The Commonwealth June/July 2017

Commonwealth The

THE MAGAZINE OF THE COMMONWEALTH CLUB OF CALIFORNIA

JUNE/JULY 2017

THE UNSTOPPABLE

JANE GOODALL P.J. O’ROURKE

VICENTE FOX

What the Heck Across the Border Just Happened?

BEN SHAPIRO The New Young Conservatives

UPCOMING PROGRAMS Complete Guide

$5.00; free for members | commonwealthclub.org

Walking Below & Beyond Mont Blanc September 23-October 5, 2017

Discover lovely villages, grand castles and the majesty of the Alps as you enjoy walking in three countries.

Switzerland •

Explore Geneva’s old town, Town Hall, St. Peter’s Cathedral and Reformation Wall.

•

Stay three nights in Villars sur Ollon, our base for walks through pine forests and alpine meadows to charming towns such as Barboleuse, Gryon and Bretaye.

•

Enjoy Swiss fondue in an alpine farmhouse and visit the St. Bernard Museum.

•

Drive along the Great St. Bernard Pass, an ancient Alpine route traveled since the Bronze Age and used by Napoleon’s army to cross into Italy.

Italy •

Stay four nights in Cogne, the main gateway to the Parco Nazionale del Gran Paradiso.

•

Visit Aosta, the “Rome of the Alps,” founded by the Romans in 25 B.C.

•

Bake bread in the Valnontey Valley and sample their local herbal liqueur.

France •

Stay three nights in Chamonix, our base in the Chamonix Valley.

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Take a thrilling cable car ride up Mont Blanc for a spectacular panorama.

•

Hike the Petit Balcon Sud trail with spectacular views of the north face of Mont Blanc.

Activity Level: Walks are moderate, from 1-5 miles and approximately 2-4 hours a day.

Cost: $4,895, per person double occupancy; $700 single room supplement

Brochure at commonwealthclub.org/travel | 415.597.6720 | travel@commonwealthclub.org

CST: 2096889-40

INSIDE THIS ISSUE 4

EDITOR’S DESK

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THE COMMONS

Short news of the Club.

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LETTERS

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19

CARRIE NUGENT

The how, what and why of asteroids

23

BEN SHAPIRO

In conversation with Matt Shupe The young conservative discusses his debates with the left and right.

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2017 GALA HIGHLIGHTS

JANE GOODALL

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The legendary Jane Goodall discusses her life and priorities.

In conversation with Gloria Duffy

In conversation with Jeff Horowitz and Greg Dalton

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P.J. O’ROURKE

In conversation with Melissa Caen The conservative political satirist is not a fan of our new president.

VICENTE FOX

Mexico’s former president talks economics immigration, and more..

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INSIGHT

Dr. Gloria C. Duffy President and CEO

Programs Program Information 42 Two-month Calendar 43 Program Listings 45 Late-breaking events 57

June/July 2017 Volume 111, No. 4

On the Cover Jane Goodall was featured in a sold-out Climate One program.

Photo by Ed Ritger

On this page Jane Goodall greets her fans.

Photo by Ed Ritger

I stopped eating meat because I learned about intensive animal agriculture and these terrible factory farms. The next time I looked at meat on my plate, I thought this symbolizes f e a r, p a i n a n d d e a t h .

JANE GOODALL

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EDITORIAL TRANSCRIPT POLICY

The Commonwealth magazine covers a range of programs in each issue. Program transcripts and question and answer sessions are routinely condensed due to space limitations. Hear full-length recordings online at commonwealthclub.org/watch-listen, podcasts on Google Play and Apple iTunes, or contact Club offices to buy a compact disc.

Printed on recycled paper using soy-based ink.

Copyright © 2017 The Commonwealth Club of California.

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The Place for Dialogue

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ast month we unveiled our redesigned commonwealthclub.org website, and we’ve had fun working on it. The site has a new look, and it now scales nicely whether you’re visiting it from a desktop, laptop, smartphone, or tablet computer. The website still has all of our upcoming programs, past audio and video, travel programs, and much more. We invite you to take a look if you haven’t visited it in a while and see what’s avaialble. summer special: For the past decade, the Club’s volunteer Member-Led Forums have used the month of August to hold a special series of programs based on one broad topic.

This year, MLF Chair Dr. Carol Fleming wanted to do something different, something that would resonate with our impending move into our new waterfront home. So instead of being an August series, our MLF special will take place all summer long.

The topic? “Only in San Francisco,” featuring speakers and topics and experiences unique to this fabled city by the bay. Check out our website for series programs, or turn to page 45 to find them in our huge program listings section (now in full color). not afraid of controversy: Last issue, I wrote here that the Club has been selling out a much larger-than-normal number of programs. Large and small, policy wonkish or entertaining, our programs have been attracting audiences hungry for the type of speakers and dialogue and contact with others in the community that we provide. And

several of those programs have also attracted controversy. That’s good, and it’s certainly something we’re comfortable handling; we’re 114 years old, after all, so we’ve been around the block more than a few times.

Some controversy is more welcome than others, of course. I love to see people engaged with the ideas espoused by our speakers; it’s also great to see people take those conversations (and polite arguments) out into the real world, engaging others on various social media platforms or over drinks somewhere.

Less enjoyable is when people think we should never be controversial, or who try to dissuade us from having a speaker or a program if they disagree with it. Those are the people who most frequently claim that the Club is promoting a speaker’s ideas by having them on our stage. And we can only repeat what we’ve always said and that remains true: The Commonwealth Club doesn’t take a side in public issues; we facilitate their discussion and exploration, but we are a membership organization. That means you are the Club, and we are proud to be made up of members of all backgrounds.

That’s not only a boast, it’s our way of fulfilling a claim made by our founder, Edward F. Adams, in 1903: “My conception of a public service club is a body whose members shall have entire confidence in each other’s regard for the public welfare, however diverse their views of obtaining it—their views, in fact, being as diverse as possible in order that no point of view may be missed.”

JOHN Z I P P E R E R VP, ME DIA & ED I T O RI AL

E AB S TA L KS HOAFR ETDH EI D C LU Leadership of The Commonwealth Club

The walls of the Club’s new home will be insulated with blue jeans.

Good Jeans

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lothing company Levi Strauss & Co. has a long relationship with The Commonwealth Club, and both are Bay Area institutions. When the Club moves into its new home at 110 The Embarcadero, Strauss will be with us once again: Levis Strauss & Co. provided the insulation for our LEED Gold building. The insulation? It’s made out of recycled jeans—a whopping 7,800 pairs of jeans, to be exact. Instead of ending up in a landfill somewhere, those jeans will be keeping us nice and warm.

When former Levis Strauss & Co. historian Lynn Downey came to The Commonwealth Club in May of this year, she shared some great but previously little-known stories about Strauss. For example, the man who helped make blue jeans ubiquitous and affordable didn’t wear jeans.

Jeanne Wong

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eanne L. Wong passed away peacefully on March 4, 2017 at the age of 78. Jeanne was a dedicated, passionate and long-term Commonwealth Club employee, serving as a meeting planner from the 1960’s to 2000’s. Working for The Commonwealth Club was a dream come true for her, because

not only did she get to work with the amazing staff and board members, but she got to keep up with current events and hear amazing speakers while she worked. Board members who had the pleasure of working with her speak fondly of all of the help and support she provided them.

Jeanne is survived by five children and two grandkids. She was an avid reader, loved to travel, eat various cuisines and enjoyed clipping out various newspaper articles to give out to family and friends.

It is Jeanne’s family’s hope that her memory will live on in The Commonwealth Club’s new home. They ask that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to The Commonwealth Club’s new building fund. So far nearly $10,000 has been raised in Jeanne’s memory. Gifts can be made at support.commonwealthclub.org/ support/second-century-campaign.

Going Viral

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he top-performing Commonwealth Club video of the past six months is Ben Shapiro, the young conservative writer and speaker who is featured on page 23 of this issue of The Commonwealth. The show quickly attracted more than 48,000 views on YouTube.

Other top-performers were entrepreneur and author Tim Ferriss with more than 34,000 views, and Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen with more than 10,000 views.

Find these and hundreds of other videos at youtube.com/ commonwealthclub.

Shhhhhh! Sneak Preview

I Jeanne Wong at work in The Commonwealth Club

n September, The Commonwealth Club of California will begin celebrating the grand opening of its shiny new waterfront home at 110 The Embarcadero in San Francisco.

In the next few months, we’ll be informing you about tours, programming, and parties to help us kick off the next stage of our life in our beautiful new building. So stay tuned: Next issue, The Commonwealth will feature lots of news, images, and stories about the new building in a special keepsake edition.

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LEADERSHIP OF THE COMMONWEALTH CLUB CLUB OFFICERS Board Chair Richard A. Rubin Vice Chair Evelyn S. Dilsaver Secretary Dr. Jaleh Daie Treasurer John R. Farmer President & CEO Dr. Gloria C. Duffy BOARD OF GOVERNORS John F. Allen Carlo Almendral Courtland Alves Dan Ashley Massey J. Bambara Dr. Mary G. F. Bitterman** Harry E. Blount John L. Boland Michael R. Bracco

Maryles Casto** Mary B. Cranston** Susie Cranston Dr. Kerry P. Curtis Dorian Daley Alecia DeCoudreaux Lee Dutra Joseph I. Epstein* Jeffrey A. Farber Rev. Paul J. Fitzgerald, S.J. Dr. Carol A. Fleming Kirsten Garen Leslie Saul Garvin John Geschke Paul M. Ginsburg Hon. James C. Hormel Mary Huss Julie Kane John Leckrone Dr. Mary Marcy Frank C. Meerkamp Lenny Mendonca Anna W.M. Mok

Bruce Raabe Skip Rhodes (Past Board President) Bill Ring Martha Ryan George M. Scalise Lata Krishnan Shah Dr. Ruth A. Shapiro Charlotte Mailliard Shultz George D. Smith, Jr. James Strother Hon. Tad Taube Ellen O’Kane Tauscher Charles Travers Don Wen Dr. Colleen B. Wilcox Jed York Mark Zitter ADVISORY BOARD Karin Helene Bauer Hon. William Bradley Dennise M. Carter

Your lead story on Ezekiel Emanuel (The Commonwealth, April/May 2017) describes him as the “Obamacare Architect.” Though it may be convenient public relations as he advances a career on the lecture circuit, it is factually untrue. Emanuel had nothing to do with the crafting of the legislation known as the Affordable Care Act, and as a health-care reform advocate prior to the passage of the ACA opposed the ACA’s reform approach and advocated very different reforms.

Perhaps you should next profile Al Gore, inventor of the internet?

Thomas J. Busse San Francisco

The program “What Does It Mean to Be Muslim” was an informative program which accomplished its goal of allowing devoted followers if Islam to clear up misconceptions about the faith.

I know that The Commonwealth Club would not take an official position on what it would consider the true meaning of a religion; rather, the Club will let representatives of that religion speak for themselves by providing a platform for those who are educated, thoughtful representatives of that religion. However, by providing this open platform for these Muslims to speak about their faith, it raises a few questions from me: One: If an educated woman living in a democracy like the United States adopts practices of a religion which appear sexist, patriarchal, or regressive, does her endorsement of those practices render them acceptable to a liberal, secular, progressive audience? If so, why would so many members of that same audience label conservative Protestant or Catholic practices as sexist, patriarchal, or regressive? Would the

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PAST BOARD CHAIRS AND PRESIDENTS Dr. Mary G. F. Bitterman ** Hon. Shirley Temple Black*† J. Dennis Bonney* John Busterud* Maryles Casto** Hon. Ming Chin* Mary B. Cranston** Joseph I. Epstein * Dr. Joseph R. Fink *

William German * Rose Guilbault** Claude B. Hutchison Jr. * Dr. Julius Krevans* Anna W.M. Mok** Richard Otter* Joseph Perrelli* Toni Rembe* Victor J. Revenko* Skip Rhodes* Renée Rubin * Robert Saldich** Connie Shapiro * Nelson Weller * Judith Wilbur * Dennis Wu* * Past President ** Past Chair † Deceased

LETTERS

Architectural Digest

Liberalism and Islam

Steven Falk Amy Gershoni Jacquelyn Hadley Heather Kitchen Amy McCombs Don J. McGrath Hon. William J. Perry Hon. Barbara Pivnicka Hon. Richard Pivnicka Ray Taliaferro Nancy Thompson

Club and members attribute sexist, patriarchal, or regressive practices in predominantly Muslim nations only to the culture and not the religion itself? Why not do the same with conservative Christianity and not blame conservative Christian practices merely on culture?

Two: How likely is it for The Commonwealth Club to provide a forum for female members of a religion other than Islam to clear up misconceptions others might have about their faith? For example, would the Club provide a talk called, “What Does It Mean to Be Christian?” and have Catholic nuns, Protestant deaconesses, and evangelical female pastors?

Three: How quickly would the Club and its members accept the claims of certain Muslim apologists such as Jihad Turk that in no way, shape, or form could “jihad” ever mean something sinister compared to how quickly the Club and audience would accept a Christian apologist who says the New Testament Yahweh does not hate homosexuals?

My point is that it seems like well-educated liberals give Islam a pass with regard to its patriarchal structure, oppression of women, and conservative political philosophy as long as they can find a person who should be considered a victim of those practices openly accepting them. Also, these same well-educated liberals do not want to hear from representatives of Christianity because they have already made up their minds that all Christianity, regardless of cultural context, needs to become more open, tolerant, and liberal.

I am not saying The Commonwealth Club is taking a position on religions; I am simply pointing out what I see is a double standard being applied to Islam as opposed to other faiths.

Jamison Shipley Foxboro, Massachusetts Email: letters@commonwealthclub.org

Photos by Ed Ritger

The Unstoppable

Jane Goodall “It took a long time before I could understand that buying a bar of chocolate was something that you could actually do. It seemed exotic.

So that’s why today I can live in a very simple way and do not take stuff for granted.”

From the Climate One program “Jane Goodall, in conversation with Jeff Horowitz and Greg Dalton” in San Francisco on April 3, 2017.

JANE GOODALL DBE, Founder, the Jane Goodall Institute; U.N. Messenger of Peace

IN CONVERSATION WITH JEFF HOROWITZ Co-producer, “Years of Living Dangerously”

GREG DALTON

Founder and Host, Climate One

The Commonwealth Club had a surprise birthday celebration for Goodall during her program.

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GREG DALTON: Dr. Goodall, you travel the world 300 days a year. Recently at one point you were in Greenland, and you had an encounter about climate change.

Share with us that moment.

JANE GOODALL: Well, it was really when the reality of climate change kind of hit me, because I was with some of the Inuit elders and we were by the great ice cap. They were crying, and they were saying even in the summer the ice here never melted; and there was just water pouring out of this great ice cliff and the icebergs were carving.

Then I happenned to be going straight from there to Panama. There I met some of the indigenous people who’d already been moved off their islands because of the melting ice. The sea levels were already rising, and they had to leave because at high tide their homes were endangered. That just hit me, from one to the other as though fate had taken me from this place to that place to see A, what was happening and B, the effect it was having.

DALTON: So you knew about climate change before, but being there in that moment with those people made it different, it got to your heart in a way that knowledge didn’t.

GOODALL: In fact, sometimes it just really hits you.

DALTON: And what have you done with that afterwards—with that impact? What did you act upon that knowledge?

GOODALL: Well, first of all, learning all that I can about it and reading some of the scientists’ reports, and travelling around and then all the lectures I give—I don’t

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know how many hundreds per year all over the world. I talk about it, you know.

It’s not the main topic of my lectures, but it’s something that I always bring in as the greatest threat that we face right now.

DALTON: Jeff Horowitz, you’ve been into forests, you are a trained architect; how did you come to this climate conversation?

JEFF HOROWITZ: Now, as far as Jane is concerned, most of you have probably known of Jane for the obvious chimpanzee work that she’s done; but very few if any of you probably are aware of the fact that Jane has, with us and others, attended almost every major international climate change negotiation and meeting around the world, from Copenhagen to Durban to Rio to Paris, when the climate talks came together with an agreement.

It’s very important to understand that people like Jane are looking beyond what they’re accustomed to looking at, and it’s my job and others’ to try to get her outside of her comfort level by basically meeting with people that she wouldn’t ordinarily meet with, like heads of state, like heads of the World Bank. If you look at the footage of the major climate walk that was done, the march that was done just a couple of years ago in New York City, you will see Ban Ki-moon at the front of that massive crowd and right next to him is Jane Goodall leading the way on climate.

So from that point of view, having her here and having her be a part of the community of people who are looking for solutions, I commend Jane for being here and I want to thank her for her service to helping with the climate solution.

GOODALL: It was this man who dragged me out of my comfort zone to all these things, this very man.

HOROWITZ: We all have our missions in life, what can I tell you?

I had a very pedestrian entrée to climate change. I was one of the 8 million or so that saw An Inconvenient Truth, and living in the Bay Area it’s very hard not to get swept up in something that was so profoundly visceral, in terms of getting us to all collectively as a world understand that climate change is such a serious problem. And in fact it’s almost the uber-problem that we all need to tackle, because so many other things follow as a consequence of climate.

So I became one of the converts. That coincided with a group that was founded by a nephew of mine who wanted to tackle the issue of deforestation, not understanding that at the time deforestation accounts for as much carbon pollution as all the cars, trains and planes in the world combined. Now, as much as Al Gore was something of a hero to me, the fact that it wasn’t mentioned was something that was a bit alarming to me.

And that’s where we started our organization, to basically galvanize individuals like Jane and others—business leaders, country leaders, NGO leaders—to all work together and play a bit of catchup so that the whole idea of the forest connection to climate change would be just as front-andcenter as the power sector is when it comes to understanding this issue.

DALTON: Jane Goodall, help us understand palm oil, the connection with all those foods ... on grocery store shelves to

habitat and places you study.

GOODALL: Well, unfortunately, more and more areas of old-growth forests— which are, you know, these centers of biodiversity and for me a rainforest is a really spiritual place where you understand the interconnection of all life forms and the importance that even a small species can play in this whole web of life—these amazing rainforests being cut down to grow palm oil plantations.

I’ve flown over in Indonesia and seeing the terrible destruction; it’s just miles and miles and miles and miles of palm oil plantations, and it’s spreading to other parts of the world, to all over Malaysia now, then it went into other parts of Asia to Latin America. It’s now arrived in Africa.

This is partly responsible for the era we’re in, the sixth great extinction. It’s devastating to the orangutans and other primates in Asia, but now it’s going to affect the chimpanzees in Africa too.

DALTON: Is there such a thing as sustainable palm oil? Companies are trying to respond to this, saying they’re doing better practice rather than denuding the world. Is there such a thing as sustainable palm oil?

GOODALL: I had a long talk with people who are really in the cutting edge of this research in Malaysia. And they said, well, it is possible because you simply grow where the forest has already gone. But for a grocery store that’s trying to do the right thing, to chain back to where the palm oil in the product came from is very, very difficult. But they’re working on it.

DALTON: Jeff Horowitz, some consumer product companies—Unilever, Nestlé,

etc.—are working on this. Are they really doing the right thing, or are they just trying to greenwash us on this sustainable palm oil?

HOROWITZ: That’s a great question, because most people just by nature don’t trust companies. Companies are not people, right? But the fact of the matter is, companies really have no choice. We are living in a world where we’re a little over 7 billion people and by 2050 they project that will be at 10 billion people.

We now have the need for three planet Earths in order to sustain the food and the other stuff that people buy on a regular basis. Companies know that they need a reliable supply chain. So if they don’t move to more sustainable sources, they’re screwed.

It’s a good thing that they’re screwed, because it helps us and that is the only—really the only—reason why companies are moving in the direction of going green.

Now, as far as leadership is concerned, there was a group that got together; it was a hundred CEOs, and they banded together to create what’s called the Consumer Goods Forum. They control $3.1 trillion worth of consumer goods, and it finally dawned on them that if we don’t stop this destructive deforestation thing as part of this supply chain, then everyone’s out of luck. So they declared to all of their suppliers that by 2020 they want to see a dramatic reduction in their suppliers’ use of land that comes from forests. In other words, they want to create a new paradigm in the marketplace to say that deforestation-free goods has to be the norm.

DALTON: Jane Goodall, we’re talking

about diet. Diet is a big lever when it comes to climate. Some people say what you eat is more important than what you drive. What is your diet like, and how can people who are concerned about climate have a climate-smart diet?

GOODALL: Well, glad you asked that question, because I was determined to talk about it even if you didn’t. [Laughter.]

I think from about the late 60s, I stopped eating meat. Now, I stopped eating meat because I learned about the intensive animal agriculture and these terrible factory farms.

Next time I looked at meat on my plate, I thought “This symbolizes fear, pain and death.” So I stopped eating it. Then I began to realize a lot more that as nations around the world become wealthier, they eat more and more meat. It becomes a status symbol.

So what’s happening is these billions of animals in these awful conditions, they have to be fed, rainforests are being cut down to provide the grain, huge amounts of fossil fuels are burned, it’s in the grain to the animals, the animals to the abattoir, the meat to the table. Huge amounts of water are being wasted to change vegetable protein to animal protein. I’ve been in many parts of the world where the grazing of cattle is moving deeper and deeper and deeper into the forest, change it to woodland and eventually into some kind of inhospitable habitat which wouldn’t support life.

And then if people don’t care about animal welfare, okay, they don’t care about the environment, okay. They probably care about their own health, and I happen to be in the U.K. when the surgeon general made this chilling announcement that the

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era of the antibiotics is nearly over and a main contribution is the misuse of antibiotics keeping these animals alive.

Then the final thing, which impacts directly onto climate change, is these socalled greenhouse gases that circle the planet and trap the heat of the sun. You know, a very vicious greenhouse gas is methane, and I usually carry around with me a little stuffed toy, a cow, and I point out especially to the children that, you know, you hold up the cow, food goes in the mouth and gas comes out the end and that’s methane.

So the intensive animal husbandry is causing a huge, huge amount of production of methane.

DALTON: A lot of people can agree that factory farming is bad. People here in Northern California like to think that pasture-raised, grass-fed beef or poultry [is] somehow more humane and virtuous and has less of environmental impact. Do you see that case?

GOODALL: Well, certainly for the animals it’s much better. For the environment and our future, I’m not sure. But it would mean, you know, it costs more to get that kind of meat or eggs and so forth. And that means that people will start thinking a little bit more, okay, it costs a bit more to buy an egg that comes from a hen that was free.

So you don’t waste as much.

Think of the food that we waste. I mean, you go into restaurants, go to Texas, see the piece of meat that’s dumped on people’s plates.

DALTON: What, you don’t want to go to Texas? [Laughter.]

GOODALL: So half of it is thrown away.

That’s the point.

DALTON: So you’re not against eating animals ever, it’s just how it’s done, done more mindfully, more respectfully.

GOODALL: Well, I don’t want to eat animals, personally.

