Just heard about this event tonight in SF that some of you may be interested in attending. They request at the website linked below that attendees RSVP to cleggins@.... Sorry for the last minute notice.
Love & Liberty,
((( starchild )))
Hi Starchild,
I regret I heard about this event too late and couldn’t make it. Besides, I’m in New York City.
Speaking of New York, State, in this case, I suppose this is the same Foundation for Economic Education (FEE) which was established 60+ years ago at Irvington, NY. I hope you were able to attend the event. I attended many FEE events, “Evening at FEE,” as they’re called. You usually get food, wine, good conversation and an enjoyable evening.
FEE has a new headquarters in Atlanta, GA. They sold the mansion at Irvington, but they’ve yet to completely move out.
Where did you hear about the event? If you attended, did you see Lawrence Reed, the President of FEE? Who was the keynote speaker?
Talk to you.
Alton
Just heard about this event tonight in SF that some of you may be interested in attending. They request at the website linked below that attendees RSVP to cleggins@…. Sorry for the last minute notice.
Love & Liberty,
((( starchild )))
I don't believe Lawrence Reed was there; Robert Anthony Peters of the FEE alumni board seemed to be the main presenter. I can't say for sure on either count though, because aside from rolling in after the event had started (as is my frequent custom, lol!), it was quite loud in the bar where this was being held, and I couldn't hear much of what any of the speakers said. I think they mostly focused on just sort of telling people about the organization. So that part of the reception was a wash as far as I was concerned, but I did have some great conversation with some of the attendees, of whom there may have been around 50 or so. Not many I knew from local activist circles either. Jim Elwood of ISIL and Denise Kalm of the Contra Costa LP were two familiar faces. I asked permission to say a few words to the assembled folks but Robert politely turned down the offer. The fact that most people probably would not have been able to hear much of what I said anyway lessened the disappointment of not being given a chance to make a group of presumably libertarian-minded folks know about some of the opportunities for local activism. I heard about it from the Independent Institute notice below, which was passed along to me by South Bay activist Elizabeth Brierly.
Love & Liberty,
((( starchild )))
Hi Starchild,
It seems you didn’t get your “money’s worth” at the event.
Still, when you said, “I heard about [this event] from the Independent Institute notice below,” I had expected to see a link, but I saw none. (When I looked at the Independent Institute event listing, I didn’t see your event: http://staging2.independent.org/)
I’m sorry they picked a poor venue for its bad acoustics. If Robert Anthony Peters and the other speakers only wanted to talk about FEE, why? Did they want to recruit new members? Didn’t they have a Q&A? If so, why wouldn’t they let you speak? What a bummer!
But if did want to “make a group of presumably libertarian-minded folks know about some of the opportunities for local activism,” it seems you wanted to “talk politics,” yes? If so, you should know that, according to their website, “The Foundation for Economic Education is a non-political, non-profit, tax-exempt educational foundation and accepts no taxpayer money.” By “tax-exempt,” means the IRS limits FEE’s politicizing. See: http://www.fee.org/about/#axzz2fLM5Q3aJ
Anyhow, FEE is a great source of, well, Economic Education. If you have some spare cash, contribute to FEE and get their excellent monthly publication, “The Freeman.” (https://www.fee.org/donate/)
Well, good to hear from you. Hope all is well.
Talk to you.
Alton
I don’t believe Lawrence Reed was there; Robert Anthony Peters of the FEE alumni board seemed to be the main presenter. I can’t say for sure on either count though, because aside from rolling in after the event had started (as is my frequent custom, lol!), it was quite loud in the bar where this was being held, and I couldn’t hear much of what any of the speakers said. I think they mostly focused on just sort of telling people about the organization. So that part of the reception was a wash as far as I was concerned, but I did have some great conversation with some of the attendees, of whom there may have been around 50 or so. Not many I knew from local activist circles either. Jim Elwood of ISIL and Denise Kalm of the Contra Costa LP were two familiar faces. I asked permission to say a few words to the assembled folks but Robert politely turned down the offer. The fact that most people probably would not have been able to hear much of what I said anyway lessened the disappointment of not being given a chance to make a group of presumably libertarian-minded folks know about some of the opportunities for local activism. I heard about it from the Independent Institute notice below, which was passed along to me by South Bay activist Elizabeth Brierly.
Love & Liberty,
((( starchild )))
Alton,
There was no charge for the event, and they had free wine and hors d'oeuvres, so I'm not feeling put out. I'm not upset that a poor venue was picked; live and learn. I hope that they (and we) will do more grassroots-level events and get better at it. Groups like FEE are trying to change the world to make it a place with more freedom, just like we in the Libertarian Party are. If we interpret the government's arbitrary rules and regulations about non-profit status and such narrowly so as to prevent us from effectively cooperating and working together even in relatively informal ways, we only hurt our shared cause. Putting narrow organizational interests ahead of the interests of the movement hurts the movement. I believe many people associated with FEE probably understand this, as do many people in the LP and other libertarian movement groups.
There's an excellent article by Max Borders in the current issue of The Freeman which I picked up at last night's event ("Rational Mysticism for a Young Movement"). In that piece, Borders writes, "I hope you can agree that the factionalization and fracturing of libertarianism are counterproductive" and "attenuate our potency, just as we are ready to grow," observing that "many libertarians would like to define themselves out of any meaningful solidarity with the wider movement." He speaks positively of a "commitment to openness" and (quoting a pair of social psychologists Don Beck and Chris Cowan) "combin(ing) an organism's necessary self-interest with the interests of the communities in which it participates."
Good to hear from you too.
Love & Liberty,
((( starchild )))