AFF Events Archive

Energy Policy, What Should Our Carbon Footprint Be?

Cord Blomquist — 2008-04-15T17:25:39-05:00

AFF will held its monthly roundtable "Energy Policy, What Should Our Carbon Footprint Be?" on April 15th. All across the United States technology is lowering the carbon footprint of the energy consuming products we use every day, such as cars, phones, and computers. Despite the savings, the Department of Energy predicts that fossil fuels will remain a primary source of energy consumption well into the future. Certain critics complain that fossil fuel consumption is a leading cause of climate change, and each person has a duty to limit their carbon footprint for the environment. Should we take an active role in limiting our personal carbon footprint? Will technological improvements eventually reduce our carbon footrprint for us? As the rest of the developing world consumes more oil, gas, and coal, does the U.S. have any moral obligation to risk falling behind economically in order to have a smaller carbon footprint?

Joining us for this discussion were Thomas A. Firey, managing editor of the Cato Institute’s magazine Regulation; Andy Weismann, an energy expert for FTI Economic Consulting with over 30 years experience in the energy industry; Ben Lieberman, senior plicy analyst at the Heritage Foundation; and Dr. Foster Wade, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Land and Minerals Management at the Department of Interior.

Audio

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AFF Denver: How the West will Be Lost

Cord Blomquist — 2008-03-26T17:35:08-05:00

On March 26 AFF held its first roundtable event in Denver. This roundtable, How the West will Be Lost, covered Democrats' strategy to turn the Mountain West blue, and what libertarians and conservatives can do about it.

It's no mistake that Democrats will be hosting their national convention in Denver. Liberal funders have invested heavily in Colorado as part of a multi-cycle strategy to turn traditionally red states in the mountain west blue. But have Republicans and the Religious Right put more libertarian-leaning mountain states up for grabs? Looking at the primaries, does Huckabee's success indicate the growing or waning influence of evangelicals in the Republican Party? Does Ron Paul's fundraising success indicating a growing influence of libertarians? And what to make of McCain? Join our panelists as we discuss the future of libertarians, conservatives, and evangelicals in the West.

Featuring Jon Caldara, president, Independence Institute; Jim Pfaff, president, Colorado Family Council Ryan Sager, author, Elephant in the Room: Evangelicals, Libertarians and the Battle to Control the Republican Party; Gene Healy, senior editor at the Cato Institute and author, Cult of the Presidency: America's Dangerous Devotion to Executive Power; moderated by Brad Jones, Facethestate.com.

Audio

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The Economy in Crisis?

Cord Blomquist — 2008-03-18T13:20:36-05:00

While national security issues may seem to dominate the national debate, the state of the economy might be the determining issue for this year's elections. The widespread view that we are in a recession led to an economic stimulus bill few free-market advocates supported. Is extra stimulus needed to avoid the potentially imminent recession? When it comes to promoting economic growth, the primary conservative solution is to cut taxes. What other free-market policy solutions are there to bring prosperity to the country?

Joining us for the discussion were RJ Lehmann of A.M Best, Megan Mcardle of the Atlantic, Rea Hederman from the Heritage Foundation, John Berlau of the Competitive Enterprise Institute. Moderating this discussion was David Barnes, of the Heritage Foundation

Audio

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Robert Novak

Cord Blomquist — 2008-03-12T17:41:52-05:00

On Wednesday, March 12, AFF hosted an installment of its Leadership Dinner Series, featuring journalist Robert Novak, author of Prince of Darkness, a memoir of his life as a political journalist and pundit in Washington, D.C. Mr. Novak shared valuable advice on how to make a career out of writing, imparts his ideals, and discloses inestimable guidance on how to make the greatest impact as a public speaker.

Doublethink Launch Party

Cord Blomquist — 2008-03-06T17:49:06-05:00

Thursday, March 6th, AFF hosted a launch party for the new issue of Doublethink. We celebrated the release of the winter issue of the magazine along with the editors and writers. The first 20 guests received a free issue of Doublethink!

Chicago Monthly Happy Hour with Jonah Goldberg

Cord Blomquist — 2008-02-27T16:24:44-05:00

On Wednesday, February 27, Jonah Goldberg joined AFF Chicago for drinks and a lively discussion about his new book, Liberal Fascism: The Secret History of the American Left, From Mussolini to the Politics of Meaning.

Jonah Goldberg is a columnist for the Los Angeles Times and editor-at-large to National Review. Jonah is also a regular sparing partner at AFF debates between conservatives and libertarians. You can listen to audio and check out pics of Jonah's famous bout against Reason magazine editor Nick Gillespie here.

Is Marriage Outdated?

Cord Blomquist — 2008-02-17T12:22:43-05:00

AFF held its monthly roundtable on Tuesday, February 12th. In the spirit of Valentines Day, we considered the question of marriage. Is it outdated? Or, should we care about preserving the institution now more than ever?

Joining us were James Poulos, Eve Tushnet, and Jonathan Rauch, author of Gay Marriage: Why It Is Good for Gays, Good for Straights, and Good for America. Also joining us was Jamie Alan Aycock, a lawyer in Washington, D.C. and recent author of "Contracting out of the Culture Wars: How the Law Should Enforce and Communities of Faith Should Encourage More Enduring Marital Commitments" in the Harvard Journal of Law and Public Policy.

Audio

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AFF DC Monthly Happy Hour

Cord Blomquist — 2008-02-07T20:43:33-05:00

On Thursday, January 24, at 6:00 pm AFF had its monthly happy hour at Café Asia (the front bar, just to the left of the entrance). In an effort to reach out to our friends across the river, this was AFF's first happy hour in Northern Virginia! The address 1550 Wilson Blvd., Arlington, VA a few blocks from the Rossyln metro station on the Orange and Blue lines.

