returned to New York, he was creatively blocked and miserable until a friend left the water in the studio sink running. This gentle noise reminded Saint-Gaudens of the constant sound of Roman fountains – and he began to sculpt again.
My research has uncovered many such incidents throughout the world. These courses are intended as travelogues of artistic journeys with stops at some of the most fascinating and individual centers that have been the catalysts for artistic stimulation.

Benito Rakower, Ed.D.
The 21^st Century – A New Vision in Film-Making
Fridays, March 24 – May 5, 2017 (No class on March 31) (Full 6 weeks); 2:15-4:45 p.m.; Post-film discussion – 4:45-5:15 p.m.
March 24 – April 21, 2017 (First 4 weeks)

I chanced to see Tilda Swinton in an Italian film where the characters speak Italian, Russian, and English.  As one might expect of an Italian film, the preparation of food and dining are central to the plot.  More than that, a seductively prepared appetizer has the effect of undermining the stability of an aristocratic family. This could not happen in an American film, where fast food and jokey comments have replaced dining and conversation.
Yet the American films in this course always give the viewer the impression of an irrepressible dynamism in constant battle with what is right, good, and fair.  From the viewer’s perspective, stylish European decadence and American vitality are equally entertaining.  The why of this poses a philosophical paradox.

Some FAU LLS Jupiter Spring 2017 Lectures

Bert Diament, Ph.D.
Making Relationships Work
Monday, March 20, 2017 – 12-1:30 p.m.

When I counsel couples, I often hear them argue very angrily as to who is “right” and who is “wrong”, and they turn to me expecting that I, as the expert, will determine who is correct. I smile inwardly as I recall a story I heard when I was a child.
Miriam and Jake go to the wisest man in the community to settle who is “right” in their dispute. After the wise man attentively listens to their highly emotional versions of their dispute, he turns to Miriam and says “You are right!” Then he turns to Jake and declares that he is right, also. A bystander, who overhears the dispute, tells the wise man with strong emotion that it is impossible that they are both right. The wise man responds: “You are also right!”
As a child, I didn’t understand the story. As a couple’s therapist, I do.  Strong emotions are not based on logic, and, therefore, the laws of logic do not apply.

Lynn Hankes, M.D., FASAM
Addiction – Is It Really a Disease, and If So, So What?
Monday, March 27, 2017 – 12-1:30 p.m.

What’s the answer to the above question? Are you curious? Are you skeptical about this so-called “disease concept”? If so, you’re not alone! Come learn the answers to the following questions: What constitutes a disease, a malady, an illness? What makes a drug addictive? Are alcoholics’ and addicts’ brains different? Are they born that way or do they become addicted? Is it hereditary or merely learned behavior? Why can’t these individuals exercise enough will power to stop using and stay stopped? Why is the relapse rate so high? Why is there resistance to accepting addiction as a disease? Isn’t it the result of some character defect, moral depravity, or weak will? Is it really a disease or just simply a choice to pursue willful misconduct?

​​​​​

Bert Diamant, Ph.D.
The Psychology and Health Effects of Anger Release
Monday, April 3, 2017 – 12-1:30 p.m.

As I observe fellow tennis players scream and very angrily argue about an opponent’s line call, I think “Haven’t these people attended kindergarten where we are supposed to learn the rudiments of fair play and good sportsmanship? And aren’t those behaviors reinforced as we go through school, by parents, teachers, coaches, and the clergy?”  Then I realize that although in the 150,000 years since we descended from trees, our frontal cortex, the rational, logical thinking part of our brain has evolved dramatically, our limbic system, the emotional part of our brain has not. So, when we experience an opponent’s “unfair” call, we have the same immediate knee-jerk emotional reaction as our prehistoric ancestors did when they experienced a saber-tooth tiger about to take a bite out of their derrière. And as I intelligently muse about how much our emotional brain has not evolved, my opponent calls a beautiful shot I just made inside the line “OUT!”  I angrily react with “Are you blind?!”

Mark C. Schug, Ph.D.
How Economists View Trumponomics
Tuesday, March 21, 2017 – 4:30-6:00 p.m.

