AFF will hold our monthly happy hour on Thursday, November 29th at 6:00 pm at Top of the Hill (the upstairs of Pour House). The address is 319 Pennsylvania Avenue, SE, a few blocks from the Capitol South metro station on the Orange and Blue lines. As always, there is no cover and there are specials on wine and selected beers. Just look for AFF members wearing little orange AFF lapel pins.

Joining us will be Megan Huack from Senator McConnell’s office and Neil Bradley from the Minority Whip’s office. Come for drinks and the chance to meet some AFF -friendly Hill staffers. We look forward to seeing you there!

On Monday, November 12th, AFF will host a roundtable discussing private security contractors. Since private firms started taking a larger role in American efforts in Iraq, critics have dubbed them mercenaries and called for criminal investigations. Proponents of contractors argue that they’ve been essential to the security of both troops and civilians in a warzone. But are private contractors really private when they take on the powers of the state? Should they be limited? Have they helped us, or hurt us, in Iraq?

Joining us in the discussion will be Mark Hemingway of National Review, Jillian Bandes of Roll Call, Charles Pena of the Independent Institute, and Christian Lowe, managing editor of Military.com The event will take place at the Fund for American Studies, 1706 New Hampshire Avenue, NW, near Dupont Circle. Drinks at 6:30; Roundtable begins at 7:00. Roundtables are free for members, $5 for non-members. So join today! Please RSVP to Cindy Cerquitella at cindy@americasfuture.org.

This month, AFF will host its annual Halloween happy hour on Wednesday, October 31st. Make sure to wear your most ghoulishly garish costume and head on over to The Big Hunt in Dupont Circle. Check out pictures from our past Halloween Happy Hours here, here, and here.

Joining us for this event is special guest Clark Neily, Co-counsel to the local citizens in the D.C. Gun ban case currently being heard before the Supreme Court. Neily’s work has the potential to bring a Supreme Court decision regarding the overall constitutionality of gun laws throughout the country. In addition, Clark is a senior attorney at the Institute for Justice. He will provide a brief insight into this historic case and he’ll be available for questions. In addition, a plaintiff in the case, Cato Institute’s own Tom Palmer, will also be on hand.

The event will take place in the basement of The Big Hunt, 1245 Connecticut Avenue on Wednesday October 31st, starting at 6 p.m. The nearest metro stop is Dupont Circle, on the red line. Drink specials include: $3 house drafts and rail drinks and 1$ off all other drinks.

On Wednesday, October 24, AFF will host a roundtable on atheism. Though historically disorganized and decreasingly popular on the national political scene, fundamentalist Christianity has retained enough force to attract a powerful new salvo of criticism. Some charge that what Andrew Sullivan calls ‘Christianism’ has collapsed the wall between faith and government, harming both. Others seek to do away with religion entirely. Figures arrayed across both science and the humanities, like Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens, have published a wave of bestsellers making the atheist pitch to the masses. But instead of surrender, this diligent barrage has prompted an equally diligent counterattack. With western civilization at yet another moment of apparent peril, internecine cultural conflict could needlessly provoke another paralyzing crisis. To the contrary, such conflict may prove precisely the west’s enduring strength. Regardless, when cultural combatants go on offense, we judge them on the merits in those terms. How does what Peter Berkowitz calls the New New Atheism fare in that regard — harshly dogmatic or valuably reasonable?

Joining us to discuss these issues are Ross Douthat of the Atlantic Monthly, Will Wilkinson of the Cato Institute, Michael Brendan Dougherty of The American Conservative, and Keith Pavlischek of Ethics and Public Policy Center. James Poulos will moderate. The event will take place at the Fund for American Studies, 1706 New Hampshire Avenue, NW, near Dupont Circle. Drinks at 6:30; Roundtable begins at 7:00. Roundtables are free for members, $5 for non-members. So join today! Please RSVP to Kathleen O’Hearn at kathleen@americasfuture.org.

Please join AFF for a film screening this Thursday, September 27th. The American Film Renaissance Festival, celebrating filmmakers who support individual freedom, presents a screening of Weirdsville at the Georgetown Loews theater at 7 p.m. on Thursday followed by an after-party at Blue Gin co-hosted by the Institute for Humane Studies. Weirdsville is the hilarious story of two slackers who must unlock a safe to get money to pay off a local drug kingpin, all while fending off a bizarre cult with the assistance of vengeful midgets. For tickets to the film screening, please e-mail Kristen Soltis at kristen@americasfuture.org to be put on the RSVP list. These tickets are $5 for AFF members and $10 for non-members, and include access to the film screening. For information on ticket upgrades for the Blue Gin afterparty, please contact Kristen for details. See you Thursday evening! For information about Weirdsville, please visit http://www.weirdsville-the-movie.com.

