More Event Information

Let’s join up for a relaxed dinner, in one of the best Thai restaurants all around, with healthy family cooking, in a relaxed atmosphere of a Thai pagoda style building…

Thai’s Corner Cuisine restaurant, is situated in the South side of Seattle, in Burien town, with easy, fast, and convenient access, from the end of 405 if you are coming from the Eastside, or straight down 509, and 99, if you are coming from Seattle. Thai’s Corner Cuisine is also near I-5, from the SeaTac airport exit, as it it found in the midst of the bustling and diverse market-town of Burien that is now the hipster capital of the Pacific Northwest… and right on 1st Avenue South.

So if you are up for some culinary and conversational adventure with a healthy dose of free speech — You should come join us for some great traditional Thai food, cooked with love from this family’s matriarch, coupled with intelligent conversation. There is usually a smattering of beautiful and smart folks coming together, in order to meet new friends and change the world in the Benjamin Franklin style.

This gathering is very much like the original JUNTO club that Benjamin Franklin started in Philadelphia back in the year 1727, in order to built up his Society of Friends, to do philanthropy, and to change the world… 

Today Dr Churchill and the Churchill Society, keep this tradition of Free Speech alive, by maintaining Junto clubs in Seattle and occasionally in the Eastside, and elsewhere, where the Founder Dr Churchill, might be visiting, or working at a time. We have held these JUNTO dinners, all over the world, and mostly in beautiful places, and diverse communities, like those Juntos we had recently in Myanmar’s Yangon, Mandalay, Hpa-An, Began, and in neighboring Bangkok and Chiang Mai, Pattaya, in Pnom-Penh, in Vientiane, in Hanoi, in Ho-Chi-Minh city, in Danang, in India’s Puna, Bangalore, Madras or Chennai, Delhi, Mumbai, Amritsar, Ludhiana, Chandigarth, in Tibet’s Lhasa & Dharamsala, Chambo, Gyatse, in Yunnan’s Zhaotong, Kunming, Dali, Yuxi, in China’s Hangzhou, Tianjin, Jengdhu, Nanjing, Dalian, Hong Kong, Chongking, Shenjen, in Shanghai, in Xi’an, in Wuhan, in Ghuanzhu, in Beijing, in Formosa’s Taipei, in Malacca, in Kuala Lumpur, in London, in Athens, in Moscow, in Antwerp, Amsterdam, Berlin, Paris, Florence, Torino, Milan, Roma, Naples, Alexandria, Cairo, Baghdad, Kabul, Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad, Bathinda, Amritsar, Damascus, San Francisco, Washington DC, New York, Seattle, Bellevue, Issaquah, Redmond, Burien etc. Yourself, can also host a dinner meeting in your own community, town, or country, or just invite us to help you do this and maybe find it, in the next Churchill Society Meeting where you can join us for a JUNTO dinner at: www.ChurchillSociety.net

Indeed Benjamin Franklin gathered a rather diverse group of people around him in order to be kept abreast of the sentiment and the superior ideas of his day and time, yet also in order to reform and reshape the Society of his Day, and his community, through building community, benevolent Leadership, and Soft Communal Power.

This is what Dr Churchill is doing again today, and that is the JUNTO Club. And You are invited to participate because some of Ben Franklin’s most disruptive and revolutionary, yet sensible ideas, had their origin in conversations and consensus that had arisen in these dinners that he called JUNTO, where he broke bread, and shared wine, with some of the smartest people in our History, and all together went on to create the Greatest Nation on Earth and to write plenty of History of their own…

So, today, as we try to figure out the various points of view on the important issues of our day, and as we decide which way to go forward as a Nation, I thought that it is best to crowdsource this wisdom, by starting up these dinner time gatherings amidst the esteemed members of the Churchill Society, the Lincoln Party, the American Angels, and the local community all around us — wherever we are on this God’s Green and Plentiful Earth.

