The Casey Lartigue Show!

Each of the three Harvard University events I've been to in Cambridge and Seoul in the last month have been special in different ways. Of course the conference TNKR hosted at the Harvard Graduate School of Education from Nov 15-16 was super special. The annual alumni dinner on December 1st was fantastic yet again. But last night's Happy Hour was absolutely unforgettable. What were some memorable things about last night? * Workable Words:  Very often at such gatherings, people chit-chat without focus. Yes, I know, it is a Happy Hour, so I expect Happy Talk. But as the evening went on--but before the more serious drinks got poured--it seemed that we were going to breakup into working groups. This is more of what I expected a few years ago when I began attending Harvard alumni events. There are influential, smart and well-connected people at many of these gatherings--but there usually aren't many workable words. After reflecting on it, I will suggest we alternat...

1/24 TNKR Matching session 1/27 speech--Harvard 1/28 speech--Volunteering 1/29 speech--TNKR 1/31 Korean language Matching session 2/9 speech--TNKR 2/14 speech--Frederick Douglass 2/16 testimony--Uber 2/28 speech contest 3/21 rally 6 speeches in three weeks on different topics in 2 different countries...

Friday night I was one of the speakers at an event with about 40 members of the Asia Leadership Trek--a collection of geniuses from Harvard, MIT, Tufts. I spoke along with three Ambassadors from the Teach North Korean Refugees project. The students responded really strongly! In my case, some of the students were pleading for the opportunity to help TNKR. And they were telling me specific ways that they could help out, so there could be some real opportunities. A few of them said the same thing--they follow many issues (talking and analysis), but it isn't often that they can see real opportunities to get involved. Our three Ambassadors all gave speeches that touched the audience in different ways. One with her call to action, another with his personal story, and another who had the courage to give her talk in English even though she is still new to TNKR. Special thanks to John Lim and Samuel H Kim for allowing TNKR to present at their event, and to the students who gave us such a s...

An ambiguous man By Casey Lartigue, Jr. I should expect it, but I occasionally get blind-sided in political discussions: A critic will bring up my race. I'm not saying that race is always irrelevant, but I reject it as a legitimate point in discussions about economic policy or North Korea. In most cases, the people who bring up my race in non-racial discussions are progressives (and usually white, although some blacks join in). It first happened to me in print back in the 1990s when a columnist wrote a three-part series denouncing me as a sellout in response to a commentary I wrote about excessive government spending. Based on my interactions, self-identified libertarians and conservatives will typically ask: "What was said?" Self-identified liberals and progressives will typically ask: "Who said it?" That is, who is the speaker? Who supports her? Is there a corporation/foundation/chaebol in his back...

I recently joined the Center for Free Enterprise in South Korea as Director of International Relations. Scroll down to click through to my bio . That means that I have resumed writing and speaking and will be actively seeking opportunities. Will start with letters and opinion pieces in the local papers until I hit on something worth sending abroad. As LL Cool J said, "Don't call it a comeback, I've been here for years." This has to be one of the coolest jobs I have ever had. My boss has given me complete freedom to do whatever I want. Of course, after one year, we will evaluate. To get an idea of the kinds of things I can do, check out this original rap video created by CFE . It is a pro-free trade, anti-welfare rap. Last night my boss thanked me for giving them the idea last year, even before I joined the company. * I helped bring the Harvard University men's soccer team to South Korea . They were here for 13 days, played 3 games, visited the DMZ, and had a lot...