Wednesday, August 23, 2017

Commonwealth Club of California



Commonwealth Club of California
Speakers
Actor/director Rob Reiner in coversation with KGO-TV anchor Dan Ashley, 2013

The list of notable speakers and speeches numbers in the thousands and includes domestic and foreign political and military leaders, Nobel prize-winning scientists, authors, activists, and artists. A book of important club speeches, Each a Mighty Voice, was published in 2004 by Heyday Books.

President Franklin Delano Roosevelt delivered his New Deal speech at the club. While in office, President Dwight D. Eisenhower spoke at the club, as did Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev. During his term as Vice

President, Dan Quayle delivered his famous Murphy Brown speech to the group. One recent live "Address to the Club" was a wide-ranging discussion with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton at the end of her 2010 trip to the Balkans. Other major recent speakers include California gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman, California Attorney General Kamala Harris, former secretaries of State Condoleezza Rice, George Shultz, James Baker, and Madeleine Albright; California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger; Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner; authors Christopher Hitchens, Ayaan Hirsi Ali and Greg Mortenson; microcredit entrepreneur and Nobel Prize Winner Muhammad Yunus; historian Victor Davis Hanson; airline pilot Chesley Sullenberger; CIA Director Leon Panetta; former U.S. Comptroller General and Peter Peterson Foundation President David Walker, and business leaders Richard Kovacevich and David O'Reilly.
Education advocate Michelle Rhee speaking in 2013

Growing out of Study Sections that were formed in the club's early days, today the club has fifteen ongoing member-led fora, each of which meets frequently to host speakers and engage in discussion on topics including the arts, bay gourmet (food and wine), Asia-Pacific affairs, business and leadership, environment and natural resources, grownups (second half of life issues), health and medicine, humanities, international relations, LGBT issues, the Middle East, personal growth, psychology, and science and technology.

An intensive look at a single subject is sponsored each August through the Club's Platforum, where events are held daily throughout the month on the topic, examined from the perspective of many different fields. Annual Platforum topics have included China Rising (2006), Cool Clear Water (2007), How We Eat (2008), For Richer, for Poorer: Surviving and Thriving in the Great Recession (2009), and The Ascent of Woman (2010). The Platforum series include not just lectures and discussions, but often meals, travel, and experiential learning such as kayaking on San Francisco Bay (Cool Clear Water).

Inforum is the Club's division for younger community members. Since its founding in 2002 Inforum has engaged a new generation in civic discussion through its lively and controversial programming.

History
The Commonwealth Club was founded in 1903 by Harris Weinstock, the English-born co-founder of Weinstock's, a department store in Sacramento, California.[6] Its motto is "Find the truth, and turn it loose in the world," and its mission is the non-partisan study of public affairs. The idea for the club came from Edward F. Adams, the Agricultural Editor at the San Francisco Chronicle newspaper. Four prominent California leaders—University of California president Benjamin Ide Wheeler, San Francisco Chronicle managing editor John P. Young, San Francisco Normal School (later San Francisco State University) president Frederick Burk, and William P. Lawler, a judge who later became a California Supreme Court Justice—cofounded the organization with Adams. The original name for the Club was "The Agora," which in Greek means an open place of civic assembly, but it was quickly changed to "Commonwealth Club," connoting a quest for the common good.

Let’s connect the dots:

Commonwealth Club of California
Lata Krishnan Shah Commonwealth Club of California governor, Bill, Hillary & Chelsea Clinton Foundation.