In that Spirit of Love and Friendship, we have the Honor to invite you to join our selective Club of Leaders, by answering these simple Questions and accepting as correct the Answers we hold dear to our Hearts, because any person that wants to be qualified as a member, has to stand up, lay his hand upon his chest & over his heart, and be asked to honestly & truthfully answer the following questions in the form of an Oath:

1) Have you any particular disrespect to any present members?

Answer: I have not.

2) Do you sincerely declare that you love mankind in general, of what profession or religion soever?

Answer: I do.

3) Do you think any person ought to be harmed in his body, name, or goods, for mere speculative opinions, or his external way of worship?

Answer: No.

4) Do you love truth for truth’s sake, and will you endeavor impartially to find and receive it yourself, and communicate it to others?

Answer: Yes.

5) Will You defend the Right to Free Speech of Yours and of all others with your Life if need be?

Answer: Yes.

Thank You

Welcome Aboard…

Indeed, this is not only a Club but a Social Mission, and You are invited to participate in my table, but if there is no space left, You can try for next month’s dinner, or simply organize our own Neighborhood JUNTO. Indeed You are encouraged to use this very Meetup to start JUNTO dinners in your home, or in your favorite restaurant, provided that you have an exclusive setting where the privacy afforded, allows you to converse freely and openly with all others. Feel free to schedule these dinners here using the tools of this Meetup.

The key ingredient is that you have to accept all People’s opinions and examine your own in order to foster personal CHANGE and GROWTH, both as an individual and as a group… Therefore we leave our Politics, our Religion, and our Ideological traditions outside the door, when we enter the JUNTO, and instead become Philosophers that seek and love Wisdom for it’s own intrinsic value.

Discussions are led by members on a rotating basis with discussion topics being based on Benjamin Franklins original questions and thrives from a mutual exchange of knowledge. Membership is intimate and capped at 12 which is consistent with the original Junto.

Franklin describes the formation and purpose of the Junto in his autobiography (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Autobiography_of_Benjamin_Franklin) in this fashion: “I should have mentioned before, that, in the autumn of the preceding year, [1727] I had form’d most of my ingenious acquaintance into a club of mutual improvement, which we called the Junto; we met on Friday evenings. The rules that I drew up required that every member, in his turn, should produce one or more queries on any point of Morals, Politics, or Natural Philosophy, to be discuss’d by the company; and once in three months produce and read an essay of his own writing, on any subject he pleased. Our debates were to be under the direction of a president, and to be conducted in the sincere spirit of inquiry after truth, without fondness for dispute or desire of victory; and to prevent warmth, all expressions of positiveness in opinions, or direct contradiction, were after some time made contraband, and prohibited under small pecuniary penalties.”

Questions:

The Junto’s Friday evening meetings were organized around a series of questions that Franklin devised, covering a range of intellectual, personal, business, and community topics. These questions were used as a springboard for discussion and community action. In fact, through the Junto, Franklin promoted such concepts as volunteer fire-fighting clubs, improved security (night watchmen), and a public hospital.

This is a simple list of some of the more usual JUNTO club questions, that inspire lively conversation and philosophical discourse.

Indeed here bellow, is the very list of questions Franklin devised to guide the discussions at Junto meetings. These questions come to us, from Benjamin Franklin’s papers, dated 1728, and are included as such within his autobiography:

“Have you met with any thing in the author you last read, remarkable, or suitable to be communicated to the Junto?

Particularly in history (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History), morality (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morality), poetry (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poetry), physics (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Physics), travels, mechanic arts, or other parts of knowledge?

What new story have you lately heard agreeable for telling in conversation?

Has any citizen in your knowledge failed in his business lately, and what have you heard of the cause?

Have you lately heard of any citizen’s thriving well, and by what means?

Have you lately heard how any present rich man, here or elsewhere, got his estate?

Do you know of any fellow citizen, who has lately done a worthy action, deserving praise and imitation?

Or who has committed an error proper for us to be warned against and avoid?

