THE AFF NETWORK

America's Future Foundation Room 101

September 25, 2006

IN THIS ISSUE: CRABFEST THIS SATURDAY | HAPPY HOUR THIS WEEK | MEMBERSHIP DRIVE | AFF RADIO OUT NOW | LEADERSHIP DINNER & ELECTIONS ROUNDTABLE NEXT MONTH | MCGREEVEY | PLAMEGATE | ENGLAND | CONVERSATIONS | JOBS AND MORE

Crabfest 2006 is this Saturday...
This Saturday, Sept. 30th, is Crabfest, AFF’s annual outdoor jamboree. We’ll have music, refreshments, and all the crabs, hot dogs and burgers you can handle. Crabfest takes place at the historic Collingswood Mansion in Alexandria, Virginia. The beautiful grounds overlook the water, with plenty of lawn for frisbee or other games. Come spend the afternoon with over a hundred of your fellow conservative and libertarian leaders.

The event will take place from 2 to 6 p.m. Tickets are only $25 for members, $40 for non-members. You can also join or renew for a $55 special membership rate that includes a Crabfest ticket, or reserve a whole table of 8 for your office or organization for only $300. Tickets are now on sale at the AFF website. Check out pictures from past years' Crabfests: 2005 and 2004.

Want a free Crabfest ticket? Volunteer to set-up or man the welcome table and you get in free. We only have a few volunteer spots left, so act quickly. More info is available at http://www.americasfuture.org/blog/archives/021484.php.

AFF monthly happy hour this week...
AFF’s next monthly happy hour will take place this week on Thursday, September 28, at the Eighteenth Street Lounge. The address is 1212 18th Street, NW, and the nearest Metro stop is Dupont Circle on the Red Line. Perhaps adding to its mystique, the 18th Street Lounge doesn’t have a sign out front, so just look for the mirrored entrance next to Candey hardware store. Please note: we’ll be out on the back patio and on the second floor. Just look for AFF members wearing little orange AFF lapel pins. As always, there is no cover and there are beer, wine, and rail drink specials from 6 to 9 p.m.

Second annual membership drive...
Today kicks off the second annual membership drive for AFF! You’ll be getting short emails every day from key AFF people urging you to sign up, renew, and tell your friends about AFF. As always, it’s easy to join on the americasfuture.org website. Sign up today!

New AFF Radio out now...
The September edition of AFF Radio, our monthly political roundtable discussion, is available for download now. The show's panelists this month are Blake Dvorak of The Washington Times, Bill Piper of the Drug Policy Alliance, and Phillips Fellow Meghan Keane. Topics covered include: What year is it (historically speaking)? Do government anti-drug ads work? Ruminations on celebrity and fame; and the "Outrage of the Month" feature, in which panelists describe the recent news items that angered them most. AFF Radio is offered as a podcast, so you can listen to it on your computer or take it with you on your MP3 player. Subscribe to it for free at http://www.americasfuture.org/events-archive/affarch-radio.php.

AFF Leadership Dinner Series with Ed Gillespie…
We're pleased to announce the second in our AFF Leadership Series dinners on Tuesday, October 3. Approaching a key mid-term election, Ed Gillespie, former chairman of the Republican National Committee and founder and co-chairman of Quinn Gillespie & Associates, will reflect on campaign strategy: “On Strategy: lessons from building a conservative majority.”

There will be a reception from 6:30 – 7:00pm and then dinner and discussion from 7:00pm to 9:00pm, at the Fund for American Studies, 1706 New Hampshire Ave, NW near Dupont Circle. If you remember, these AFF Leadership dinners are for partner level AFF members and above. As a partner level member, you get one ticket to any dinner you choose throughout the year; director level members, two tickets to any two dinners you choose; executive level members, two tickets to four of the dinners. Please note: only two tickets per member, per event, and tickets are not transferable. (If you have any questions about your membership, please contact Joanna Robinson at Joanna@americasfuture.org.)

Please RSVP to Kathleen O’Hearn at kathleen@americiasfuture.org by Monday, October 2 at 5:00 p.m. And, please let Kathleen know if you would prefer a vegetarian dinner.

Elections 2006 roundtable next month...
On Wednesday, October 11, America's Future Foundation will host the Roundtable "Election 2006: Should conservatives and libertarians support Republicans? Or do Republicans deserve to lose?" Washington is a buzz with election speculation. After several years of controlling both the legislature and executive, the GOP risks losing the House, and perhaps even the Senate this fall, and faces strong criticism over their record. Federal spending is through the roof. The war in Iraq continues to divide America. The GOP majority passed admirable tax cuts but fell short on other important initiatives such as Social Security reform and health care reform. Republicans and Libertarians have much to criticize, but are we really ready to face the reality of a Nancy Pelosi majority? Who should right-of-center voters support in the coming month? Please join us as we discuss the implications of the 2006 elections and ask, do Republicans deserve to lose?

Joining us to discuss these issues are Ryan Sager, author of The Elephant in the Room: Evangelicals, Libertarians and the Battle to Control the Republican Party, Rob Bluey, editor of Human Events Online, and Jonathan Collegio, Press Secretary for the National Republican Congressional Committee. Eric Pfeiffer will moderate.

The event will take place at the Fund for American Studies, 1706 New Hampshire Avenue, NW, near Dupont Circle. Drinks at 6:30; Roundtable begins at 7:00. Roundtables are free for members, $5 for non-members. So join today! Please RSVP to Kathleen O'Hearn at kathleen@americasfuture.org.

McGreevey's truthiness, Plamegate's lesson, England's emasculation, and a conversation piece...
In our online magazine this week, Meghan Keane writes that former New Jersey Governor Jim McGreevey forgets to bring the facts along for his new confessional book tour. Meanwhile, Tim Carney gives us the inside scoop on what the media got wrong about the Valerie Plame affair, Europe Correspondent Mario Fantini wonders when England got so liberal, and Kelly Torrance reviews the new movie, Conversations with Other Women.

You can read Brainwash at http://www.affbrainwash.com. On the new Brainwash site you can post your thoughts and opinions about the articles you read. Also, don't forget to send in your own article submissions.

Your dream job...
The Mercatus Center at George Mason University seeks to hire a Program Associate for the Social Change Project and Global Prosperity Initiative. Initial job responsibilities will include assisting with and coordinating the planning of academic conferences, meetings, policy forums, and other special events; writing and editing for the project web pages, research, and administrative support. For more information, visit: http://www.americasfuture.org/jobboard/archives/021478.php.

Got something else in mind? You can find other great free-market-oriented jobs by clicking over to AFF’s Job Board at http://www.americasfuture.org/jobboard/!

Cheers,

Jerry Brito
Director of Operations
http://www.americasfuture.org/
jerry@americasfuture.org

P.S. Be a sport and help AFF grow: forward this message to your friends. They can sign up for Room 101 themselves by visiting http://www.americasfuture.org/room101/room101-post.php.