President Trump has heads spinning.  He stunned Washington with a torrent of executive orders intended to deliver on his campaign promises.  While all of his actions – including the executive orders on the travel ban, the Affordable Care Act, and the Dodd-Frank regulations – have economic implications, economists (and voters) are eager to learn more.  What specific policies will the Trump Administration pursue in the areas of trade, immigration, taxation, regulation, and federal spending? How closely will President Trump’s ideas follow widely accepted economic principles for encouraging economic growth and prosperity? Come to my lecture to see a panel of FAU economists analyze President Trump’s economic policies.

Terryl Lawrence, Ed.D.
ART: How Do We Know When It Is “Finished”?
Friday, March 24, 2017 – 12-1:30 p.m.

Art: How do we know when it is “finished”? This is a question that I can’t answer. What I can do is attempt to explain the dynamics involved in making that decision. As a painter, I have asked myself that question on almost every canvas that I do. For me, a canvas is “finished” when I feel that there is nowhere else I want to take it. Every artist addresses this dilemma in his/her own manner and it is usually instinctive for each one. Who is to say when a work is complete other than its creator?
Georges Rouault had a studio on the top floor of the Paris brownstone belonging to his art dealer Ambroise Vollard. He was an artist who never knew when a work was done. Fortunately for us, Vollard would enter the studio after Rouault had left for the day and remove the paintings that he deemed complete. When Rouault returned, he would begin another painting, and on and on.
This little anecdote speaks to the fact that some artists never know when a work is finished and are greatly in need of an outside force to stop them!

James B. Bruce, Ph.D.
Drones and National Security: The New Generation in Reconnaissance and Lethal Strikes
Tuesday, March 28, 2017 – 2:15-3:45 p.m.

On my way to the Pentagon for an interview about drones, I encountered this sign by the South Parking Lot.  With apologies to the omnipresent security police who missed my illicit activity, I couldn’t resist taking this photo.  The gray concrete building in the background is the Pentagon.

Matt D. Klauza, Ph.D.
The Works and Women of Charles Dickens
Friday, March 31, 2017 – 2:15-3:45 p.m.

When I was young, my father often read to me—and I to him.  The second novel we read together was Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol (the first was Roald Dahl’s James and the Giant Peach).  While much of Dickens’s vocabulary was over my head, I fell in love with his storytelling and his ability to bring his characters to life—so much so that I was heartbroken over Tiny Tim’s health complications and even didn’t want to finish the book!  My father patiently explained to me the concept of social commentary and how the book was a reflection of Dickens’s own life.  From there, I was amazed by the link between an author’s life and his/her work.  As a result, I always kept a special place in my heart for Dickens.  This course meshes my love for Dickens’s work, his times, and his biography.

Sofiya Uryvayeva, D.M.A.
Musical Fireworks from Paris – Piano works by Chopin, Saint-Saëns and Others
Saturday, April 8, 2017 – 2:30-4:00 p.m.

Valentine’s Day is over, but love is still in the air!  Spring is coming!
We are all children of nature, and our mood is often influenced by the season of the year and the weather.  But even in the middle of the cold winter, spring could awaken in anyone’s soul.  Falling in love can make a person feel young again…not just on the inside, but also on the outside.  And everyone would notice the magic of the transformation. Prepare to experience magic in my Musical Fireworks from Paris concert!
I strongly believe that we should celebrate love all year long!
Many people say the most romantic place in the world is Paris.  Yes, it’s a place where romance, passion and the musical language of love blossoms.  This city has attracted and inspired musicians and artists throughout history.  Composers who lived and worked in Paris absorbed the charming and enchanted atmosphere of the city and were energized to create spectacular musical fireworks full of harmony and emotion.  Musical Fireworks from Paris:  a combination of jubilation and passion!

Ronald Feinman, Ph.D.
The Life and Presidency of Andrew Jackson (1767-1845)
Tuesday, April 11, 2017 – 2:15-3:45 p.m.

Andrew Jackson was the hero of the Battle of New Orleans at the end of the War of 1812.
Jackson was the first President elected from a state not one of the original thirteen states, being elected from Tennessee, and was the first President not born to an aristocratic family, so came to be known as the President of the “Common Man” and the “Frontier” President.
Jackson was the strongest, most assertive, influential, and controversial President between Thomas Jefferson and Abraham Lincoln.
Jackson was significant due to his “War” on the Second National Bank of the United States; his handling of the “Nullification Crisis” over the protective tariff with South Carolina and Vice President John C. Calhoun; and his controversial policies toward Native Americans, as well as his condemnation of the abolitionist crusade to end slavery.
Jackson’s Hermitage Plantation in Nashville, Tennessee, is the third most visited home of a President, after George Washington’s Mount Vernon, Virginia, and Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello in Virginia.

