By Pam Mushen. Damon Huard  addressed the Club on October 29, 2020. He is the director of community relations and fundraising for the University of Washington football program.

Damon Huard, the Director of Community Relations and Fundraising for the University of Washington Football program was the speaker.  He was a quarterback for the Husky Football Team and the NFL.  He gave a full rundown of the roster for the current team:  who are the student players to watch, how were the coaches handling this shortened season and what fans could expect.  The first game will be November 7^th against Cal and, as of this point, the quarterback has not been designated and four young men are vying for the position.  Given that the season was originally cancelled in July, it is a very exciting time for the program which will have six conference games and one crossover. 

The reason the season was partially reinstated was due to daily testing.  The players and coaches are tested on a daily basis and a positive test results in two weeks of quarantine.  During training camp, there were no positive tests.   Damon is excited about the Husky Head Coach Jimmy Lake who he considers the best position coach and best recruiter the Huskies have ever had and a defensive mastermind.  He was enthusiastic about the team even with the return of only two starters.  He analyzed the four quarterback choices, the biggest offensive line in the conference, a running back group that is nicknamed “the stable”, the defensive All-American candidates and the greatest freshmen recruiting class in Husky history.  According to Damon, it is going to be a fascinating year and the teams that will be successful are the ones that can figure out how to navigate this Covid season. 

During questions, he confirmed that there will be no one in the stands and he noted that one of his proudest moment was when he escorted Don James on a tour of the new stadium.  There were several financial questions and he explained that this pandemic has had a huge economic impact on the Husky sports program.  It has had to let go of staff and all the remaining staff have taken salary reductions.  However, there have been no cutbacks on services for the student athletes.  Academic services, training, nutrition and other programs to benefit the students come first.   

If God wanted us to vote, he would have given us candidates. 

~Jay Leno~ 

The problem with political jokes is they get elected. 

~Henry Cate, VII~ 

We hang the petty thieves and appoint the great ones to public office.

~Aesop~ 

If we got one-tenth of what was promised to us in these State of the Union speeches, there wouldn’t be any inducement to go to heaven.

~Will Rogers~ 

Politicians are the same all over.  They promise to build a bridge even where there is no river.

~Nikita Khrushchev~ 

When I was a boy I was told that anybody could become President; I’m beginning to believe it.

~Clarence Darrow~ 

Why pay money to have your family tree traced;  go into politics and your opponents will do it for you. 

~Author unknown~ 

Politicians are people who, when they see light at the end of the tunnel, go out and buy some more tunnel. 

~John Quinton~ 

Politics is the gentle art of getting votes from the poor and campaign funds from the rich, by promising to protect each from the other. 

~Oscar Ameringer~ 

I offer my opponents a bargain: if they will stop telling lies about us, I will stop telling the truth about them. 

~Adlai Stevenson, campaign speech, 1952~ 

A politician is a fellow who will lay down your life for his country. 

~ Tex Guinan~ 

I have come to the conclusion that politics is too serious a matter to be left to the politicians. 

~Charles de Gaulle~ 

Instead of giving a politician the keys to the city, it might be better to change the locks. 

~Doug Larson~ 

There ought to be one day — just one — when there is open season on senators.

  ~Will Rogers~

You just have to appreciate this one. Young people forget that we old people had a career before we retired….. Charley, a new retiree-greeter at Wal-Mart, just couldn’t seem to get to work on time. Every day he was 5, 10, 15 minutes late.  But he was a good worker, really tidy, clean-shaven, sharp-minded and a real credit to the company and obviously demonstrating their “Older Person Friendly” policies.  One day, the boss called him into the office for a talk. “Charley, I have to tell you, I like your work ethic, you do a bang-up job when you finally get here; but your being late so often is quite bothersome.”  “Yes, I know boss and I am sorry and am working on it.”  “Well good, you are a team player. That’s what I like to hear.”   “Yes sir, I understand your concern and I will try harder.“ Seeming puzzled, the manager went on to comment, “I know you’re retired from the Armed Forces. What did they say to you there if you showed up in the morning late so often?”   The old man looked down at the floor, then smiled.  He chuckled quietly, then said with a grin, “They usually saluted and said, Good morning, Admiral, can I get your coffee, sir?” One of my  favorite stories,  ever!

Nominations for 2023-24 District Governor must be made by November 20, 2020.

A District Governor candidate must be a past club president who remains a Rotarian in good standing.