DALTON: But you understand other people— GOODALL: So rather than just say all or nothing, which doesn’t of course change, it’s better to just go step-by-step. But the main thing is it made people think about it. And if people haven’t been to an abattoir, I would advise them not to go because you’d have nightmares for weeks. So you know, there are all of these different issues.

DALTON: The slaughterhouse.

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GOODALL: The slaughterhouse.

HOROWITZ: Look, we just did a story in Brazil on beef, and the fact is that right now at this moment in time, the Brazilian Amazon is once again being destroyed, principally because of this enormous interest in eating more and more beef. Sixty-five percent of the Brazilian Amazon is going up in smoke.

As people take a bite out of their burgers, it takes a bite out of the rainforest. I think all of us, especially in the Bay Area, who do like beef from time to time, have simply cut down on how much we eat. I don’t think it’s a hard thing to make a simple choice in a restaurant, where you say we want to avoid some foods, when in fact beef and beans have the same amount of protein, but beef is 20 times the carbon footprint of beans. So it really doesn’t take a lot to occasionally make that little choice, turn away from something that you know is harmful for your own health in addition to the planet itself.

GOODALL: Beans, I’m told by some people, do make us produce more methane gas. [Laughter.]

HOROWITZ: Thank you, Jane.

DALTON: Jane Goodall, you write a lot about empathy. I’d like to know—you know, empathy for the chimpanzees that you studied [is one thing, but] can you summon empathy for poachers and people doing environmental degradation?

GOODALL: Absolutely; you know, it depends. There’s poachers and poachers.

If we’re talking about the international animal trafficking where people come in with helicopters and machine guns and kill elephants for their ivory—no sympathy, none at all.

However, having seen for myself the poverty in Africa in and around the rainforests where the chimpanzees live that we’re trying to protect, you know, if you’re very poor you’re going to kill an animal because you need to eat it and you don’t have money to buy anywhere else. And if that animal happens to be in a protected area then you’re labeled a poacher. If you happen to be out of a protected area, it’s called subsistence hunting. So this goes beyond that simple we-gotto-kill-to-eat. When I flew over Gombe National Park in 1991

and looked down on this tiny 30 square miles of forest, which used to be part of the great forest belt, and saw that it was surrounded by completel y b a r e hills with more people living there than the land could support, too poor to buy food from elsewhere, and living and struggling to survive, that’s when it hit me [that] we can’t even try to save the chimps in the forest unless these people can have better lives; because if you’re starving, of course you cut down the last trees to try to grow food or to make charcoal. And it’s the same thing.

This necessity to alleviate poverty comes right through into the developed world, because if you are very poor in an urban area, you’re going to buy these very cheap foods because you have to, you’ve got to feed your family, you can’t afford to look [for] and buy the expensive organic products or the ones that come from,

you know, palm oil-free products.

So alleviating poverty to me is very, very important part of changing, slowing down climate change.

DALTON: Let’s talk about s o m e o f the bright s p o t s . Yo u travelled the world and climate change is often seen as doom and gloom; there are a lot of alarming things happening, it’s here, it’s now.

But Jane Goodall, you travel the world. Where are some positive stories, really bright spots that you see where positive changes happen?

GOODALL: Well, of course, I can’t resist saying that we’re having this long discussion about climate change, but it’s a hoax, it was invented by the Chinese right?

[Laughter.] So I don’t know why you have this program at all, but anyway.

DALTON: So we should just talk about something else.

GOODALL: No, there are a lot of bright

spots. This is it. I mean, people say, “Jane, you can’t really have hope, because you’ve been around, you’ve seen the destruction of the forest, you’ve seen animal species decreasing in number, you’ve seen the poverty” and, you know, all the rest of it. But at the same time, I’ve seen incredible projects, I’ve met the most amazing people who are doing things to really make change, and we do need changed attitudes.

But I described flying over Gombe and seeing 30 square miles of forest surrounded by bare hills, because we began working— [the] Jane Goodall Institute with the local people to improve their lives in a holistic way. There are no bare hills anymore. The trees have come back and the chimpanzees have now more forest than they had, and we’re protecting other areas where the forest hasn’t yet been cut down. So this is one bright spot, that bright spark that you’re talking about.

But, you know, travel around the world and see the incredible advances that are being made in ways of living in harmony rather than destroying nature, listening to nature, biodynamic farming, organic farming, small-scale family farming.

Even the United Nations have said the best way to feed the growing population is small-scale family farming, not these monocultures, and please let’s eliminate genetically modified food. Let’s eliminate some of these chemical pesticides, herbicides and fungicides that are being proven to be harmful not only to the environment but to our health, our children. You’ll hear, “We haven’t inherited this planet from our parents, we borrowed it from my children.”

We haven’t borrowed our children’s future.

We’ve stolen it and we’re still stealing it, and we’ve got to get together and do something about it if we care about our children and our grandchildren.

DALTON: And speaking of children, you have some thoughts about population as a driver beneath all of these things that we’re talking about. What should be done about population?

GOODALL: For a long time it was considered politically incorrect to even mention it, and most of the big conservation organizations refused to mention it.

But I always thought—I mean, you see what happens in the old days.

There were cultures and a lot of

these indigenous people; and you had lots of children, because they looked after you in your old age. You shared out the land.

But now it’s different, and they know it’s different. That’s why there were bare hills all around Gombe. So we’ve introduced in our program family planning, [which was] so welcomed by the people, because they know that things are different. And of course, this administration is cutting family planning around the developing world, which is terrifying to me.

If you approach family planning right, it’s something that’s very, very important.

When it was considered politically incorrect to mention it and I was determined to mention it, I decided to call it voluntary population optimization. [Laughter.]

DALTON: And research shows educating girls is one of the smartest things— GOODALL: Yeah, I meant to say that; yes, indeed. Women’s education, empowering women, and scholarships to keep girls in school beyond puberty—family size then tends to drop worldwide indeed.

DALTON: Jane Goodall, as a pioneer in science who broke some glass ceilings, what advice do you have about girls who are interested in science, technology, engineering, math—STEM—careers?

GOODALL: I always tell young people what my mother told me when I wanted to go to Africa and live with wild animals and write books about them when I was 10 years old. Everybody laughed at me and said, “Well, you don’t have the money, Africa is far away, World War II is raging and you’re just a girl. Dream about something you can achieve.”

But what my mother said to me was, “If you really want to do something, you’ve got to work very hard, take advantage of opportunity and never give up.”

So what I tell girls who want to pursue some career in science [is that] it’s not that easy and you’ve got to really want to do it.

If you really want to do it, just go for it, work hard and never give up.

DALTON: We have a number of children in the audience today. We’re talking about a very serious topic, climate change. Oftentimes, it’s delicate to talk about climate change with children. They’re going to live in this future more than the three of us are.

How do you communicate climate change to young people in a way that’s not scary?

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Left to right: Jeff Horowitz, Jane Goodall, Greg Dalton.

GOODALL: I tell the children stories.

But we have a program for young people called Roots & Shoots, which has members in 98 countries; it’s kindergarten, university and everything in between. What I tell the young people is to explain the problem and then ask them to get around and think about what they could do. It’s absolutely amazing what children can think of to do to mitigate climate change.

So I think you explain the problem. It can be a bit scary, but then you say to them that, “You know, there’s something every single one of us can do about it every single day.” And you may feel—adults too—that the problem is so huge, “What can I do?

I wouldn’t make any difference?” And if it was just you in your ordinary life, you wouldn’t make any difference. But when you have billions of people thinking about the consequences of the choices they make, whether it’s what they eat, what they buy, what they wear, how is it made, then billions of ethical choices move us toward the kind of world we need, and that includes problems about climate change.

DALTON: Jeff Horowitz, you’ve helped produce some of the most impactful media and journalism on climate change—“Years of Living Dangerously,” Time to Choose with the Academy award-winning director Charles Ferguson—and yet TV coverage of climate fell last year. How is the media doing in terms of making this an important issue?

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HOROWITZ: It’s awful, that’s the only word I can use. Climate change didn’t even come up as a question through the presidential debates. Not once. The fact of the matter is that we have in the media world very formidable foes. The oil and gas industry has absolutely endless resources. These are the top 10 richest companies in the world.

It is very, very easy for them to come up with a unified message: invest in oil or buy oil or oil and gas companies are creating the jobs, they are the ones that are the future.

The environmental groups have to pick up sort of the scraps of what we can cobble together, all of us, and try to come up with messages that combat those very, very big, powerful companies.

The fact of the matter is that there’s something really amazing that happened this last year. This past year for the first time, it is cheaper to go green in terms of your energy. In other words, wind and solar are now cheaper then dirty fossil fuels. [Applause.]

It is astounding, despite the fact that these messages are hard to get out, you can easily look at your pocketbooks and say this is working, this is the future and to hell with the large companies that are doing gas and oil exploration around the world.

DALTON: You both have a relationship with National Geographic. Jane Goodall, what did you think when you learned that Rupert Murdoch bought National Geographic?

GOODALL: Well, I must say I was

shocked and horrified, but I also have to say that the additional funds that have been pumped into the Geographic is actually turning it around, and it’s able to do some pretty remarkable things. So the fact that Rupert Murdoch bought it is one thing; the people who are now within the National Geographic organization—they are the ones who are going to make the difference.

DALTON: Jeff Horowitz, any thoughts on that? A lot of people thought, “Oh, that’s gonna be bad.” Maybe it hasn’t turned out as bad. There was a sinking ship in many ways, and now it’s more stable perhaps.

HOROWITZ: National Geographic has been really amazing to work with on the issue of climate change. They want to keep doing more and more programming on it, and any time we can find an outlet that is as reputable and high quality as National Geographic, we’re pleased as could be. So thank you.

GOODALL: I’ve been doing programs with them about various environmental issues in different parts of the world, because Geographic has offices everywhere. They’ve just made a retrospective of Jane Goodall, using footage which was never shown before; they’ve got miles and miles of footage, and that’s coming out quite soon.

DALTON: I watched a little trailer for that. It’s quite amazing watching you as a young woman climbing trees very early in your career.

You wrote a book called Reason for Hope: A Spiritual Journey, you’ve lived through the London Blitz, you’ve been taken hostage, you watched your husband die slowly from cancer, and yet you say you were lucky to be born during the wars. So tell us about that reason for hope in your journey.

GOODALL: I was lucky to be born during the war, because in the U.K., in England, we were rationed. So I think we got something like one square of chocolate a week, if we were lucky we got one egg a week.

Clothes were all in coupons. You have to save up coupons. Books, well, we didn’t have much money anyway, so books came from the library or you saved up a few pennies for secondhand books. As a result of that kind of upbringing, I don’t take stuff for granted.

You know, it took a long time before I could understand that buying a bar of chocolate was something that you could actually do.

It seemed like exotic. So that’s I think why today I can live in a very simple way and not take stuff for granted and appreciate what I have, rather than being miserable about what I haven’t.

DALTON: You travel what, 300 days a year? How do you remain so calm and live on an airplane?

GOODALL: I think it’s because I spent all those years in the forest on my own, and I’ve already said I just hope that sends a great spiritual power. It’s quite easy for me to withdraw from where I am and just go into myself and still feel that peace. That

peace is there. As I’m travelling around the world, I always try and take a few moments when I can to be in some kind of nature.

Nature, being in green places, is very, very important for all of us. And it’s being proven now that for children’s psychological development they need to be out in green places, and so many children don’t have that opportunity. And then now they’re all on their little video games and taken away from nature, and it’s doing harm.

DALTON: Jeff Horowitz, you’re trained as an architect [and have] done a lot of planning in cities. The world is increasingly urbanized, and they’re losing that natural connection. How can people in urban areas think about the importance of forests and maintain that connection to nature that Jane was talking about?

HOROWITZ: You know, it’s a very good question, because if you take a country for example like China, the massive amount of migration that needs to occur to move essentially the equivalent population of the entire United States into cities is a daunting task. The Chinese government is actually really cognizant of the fact that nature has to be a part of their development plans, and I think in certain ways they and some other developing countries are leapfrogging what we’ve done here in the United States, when in fact we’re dependent on cars and roads, when in fact they’re looking at all kinds of new transportation systems.

The carbon footprint, I hate to use that

[term], but it is true of how a new city is developed. It can make or break the future of our planet.

DALTON: This is a book that a middle school teacher gave to me yesterday. This was sent to 40,000 middle school science teachers around the country. Jane Goodall I’d like to ask you, it says that this person writing from the Heartland Institute for the Center for Transformative Forming Education says that science on climate is not settled and that we need to do more research to decide if climate is happening and whether or not it should be worried about.

As a scientist, what do you think about this and what can be done about this really direct misinformation sent to 40,000 schoolteachers?

GOODALL: Well, you know, you just told me about it and it’s absolutely shocking. It’s because of this administration that something like this can go around. I don’t know what we can do about it but I think we have to bring it into the open. We have to have discussions about it, and coming out on your program like this is something, it’s very important, because the science it’s not true what they say. It’s a whole lot of hogwash.

DALTON: I’ve been working at The Commonwealth Club for 16 years, I often get asked who is the most amazing speaker in that time. There is no one amazing one, but there is a top five moment that I remember 14 years ago when Jane Goodall spoke to a group in San Jose and she held up a glass J U N E/J U LY 2017

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of water and talked about it in a very eloquent way that stayed with me for all these years. So I’d like you to look at this glass of water and tell us the beauty, what you see in that.

GOODALL: Well, what I see here is a glass of clean water that I can drink and that you go to a restaurant and people will fill up your water and then what happens to it because you don’t always want it. And we treat water as though it’s just something that’s our right.

And there are so many parts of the world where this amount of clean drinking water would be prized beyond the most expensive glass of wine or even whiskey. [Laughter] The shocking thing to me is the way that we in the developed world we waste this precious, precious commodity. One of the awful things is that all over the world, fresh water supply is shrinking, the aquifers are getting lower. But the pollution from the runoff of agricultural and household and industrial waste into the rivers and then into the sea, polluting the sea, creating acidified areas, so that the ocean is the other great lung of the world along with the rainforest, and as we pollute the ocean, we’re also con-

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tributing to climate change.

I’m sure I’m not as eloquent now as I was then, but to me this little glass of water is just so, so important that we don’t take it granted, we don’t waste it, and we see it is the lifeblood of people who have no clean water available. It’s precious. [Applause.]

AUDIENCE MEMBER: I heard a legend that you observed the chimpanzees for 10 years before you saw them eating meat. Is that legend true? Do you think that they’re naturally herbivores and what do you think humans are?

GOODALL: It’s true that chimpanzees do hunt—not very often, it’s about 2 percent of their diet apparently in a year, as the people studying chimp diet have announced.

They are very excited with the hunt. Meat is very precious to them. What are we? Well, we’re omnivores and the great thing about meat-eating is that there are two kinds of gut apparently. This is not my specialty. There are carnivores like the lions and they have a very short piece of gut because they want to get the remains of the meat out quickly before it putrefies in your inside. And then there are the herbivores and they need a

long gut to get all the goodness out of the leaves and grasses and things that they eat.

We have the herbivore type of gut, not the carnivore type of gut.

AUDIENCE MEMBER: Happy birthday, by the way. I was part of Roots & Shoots when I lived in London. I remember the group very well. I’m working on setting up Roots & Shoots here. Do you have any suggestions for what we could do?

GOODALL: I started Roots & Shoots because as I was travelling around the world I was meeting a lot of young people who seemed to have lost hope and who said that we compromised their future and there was nothing we could do about it.

I’ve already said we’ve compromised your future, but I don’t believe there’s nothing that can be done. We had this gathering of Roots & Shoots initially in Tanzania with the main message [that] every single one of us makes an impact on the planet every single day, and we have a choice as to what kind of impact we’re going to make. Each group would choose projects to make the world better for people, for other animals, for the environment we all share. So Roots & Shoots doesn’t dictate to young people what they should do. It simply says, What do you care about? Sit down and discuss it with your friends and choose a project to address that concern that you have. So the projects are going to be different depending whether you’re in a city or a rural area, a rich country or a poor country, it all depends on perhaps your religion and your culture. But it’s about getting together and doing projects to make the world a better place.

AUDIENCE MEMBER: You are my hero. I have all these books about you.

You’re really inspiring to me and my friends. And my question is because if a chimpanzee could say one thing about the environment where it lives and it had one last thing to teach us, what do you think that would be?

GOODALL: I think the chimpanzee would say “Stop destroying my home.”

Their home is the forest. We’re destroying the forest every day, and that means that chimpanzees are being pushed toward extinction. So I think the chimpanzee would say, “Please, this is my home. I love my home like you love yours. Please stop destroying it.”

Photos by Ed Ritger

P.J. O’Rourke What the Heck Just Happened?

Our political parties have no legal standard. They are not part of the Constitution. They’re not part of the government.

P.J. O’ROURKE

H.L. Mencken Research Fellow, Cato Institute; Author, How the Hell Did This Happen?: The Election of 2016 In conversation with

MELISSA CAEN

Political Analyst, CBS San Francisco—Moderator

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O’Rourke went through the 2017 presidential election and he has just one question. From “Has America Gone Crazy,” held in San Francisco on March 27, 2017.

MELISSA CAEN: I have about 10 audience questions here, and half of them are about impeachment.

P.J. O’ROURKE: Impeachment?

CAEN: “Do you think it will happen?”

“When?” “Please tell us it will happen soon.” [Laughter.]

O’ROURKE: I don’t know, but I know how you’ll be able to tell. When Fox turns on Trump. You already see little sparkles of this [with] Shepard Smith. Not everybody is totally on board with this. You don’t see it from Fox much, but you do see it from The Wall Street Journal. The Wall Street Journal has given Trump some time-outs. And of course, Trump is such a mess and has so little impulse control, that it’s perfectly conceivable that he will do, or already has done, something that is impeachable.

But let us not forget Bill Clinton. This impeachment thing is not as easy as it looks.

It was my wife, actually—at the moment of Bill [Clinton’s approaching impeachment], I was going like, “I don’t think the Republicans are gonna do well here with trying to impeach somebody for sex. That’s a throwthe-first-stone use.” My wife said “No. Think about what this was really about.

Think about the power aspect of this. This is an intern—was she like 19 or 20, still in her adolescence, obviously somewhat fragile. And this is the most powerful man in the world. Don’t think about the sex,” she said, “think about the disparity in power. How wrong that was.” But of course, that isn’t what he got impeached for. He got impeached for lying about it, which is something that—absolutely, my first instinct about sex is to lie about it. [Laughter.]

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Say things like: “Yeah, I still have it a lot.”

[Laughter.] That’s me, but— Yeah, so you gotta remember that [impeachment is] a very difficult process. It’s certainly not gonna happen until there’s some change in the balance of power in Congress, which may well happen in the next congressional election.

CAEN: You wrote: “Populism is a libertarian tragedy. Since the beginning of democracy in fifth-century BC Athens, the greatest danger to democratic institutions has been the demos, the people themselves, the very item that constitutes democracy. Democracy doesn’t just contain the seeds of its own destruction, it contains the roots, the fruits, and the whole damn tree.”

And we have a question from the audience that says, “How much of an indictment of democracy is all of this? I’m all for an enlightened despot at this point.” [Laughter.]

O’ROURKE: No, we don’t want that. Because once you get a despot, they’re very hard to get rid of. And the first one may be enlightened, but the next 11 are gonna be Caligula. So you don’t wanna go there.

It’s not an indictment of democracy per se. Democracy still is, as Churchill put it, the worst system anybody has ever come up with except for all the other systems for governing.

But it is an indictment of a certain danger in democracy. A danger in democracy is when individuals turn into a mob, which is what populism is about. And populism can come from either end of the political spectrum. I mean, a famous 19th century example is William Jennings Brian. He was an abolitionist. His racial views were not en-

lightened, and his economic views were perfectly insane. William Jennings Bryant said, “People don’t have enough money? We’ll just print more.” That works. I mean, the Weimar Republic will show you how well that works. Populism is the result of people getting into a mob mentality.

There’s almost always a scapegoat involved. With William Jenning Bryant, it was East Coast bankers, which you could also read as code for Jews. Here it’s immigrants, as if we were all full-blooded Sioux Indians that come from all over everywhere.

The trend of populism [is] if you’d gone around to individual Athenians and asked them one by one—[or] if potty old Socrates with his goofy questions and his sort of endearing eccentricities had gone around and asked each Athenian personally, “Should I be put to death for asking silly questions?”

Nobody would’ve voted for it. They had to get into a mob mentality first.

They had this form of pure democracy that was particularly liable to the mob mentality. So they had to become a mob before they could condemn Socrates. Mobs are not good things.

CAEN: How do we prevent them?

O’ROURKE: Usually these kind of things arise in periods of extreme stress. I’m no liberal Democrat, so I’m not necessarily enthusiastic about all this stuff that Franklin D. Roosevelt did when he got elected.

And the Democrats got a really solid majority—obtained not as quickly as Roosevelt would have liked—but eventually attained a majority of compliance anyway from the Supreme Court. I’m not crazy about all the stuff that he did, but given how bad the cri-

sis was, and that that economic crisis was quickly followed by a war—we could’ve wound up with a truly crazy leader at that time. Philip Ross wrote a book about that, supposing that Lindbergh—then one of the most popular and pro-Nazi Americans around—if he had become president. So we dodged a bullet on that. This one I found particularly surprising; I knew we were facing a lot of disgruntlement and a lot of frustration with government and so on. I didn’t realize the feelings ran so deep as to make people go: “Hey, we tried smart. Let’s try something else.” [Laughter.]

Indeed, I [have] to say a lot of the Trump supporters that I talk to—now, this is partly because of where I live in rural New England—I didn’t run into a bunch of xenophobes; I didn’t run into a bunch of bigots, but I ran into a lot of people who were so frustrated with the scope of government regulation. A lot of small business people, a lot of skilled, blue-collar crafts people, a lot of people who did jobs like logging and so on, they were just so furious at government in general, and you would say, “I liked these people,” and I don’t think they were wrong.

Like one guy said, every time some genius down in Washington gets a bright idea, this phonebook-sized lump of paper lands on my desk. He said, “I can afford Obamacare for my employees; my business is doing pretty well. But what I can’t afford is that big paperwork dump on my desk. I don’t have a legal department. I don’t have an HR department. It’s just me and my wife, and I’m a gearhead. I don’t know how to fill out all this stuff.” And he said it’s just everywhere.

It’s local regulations, state regulations—and I like the guy. And he was funny about his

complaints, good-natured about it. But finally I said to him, “Look. Just between you and me, electing a maniac fixes this how?”

[Laughter.] And he laughed. He said, “I don’t know. I don’t know, but I’m so sick of it. I’m sending them a message.”

I think there was a lot of that out there.

CAEN: So you endorsed Hillary Clinton.

You wrote: “better a mangy cat than a rabid dog.” [Laughter.] You wrote, “I choose Goldman Sachs’s milch cow over the cretin bull siring his herds of mini-Minotaurs— half-men, half-bulls--t—laying waste to the country.” Did you get any blowback?

O’ROURKE: Yeah. My Republican friends. And a certain father-in-law. [Laughter.] Hey, I got quite an earful from the father-in-law.