Claudia Dunlea, Ph.D.
The Wannsee Conference – 90 Minutes That Changed World History
Monday, April 17, 2017 – 2:15-3:45 p.m.

The Wilsonian ideas of regime change and self-determination are as relevant today as they were 100 years ago when the U.S. entered World War I in 1917 with the intention to “make the world safe for democracy.”  Unfortunately, Woodrow Wilson’s idealism did not create a new world order based on democracy – but turned into a flawed peace settlement with terrible consequences. Chief among them, the widely-accepted view of history that the road from the Hall of Mirrors directly led to the German invasion of Poland only 20 years later. Furthermore, some of the most intractable problems of the modern world have roots in decisions made at Versailles. Among them, one could list – for instance – the Balkan wars of the 1990s and the endless struggle between Arabs and Jews over land that each thought had been promised them. Let’s revisit the “War to End All Wars”!

Jeffrey Nall, Ph.D.
Why Can’t We Eat the Cat? The Ethical Case for Veganism or Why Eating Animals May Not Only Be Bad For Your Health, But Also Immoral
Tuesday, April 18, 2017 – 12-1:30 p.m.

Most Americans have confused and logically inconsistent relationships with the animal kingdom. Consider how dominant American society responded to former Atlanta Falcons quarterback, Michael Vick’s dog-fighting ring. Vick served prison time, during which he was divided from his children and lost millions of dollars, and engaged in public service to raise awareness about the evils of animal cruelty. Despite this, Vick, years later, was regarded by sports fans as the most reviled of all professional athletes. Tucker Carlson of Fox News went so far as to say that Vick should have suffered the death penalty.  The irony, as we will discuss in Why Can’t We Eat the Cat?, is that a great many people who regard Vick’s dog fighting as monstrous participate in the consumption of animals that are as conscious and desiring of pleasure and alleviation of suffering as the dogs Vick harmed. This is a serious moral conundrum that common sense too often allows us to ignore. For, on the one hand, very few in our society see their purchase of “meat” products as a moral decision at all. It’s just what we do. The reality is that while such an answer is easy, it is not satisfying nor is it rationally grounded. Thus, in this lecture and workshop, we will ask: Is our moral indignation over the harming of cats and dogs morally consistent with our daily diets? On what grounds can we logically differentiate our use of animals in our diet while deriding, condemning and even criminalizing the abuse of domestic pets? Through thought experiments, personal reflection, and lecturer-led dialogue, the hope is that we will develop greater clarity on these and other questions.

Steven D. Roper, Ph.D.
From Nuremberg to Bosnia: War Crimes and the Development of International Human Rights Law
Tuesday, April 18, 2017 – 2:15-3:45 p.m.

On February 2, 2017, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ordered Russia to pay approximately $70,000 in compensation to opposition politician Alexei Navalny. The Court said his right to peaceful protest had been violated multiple times during a series of political gatherings dating back to 2012. Instead, a week later, on February 9, a court in Russia found him guilty of corruption and repeated the same limit to a fair trial the ECHR had found a week earlier. This verdict is important as it bars him from running for political office, including the presidency. Herein lies the limit of international law: International courts can make decisions but cannot force countries to abide by their decisions or the law.

Byron R. McCane, Ph.D.
Archaeology in Israel: The Ancient Synagogue at Horvat Kur
Wednesday, April 19, 2017 – 3:00-4:30 p.m.

The following is based on my personal journal entry from the day we found one of the most important discoveries on our dig:
It had begun the way every dig day begins: 4:15 a.m. wake-up call, quick breakfast of coffee and cookies, ride up the hill to the site, and at work by 5:00 a.m.  It was the middle of our third week, so our daily routines were by now well-established, even ingrained and conditioned, almost automatic. That’s why we calmly made all the proper notes and records and measurements when a large basalt stone appeared in stylobate wall W7235 with figurative representations carved into one of its long sides.  Probably a door lintel in re-use, we agreed, and our work went on, calm and steady.
Until, as we went deeper, a supporting leg appeared underneath each visible corner of the stone. This was no door lintel. “It looks like the Midgal Stone,” remarked Raimo, the area supervisor, referring to an important find from a nearby site.  In an instant, we were hounds on the scent: brushes and trowels moving at top speed, yet totally under control, communications terse and precise – “use a three and half on that … fine brush, please … thanks … it’s solid basalt, isn’t it.” Of course, the stone disappeared into the baulk, so we removed the baulk, and before long we were looking down on a stone table in situ, with decorations carved into all four sides.
Broad smiles, high-fives, and laughter, and someone said, “This is going to be a museum piece.”
And today, it is.

