THE AFF NETWORK

Untitled Document

America's Future Foundation Room 101

November 12, 2007

IN THIS ISSUE: ROUNDTABLE TONIGHT | DOUBLETHINK LAUNCH PARTY | ATHEISM ROUNDTABLE NOW IN MP3 | WHAT'S NEW IN THE PODCAST | COLLEGE BLOGGER CONTEST | JOBS AND MORE

AFF Roundtable TONIGHT: Are Private Contractors Helping Our Troops?
Tonight AFF will host a roundtable discussing private security contractors. This isn't our usual day for roundtables, so make sure to note that the discussion will be happening tonight, on a Monday!

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 will be Mark Hemingway of National Review, Jillian Bandes of Roll Call, Ilya Shapiro of the Cato Institute, and Christian Lowe, managing editor of Military.com. J.P. Freire will moderate the discussion.

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 Cindy Cerquitella at cindy@americasfuture.org.

Doublethink Launch Party Wednesday
This Wednesday, November 14th, AFF will host a launch party for the new issue of Doublethink. Come to Russia House Lounge's Tsar Bar at 6:00 p.m. to celebrate the release of the winter issue of the magazine and to meet the editors and writers. All AFF members and friends are invited. First 20 guests get a free issue of Doublethink!

The Russia House is located at 1800 Connecticut Avenue NW (At the corner of Connecticut and Florida Avenues).

New Issue of Doublethink Now Available!
If you can't make it to Wednesday's release party, you can still check out the new 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.

Is atheism the new religious right? Now in MP3 Form!
In case you missed it, the recording AFF's roundtable discussing the "new atheism" is now available along with pictures from the event. Check it our here: http://www.americasfuture.org/events-archive/archives/022559.php

In the podcast this week...
This week on Inside Washington Weekly, AFF's weekly podcast, our panelists discuss protests in Pakistan, Pat Robertson's endorsement of Giuliani, Ron Paul's fundraising blitz, and the latest polls. The show's panelists this week are Matt Continetti of the Weekly Standard, Sarah Longwell of Berman and Co., and Jonathan Williams of the American Legislative Exchange Council. David White hosts. To listen or subscribe, visit http://www.insidewashingtonweekly.com.

AFF $10,000 college blogger contest...
If you're a college blogger (or know one) don't forget America's Future Foundation has announced a contest for the best college blog with a grand prize of $10,000.

The purpose of the contest is to encourage original liberty-minded blogger journalism on college campuses and to identify young conservative and libertarian talent who wish to pursue careers as journalists and writers. The contest is open to all graduate and undergraduate bloggers age 25 and younger.

The winning blog will be awarded a cash prize of $10,000, and be invited to be a panelist at an AFF Roundtable on higher education in Washington, D.C. The award will be announced on April 7, 2008.

A panel of renowned bloggers will judge the contest. Judges include:

To enter, and for the complete set of rules, college bloggers can visit http://www.americasfuture.org/collegeblogger. There bloggers can enter their site for consideration. The deadline for entries is December 31, 2007. From the entries, AFF will choose ten finalists. The panel of seven judges will then track the blogs between January and April and will then choose a winner.

Your dream job...
The Charles G. Koch Charitable Foundation is seeking promising leaders and entrepreneurs interested in liberty for its Koch Associate Program. During the year-long program, Associates develop the knowledge, skills, and experience necessary for careers with market-oriented think tanks, policy institutes, and other non-profit organizations.

For more info, see http://www.americasfuture.org/jobboard/archives/022555.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,

Cord Blomquist
Deputy Director of Operations
http://www.americasfuture.org/
cord@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.