CAEN: Stand by that?

O’ROURKE: I stand by it, absolutely. I voted for Hillary ’cause I’m a conservative.

And what’s at the root of conservatism is the devil, don’t you know—don’t let go of the devil, you know. And grab the devil.

I mean, look, status quo may not be great, but there’s a lot of other quos out there, and some of them are really horrible. You know, I fought with Hillary. I disagreed with her across the board, but I knew what I was getting, you know, and I was also getting an experienced person who had been through—what would a minor nuclear missile attack be to Hillary after what she’s been through with Bill?

[Laughter.] She’ll keep her calm. Whatever his name is, his wife may be in trouble, given Hillary’s past behavior, but anyway, I definitely voted for [her]. I’m going like: Hey, Dorothy and Toto’s house fell on her and I endorse her. The Munchkins endorse

her, ’cause I don’t want a flying monkey in the White House. [Laughter.]

CAEN: Well, initially there was this waitand-see [attitude]. Everyone said: “Okay, just breathe. Everybody be cool. Maybe it’ll be okay. Maybe he’ll make some sort of pivot. Maybe we will get a Trump 2.0 to govern.” How do you think he’s doing?

O’ROURKE: Well, not very well, obviously. But I do think that there’s something. Any Trump hysteria was a little bit of a waste of breath and energy. I think that dealing with somebody with [a] narcissistic personality—you know what he reminds me of most is raising toddlers. I’m sure many of you in this room have been through that, and I raised three toddlers.

Well, my wife did; but I stood around listening to the screaming, and it’s like they love attention. And if they can’t get good attention, bad attention will do.

We’ve got three kids; we’ve got three dogs. They’re all like that. I’ve got a bird dog that is absolutely, completely devoted to me, completely loves me. But if I don’t pay enough attention to her, good or bad— because when we’re on the field, I’m bossing her around: “Do this,” “do that.” But if I’m not paying any attention to her, she’ll go right over to the good oriental [rug and urinate] right in front of everybody, even if she just came in from outdoors. And that’s [Trump]. So I thought, This is gonna be a long fight. Let’s save our energy.

We’re gonna have to fight it battle by battle, you know what I mean? I got a lot of objections to Obamacare. I do worry about its long-term financing and it being kind of an open-ended entitlement program, and so on and so forth. But the Republicans have

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proposed a bill—who knows what was in there? Other than some predictable Republican tax cuts for the rich, the bill was just a can of worms. And it didn’t happen; it didn’t pass. So these things have to be fought out one thing at a time in sort of a general expression of exasperation.

In some ways, [it] plays into the hands of the people who voted for Trump who are not in the basket of deplorables, but who are very frustrated. They looked out at the media and anti-Trump protests before he’d had a chance to do anything, and they said: “This is what bugs me.”

Like that transgender joke I made. I actually stole that from one of the guys I was talking to at a Trump rally. He said, “I’m a logger, the world’s most regulated job. You can’t imagine how many regulations we have to go through: local, state, federal; EPA gets involved; OSHA gets involved. Everybody has got something to tell the loggers.” He said, “I got all these political problems, all these political frustrations. And I go home and I turn on the evening news and what’s the lead story? It’s transgender bathrooms.”

I said, ‘We’re in the woods. We don’t have any bathrooms. Go over and use the any gender tree.’” [Laughter.]

So that guy was not in the basket of deplorables. [He] was not a bad guy. Polit-

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ically naive, perhaps. Most of the Trump supporters I’ve talked to really had not been involved in politics at all before, didn’t have any sort of notion that if you want some sort of systematic change from Washington, you have to have somebody who understands the system. You wouldn’t pick your heart surgeon because he was an outsider. Yeah, ’cause he was this guy standing on the street and he’s coming in and he’s gonna do your open heart surgery with a spork. [Laughter.]

It doesn’t work that way. But this wasn’t a bad person I was talking to, and he wasn’t blowing his top about where transgender people went to the bathroom. He’s just going: “Of all the things that I got to worry about, this is just not one of them.”

CAEN: We have a question from the audience: In retrospect, at what point in the campaign should Republicans have stopped Trump or the media, or should anyone have stopped him?

O’ROURKE: That presupposes the kind of political organization that we really don’t have in this country. In one of the chapters, I do a little rundown, like this is caucus/primary stuff. You know, our political parties—they may act otherwise, but they have no legal or constitutional standing in this country.

They could be a biker gang; they could be

a bowling league. They have no legal standard. They are not part of the Constitution.

They’re not part of the government. They act like they are, but they’re not. There’s no law anywhere that says we have to have Republicans and Democrats and have to sit on either side of an aisle or any of that stuff.

So what happens is, as a result of their having no legal standing, there is no real centralized power in either party. You got a national organization, but that national organization is beholden to 51 states, the District of Columbia, local organizations, plus some more in our overseas territory, because they get votes, too. They get to vote on who they don’t get to vote for. You go figure, but the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico and Guam—they all get to vote. So that takes you to the state organizations.

Now those state organizations don’t really exist either, because they are beholden to the county chairman. They’re something like 2,000 counties in the United States. Those are the people who actually run the parties.

You know, the chairman of the Republican party is this guy in white vinyl shoes and a white vinyl belt with the polyurethane bell-bottom pants on, who’s an ex-Dairy Queen franchisee. And the Democratic party chairman is a woman who owns 40 cats.

And that’s who’s making these decisions.

Carrie Nugent Hunting Asteroids M e t a p h o r i c a l l y, a s t e r o i d s seem to embody our lack of control over the universe. But the reality is quite different.

What danger do asteroids pose to us? From “Carrie Nugent: Asteroid Hunters,” held in Palo Alto on March 21, 2017.

CARRIE NUGENT Staff Scientist, IPAC/Caltech; Host, Spacepod; Author, Asteroid Hunters Image Credit: ESA 2010 MPS for OSIRIS Team MPS/UPD/LAM/IAA/RSSD/INTA/UPM/DASP/IDA

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Tucker Hiatt and Carrie Nugen

F

Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

or many people, the word asteroid is synonymous with destruction. It brings to mind the extinction of the dinosaurs or images from disaster movies with shattering buildings and cartwheeling cars.

But large asteroid impacts are exceedingly rare, and as it turns out, there are actually things we can do to lower the chances that someday one will harm us. Metaphorically, asteroids seem to embody our lack of control over the universe. In literature, art, and popular culture, they are acts of God, cosmic phenomena that highlight our own powerlessness. But the reality is quite different. As a species, we have the scientific understanding and technological prowess to actually do something about this particular problem.

It all starts with mapping the asteroids in our cosmic neighborhood. Thanks to the hard work of generations of asteroid hunters, we have found almost all of the biggest, most hazardous objects. By the end of 2011, we had found over 90 percent of asteroids bigger than one kilometer across that get close to Earth. That is, those capable of massive destruction. And because the hunt for these objects has continued since then, that percentage is even higher today. It is crucial we keep searching the skies. Not only would we like to find all the asteroids bigger than one kilometer across; it is also a good idea to find the slightly smaller, but still pretty big, asteroids that are out there.

Asteroid hunters are currently working toward a second target: finding 90 percent of the asteroids bigger than 140 meters across that get close to Earth. These objects

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THE COMMO N WE AL TH

are big enough to decimate a medium-size country, and so far only about 30 percent of these have been found. Asteroid hunting is our responsibility to the rest of the planet.

We are the only species able to understand calculus or build telescopes. The poor dinosaurs didnt stand a chance, but we do.

If we [could spot] a hazardous asteroid with enough early warning, we could nudge it out of the way. Unlike earthquakes, hurricanes or volcanic eruptions, asteroid impacts are natural disasters that can be precisely predicted and with enough time entirely prevented.

Finding asteroids is a complex task that requires team work and patience. Asteroid hunters spend long nights on remote mountains with only skunks and owls to keep them company. We use robotic telescopes that orbit the Earth, diligently imaging the sky every 11 seconds.

THINGS THAT HIT THE EARTH

You might be surprised to learn that rocks from space hit Earth every day. Most of them are very small; in fact, the bigger the space rock, the less likely it is to hit Earth.

On any given day, about 90,000 kilograms of dust and small rocks hit the Earth.

That seems like quite a lot to small creatures like us. But it’s only 0.00000000000001 percent of the total weight of coffee consumed by humans each day. [Laughter.] A scientist would say that’s pretty negligible.

A couple of times a year Earth passes through a region of space where a comet has previously been. The surface of the comet was warmed by the sun, causing water ice and frozen CO2 on the surface to turn to

gas, taking dust and tiny rocks with it. The comet left behind this cloud of tiny rocks.

When Earth passes through the cloud, those rocks burn up in our atmosphere, causing a beautiful display known as a meteor shower. They last several days, which allows you flexibility in case the weather is poor.

Most [meteors] are about as big as a grain of sand, and some are as large as a pea. These rocks are traveling very fast relative to Earth.

And the amount of energy, e, released when they hit our atmosphere, is e equals onehalf mv squared. In this equation, m is the mass and v is the velocity of the object. Even though your mass is tiny, these grains are travelling at speeds of tens of thousands of kilometers per hour relative to Earth. So the velocity is large and you get a fair amount of energy released, the equivalent of tens of thousands of lightbulbs lighting up all at once. That’s bright enough for your eyes to see when you are standing on the ground.

You’re actually able to see the flash from something as small as a grain of sand from over 100 kilometers away.

Meteor showers are beautiful and harmless, but what happens when something a bit larger hits the Earth? Well, usually nothing; most of the Earth is covered in water, so most of these objects end up in an ocean somewhere. Even with 7 billion people on this planet, there’s still huge regions of land that are uninhabited.

But every once in a while, one of these objects comes down in a populated area.

In November of 1954, Mrs. Anne Hodges decided to take an after-lunch nap on her couch. She lived in a quiet town in the American South, about an hour’s drive from

nt. Photo by Richard Ressman

Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

Birmingham, Alabama. She lay down, covered herself with quilts, and went to sleep.

What happened next was extremely improbable. A small rock called a meteorite crashed through her roof, bounced off her radio and hit her. Thanks to the roof and to the blankets she did not break any bones, but she was left with some spectacularly terrible bruises on her hip, hand, and arm.

The rock that hit Mrs. Hodges was once part of an asteroid. But when a rock from space travels through Earth’s atmosphere and lands on the ground we call them meteorites. Meteorites are named after the locations where they are found. So this one was named Sylacauga after the small town near where Mrs. Hodges lived. It sparked an intense media frenzy and legal battle. Her landlord claimed ownership of the rock, since it had landed on her property. By the time Mrs. Hodges won the legal rights to the meteorite, interest had waned and she couldn’t find a buyer. Eventually she donated it to the Alabama Museum of Natural History. Take heart, it is extremely, extremely rare for a meteorite to hit a person.

Mrs. Hodges is certainly the only American known to be hit.

That’s not to say meteorites are entirely benign. After all, the Sylacauga meteorite, which hit Mrs. Hodges, would have caused her a lot more pain had it not first punched through her roof, clobbered her radio, and bumped into the quilts covering her. And that rock was only 3.9 kilograms and about as big as a small-ish melon.

Let’s look at something bigger. On February 15, 2013, scientists were ready for an asteroid to zip close to Earth. A small asteroid

about 30 meters across, known as 2012 DA, was going to skip particularly close, zooming within the belt of geosynchronous satellites orbiting Earth. This object had been tracked for a year.

Its orbit had been computed; there was no chance it would hit our planet. The international scientific community planned observations. NASA organized a press conference with a panel of experts ready to answer any questions. In short, things were taken care of. There wasn’t going to be any surprises.

But the solar system didn’t care about those plans. That morning something unexpected happened near the city of Chelyabinsk, Russia. A smaller asteroid, only about 20 meters across, sped through the atmosphere ten times faster than a fighter jet, coming in at a shallow angle. It was moving so fast, that the molecules in the atmosphere didn’t have time to get out of the way and built up in a layer of plasma that heated the rock.

By the time it was about 38 kilometers from the surface, the heat and pressure was too much and it burst apart in a series of explosions, leaving behind debris and super-heated air. Residents saw a fireball, which briefly became brighter than the sun, casting its own shadows.

They felt the heat from the explosion on their faces and some noted sunburns. From the city of Chelyabinsk, this explosion was about 53 kilometers away, meaning it took more than two minutes between when they saw the flash of light and when they heard the explosion and felt the shock wave.

This event was captured by cellphone cameras, dashboard mounted cameras in cars, and surveillance cameras. The footage

has been invaluable, scientifically, allowing scientists to measure the brightness of the explosions and the path the asteroid took.

The images were shared immediately on the Internet. In fact, one scientist was alerted to the event by a tweet.

A boulder-sized chunk of the original rock survived the journey through the atmosphere and crashed through the ice of Lake Chebarkul. Residents gathered at the lake and, Mrs. Borchininova, a barmaid, recalled in a New York Times article [that] it was “eerie.” Somebody joked, “Now the green men will crawl out and say, ‘Hello.’”

[Laughter.]

Some residents took the event in stride.

The New York Times also reported, out on the lake, an ice fisherman who gave his name only as Dmitri, shrugged off the event. A meteor fell, he said. “So what? Who knows what can fall from the sky? It didn’t hit anybody, that is the important thing.” I agree, Dmitri, that is the important thing.

But though no one was killed, hundreds were injured by the shattering glass and one man lost a finger. Having seen the flash in the sky, many people went to look out their windows at the cloud trail the object left behind. Unfortunately, many of these people were then injured when the shock wave hit over two minutes later, shattering the windows in over 3,600 buildings.

So if you do see a meteor flash in the sky, it’s probably a good idea to find a safe place, away from windows, and hang out there for the next five minutes or so. The energy released by this explosion was so large, it generated super-low frequency sound, or infrasound waves, that traveled the globe.

J U N E/J U LY 2017

21

Photo by: Richard Ressman

The UN has 283 infrasound monitoring stations across the globe that listen for detonations of nuclear weapons. The Chelyabinsk explosion registered on 20 of these stations, including one in Antarctica over three days as the shock waves traveled around the globe, two times.

But remember that other asteroid that was going to make a close approach that day? 2012 DA14’s 15 minutes of fame were stolen by this newcomer. Scientists quickly determined that the two events were unrelated. Thanks to all the footage of the event, it was clear that the Chelyabinsk meteor had come from an entirely different direction than 2012 DA14. It’s worth noting that 2012 DA14 zipped by unremarkably. Predictions of its trajectory were spot-on.

But why didn’t we see the Chelyabinsk impactor coming? For one, it was very small for an asteroid, only about 20 meters, making it difficult to spot in the best of circumstances. Complicating matters, it approached Earth from the direction of the sun, which is a blind spot for night-operating telescopes. It’s very lucky no one was killed by the Chelyabinsk meteor. Had the situation been just a little different, lives could have been lost. One lucky thing was that Chelyabinsk entered the atmosphere at a shallow angle, giving it more time to be heated by the atmosphere and distributing the force of the explosions over a broader area of ground. Additionally, the object was made out of relatively fragile rock, making it easier for the atmosphere to break it apart.

But not all asteroids are made out of rock.

A small fraction are made out of nickel and iron. And as you can imagine, a metal aster-

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oid packs more of a punch.

A nickel-iron asteroid hit what is now Arizona about 50,000 years ago. There weren’t any humans living in the area at the time to see it but from a safe distance, I am sure it was spectacular. In fact, 50,000 years later, it is still spectacular. It left behind a giant crater about 1.2 kilometers wide and 0.2 kilometers deep.

The asteroid that left this crater was about 45 meters across. That’s only two times as long as the one that hit Chelyabinsk. Yet because this impacter was made out of metal, and likely came in at a steeper angle, the damage was much more extensive. Even today you can see fractures and rocks caused by the immense force of the explosion that excavated this enormous hole in the ground.

When it comes to asteroids, the objects that exploded over Chelyabinsk and Arizona were pretty small. In fact, they were smaller than almost all of the known asteroids.

The bigger an asteroid, the fewer of them there are. So the likelihood of an asteroid of a certain size hitting Earth decreases as you consider bigger and bigger asteroids.

Objects the size of the Chelyabinsk meteor hit Earth every 100 years or so. Every once in a very long time, something much bigger comes our way. Certainly the most famous example is the asteroid that killed the dinosaurs 65.5 million years ago. That asteroid, or perhaps it was a comet, was about 10 kilometers across.

The impact was almost unimaginably large. Scientists have used computer simulations to try to recreate the chain of devastating events that led to the extinction of over 75 percent of plant and animal species. But

it happened so long ago that much of the evidence of the impact has been erased. In fact, it wasn’t until 1980 when a father-son team of scientists, Luis and Walter Alvarez, recognized that this large impact had happened at all. But despite the tens of millions of years that have passed, two clues remain: an enormous crater just off the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico, and a layer of iridium-rich sediment that can be found in locations across the globe.

Iridium is an uncommon element to find on Earth, but it is prevalent in meteorites. It’s the elemental fingerprint of the impacting asteroid. I asked [a] Rome University palaeontologist about this iridium layer, known as the crustaceous cretaceous paleogene boundary. There have been several suggestions that when the asteroid hit, the dinosaurs were already beginning to die out, plagued by a changing climate caused by volcanic eruptions. Given these new studies, did he really think it was an asteroid that had caused this mass extinction? Absolutely, he said. Below that layer, you can find dinosaur bones, above it, there is nothing.

Consider that the last time this happened, humans didn’t exist, and our closest ancestors were little mousey creatures. And, crucially, today we have computers and telescopes and teams of hard-working asteroid hunters searching the sky. We’ve already discovered over 90 percent of asteroids bigger than one kilometer across that get close to Earth, objects big enough to cause mass extinctions. And we asteroid hunters are persistent. Given the resources, it’s only a matter of time until we find the rest.

Shaping the Future

John Farmer

Lata Krishnan

Alex Macgillivray

Megan Smith

Bernard J. Tyson

Chair of the Board of Governors 2014-2016

CFO of Shah Capital Partners

Deputy CTO of the United States 2014-2016

CTO of the United States 2014-2016

Chairman & CEO of Kaiser Permanente

1. Jaleh Daie, John Farmer, Gloria Duffy; 2. Richard Rubin, Jaleh Daie, Bernard J. Tyson; 3. Don Wen, Evelyn Dilsaver; 4. Jaleh Daie, Lata Krishnan, Gloria Duffy ; 5. Jaleh Daie, Megan Smith, Alex Macgillivray; 6. Bolly Nach Dance Company

7. Gloria Duffy; 8. Pitch & Cathie Johnson; 9. Donald Mitchell , Bernard J. Tyson, Denise Tyson ; 10. Megan Smith; 11. George & Camilla Smith; 12. Hon. Tad Taube, Richard Rubin

13. John Farmer: 14. Bernard J. Tyson: 15. Ted Paff and Heddy Botic

G ching t a M

rant Announcem ent

ALL NEW GIFTS WILL BE MATCHED

Just announced: all gifts made to the Club’s new building will be matched up to $1,000,000 by a generous family of Commonwealth Club members.

2:1

Contact Anna Bryan for more information on the matching grant and naming opportunities: abryan@commonwealthclub.org or 415-597-6734

2018

Commonwealth Club Travel

World-Class Destinations Exceptional Experiences Engaging Speakers Insightful Discussions Superb Staff Outstanding Company

commonwealthclub.org/travel travel@commonwealthclub.org (415) 597-6720 CST: 2096889-40

Expedition to Antarctica aboard m.s. Le Soléal January 11–24, 2018 Explore Earth’s last frontier aboard one of the finest vessels in Antarctic waters, featuring private balconies in 95% of the ocean-view staterooms. Experience the White Continent in its unspoiled state— fantastically shaped icebergs, turquoise glaciers, bustling penguin rookeries and breaching whales.

Accompanied by the ship’s expedition team of expert naturalists, board sturdy Zodiac craft for excursions ashore. Enjoy two nights exploring Buenos Aires. Optional extension to Iguazú Falls available.

Cost: from $9,795 per person, double occupancy

Costa Rica and the Panama Canal aboard National Geographic Quest January 13–30, 2018 Transit the Panama Canal, and witness a remarkable achievement of human engineering. The Canal is also home to 48 miles of incredible wildness. Visit Manuel Antonio National Park and Barro Colorado Nature Monument. Hike to waterfalls, take a rain forest walk, explore mangroves by Zodiac or make landfall on pristine beaches. Search for monkeys, sloths, toucans, macaws, butterflies and hummingbirds. Active options for kayaking, paddle boarding or snorkeling are available.

Cost: from $5,990 per person, double occupancy

Cuba - Multiple Departures Cuba by Land and Sea aboard m.y. Le Ponant: February 3–12 Havana and the Viñales Valley: March 17–24 & December 5–12 Experience this fascinating island nation in two different ways. Our February departure includes a three-night stay in Havana, followed by a six-night small ship cruise along the coast, ending in Santiago de Cuba. Our March and December trips provide a seven-night immersive exploration of all that Havana has to offer. See our website for more details. Cost: from $6,995 for February land/cruise program; approximately $5,295 for March & December departures (per person, double occupancy)

Egypt and the Eternal Nile: Wonders of Antiquity February 5–19, 2018 Experience Cairo’s Egyptian Museum and the open-air museum at Memphis. Explore the necropolis at Saqqara, the enigmatic Sphinx and the astounding Pyramids of Giza. Relax during a deluxe 3-night cruise on Lake Nasser. See the temples at Abu Simbel and sail down the Nile River on a 4-night cruise from Aswan to Luxor. Visit the Valleys of the Kings and Queens, and the great complex of Karnak. Optional 5-day/4-night Jordan extension.

Cost: approximately $5,495, per person, double occupancy (including land and air from SFO)

Bhutan and Nepal: Myths & Legends of the Himalayas April 18–May 2, 2018 Nepal is a land of snow peaks and stupas, monasteries and mantras. Explore Kathmandu’s temples and the villages of Patan and Bhaktapur. Marvel at views of the Annapurna massif from Pokhara Valley.

In Bhutan discover holy Buddhist shrines and witness the Domkhar Tsechu Festival in the remote Bumthang Valley. Visit Taktsang, the sacred Tiger’s Nest monastery which hangs 2,000 feet above Paro Valley. Meet a Bhutanese family in their farmhouse and a senior monk in a monastery.

Cost: approximately $6,995, per person, double occupancy

Southern Africa Odyssey: South Africa, Namibia, Botswana & Zimbabwe April 19–May 6, 2018 Discover Johannesburg, where we tour Soweto and the home of the late Nelson Mandela. Experience spectacular Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe and enjoy a safari to see elephants. Explore Chobe National Park, and marvel at the vast Namib Desert with its towering sand dunes rising more than a thousand feet high. Spend four nights in vibrant Cape Town and visit Robben Island. Finally, discover the Winelands, South Africa’s renowned wine-growing region.