Here is how the nomination process works:

1. An interested Past Club President completes the District Governor Designate Form (DGD Data Form) & the Rotary & Leadership Resume form (with resume). The candidate then gives the completed material to their Club President.  Contact tom@jthomasranken.com for the respective forms and materials.
2. If an individual steps forward with a completed application, our club must consider it and take action to approve it. A club may nominate only one of its members. The club adopts a Resolution of Nomination, naming the candidate at a regular club meeting. Note: a club may nominate a person from another club, which most often occurs when more than one qualified candidate steps forward in the same club.
3. The Club President, then attests to the individual’s qualifications, certified by the Club Secretary, along with a completed DGN Data Form/ Application. These documents (together with the completed Resume) are sent to Past District Governor Alex Hopkins at ach419@mindspring.com no later than November 20, 2020.
4. The 2023-2024 DG candidates will be interviewed on Tuesday afternoon, December 1^st by PDG Alex Hopkins and his selection committee. The selection committee’s final decision will be announced that evening.

Together, we see a world where people unite and take action to create lasting change— across the globe, in our communities, and in ourselves.

2020 Rotary Virtual Institute Zones 26 & 27 Big West November 12-14, 2020 Welcome Rotarians, Rotaractors, and guests!Come experience the best virtual Rotary event of the year! Fabulous Speakers =Rotary International Senior Leaders = Special Sessions Rotary Fellowships =Top Gov Lounge =Class Reunion Parties = Rotaract Forum House of Friendship =District Celebration Parties = Senior Leader Dinner District Showcase = Rotaract Happy Hour = Top Gov Gala

Register Here

Program summary by Walter Impert.

Phill Briscoe was our guest for a program presentation on Reparations on October 22, 2020.

A native Kansan, Phill moved to Washington state in 1972 to be a Lecturer in Ethnic Studies at Central Washington State College (CWU). Phill soon learned that he was jack of all, but master of none.  Beside being a teacher, Phill has been a realtor, debt collector, small loan manager, insurance agent, small business networking support, and is now retired. Phill considers himself a lifelong learner and has focused on Black history and Black political thought since he was an undergraduate. 

Phill is a disciple in Hun yuan Tai chi and Taoism at the Taoist Institute under the direction of Shi Fu Zhi Chen.

Phill is a past–and future–long time member of the University Sunrise Rotary Club.

Phil Briscoe spoke about “The Debt”.  The debt is the elephant in the room, because race is always the elephant in the room.  Of course, The Debt refers to reparations owed to the descendants of African slaves, who have never been compensated for their work in building this country and creating its wealth over generations.  Though toil of slave labor built the wealth of this nation, today African Americans manifestly and disproportionately do not share in the wealth of the country.  Blacks are 13% of the U.S. population but hold 3% of the wealth.  Blacks are also over-represented in the prison system, in twelve states, blacks represent over half of the prison population.  Phil later noted that an exception to the 13^th amendment, prohibiting forced labor, is for those found guilty of a crime.

Phil reminded us that reparations had been promised after the civil war – 40 acres, a mule, and $100 – but after Lincoln’s death, Andrew Johnson killed the idea.  How did slavery build the country?  Slaves cleared land, raised food and white children, developed land, and produced wealth for the new World and the old World.  The wealth created by forced labor has never been adequately addressed, rather, post-slavery the law of the land and our institutions, again and again, made it harder for Blacks to get ahead.  These included unjustified wealth distribution, black codes, the Plessy v. Ferguson decision, Jim Crow, redlining and housing discrimination, vagrancy laws and the disproportionate impact of policing and the criminal justice system, to name a few examples.

What is needed is healing and repair.  Truth and reconciliation is not enough.  The elements of healing and repair include Cessation, Restitution, Satisfaction and Rehabilitation.  Importantly, restitution means compensation and making whole.  Rehabilitation includes health and psychological services.

There is precedent for reparations.  Native Americans, Japanese Americans after internment, and Germany and World War II all received reparations of some sort.  Many Americans reflexively dismiss reparations by reciting myths and cheap shots.  Phil addressed these tropes which include: America has done so much for you, you would be worse off in Africa; why should current taxpayers pay for the actions of those who acted wrongly long ago, Black Americans have already benefited from Affirmative Action, and why can’t Black Americans pull themselves up by their bootstraps? 

