"What Part of 'Illegal' Do You Not Understand?" to be Title of Immigration Program When Valley Libertarian Group Meets on July 29
Illegal Immigration panel discussion will feature Carlos Rodriguez, immigration lawyer and Libertarian Party candidate for U. S. Congress, when the Valley Forge supper club meets on Thursday July 29, 2010, in the Nieuport Banquet Room of the 94th Aero Squadron Restaurant in Van Nuys, California.
Van Nuys, CA (PRWEB) July 24, 2010
On Thursday July 29, 2010, the Valley Forge Supper Club will feature as its main agenda item a program on the immigration issue, deliberately and provocatively entitled "What Part of 'Illegal' Do You Not Understand?" The event will be held in the Nieuport Room at the 94th Aero Squadron Restaurant located at 16320 Raymer St. in Van Nuys with reception beginning at 6:00 pm.
Already confirmed to take part in the evening's presentation are Los Angeles libertarians Ted Brown, Dan Fernandes, and Carlos Rodriguez. Brown has run for office on several occasions and has for many years served to recruit candidates to represent the Libertarian Party on the ballot in California. Fernandes ran in a contested primary for the Assembly District 59 seat. Rodriguez, himself having emigrated from Cuba, by way of New York, works as an immigration lawyer and is a candidate in the U. S. Congressional District 28 race. "All candidates are invited to talk for as long as they care to or dare to," says meeting organizer, Edward Bowers, of the Libertarian Party of the San Fernando Valley (LPSFV). "We want more of a panel discussion than a debate or a one-man show. We have a number of good candidates this year and immigration may not be one of their top issues of focus, but, as they say, if there are ten libertarians in a room, you will find a dozen differences of opinion on one subject, so if anyone has a perspective (fresh or otherwise) on the issue that they are not afraid to share, their participation is encouraged." Although not billed as a debate, "things could get lively," suggested Bowers, as all who attend the banquet will be able to participate once the evening enters Q & A. Also on the agenda there should be a debriefing of Freedom Fest from those in the group who attended the pro-freedom and free-market convention in Las Vegas earlier in the month.
Among the good candidates to which Bowers refers, there are many who hail from the San Fernando Valley region. Those running very active campaigns this season include statewide candidates Rick Bronstein (Insurance Commissioner), Pamela Brown (Lt. Governor) as well as Adrian Galysh, a Senate District 20 candidate, and Erich Miller, who will challenge incumbent Henry Waxman in the 30th Congressional District. Miller's campaign signs declare, "I'm putting Miller in Congress."
The Valley Forge was instituted by Edward Bowers, regional representative of the LPSFV, and currently the Party is the club's only sponsor, although Bowers is looking for co-sponsors as he envisions it as being less of an official Party product, and more of a philosophical libertarian supper club in the grand tradition of Southern California libertarian supper clubs of the past and present. Currently there is the Karl Hess Club which meets on 3rd Mondays in Culver City and they have added another meeting, which convenes just across the Orange County border, called the Konkin-Rothbard Limited because it only is slated to meet in month's where there is a 5th Monday. Similarly the Valley Forge is meant to be an irregular event, meeting only on the 5th Thursday of the month (when there is a 5th Thursday in the month). "It might be too much to ask the libertarian community to support another monthly supper club in L. A.," Bowers explained, "but I was determined to bring more intellectual fare north of Mulholland Drive." Not having to schedule a speaker every month gives Bowers more time to find quality programs. The club's inaugural meeting had a presentation on gun control by Brian Doherty of the Reason Foundation. "If you want folks to come out, Reason is always a good bet," Bowers quipped. "Oddly enough," he noted, "people running for office have not traditionally been a big draw." Yet in election year 2010, candidates have been featured on the agenda. In April, the club had a good turnout for Rick Bronstein, who spoke on healthcare. "When I scheduled him," Bowers reported, "the bill--which I call Corporate WelCare--was still in the House, but by the time Rick spoke, the cheers of 'Yes, we can' had already faded and the big thing in the news was Arizona. I said then that if we could have predicted what the hot current events topic would be, we probably should have scheduled a talk on illegal immigration. Well, here we are three months later, and maybe the oil leak will stay capped long enough that our timing will be right as the debate seems to be heating up again, give or take a few NAACP Tea Party resolutions." Bowers describes himself as "open-minded on open borders. I've heard the Welfare State caveat, and I expect to hear it again Thursday night, but I want more angles than that. I've asked for fearless libertarian perspectives and that is what I'm hoping for." That and a big crowd.
Featuring a unique décor and atmosphere, The 94th Aero Squadron Restaurant is situated at the northeast corner of the Van Nuys airport at 16320 Raymer St. The cross street is Woodley, which in turn intersects Roscoe Blvd, which is freeway close (405 Exit #68). Gathering begins as early as 6:00 PM, and early arrivals are encouraged (as are RSVP's). Dinner should start around 7:00 PM with the program beginning about 7:45 PM. This is a banquet-style event and so there is a set price of $28.00 for the entire dinner which will include the typical choices of meat, chicken, fish, or a vegetarian pasta dish. Members of the press may attend at a reduced cost of $25.00. RSVP to ebowers(at)mac(dot)com.
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