Cost: approximately $8,255, per person, double occupancy (including land and air from SFO)

European Coastal Civilizations: Lisbon to London aboard m.s. Le Boréal April 30–May 9, 2018 Explore the historical legacies and dynamic cultures of coastal Portugal, Spain, France and England on an eight-night voyage. Explore Oporto, Portugal’s premier wine region; walk in the footsteps of pilgrims in Santiago de Compostela; visit the Guggenheim Museum and Mont-St-Michel. Guest speaker Dwight D. Eisenhower II accompanies you to the hallowed beaches of Normandy. Conclude with a cruise up the storied River Thames to London’s Tower Bridge. Optional Lisbon pre-cruise and London post-cruise extensions.

Cost: from approximately $5,195, per person, double occupancy

Ancient Traditions of the Inland Sea of Japan aboard m.s. L’Austral May 8–18, 2018 Explore Japan and South Korea during a seven-night cruise aboard the small ship m.s. L’Austral along the Inland Sea of Japan, plus two nights in Kyoto. Visit five UNESCO World Heritage sites. Explore Kyoto’s Nijō Castle; Hiroshima’s Memorial Peace Park; Miyajima’s inspiring Itsukushima Shrine; and the Buddhist wonders of Gyeongju, South Korea. Optional pre-trip extension in Tokyo and post-trip to Kanazawa’s gardens and historic Samurai residences.

Cost: from approximately $5,995, per person, double occupancy

Scottish Isles and Norwegian Fjords: Bergen to Glasgow aboard m.s. Le Boréal May 17–25, 2018 Cruise from Bergen, Norway, to Glasgow, Scotland on a seven-night journey to Scotland’s Orkney and Shetland Islands and Norway’s majestic fjords. Experience two of world’s most scenic rail journeys— the Flåm Railway through Norway’s fjordlands and The Jacobite steam train through the Scottish Highlands. Enjoy a presentation by Nick Card, the Ness of Brodgar archaeological site director and head archaeologist in the Heart of Neolithic Orkney. Norway/Copenhagen pre-cruise and Edinburgh/Glasgow post-cruise options.

Cost: from approximately $4,995, per person, double occupancy

Canadian Rockies Explorer with Glacier National Park June 9–19, 2018 Experience North America’s great unspoiled wildernesses. Journey from majestic Glacier National Park, to the mountain town of Whitefish, Montana, and world-famous Banff National Park. Visit Lake Louise and Athabasca Glacier, one of the largest icefields in the Rocky Mountains. See Jasper National Park’s Maligne Canyon and cruise cerulean Maligne Lake. Take in spectacular views on an expedition to Glacier Skywalk.

Ride the Banff Gondola to Sulphur Mountain’s 8,000-foot peak. Stay in unique mountain lodges.

Cost: approximately $4,295, per person, double occupancy

Siberia & Mongolia with a Country Nadaam Festival July 28–August 13, 2018 Russia’s Siberia and Mongolia are known for vast, rugged expanses and nomadic culture. Travel through Moscow to Ulan Ude. Take the Trans-Siberian Rail to Urkutsk and stay on Olkon Island on Lake Baikal. Visit the Russian Village of Listvyanka. Fly to Ulaan Baatar, Mongolia where we learn about Genghis Khan and visit the National Museum. Fly to the Gobi and stay at the award-winning Three Camel Lodge. Witness a traditional country Nadaam Festival, a demonstration of Mongolia’s strong cultural heritage.

Cost: approximately $8,395, per person, double occupancy

Arctic Express: Greenland’s Northern Lights aboard Ocean Nova September 1–10, 2018 Explore East Greenland, and witness the delights of the world’s largest fjord system of Scoresby Sound.

Visit fascinating Inuit settlements and (weather permitting) experience some of the world’s most vivid displays of the Northern Lights. Draw inspiration from hiking along the tundra, kayaking amid icebergs, and exploring Greenland’s National Park. Search for iconic arctic creatures in their natural habitat – whales, polar bears, muskoxen and more. Pre- and post-tour options in Reykjavik, Iceland.

Cost: from $8,495 per person, double occupancy ($6,395 quad room, $6,895 triple room)

Food and Wine of Portugal and Galicia September 7–16, 2018 Experience the best wines of northern Portugal and Galicia with wine expert Jeremy Shaw. Sip port in Porto while overlooking the Douro River. Learn about vinho verde and alvarino in Melgaco. Visit Pazo de Señorans, the makers of excellent albariños. Savor tapas in the pilgrimage town of Santiago de Compostela. Discover Braga and Pinhao. Visit the famous library at Coimbra University, Enjoy a tasting at Bussaco Palace. Savor regional dishes each day. Conclude in Lisbon.

Cost: approximately $5,495, per person, double occupancy

Perspectives of Iran: Minarets & Mosaics September 20–October 4, 2018 Explore Tehran’s palaces and the vault of the Bank Milli Iran to view the spectacular Crown Jewels.

Visit a contemporary art gallery to learn about artistic expression. Explore Shiraz, city of poetry and gardens. Marvel at the magnificent ruins of Persepolis. Discover Yazd, the country’s center of Zoroastrianism, and the most traditional Persian architecture. Visit Isfahan, where brilliant blue-tiled buildings and majestic bridges are often recognized as the perfection of Islamic architecture.

Cost: approximately $7,490, per person, double occupancy

Insider’s Japan: From Tokyo to Kyoto September 24–Octobert 6, 2018 Experience Tokyo’s Shinto Meiji Shrine, the historic Imperial Palace, and modern Ginza district. Visit Mt. Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park, and spend the night at a ryokan, a traditional Japanese inn. Explore Takayama’s ancient streets and houses and Kanazawa’s famed Kenrokuen Gardens. In Kyoto, Japan’s cultural capital, attend a traditional Japanese tea ceremony, and embark on a cycling tour through the grounds of the Imperial Palace and Gion district. Optional Hiroshima post-trip extension available.

Cost: approximately $6,490 per person, double occupancy, including air from SFO

Romance on the Mekong aboard R.V. Mekong Navigator October 2–17, 2018 Explore Saigon, formally known as Ho Chi Minh City, with visits to the Reunification Palace, Notre Dame Cathedral, the War Remnants Museum and the Cu Chi Tunnels. In Siem Reap, discover the wonders of ancient Angkor. Spend seven nights cruising the Mekong River aboard the luxurious, all-suite Mekong Navigator. Visit riverside towns as well as Cambodia’s capital of Phnom Penh. Experience the city’s Royal Palace, and learn about Cambodia’s troubled past at the Choueng Ek Memorial.

Cost: from $6,395, per person, double occupancy, including air from SFO

Exploring Ethiopia: Land of the Blue Nile October 9–20, 2018 Experience the magnificent mountains, majestic lakes, and astonishing variety of human settlements of Ethiopia. Discover the capital of Addis Ababa and Tissiat Falls on the upper reaches of the Blue Nile. Visit Lake Tana’s Kidane Meheret monastery which depicts scenes from the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. Explore Gondar’s castles and the Simien Mountains. Discover Axum where ancient obelisks stand as reminders of the city’s glory. Marvel at the rock-hewn churches of Lalibela. Optional 7-day/6-night extension to Southern Ethiopia.

Cost: approximately $5,595, per person, double occupancy

Cruise the Heart of Europe: Budapest to Amsterdam aboard M.S. Amadeus II October 13–28, 2018 Journey through five countries, and navigate the fabled Rhine, Main and Danube rivers. Discover the walled city of Nuremberg and the stunning imperial capitals of Vienna, Bratislava and Budapest.

Explore Amsterdam’s canals, and take walking tours of Cologne and Würzburg. Visit charming river towns, and marvel at the beauty of the Middle Rhine and Wachau Valleys. Optional pre-tour extension in Prague and post-tour in Amsterdam available.

Cost: from $6,495 per person, double occupancy, no single supplement (limited), including airfare from SFO

Wonders of Peru: With an Amazon River Cruise aboard Delfin III October 18–29, 2018 Experience the tranquility of Peru’s Amazon region and the ethereal Machu Picchu perched among misty Andean peaks. See Lima’s impressive highlights and savor a home-cooked Peruvian dinner at a landmark private residence. Experience three nights aboard the intimate Delfin III as you search for wildlife and hike into the rain forest. Fly to Cusco, and journey to the Sacred Valley of the Incas. Explore the spectacular Incan complex of Machu Picchu.

Cost: from approximately $5,995 per person, no single supplement (limited), free airfare from Miami

Israel: Ancient Sites to Modern Day Start-Ups November 8–17, 2018 Explore Jerusalem, a city sacred to three major religions.. Visit a unique community of 120 families, equally divided between Jews and Arabs, and experience Yad Vashem, a living memorial to the Holocaust. Journey to Masada and float in the Dead Sea. Travel to Bethlehem and Ramallah in the West Bank. Experience Tiberias, Galilee, Caesarea and visit a Druze village in the Golan Heights. See Haifa’s Bahai Gardens. Learn why Israel is called the “Start Up Nation” during our time in cosmopolitan Tel Aviv.

Cost: approximately $7,495 per person, double occupancy

Mystical India November 4–20, 2018 Mystical and spiritual, chaotic and confounding, India overflows with riches. Experience Old Delhi and New Delhi. Continue to Jaipur, the “pink city” and enjoy dinner in a Rajasthan family’s home. At Ranthambore National Park search for the elusive Bengal tigers on game drives. Marvel at the sublime Taj Mahal in Agra. In Varanasi, cruise along the Ganges and discover nearby Sarnath, one of Buddhism’s holiest sites. Optional 5-day/4-night post-tour extension to Nepal.

Cost: approximately $5,685 per person, double occupancy, including air from SFO

Photos by Rikki Ward

BEN SHAPIRO

The New Young

Conservatives

A leading conser vati ve voice discusses political personalities and pathologies. From Inforum’s “Rules for Debating the Left,” held in San Francisco on April 24, 2017.

BEN SHAPRIO Editor-in-Chief, DailyWire.com; Host, “The Ben Shapiro Show”; Author; Attorney In conversation with MATT SHUPE Managing Partner, Praetorian Public Relations; Executive Director, California Young Republican Federation

31

MATT SHUPE: Today there was a press conference regarding a lawsuit that was filed against UC Berkeley for suppressing the First Amendment rights of the Berkeley College Republicans and the Young Americans Foundation. This seems systemic almost in our culture now, where the left feels that they can aggressively and now violently suppress conservative speech on campus.

So how do we fight it?

BEN SHAPIRO: Well, I mean, I think that the way Anne [Coulter] is doing it is about the right way to do it. I did this also at Cal State. In Los Angeles we had a similar situation where the administration tried to cancel a speech that I was giving at Cal State LA, and we told them to screw themselves, we’re coming anyway. About an hour before that speech they reversed themselves and they allowed me to speak. But it was a near riot; we ended up suing the university. This has become relatively systemic. I won’t say that it’s true for all these colleges. I speak at 25 to 30 of them a year, but I’d say like three or four a year are really bad. Obviously, I do wonder how much at Berkeley is the students and how much is Antifa.

I spoke at Berkeley two years ago, and it was no problem; and now Antifa is there making trouble. It really is disgusting that the administration isn’t working with the police to shut down Antifa. This is a violent group that is obviously violating the rights of people to hear free speech. And you can’t have a rioter’s veto this way; it’s really awful.

32

THE COMMO N WE AL TH

SHUPE: One thing I actually found kind of interesting about it is that they’re in violation of the Klan Act, which was developed to fight the KKK, and now the anti-fascist racists are the ones violating it. What are your thoughts the transition—they call themselves the anti-fascists, but a lot of us think they are actually the fascists.

SHAPIRO: The bottom line to me is whoever brings the gun to the party is the fascist. These are the people who are bringing the club or the gun. [Laughter.] But they have a generalized view of the world, which is that everybody who is a conservative is a Nazi, and Nazis ought to be punched.

So if you use that two-step logic, then everybody who is rightwing ought to be punched. There are two flaws to that. One, you shouldn’t punch Nazis unless Nazis are physically threatening you. And two, not all right wingers are Nazis—but they don’t seem to see the connect.

SHUPE: So there’s been obviously an escalation in willingness to do violence by these groups on campus and toward conservatives. How do we fight that escalation?

SHAPIRO: Unfortunately you’re starting to see groups that feel the necessity to show up and defend speakers. And I think that that’s totally within their purview.

I spoke on my podcast this week with a couple of people who showed up at another one of these free speech events in Berkeley, and one of these fights broke out and it turned violent. If people aren’t willing to

stand up and defend their free speech and the police are just gonna stand by and do nothing, I don’t see what choice people have other than defend themselves.

I would love to see a situation where none of this violence breaks out. I didn’t used to have to bring bodyguards to my public events. I didn’t used to have to bring security when I would speak on college campuses.

Now, whenever I speak on a college campus, I have to bring two members of security, and we have to coordinate with the police beforehand. This is something that didn’t exist two years ago, and I fear that it’s only getting worse. Because there’s a group of people who cheer this stuff. There’s a group of people who feel like they’ve really done some sort of yeoman’s work. Now, the irony of this of course is that there are certain people on the right who are provocateurs, who are waiting for this, who really want this. I’m happy to go speak to a crowd of people with no violence, just have the discussion. I’m perfectly happy destroying people in debate, right? [Laughter.] I don’t actually have to do it physically. But what you see very often is that there are people on the right who are itching for this. And if the left understood that, they’d be much better off because they’re actually feeding into a lot of what is driving the popularity of certain political figures.

SHUPE: So do you see this plateauing at a certain point?

Whenever I speak on a college campus, I have to bring two members of security, and we have to coordinate with the police beforehand.

Where do you think this is going?

SHAPIRO: Yeah, I do think there will be a backlash at a certain point. There’s going to be liberals—as opposed to people on the left, and I always make that distinction— who say enough is enough. I mean, you saw Bernie Sanders, of all people, come out and defend Ann’s right to speak in Berkeley. I don’t know—[laughter]— I don’t know in what alternative timeline, we’re for some reason in the alternative timeline where Biff married Marty’s mom. [Laughter.] And everything is explained by this simple divergence in the time space continuum.

But yes, now I’m standing with Bernie Sanders and Bill Maher. Because I think that this has gone so far that even folks on the left are beginning to look and say this is a little bit crazy, we have to stop this.

SHUPE: So it’s one thing when these speakers coming up—Milo and Ann, they swoop through Berkley and they cause these incidents. But then the Berkeley College Republicans [and other] conservative groups are kinda left there to go to class the next day and deal with their peers. How do you suggest to them they deal with this on a day-to-day basis?

SHAPIRO: I’m not sure that on a day-today basis they’re really dealing with it that much from their peers. I think that they’re the brave ones cuz you’re right, I come, I speak, I leave. And they have to deal with the fallout. But the truth is most people on college campuses don’t care that much

about politics. This is the great lie of media coverage of politics on campus. The vast majority of college students are totally apathetic about this stuff. They want to smoke pot and drink and have sex, and be left alone for the most part to babble back to the professors whatever they think that professors want to hear. Get the grades and leave, I mean that’s what most college students are there to do.

So this idea that it’s all people beating on each other for politics—I think there’s a certain subsection of the campus that cares deeply about it, but it’s a relatively small subsection. Going back to my days at UCLA, ... I enjoyed the fight, I think most people on the right sort of enjoy this.

If you didn’t enjoy it, then why do it? But I think that there are some notes they should take, such as don’t mouth off to a professor if it means that you’re gonna sacrifice your grade. I differ from some other people on the right in saying this. I think that it’s very foolish for conservatives to give the baton to people on the left who want to use their power to quash conservatives. Instead get good grades, make lots of money, give donations to the school, and get the professor fired. [Laughter.]

SHUPE: Do you see a long-term solution to almost the culture war you see at these university campuses? Where now people think they’re indoctrinating youth to be— you talk a lot about the trans rights culture that’s going on and stuff. Do you see us

fighting that? Do you see us winning it?

SHAPIRO: That’s sort of a different kind of question and sort of the free speech argument to a certain extent. Because that’s where you see social liberals in conflict with certain basic concepts of free speech. My view on transgenderism is that you can call yourself whatever you want, but the minute that you demand that I call you something, now you are imposing something on me, and that’s not the way this works.

So, that is a bigger battle. But I do think that there’s gonna be sort of a libertarian agreement that arrives on campus. Where people say, “Listen, we’ll all just leave each other alone and that’ll be it, and we can all go about our lives.” I think that’s gonna happen in America more broadly, too, because I don’t think this sort of tension can keep up. I think there will be a sort of conservative–libertarian merger on the right.

Where people on the right acknowledge that libertarians are basically right about government, government sucks at everything, so let the government get out of it.

And libertarians sort of acknowledge about conservatives, that conservatives are right that you have to have some sort of social fabric that exists largely because of religious communities and people who are willing to pick each other up so that government doesn’t have to do that. I think that if you have that, then you have the makings for a broad agreement that it’s possible for people to get behind on campus. Why is it your

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business what I say? Why is it your business what I do? I’m not in your business, why are you in mine? I think that a lot of kids resonate to that. That’s the argument they’ve made to conservatives about sex and about drugs.

And my view is, I don’t care what you do sexually, I don’t care what you do as far as drugs, I do care if you start trying to tell me I can’t say certain things that I am certainly allowed to say and that are well within the mainstream of public opinion, by the way.

SHUPE: So how does this translate into elections? Does this atmosphere that exists now, does it help Republicans? Does it hurt Republicans?

SHAPIRO: This helps Republicans. I mean, it’s become cliche at this point to point to Antifa and say, “This is why Trump,” but this is why Trump. [Laughter.]

And the fact is that Trump was a reactionary force. A lot of people looked at the left, they said, “They’re awful, they’re violent, they’re over the top and we’re gonna react to that by electing somebody who is not going to tell us that we’re the bad guys in this particular scenario.” I think that Trump was

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much more a reaction to the left than he was an embodiment to conservatism. That is its upside; it also has its downside. I think that the upside is that you actually have reactions to the left. The downside to that is that people mistake anti-left for conservative, and these are not the same thing.

Just because you oppose the left, or just because, more important, the left opposes you, does not mean that you’re actually promulgating conservative ideas. I think that holds true for Trump. I think that holds true for Milo. I think that holds true for a lot of people the right has sort of embraced as reactionary forces to battle the left without examining whether these people are actually promulgating conservative ideas, or even have read the Constitution.

SHUPE: You and I were both actually fans of Donald Trump in 2011, in a certain way, in that he was independent and he could run. Go back a year ago, and I actually worked for Kasich and you were not a Trump fan.

SHAPIRO: No. SHUPE: And so, now, what do you think of his first 100 days? And how do you rec-

oncile all of this?

SHAPIRO: What I keep saying about Trump’s first 100 days, and about his administration so far, is that Trump does not have any thoroughgoing worldview other than himself. He’s an egotist, he likes applause, and sometimes that leads him to good things, sometimes that leads him to bad things. So what I see is a guy who’s sort of picking issues off the tree. If he leaves his administrators in charge—Sessions, Pruitt, [at the] EPA, if he leaves Mattis to do what Mattis does in defense—those people tend to do their jobs.

When Trump sticks his thumb in the pie, things get all bollixed up, because Trump really does not have any expertise on policy, he doesn’t even know what he’s talking about.

The most powerful person in America, the most powerful Steve in America today is not Steve Bannon, the most powerful Steve in America today is Steve Doocy. Because what Trump does is, he watches “Fox and Friends,” and then he reacts to whatever’s on “Fox and Friends,” and that becomes his reaction to the day’s news, and that drives the cycle. Sometimes that’s good, and some-

times that’s bad. What I keep saying to folks is it’s sort of like viewing a Seurat painting up-close: If you’re really close to the painting it just looks like a bunch of dots, and you pull out and then you see that there is actually design to this.

We’re too close right now, so it’s hard to tell whether it is a bunch of dots that eventually is going to look like Sunday in the Park with George, or whether we’re going to pull out eventually and it’s just my baby’s vomit. I just I don’t know. [Laughter.]

So it’s a little bit all over the place. I think that I agree with 70 percent of what he does, I disagree with probably 70 percent of what he says, and I think that the first 100 days is a really stupid measurement, just generally.

But what it does tend to do is give you an indicator of what the vision the president has for the country looks like.

Ronald Reagan spent the first 100 days of his administration pushing tax cuts, pushing for smaller government. And even though he didn’t pass any legislation, he set the groundwork. And he spent the first 100 days campaigning along those lines. Bill Clinton actually had a really chaotic first

100 days, but he set the groundwork for the idea that that chaos was actually gonna lead him to shift to the right because he wasn’t effective, and so he had to move to the right and to the center in order to govern well.

Trump, I don’t know, he never had a worldview, he doesn’t really have a vision for what the country should be. Make America Great Again is a great slogan, but it doesn’t really explain what he sees as the future for the country. There’s this idea we are now living in Trump’s America, I really don’t think that’s the case, I think we are living in a reaction to Obama’s America still.

I think Obama set the groundwork and now Trump is still living within that framework, he just sort of reversed the polarization a little bit. Obama was very divisive.

He had particular groups that he decided he was gonna drive to the polls. He wasn’t gonna care about unifying Americans so much.

He came about and said, “Americans can be unified by this big government ideology that is embodied in me because I am the great uniter.” Then he spent the next eight years basically dividing people for political gain. Trump is living in that same frame-

work, he’s just reversed it: “I’m going to benefit particular political groups in Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, and I’m not gonna benefit particular groups that Obama wanted to benefit. But I generally agree with Obama’s basic concepts,” which is, it’s possible for us to unify under the auspices of bigger government through, for example, a $1 trillion stimulus package. We all like bridges, bridges are great, and I think that doesn’t bode particularly well for the future of conservatism in his administration, but it all depends on who has his ear. If he’s out there campaigning in Pennsylvania and he’s doing more speeches in Pennsylvania, whoever cheers the loudest is the person he will resonate to.

If Jared and Ivanka have his ear ... then he will resonate to him. Then he sees something else that happens in the news, he has a knee-jerk reaction to that, whoever cheers him the loudest becomes his next political advisor. This explains Bannon. This explains Jared and Ivanka. And we’ll see how it plays out as time goes on. This is the problem with having a guy who does not have any real philosophy of government.

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Photos by Ed Ritger

Vicente Fox

Across the

Border Mexico’s outspoken former president talks immigration, economics, and “that wall.”

From “Vicente Fox, Former President of Mexico” held in San Francisco on April 19, 2017.

VICENTE FOX President of Mexico, 2000–2006

GLORIA DUFFY President and CEO, The Commonwealth Club— Moderator

I

’m going to start with some words from the Dalai Lama that he mentioned recently. I think they come at a very special moment for what is going on in the world. He said the world belongs to humanity, not to an individual, not to one nation, but the whole of the world. And he also stated that nations belong to their citizens. Not the one citizen, not to a specific group. I think this statement [is important in light of ] what is going on in the world.

