I've arranged a meeting with Piyali Bhattacharya, the Development Executive
of Young Americans for Liberty (YAL), at 10 AM on Wed. 11 April in the Opera
Plaza meeting room, 601 Van Ness Ave., in SF in response to her call to me
saying she'll be in SF and would like to tell me and others about YAL. I
know little about them and wish to learn more.
Would you like to join us?
Please suggest issues/questions of interest to you so I may prepare them in
advance.
Agenda items so far:
1. Why is YAL separate from SFL? (Marc)
2. YAL's foreign policy positions. (Francoise)
3. How does YAL stand on Israel and U.S. involvement with it. (Francoise)
4. What do they think of the U.S. tendency to get involved all over the
world? Should the U.S. maintain troops in innumerable foreign countries?
(Francoise)
5. What is YAL's position on separation of church and state and issues like
abortion? (Francoise)
6. What is YAL's position on American imperialism? Are they as serious
about non-intervention as Ron Paul? (Marcy)
7. What is the difference between YAL and SFL? (Michael)
8. What is YAL's strategy for promoting libertarian ideas? (Casey)
9. Is YAL more focused on working within the Republican Party than SFL?
(Casey)
10. How do they view immigration? (Aubrey)
11. How does Young Americans for Liberty compare with Students for Liberty
in the following areas: (Starchild)
-Bottom-up governance -- To what extent is the organization governed in a
decentralist, transparent, and democratic manner, with power primarily in
the hands of grassroots activists rather than a small, centralized
leadership?
-Sustainability of the group as libertarian - What safeguards are in place
to guarantee the organization will continue to stand for and promote
libertarian ideas no matter who may get involved or be running it in the
future?
-Methodological radicalism -- How willing is the organization to boldly
embrace guerilla activism, civil disobedience, and other rock-the-boat
methods and tactics?
-Movement solidarity -- To what extent is the organization committed to
working with and supporting other libertarian movement groups, including the
Libertarian Party, and to prioritize this allegiance to our broader movement
over narrow "fiduciary responsibility" to the organization or
jealous/cautious safeguarding of its non-profit status?
Warm regards, Michael