State+Policy+Network

Capitalism - Congress - Conservatives - Constitution - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - Energy - Free Speech - Free Trade - GOP - Illinois - Liberals - Republicans - Society/Culture - State Government - Taxes - Warner Todd Huston

Last Thoughts on SPN 2009

November 5, 2009 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

Some final thoughts on the State Policy Network‘s 17th Annual Conference.

It was invigorating to be able to share a conference with so many folks of like mind, a conservative, free market, liberty-minded mien. And with nearly 500 participants, the biggest conference they’ve yet had, it was something very worth attending if you are interested in furthering these sorts of policies among the various states.

But I have to say one thing that this conference proved and it is something that is, in the end, detrimental for the country. This was a 500 person conference where each participant spent no less than $1,000 to attend, many spent far more. There we saw free market think tanks from every state all trying to find ways to defeat the extreme Obama left. We have all this effort, all this money, all this time spent to defeat liberalism all in evidence at the conference. While that is good because it needs to be done, the sad thing is that it has to be done in the first place. The fact that this conference gets bigger every year and that more and more people from across the country have created state policy organizations to fight the un-American left is sad, when you get right down to it.
Continue reading “

Last Thoughts on SPN 2009″

Barack Obama - Business - Capitalism - Congress - Conservatives - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - Free Trade - Freedom - GOP - Health - House of Representatives - Journalism - Liberals - President - Republicans - Society/Culture - State Government - Warner Todd Huston

SPN 2009 Conference: Final Day

November 4, 2009 by 8 Comments

-By Warner Todd Huston

The Wednesday session began with a breakfast address by James K. Glassman the former Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs, U.S. Dept. of State during the George W. Bush administration. He spoke on Internet freedom (as opposed to net neutrality) and expressed his hope that a thousand Internet flowers would bloom without onerous regulation squelching it all. (I’ll add some photos later once I return home. All the camera stuff is packed up for the trip home at his time)

Mr. Glassman is about to begin his new role as the executive director of the forthcoming George W. Bush Institute to be housed in Dallas, Texas at the soon to be built G.W. Bush library.

I asked him if he could keep in mind the danger that state taxation presents to the Internet and urged him not just to focus on the federal threat that the Obama administration is presenting at this time. He agreed and I am hopeful that this subject will form a part of his future strategy.
Continue reading “

SPN 2009 Conference: Final Day”

ACORN - Business - Conservatives - Economy/Finances - Education - Illinois - Republicans - Sam Adams Alliance - State Government - Taxes - Warner Todd Huston

State Policy Network Conference Update

November 3, 2009 by 3 Comments

-By Warner Todd Huston

I have been ensconced in meetings on grassroots organizing, fundraising, tech and all sorts of things here at the SPN 17th annual conference in beautiful Asheville, North Carolina organized by the State Policy Network. I have to thank my host Adam Radman, Programs and Communications Manager of Americans for Tax Reform, for giving me this great opportunity to network with state policy organizations from every state of the Union.


The opening speech was given by Robert Levy, Chairman of the CATO Institute. He spoke on Libertarian-conservative perspectives on federalism, the enumerated powers in the Constitution and the possibilities of tort reform. Annoyingly a fellow in the audience asked of Levy why we should favor federalism over liberty. Levy patiently explained that the talk he gave was narrowly constrained on the topic and wasn’t in any way meant to posit that federalism was more important than freedom and liberty. There’s always one in the crowd, isn’t there?
Continue reading “

State Policy Network Conference Update”

Budget - Conservatives - Economy/Finances - Education - Free Trade - Freedom - Republicans - Society/Culture - State Government - Taxes - Warner Todd Huston

The 17th Annual State Policy Network Conference

November 2, 2009 by 2 Comments

-By Warner Todd Huston

The first half of this week I’ll be attending the State Policy Network’s annual meeting, this year in Asheville, North Carolina. It is being held at The Gove, a fantastic (and huge) hotel/resort complex here in the beautiful North Carolina hills.

I will be attending all sorts of interesting seminars on the New Media, organizing, funding, etc. It’s a pretty jam packed schedule, so I am not sure how much time I will have for reporting back.

The Gove is a testament to American can-do spirit that has been stifled by government today. This humongous complex was built by a family in a years time with the aide of one steam shovel and a crew of men with mules, pulleys, and ropes.

In any case, I hope to get back to the hotel here and write a bit about the first day later tonight.
____________
Warner Todd Huston is a Chicago based freelance writer, has been writing opinion editorials and social criticism since early 2001 and is featured on many websites such as RightWingNews.com, CanadaFreePress.com, StoptheACLU.com, TheRealityCheck.org, RedState.com, Human Events Magazine, AmericanDailyReview.com, and the New Media Journal, among many, many others. Additionally, he has been a frequent guest on talk-radio programs to discuss his opinion editorials and current events and is currently the co-host of “Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Conservatism” heard on BlogTalkRadio. Warner is also the editor of the Cook County Page for RedCounty.com.

He has also written for several history magazines and appears in the new book “Americans on Politics, Policy and Pop Culture” which can be purchased on amazon.com. He is also the owner and operator of PubliusForum.com. Feel free to contact him with any comments or questions : EMAIL Warner Todd Huston

Fair Use: This site may contain copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. I am making such material available in my efforts to advance understanding of political, human rights, economic, democracy, and social justice issues, etc. I believe this constitutes a ‘fair use’ of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research, educational, or satirical purposes. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site/blog for purposes of your own that go beyond ‘fair use’, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.