And that’s the question. What the hell is going on? [Laughter.] Because when you look at Brexit, for instance, a nation that was part of the founders of the European Union, that

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was mainly responsible for defeating Hitler and his ambitious goals of dominating the world, and a nation, Britain, that had a very warm heart, very compassionate, and very peace- and harmony-oriented. And it was a real surprise the day that Britain decided to abandon the European Union that they have built with such a great effort. The decision was taken on a referendum, and today I question democracy, if [it can end up] with the best and the right decisions. Because in that case, for instance, those who had to do with the future of Europe, those British Millennials that had the whole world for them to grow and to accomplish their dreams, all of the sudden their dreams are cut off. Britain now encloses itself on an island instead of being part of the world.

It’s difficult to digest a decision like this.

It’s difficult to get the positive content that nationalists, extreme nationalism, can have.

Now we see these ideas spreading out to other nations in Europe. It’s part of what we have throughout the 20th century in Latin America, in a way we isolated ourselves, each nation. We were in hands of dictators, of extreme nationalistic leaders, usually demagoguery, populism was the name of democracy. And now for the surprise of everybody, this nation decides that what we’ve been enjoying for decades, for centuries in a way, was wrong. But we need to shift that, we need to change that, we need to make America great again.

What about the rest of the world? What

about those of us that followed the leader for such a long time? Not long ago, these nationalistic economies in Latin America and the world, we were taught or—better said—we were forced to open our economies. We were forced—and thank God that happened—to become democratic. We were forced and taken to the deep and profound belief that human rights is the right thing to do. And the [American] leader now says, “Wait a minute, wait a minute. I have to build walls, I have to protect my own people. I have to take away from them fear, and the way I can do it is by building a wall.”

The question is, Who is going to lead the world now? Leading the world is not through bombs or violence. It’s through love, compassion. Understanding, diplomacy, democracy, democratic dialogue. [Applause.]

This is Dalai’s Lama message. The world belongs to humankind; it belongs to 8 billion of us. And each one of those 8 billion were created with equal rights [and] should have and enjoy equal opportunities. So on this understanding, we built our partnership, or not the partnership. We decided—Canada, United States, and Mexico—that we could do better together. That if we join our forces, we join our minds, that we join our will, if we join our resources, we’re gonna be the champions of the world.

Twenty-two years ago we decided that path. Now here comes one guy who says “You were wrong guys. You made a mistake; why did you plan and execute this partnership? It

doesn’t work. I’m not doing sufficiently well.

I am [under pressure] to protect my jobs and my people because you Mexicans are taking away the jobs from us.”

We just learned the lesson. When we were invited to be partners, we said, “I have to play as well and as good as the champion,” like in tennis. We decided we will play with the champion, with the great performers. We were afraid. We thought it twice. We said, “Jesus Christ, they’re going to invade us, they’re going to take our jobs away, they’re going to take our food away.”

Why do we take this step? Fortunately, [it involved a] very visionary mindset, because trading is a win-win situation. Because when you trade, both traders grow, both traders improve, both traders create wealth, both traders create jobs, and this is what we did. But also we created innovation, competitiveness, and we saved the jobs.

We saved corporations by working together. Because the concept is let’s [make] NAFTA corporations. Let’s make General Motors a NAFTA corporation, so General Motors can nourish its competitiveness from the resources of Mexico, the resources of Canada, and the resources of United States. That’s what made General Motors, Chrysler, and Ford competitive in front of the Nissans, the Toyotas, the BMWs, the Mercedes Benzes.

You remember, not long ago, the foreigners were taking by far the largest share of the automobile market. So much they took [that] General Motors, Chrysler, and Ford went broke and you had to pay to rescue them.

Taxpayers had to come up with the money to rescue those three corporations.

And how they could come back to be competitive? By becoming NAFTA corporations.

By doing some manufacturing in Mexico, doing a lot of engineering and sophisticated technology in United States. By doing some parts and some automobile parts in Canada and back again; now, we see a successful GM, Chrysler, and Ford. Conquering new markets all around the world, growing the stock value of those corporations, creating jobs most everywhere. This is what happened, and that is why NAFTA is a competitive tool.

NAFTA has made North America the largest consumer market in the world. NAFTA has created the largest production, the largest manufacturing, the largest expansion in technology and knowledge economy in the world.

We are the champions. NAFTA can face the challenge of the East. The United States by itself—difficult that it could compete with China. There is a deficit of $350 billion between U.S. and Chinese economies. There is a deficit of $50 billion between Mexico and United States. There is a deficit of this economy with every single nation in the world, with every single economy. I don’t know of any economy in the world which would have a surplus, United States over that economy.

This is the way the U.S. economy works. It works very, very successfully.

So why do we chose Mexico as the enemy, as the economy that took away our jobs? Do you know that India’s exports on information technologies and call centers [are] over $180 billion every year? What do they do? They serve American corporations, they serve American small, medium-sized companies.

The accounting of those corporations is being done in India. The call centers made your reservations to come to this place, very possibly went on a phone call to India and [from] India back here, so that the reservation was made. This is the world working, building, competing. That segment of the economy, information technologies in India, has taken away not hundreds of thousands, millions of jobs you could claim from the U.S. economy.

So, what we need is to understand how the economy works, and the economy is not run by executive orders. The economy obeys the laws of the market. It’s that hidden, invisible hand that Adam Smith spoke about. You cannot impose border taxes to Mexico’s imports without hurting yourselves, without shooting with a gun your own feet.

[Laughter.] Because what will Mexico do?

Same thing—impose border taxes [on] the meat, cattle ranchers from the states, grain producers in the states, corn that is imported to Mexico by the billions of dollars. We buy from this nation over $350 billion every year.

That accounts for more than 10 million jobs, direct jobs to U.S. citizens.

So attacking ourselves in a trade war is crazy. Only a crazy guy can come up with that idea.

Well, enough for trading. Now, let’s get into walls. Another great idea. [Laughter.]

We have a wall already. China built a wall, a great, tall wall, beautiful wall—some of you have visited. It’s great to be taking pictures on that wall. You now, that wall was built to protect China against their enemies; their en-

emies were the Manchus, were the Mongols.

So, China decided with great sacrifice with their own money [applause]—they didn’t ask others to pay for their wall. And what happened? China was invaded, conquered, by the Mongols and the Manchus. [Laughter.]

And the wall in Berlin, built to keep people out of freedom, to keep them out of the free world so that they could not enjoy what was going on somewhere else. And that wall built by the Russians? Paid by the Russians? Had to be [torn down] when President Reagan comes in and say, “Hey, Gorbachev, listen to me, tear down that wall.” And pretty soon after, it happened. People [tore down] that wall.

So walls don’t work. There are many other great, wise ideas to protect your nation.

I’m not for open borders; I am for an orderly border. We need it in Mexico. We don’t want an invasion of Gringos again!

[Laughter, applause.]

So, I mean this idea of the wall is really crazy nonsense. Imagine $35 billion that are gonna be coming out of your pockets, of U.S. taxpayers, because Trump wants that great, beautiful wall. Why don’t we take $35 billion and invest them in Central America? Even in Mexico, even in southern United States or even in areas that [have] unemployment in United States?

With $35 billion, you can create—and this is economist-proven—10 million direct jobs.

You go to the origin of the problem, where migration originates. In places that there is war. That there is peace. That there is disease.

That there is unemployment. And then you move, like my family did from Ireland. And they moved to Strasbourg in Europe on the border of France and Germany, where the action was, where they could get a job, where they could get some income. Later, pestilence, disease, war, unemployment came to Strasbourg in Europe. So they moved here.

Your families, each and every one of your families, either came from Europe or came from Africa, or came from somewhere else. I don’t see any Native Americans here. But we all come from migrant families, and we all and our families built this nation. It started with George Washington, with Abraham Lincoln. Their families came from the Mayflower, coming from Europe.

And migrants started independence. And migrants built this nation. So migration is a real asset. Of course you need to control; of course you need to determine how much J U N E/J U LY 2017

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you can take in. Imagine if we were in Syria.

I mean the desperation of those people, of those kids looking for somebody to protect them. So they’re moving out massively, and somebody has to pay attention to that and has to do something, I don’t say every nation has to do everything, but we all should do a little bit on our side. What I’m talking about here is the leader of this nation, at the end [of the day], is the leader of the world.

You have here independent branches of power to control that leader if he goes crazy. You need checks and balances. But what about the rest of us outside? So I decided to name myself a shadow cabinet, humbly representing the world to at least bring a message and say, “Hey, what about us?” What about us if we have violence? What

about us if the economy goes in [trouble]?

We always talk about trade; the message is clear: Let’s keep trading, let’s keep expanding our economies, let’s keep creating jobs like we’ve done up till now.

About migration, yes, let’s have an ordinary border, which we in Mexico need, that you need here and that can be done. When President Bush [made] his first visit as the president of the United States, it was to Mexico and guess where, in San Cristobal. That’s a little place very close to heaven; that’s where Martha and I live and share love. That’s where my grandfather came as a migrant from Cincinnati, Ohio. So we met there, one and a half days, speaking about migration. How do we come up with a solution to that issue?

Then we invited Senator Kennedy and Senator McCain, and they came in for a week’s time to Mexico. We sat down for a full week to put together a bill to be presented to the U.S. Congress.

[The bill dealt with the] undocumented, which nobody knows how many there are because it’s not documented. It could be 11 [million], it could be 20, it could be 2; who knows? And [the bill explained] how we are going to resolve that, and this is very clear. Those who have a job, those who are contributing to the betterment of this nation, let them keep working. And if somebody wants to keep hiring them, let them. Number two, what to do every year when this economy needs half a million additional jobs to sustain the economy growing—that’s determined by the U.S. government and by economies­—half a million, you have to import labor, jobs that are not being done by U.S. citizens. Every year you import, legally documented, half a million. So let’s keep doing that, it’s a need that you have here.

We have for the moment, and only for the moment, available labor in Mexico.

Which is about to be finished. The era of over-quantities of labor [is over]. Today half of Mexico has full employment, starting with my region; we’re full employment, we need people, we need to import. And that’s why now, more Mexicans are going back than the ones coming in.

So it’s a market situation. That’s the way we are moving right now, in that direction.

So migration is treated in this bill like that, if the U.S. economy grows faster, then you need to open the valve and you might need

600,000 or maybe 700,000. If the economy is not performing so well, then you close the valve, then you reduce. That’s the way you can keep an orderly border.

The final and third point that is in that bill is humanism, respect to the family, understanding that separating families is a crime. You cannot separate children from their mothers, you cannot separate wives from their husbands. [Applause.] And this is contemplated in that proposal, that those who are going to be documented to work here, those 11 million once they are in that situation, then let them have their families.

Most Hispanics or Mexicans who come to this nation come looking for some additional income and not to stay here forever. That’s a different situation, that’s a different line.

So those who come, we could consider as temporary guest workers. As long as they have the job, they stay here and their families have the same right.

So migration and trade we already discussed. Finally one third key issue that we’re seeing happening today: We human beings perform at our best or very best only in peace and harmony as scenarios. Nobody goes to work with fear. Nobody goes to work with that great efficiency if we are afraid or if we can meet violence on the way. So we need those peaceful and harmonious scenarios.

I use the example of Machiavelli and San Ignacio De Loyola [to demonstrate that] there are two styles of managing power.

One is Machiavelli; he says you gain respect by being tough. Because people fear you, and when people fear you, they say, “I’ll respect you.”

San Ignacio Loyola says you gain respect by love, by dialogue, by exchanging and putting yourself in the feet of the other. By understanding, then you gain respect, you gain moral respect, which is much more valuable than respect because you have the stick or because you have the bombs.

So these two styles need to be present in every nation. You don’t only need saints, compassionate saints, spiritual saints, you need also pragmatic, serious, firm, leaders.

So you need a combination of both.

At least in Latin America, in Mexico, when we see that in one person, you accumulate economic power, money, with political power—watch out, that can be a bomb.

The wealthy, the rich are not the very best people in respecting others. So that’s one

situation. The other one is, and look at what has happened in this nation. Usually you have a balance between [those two ways of managing power. You have] the military, whose obligation, whose charter, whose mandate is protect the nation and the security of the nation, no matter what. You can violate human rights in Guantanamo. Just do it, for the sake of national security. But when you have that situation, together with an aggressive, short-fused, maybe irresponsible person as president? Again, watch out.

What I saw with Obama, he might have been weak, you better say, “Well, he was too prudent. Maybe he gave too much chance to the bad guys.” But there was a balance. Same with President Clinton.

So I think that is another of our big worries worldwide. Imagine, the guy in North Korea and the guy in United States. One day they wake up with a hangover. And boom!

I repeat and finish [with this]. Peace and harmonious scenarios—it’s the only way we human beings perform our very best. I wish we would have ladies as presidents everywhere in the world. [Applause.] Because, the main characteristics of women is love.

It’s love. Having a child is an act of love, taking care of a child is an act of love. Taking care of the future of a child and educating him is an act of love and it’s also an act of wisdom. So we need more women around the many machos that we have—hombres malos [laughter]—that we have. We would have a better world. Thank you.

Question and answer session with Dr. Gloria Duffy, president and CEO of The Commonwealth Club GLORIA DUFFY: Many years ago in the 1990s, when you were governor of the state of Guanajuato, you were with us. And so we’re very grateful for this return visit. It’s interesting to compare the state of the world back then and the state of the world now. I’d like to start with a little bit of background about you.

You were a business man. You come from this wonderful mixed family—European, you studied in the U.S., Mexican. What was your path to politics? What caused you as a business man, president of Coca Cola Mexico, to decide to take that plunge? Public life, first at the local and state level and then the national level?

VICENTE FOX: I would say the profound belief and conviction that the shortcut to happiness is being for others. It’s doing for others. And that’s Martha’s and my life. Be for others and you will be happy.

So when I finished school and then I joined the Coca Cola Company, I was convinced like the business community that creating jobs is your obligation and it’s your satisfaction. But later I learned that it’s not enough.

I think business and the corporate world not only have the obligation to create jobs, but they have to create a better world. They have to commit further and beyond the bottom line; there are second and third bottom lines

which bring you a lot of reward. So that conviction took me out of Coca Cola. I resigned when I was going to be moved from Mexico to Atlanta and I said I prefer my tacos.

So I went back to the family business, to my small world in San Cristobal where I was born and raised with migrants. I played marbles and other games with them when we were kids, and I saw each one of them one day come and say, “Goodbye, friend Vicente, I’m looking for my future and I’m going to go north.” They just went. Still they are my friends, many of them in Chicago, many of them here, in LA, many of them yet in Dallas, Fort Worth.

And like last night in the restaurant, we go to the kitchens and we see these great, great people. So loyal, so good, preparing food as a gift to the guest of the restaurant. These people, just last night, their first question is “We’re afraid. ... We’re undocumented, what do we do?” I said, “Don’t worry, keep working. Do your work and you’re gonna be appreciated and people will be with you sooner or later.” So that was my second phase or second quarter of my life.

The third one was when I joined politics, looking again for an activity that will reward me, my emptiness, and I thought [the solution] is to go to politics. There you are to serve people, to do things for people, and it is a satisfaction. But yet, the political world is so full of hypocrisy, so full of life that you don’t see the return on a happy life that you’re looking for. If I had a choice again, whether to J U N E/J U LY 2017

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be in the private sector or to be in the public and political sector, I will tell Trump, “Stay where you were.” [Laughter.]

But anyway, that’s my life. It is the search for meaning. It’s the search for happiness. It’s the search for serving others.

DUFFY: You’ve been very outspoken, you’ve tweeted quite a bit toward President Trump. Let’s say you had him in private, leader-to-leader. What would be the single most important thing you would say to him, not in a few characters on Twitter but face-to-face?

FOX: Trump, you need to stop being selfish.

Now you represent 300-plus million U.S. citizens, now opening your mouth or sending your Twitter or sending your executive orders, you could be affecting 8 billion people. So calm down, be quiet and be presidential.

[Applause.]

DUFFY: So President Trump has a very loud bark. They say people have a greater bark than bite. Do you think there’s any chance that President Trump is a provocateur, that he may never actually build a wall? But I’ve heard that illegal immigration has gone down a lot in anticipation of the ICE policing and the wall, and so on. Could he be a provocateur

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who is trying to stimulate change?

FOX: That would be giving him too much recognition. [Laughter.] Let me tell you what I think. I went through this, moving from the corporate world where you are the boss.

You call it CEO, but you are the patron. So you instruct what has to be done, and people follow or they’re gonna be fired. When you think that you can do that in politics, you’re committing the worst mistake in your life.

It’s a totally different world. In the world of politics, you have checks and balances.

You have to be convincing. Your vision has to be shared by your followers. You represent the people. So you have to go along with the people and be close to the people. You don’t discriminate, you take everybody as a human being with the same rights and the same opportunities that they should have.

In my case, and I went through being first congressman then governor of my state and then president of the country. Still, being president took me from one to three years more to really learn what’s going on, to really learn how can you [have an] impact in politics the same as you could impact business.

It’s two different worlds, and I think that’s a

crucial issue that has to be considered.

The other comment would go on examples that have worked. I give you the case of President Lula in Brazil. President Lula in Brazil, an extreme leftist. In a way, a populist. After trying three times, he became president of Brazil. But the very moment that he became president of Brazil, he left his ideology on the side. He left his religious dogmas on the side and he learned that he, now, was governing for everybody. Not for Catholics, not for Protestants, not for blacks, not for whites.

You’re working for everybody. That is so easy, and we all understand many leaders do not understand that. Lula understood and Lula moved that nation up to the sky. Really, the era of Lula was fantastic for Brazil. Unfortunately at the end, like all those who enjoy power, watch out, because you get drunk.

I mean power, it’s a vice; it thoroughly can distort your beliefs and your ethics and your moral structure, so it’s very dangerous. That happened in Brazil, and look at Brazil right now. After being [up] here for a few years, now it’s way down on the floor. This takes me to one conclusion: The world that we will see in the next 10 years, or a further span, it’s

gonna be built by you, by you, by you, by you, by me, by her, by Trump, by Obama, by leaders everywhere in the world. It’s not institutions that set the path and decide what we’re going to do. It’s individuals. So our leaders need some sort of control, and we have to make sure that it happens.

DUFFY: It was just reported that a so-called DREAMer, one of the children who was brought here at age 9, has been deported at the age of 23. It’s the first time the Trump administration has actually taken action on this.

What do you think about the DREAMers and those kids who were brought as children?

What should be done about them?

FOX: First, gracias, Obama. I think that was a great step forward, and we need more of those steps.

Trump, boo. [Laughter.] You don’t do that.

You don’t do that to a DREAMer. Your wife, Trump, was a dreamer. She came to the states.

She came to marry you; as well as you accept that, accept the rights of these other people.

Just hating Obama, just doing the contrary of Obama is the best way to go to failure.

And I say this because that’s the story in Latin America. Every four years, every six

years, a new government comes and they invent the wheel. They come with a new program. They eliminate those programs that were working. It even happened to me with a member of my own party, President Calderon. In the first month he was in power, he started canceling a great program that we had. When I came into power, I substituted three, and I kept 95 percent, maybe 100 percent of any program that was proven worthy. I kept them. It’s what we should do from government to government. You are not going to solve a nation’s problem in 4 years or in 8 years.

DUFFY: What should Mexico be doing to reduce the flow and the need for all of the immigration to the U.S.?

FOX: When NAFTA started, the gap on income on the U.S. side, compared to the Mexican side, was 10 to 1. So you would make $1 on the Mexican side and by learning how to swim and cross the Brazos river or learning how to jump a wall, you will make $10. Tell me any of you that would not be moved with such a great incentive of increasing your salary tenfold by moving north.

What should we consider the ideal? It

would be Canada–United States. You make $1 on the Canadian side, you made $1 on the U.S. Side. No incentive to be there or to be here. What NAFTA did for Mexico, the gap of 10-to-1 changed to 5-to-1. The incentive [to emigrate] decreased. My forecast is that in another 20 to 25 years, we are going to reach 1-to-1. That’s why NAFTA’s so important.

What are we doing? A lot of things. One of them is we’re full employment on [the] center of Mexico, with 60 percent of the Mexican population. And the north, the Chihuahua, the Nuevo Leon, the Coahuila, are also full employment; no more poverty from the middle of Mexico up to the north.

We’re working to be competitive, to create jobs, to move ahead. It’s the same situation of trading, of being part of the world’s big game, and Mexico has 45 trade agreements.

Not one, NAFTA. We have 45, but of course we’ve taken advantage of this trade agreement, because it’s our neighbor. California’s economy is the sixth or the fifth largest in the world. We are the 11th largest in the world.

So what easier thing to do then? Trade with California. Trade with Texas. That’s more than enough for ourselves.

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PROGRAMS The Commonwealth Club organizes more than 450 events every year on politics, the arts, media, literature, business and sports. Programs are held throughout the Bay Area in San Francisco, Silicon Valley, Marin County, and the East Bay. Standard programs are typically one hour long and frequently include panel discussions or speeches followed by a question and answer session. Many evening programs include a networking reception with wine.

PROGRAM DIVISIONS

CLIMATE ONE

INFORUM

MEMBER-LED FORUMS

Discussion among climate scientists, policymakers, activists, and citizens about energy, the economy, and the environment.

Inspiring talks with leaders in tech, culture, food, design, business and social issues targeted towards young adults.

Volunteer-driven programs that focus on particular fields. Most evening programs include a wine networking reception.

COMMONWEALTHCLUB.ORG/CLIMATE-ONE

COMMONWEALTHCLUB.ORG/INFORUM

COMMONWEALTHCLUB.ORG/MLF

RADIO, VIDEO, & PODCASTS Watch Club programs on the California Channel every Saturday at 9 p.m., and on KRCB TV 22 on Comcast. Select Commonwealth Club programs air on Marin TV’s Education Channel (Comcast Channel 30, U-Verse Channel 99) and on CreaTV in San Jose (Channel 30). View hundreds of streaming videos of Club programs at fora.tv and youtube.com/commonwealthclub

Subscribe to our free podcast service on iTunes and Google Play to automatically receive new programs: commonwealthclub.org/podcasts.

Hear Club programs on more than 200 public and commercial radio stations throughout the United States. For the latest schedule, visit commonwealthclub.org/broadcast.

In the San Francisco Bay Area, tune in to: KQED (88.5 FM) Fridays at 8 p.m. and Saturdays at 2 a.m.

KSAN (107.7 FM) Sundays at 5 a.m.

KRCB Radio (91.1 FM in Rohnert Park) Thursdays at 7 p.m.

KNBR (680 and 1050 AM) Sundays at 5 a.m.

KALW (91.7 FM) Inforum programs select Tuesdays at 7p.m.

KFOG (104.5 and 97.7 FM) Sundays at 5 a.m.

KLIV (1590 AM) Thursdays at 7 p.m.

TuneIn.com Fridays at 4 p.m.

TICKETS Prepayment is required. Unless otherwise indicated, all events—including “Members Free” events—require tickets. Programs often sell out, so we strongly encourage you to purchase tickets in advance. Due to heavy call volume, we urge you to purchase tickets online at commonwealthclub.org; or call (415) 597-6705. Please note: All ticket sales are final. Please arrive at least 10 minutes prior to any program. Select events include premium seating, which refers to the first several rows of seating. Pricing is subject to change.

