Month: April 2025

Hike Saugatuck Trail, April 10, 2025

April 11, 2025 / Webmaster

Thursday, April10^th, we will traverse the northern end of the Saugatuck Trail in Weston, Connecticut, which borders the Saugatuck Reservoir. Our route is a bit rocky and a little steep in parts; so good foot gear is a must. Though our round-trip trek is only 2.4 miles, you will likely feel this one in your gluteus maximus! So, fortifying nutrition will come in handy.

Parking on Glen Road (Route 53) at the north end of the reservoir is minimal, so car-pooling for this one is highly advisable. Per usual, we will meet at the DCA at 9:30am and sort ourselves. When parking in this lot, we have been asked by the DCA to use the rear section to minimize potential conflict with their other proceedings.

Travel time is about thirty-five minutes. Post hike, we will retire to our familiar haunt, Orem’s Diner, in Wilton for a communal repast.

Current Affairs April 17 at 2pm: Jim Phillips on Solutions for Immigration Reform/Border Security

April 10, 2025 / Webmaster

Meeting in the Lillian Gade Room or on Zoom.

Current Affairs May 15th at 2pm Ed Barksdale: The Rise and Fall of Nations – Where is America Now?

April 8, 2025 / Webmaster

The background material, provided in advance, focuses on “the science of history,” relying on the work of the mathematical historian Peter Turchin.

Throughout recorded history, great nations have experienced repeated cycles of harmony, which coincided with a rise to greatness, and disharmony, which coincided with decline—and ultimately their demise.

Turchin’s thesis is that two primary factors drive these cycles:

1. the degree of income disparity between the upper and lower classes of each society and

2. the production—or overproduction—of “elites,” i.e., those seeking wealth and social power.

The United States is in its third period of extreme disharmony—the first was the decade before the Civil War, the second was in 1920, and the third is today.

The discussion will attempt to avoid a political debate and instead focus on the underlying factors behind our nation’s contentious and divided state.

The 1850s preceded the Civil War, and the 1920s preceded the Great Depression, so what is next for America?

Articles of interest:

Darien Discussion Group Letter

The deep historical forces that explain Trump’s win

PeterTurchin–Guardian

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/nov/30/the-deep-historical-forces-that-explain-trumps-win

History as Science-Why do we need mathematical history?