Hi Everyone,
I just wanted to post a "heads up" on how the Cafe
Chat went last Wednesday, and what we discussed. I
also want to put out a notice now on where the next
one will be.
Four people showed up total, including me. Not bad for
the first meeting, and hopefully there will be many
more to come. The two topics we wound up discussing
were 'immigration' and the definition of 'patriotism,'
such as what it means to us on an individual level,
and whether it is the same, or different from
'nationalism.' It was very interesting to hear how
others felt about this, as I have been contemplating
these two definitions myself recently, with the
passage of the "Patriot Act," and what it means to me
to be a patriot, as opposed to a 'nationalist.' I
think both Libertarians and non-Libertarians would
have an interest in participating in a discussion like
this, and I would love to hear how others feel about
this, along with other issues.
We spent the last half of the social discussing when
the next social will be, and where it should be held,
such as at the same place or a different place. We all
seemed to agree, for the sake of consistency, that it
should be held at the same place, but we talked about
having it at a location that would be easily
accessable by people both within SF and outside of SF.
The talk of a cafe one block from the Civic Center
BART station, located near Hastings school of law,
might be an option.
The reason we thought consistency would be important
was for the fact that if at any time someone couldn't
make it to a meeting, and wanted to go to the next one
the following week, or wanted to refer someone else to
the discussion, or post a sign somewhere inviting
people to join the discussion, it would always be held
at the same place.
When I decided to start this on Wednesddays, I forgot
to take into consideration that this coming Wednesday,
the 14th, is my wedding day, and next Wednesday is my
birthday. I don't mind showing up on my birthday, as
there's no place I would rather be than discussing
politics with people, however, I think I would really
be pushing it too far with my fiance to ask her to
spend the evening of our wedding day going to the
social. This is why I am hoping those of you that can
make it tomorrow, post an e-mail where you want to
meet. Last week it was held at Royal Ground Coffee, on
Geary and 17th, since I live four blocks from there.
We can have it at the same place tomorrow, or we can
have it at different places until we decide which is
most convenient. Hope to see some e-mails from those
interested in contiuing the social tomorrw, however,
for a very good reason, I won't be there. I will be at
the Pho Tu Do restaurant on Clement and 12th Ave.
tomorrow night (May 14) between 7:00pm-10:00pm if
anyone wants to stop in for a drink to celebrate the
marriage between Alona and I.
Dave Barker