Posted on 09/03/2004 3:14:49 PM PDT by sinanju
September 7 - Author and constitutional scholar Matthew Spalding to address D.C. TownHall MeetUp concerning "gay marriage," Marriage Amendment and judicial activism. 7:00 - 8:00 pm
The Van Andel Center, The Heritage Foundation, 214 Massachusetts Avenue, NE Washington, DC 2002
Greetings D.C. Freepers,
I am Sanja "sinanju" Ivanchukov, "Organizer" (read: den mother) of the DC TownHall.com MeetUp. Previous to this we were a loose-knit group of six to ten individuals who would get together at a local brew pub and jawbone about the issues of the day. About six weeks ago I took over the previously vacant job of organizer and began to try and crank things up to a higher level. Events have been running ahead of me ever since.
Of all the local conservative-oriented MeetUps within Planet Beltway, we TownHallers are blessed by being organized under the the aegis of TownHall.com/Heritage which means we have a guardian angel in the person of one Carolyn McKinney, "Community Coordinator" who seeks to guide and facilitate the gestation and growth of TownHall MeetUps across the land. Thanks to her, I have a larger than usual event dropped in my lap and am now busily struggling to fill it without either publicity budget or previous experience.
Just so you know the D.C. TownHall MeetUp usually gathers the first Tuesday of the month at Capitol City Brewing Company, 2700 S. Quincy Street, Arlington, in fashionable Shirlington Village at 7:00 pm. That is our regular watering hole but I am now trying to expand our horizons.
Our next gathering will be held Tuesday, September 7th, 7:00 pm at the Van Andel Center (conf. room) at The Heritage Foundation at 214 Mass. Ave., (a block-and-a-half east from Union Station). Free parking IS available behind the building (entrance off 3rd St. North of Massachusetts Avenue), We will be addressed by author and constitutional scholar Matthew Spalding. He will be speaking on the gay marriage issue and the proposed Marriage Amendment. The talk is free to anyone who might want to attend and give our speaker a listen. (http://www.heritage.org/About/Staff/MatthewSpalding.cfm)
"Matthew Spalding serves as both Director of the B. Kenneth Simon Center for American Studies and Director of Lectures and Educational Programs at The Heritage Foundation. An expert on American political history, constitutionalism, religious liberty, civil rights, government reform, and civic renewal, Previously, Spalding was a Senior Policy Analyst at The Claremont Institute, a public policy think tank in Southern California, where he is currently an Adjunct Fellow.
He is a graduate of Claremont McKenna College and has a Ph.D. in Government from The Claremont Graduate School, where his work concentrated on government, political philosophy and American political thought. A Henry Salvatori Dissertation Fellow with the Intercollegiate Studies Institute, he has taught American government at George Mason University, the Catholic University of America and Claremont McKenna College. Spalding is author of A Sacred Union of Citizens: Washington's Farewell Address and the American Character, the co-editor of Patriot Sage: George Washington and the American Political Tradition and the editor of The Founders' Almanac: A Practical Guide to the Notable Events, Greatest Leaders & Most Eloquent Words of the American Founding."
Mr. Spalding is also more recently editor of The Enduring Principles of the American Founding, and author of Heritage Pocket Guide to the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States. He will be speaking on the proposed marriage amendment and the alternate strategy of stripping jurisdiction over marriage from the Federal Court system.
Mr. Spalding's speech and Q&A is expected to last from 7:00 to 8:00 pm (after which, they will kick us out of the building). Carolyn suggests that we then repair to the Heritage employees' favorite watering hole: Red River Grill right across the street for eats, suds and further uplifting discourse (i.e. yelling at each other over the din).
That is the plan for our MeetUp. I figure there might be numerous Freepers in the DC area who might find this little soiree to be of at least passing interest; being as this is a very topical issue and we are at ground zero of the Marriage Amendment fracas. If you have any questions please email me (sivanchukov@hotmail.com). If you want to check on the meetings' bona fides just check with Mrs. McKinney (Carolyn.McKinney@heritage.org) or call her at (202) 608-6099. Thank you and enjoy your Labor Day weekend.
Hoping to see you there, Sanja Ivanchukov, Organizer, DC TownHall MeetUp
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