The State of the Republican Brand

Cord Blomquist — 2008-01-16T16:06:22-05:00

On Wednesday, January 16th in Chicago, America's Future Foundation hosted a roundtable on the "State of the Republican Brand." The panelists sought to answer many questions. With so much dissatisfaction within the conservative and libertarian base, what is the state of the Republican "brand?" How should conservatives and libertarians re-shape the brand in 2008 and beyond? In some sense, President Bush envisioned an "ownership society" as a uniting theme for conservatives and libertarians. To what extend did this succeed or fail? Does polling data reflect a decline of voter support for smaller government, in general? Are the Republican presidential candidates reflecting voter preferences, or vice versa? Is the "leave us alone" coalition still intact?

Joining AFF in the discussion were Grover Norquist of Americans for Tax Reform, Ramesh Ponnuru of the National Review, Larry Horist of Thomas & Joyce, Inc, and political consultant Dan Proft of Urquhart Media. Moderating this discussion was Blake Dvorak of Real Clear Politics.

Audio

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"Don't Be Evil": Privacy in the Age of Google

Cord Blomquist — 2008-01-16T15:52:57-05:00

On Wednesday, January 16th in Washington, AFF hosted a roundtable on the future of privacy.
In less than a decade, Google has grown from a Ph.D. research project to be the indispensable tool of the information economy. With the objective of making all information instantly and universally accessible, Google now controls the principal index to the internet and the email traffic of millions, while adding new features such as maps replete with street-level photos cataloging the non-virtual world.

Marc Rotenberg of the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC), Cord Blomquist of the Competitive Enterprise Institute, Amber Taylor of O'Melveny & Myers LLP, and Jim Harper of the Cato Institute joined us in the discussion. Chris Pope of the American Enterprise Institute moderated.

Audio

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2008 Presidential Candidate Forum

Cord Blomquist — 2007-12-12T17:24:55-05:00

On Wednesday, December 12, AFF hosted a 2008 Presidential Candidate Forum. The 2008 presidential race began earlier than usual. After suffering devastating midterm losses, faced with a wartime PR problem, and spooked by the prospect of HillaryCare 2.0, a lot is at stake for Republicans in 2008. AFF also conducted a straw poll of the attendees.

Justin Hart of MyManMitt.com supporting Mitt Romney, Jesse Benton of the Ron Paul campaign, Mike Zarrelli supporting Rudy Giuliani, and Jon Henke of New Media Strategies supporting Fred Thompson joined us for the discussion. Chris Beam of Slate Magazine moderated.

Audio

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Chicago Happy Hour Launch

Cord Blomquist — 2007-12-11T18:36:57-05:00

“AFF On The Road” was launched in Chicago on December 11, 2007. This happy hour took place at Jak’s Tap (located at 901 W. Jackson Blvd., in Chicago, IL.) at 6:00pm. The purpose of this event was to welcome liberty-minded conservatives and libertarians to the AFF mission, and to spread the word about our first round table discussion on January 16th, 2008. Joining us was special guest John Tillman, Chariman & CEO of the Illinois Policy Institute.

AFF Underground: Avenue Q!

Cord Blomquist — 2007-12-10T01:53:37-05:00

In December, AFF went to the theatre for a special performance of Avenue Q, the acclaimed broadway musical comedy featuring...puppets? The production featured live actors as well as puppets to act out the hilarious tale of "Princeton", a graduate of an un-named top tier college, as he arrives in New York City ready to begin life as a young professional, only to discover that he can't find money to pay his rent, and he can't find his purpose in life!

Doublethink Launch Party

Cord Blomquist — 2007-11-19T01:23:27-05:00

Wednesday, November 14th, AFF hosted a launch party for the new issue of Doublethink. First 20 guests received a free issue of Doublethink!

The changing of the colors has brought a changing of the guard here at Doublethink. Longtime editor David Skinner has moved on to join Humanities magazine as editor-in-chief. Cheryl Miller, formerly of the New York Times, has stepped in to lead Doublethink alongside associate editor Peter Suderman. But while the team has changed, Doublethink continues to bring an array of insightful and entertaining articles from the best young conservative and libertarian writers and thinkers.

Here's a preview of what's in this issue:

Katherine Mangu-Ward on the quirks and pleasures of exotic meat.
Robert VerBruggen on how conservatives should deal with racism.
Jonathan Strong on finding liberty at the top of the Tetons.
Rita Koganzon on how Ben Franklin gave birth to the modern self-help movement.
David Donadio on Reason's newest editor, Michael Moynihan.
Plus: Fiction, original artwork, culture-watching, and more.

To read all the articles, go to http://www.affdoublethink.com.

Are Private Contractors Helping Our Troops?

Cord Blomquist — 2007-11-19T00:26:35-05:00

On Monday, November 12th, AFF hosted a roundtable discussing private security contractors. Since private firms started taking a larger role in American efforts in Iraq, critics have dubbed them mercenaries and called for criminal investigations. Proponents of contractors argue that they've been essential to the security of both troops and civilians in a warzone. But are private contractors really private when they take on the powers of the state? Should they be limited? Have they helped us, or hurt us, in Iraq?

Joining us in the discussion were Mark Hemingway of National Review, Jillian Bandes of Roll Call, Ilya Shapiro of the Cato Institute, and Christian Lowe, managing editor of Military.com. JP Freire Moderated.

Audio

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