Why the Rich Don’t Pay Taxes

Ray Madoff, Professor of Law, Boston College Law School.

11 a.m., November 16, 2025

Join us this Sunday, either in person or online, as we watch and discuss a video from last October that explains why the rich don’t pay taxes.

The richest Americans control $46 trillion in wealth—but many pay little or no federal tax. ‪Boston College law professor Ray Madoff, author of “The Second Estate: How the Tax Code Made an American Aristocracy,” explains how a century of tax policy created two Americas: one that pays taxes and one that doesn’t.

Drawing on her new book, Madoff reveals how the wealthy use legal tools—inheritance loopholes, trusts, and philanthropy—to avoid taxation altogether. She shows how “charitable giving” often benefits billionaires more than the public, and how our tax code has quietly built an American aristocracy.

Madoff calls for a new vision of stewardship—where wealth is once again tied to responsibility, and the public good comes before private dynasties.

You can preview this 26-minute video at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aLKacgW6YOI

Attend in Person:
Join fellow Humanists in the Milpitas Library Group Study Room A, 160 N Main St, Milpitas, CA 95035-4323. Often after our meeting, we find a nearby inexpensive eatery for a luncheon.

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Streamer Culture Is A Time Bomb

American psychiatrist Dr. Alok Kanojia, co-founder of Healthy Gamer

11 a.m., November 9, 2025

Join us this Sunday online as we watch and discuss a video of Dr. Alok Kanojia, talking about the various psychological traps we fall into, and emphasizing the lack of and need for dialogue, which is so difficult to establish on the web.

Dr. Kanojia uses the example of “collargate,” the charge that Twitch streamer Hasan Piker cruelly shocked his dog with an electric collar. The case demonstrates how, if there are both favorable and unfavorable interpretations of an event, streaming magnifies this polarization.

Dr. Alok Kanojia is an American psychiatrist and the co-founder of Healthy Gamer, a mental health platform focused on supporting the gaming community. He is the president and co-founder of the Healthy Gamer Foundation and the HG Institute, where he discusses mental health with popular streamers and viewers, often addressing topics like addiction, depression, and emotional regulation. He also collaborates with organizations such as the United Nations and the White House on youth mental health initiatives.

He holds a Bachelor of Science from the University of Texas at Austin and earned his medical degree and Master of Public Health from Tufts University School of Medicine and completed his psychiatric residency at the Massachusetts General Hospital/McLean Adult Psychiatry Residency Program, affiliated with Harvard Medical School.

Dr. Kanojia has a personal history with video game addiction, which he overcame through spiritual training in India. This, combined with his medical training informs his unique approach to mental health, blending Western psychiatry with Eastern philosophies. He is a former instructor at Harvard Medical School and has worked as a private psychiatrist for esports professionals.

He is the author of the bestselling book How to Raise a Healthy Gamer: End Power Struggles, Break Bad Screen Habits, and Transform Your Relationship with Your Kids.

You can preview Dr. Kanojia’s talk at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_t0jCsU_5v4

Join us online:
For the first time since the onset of Covid-19, the Humanist Forum will only convene online on Zoom. To join and be able to ask questions and make comments, click here.
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The Internet Can Make the World a Better Place

Jennifer Pahlka, founder, Code for America

11 a.m., November 2, 2025

Join us this Sunday, either in person or online, as we watch and discuss a couple of videos highlighting some of the simple, but perhaps overlooked, benefits of the internet. The talks don’t address political, environmental, or existential problems but show how the internet can make life better.

In the first video, How web video powers global innovation, Chris Anderson says the rise of web video is driving a worldwide phenomenon he calls Crowd Accelerated Innovation — a self-fueling cycle of learning that could be as significant as the invention of print. But to tap into its power, organizations will need to embrace radical openness.

After a long career in journalism and publishing, Chris Anderson became the curator of the TED Conference in 2002 and positioned TED as a global media initiative devoted to ‘ideas worth spreading.’
In the second video, Coding a better government, coder and activist, Jennifer Pahlka, shows that that apps, built quickly and cheaply, are a powerful new way to connect citizens to their governments — and their neighbors.

Jennifer Pahlka is the founder of Code for America, which matches software geniuses with US cities to reboot local services.

You can preview these videos at:
https://www.ted.com/talks/chris_anderson_how_web_video_powers_global_innovation (18 minutes), and
https://www.ted.com/talks/jennifer_pahlka_coding_a_better_government (12 minutes).

Attend in Person:
Join fellow Humanists in the Milpitas Library Group Study Room B, 160 N Main St, Milpitas, CA 95035-4323. Often after our meeting, we find a nearby inexpensive eatery for a luncheon.

Also, we will continue to present our forums on Zoom. To join and be able to ask questions and make comments, click here.
No password is needed — our host will admit you from the waiting room. Joining the meeting via the link will download and install the Zoom app on your desktop computer (if it’s not already installed), and then take you to the meeting. You can also install the Zoom app on your computer or smartphone, and then enter:
Meeting ID: 816 5389 0712
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Join the meeting by phone: +1 408 638 0968 US (San Jose)
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Exposing The Dark Side of America’s AI Data Center Explosion

Future Microsoft data center, north of State Route 237

11 a.m., October 26, 2025

Join us this Sunday, either in person or online, as we watch and discuss a 31-minute video from September 2025.

The explosion of AI, artificial intelligence, across every industry has seen hundreds of water- and power-hungry server farms sprout up across the US. Already, one-third of the world’s internet traffic flows through data centers in just one US state: Virginia.

However, until now, there has been no official record of the number of data centers in America, who owns them, or how much electricity they consume.

In an exclusive deep dive into the industry, Business Insider reporters cracked the code and, for the first time, revealed the true cost of the data warehouses feeding our growing appetite for cloud computing and AI. We travelled to Virginia to meet people living in the shadow of 80-foot-high boxes that emit a constant drone, and to the drought-ridden state of Arizona, where some data centers are using as much as a million gallons of water a day to help cool their computer servers.

Business Insider also discovered that the power needs of data centers have forced some states to withdraw from their carbon emissions targets. Power companies are even looking to extend the life of coal and gas plants to help meet the unprecedented demand.

BUSINESS INSIDER is a New York-based multinational financial and business news website founded in 2007. It publishes original reporting and aggregates material from other outlets. The outlet has been nominated for several awards, but has also been criticized for using factually incorrect clickbate headlines to attract viewership.

Ironically, In 2023, Business Insider shifted its organizational model, adding multiple AI products in 2024, and reducing its staff by nearly 40% between April 2023 and May 2025.

The image illustrates the future Microsoft data center, north of State Route 237, between Zanker Road and Coyote Creek. https://www.mercurynews.com/2025/08/05/pge-microsoft-san-jose-tech-economy-power-energy-electric-build-ai-jobs/

You can watch this video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t-8TDOFqkQA

Attend in Person:
Join fellow Humanists in the Sequoia Room of the Los Altos Community Center, 97 Hillview Ave, Los Altos, CA 94022. Lunch will be served after the forum. We request a $10 donation.

Also, we will continue to present our forums on Zoom. To join and be able to ask questions and make comments, click here.
No password is needed — our host will admit you from the waiting room. Joining the meeting via the link will download and install the Zoom app on your desktop computer (if it’s not already installed), and then take you to the meeting. You can also install the Zoom app on your computer or smartphone, and then enter:
Meeting ID: 816 5389 0712
Passcode: 250634

Join the meeting by phone: +1 408 638 0968 US (San Jose)
Find an international phone number to call: here.

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