Doug McGetchin, Ph.D.
Non-Violent Power in Action – A Better Way to Build Democracy
Thursday, April 20, 2017 – 9:45-11:15 a.m.

Gandhi Stands up to a Bully

Indian nationalist leader Mohandas “Mahatma” Gandhi led through Satyagraha (grasping onto truth), a forceful and yet nonviolent method of resistance. Gandhi described in his Autobiography an encounter upon arriving in South Africa on a stagecoach trip. A white supremacist passenger banished Gandhi to riding on top with the driver, the equivalent of the back of the bus.  Stopping to get a breath of air, the racist told Gandhi to step down so he could sit up in the open, but Gandhi refused.  The man began hitting Gandhi, but Gandhi stubbornly held onto the seat, and also did not strike back. Because he was using nonviolent resistance, the other passengers noticed his plight, sympathized, and intervened, telling the bully to stop, which he did, bowing to social pressure.  Gandhi got his way through his courageous stand against injustice and evoking the compassion of fair-minded bystanders.

Some FAU LLS Jupiter Summer 2017 Lecture/Courses

Benito Rakower, Ed.D.
Literature, Film and the Real World
Monday, May 15, 2017 – 1:30-3:00 p.m.

The summer I was 15, my bedtime reading was a novel by the French writer Balzac and then a novel by Mary Shelley, wife of the English Romantic poet.  The French novel, Lost Illusions, depicts the career of a handsome young man with literary ambitions – Lucien Chardon.  Impossible to put down, and in various prose styles, the novel portrays treachery, betrayal, sexual passion, and corrupt journalism as the shaping forces of French society.  What was worse, Balzac presented them as the essence of the human condition – La Comédie Humaine.  An adolescent boy’s intoxicating introduction to adult life!

But it was Mary Shelly’s novel Frankenstein – which she began writing at the age of 19 – that permanently altered my conception of men in the modern world.  Mary Shelley was the daughter of the first feminist who died giving birth to her.  The novel is a direct cry of pain, from Mary Shelley’s unconscious, for the irremediable loss of a mother’s love.  The Frankenstein “monster” in the novel is a childlike and innocent creature who has similarly been born without benefit of a mother’s love.  This most famous of all novels is a scathing attack on the arrogance of the male psyche.

Katie Muldoon
Foreign Films Made Right the First Time
Wednesdays, July 5-26, 2017 – 1:00-3:30 p.m.; Post-film discussion – 3:30-4:00 p.m.

Finding that Extra Something in a Film

Delving into any film, you usually hope to discover a story that will entertain, perhaps enlighten or even educate.  For me, Hopscotch, starring the sly, forever charming Walter Matthau and the elegant, enchanting Glenda Jackson was a surprise as it not only outdid the original story found in the book by Brian Garfield but contained an unexpected gem.
As it turned out, Ms. Jackson helped her spy buddy, Mr. Matthau, with the able assist of her pet Doberman, a smart, majestic creature that caught my eye, won my heart and has since become part of my life as these dogs are a pure joy to have in your life for their gentle love and intelligence.
So, for me, a remake changed my life.  My upcoming class, “Foreign Films Made Right the First Time” features four films, all originals of remakes.  We will see the original versions, then trailers and stills of the remakes, then discuss the whys of the films and what makes them better.  Maybe there will be a gem in one of them that will change your life.

Benito Rakower
Out of the Ordinary – Six Films of Rare Excellence
Thursdays, May 18 – June 22, 2017 – 1:00-3:30 p.m.; Post-film discussion – 3:30-4:00 p.m.

A summer film course offers the languor and luxury necessary to explore films of far more than average intensity or challenge.  Each of the six films has the quality of being engaging.  But two were chosen because they examine with great acting and film style the baffling complexities of love when money or professional pride are involved.  Performances of extraordinary power.

By Mark Schug, Ph.D.

