• OPEN DISCUSSION - For the first 30 minutes of the Thursday night forums we will have informal open 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 (6/2/05) & Monday (6/6/05):

1. Women can vote in all Middle Eastern nations where elections are held, except Saudi Arabia, a close U.S. ally and leading beneficiary of the First Gulf War.  Kuwait recently gave political rights to women, allowing them to vote and run for office in parliamentary and local elections for the first time in the country's history. Bahrain, Qatar, and Oman have all held their first elections in recent years and allowed women to vote. Why have democratic freedoms been delayed in Saudi Arabia when women can vote in virtually all Middle East countries, including Iraq? How do undemocratic policies and lack of women's rights in Saudi Arabia reflect on America's stated mission to spread liberty and freedom in the Middle East?  (Submitted by Jack)
2. Our government spends more on healthcare than do governments of other advanced countries, while our private sector pays far more than anywhere else. On life-expectancy and infant-mortality, the U.S. scores lower than other advanced countries. The U.S. excels in high-tech services like MRIs, but rates average or below on doctors' visits and days spent in hospitals. Furthermore, identical procedures cost far more in the US than in other advanced countries, and doctors' salaries and drug costs are far higher. Employers are alarmed at rising healthcare costs, and growing numbers of Americans are losing their health coverage due to higher costs. So, with 20-40 million U.S. citizens without health insurance (in Texas, over 30% of adults under 65 are uninsured), why do we spend so much on healthcare and get so little in return?  (Submitted by Jack)
3. Nearly two dozen states are allowing pay-as-you-go roads, letting the private sector build and run toll roads to ease state deficits and lack of money for maintaining existing roads -- let alone build new ones. The White House says states can charge user fees for virtually any stretch of Interstate, a major change in transportation policy since the Interstate system was created in mid-1950's. Tolls vary by time of day and levels of traffic congestion, and forced more drivers to car-pool to avoid tolls. Are private toll roads the answer to state highway needs? Are tolls fair to American drivers whose taxes built and maintain the Interstate system?  Will "Lexus Lanes" be a way of life for tomorrow's commuters, or is there a better way to free up America's clogged highways?  (Submitted by Jack)
4. OPEN DISCUSSION.

Quote of the week: "I write against the religion because if women want to live like human beings, they will have to live outside the religion and Islamic law." [Bangladeshi writer Taslima Nasrin, in exile, 6/21/94]

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