What unhappy effects of intemperance have you lately observed or heard?

Of imprudence?

Of passion? Or of any other vice or folly?What happy effects of temperance (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temperance_(virtue))?

Of prudence?

Of moderation?

Or of any other virtue?

Have you or any of your acquaintance been lately sick or wounded?

If so, what remedies were used, and what were their effects?

Who do you know that are shortly going on voyages or journeys, if one should have occasion to send by them?

Do you think of any thing at present, in which the JUNTO may be serviceable to mankind?

To their country, to their friends, or to themselves?

Hath any deserving stranger arrived in town since last meeting, that you heard of?

And what have you heard or observed of his character or merits?

And whether think you, it lies in the power of the Junto to oblige him, or encourage him as he deserves?

Do you know of any deserving young beginner lately set up, whom it lies in the power of the Junto any way to encourage?Have you lately observed any defect in the laws, of which it would be proper to move the legislature an amendment?

Or do you know of any beneficial law that is wanting?

Have you lately observed any encroachment on the just liberties of the people?

Hath any body attacked your reputation lately?

And what can the Junto do towards securing it?

Is there any man whose friendship you want, and which the Junto, or any of them, can procure for you?

Have you lately heard any member’s character attacked, and how have you defended it?

Hath any man injured you, from whom it is in the power of the Junto to procure redress?

In what manner can the Junto, or any of them, assist you in any of your honourable designs?

Have you any weighty affair in hand, in which you think the advice of the Junto may be of service?What benefits have you lately received from any man not present?

Is there any difficulty in matters of opinion, of justice, and injustice, which you would gladly have discussed at this time?

Do you see any thing amiss in the present customs or proceedings of the Junto, which might be amended?”

Many more Questions we have used recently, because todays travails are significantly different and yet alike as in Benjamin Franklin’s days.

Go and RSVP now, if there are any spaces left open, but do not delay or be tardy, because the spaces fill up quickly as they did in Ben Franklin’s JUNTO gatherings during his lifetime…

Therefore, if you are courageous and aspiring to Philosophical thought, and if you are willing to meet other intelligent people, with whom You’ll be able to share & enjoy great conversation, good dinner paired with fine wine, while sharing the most intelligent ideas of our Day — please go ahead and RSVP here, and then we’ll give you the directions to show up…

This week’s erudite discussion subject is “Cultural Revolution” in America Today.

Looking forward to seeing you this Saturday.

Cheers

Dr Churchill

PS:

This is a no-host function, and everyone is responsible for their consumption and drinks tab, as well as for their civilized behavior and the understanding that we are all in this thing called Life — together. No rancor, no malice and no viciousness of political leanings is allowed because intelligent people understand that we can all Agree to Disagree, and still be friends and classy diner companions.

Your RSVP here, covers your agreement with the Civility clause and your agreement with this arrangement of being a Friend, and it also reserves you a place around the table.

For Reference Purposes Please Read Here:

The Junto, also known as the Leather Apron Club, was a club for mutual improvement established in 1727 by Benjamin Franklin (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benjamin_Franklin) in Philadelphia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philadelphia,_Pennsylvania). The Leather Apron Club’s purpose was to debate questions of morals, politics, and natural philosophy (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_philosophy), and to exchange knowledge of business affairs. They were also a charitable organization which created a subscription public library consisting of their own books.

Franklin organized a group of friends to provide a structured form of mutual improvement. The group, initially composed of twelve members, called itself the Junto (the word is a mistaken use of the masculine singular Spanish adjective “joined”, mistaken for the feminine singular noun “junta”, “a meeting”. Both derive from Latin “iunct-“, past participle of “iungere”, “to join”). The members of the Junto were drawn from diverse occupations and backgrounds, but they all shared a spirit of inquiry and a desire to improve themselves, their community, and to help others. Among the original members were printers (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Printer_(publisher)), surveyors (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surveying), a cabinetmaker (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cabinetmaker), a clerk, and a bartender. Although most of the members were older than Benjamin Franklin, he was clearly their leader.

