Back in America, 4 days and counting

I got back a few days ago, I'm still unpacking...

Some of the highlights so far:

* Friday morning I was in the audience for a CNN/The Root discussion about being Young and Black in America. As a veteran of so many of these Washington talking events I am less than enthusiastic about them these days. Still, I bumped into a few friends, some of whom are neither young nor black. The discussion seemed so 1980s, with the panelists trying to figure out how to politically empower young black people. I guess it was appropriate then that the head of the NAACP was there. His most irrelevant concern was about hate talk radio...or I guess Rush Limbaugh being on the air all these years explains the high level of black-on-black crime.

20 years later, how is the Stop the Violence movement working out?

The highlight of this particular panel was running into old friend David Plotz, who is now editor of Salon Magazine. I don't think I've seen him since college but he recognized me. I forgot to get his contact info, I'll have to follow up.

Suzanne Malveaux, CNN White House correspondent and moderator of this particular panel, was college roommates with one of my best friends. I said hello to Malveaux, took a picture with my cell phone that didn't come out. I thought to remind her that I knew her back when she knew me, but skipped it because she was (predictably) in a hurry to scoot out of there.

* Friday evening I went to a Congressional Black Caucus reception hosted by two black congresswomen I don't like very much. Anyway, it is always fun networking and eating the finger food at such events. I took photos with a couple of folks, including the ambassador to Nigeria.

The reception was sponsored by several big oil companies.

I do always enjoy hearing Congressional Democrats from Texas saying sweet things about oil companies that happen to be located in their districts.

* Saturday morning I got up early to hand out leaflets publicizing a rally for DC School Choice this Wednesday. It is pretty clear that the program will get killed, thanks to the inaction of Mayor Fenty and the City Council, and the actions of President Obama and Congressional Democrats.

I have mixed feelings about this, as someone who actively pushed for the legislation five years ago. Fenty, Obama and the Democrats should roast in hell for this (and many other things). The public schools in DC remain lousy, the various levels of government would do better to allow children a choice to find schools that work for them.

On the other hand, five years later, it should be parents, not advocates, who are handing out leaflets and holding rallies. Still, I will be at the rally this Wednesday holding a protest sign.

*Sunday morning I got up early again, this time to meet with some people talking about Malcolm Gladwell's book The Tipping Point. Whereas some people will only show up to talk about a book that is currently on the New York Times Best Sellers list, I enjoy discussions where perspective and time allow us to more fully evaluate a book. In many cases at forums about recently released books, most people haven't read it/have read only reviews about it.

It was a good reminder that Gladwell made many good points in the book. One of the main things that caught my attention was his point that there are three kinds of people: Connectors, Mavens, Persuaders.

This week I will try to resume swing dancing, someone I finally got into when I was in South Korea. I still have some actual work to do while I'm here so I'll try to get to it.

Speaking of the 1980s, here's one of my all-time favorite videos.

Self-Destruction from 1989!

CJL

Park Jin welcoming remarks to FSI (and Casey Lartigue)

National Assembly member Park Jin makes the welcoming remarks at FSI's conference featuring North Korean diplomats. Park Jin | Greeting message to FSI and Casey Lartigue mention - YouTube

Does a flower turn to the sun?

I tend not to address points raised by people commenting on posts. In the back-and-forth of such discussions, people sometimes say things they don't mean or take extreme positions. In other cases they are just trying to be provocative, especially when they can remain anonymous. But a discussion on Greg Mankiw's blog caught my attention. That's because a couple of the folks suggested that parents don't really have the knowledge to make decisions about the quality of schools. Between 2002-2004 I was actively involved in the fight to get school vouchers for families in DC. I often heard the argument that parents don't know how to choose between good and bad schools and that, anyway, parents had enough choices with the school system's "out-of-boundary" options and charters (that had also been opposed). Without getting too deep into the out-of-boundary program, I'll point out that Woodrow Wilson HS, considered one of the best schools in the city, recei...

2018-09-28 Not everyone at KFC cooks chickens

Most of the people who contact us at TNKR naturally want to tutor North Korean refugees. Many potential volunteers are shocked shocked shock ed to learn that they can volunteer with TNKR in other ways. I tell many of them: "Not everyone at KFC cooks chickens. There are also delivery people, accountants, marketers, personnel, and a host of other positions." Earlier this year, we began developing the TNKR Volunteer Leadership Academy. I'm still waiting for someone to take over that little project. Until then, I will continue with developing it. And be developing it, I mean telling people, "Don't write me a long business plan about what you would like to do. Just start doing it, keep me updated and in the conversations, then let's talk and update." We have had a recent influx of volunteers who want to help TNKR in other ways. Jackie Cole is now running our Instagram. She constantly surprises me with the flyers and videos she posts. I made it clear from the ...

Common Sense on North Korea (Korea Times, April 2, 2012)

By Casey Lartigue, Jr. As interesting as Kookmin University professor Andrei Lankov’s writings are, there is nothing quite like attending one of his lectures. He can barely restrain himself behind the podium, often pointing and waving his arms. I also enjoy his unscripted speeches, but his answers in Q&A sessions are like the difference between watching Michael Jordan shoot baskets in warm-ups and an actual game. I have finally discovered the secret behind Lankov’s consistently solid analysis about North Korea: Use common sense. At an Asan Institute conference last summer, he argued that North Korea watchers should try to understand North Korea from its perspective. Don’t most people know that you must understand the mindset of others you are dealing with? Yet, common sense in theory gets ignored politically. From the North Korean perspective, nuclear weapons are the best thing they’ve got going. They will NOT give them up easily, even if President Obama ...

Random scenes in Seoul

Yesterday morning I stopped by to buy some kimbab 김밥 at one of the places that sells rolls for 1,000 won (about $.80, depending on how much the Korean or U.S. government have screwed up their respective currencies). I stop by there often so of course the woman there recognizes me. Of course, they probably recognized me from the first time I went there... Yesterday, she asked in Korean if I liked tan mu gi 단무지. I said yes, that I loved it. As I was trying to pay, she hurriedly cut some up right then, then fed it to me, like I was a 6 year old child... I could see everyone in the shop watching... then, I said, "맛있어요!" delicious! I could see everyone smiling. I'm surprised they didn't start applauding. * * * Friendly fights Saw a funny fight the other day. Two guys in a restaurant were wrestling with each other, knocking over at least one table. I watched, not really interested in getting involved. They could be two friends fighting over a woman or for some other reason,...

The Casey Lartigue Show!

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