Join Us IN PERSON for our Annual President’s Dinner!

Date – Time – Place

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Sunday, June 6, 2021, 5:00 PM, at the Seattle Yacht Club (1807 E. Hamlin Street, Seattle, WA 98112 — 206-325-1000)

Business casual attire appropriate.  No blue jeans per SYC dress code.

RSVP required (to Nancy Bittner 206-595-9620) by Monday, May 24th!

If you have not already been called, please call or text Nancy if you plan to attend.  She will need to know what choice you would like for your dinner entree, either beef, fish, or vegetarian.

Cost – Payment – Money Q&A’s

Dinner is $65/person.  Payment by credit card or check the night of the event.

CASH is needed to purchase “script” if you wish to purchase wine, beer, hard alcohol, or soft drink prior to dinner.  Wine will be provided with dinner.  CASH will also be needed to purchase raffle tickets which are $5 each or 5 for $20.

HOW CAN YOU CONTRIBUTE?

We would appreciate every member to procure or buy a gift card or donate a nice bottle of wine (or scotch) for the raffle.  You decide the amount that works for you.  As in every fundraising event, including this one, there will be a RAISE THE PADDLE component.  Please put some thought into this and give what fits into your budget.  (Last year we raised a record $11,000 in this category & that was virtually!  Let’s see if we can beat that this year!)

The most important thing of all is to HAVE FUN in the fellowship of Rotary!

Program Summary: Cyrus Krohn, “Bombarded: How to Fight Back Against the Online Assault on Democracy,” May 6, 2021

Imagine an imminent America where citizens are bombarded with personalized political messages from every smart device – yet information is so suspect, nobody can tell what the truth is.

The coronavirus pandemic provided a foretaste of an infuriating, dystopian future. From the start Americans fought over the most basic facts of the crisis, from death tolls to quack cures to the wisdom of stay-at-home orders. The splintered digital infosphere bred confusion and delusion, some of it fatal. Now think of our campaigns and elections. The digital information age means more than hyper-targeted, just-for-you messages from insurance companies and presidential candidates alike. It means oceans of disinformation engineered to sow false beliefs or simply disorient.

Big Data is on the way to fueling information environments so fine-tuned, no two of us hold the same view of reality, and no two voters hear the same pitch. Already, citizens don’t know who to trust or what to believe – about COVID-19 or anything else. If we ask nothing more of tech providers or digital citizens, the fog will continue to thicken. Irritation will merge into despair and then numbness… and democracy teeters.

Digital pioneer Cyrus Krohn knows the territory, and in Bombarded: How to Fight Back Against the Online Assault on Democracy, Krohn locates the roots of our blooming political chaos. But he goes beyond recounting 25 years of destabilizing Internet shock waves and rolls out a provocative action plan for rescuing the American system of campaigns and elections while there is still time.

Bombarded was recently selected as a finalist for INDIE “Book of the Year” by Foreword Reviews.

You can get the book on Amazon here. Learn more about the book here.

Key Points Summary by Michelle Lee

After interning at the White House, working on CNN’s Larry King Live and Crossfire, Cyrus has insights about social media and privacy.

In 1996, Bill Gates predicated the media on paper would be out.  Nowadays, we have social media instead.  Contrary to the clean broadcast debate such as Crossfire, there is no single source of truth or no reliable narrator on social media.

Regarding privacy, our consumer purchase habit and financial well-being collected as 3000 attributes, can be easily bought.  This was what Cambridge Analytica bought for about 300 million Americans from Facebook.  Technology is being built, data are being harvested and used for political campaigns.

There are two major laws tech companies follow – CCPA from California and GDPR from EU.  Washington State tried to pass a state privacy law in 3 attempts but failed.  Cyrus would like to see a Federal Data Privacy Act.  It would be difficult for businesses if there are 50 from the states.

Cyrus also thinks that government and civic education should be added back to the curriculum.  So that people will know how our government functions and be active and viable participants.  Lastly, he encourages us to participate in local journalism, attending school boards and city councils meetings, write and publish the facts, as most of the local newspapers are lost and people use social media for local news.    

Words to Live By: George Carlin

“The paradox of our time in history is that we’ve learned how to make a better living, but not a better life. We have more conveniences but less time, wider freeways but narrower viewpoints, more medicine but less wellness. We’ve been to the moon and back, but have trouble crossing the street to meet a new neighbor or to help a stranger in need. We’ve conquered the atom, but not our prejudice.

So put down the phone and the remote, and look at the world around you. Spend time with your loved ones, because they won’t be around forever. Take the time to make a new friend, to say a kind word, to do something selfless. And always remember, life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by those moments that take our breath away.”

           – George Carlin

Dr. Hal’s Corner: Gotta Love These Little Marital Disputes…

Dr. Hal

Apology Letter To Spouse – PRICELESS!

Hi Sweetheart,

I am sorry about getting into an argument about putting up the Christmas lights.  I guess that sometimes I feel like you are pushing me too hard when you want something.  I realize that I was wrong and I am apologizing for being such a hard-headed guy.  All I want is for you to be happy and be able to enjoy the holiday season.  Nothing brightens the Christmas spirit like Christmas lights!  I took the time to hang the lights for you today; and now I will be off to the hockey rink.

Again, I am very sorry for the way I acted yesterday.  I’ll be home later.

Love you……

_____________________________________________

Her response –    

Hi Honey,
 
Thank you for that heart-felt apology.  I don’t often get an apology from you, and I truly appreciate it.  I, too, felt bad about the argument and wanted to apologize.  I realize that I can sometimes be a little pushy.  I will try to respect your feelings from now on.  Thank you for taking the time to hang the Christmas lights for me.  It really means a lot.  In the spirit of giving, I washed your truck for you; and now I am off to the mall.

I love you too!
 

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Important Update From Dr. Hal: Coronavirus Vaccine

Dr. Hal

From Dr. Hal:

I volunteered to be a test subject for the Sputnik-V Covid-19 vaccine developed in Russia. It’s a s stage vaccine with a first dose, and then a booster a few weeks later.   I received my first dose at 6:20 this morning and I wanted to let you know that it is totally safe and I’m OK, with иo side effects whatsoeveя, and that I feelshκι я чувю себя немного стрно и я думю, что вытл осные уши. чувству себя немго страо………….