2007 EVENTS

November 7, 2007

The Young Leaders Circle wrapped up the year with an outstanding presentation by Steve Forbes. True to his reputation as the nation’s leading advocate for the flat tax, reform of Social Security, and free-market solutions to what ails American health care—Steve spoke about all three in relation to the US economy.

October 3, 2007

On October 3rd, John Leo and Peter Berkowitz joined the Young Leader's Circle to discuss the state of higher education today and the 20th anniversary of Allan Bloom's book, The Closing of the American Mind.

Earlier that day, both Leo and Berkowitz participated in a Manhattan Institute/New Criterion conference commemorating the 20th anniversary of Allan Bloom's groundbreaking best-seller. They brought part of the conference discussion to the Young Leaders Circle, addressing the relevance of Bloom's work today and the challenge of reopening the American campus.

John Leo is editor of MindingTheCampus.com, a web magazine sponsored by the Manhattan Institute's Center for the American University. His recent WashingtonPost.com article, Among Collegiate Educators, A Disturbing Hegemony, serves as a mission statement for the Center for the American University and for higher-education reformers across the country. Peter Berkowitz is a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution and teaches at George Mason University School of Law. His recent Wall Street Journal article Our Compassless Colleges lamented the failure of today's universities to honor the tradition of liberal education.

September 5, 2007

On September 5th, Brian Anderson, author of South Park Conservatives: The Revolt Against Liberal Media Bias, visited the YLC. Brian explained the history of the so-called Fairness Doctrine, President's Reagan wise decision to abolish it, and the tremendous growth in conservative media—and conservative political success—that followed. Brian discussed recent efforts to revive the Fairness Doctrine in a transparent effort to muzzle right-of-center voices on radio, cable television, and the internet, and a clear infringement of First Amendment rights.

July 18, 2007

The immigration debate has inflamed passions, provoked controversy, and set traditional allies against one another. And that's just within the conservative movement! On July 18th, Steve Malanga joined us to offer perspective on immigration through a discussion of three components of the debate:

• The history of different waves of immigration to the U.S.
• The legacy of immigration legislation
• How the consensus among immigration researchers has changed

Steve Malanga is a Manhattan Institute senior fellow and senior editor of City Journal. He writes about the intersection of urban economies, business communities, and public policy. Please click here for more information about Steve, including links to his writings. His comprehensive and insightful works on immigration are a must-read!

June 6, 2007

John Stossel, correspondent and co-anchor of ABCNEWS 20/20 and host of The John Stossel Specials, discussed his upcoming one-hour special debunking the myths of a government-run health-care system. To air on July 13th, http://abcnews.go.com/2020/Stossel/.

With Michael Moore once again the toast of Cannes for his new propaganda film Sicko—which vilifies the U.S. health-care system while glorifying Cuba and Canada’s alleged abilities to provide adequate healthcare for all—John Stossel and his team have produced a stinging rebuttal that lays out the grim reality of socialized health care.

May 2, 2007

On May 2nd, the Young Leaders Circle heard from Peter Huber, a leading expert on the science of energy and energy policy, explained why our energy supply is infinite, how energy waste can benefit us, and why so-called "efficiency" is, in fact, detrimental to satiating America's long-term energy needs.

Peter is a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute and author of The Bottomless Well: The Twilight of Fuel, The Virtue of Waste and Why we will Never Run Out Of Energy.

During a 2005 interview with Fortune Magazine, Bill Gates, founder and chairman of Microsoft, identified The Bottomless Well as one of the best books he has read.

April 4, 2007

On April 4th William Kristol discussed "The War We Are In".

Since before the events of September 11th, William Kristol has been offering commentary on the global war on terror, American national security, and the political environment in which the two intersect. On April 4th, the Young Leaders Circle was honored to hear Mr. Kristol discuss his views on the current state of public policy, from the context of his own experience with academia, government, and the mass media.

William Kristol is the editor of The Weekly Standard.

March 7, 2007

On March 7th Brian Doherty discussed his new book, Radicals for Capitalism (Public Affairs, 2007).

Based on original research and interviews with more than 100 key sources, Brian Doherty's revelatory book traces the evolution of libertarianism through the unconventional life stories of its most influential leaders—Ludwig von Mises, F.A. Hayek, Ayn Rand, Murray Rothbard, and Milton Friedman—and through the personal battles, character flaws, love affairs, and historical events that altered its course. Doherty provides a fascinating new perspective on American history—from the New Deal, through the culture wars of the 1960s, to today's most divisive political issues.

Brian Doherty is a senior editor of Reason magazine, the libertarian monthly, found here www.reason.com.

February 7, 2007

John O'Sullivan spoke about his new book The President, the Pope, and the Prime Minister (Regnery 2007). He knew all three, serving as the Prime Minister Thatcher's Special Advisor, covered the Reagan presidency as a Washington columnist, and has written regularly on Pope John Paul II and the Catholic Church's influence on international relations.

For the book he conducted exclusive interviews that shed extraordinary new light on these giants of the twentieth century and how these three great figures changed the course of history.

John O'Sullivan is editor-at-large of National Review and editor-in-chief of The National Interest.

January 17, 2007

New York Times columnist David Brooks addressed the inaugural meeting of the Manhattan Institute's Young Leaders Circle on January 17th. Brooks described his own evolution from socialist to conservative—including his youthful satire of William F. Buckley and his humbling televised debate with Milton Friedman—and stressed the critical importance of fresh policy ideas for a healthy American political culture. Following his always humorous remarks, Brooks took questions on subjects ranging from the War on Terror to the future of the Republican party in the northeast United States.
David’s New York Times column.

Also of interest, David wrote the chapter on City Journal, in our 25th Anniversary book, Turning Intellect into Influence.