Archive for Work and Adventure – Page 21

Friendship and Politics

Political conversations can be tricky, and even trickier when friendships are involved and tested. This seems a particularly tricky time as the Trump administration takes office and moves to implement its agenda. As this completely new kind of political force takes over, friendships are straining, families are quarreling and the country’s divisions are hardening.

I’m as partisan as the next guy, maybe more, and last week an old friend called me out when I posted a snarky anti-Trump picture and caption on Facebook. His exact words were, “Hey Jack, you’ve forgotten what the former president (Barack Obama) said… ‘Elections have consequences.’ You lost. I won. Get over it.” read more

Presidential Advisor is a Fraud…

Take a good look at this face. Remember it. Tell me if you think his history and bio would withstand the extreme vetting called for by the Trump White House.

His name is Sebastian Gorka. Born in London of Hungarian refugee parents, he was educated in London and Budapest. In Budapest he began cultivating a reputation as a counter-terrorism expert though his only military service was a three-year stint in a British Territorial Army reserve unit.

Mr. Gorka moved to Hungary in 1992 and remained there until 2007. While there he aligned himself with Viktor Orbán, the current president, who has been widely criticized for his autocratic removal of democratic checks and balances in the supervision of elections, the judiciary, and the media. While in Hungary, Mr. Gorka married Katherine Cornell, an American steel heiress known for her conservative views. During this 16 year-long tenure in Hungary he was a member of or associated with several anti-Semitic organizations (including Vitez Rend, named for the WWII Nazi-allied leader). In 2007 he was awarded a PhD. from Corvinus University in Budapest (known primarily for its agricultural curriculum and ranked 701 by topuniversities.com.) read more

We’ll Never Get Over Slavery…

This is Stephan Blanford – Ph.D., elected member of the Seattle School Board, father, husband, co-worker, athlete, and friend. I met Stephan 11 years ago when we were working at Seattle’s Alliance for Education, a non-profit supporting Seattle Public Schools.

At the time, this handsome, dark-skinned, black male, sported thick stylish dreadlocks, a statement about who he was – a strong, independent, black man who had earned the right to be himself. My wife thought the “dreads” were beautiful but provocative and worried that they would stand in the way of his success professionally. My question to her was always would she say the same if a white friend had the same dreads? read more

If DJT Offers You a S**t Sandwich? Don’t Bite!

I’ve been waiting all week to extract myself from the national horror show and get back to writing about food, films, and books. Last night M and I slipped out to Bastille Café and Bar, one of our favorite places, for a happy hour treat. We took two seats at the round high-top community table in the bar, ordered a carafe of Provencal rose’ and launched into a debrief of this week’s political scandals and alternative facts.

The Friday after work crowd was just arriving, the atmosphere cozy, and the staff upbeat and welcoming. Just what we were looking for. We took our time but eventually got around to ordering a special Romaine salad and an order of mussels, frites and truffle aioli while warming ourselves in front of the small fire pit in the center of the table. read more

Is DJT our Great Gatsby?

Like most Americans I’ve been mesmerized by the story of Donald J. Trump aka The Donald. Real estate developer, entertainer, university founder, shirt and tie maker, birther-mythologist, pussy- grabber, casino failure, bankruptcy expert, and now the 45th President of the United States.

It’s been quite a journey for DJT. At the moment it’s the best TV viewing since The Sopranos. I don’t want to miss an episode – the media coverage, tweets, rants, gaffes, alternative facts and walk-backs that dominate the news cycle. Since election night 2016, I haven’t been able to tear myself away from the TV, radio, print, and social networks. read more