At just 21, he oversaw five men, including Hugh Meredith (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hugh_Meredith), Stephen Potts, and George Webb, who were soon to form the core of the Junto. Franklin was an outgoing, social individual and had become acquainted with these businessmen. This gathering included prominent merchants who met informally to drink and discuss the business of the day. Franklin’s congenial ways attracted many unique and learned individuals, and from these, he selected the members for the Junto.

All members lived in Philadelphia and came from diverse areas of interest and business. Along with Meredith, Potts, and Webb, they included Joseph Breintnall, merchant and scrivener (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scrivener), who also loved poetry and natural history. Thomas Godfrey (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Godfrey_(inventor)) was a glazier (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glazier), mathematician (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mathematician), and inventor; and Nicholas Scull and William Parsons were both surveyors. Scull was also a bibliophile (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bibliophile) and Parsons a cobbler and astrologer (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astrology). William Maugridge was a cabinetmaker, William Coleman (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Coleman_(judge)) a merchant’s clerk, and Robert Grace a gentleman. Grace’s wealth meant he did not have to work, but apparently he brought an intellectual element to the group and a fine library. The twelfth member of the Junto remained a mystery until 2007, when Professor George Boudreau of Penn State (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penn_State) discovered a long-forgotten account of the club’s refreshments, and verified that shoemaker John Jones, Jr. was an original member. Jones was a Philadelphia Quaker, a neighbor of Franklin’s, and later a founding member of the Library Company of Philadelphia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Library_Company_of_Philadelphia). The club met Friday nights, first in a tavern and later in a house, to discuss moral, political, and scientific topics of the day.

Franklin was influenced by two predecessor organizations in particular…

Dry Club:

One was an English group called the “Dry Club,” which had philosopher John Locke (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Locke), William Popple (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Popple), and Benjamin Furly (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benjamin_Furly) among its members during the 1690s (and was itself partially inspired by Furly’s “heretics of the Lantern” society). It met one evening a week for two hours at a time and required that its members reply affirmatively to the following questions:

Whether he loves all Men, of what Profession or Religion soever?Whether he thinks no person ought to be harmed in his Body, Name, or Goods, for mere speculative Opinions, or his external way of Worship?Whether he loves and seeks Truth for Truth’s sake; and will endeavour impartially to find and receive it himself, and to communicate it to others?

Each member of the club would take turns proposing topics for discussion and moderating these discussions. The discussions were to be held in a spirit of open-minded tolerance:

That no Person or Opinion be unhandsomely reflected on; but every Member behave himself with all the temper, judgement, modesty, and discretion he is master of.

Neighborhood benefit and reforming societies:

The other important predecessors were the “neighborhood benefit societies” and “reforming societies” proposed in Massachusetts by Cotton Mather (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cotton_Mather). Cotton Mather described the neighborhood societies as being composed of a dozen married couples who would meet at one anothers’ homes in succession for prayer and other religious exercises, and also to consider questions like the following:

Who are in any peculiar adversity; and what may be done to comfort them?What contention or variance may there be among our neighbours; and what may be done for healing it?In what open transgressions do any live? and who shall be desired to carry faithful admonitions to them?

The similar reforming societies would entertain questions like these:
Can any further methods be devised that ignorance and wickedness may be more chased from our people in general; and that domestic piety, in particular, may flourish among them?

Is there any instance of oppression or fraudulence in the dealings of any sort of people, which may call for our efforts to rectify it?

Is there any matter to be humbly recommended to the legislative power, to be enacted into a law for the public benefit?

Do we know of any person languishing under severe affliction, and is there any thing we can do for the succour of that afflicted neighbour?

Has any person a proposal to make, for our further advantage and assistance, that we may be in a better and more regular capacity for prosecuting these intentions?