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HARD OF HEARING? To request an assistive listening device, please e-mail William Blum seven working days before the event at wblum@commonwealthclub.org.

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6:30 pm Week to Week Politics Roundtable and Social Hour FM 6:30 pm SFDebate

5:30 pm Frontier Research at UC’s Lick Observatory

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5:30 pm Buddhist Economics 5:30 pm 86th Annual California Book Awards FM

5:30 pm Daring to Drive 6 pm Socrates Café 5:30 pm Week to Week Politics Roundtable & Social Hour 6:30 pm SFDebate

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6:15 pm Pinchos, Tapas and the Perfect Pairings

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5 pm Middle East Forum Discussion FM 5:45 pm Not On Our Watch: How the Bay Area Stands United

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5:30 pm Crooked: What It Takes to Outwit the Back Pain Industry and Get on the Road to Recovery 6:30 pm Kim Scott: Radical Candor

11 am Dallas Federal Reserve President Robert Kaplan: Current Economic Conditions and Implications for Monetary Policy 5:30 pm LGBT Activist Cleve Jones: When We Rise

1:45 pm Nob Hill Walking Tour 5:30 pm There Is No Good Card for This 5:30 pm Former Medicare/Medicaid Chiefs Square Off: The Future of U.S. Health Care

East/North Bay

11:30 am They Say It’s Your Birthday 5:30 pm The Fuzzy and the Techie

6 pm Ben Franklin Circles FM 6 pm Graham Allison: Are We Headed for War? 7 pm Journalism and the Information Civil War

5:30 pm Opera for Our Time: Bringing New Works to Life 5:30 pm Take a Wild Uber Ride with Adam Lashinsky

4:45 pm How to Revive and Revitalize Your Life After Retirement 5:45 pm Creating Our Digital World with Erik Brynjolfsson and Andrew McAfee

Silicon Valley

11 am Garry Kasparov: The Future of Artificial Intelligence 1:45 pm Russian Hill Walking Tour 5:30 pm Golf Courses, the Environment & Water Conservation: The New Reality

1:45 pm Waterfront Walking Tour 5:30 pm Life After Diagnosis

5:30 pm The Gay Bar in American History 5:45 pm Is America in Retreat? Film Screening and Discussion

11:30 am Merola Opera: Sparking the Future

FM Free for members

11:30 am Israel and India: 25 Years of Diplomatic Relations

5:30 pm Uniting Us Through Dance

8:15 am Mineta Transportation Summit: Are We There Yet? Bridging the Gap in California’s Transportation Funding FE

11:30 am A Brighter Day

FE Free for everyone

MO Members-only

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5:15 pm p.m.Lefty Blinding 5:30 Flash of Baseball’s the Obvious O’Doul: 6:30 p.m. Ben FrankForgotten Ambaslin Circles FM sador 6:30 pm p.m.Week Change5:30 to makers: Movement Week Politics RoundLeaders Civil table andon Social Rights Hour in an Uncivil Time FMSFDebate 6:30 pm 7:45 FM p.m. The Future of America’s Political

4:45 pm Begin with the End in Mind: The Impact of Trauma on Children’s Brains and Bodies 6 pm Ancestry’s Catherine Ball: Who Do You Think You Are?

6 pm Socrates Café

10 a.m.

5:30 pmChinatown How to Fall Walking TourAnyone in Love with 6:30 Sallie 5:30 p.m. pm The Man Krawcheck: PowWho Lit LadyThe Liberty: er Women, Work TheofExtraordinary and Rise Wallet and Fall of Actor 7 p.m.

Gopi Kallayil: M.B. Curtis Brain, Body and Consciousness

5:30 pm For-Profit Punishment? The Private Prison Question

4:45 pm I’m Not Blind, But I Can’t See: Resources for Those with Low Vision 7 pm Journalism and the Information Civil Wa

4:45 pm Creating Moments of Joy in Caregiving

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5:30 pm Week to Week Politics Roundtable and Social Hour 6:30 pm SFDebate

1:45 pm San Francisco Architecture Walking Tour 5:30 pm Refugees Without Refuge: Stories of LGBTQ Refugees Stranded in the Middle East 5:45 pm Richard Harris and Mary Roach

6:15 pm Vinod Khosla: The Future of Technology

9:45 am Chinatown Walking Tour

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5 pm Middle East Forum Discussion FM 5:45 pm The Sky Event of the Decade: The “All-American” Eclipse of the Sun on August 21

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commonwealthclub.org/events

For current prices, call 415.597.6705 or go to commonwealthclub.org

They Say It’s Your Birthday 6/1

THURSDAY, JUNE 1 They Say It’s Your Birthday

Dulais Rhys, Faculty, Amabile School of Music; Professional Musician

Celebrate the 50th birthday of Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band by learning about the background, creation and songs of the Beatles’ revolutionary album. The album was released on June 1, 1967, right as the Summer of Love was beginning. Six months earlier, Paul McCartney suggested he and his bandmates create a new album based on their various childhood experiences; Sgt. Pepper’s was the result. Want to know why “Strawberry Fields Forever” and “Penny Lane” didn’t make the cut? Want to learn other details you may not have known before, even if you’re a major fan? Come find out. Singing along is encouraged.

SF • Location: 555 Post St., San Francisco • Time: 11:30 a.m. networking reception, noon program • MLF: Humanities • Program organizer: George Hammond • Notes: An Only in San Francisco summer series program

The Fuzzy and the Techie: Why the Liberal Arts Will Rule the Digital World

Scott Hartley, Venture Capitalist; Author, The Fuzzy and the Techie

For years, many people assumed that innovation was driven only by techies. Scott Hartley debunks that myth and reveals the counterintuitive reality that “fuzzies” (people who majored in humanities or social sciences) play key roles in developing the most creative and successful new business ideas. Fuzzies are often the ones who understand the life issues that need solving and offer the best approaches for doing so. Hartley looks inside some of

commonwealthclub.org/events

The Fuzzy and the Techie 6/1

today’s most dynamic new companies and reveals fuzzy-techie collaborations.

SF • Location: 555 Post St., San Francisco • Time: 5:30 p.m. networking reception, 6 p.m. program, 7 p.m. book signing • MLF: Business & Leadership • Program organizer: Elizabeth Carney • Notes: Photo by and copyright Opinno

FRIDAY, JUNE 2 Israel and India: 25 Years of Diplomatic Relations

Ambassador Venkatesan Ashok, India’s Consul General, San Francisco Andy David, Israel’s Consul General, Pacific Northwest Jonathan Curiel, Journalist—Moderator

David and Ashok will speak in celebration of Israel and India’s 25 years of diplomatic relations and their centuries-long historical and cultural connections. The two diplomats will discuss the growing partnership and collaboration between their countries as well as shared interests and mutual goals for the future.

SF • Location: 555 Post St., San Francisco • Time: 11:30 a.m. networking reception, noon program • MLF: Middle East • Program organizer: Celia Menczel

MONDAY, JUNE 5 Week to Week Politics Roundtable and Social Hour 6/5/17 Panelists TBA

It’s summertime, so let’s kick off the new season with a free-for-members special edition of our Week to Week political roundtable.

We’ll discuss the biggest, most controversial and sometimes the surprising political issues with expert commentary by panelists who are smart, are civil and have a good sense of humor. Join our panelists for informative and engaging commentary on political and other major news, audience discussion of the week’s

JUNE 1–6

Frontier Research 6/6

events, and our live news quiz.

Come early before the program to meet other smart and engaged individuals and discuss the news over snacks and wine at our member social (open to all attendees).

SF • WEEK TO WEEK PROGRAM• Location: 555 Post St., San Francisco • Time: 5:30 p.m. wineand-snacks social, 6:30 p.m. program

SFDebate SFDebate is an open forum for discussion of the events of our time. It is a place where you will not only be exposed to opposing points of view, but a safe place where you will be encouraged to find and speak up for yours.

SFDebate is also a meeting of minds, and we follow every meeting with continued debate and conversation at a nearby bar/restaurant.

SF • Location: 555 Post St., San Francisco • Time: 6:30 p.m. check-in, 7–8:45 p.m. debate

TUESDAY, JUNE 6 Frontier Research at UC’s Lick Observatory

Alex Filippenko, Professor of Astronomy and Richard and Rhoda Goldman Distinguished Professor in the Physical Sciences, UC Berkeley

Lick Observatory is a vibrant research facility and the primary base for the University of California’s astronomy education and public outreach. Lick also is used to develop new technologies, such as laser guide star adaptive optics, that produce very clear images of celestial objects. Filippenko, one of the world’s most-cited astronomers, will explain Lick’s exciting research and other activities.

SF • Location: 555 Post St., San Francisco • Time: 5:30 p.m. networking reception, 6 p.m. program • MLF: Humanities, Science & Technology • Program organizer: George Hammond • Notes: An Only in San Francisco summer series event JUNE/JULY 2017

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JUNE 7–8

For current prices, call 415.597.6705 or go to commonwealthclub.org

Graham Allison 6/7

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 7 Ben Franklin Circles Join us for a 21st-century version of Ben Franklin’s mutual improvement club. One evening a week for more than 40 years, the founding father discussed and debated with his friends the 13 virtues that he felt formed the basis for personal and civic improvement, a list he created when he was 20 years old. The virtues to which he aspired included justice, resolution and humility. The Ben Franklin Circles program brings people together to discuss the most pressing philosophical and ethical issues of our time with the goal of improving ourselves and our world.

SF • Location: 555 Post St., San Francisco • Time: 6 p.m. check-in, 6:30 p.m. program • MLF: Humanities • Program organizer: George Hammond

Graham Allison: Are We Headed for War?

Dr. Graham Allison, Former Assistant Secretary of Defense; Director, Harvard University’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs; Author, Destined for War: Can America and China Escape Thucydides’s Trap?

In Conversation with Ellen Tauscher, Former U.S. Representative; Former Undersecretary of State for Arms Control and International Securitys

Could China and the U.S. be headed toward war, or is there a way to avoid it? Graham Allison, former assistant secretary of defense, argues that if both the U.S. and China refuse to back down, a trade conflict, cyberattack or accident at sea could escalate into war.

Join us for a conversation with Graham Allison about how Thucydides’ Trap, the inevitable contention between a rising power and an established one, is still relevant today.

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Journalism & the Information Civil War 6/7 SF • Location: 555 Post St., San Francisco • Time: 6 p.m. check-in, 6:30 p.m. program, 7:30 p.m. book signing • Notes: In association with the Committee of 100; photo by and copyright Martha Stewart

Journalism and the Information Civil War

Monika Bauerlein, CEO, Mother Jones Robert Rosenthal, Executive Director, the Center for Investigative Reporting

Is our current social and political climate fueling a new golden age of journalism? Or is it a dark time for the media? Driven by attacks on the freedom of the press, information and disinformation, and a changing media landscape, news organizations have renewed their interest in uncovering the truth through investigative reporting.

Robert Rosenthal, executive director of the Center for Investigative Reporting, and Monika Bauerlein, CEO of Mother Jones, will discuss the present and future for real news and information.

NB • MARIN CONVERSATIONS PROGRAM • Location: The Outdoor Art Club, One West Blithdale Ave., Mill Valley • Time: 7 p.m. check-in, light hors d’oeuvres & cash bar, 7:45–9 p.m. program • Notes: This program is sponsored by Relevant Wealth Advisors and an anonymous donor

THURSDAY, JUNE 8 Garry Kasparov: The Future of Artificial Intelligence

Garry Kasparov, Chairman, Human Rights Foundation; Former World Chess Champion; Author, Deep Thinking: Where Machine Intelligence Ends and Human Creativity Begins In Conversation with Holly Kernan, Vice President of News, KQED

In May 1997, the world watched as Garry Kasparov, the greatest chess player in the

SF: San Francisco

SV: Silicon Valley

Garry Kasparov 6/8

world, was defeated for the first time by the IBM supercomputer Deep Blue. Kasparov’s competition symbolized man’s fight against machine, yet years after losing to Deep Blue, he has come to see how humans and machines can partner to reach results that neither can attain alone. Come join us for a conversation about what it was like to strategize against a supercomputer—and how a world increasingly reliant on artificial intelligence can potentially overcome new challenges.

SF • Location: Marines’ Memorial Theatre, 609 Sutter St., 2nd floor, San Francisco • Time: 11 a.m. check-in, noon program, 1 p.m. book signing • Notes: Photo by Igor Khodzinskiy

Russian Hill Walking Tour Join a more active Commonwealth Club neighborhood adventure! Russian Hill is a magical area with secret gardens and amazing views. Join Rick Evans for a “cardio hike” up hills and staircases and learn about the history of this neighborhood. See where great artists and architects lived and worked, and walk down residential streets where some of the most historically significant houses in the Bay Area are located.

SF • Location: Meet in front of Swensen’s Ice Cream, 1999 Hyde Street (corner of Hyde & Union), San Francisco • Time: 1:45 p.m. checkin, 2–4:30 p.m. walk • Getting there: Take Muni (Bus 45) or a taxi; there is absolutely no parking on Russian Hill—no parking lots or street parking; please take a taxi or public transport; the tour ends about six blocks from Swensen’s Ice Cream, at the corner of Vallejo and Jones; it is an easy walk down to North Beach from there • Notes: Steep hills and staircases, recommended for good walkers only; tour operates rain or shine; limited to 20 participants; tickets must be purchased in advance and will not be sold at check-in

EB: East Bay

NB: North Bay

For current prices, call 415.597.6705 or go to commonwealthclub.org

Uniting Us Through Dance 6/9

Golf Courses, the Environment & Water Conservation: The New Reality

86th Annual California Book Awards 6/12

MONDAY, JUNE 12

Don Chelemedos, PGA General Manager, Presidio Golf Course Brian Nettz, GCSAA Superintendent, Presidio Golf Course

Buddhist Economics

Though some people might think of the golf industry as one of waste and excess, recent climate changes have required golf course operators to rethink their strategy when it comes to golfing, natural resources and the adjustments needed for changing golf courses and game environments. Join the operations team from the Presidio Golf Course as they discuss water conservation, sustainable environmental improvements and the model the Presidio Golf Course has created for current and future golfers, environment and the golfing industry.

Monday Night Philosophy travels a different path to economic wisdom. Traditional economics measures the ways we earn and spend our incomes, but it doesn’t always consider what gives our lives meaning. In response, Clair Brown has developed a holistic model that approaches the organizational structure of an economy by using Buddhist values, emphasizing sustainability, interconnectedness, capability and happiness to promote a more compassionate society. By replacing the endless cycle of desire with collective priorities, Brown argues we will benefit both personally and globally for generations to come.

SF • Location: 555 Post St., San Francisco • Time: 5:30 p.m. networking reception, 6 p.m. program • MLF: Environment & Natural Resources • Program organizer: Ann Clark

FRIDAY, JUNE 9 Uniting Us Through Dance

Clara Rodriguez, AguaClara Flamenco Eric Solano, Parangal Filipino Dance Co.

For decades, the San Francisco Ethnic Dance Festival has served as the embodiment of the Bay Area’s cultural diversity and as a beacon for sustaining and celebrating world culture.

Two local dance groups, showcasing two different dance forms, will give a lecture and demonstration, providing participants with an intimate look at the festival’s performance series, which will be performed at the San Francisco Opera House for the first time.

SF • Location: 555 Post St., San Francisco • Time: 11:30 a.m. networking reception, noon program • MLF: Arts • Program organizer: Anne Smith

commonwealthclub.org/events

JUNE 8–13

Clair Brown, Economics Professor; Director, Center for Work, Technology and Society, UC Berkeley; Author, Buddhist Economics

SF • Location: 555 Post St., San Francisco • Time: 5:30 p.m. check-in, 6 p.m. program, 7 p.m. book signing • MLF: Humanities • Program organizer: George Hammond • Notes: Co-sponsored by the Personal Growth Forum; an Only in San Francisco summer series program

86th Annual California Book Awards Join us for one of the Golden State’s premier literary events: the California Book Awards!

The Book Awards, now in its 86th year, recognizes the best published California writing published in 2016.

The California Book Awards have often been in the vanguard, honoring previously unknown authors who go on to garner national acclaim. Each year, a select jury considers hundreds of books from around the state in search of the very best in literary achievement. This year’s award ceremony will include a special tribute to Kevin Starr, a giant of

California letters who died this past January.

Starr’s eight-volume history of the state, collectively known as Americans and the California Dream, lays out an epic story that is still unfolding today. Come celebrate the state’s best writers! Meet and learn more about the authors, get your books signed and visit with your fellow admirers of great California writing. Enjoy wine and a chance to win a complete set of this year’s award-winning books.

See you at the ceremony!

SF • Location: 555 Post St., San Francisco • Time: 5:30 p.m. check-in, 6 p.m. program, 7:15 p.m. book signing

TUESDAY, JUNE 13 Crooked: What It Takes to Outwit the Back Pain Industry and Get on the Road to Recovery

Cathryn Jakobson Ramin, Investigative Reporter; Author, Carved in Sand: When Attention Fails and Memory Fades in Midlife and Crooked: Outwitting the Back Pain Industry and Getting on the Road to Recovery

In an effort to manage her chronic back pain, investigative reporter and New York Times best-selling author Cathryn Jakobson Ramin spent years and a small fortune on a panoply of treatments. But her discomfort only intensified, leaving her feeling frustrated and perplexed. As she searched for better solutions, she exposed a much bigger problem.

Costing roughly $100 billion a year, spine medicine—which she says is often ineffective and sometimes harmful—exemplified the worst aspects of the U.S. health-care system.

The result of six years of intensive investigation, her new book offers a startling look at the poorly identified risks of spine medicine, providing practical advice and solutions.

SF • Location: 555 Post St., San Francisco • JUNE/JULY 2017

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JUNE 13–15

For current prices, call 415.597.6705 or go to commonwealthclub.org

Kim Scott: Radical Candor 6/13 Time: 5:30 p.m. check-in, 6 p.m. program, 7 p.m. book signing • MLF: Health & Medicine • Program organizer: Bill Grant • Notes: Photo by Howard Schatz

Kim Scott: Radical Candor

Kim Scott, Author, Radical Candor: Be a Kick-Ass Boss Without Losing Your Humanity Jenny Dearborn, Chief Learning Officer, SAP; Author, Data Driven: How Performance Analytics Delivers Extraordinary Sales Results­—Moderator

Great bosses have strong relationships with their employees. Kim Scott has identified three simple principles for building better relationships. She will share the framework to help build, lead and inspire others to do their best. Learn more about “radical candor,” the effective management method that Scott developed from her years working at Google and Apple and from serving as a coaching executive at Twitter and Dropbox.

SV • Location: Cubberley Theatre (near Montrose and Middlefield), 4000 Middlefield Rd., Palo Alto • Time: 6:30 p.m. check-in, 7 p.m. program, 8 p.m. book signing

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 14 Opera for Our Time: Bringing New Works to Life Kip Cranna, Dramaturg, SF Opera

San Francisco Opera’s longtime dramaturg Clifford “Kip” Cranna has managed the commissioning of more than 20 new operas, including “Harvey Milk,” “A Streetcar Named Desire,” “Dead Man Walking,” “Doctor Atomic,” and the upcoming “Girls of the Golden West.” Join Cranna for an insider’s viewpoint—with video examples—as he explores the thriving world of contemporary American opera and offers behind-the-

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Opera for Our Time 6/14

scenes tales of how new operas are born.

SF • Location: 555 Post St., San Francisco • Time: 5:30 p.m. check-in, 6 p.m. program • MLF: Humanities • Program organizer: George Hammond • Notes: In association with San Francisco Opera; an Only in San Francisco summer series event

Take a Wild Uber Ride with Adam Lashinsky

Adam Lashinsky, Journalist, Fortune; Author, Inside Apple and Wild Ride: Inside Uber’s Quest for World Domination Kara Swisher, Executive Editor, Recode; Host, Recode Decode Podcast; Co-Executive Producer, Code Conference—Moderator

Uber makes complimentary and controversial headlines every day. Since its 2009 launch, it’s been influencing the minds and phones of millions worldwide. But what do we really know about Uber, and, more importantly, what lies ahead? In the last eight years as a leader in the on-demand economy, Uber has battled lawmakers and competitors in emerging markets, facing protests and riots in cities from Paris to Mumbai; it has hustled to build the first self-driving car while also responding to major employee allegations.

CEO Travis Kalanick is known as a ruthless businessman, appearing in the news almost as often as the Silicon Valley giant he runs. With competition from the likes of Google and Lyft, the company is valued at billions—and now there’s talk of an initial public offering.

Uber continues to rise in value and global impact even as questions around finances, leadership, valuation and the future continue to arise. What else should the public know?

Join Adam Lashinsky, journalist and best-selling author of Inside Apple, for a conversation about his new book, Wild Ride: In-

SF: San Francisco

SV: Silicon Valley

Take a Wild Uber Ride 6/14

side Uber’s Quest for World Domination. Lashinsky will dive deep into the Uber universe, discussing what’s on the horizon for the company the world can’t stop talking about.

SF • INFORUM PROGRAM • Location: 555 Post St., San Francisco • Time: 5:30 p.m. check-in, 6:30 p.m. program, 7:30 p.m. book signing

THURSDAY, JUNE 15 Waterfront Walking Tour Join Rick Evans for his new walking tour exploring the historic sites of the waterfront neighborhood that surrounds the location of the future Commonwealth Club headquarters. Hear the dynamic stories of the entrepreneurs, controversial artists and labor organizers who created this recently revitalized neighborhood. This tour will give you a lively overview of the historic significance of this neighborhood and a close look at the ongoing development.

SF • Location: Meet in front of Boulevard Restaurant, 1 Mission St. (corner of Mission & Steuart), San Francisco • Time: 1:45 p.m. check-in, 2–4:30 p.m. walk • Notes: Tour operates rain or shine; limited to 20 participants; tickets must be purchased in advance and will not be sold at check-in

Life After Diagnosis

Steven Z. Pantilat, M.D., Professor of Medicine, the Department of Medicine at UC San Francisco; Kates-Burnard and Hellman Distinguished Professor in Palliative Care; Founding Director, UCSF Palliative Care Program

Steven Pantilat, a renowned international expert in palliative care, will share innovative approaches for dealing with serious illness.

In doing so, he will attempt to demystify the medical system, outlining the steps patients should take to deal with serious illness.

EB: East Bay

NB: North Bay

JUNE 15–19

For current prices, call 415.597.6705 or go to commonwealthclub.org

Mineta Transportation Summit 6/16

Pantilat will cover the first steps after the diagnosis, finding the right caregiving and support, and planning your future so your loved ones don’t have to. He will offer advice on tackling the most difficult treatment decisions and discussions to help people live as well and as long as possible.