Finally, Phil discussed the mechanics of how reparations would work, including how to identify the claimants, the respondents, the form for forms that reparations might take, and considerations.  Phil’s priority for reparations would be building black unity and black communities. Other components would include protected class status, education, health, business grants, financial literacy, individual payments, college tuition, and student loan forgiveness, all written in plain language.  There were many questions and club members expressed their appreciation to Phil for making a difficult topic accessible.

For further study, Phil recommended The Case For Reparations from Dr. Claud Anderson and Rock Newman and Black Labor, White Wealth by Dr. Anderson.

You can find the slides that Phill used here:

Here is Phill’s recommended reading list:

Black Economic Wealth Gap Resources

History

1. 10 Black Scholars Who Debunked Eurocentric Propaganda
   https://atlantablackstar.com/2013/10/06/10-black-scholars-debunked-eurocentric-propaganda/
2. Christopher Columbus and the Afrikan Holocaust: Slavery and the Rise of European Capitalism, Dr John Henrik Clarke
3. Black Labor/White Wealth, Dr Claud Anderson.

Psychology

1. Black Skins/White Masks, Franz Fanon.
2. Malcom X-House Negro and the Field Negro (Video)
   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jf7rsCAfQCo
3. The Isis Papers – Dr Frances Cress Welsing
4. The Falsification of Afrikan Consciousness: Amos Wilson
5. Kindred by Octavia Butler

Economic Wealth Gap

1. “Why we need Reparations for Black People”,
   Brookings summary:
   https://www.fastcompany.com/90461708/why-wealth-equality-remains-out-of-reach-for-black-americans
2. “How Housing Finance Enriched Whites at Expense of Black Borrowers” – Bloomberg.
   https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2019-06-17/how-housing-finance-enriched-whites-at-expense-of-black-borrowers
3. Empire of Cotton, Atlantic Article, by Sven Beckert. https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2014/12/empire-of-cotton/383660/
4. Empire of Cotton: A Global History, book by Sven Beckert.
5. The Half Has Never Been Told: Slavery and the Making of American Capitalism, Book by Edward E. Baptist

Case for Reparations

1. “The Case for Reparations by Ta-Nehisi Coates – The Atlantic,
   https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2014/06/the-case-for-reparations/361631/  
2. “A Nation Built on the Backs of Slavery and Racism”, Truthout article, https://truthout.org/articles/forty-acres-and-a-mule-would-be-at-least-6-4-trillion-today-what-the-us-really-owes-black-america/
3. Treaty of 1866 – Choctaw & Chickasaw Nation, http://www.african-nativeamerican.com/treaty66.htm
4. “Case for Reparations”, William Darity, “Crisis Magazine”.
   https://www.thecrisismagazine.com/single-post/2019/09/09/The-Case-For-Reparations

Reparations Models

1. Contract with Black America-Ice Cube
   https://contractwithblackamerica.us/
2. Reparations Across The Board
   https://www.blackchannelfilms.com/documents/wbpd.pdf
3. The National African American Reparations Commission.  https://ibw21.org/initiative-posts/naarc-posts/naarc-rolls-out-preliminary-10-point-reparations-plan/
4. ADOS (American Descendants of African Slaves)
   https://ados101.com/black-agenda
5. Reparations Model-Dr Claud Anderson
   https://youtu.be/-26bg9fQNOQ  

Miscellaneous

1. Affirmative Action Myth Busters
   https://www.acluok.org/sites/default/files/wp/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/Affirmative-Action-Mythbusters.pd 
2. White women benefit most from affirmative action — and are among its fiercest opponents
   https://www.vox.com/2016/5/25/11682950/fisher-supreme-court-white-women-affirmative-action

Academic Discussion re: Wealth Gap

1. Why it’s important to study disparities within ethnic groups | Glenn Loury & William “Sandy” Darity-Economic Discussion.
   You Tube Video:  https://youtu.be/VMGJVXnpgzw
2. “What we get wrong about closing the wealth gap,” William Darity.
   https://socialequity.duke.edu/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/what-we-get-wrong.pdf
3. “Why Does Racial Inequities Exist,” Glenn Loury.
   https://media4.manhattan-institute.org/sites/default/files/R-0519-GL.pdf
    

Ponder this…

On a lighter note, here’s something we can all agree on:

The vaccine should be tested on politicians first.


If they survive, the vaccine is safe.



If they don’t, the country is safe.

😷