Modern-day JUNTO Clubs:

There are several modern-day Juntos modeled on Franklin’s original meeting operating today, such as the Junto of Indianapolis that was formed in 1929 by attorney Claude H. Anderson and has been in continuous operation since. The group meets weekly, on Mondays, and the meetings include updates on business conditions, talks by members about their professional and business pursuits, and a regular dose of humor. The Junto of Indianapolis holds a number of events throughout the year, including golf tournaments, a formal Christmas dance, and a weekend at Lake Wawasee in northern Indiana.

Hedge fund (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hedge_fund) manager Victor Niederhoffer (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victor_Niederhoffer) has been running the New York City (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_City) Junto since 1985. Meeting monthly, the New York Junto focuses on libertarianism (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Libertarianism), Objectivism (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Objectivism_(Ayn_Rand)) (the philosophy of Ayn Rand (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ayn_Rand)), and investing.

The Abington Junto, which is based just outside of Philadelphia, operates as a philosophical society in the tradition of Franklin’s Junto. Members meet monthly to exchange knowledge, trade ideas, and make progress toward any philanthropic endeavors the group takes on in its community. Membership continues to expand as the group spreads Franklin’s concept of a group for mutual improvement. A Junto meets in Philadelphia and is focussed on the original concept of “for profit, for good” business practices and an interest in civic improvement and investment. There are regular dinners and a yearly retreat.

The London Junto meets monthly at the Lansdowne Club (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lansdowne_Club), where Franklin signed the Treaty of Paris (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Paris_(1783)) with Lord Shelburne (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lord_Shelburne). Nicholas Vardy (https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Nicholas_Vardy&action=edit&redlink=1) has been running the London (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London) Junto since 2005. A Junto based in Washington, DC, was run by Nancy Reagan (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nancy_Reagan) in the 1980s. It has been rumored that her “Just Say No (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Just_Say_No)” campaign was suggested by a fellow member who wished to remain anonymous. A Denver, Colorado, Junto group was formed in 1995. It became the Small Business Chamber of Commerce (https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Small_Business_Chamber_of_Commerce&action=edit&redlink=1), which cooperates with local chambers of commerce to form similar groups.

A Syracuse, New York, Junto founded by Anton Ninno holds monthly dinner meetings to discuss the issues of the day, offer tips & lifehacks, and share humor. The restaurants must offer man-food and a good selection of beer, as Old Ben would have required. Candidates are nominated by the members, and take the 4-question oath used by Franklin’s Junto. Nominees receive a Pilot Varsity fountain pen (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fountain_pen) in confirmation of their induction. Every member is a “President” when present, eliminating the need to vote or elect officers.

An Eau Claire, Wisconsin, Junto holds meetings every Tuesday at a local tavern. The group is semi-exclusive; membership requires approval from a majority of current members, though anybody is welcome to join in their discussions. The group consists mostly of students seeking mutual improvement through a blend of the original Junto principles and the Wisconsin Idea (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wisconsin_Idea).

An exclusive JUNTO Club was started in Seattle in Washington State, early in the year 2011 by Dr Churchill, for the purpose of Political & Philosophical Discourse, Philanthropy, and Social improvement. Each month members meet and decide on a new challenge to be met, and the clarion call is issued and members take action. Work is done for Common Good, and the members pair-up to accomplish goals. On follow-up meetings, the JUNTO CLUB members report the results and the impact of their assigned work, in the wider Society of our State, our City, and our local and immediate Community.

In Chicago, The Junto Institute for Entrepreneurial Leadership (https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Www.thejuntoinstitute.com&action=edit&redlink=1) was founded and formed in 2012. It focuses on developing the leadership skills, emotional intelligence, and decision-making abilities of growth-stage company founders and leaders. The Order of the Oryx is a junto that has been meeting in San Luis Obispo, California, since 2013.

In Bangaluru (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bangalore) (India), the monthly Junto group was formed in 2013 (https://quora-bangalore-meetup.quora.com/). The group initially consisted of members from Quora (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quora) and is now open to general public. The group main purpose is to bring people from diverse backgrounds and share knowledge and discuss on questions of economics, engineering, mechanics, philosophy, politics and other areas of public interest.