SF • Location: 555 Post St., San Francisco • Time: 5:30 p.m. networking reception, 6 p.m. program, 7 p.m. book signing • MLF: Health & Medicine • Program organizer: Andrea Brier, Tom Gilligan

FRIDAY, JUNE 16 Mineta Transportation Summit: Are We There Yet? Bridging the Gap in California’s Transportation Funding See website for panelists and full schedule The need to invest in California’s transportation system is dire. Estimates suggest a nearly $140 billion backlog in deferred maintenance on highways, bridges, and local streets and roads. Though the funding crisis is widely recognized, solutions are difficult to come by.

Senate Bill 1, passed by the California legislature in early April, dedicates more than $50 billion to transportation projects through increased fuel taxes and vehicle registration fees, yet that only partially fills the gap. This free, half-day summit looks at various strategies the state, local and regional governments as well as transportation agencies are taking to address California’s transportation needs. Mineta Transportation Institute will present the results from the eighth year of a national public opinion poll on various tax options for raising federal revenues for transportation.

SF • Location: 555 Post St., San Francisco • Time: 8:15 a.m. check-in and continental break-

commonwealthclub.org/events

Daring to Drive: A Saudi Woman’s Awakening 6/19 fast, 9–11:30 a.m. program • Notes: Underwritten by the Mineta Transportation Institute; this is a free program; please register by Thursday, June 15 at noon

MONDAY, JUNE 19 Daring to Drive: A Saudi Woman’s Awakening

Manal al-Sharif, B.S., Computer Science; Women’s Rights Activist Banafsheh Keynoush, Ph.D., International Law and Diplomacy—Moderator

Manal al-Sharif, who was named one of Time’s 100 most influential people in 2012 and received the Vaclav Havel Prize for Creative Dissent, went from being a niqab-wearing conservative to one of the most eminent voices of the women’s rights movement in the Middle East. Though she was the first woman to work in the information security division of Armco, she was forbidden to drive off campus. In 2011, when she learned that the driving ban for women was custom and not law, al-Sharif became the face of the Women2Drive movement. She was imprisoned after posting a video of herself driving. Al-Sharif will describe her fascinating story and provide an enlightened look at the current state of women in Saudi society.

SF • Location: 555 Post St., San Francisco • Time: 5:30 p.m. networking reception, 6 p.m. program, 7 p.m. book signing • MLF: Middle East • Program organizer: Celia Menczel • Notes: This program is part of our Good Lit series, underwritten by the Bernard Osher Foundation

Week to Week Politics Roundtable and Social Hour 6/19/17 Panelists TBA

We’ll discuss the biggest, most controversial and sometimes the surprising political issues

with expert commentary by panelists who are smart, are civil and have a good sense of humor. Join our panelists for informative and engaging commentary on political and other major news, audience discussion of the week’s events, and our live news quiz.

Come early before the program to meet other smart and engaged individuals and discuss the news over snacks and wine at our member social (open to all attendees).

SF • WEEK TO WEEK PROGRAM • Location: 555 Post St., San Francisco • Time: 5:30 p.m. wineand-snacks social, 6:30 p.m. program

Socrates Café Socrates Café is devoted to the discussion of a philosophical topic chosen at that meeting.

The group’s facilitator, John Nyquist, invites participants to suggest topics, which are then voted on. The person who proposed the most popular topic is asked to briefly explain why she or he considers that topic interesting and important. An open discussion follows, and the meeting ends with a summary of the various perspectives. Everyone is welcome.

SF • Location: 555 Post St., San Francisco • Time: 6 p.m. check-in, 6:30–8 p.m. program • MLF: Humanities • Program organizer: George Hammond

SFDebate The SFDebate is an open forum for discussion on the events of our time. You will not only be exposed to opposing points of view, but it is a safe place where you will be encouraged to find and speak up for yours. SFDebate is also a meeting of minds, and we follow every meeting with continued debate and conversation at a nearby bar/restaurant.

SF • Location: 555 Post St., San Francisco • Time: 6:30 p.m. check-in, 7–8:45 p.m. debate JUNE/JULY 2017

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JUNE 19–22

For current prices, call 415.597.6705 or go to commonwealthclub.org

Federal Reserve 6/20

Pinchos, Tapas and the Perfect Pairings Join us for a unique Spanish experience at La Catalana. Delicious “pinchos” and “tapas” (snacks served at Spanish bars) will be accompanied by wines that are exclusive to La Catalana and cannot be found anywhere else in the United States. Don’t miss this chance to enjoy an informal evening of food and wine, Spanish style.

SV • Location: La Catalana, 3720 N. 1st St. #10, San Jose • Time: 6:15 pm check-in, 6:30–8 p.m. food and wine • Notes: Advance reservations are required as space is limited; all attendees must be 21 years of age or older

TUESDAY, JUNE 20 Dallas Federal Reserve President Robert Kaplan: Current Economic Conditions and Implications for Monetary Policy

Robert Kaplan, President and CEO, Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas; Former Professor, Associate Dean, Harvard Business School

Here’s a rare chance to hear from an officer of the Federal Reserve on the state of the economy and where it’s headed.

Having served as the 30th president and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas since September 8, 2015, Robert Steven Kaplan represents the 11th Federal Reserve District on the Federal Open Market Committee in the formulation of U.S. monetary policy. He oversees the 1,200 employees of the Dallas Federal Reserve. Kaplan also serves as co-chairman of Project ALS and as co-chairman of the Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation, a global venture philanthropy firm dedicated to addressing social issues.

SF • Location: 555 Post St., San Francisco • Time: 11 a.m. check-in, noon program

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Cleve Jones: When We Rise 6/20

LGBT Activist Cleve Jones: When We Rise

Cleve Jones, American Human Rights Activist; Lecturer; Organizer, Unite Here; Author, When We Rise, Stitching a Revolution

In an emotional roller coaster of real experiences, Cleve Jones will take you through the gay liberation movement and AIDS epidemic of the 1980s. Jones will share how Harvey Milk became the first outspoken gay elected official—as well as Jones’ mentor. Jones keeps Milk’s legacy and the gay liberation movement alive, aspiring to have a similar impact on young adults as Milk had on Jones. Come hear Jones’ inspiring words on the political movement.

SF • Location: 555 Post St., San Francisco • Time: 5:30 p.m. networking reception, 6 p.m. program, 7 p.m. book signing • MLF: LGBT • Program organizer: Wes McGaughey

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 21 How to Revive and Revitalize Your Life After Retirement Gloria Dunn-Violin, Author, Workshop Leader, Motivational Speaker

Learn how to transform retirement into “revivement” and revitalize your later years. We will cover: how leading-edge scientific research can inform you in making your brain smarter and younger, how to influence your genes, and how to increase your longevity. Also learn how to plan the rest of your life—and about the beauty of age as well as the nine pillars to having a life of meaning and fulfillment. Is there something you always wanted to do? Areas you wanted to explore? Ideas you wanted to create? Accomplishments you wanted to achieve? Now is the time! Learn how to make your next years your best years.

SF • Location: 555 Post St., San Francisco • Time:

SF: San Francisco

SV: Silicon Valley

Life After Retirement 6/21 4:45 p.m. networking reception, 5:15 p.m. program, 6:15 p.m. book signing • MLF: Grownups • Program organizer: John Milford

Creating Our Digital World with Erik Brynjolfsson and Andrew McAfee

Erik Brynjolfsson, Director, MIT Center for Digital Business; Co-Author, Machine, Platform, Crowd: Harnessing Our Digital Future Andrew McAfee, Principal Research Scientist, MIT Center for Digital Business; Co-Author, Machine, Platform, Crowd: Harnessing Our Digital Future

We live in a time when machines outplay humans at strategy games, new companies such as Apple and Google destroy industry stalwarts, and ideas from the crowd are repeatedly more innovative than corporate research labs. Come hear Andrew McAfee and Erik Brynjolfsson, co-founders of MIT’s Initiative on the Digital Economy, talk about the new dynamics between minds and machines, products and platforms, and the core and the crowd. Join us for an intriguing conversation on the effects of the digital revolution and how society is changing because of it.

SF • Location: 555 Post St., San Francisco • Time: 5:45 p.m. check-in, 6:30 p.m. program, 7:30 p.m. book signing • Notes: Photo by and copyright Evgenia Eilseeva

THURSDAY, JUNE 22 The Gay Bar in American History

Nancy Unger, Professor of History, Santa Clara University

For more than 100 years, gay clubs and bars have served as havens and sanctuaries as well as party spots and hookup sites. They’ve been the centers of solidarity, community and education. They’ve also been the sites of violence and persecution that ultimately led to great

EB: East Bay

NB: North Bay

For current prices, call 415.597.6705 or go to commonwealthclub.org

JUNE 22–27

Not On Our Watch: How the Bay Area Stands United 6/26

advancements in pride, rights and freedoms.

Unger’s richly illustrated talk highlights the history of a long and colorful American tradition central to the LGBTQ community: the gay bar—from jook joints to the Stonewall Inn to Orlando’s Pulse and beyond.

SF • Location: 555 Post St., San Francisco • Time: 5:30 p.m. networking reception, 6 p.m. program • MLF: Humanities, LGBT • Program organizer: George Hammond • Notes: An Only in San Francisco summer series program

Is America in Retreat? Film Screening and Discussion

Johan Norberg, Senior Fellow, Cato Institute; Senior Fellow, European Centre for International Political Economy in Brussels; Executive Editor, Free to Choose Media David R. Henderson, Professor of Economics, Naval Postgraduate School; Research Fellow, Hoover Institution Introduction by Bob Chitester, Chairman, President and CEO, Free To Choose Network and Free To Choose Media Additional Panelists TBA

The new documentary Is America in Retreat? examines the greatest foreign policy debate of our decade and the hard questions American leaders face in dealing with a rapidly changing world order. Since the Second World War, the United States has been at the forefront of a Pax Americana—a period of relative peace guaranteed by U.S. military might. Today, that peace is threatened by an ambitious and aggressive foreign policy in China, Russian territorial claims and occupations in Eastern Europe, and deteriorating conditions in the Middle East and North Korea. More than half of Americans polled today believe we should “mind our own business.” Is there a downside to retreat, and does the world still

commonwealthclub.org/events

require American global leadership? Come for a screening of a clip of the documentary with a discussion to follow.

SF • Location: 555 Post St., San Francisco • Time: 5:45 p.m. check-in, 6:30–8:15 p.m. film screening and discussion

MONDAY, JUNE 26 Middle East Forum Discussion The Middle East Forum discussion group— which primarily covers the Middle East, North Africa and Afghanistan—has been meeting monthly for nine years. We are not a debate group. Each month we discuss timely, cultural subjects in a civil atmosphere with respect for others and their opinions.

SF • Location: 555 Post St., San Francisco • Time: 5 p.m. check-in, 5:30 p.m. program • MLF: Middle East • Program organizer: Celia Menczel

Not On Our Watch: How the Bay Area Stands United See website for panelists

Teenage brothers Angel and Miguel worry every day about their mom. She is undocumented, and she’s put together an emergency binder telling her sons what to do if she’s picked up by immigration authorities and doesn’t come home. Kaushik came to San Francisco from India five years ago to attend college. He found a job as an app engineer, but because he’s here on a specialized work visa, he isn’t sure if he can continue living in this country. Esra, a student at San Jose State University, must think about her safety when she gets dressed in the morning. Last year, a stranger tried to yank off her hijab while she was in a campus parking garage.

These real stories illustrate what is unfolding across the country and in Bay Area communities. Our panelists say that, unlike any

other region, the Bay Area is equipped with the history and willpower to stand with and protect immigrants and their families at this time of crisis.

In January, San Francisco, a city led by the son of immigrants, became the first city in the country to sue the president for threatening to withhold federal funding from sanctuary cities. In February, Muslim artists began staging prayer sessions in public plazas throughout San Francisco to combat growing Islamophobia. In February and April, more than 100 tech companies, including many founded by immigrants, banded together to file legal challenges to the president’s executive orders on immigration. And on May 1, tens of thousands of Bay Area residents took to the streets to demonstrate immigrants and workers’ essential contributions to society.

Please join the San Francisco Foundation to hear from Bay Area leaders seeking to protect and defend immigrants (who represent more than 40 percent of Bay Area residents) so that they can continue to contribute to the economic prosperity and cultural vibrancy of the region. This event is the latest in the San Francisco Foundation’s series on People, Place and Power.

SF • Location: 555 Post St., San Francisco • Time: 5:45 p.m. check-in, 6:30 p.m. program • Notes: Sponsored by the San Francisco Foundation as part of the People, Power and Place Series, which addresses access and equity in the Bay Area

TUESDAY, JUNE 27 Nob Hill Walking Tour Explore one of San Francisco’s 44 hills and one of its original “Seven Hills.” Because of great views and its central position, Nob Hill became an exclusive enclave of the rich and famous on the West Coast who built large JUNE/JULY 2017

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JUNE 27–29

For current prices, call 415.597.6705 or go to commonwealthclub.org

There Is No Good Card for This 6/27

mansions in the neighborhood. This included prominent tycoons such as Leland Stanford and other members of the Big Four.

Highlights include the history of four landmark hotels: the Fairmont, Mark Hopkins, Stanford Court and Huntington Hotel. Visit the city’s largest house of worship, Grace Cathedral, and discover architectural tidbits and anecdotes about the railroad barons and silver kings. A true San Francisco experience of elegance, urbanity, scandals and fabulous views.

SF • Location: Meet in front of Caffe Cento, 801 Powell Street, San Francisco • Time: 1:45 p.m. check-in, 2–4:30 p.m. walk • Notes: Tour operates rain or shine; limited to 20 participants; tickets must be purchased in advance and will not be sold at check-in

There Is No Good Card for This

Kelsey Crowe, Ph.D., Author; Speaker; Founder, Help Each Other Out B.J. Miller Jr., M.D., Hospice and Palliative Care Specialist, UCSF Medical Center

When someone you know is hurting, you want to let her know you care. But many people don’t know the exact words to use—or are afraid of saying or doing the wrong thing. This thoughtful, instructive guide, from empathy expert Kelsey Crowe, blends well-researched, actionable advice with the no-nonsense humor and immensely popular empathy cards to help you feel confident in connecting with anyone experiencing grief, loss, illness or any other difficult situation.

Whether it’s a co-worker whose mother has died, a neighbor whose husband has been in a car accident or a friend who is seriously ill, Crowe advises you how to be the best friend you can be to someone in need. Crowe is the founder of Help Each Other Out, which of-

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fers empathy boot camp workshops to give people tools for building relationships when it really counts. She earned her Ph.D. in social work at UC Berkeley and is a faculty member at the School of Social Work at California State University.

Miller is a hospice and palliative care specialist who treats hospitalized patients with terminal or life-altering illnesses at the University of California, San Francisco Medical Center. He also sees patients in a palliative care clinic and at the cancer symptom management service at the UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center.

SF • Location: 555 Post St., San Francisco • Time: 5:30 p.m. networking reception, 6 p.m. program, 7 p.m. book signing • MLF: Health & Medicine • Program organizer: Shoshana Ungerleider, M.D.

Former Medicare/Medicaid Chiefs Square Off: The Future of U.S. Health Care

Gail Wilensky, Ph.D., Senior Fellow, Project HOPE; Former Administrator under President George H.W. Bush, Health Care Financing Administration Andy Slavitt, Senior Advisor, Bipartisan Policy Center; Former Acting Administratorunder President Barack Obama, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Mark Zitter, Chair, the Zetema Project— Moderator

Even as Republicans struggle to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act (ACA), health-care reform remains a live issue. House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) has proposed turning Medicare into a voucher program and funding Medicaid through block grants to states. Discussions continue on eliminating the individual mandate and providing

SF: San Francisco

SV: Silicon Valley

more flexibility about which benefits insurers must offer. Conservatives claim these changes would provide greater choice to consumers and more value to the federal budget, while progressives argue that they would reduce access to care and worsen health outcomes.

We’ll hear from two former senior officials on the ongoing efforts to repeal or repair the ACA. Andy Slavitt recently stepped down as acting administrator for the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services under President Barack Obama. Gail Wilensky held the same post under President George H.W. Bush. Both experts continue to speak out from differing perspectives on Medicare and Medicaid as well as broader reform issues. Join us for a spirited discussion on the problems and prospects of U.S. health care.

SF • Location: 555 Post St., San Francisco • Time: 5:30 p.m. check-in, 6:30 p.m. program • Notes: In association with the Zetema Project

THURSDAY, JUNE 29 Merola Opera: Sparking the Future

Jean Kellogg, Executive Director, Merola Opera

Some say that opera is dying due to younger generations’ lack of interest. Merola Opera Program proves opera is thriving, with a growing interest in and increased competition among its young singers. Jean Kellogg, Merola’s executive director, will trace the program’s history, providing photographs, anecdotes and a preview of Merola’s 60th Anniversary Summer Festival. Come learn about this unique Bay Area opera company.

SF • Location: 555 Post St., San Francisco • Time: 11:30 a.m. check-in, noon program • MLF: Arts • Program organizer: Anne Smith • Notes: An Only in San Francisco summer series event

EB: East Bay

NB: North Bay

JUNE 30–JULY 10

For current prices, call 415.597.6705 or go to commonwealthclub.org

Lefty O’Doul: Baseball’s Forgotten Ambassador 7/10

FRIDAY, JUNE 30 A Brighter Day

Elliot Kallen, Financial Accountant; Wealth Manager; Founder, A Brighter Day Rona Hu, M.D., Medical Director, Acute Psychiatric Inpatient Unit, Stanford Hospital; Clinical Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University Patrick O’Reilly, Ph.D., Clinical Psychologist; Assistant Clinical Professor, UC San Francisco; Chair, Member-Led Psychology Forum—Moderator

Suicide is one of the leading causes of death among teens in the United States. In this program, Elliot Kallen, who founded A Brighter Day in honor of his late son, Jake, will discuss depression and teen suicide; Dr. Patrick O’Reilly, a clinical psychologist specializing in anxiety disorders, and Dr. Rona Hu, the medical director of the Acute Psychiatric Inpatient Unit at Stanford Hospital, will join him. A Brighter Day reaches out to teens suffering from depression and other related issues while allowing them to maintain their dignity. The charity connects teens to the resources they need, showcasing local bands in a way that helps teens learn about depression and its risk factors.

SF • Location: 555 Post St., San Francisco • Time: 11:30 a.m. networking reception, noon program • MLF: Middle East, Psychology, Health & Medicine • Program organizer: Celia Menczel

WEDNESDAY, JULY 5 Ben Franklin Circles Join us monthly, every first Wednesday, for a 21st-century version of Ben Franklin’s mutual improvement club. One evening a week,

commonwealthclub.org/events

for more than 40 years, the founding father discussed and debated with his friends the 13 virtues that he felt formed the basis for personal and civic improvement, a list he created when he was 20 years old. The virtues to which he aspired included justice, resolution and humility.

The Ben Franklin Circles program brings people together to discuss the most pressing philosophical and ethical issues of our time with the goal of improving ourselves and our world.

SF • Location: 555 Post St., San Francisco • Time: 6 p.m. check-in, 6:30 p.m. program • MLF: Humanities • Program organizer: George Hammond

MONDAY, JULY 10 Lefty O’Doul: Baseball’s Forgotten Ambassador Dennis Snelling, Author, Lefty O’Doul: Baseball’s Forgotten Ambassador

Monday Night Philosophy goes beyond ping-pong diplomacy and delves deep into the foreign policy role baseball played in U.S.–Japan relations before and after World War II. Dennis Snelling reviews the roles played by Horace Wilson, Mike Fisher and Lefty O’Doul in making baseball popular in Japan. Horace Wilson, a Civil War veteran who had settled in San Francisco, taught English (and baseball) in Japan in the 1870s.

Mike Fisher, a San Francisco entrepreneur, organized the first tour of Japan by professional ballplayers in 1908. Lefty O’Doul, a San Francisco native, played in Japan in 1931 and then brought Babe Ruth and others with him in 1934, where he helped found the Tokyo Giants. After the war, General MacArthur arranged for O’Doul to bring a baseball team over to help repair relations,

which he successfully did in many ways on and off the field.

SF • Location: 555 Post St., San Francisco • Time: 5:30 p.m. networking reception, 6 p.m. program, 7 p.m. book signing • MLF: Humanities • Program organizer: George Hammond • Notes: An Only in San Francisco summer series event

Week to Week Politics Roundtable and Social Hour 7/10/17 Panelists TBA

We’re in the dog days of summer, but we won’t let that slow us down from tackling the biggest, most controversial and sometimes the surprising political issues with expert commentary by panelists who are smart, are civil and have a good sense of humor. Join our panelists for informative and engaging commentary on political and other major news, audience discussion of the week’s events, and our live news quiz!

And come early before the program to meet other smart and engaged individuals and discuss the news over snacks and wine at our member social (open to all attendees).

SF • Location: 555 Post St., San Francisco • Time: 5:30 p.m. wine-and-snacks social, 6:30 p.m. program

SFDebate The SFDebate is an open forum for discussion of the events of our time. It is a place where you will not only be exposed to opposing points of view, but a safe place where you will be encouraged to find and speak up for yours. SFDebate is also a meeting of minds, and we follow every meeting with continued debate and conversation at a nearby bar/ restaurant.

SF • Location: 555 Post St., San Francisco • Time: 6:30 p.m. check-in, 7–8:45 p.m. debate JUNE/JULY 2017

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JULY 11–12

For current prices, call 415.597.6705 or go to commonwealthclub.org

How to Fall in Love with Anyone 7/11

TUESDAY, JULY 11 How to Fall in Love with Anyone

Mandy Len Catron, Author, How to Fall In Love with Anyone; Professor of English and Creative Writing, the University of British Columbia; Editor, The Love Story Project Moira Weigel, Author, Labor of Love: The Invention of Dating; Editor, Logic; Ph.D. Candidate, Yale University—Moderator

Remember Mandy Len Catron’s viral New York Times Modern Love column: “To Fall in Love with Anyone, Do This”? In the column, she and an acquaintance followed a less-than-scientific version of a psychology study comprised of answering 36 increasingly personal questions. The experiment ended with the two staring silently into each other’s eyes for four minutes. Mandy and her partner went on to actually fall in love. After reading her column, millions of people became invested in the future of her relationship. Now, in her new book How to Fall in Love with Anyone, Catron explores the romantic myths we create and talks frankly about how they limit our ability to achieve and sustain intimacy.

Whether you’re dating and dubious about love or deep in a relationship, Catron’s mix of history, science, theory and personal experience will make you question the unwritten scripts we follow in love and relationships.

Catron will be in conversation with Moira Weigel, author of Labor of Love: The Invention of Dating, a fellow academic and writer entranced by the complexity of love. Catron is a writer living and working in Vancouver, British Columbia. She writes about love at The Love Story Project. She also teaches English and creative writing at the University of British Columbia.