Note: Peter G. Peterson Foundation was a funder for the Bill, Hillary & Chelsea Clinton Foundation.
Open Society Foundations was a funder for the Bill, Hillary & Chelsea Clinton Foundation, the Atlantic Council of the United States (think tank), the Committee for Economic Development, and the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (think tank).        
George Soros is the founder & chairman for the Open Society Foundations, Jonathan Soros’s father, and was the chairman for the Foundation to Promote Open Society.
Foundation to Promote Open Society was a funder for the People for the American Way, the Media Matters for America, the Brookings Institution (think tank), the Committee for Economic Development, the Robin Hood Foundation, the International Rescue Committee, the New America Foundation (think tank), the Roosevelt Institute, and the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (think tank).
James A. Baker III is an honorary director at the Atlantic Council of the United States (think tank).
Madeleine K. Albright is an honorary director at the Atlantic Council of the United States (think tank).
George P. Shultz is an honorary director at the Atlantic Council of the United States (think tank), married to Charlotte Mailliard Shultz, an advisory board member for the Peter G. Peterson Foundation, and a 2008 Bilderberg conference participant (think tank).
Charlotte Mailliard Shultz is married to George P. Shultz, and a governor at the Commonwealth Club of California.
Ellen O. Tauscher is a director at the Atlantic Council of the United States (think tank), and a governor at the Commonwealth Club of California.
Condoleezza Rice is a director at the Atlantic Council of the United States (think tank), was a governor at the Commonwealth Club of California, and a 2008 Bilderberg conference participant (think tank).
James C. Hormel is a governor at the Commonwealth Club of California, a director at the People for the American Way, and was a donor for the Media Matters for America.
Norman Lear is a director at the People for the American Way, and an executive producer & writer for All in the Family.
Rob Reiner is an actor in All in the Family.
Erik Tarloff was a writer for All in the Family, and is married to Laura D'Andrea Tyson.
Laura D'Andrea Tyson is married to Erik Tarloff, a professor at the Haas School of Business, was a trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank), a director at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, and a director at the New America Foundation.
Richard C. Blum is a board member at the Haas School of Business, an honorary trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank), and a regent at the University of California.
F. Warren Hellman was a board member at the Haas School of Business, and an honorary trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank).
David M. Rubenstein is a co-chairman for the Brookings Institution (think tank), and a trustee at Johns Hopkins Medicine.
Kenneth M. Duberstein is a trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank), and was a VP at the Committee for Economic Development.
Peter G. Peterson Foundation was a funder for the Committee for Economic Development.
George P. Shultz is an advisory board member for the Peter G. Peterson Foundation, an honorary director at the Atlantic Council of the United States (think tank), and was a trustee at the Committee for Economic Development.
Leonard T. Mendonca is a co-chairman for the Committee for Economic Development, and a governor for the Commonwealth Club of California.
Laura and John Arnold Foundation was a funder for the Brookings Institution (think tank), StudentsFirst, and the New Teacher Project.
Michelle A. Rhee was the founder of StudentsFirst, the founder of the New Teacher Project, and a director at the StudentsFirstNY.
John D. Arnold was a board member for the New Teacher Project, and is a co-founder for the Laura and John Arnold Foundation.
StudentsFirstNY is an affiliate of StudentsFirst.
Daniel S. Loeb is a director at the StudentsFirstNY, and supported same-sex marriage in New York.
Clifford S. Asness supported same-sex marriage in New York, a leadership council member for the Robin Hood Foundation, and is a director at the International Rescue Committee.
Michael R. Bloomberg was a donor for the Robin Hood Foundation, an advocate for the ONE Campaign, and is a co-chair for the Risky Business Project.
ONE Campaign is a partner at the International Rescue Committee.
Timothy F. Geithner is an overseer, director for the International Rescue Committee, and was the secretary for the U.S. Department of the Treasury.
Comptroller of the Currency is a bureau for the U.S. Department of the Treasury.
Eugene A. Ludwig was a comptroller for the Comptroller of the Currency, and a trustee at the Committee for Economic Development.
Condoleezza Rice is an overseer at the International Rescue Committee, a director at the Atlantic Council of the United States (think tank), was a governor at the Commonwealth Club of California, and a 2008 Bilderberg conference participant (think tank).
George P. Shultz is a risk committee member for the Risky Business Project, an advisory board member for the Peter G. Peterson Foundation, an honorary director at the Atlantic Council of the United States (think tank), and was a trustee at the Committee for Economic Development.
