It was a typical evening of cards at Gil’s house. Gil is the regular host of my local poker game and he does it spectacularly well. The game starts on time and ends on time (for those folks saddled with real j*bs).  He’s got a great sound system and the tunes range from Massive Attack to George Jones; you don’t know what you’re going to hear, but you know it’s going to be good. It’s $1-$1 No Limit Hold’em with two inviolate rules: (1) no discussing religion and (2) no discussing politics. We all know that such discussions can destroy a perfectly convivial poker game and any time the conversation strays in that direction, people are quick to put a stop to it. The game – the camaraderie – is far too important to threaten when a political debate turns personal. Anyway, Gil’s game has been running for a few years and it’s not hard to see why. The people are wonderful, generous, and kind to each other. In my short tenure in the game, I’ve become close friends with a number of them; I count myself incredibly fortunate to settle into a chair in Gil’s basement once a week. I had been ...