Junto Council No. 537, warranted in 2013 by the Grand Council of the Allied Masonic Degrees, is named for Franklin’s Junto and uses his questions during their meetings. A Houston, Texas, Junto group was formed in 2015. The group focuses on the original questions established in Benjamin Franklin’s Junto group. The group meets weekly on Mondays.The Minneapolis-St. Paul Junto was formed in 2015. The group meets every other Wednesday. The group’s purpose is to engage in meaningful conversations on a regular basis for the purpose of self-improvement, nurturing creativity and innovation, with a consistent commitment to the expansion of our knowledge and wisdom.

Memorial High School of Spring Branch Independent School District formed in 2014, to bring educators together to discuss best practices in the classroom, debate pedagogical topics, and inspire creativity to become a district of innovation. The Mounds View High School Junto was formed in 2015. The group was created after an AP United States History class and meets every moment to talk about the meaningful conversations and life. There are currently 7 exclusive members that oversee operations of the High School, including the elite Symphony Orchestra, Science Olympiad, Math Team, Synergy, and more. This group exerts more control over the school than the board itself.

In Killeen, Texas the Killeen Junto Club (https://www.killeenjuntoclub.com/) was established in 2016 as a student organization at Texas A&M University–Central Texas (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_A%26M_University%E2%80%93Central_Texas). The Killeen Junto Club adheres closely to the Benjamin Franklin model in order to contribute to individual intellectual and moral growth through discourse and the exchange of knowledge.

The Tri-State Junto was formed in 2016 by Pete Tytus and John Smith. The group holds a monthly dinner meeting in the Hagerstown, MD surrounding area which is central to most members.

And as always all the members of the Ben Franklin JUNTO Club promise to defend the First Amendment to our Constitution that guarantees our Freedom of Speech even with our very lives if need be.

Today Dr Churchill and the Churchill Society, keep this tradition of Free Speech alive, by maintaining Junto clubs in Seattle and occasionally in the Eastside, and elsewhere, where the Founder Dr Churchill, might be visiting, or working at a time. We have held these JUNTO dinners, all over the world, and mostly in beautiful places, and diverse communities, like those Juntos we had recently in Myanmar’s Yangon, Mandalay, Hpa-An, Began, and in neighboring Bangkok and Chiang Mai, Pattaya, in Pnom-Penh, in Vientiane, in Hanoi, in Ho-Chi-Minh city, in Danang, in India’s Puna, Bangalore, Madras or Chennai, Delhi, Mumbai, Amritsar, Ludhiana, Chandigarth, in Tibet’s Lhasa & Dharamsala, Chambo, Gyatse, in Yunnan’s Zhaotong, Kunming, Dali, Yuxi, in China’s Hangzhou, Tianjin, Jengdhu, Nanjing, Dalian, Hong Kong, Chongking, Shenjen, in Shanghai, in Xi’an, in Wuhan, in Ghuanzhu, in Beijing, in Formosa’s Taipei, in Malacca, in Kuala Lumpur, in London, in Athens, in Moscow, in Antwerp, Amsterdam, Berlin, Paris, Florence, Torino, Milan, Roma, Naples, Alexandria, Cairo, Baghdad, Kabul, Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad, Bathinda, Amritsar, Damascus, San Francisco, Washington DC, New York, Seattle, Bellevue, Issaquah, Redmond, Burien etc. Yourself, can also host a dinner meeting in your own community, town, or country, or just invite us to help you do this and maybe find it, in the next Churchill Society Meeting where you can join us for a JUNTO dinner at: www.ChurchillSociety.net

Looking forward to meet you in person, either at an upcoming JUNTO club meeting, or at any other Churchill Society gathering and upcoming event.

You could join us here too: www.ChurchillSociety.net

Be well, & please keep up the Good Work…