Donna E. Shalala is a risk committee member for the Risky Business Project, an advisory board member for the Peter G. Peterson Foundation, the president of the Bill, Hillary & Chelsea Clinton Foundation, was a fellow at the Brookings Institution (think tank), and a trustee at the Committee for Economic Development.
Shirley Ann Jackson is a trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank), was a trustee at the Committee for Economic Development, and a member of the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology.
Peter G. Peterson Foundation was a funder at the Bill, Hillary & Chelsea Clinton Foundation, the Committee for Economic Development, and the New America Foundation (think tank).
Eric E. Schmidt is the chairman of the New America Foundation, was a member of the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, a funder for the New America Foundation, and a 2008 Bilderberg conference participant (think tank).
Terry Tamminen was a senior fellow & climate policy director for the New America Foundation, and Arnold Schwarzenegger’s special assistant for energy and environmental technologies, cabinet secretary.
Jonathan Soros is a director at the New America Foundation (think tank), George Soros’s son, and a senior fellow at the Roosevelt Institute.
Laura D'Andrea Tyson is a director at the New America Foundation, married to Erik Tarloff, a professor at the Haas School of Business, was a trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank), and a director at the Peterson Institute for International Economics.
Erik Tarloff is married to Laura D'Andrea Tyson, and was a writer for All in the Family.
Rob Reiner is an actor in All in the Family.
Anna Eleanor Roosevelt is the chair at the Roosevelt Institute, and James Roosevelt’s daughter.
James Roosevelt was Anna Eleanor Roosevelt & James Roosevelt Jr’s father, and Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s son.
James Roosevelt Jr. is James Roosevelt’s son, a director at the America's Health Insurance Plans, was a director at the Network for Excellence in Health Innovation, and an associate commissioner for the Social Security Administration.
Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s son was James Roosevelt, was the president of the Franklin Delano Roosevelt administration, and attended the Yalta Conference.
Alger Hiss attended the Yalta Conference with Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR), and was the president of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (think tank).
Chas. W. Freeman Jr. is a trustee at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (think tank), was a director at the Atlantic Council of the United States (think tank), and the president of the Middle East Policy Council.
James A. Leach was a trustee at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (think tank), and a chairman for the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Ratan N. Tata is a trustee at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (think tank), and the chair for the RAND's Center for Asia Pacific Policy.
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (think tank) was a funder for the Nuclear Threat Initiative (think tank).  
Ted Turner is a co-chairman for the Nuclear Threat Initiative (think tank), and the chairman for the United Nations Foundation.
Muhammad Yunus is a director at the United Nations Foundation, and a Nobel Foundation Nobel peace prize winner.
Mario J. Molina is a Nobel Foundation Nobel prize winner for (chemistry), and was a member of the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology.
Peter G. Peterson Foundation was a funder for the Nuclear Threat Initiative (think tank).
Jessica Tuchman Mathews is a director at the Nuclear Threat Initiative (think tank), was the president of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (think tank), a director at the American Friends of Bilderberg (think tank), an honorary trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank), and a 2008 Bilderberg conference participant (think tank).
Ed Griffin’s interview with Norman Dodd in 1982
(The investigation into the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace uncovered the plans for population control by involving the United States in war)
Carnegie Corporation of New York was a funder for the Nuclear Threat Initiative (think tank), the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (think tank), the New America Foundation (think tank), and the Truman Center for National Policy.
William J. Perry is a director at the Nuclear Threat Initiative (think tank), an honorary director at the Atlantic Council of the United States (think tank), and an advisory board member for the Truman Center for National Policy.
Madeleine K. Albright an honorary director at the Atlantic Council of the United States (think tank), and an advisory board member for the Truman Center for National Policy.
Leon E. Panetta is an advisory board member for the Truman Center for National Policy.
Kamala D. Harris is an advisory board member for the Truman Center for National Policy.

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