• INFORMAL DISCUSSION - For the first 30 minutes of the Thursday night forums we will have informal discussion. This will allow for late arrivals, food & drink ordering, and new attendees to become acclimated.
• ANNOUNCEMENTS - Any events, news, or other items that you feel are of interest to the group can be announced at the start of Free Inquiry Forum.

TOPICS for Thursday (6/24/04):

1. Discuss Clinton's new book and the extensive media coverage it is receiving. Will you read his book? Do you care to learn more about Clinton's personal life? Will Clinton's reemergence into the spotlight have any effect on the upcoming election? Was the $80 million dollar Whitewater investigation, led by independent counsel Ken Starr, a greater moral error than Clinton's affair itself? Was there a "vast right-wing conspiracy" that tried to bring down Clinton's presidency? Will the Monica Lewinsky scandal define Clinton's legacy? How do you rate Clinton's job as president? How does Clinton compare to other recent presidents?
2. A South Korean interpreter was beheaded on Tuesday by the insurgents who held him captive after his abduction the previous week in Falluja. This was the third beheading in the Middle East in the last several weeks. What are the terrorists hoping to accomplish with kidnappings and beheadings? Are they succeeding? Are terrorists using videotaped executions to manipulate the media into broadcasting their messages? If so, what can be done? Are the Saudi authorities capable of dealing with the al-Qaeda challenge?
3. Mike Melvill flew SpaceShipOne, a rocket plane designed by aerospace pioneer Burt Rutan, to an altitude of 100 kilometers. The mission marked the first time a civilian pilot at the controls of a privately financed aircraft had crossed the threshold of space. Will space tourism be a booming business of the future? Within hours of this first private flight to outer space, a NASA official said the agency might offer millions of dollars in prizes to encourage commercial missions to orbit the Earth or land on the moon. Is this encouraging news? Should all space exploration be a global effort?
4. Brian Muller, an Army bomb squad team leader who served on a security detail for President Bush, said he was dismissed from duty after deciding to tell his commander he's gay. Some 770 people were discharged for homosexuality last year under the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy. "Don't ask, don't tell" allows gays to serve in the military as long as they keep their sexual orientation private and do not engage in homosexual acts. Since "don't ask, don't tell" was adopted in 1994, nearly 10,000 military personnel have been discharged — including linguists, nuclear warfare experts and other key specialists. Do you agree with the "don't ask, don't tell" policy?

Quote of the week: "I think I’ve honestly tried to say more about my life than I believe any public figure ever has. And probably more than anyone ever should. And I think I’ll leave it at that." [President Bill Clinton in the 60 minutes interview - Source]

Send your topic suggestions for an upcoming FiF to: info@freeinquiryforum.com

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