Veteran San Francisco Chronicle writer Carl Nolte returns to the Seminar this Friday, March 14. Nolte writes the “Native Son” column for the Sunday Chron. He’ll be introduced by chair emeritus Dick Spotswood
NEW RULES!!! RSVP TO ATTEND any upcoming seminar. NEW WEDNESDAY DEADLINE. To assist THE North Beach Restaurant’s kitchen staff with planning for our Friday lunchtime meetings please email DENNIS WHEATLEY at dennis@triticum.com NO LATER THAN MID-DAY ON the WEDNESDAY BEFORE EVERY SEMINAR if you plan to attend and indicate if you’ll be bringing a guest. Dennis DOES NOT need to know you are not attending.
UPCOMING SEMINARS:
Since there much to chat about and speculate in politics, national and international affairs, Seminarians will have ample opportunity to engage at our next roundtable discussion led by Chair Greg Ryken on Friday, March 21 starting at 12:15 p.m. at the North Beach Restaurant.
On Friday, March 28 Sac Sem’s guest is Ming Chi Scott Lai the new Director-General of the Taipei (Republic of China) Economic & Cultural Office in San Francisco https://www.roc-taiwan.org/ussfo_en/post/2780.html He represents Taiwan’s interests across Northern California, Utah, and Nevada. Director-General Lai will speak about the challenges of diplomacy, relations with China, and security concerns, as well as his advice for aspiring diplomats, and his own journey in foreign affairs. Mr. Lai will be introduced by
Sac Sem Speakers Chair Mike Fitzgerald.
Bebo White is Sac Sem’s guest on Friday, April 4. His topic: “Cryptocurrency: It’s Promise, Pitfalls, and Potential.” He’ is retired (emeritus) from the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, the high-energy physics and basic energy science laboratory operated by Stanford University. He also holds academic appointments at the University of California, Berkeley, the University of San Francisco’s Fromm Institute and the University of Hong Kong. Prof. White is the author of nine books and over one hundred fifty research articles. As an early advocate of Bitcoin/cryptocurrency, he has spoken on the topic to groups as diverse as Oxford University to San Francisco’s Economic Round Table. Seminarian Mike Fitzgerald will introduce Bebo White.
Sac Sem will hear from San Francisco’s newest member of its Board of Supervisors, Stephen Sherrill on Friday, April 11. He represents District 2 which encompasses The Marina, Pacific Heights, Cow Hollow, and Presidio Heights. Stephen served as the Director of the Mayor’s Office of Innovation under Mayor London Breed, where he led efforts to address San Francisco’s homelessness crisis. Prior to living in San Francisco, Stephen served as a senior policy advisor under New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg. Chair Ryken will introduce Supervisor Sherrill.
SOLD OUT. On Friday, April 25, Sac Sem members who promptly signed up travel to Santa Rosa for lunch starting at Noon with new Assemblymember Chris Rogers. A Democrat, Chris represents the 2nd AD which runs from Santa Rosa to the Oregon line. Our venue is Jackson’s Bar & Oven at 135 4th Street. It’s only one block from Santa Rosa’s SMART (Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit) station. Seminarian Bruce Raful will introduce our guest.
The train leaves Larkspur at 10:56 am and arrives in Santa Rosa at 12:01. SMART is free for those 65 and over. Departing trains leave Santa Rosa for Larkspur at 1:28 or 2:32 p.m. NOTE: Jackson’s is the only Railroad Square restaurant that accepts groups. Their limit is fourteen and we’ve now reached that limit.
San Francisco does have competitive elections. They just aren’t Democrats versus Republicans. In the City by the Bay it’s liberal Democrats competing against progressive Democrats. Our guest on Friday, May 16 will be Saikat Chakrabarti, the progressive challenger to a nationally known liberal, former Speaker of the US House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi.
Sac Sem's lunch speaker on Friday, May 30 is new San Francisco supervisor Danny Sauter. He represents District 3, which comprises San Francisco’s incredible northeastern neighborhoods including the Barbary Coast & Northern Waterfront, Chinatown, Lower Nob Hill, Financial District, Fisherman’s Wharf, Jackson Square, Nob Hill, North Beach, Polk Gulch, Russian Hill, Telegraph Hill, and Union Square. Supervisor Sauter will be introduced
by Seminarian Dan Riley.
On Friday, June 20, Sac Sem’s guest is State Senator Scott Weiner (D-San Francisco/San Mateo). Senator Wiener, a native Philadelphian, serves as the Chair of the Senate Housing Committee in the California State Senate and is a member of the Energy, Utilities and Communications Committee, as well as Governance and Finance, Joint Legislative Audit, and Public Safety Committees. He is also the Assistant Majority Whip and serves as the Chair of the California Legislative LGBTQ Caucus.
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FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION: “Who knew?” From Paul Krugman’s new Substack column:
“I don’t know who first came up with this metaphor, but it seems to me that America is now trapped in a burning Tesla. If you don’t know this, the doors on Musk’s cars are designed to open electronically; if they have manual releases at all, they’re difficult to get at and use. As a result, there have been multiple instances of people burning alive when Tesla engines catch fire.”
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OTHER THOUGHTS: “The new administration is rapidly changing its foreign policy configuration. This largely aligns with our vision.” Dmitry Preskov, Kremlin spokesperson
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