SF • INFORUM PROGRAM • Location: 555 Post

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The Man Who Lit Lady Liberty 7/11 St., San Francisco • Time: 5:30 pm check-in, 6:30 p.m. program followed by book signing • Notes: Photo by Jennilee Marigomen

The Man Who Lit Lady Liberty: The Extraordinary Rise and Fall of Actor M.B. Curtis

Richard Schwartz, Historian; Author, The Man Who Lit Lady Liberty: The Extraordinary Rise and Fall of Actor M.B. Curtis

Richard Schwartz captures the life of M.B. Curtis, an incredibly influential immigrant actor of the late 19th century. It is a story of immigration, assimilation, the theater and the invisible wings of comedy. It is about how one play became the way a nation examined its feelings and attitudes toward immigrants and gave audiences a chance to walk in shoes they would never have worn. Curtis was the Jewish Jackie Robinson of the stage—the first Jewish male actor who was allowed to portray a Jewish male on stage in America. His talent, creativity, fame, suffering, perseverance, dreaming and overnight rise to stardom linked him intimately with the Statue of Liberty, Mark Twain, New York, San Francisco, murder and the greatest African-American entertainment troupe of its time.

SF • Location: 555 Post St., San Francisco • Time: 5:30 p.m. networking reception, 6 p.m. program, 7 p.m. book signing • MLF: Humanities • Program organizer: George Hammond • Notes: An Only in San Francisco summer series event

WEDNESDAY JULY 12 I’m Not Blind, But I Can’t See: Resources for Those with Low Vision

Marlena A. Chu, O.D., FAAO, Low Vision Diplomate, American Academy of Optometry; Chief of Low Vision Services, UC Berkeley School of Optometry

SF: San Francisco

SV: Silicon Valley

I’m Not Blind, But I Can’t See 7/12

Low vision occurs when a person’s vision cannot be corrected with contact lenses or glasses. This talk will briefly review common conditions that might result in low vision, what is involved in a low vision evaluation, and what supportive services and resources are available in the San Francisco Bay Area.

SF • Location: 555 Post St., San Francisco • Time: 4:45 p.m. networking reception, 5:15 p.m. program • MLF: Grownups • Program organizer: John Milford

Journalism and the Information Civil War

Adam Gazzaley, M.D., Ph.D., Professor of Neurology, Physiology and Psychiatry, UCSF; Director, UCSF Neuroscience Imaging Center; Founder and Executive Director, Neuroscape; Co-Founder and Chief Science Advisor, Akili Interactive Labs; Co-Founder and Chief Scientist, Jazz Venture Partners Jack Kornfield, Ph.D., Co-Founder, Spirit Rock Center; Buddhist Monk; Author; Teacher Emiliana Simon-Thomas, Ph.D., Science Director, Greater Good Science Center at UC Berkeley—Moderator

New studies show that meditation can change the structure of our brains in ways that might boost concentration, memory and positive emotions. How does learning, focus and emotional regulation lead to a more fulfilling life? Can technology make it easier to learn mindfulness techniques and therefore improve brain health?

Dr. Adam Gazzaley, renowned neuroscientist, entrepreneur and inventor, and Dr. Jack Kornfield, author, Buddhist practitioner and one of the key teachers to introduce Buddhist mindfulness to the west, are working to build bridges between technology and the

EB: East Bay

NB: North Bay

For current prices, call 415.597.6705 or go to commonwealthclub.org

Refugees Without Refuge 7/13

contemplative arts. Join us as we learn about this groundbreaking scientific research and how we can apply it to our personal and professional lives.

NB • MARIN CONVERSATIONS PROGRAM • Location: The Outdoor Art Club, One West Blithdale Ave., Mill Valley • Time: 7 p.m. check-in, light hors d’oeuvres and cash bar, 7:45–9 p.m. program • Notes: This program is sponsored by Relevant Wealth Advisors and by an anoymous donor

THURSDAY, JULY 13 San Francisco Architecture Walking Tour Explore San Francisco’s Financial District with historian Rick Evans and learn the history and stories behind some of our city’s remarkable structures, streets and public squares.

Hear about the famous architects who influenced the building of San Francisco after the 1906 earthquake. Discover hard-to-find rooftop gardens, art deco lobbies, unique open spaces and historic landmarks. This is a tour for locals, with hidden gems you can only find on foot!

SF • Location: Meet in the Lobby of the Galleria Park Hotel, 191 Sutter St., San Francisco • Time: 1:45 p.m. check-in, 2–4:30 p.m. walk • Notes: The tour involves walking up and down stairs but covers less than one mile of walking in the Financial District; tour operates rain or shine; limited to 20 participants; tickets must be purchased in advance and will not be sold at check-in

Refugees Without Refuge: Stories of LGBTQ Refugees Stranded in the Middle East

Subhi Nahas, Human Rights Activist; Founder/Board Chair, Spectra Project Arthur Slepian, Executive Director, A Wid-

commonwealthclub.org/events

JULY 12–17

Begin with the End in Mind 7/17

er Bridge—Moderator

Subhi Nahas, founder and board chair of Spectra Project and a Syrian refugee who gained asylum in the U.S. in 2015, will describe his experiences as a refugee as well as his efforts to help others and advocate for minorities of different sexual orientations and genders in the Middle East and North Africa.

While many organizations assist refugees worldwide, only one organization supports the extremely vulnerable group of refugees from the Middle East and North Africa regions who are lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender and who remain in countries of transit, unsure of when and if they will be resettled.

Nahas has been recognized by the California State Assembly, testified at the first United Nations assembly on LGBTQ rights and has received numerous prestigious awards.

SF • Location: 555 Post St., San Francisco • Time: 5:30 p.m. networking reception, 6 p.m. program • MLF: Middle East, LGBT • Program organizer: Celia Menczel, Wes McGaughey

Richard Harris and Mary Roach: Is Sloppy Science Killing Us?

Richard Harris, Science Correspondent, NPR; Author, Rigor Mortis: How Sloppy Science Creates Worthless Cures, Crushes Hopes, and Wastes Billions In Conversation with Mary Roach

Richard Harris says that American taxpayers spend more than $30 billion every year to fund biomedical research and that half of all the studies funded cannot be replicated elsewhere. He says this biomedical research, anchored in a system that often rewards wrong behaviors, is needlessly slowing the search for new treatments and cures. To get and keep a job in research or in academia, Harris says,

scientists need to publish results rather than get the right answers.

It’s simply too easy for these scientists to use bad ingredients, poor experimental designs or improper methods in analyzing their results. Join us for a startling discussion on how sloppy science has dangerous consequences for all of us.

Harris is one of the nation’s most celebrated science journalists, covering science, medicine and the environment. Now in his 30th year at NPR, his latest research concerns medical science—or the lack thereof.

SF • Location: 555 Post St., San Francisco • Time: 5:45 p.m. check-in, 6:30 p.m. program, 7:30 p.m. book signing

MONDAY, JULY 17 Begin with the End in Mind: The Impact of Trauma on Children’s Brains and Bodies

Christine Stoner-Mertz, LCSW, President and CEO, Lincoln

Evolving brain science has taught us much about the impact of trauma on developing brains. As a foster parent and as CEO of Lincoln, a Bay Area nonprofit serving children and youth, Christine Stoner-Mertz brings a deep understanding of the many ways trauma associated with poverty, community violence and mental health challenges impact children’s growth and development.

She will discuss these impacts and the urgency to develop policies that support early screening and interventions for at-risk children.

Stoner-Mertz is driven by the belief that every young person deserves a family, and every parent wants his or her child to succeed despite the challenges of poverty, trauma, substance use and limited educational JUNE/JULY 2017

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JULY 17–20

For current prices, call 415.597.6705 or go to commonwealthclub.org

For-Profit Punishment? The Private Prison Question 7/18

resources. She received her MSW from the University of Michigan and is a licensed clinical social worker. She has served on several state and local association boards and was a recipient of the Exemplar Award from the National Network for Social Work Managers. Stoner-Mertz currently serves on the board of the National Council of Behavioral Health and the California Council of Community Behavioral Health Agencies.

SF • Location: 555 Post St., San Francisco • Time: 4:45 p.m. networking reception, 5:15 p.m. program • MLF: Psychology • Program organizer: Patrick O’Reilly, Ph.D.

Socrates Café One Monday evening of every month the Humanities Forum sponsors Socrates Café at the Club. Each meeting is devoted to the discussion of a philosophical topic chosen at that meeting. The group’s facilitator, John Nyquist, invites participants to suggest topics, which are then voted on. The person who proposed the most popular topic is asked to briefly explain why she or he considers that topic interesting and important. An open discussion follows, and the meeting ends with a summary of the various perspectives participants expressed.

Everyone is welcome to attend.

SF • Location: 555 Post St., San Francisco • Time: 6 p.m. check-in, 6:30–8 p.m. program • MLF: Humanities • Program organizer: George Hammond

Ancestry’s Catherine Ball: Who Do You Think You Are?

Catherine Ball, Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer, Ancestry

Perceived identity has been a discussion for centuries because of its crucial and diverse psychological implications. Culture,

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social roles, relationships and family structure have been known to make up and create one’s sense of self. This need rests deep inside every human: to feel connected to something bigger than ourselves and to find our place in the world.

Catherine Ball will discuss how the combination of DNA and family history data provides us with better sense of identity—a deeper and empowering understanding of who we are, how we connect to society and how we’ve been shaped by human history.

Recently published research enables an unprecedented look at ancestral migration patterns, including 500 million genetic relationships, and ties these groups to historical events of the past 400 years. Ball will discuss these incredibly valuable insights into our history and the forces that continue to shape our beliefs, giving us a more granular look at how immigration, geography, politics, religion and economics have shaped the world.

SF • Location: 555 Post St., San Francisco • Time: 6:00 p.m. check-in, 6:30 p.m. program

TUESDAY, JULY 18 For-Profit Punishment? The Private Prison Question

Shane Bauer, Senior Reporter, Mother Jones; Co-Author, A Sliver of Light Alysia Santo, Staff Reporter, the Marshall Project Additional Panelists TBA

In 2016, the Obama administration declared that the federal government would begin phasing out the use of private, for-profit prisons in the justice system.

This move came in response to a Justice Department report that showed private prisons did not save money and were less safe than public facilities. In early 2017, Attorney General Jeff Sessions rescinded

SF: San Francisco

SV: Silicon Valley

this decision. Today, the debate continues: Should the American criminal justice system include private, for-profit entities? Or should the prison system at the state and federal levels be run by the government?

Mother Jones senior reporter Shane Bauer, who reported on his four-month stint as a private prison guard, will join us for this discussion. We will also hear from Alysia Santo, a staff reporter at the Marshall Project, a nonprofit outlet that features journalism on criminal justice reform. Santo recently exposed the deadly conditions on board a private prisoner transportation van. Join us for a conversation about the state of the American criminal justice system and private prisons.

SF • Location: 555 Post St., San Francisco • Time: 5:30 pm check-in, 6:30 p.m. program and book signing

WEDNESDAY, JULY 19 Creating Moments of Joy in Caregiving

Esther Koch, Gerontologist; Founder, Encore Management

The greatest gift you can give someone is your time. A scarce commodity for you, it is even more precious for an aging parent or loved one. Yet far too many people embrace their caregiver role too late and see it only in negative terms. Esther Koch will explain how becoming a “facilitator of experiences” is not only the best prescription for caregiver stress, but it will also provide you with some of life’s most cherished memories.

SF • Location: 555 Post St., San Francisco • Time: 4:45 p.m. networking reception, 5:15 p.m. program • MLF: Grownups • Program organizer: John Milford

EB: East Bay

NB: North Bay

For current prices, call 415.597.6705 or go to commonwealthclub.org

JULY 24–31

The Sky Event of the Decade: The “All-American” Eclipse of the Sun 7/31

THURSDAY, JULY 20 Vinod Khosla: The Future of Technology

Vinod Khosla, Founder, Khosla Ventures; Entrepreneur; Investor

Vinod Khosla is an entrepreneur, investor and technology fan who is driven by his passions.

One of his greatest passions is being a mentor to entrepreneurs and helping them build technology-based businesses. He is also driven by the desire to make a positive impact through scaling alternative energy, achieving petroleum independence and promoting a pragmatic environmental approach. Khosla will discuss harnessing the entrepreneurial spirit to develop desperately needed clean technologies.

SV • Location: Oshman Family JCC, Schultz Hall, 3921 Fabian Way, Palo Alto • Time: 6:15 p.m. networking reception, 7 p.m. program • Notes: In association with Idea to IPO

MONDAY, JULY 24 Week to Week Politics Roundtable and Social Hour 7/24/17 Panelists TBA

One year ago at this time, we were all talking about the huge national party conventions, which confirmed voters’ selection of candidates for president. Twelve months later, how much has changed? What’s next?

Let’s discuss the biggest, most controversial and sometimes the surprising political issues with expert commentary by panelists who are smart, are civil and have a good sense of humor.

Join our panelists for informative and engaging commentary, audience discussion of the week’s events, and our live news quiz. And come early before the program to meet other smart and engaged individuals and discuss the news over snacks and wine at our member social (open to

commonwealthclub.org/events

all attendees).

SF • Location: 555 Post St., San Francisco • Time: 5:30 p.m. wine-and-snacks social, 6:30 p.m. program

SFDebate SFDebate is an open forum for discussion of the events of our time. You will not only be exposed to opposing points of view, but find a safe place where you will be encouraged to find and speak up for your views. We follow every meeting with continued debate and conversation at a nearby bar/restaurant.

SF • Location: 555 Post St., San Francisco • Time: 6:30 p.m. check-in, 7–8:45 p.m. debate

THURSDAY, JULY 27 Chinatown Walking Tour Enjoy a Club neighborhood adventure. Join Rick Evans for a memorable, midday walk and discover the history and mysteries of Chinatown. Explore colorful alleys and side streets.

Visit a Taoist temple, an herbal store, the site of the first public school in the state and the famous Fortune Cookie Factory.

SF • Location: Meet in front of Starbucks, 359 Grant Ave., San Francisco • Time: 9:45 a.m. check-in, 10–12:30 p.m. walk • Notes: Temple visit requires walking up three flights of stairs; tour operates rain or shine; limited to 12 participants; tickets must be purchased in advance

MONDAY, JULY 31 Middle East Forum Discussion The Middle East Forum discussion group— which primarily covers the Middle East, North Africa and Afghanistan—has been meeting monthly for nine years. We are not a debate group. Each month we discuss timely cultural subjects in a civil atmosphere with respect for others and their opinions.

SF • Location: 555 Post St., San Francisco • Time:

5 p.m. check-in, 5:30 p.m. program • MLF: Middle East • Program organizer: Celia Menczel

The Sky Event of the Decade: The “All-American” Eclipse of the Sun on August 21

Andrew Fraknoi, Chair, Astronomy Department, Foothill College; Former Executive Director, Astronomical Society of the Pacific; Author, When the Sun Goes Dark

On Monday, August 21, 2017, an eclipse of the sun will be visible throughout the U.S. and all of North America. People in a narrow path from Oregon to South Carolina will see a spectacular total eclipse, the first in the continental United States in 38 years. The moon will briefly cover the sun completely, and day will turn into night. Everyone else (an estimated 500 million people, including those in the Bay Area) will see a partial eclipse, where the moon covers a good portion of the sun. Special glasses or viewing techniques are needed to look at the sun safely during a partial eclipse.

Astronomer Andrew Fraknoi will describe how eclipses work, why they are one of nature’s most spectacular sights, exactly when and where the eclipse of 2017 will be visible, and how to observe the eclipse of the sun safely. He’ll also cover historic discoveries made during eclipses, citizen science projects planned for the 2017 eclipse and more.

SF • Location: 555 Post St., San Francisco • Time: 5:45 p.m. check-in, 6:30 p.m. program, 7:30 p.m. book signing • Notes: Courtesy of Google, everyone attending this talk will receive a free pair of certified eclipse glasses.

LATE-BREAKING EVENTS 6/8 Chain Reaction: Why Two Wheels Are Better than Four

SF • CLIMATE ONE PROGRAM • Location: 555 Post St., San Francisco • Time: 6 p.m. check-in, 6:30 p.m. program, 7:30 p.m. networking reception JUNE/JULY 2017

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INSIGHT Civics Day Dr. Gloria C. Duffy, President and CEO

T

hey are the “farm team” for The Commonwealth Club, said my friend Michael Gallagher when asking me to serve as a judge for a competition among middle schoolers and high schoolers for civic engagement projects.

Each year, a national organization, Generation Citizen (GC), organizes and sponsors youngsters to form groups, select a civic “action project,” and carry it to completion during a semester and sometimes longer. Their mission is “to ensure that every student in the U.S. receives an effective action civics education, which provides them with the knowledge and skills necessary to participate in our democracy as active citizens.”

Teachers advise the student groups. They also have “democracy coaches,” students from local colleges such as UC Berkeley, Mills College, St. Mary’s College, SF State and USF who mentor their younger student colleagues.

Then, on Civics Day in May, the students present their projects to a group of judges drawn from local government, businesses, non-profits, foundations and educational organizations. The projects are rated and awards are presented to the student groups with the most effective projects.

The mid-May Bay Area Civics Day at which I served as a judge was the first time I’d heard of GC, which has been hosting action civics projects for eight years. They are filling a vacuum caused by the decline of civics education in our schools, and trying to reverse the lack of voting and political participation by younger generations in our country. In the process, they are improving on the traditional teaching model for civics. Whereas civics was previously taught through classroom lessons and books, they are giving students the initiative, helping them learn how to practically and effectively address social issues through action.

The organization was started by two Brown University students, Anna Ninan and Scott Warren, and first operated in Rhode Island.

Now GC is operating in six areas in the United States, including the Bay Area, Massachusetts, New York City and Central Texas.

On Civics Day this year, students from schools in San Francisco and Oakland presented 25 of their projects at the Milton Marks state office building in San Francisco’s Civic Center. Each group had a table where the students presented storyboards summarizing their project. The judges circulated and talked with the five or six students representing each project as they explained their effort and how it met the criteria set out by GC. Generation Citizen uses a consistent methodology to guide and evaluate the student efforts. The student groups must first think about broad community issues, then narrow their focus to one issue, then determine what they think is the root cause of the

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problem, then set a goal to address the problem, then identify the targets of their campaign, then adopt tactics to meet their goal. The judges evaluated the groups in each of these areas, as well as on the effectiveness of their projects.

There were some extremely creative and productive student projects at Civics Day. I was impressed by the group from Abraham Lincoln High Photo courtesy of Gloria Duffy in San Francisco that focused on their school’s sustainability. They analyzed their school’s heating system, redesigned how it could be more energy efficient, saved $5,000 in annual operating costs, which their school then allowed them to apply to an audit of bathroom hand blow dryers and paper towel use, which they were then able to make more efficient, saving more funds, which were then applied to other projects. It was a thoughtful, comprehensive project that had multiplier effects on the sustainability of their school.

Another project, from Park Day School in Temescal, worked to bring food trucks into “food deserts” in Oakland that lack grocery stores or other sources for healthy food. They dealt with local officials, health department inspections, the permitting process and other issues that definitely provided an education in the democratic process.

And a group from Edna Brewer Middle School in Oakland designed gender-neutral clothing and dress standards that would diminish sexism in dress codes and lobbied their school to adopt them.

The bright eyes, growing political savvy and articulate explanations of the participating kids were very heartening. Being taught action civics and given the opportunity to define and pursue their own projects bodes well for these kids to not just file away information about our political system, but to actively use what they have learned in the future. Hopefully they will not only be voters but parents who engage with their children’s schools, community members who get involved to solve local issues, and citizens who step up to serve in public office and provide leadership at all levels in the United States.

Generation Citizen is definitely cultivating the “farm team” for The Commonwealth Club and for all other groups, organizations and public bodies that depend on active, engaged citizens to help improve our society. They and the kids they mentor deserve an A+ for their work!

October 14-26, 2017 From Shanghai travel to Kaili, Zhaoxing, Tangan, Longsheng, Guilin and Hangzhou during this off-the-beaten-path trip through Southern China.

Experience Guizhou province, with its fascinating mix of ethnic groups. Learn about the Miao, Dong and Yao people.

From Zhaoxing walk through rice-terraced landscapes and from Longsheng, visit Yao and Zhuang villages, where we explore markets and craft shops.

In Guilin explore the exquisite karst landscapes of mountains and waters that have inspired Chinese artists for centuries, and take a cruise on the Li River.

Experience the beauty and harmony created by the gardens, tea farms and temples of Hangzhou’s West Lake.

Enjoy regional culinary specialties and hear educational lectures throughout.

Optional trip extensions to Beijing, Xian, Hong Kong, the Yangzi River or Huang Mountains available.

Cost: $5,545, per person, double occupancy

Brochure at commonwealthclub.org/travel | 415.597.6720 | travel@commonwealthclub.org

CST: 2096889-40

To purchase tickets:

The Commonwealth Club of California

visit commonwealthclub.org or call (415) 597-6705 or call (800) 847-7730

P.O. Box 194210 San Francisco, CA 94119

Periodicals postage paid in San Francisco, California

To subscribe to our email newsletter: visit commonwealthclub.org and use the simple “Be the First to Know” feature on the homepage

THURSDAY, JUNE 8

Details on page 46

THURSDAY, JULY 13

GARRY KASPAROV

RICHARD HARRIS & MARY ROACH

Garry Kasparov, Chairman, Human Rights Foundation; Former World Chess Champion; Author, Deep Thinking: Where Machine Intelligence Ends and Human Creativity Begins

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 14

Details on page 55

Richard Harris, Science Correspondent, NPR; Author, Rigor Mortis: How Sloppy Science Creates Worthless Cures, Crushes Hopes, and Wastes Billions

In Conversation with Holly Kernan, VP of News, KQED

In Conversation with Mary Roach

In 1997, Garry Kasparov, the greatest chess player in the world, was defeated for the first time by the IBM supercomputer Deep Blue. He has come to see how humans and machines can partner to reach results that neither can attain alone. Join us for a conversation about strategizing against a supercomputer— and how a world reliant on artificial intelligence can overcome new challenges.

Richard Harris says that American taxpayers spend more than $30 billion every year to fund biomedical research and that half of all the studies funded cannot be replicated elsewhere. Learn how sloppy science has dangerous consequences for all of us.

Details on page 48

THURSDAY, JULY 20

Details on page 56

ADAM LASHINSKY

VINOD KHOSLA

Adam Lashinsky, Journalist, Fortune; Author, Inside Apple and Wild Ride: Inside Uber’s Quest for World Domination

Vinod Khosla, Founder, Khosla Ventures; Entrepreneur; Investor

Kara Swisher, Executive Editor, Recode—Moderator Uber makes complimentar y and controversial headlines every day. Since its 2009 launch, it’s been influencing the minds and phones of millions worldwide.

But what do we really know about Uber, and, more important, what lies ahead?

Lashinsky will dive deep into the Uber universe, discussing what’s on the horizon for the company the world can’t stop talking about.

Vinod Khosla is an entrepreneur, investor and technology fan who is driven by his passions. One of his greatest passions is being a mentor to entrepreneurs and helping them build technology-based businesses. He is also driven by the desire to make a positive impact through scaling alternative energy, achieving petroleum independence and promoting a pragmatic approach to the environment. Khosla will discuss how to harness the entrepreneurial spirit to develop the clean technologies we desperately need.