On Wednesday, Septemeber 19th, AFF will present a roundtable discussion on healthcare. Conservatives tend to get tongue-tied when discussing health care policy. Other than opposition to “HillaryCare,” there isn’t much agreement on a conservative response to America’s health care problems. For example, some say we should focus on insuring the uninsured, while others believe that many of the uninsured are that way only temporarily or by choice. A series of different free-market plans have been proposed, ranging from Association Health Plans to health care tax credits. Should we advocate incremental steps or a bold change? Maybe reform won’t be driven by Washington but will come from the states. Are Massachusetts-style health insurance exchanges a model for the nation or the latest example of phony, big-government conservatism?

Joining us to discuss these issues are Michael Cannon of the Cato Institute, Greg D’Angelo of the Heritage Foundation, and Christie Raniszewski Herrera of the American Legislative Exchange Council. David Barnes of the Heritage Foundation will moderate. The event will take place at the Fund for American Studies, 1706 New Hampshire Avenue, NW, near Dupont Circle. Drinks at 6:30; Roundtable begins at 7:00. Roundtables are free for members, $5 for non-members. So join today! Please RSVP to Kathleen O’Hearn at kathleen@americasfuture.org.

Mark your calendars for Crabfest, AFF’s annual outdoor jamboree, on Saturday, Sept. 15th. We’ll have music, refreshments, and all the crabs, hot dogs and burgers you can handle. Crabfest takes place at the historic Collingswood Mansion in Alexandria, Virginia. The beautiful grounds overlook the water, with plenty of lawn for frisbee or other games. Come spend the afternoon with over a hundred of your fellow conservative and libertarian leaders.

The event will take place from 2 to 6 p.m. Tickets are only $25 for members, $40 for non-members. Join or renew for a $55 special membership rate that includes a Crabfest ticket! Reserve a whole table of 8 for your office or organization for only $300. Kids get in free. Pay for and reserve your ticket, membership, and table below.

Collingswood Mansion is at 8301 E Boulevard Dr, Alexandria, VA 22308. Directions: take George Washington Parkway South. Continue straight on N. Washington Street through Old Town Alexandria. Continue striaght and pick up GW Parkway again. Take a left on E. Boulevard Dr. Approx 25 minute drive. Click here for a map.

Check out pictures from past Crabfests by clicking here and here.

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AFF’s next monthly happy hour will take place on Wednesday, August, 15th at 6:30 p.m. at the Science Club with special guest Tyler Cowen. You might know Cowen from his two blogs, the influential Marginal Revolution and the indispensable Tyler Cowen’s Ethnic Dining Guide. He will be discussing his new book, Discover Your Inner Economist: Use Incentives to Fall in Love, Survive Your Next Meeting, and Motivate Your Dentist.

The event will take place at the Science Club, which is located at 1136 19th Street NW, and the nearest Metro stops are Farragut North on the Red Line and Farragut West on the Orange and Blue. AFF will be on the second floor.

This month’s AFF Underground takes us out to the National Mall on August 6th for the Screen on the Green showing of All The King’s Men, the 1949 film about politics, idealism and corruption. Luckily for everyone this event is free! You bring a blanket and drinks, AFF brings the snacks. This is the perfect opportunity to bring a new friend to an AFF event, or to come to an AFF Underground if you’ve never been before. We will be meeting at Hamilton’s (233 2nd St NW) at 6:15 and going straight to claim a spot on the mall. Please contact Kristen Soltis at kristen@americasfuture.org for details and to RSVP. See you on the 6th!

On Thursday, July 26th AFF will present the next installment in its Leadership Dinner Series, featuring Judge James P. Gray, author of “Why Our Drug Laws Have Failed and What We Can Do About It.” Based on his personal experience as a federal prosecutor and a trial judge in California, Gray makes a conservative case against the folly of the war on drugs–the taxpayer expense, the heartbreaking effects, and the resulting dangers to our liberty. Join us as Judge Gray offers a road map for what the next generation of conservative and libertarian leaders can do to take on one of our most vexing public policy issues.

Leadership Dinners are reserved partner, director, and executive level members. Please check with membership directors Sharon Yecies or Robby Schrum if you are unsure of your membership status.

The event will start 6:30 p.m. with a brief reception, dinner will begin at 7:00 p.m., and it will take place at the Arts Club located at 2017 Eye Street, NW, Washington, D.C. The nearest Metro stop is Farragut West.

Please RSVP to kathleen@americasfuture.org.