Weekly Free Speech Forum established Jan. 6, 1951
College of Complexes
The Playground for People Who Think
sustaining the academic tradition of “One Fool at a Time”
Every Saturday at 5:00 PM CT
Dapper's Restaurant
2901 W. Addison, Chicago, Free Parking The next open dates are:
CTA Route 152 Addison July 19, 26
Tuition $3.00 and food/drink purchase Contact the Program Coordinator
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Upcoming Presentations:
May
May 24th
Remember the Culture Wars?
They Came for the Arts and Got the Country
The story of how the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) had been targeted
by a collection of conservative politicians for destruction
Meetings # 3,819 - Tom Tresser, Civic Educator. Public Defender
You may know Tom Tresser (www.tresser.com) as one of the leaders of the No Games Chicago campaign from 2009 (www.nogameschicago.com) that spiked Chicago’s Bid for the 2016 Olympics (which cost the winning city, Rio, $24 billion! You’re welcome).
But over 20 years before that Tom was an organizer for the League of Chicago Theatres fighting to save the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) from destruction (https://www.tresser.com/save-the-nea). The NEA had been targeted by a collection of conservative politicians and Far Right evangelical organizations, led by The Christian Coalition. What happened has been called the Culture Wars, and – spoiler alert – we lost. Tom will tell the story of what happened, how the arts in Chicago responded, and what FAILED to happen as the Far Right built its civic muscles.
If you love the arts, freedom of expression, believe in separation of church and state, are repulsed by hate-fueled politics, or are curious as to how the Far Right has taken over this country, you need to attend!
Stay connected to my work by subscribing to my “CivicNotes” Substack newsletter. Recent work -> click here.
Read my latest piece in The Nonprofit Quarterly -> “How to Stop TIFs & Megaprojects”
NOW ON SALE! – My new book tells the never been told story of the No Games Chicago campaign! Learn more.
May 31st
A Detailed Look at Small Modular Nuclear Reactors (SMNRs) -
The Energy Solution or a Costly Dead End?
(manufactured in a factory and shipped to operational sites to reduce costs)
Meetings # 3,820 - Jan Boudart, environmental activist
Description
The speaker states; "I will present several aspects of Small Modular Nuclear Reactors. The history and development of SMNRs, their size, their cost and the Catch 22 of the combination of "support" for nuclear development along with the Trump Administration's backing of several start-ups with different designs and the withdrawal of independence from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). I will give reasons why these policies pre-empt private investment in the nuclear project."
Information Illinois’ Nuclear Power Watchdog
Committed to ending nuclear power since 1981 https://neis.org/
PRESS RELEASE: Small modular reactors are still too expensive, too slow, and too risky
June
June 7th
Open Microphone
10 Year Anniversary of Trumpism in America
Will he be able to remain in office? Will he MAGA?
Meeting # 3,821 - June 16 marks 10 years since he descended the Trump Tower escalator and announced his candidacy for President.
Anyone in attendance, either in-person or online, will be afforded 10 minutes to speak.
June 14th
A Complete, Accurate Story of US Cuba Relations 1898-2025
"What They Didn’t Teach Us in School"
Meeting # 3,822 - Walt Zlotow, President of the West Suburban Peace Coalition
In 1898 the US declared a successful war against Spain to expel that country from Cuba and the Americas and begin its exploitation of Cuba. Learn how American business interests dominated US-Cuba relations until the Cuban Revolution of 1956-59 when subsequent land reform injured American business and political pride. This resulted in US proxy war, attemped regime change assassination attemps, political and economic sanctions that all failed but continue to this day. Never found in America’s schoolbooks, this exploitation will be discussed by Walt Zlotow in “US Cuba Relations 1898-2025: What They Didn’t Teach Us in School.”
The speaker:
Walt Zlotow is president of the West Suburban Peace Coalition. He has followed US-Cuba relations for 8 decades, supporting the Cuban Revolution of 1956–59 that overthrew the Batista regime, a government which had brutalized the Cuban people with America’s backing for over 25 years. His sister-in-law is a Cuban national who immigrated to the US in 1969, marrying his brother in 1974. Zlotow visited Cuba in 2017 which inspired him to develop tonite’s talk. He blogs daily on anti-war and other subjects at www.heartlandprogressive.blogspot.com and WaltZlotow.Substack.com
June 21st
The Papal Encyclical RERUM NOVARUM –
Can Christianity and Capitalism Co-Exist, or
Are They at Odds with Each Other?