President Trump fulfilled a campaign promise by signing an executive order formally withdrawing from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).  The pact was already dead-on-arrival given the fact that both Mr. Trump and Mrs. Clinton had campaigned against it. A recent poll reported in the Wall Street Journal showed that voters of both parties – especially Republicans – are less likely to see trade agreements as favorable to the United States.

The TPP certainly had its flaws including many carve-outs to placate special interests in several of the 12 nations involved.  Nonetheless, many economists supported it.

Formal withdrawal from the TPP marks a radical change in direction for the United States.  It has been nearly 90 years since the Smoot-Hawley Tariff was passed.  The argument then as now was that American jobs were being lost due to international competition.  Smoot-Hawley increased tariff rates from 20% to 30% on agricultural products.  Tariffs were raised on 887 items.  Europe and Canada quickly retaliated wiping out many farmers in the Western United States and bankrupting Western banks further weakening a sinking economy.  It is almost certain that the Smoot-Hawley Tariff all by itself would have induced a recession.  It certainly contributed to making the Great Depression longer and more painful.

Since the end of World War II, the United States has championed freer trade and open markets. The United States led the creation in 1947 of the General Agreement of Trade and Tariffs (GATT) that was signed by 23 countries.  In 1995, The United States helped lead the establishment of GATT’s successor – the World Trade Organization (WTO) which today has over 160 member nations.

But, it is now 2017.  People have many serious concerns about trade that need to be addressed.  These concerns never received the attention they deserved during the campaigns of either candidate.

• Is trade a job killer for the United States?
• Should we worry about bilateral trade deficits with nations like China?
• Has NAFTA done more harm than good?
• Does free trade help or hurt poor people?

Professor Schug will present a one-time lecture, “Economists Analyze the President’s New Policies,” on Tuesday, March 21 from 4:30 – 6 p.m. 

By Robert Versteeg, associate of Silvin Books

 After Richard René Silvin’s well-attended 2015 presentation about the SS Normandie, the 1930s flagship of the French Line, he will now return to LLS Jupiter on Thursday, February 9, 2017 at 11:15 a.m.  This time, Mr. Silvin will take the audience on a journey through time, elaborating on the rise and decline of transatlantic ocean liner travel, culminating with a discussion about cruise ships.

René Silvin on the Andrea Doria two weeks before it sank.

During the heyday of the behemoth ocean liners, there were several famous disasters. The White Star Line’s Titanic
sank in 1912 because of the captain’s recklessness attempting to win the Blue Riband (see my blog of 1/13/2017). The Cunard Line’s Lusitania sank in 1915 because it did not heed the German warning that U-boats would be looking for her. And the Italian flagship Andrea Doria sank in 1956, when it collided with the Stockholm in dense fog off the coast of Nantucket. All three liners were famous ships known for crossing the Atlantic Ocean.

With the advent of jets and skyrocketing fuel costs, transatlantic ocean liner travel shrank to a trickle. The industry changed its focus from high-speed crossings to gentle, low-speed cruising. Luckily, we do not hear about fatal disasters with cruise ships; only the occasional unexpected storm, outbreak of illness or a rogue husband throwing his bride overboard! However, in 2012, an Italian ship became the first large cruise ship to flounder, and both the company which owned her and her country of registry suffered a big blow, when the Costa Concordia sank just off the Tuscan coastline.

Costa Concordia

The 114,000-ton Costa Concordia entered service in 2006. She could carry 3,780 passengers plus crew and was mostly used to cruise the Mediterranean Sea.

On January 13, 2012, she left the port of Civitavecchia (near Rome) to start a 7-night cruise around the Mediterranean. In what is still a very controversial story, the ship deviated from her planned route, and came too close to the Isola del Giglio. It struck a rock formation on the sea floor, which caused a 174-foot-long gash in the hull.

With 4,252 passengers and crew aboard, the evacuation was handled very poorly, resulting in 32 people losing their lives. Most victims drowned inside the ship, which experts claim should have been avoided.

The investigation into the cause of the disaster focused mostly on 41-year-old Captain Francesco Schettino. The Captain said that he was performing a somewhat routine “sail-past salute” to the island. He claimed that on this fatal day, winds and tides pushed the ship into the rocks.

However, other facts came to light, including the presence of Moldovan dancer, Ms. Domnica Cemortan, a non-paying passenger who was on the bridge at the time of the accident. Ms. Cemortan admitted to having a romantic relationship with the Captain. Some concluded that the Captain made the unauthorized ship maneuver to show off for her. Schettino denies the accusation.

Additionally, others who were present during the disaster said that the Captain got into a lifeboat, while 300 passengers remained trapped aboard the capsized and sinking ship. Schettino claims he “fell” off the ship into the water, and had to climb into a lifeboat. When he was found and severely reprimanded by the Italian Coast Guard in a publicly available interchange, he was not wet…draw your own conclusion.

Costa Concordia capsized

The ship lay on its side, potentially causing an ecological disaster, for a year and a half. The complicated recovery project cost $623 million, while another $85 million was assigned to repair the coastal area after the ship was hauled off. The ecological cleanup continues to this day. More importantly, 32 innocent people lost their lives, mostly dying terrifying deaths trapped in areas filling up with water. Captain Schettino is serving 16 years in prison for manslaughter.

While some maritime disasters are caused by human error, including occasional poor captaining decisions, the Concordia‘s sinking was unique in its likely gross abuse of power, extreme dereliction of duty and, yes, cowardly behavior. In addition to the tragic loss of life, the incident damaged the relatively unblemished safety record of modern cruise ships, and the travelling public’s confidence in the professionalism of the senior officers.

Please join René as he takes you through 150 years of maritime history. From Necessity, to Glamour, to Recreation: the changing face of Transatlantic Ocean Liner travel.

Kami Barrett-Batchelder LLS Associate Director

On Thursday, February 2, 2017, at 10 a.m., the former Police Commissioner of the Boston Police Department, Ed Davis, will present a first-hand account lecture on the aftermath of the 2013 Boston Marathon bombings.

Commissioner Ed Davis

Davis, who was appointed in 2006, has been in law enforcement for 35 years. He served as the 40^th Police Commissioner of the City of Boston from December 2006 until October 2013. He was Boston’s lead police official during the tragic Marathon bombings and testified before Congress about the bombing and the lessons learned. Prior to his job as the Police Commissioner, he was the Superintendent of the Lowell Police Department, a position he held for 12 years and one he rose to after starting out as a patrol officer in 1978. In Boston, Commissioner Davis oversaw police services for over 600,000 residents along with those visiting and working in the City of Boston.

Boston Marathon Memorial

Thursday’s lecture will not just focus on the 280 who were injured, 42 of those with life-threatening injuries, or the three individuals who were killed at the scene of the two explosions. Davis will explain how he was at the forefront of the emergency response, the manhunt to find the suspects who committed these crimes and how they were able to apprehend the terrorists within a week.

Commissioner Davis’ broad law enforcement background set the tone for policing in the city, from the walking beat, to managing massive demonstrations and special events, to creating a better and trusting relationship between the police and the community, to innovative technology and social media efforts that have improved public safety and allowed open dialogue with those the police department serves. These changes he made certainly aided him on the days that followed the bombings.

In 2013, he resigned from the Boston Police Department and is now the President and CEO of Edward Davis, LLC, a business strategy and security services firm. Davis has brought together a team of security and technology solution experts including former federal, state, local law enforcement, military officials, researchers and attorneys with direct personal connections to esteemed academic institutions, national and international governing and intelligence entities. The Davis team lends their expertise to crisis response, risk management, site assessments, facility security design, audit and compliance, thought leadership and policy, government consulting, cyber/IoT mitigation and management and product strategy.

Commissioner Davis has also worked internationally on police issues in Singapore, London, Northern Ireland, Jordan and Israel. He served on the Police Executive Research Forum’s (PERF) Board of Directors and was a founding member and first President of the Massachusetts Major City Chiefs Association.

To purchase tickets for Thursday’s event, visit www.fau.edu/llsjupiter.

By Sandi Page, Member of the FAU LLS Jupiter Marketing Committee

Baby New Year, Father Time, Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End. As Baby New Year ushers in 2017, we wish all of you a Happy and Healthy New Year as we continue to celebrate the 20th Anniversary of FAU LLS Jupiter.

Look no further than LLS Jupiter to find some pretty babies! Several professors and staff members have graciously sent me their baby photos for a contest to start the year off with some fun!   Can you match the adorable baby photo with the fine-looking adult they grew up to be?