Meetings # 3,823 -collefe regular Tim Bolger
The speaker states that he will cover the following:
"Does Christianity approve of free market capitalism for personal profit? Or should the capitalist be made to share all the profits? Does someone who does no work get any profits? Why do many work hard but get few profits?
What if chasing profit isn’t the problem—but ignoring justice is? Before you defend capitalism or condemn it, ask yourself, does your faith shape your economics, or does your economics reshape your faith?
The answer to these question can be found in RERUM NOVARUM ENCYCLICAL OF POPE LEO XIII."
"The rich must religiously refrain from cutting down the workmen’s earnings, whether by force, by fraud, or by usurious dealing; and the poor should not put their trust in deceitful promises, or try to gain by riot what they cannot get by honest labor."
— Pope Leo XIII, Rerum Novarum (1891)
This piece explores the moral and theological implications of free-market capitalism through the lens of Pope Leo XIII’s Rerum Novarum, examining the balance between personal profit, social responsibility, and the rights of workers. It addresses whether Christian doctrine condones individual profit, the ethical obligation to share wealth, and why disparities in labor and reward persist in capitalist systems.
June 28th
Ibrahim Traoré, the revolutionary figure, with anti-colonial and Pan-Africanist sentiments, who has a campaign to rid his West African country of any Western influence, one of the least developed countries in the world
Meetings # 3,824 - Wes Urry
The speaker states that: "There are many stories about Ibrahim Traoré. Many are very colorful and flattering but factually incorrect, and still others are slanderous lies."
Background
Ibrahim Traoré is a military commander and president of Burkina Faso, a landlocked country in West Africa, with a population of 23 million, with the largest ethnic group the Mossi people. It was colonized by the French as Upper Volta, a self-governing colony within the French Community, which gained full independence in 1960. Renamed Burkina Faso, the “land of the honest / incorruptible men,” it remains one of the least developed countries in the world.
Since it gained its independence, the country has been subject to instability, droughts, famines and corruption. There have also been various coups, in 1966, 1980, 1982, 1983, 1987, and twice in 2022. There were also unsuccessful coup attempts in 1989, 2015, and 2023.
Burkina Faso is a state that is struggling to overcome the conditions it found itself in in the neo colonial era.
Under Traoré's administration, Burkina Faso has pursued a revolutionary and anti-colonial agenda, expelling French soldiers and strengthening ties with Russia.
Burkina Faso has nationalized its wealth by creating a state mining corporation, aiming for more control over its gold mining resources. This move immediately scored points with people who have been advocating that where the country’s wealth be distributed primarily within its borders.
It obtained control of two industrial gold mines formerly controlled by a British company, and in April 2025, granted an industrial mining license to the Russian company Nordgold for a new gold project.
July
July 5th
The Feasibility of Invasion and Annexation
of Canada as a US Territory
Meeting # 3,825 - internationalist Charles Paidock
A random collection of factors, many historical, that should be considered before attempting an assimilation of Canada as a new US territory.
July 12th
One-on-One Debate to Determine if
"China is Capitalist"
Meetings # 3,826 - Eric Mao vs. David Ramsay Steele, political analysts
Description:
Since 1978, China has undergone a remarkable transformation from a centrally planned, isolated economy to a global economic powerhouse. Not the least remarkable of which: China's economic development is credited with approximately 75% of the global reduction in the number of people living in extreme poverty since 1980. This equates to lifting nearly 800 million people out of extreme poverty, measured by the World Bank's international poverty line of $1.90 per day. For the economic-minded—is China capitalist as a result of the economic transformation?
Eric Mao's bio:
Founder of the Geopolitical Forum, Eric Mao is an analyst and writer of global affairs. He writes on Substack under @ericshepherdmao and has a presence on X as @ShepherdMao. He published Diversity the Modern Fetish and Equality in the Guise of Ideal in 2018.
David Ramsay Steel's Bio
David Ramsay Steele is the CEO and Editor in Chief of Carus Books. He was the Editorial Director of Open Court for 30 years and is the author of several books including: The Mystery of Fascism: David Ramsay Steele’s Greatest Hits (2019, a collection of 23 previously published articles), Orwell Your Orwell: A Worldview on the Slab (2017, a study of George Orwell‘s beliefs), Atheism Explained: From Folly to Philosophy (2008, a popular exposition of atheism) and From Marx to Mises: Post-Capitalist Society and the Challenge of Economic Calculation.
July 19, 26
Open
Meetings # 3,827, 28 - contact the Program Coordinator Charles Paidock if you would like to speak at cpaidock@hotmail.com or (312) 842-5036, (312) 714-7790 cell
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