A special note about one of our “pretty babies”, Ralph Duckett (1935 – 2017), our unflappable Audio Visual Specialist, who had been with LLS Jupiter since the beginning.  Although he knew the end was coming, he was delighted to send me his baby picture to participate in the contest.  A gracious gentleman always, he was the first friend I made at LLS when I arrived in the fall of 2011.  Ralph will be greatly missed by us all.

Let’s see how good of an eye you have and send us your photo matchup guesses in the comments section.

We’ll give you the answers in this Saturday’s regular LLS email newsletter!

UPDATE!

Answer Key:

Baby 1 is Kami Barrett Batchelder.

Baby 2 is Dr. Kurt F. Stone.

Baby 3 is Emily Morton.

Baby 4 is Dr. Robert Rabil.

Baby 5 is Sandi Page.

Baby 6 is Dr. Taylor Hagood.

Baby 7 is Suzanna Wells.

Baby 8 is Richard René Silvin.

Baby 9 is Katie Muldoon.

Baby 10 is Dr. Benito Rakower.

Baby 11 is Kimberly Bowman.

Baby 12 is Ralph Duckett.

Baby 13 is Wendi Geller.

Baby 14 is Pookie Page.

1. Baby 1	A. Dr. Taylor Hagood, LLS Professor
2. Baby 2	B. Katie Muldoon, LLS Professor
3. Baby 3	C. Dr. Benito Rakower, LLS Professor
4. Baby 4	D. Dr. Kurt F. Stone, LLS Professor
5. Baby 5	E. Dr. Robert Rabil, LLS Professor
6. Baby 6	F. Richard René Silvin, LLS Professor
7. Baby 7	G. Ralph Duckett, LLS AV Specialist
8. Baby 8	H. Kami Barrett Batchelder, LLS Jupiter Associate Director
9. Baby 9	I. Kimberly Bowman, LLS Jupiter Coordinator of Academic Programs
10. Baby 10	J. Wendi Geller, LLS Jupiter Class Coordinator
11. Baby 11	K. Suzanna Wells, LLS Jupiter Facilities Manager
12. Baby 12	L. Emily Morton, LLS Jupiter Data Processor
13. Baby 13	M. Sandi Page, LLS Jupiter Marketing Committee member, guest blogger
14. Baby 14	N. Pookie Page, Executive Director of the Page Household

By Kami Barrett-Batchelder LLS Associate Director

Kenneth R. Feinberg

On Thursday, January 19, 2017 at 4 p.m., LLS Jupiter will present a one-time lecture by Kenneth R. Feinberg, an advocate best known as Special Master of the Federal September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001. During his lecture, Feinberg will focus on the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the Boston Marathon bombings, and the Virginia Tech, Sandy Hook Elementary School and Aurora, Colorado movie shootings. This lecture will not only focus on the characteristics of such compensation programs, but also will raise the philosophical and practical issues surrounding the wisdom of such programs. A light reception and book signing will follow the lecture.

New York City, September 2001

Appointed by Attorney General John Ashcroft to be Special Master of the fund, Feinberg worked for 33 months entirely pro bono. He developed the regulations governing the administration of the fund and administered all aspects of the program, including evaluating applications, determining appropriate compensation and disseminating awards. His work with the September 11^th Victim Fund cemented his reputation as the “master of disasters” according to a March 2016 article in the “Observer.”

Additionally, Feinberg served as the government-appointed administrator of the BP Deepwater Horizon Disaster Victim Compensation Fund, and was appointed by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to administer the One Fund—the victim assistance fund established in the wake of the 2013 Boston Marathon bombings. Most recently, Feinberg was retained by General Motors to assist in their recall response and by Volkswagen to oversee their U.S. compensation of VW diesel owners affected by the Volkswagen emissions scandal.

Boston Marathon

In his book titled “What is Life Worth?”, Feinberg describes the eight-part plan which was applied to approaching the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund. Feinberg explains the well-thought–out process that must go into each decision, while addressing the most important question that comes after a tragedy, why compensate at all? He discusses practical and philosophical problems of using money as a way to tackle wrongs and reveal individual value.

In addition to handling these funds, he is also an adjunct professor at the Columbia University School of Law, University of Pennsylvania Law School, Georgetown University Law Center, New York University School of Law, the University of Virginia School of Law and the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law.

To register for the lecture, visit www.fau.edu/llsjupiter.