Archive for category Symposium Notes
Hayek Dinner Update: Ty Cobb on Reagan’s WH
Posted by Tom in Symposium Notes on March 16, 2011
Those of us who attended last evening enjoyed an excellent insiders view of the Reagan White House. Ty Cobb’s presentation was interspersed with candid photos and colorful stories of the characters surrounding one of our great presidents. Ty would quote Reagan with such realism that your could close your eyes and picture the man himself. The challenges faced by the Reagan team both from a domestic economic standpoint and an international security standpoint were daunting and difficult. It was truly wonderful to have a deep insider on that team give us the up close and personal view. Thank you Ty Cobb.
We also announced our new companion website for the Hayek Group, http://hayekgroup.org. While its still in a build mode, we welcome your comments and suggestions.
RENO HAYEK SYMPOSIUM MARCH DINNER
Posted by Tom in Symposium Notes on February 21, 2011
Our next Hayek Dinner is Tuesday, March 15th, ArrowCreek CC at 6 PM. This February we celebrated the centennial of President Reagan’s birth. Given this group’s conservative philosophy, it is only appropriate to recognize that great man and his indelible mark on our country. We are honored to have Tyrus W. Cobb, who served in the Reagan White House, present some up close and personal stories with a lot of great photos of Reagan, Gorbachev, and Allied leaders.
Ty is currently CEO of the Northern Nevada Network, the select group of area business executives. A Nevada native he mixed his western upbringing and a B.A. from UNR, with a M.A. from Indiana and a Ph.D. from Georgetown. That education was interrupted with two stints in Viet Nam, which we will hear a bit about. But the Potomac fever contracted at Georgetown, lasted. He served as an NSC Director of Soviet and European Affairs at the White House, then as Special Assistant to the President from 1983-89.
His subject will be “Reagan and the Russians”, as he helped organize both the Geneva and Reykjavík summit meetings. At the NSC, his responsibilities included devising coordinated NATO/West policies for dealing with the USSR to promote positive change, and maintaining consensus among the allies in carrying out that strategy. A participant in many private meetings with President Reagan and various world leaders, he will share with us his intimate perspectives on Reagan and his relationships with Gorbachev, Thatcher, Mulroney, Kohl and Pope John Paul II. Dr. Cobb will provide firsthand insights into the role of other participants in those epic times as well, including George H.W. Bush, Tip O’Neill, Colin Powell, Oliver North, and Bob Gates. And yes, Ty speaks Russian!
Ty with President Reagan on Air Force One
Our usual format, no host buffet dinner and cash bar, will pertain. This is a special event for us and we expect a full house, so get your RSVP in early via email, to tjm2@charter.net. I look forward to seeing you Tuesday, March 15th, at the Arrow Creek CC at 6 PM. The cost is $25, payable at the door.
New Media Gets the Message Out
Posted by Tom in Free Speech, National Character, Politics, Symposium Notes on February 17, 2011
Greg Casey wowed his audience at this month’s Reno Hayek Symposium dinner. As president of BIPAC and the ultimate Washington insider, Greg educated us on “self selected media.” A growing plurality of today’s voters no longer rely on what’s fed to them by traditional news sources, witness the decline in circulation of major newspapers. Instead they self select, they choose their preferred news source on line. To prove the point, he reached in his pocket, pulled out an iPnone and ask, “how many of you have one of these.” He had ‘em believing for the rest of the evening.
Do you tweet? Are you active on Facebook or just a lurker? What’s that you say? The point is that to get the message out as a business, social group, or politician, you need to be expert in the online media. If you are, people will self select your Tweets, Facebook comments, or blog.
Greg continued with his BIPAC message. Employers need to communicate with their employees. Employers are the greatest source of information which effects their workers, yet they do not take advantage on this position. And surveys show that employees want more employer communication.
How will Obamacare effect my group medical plan? Will CO2 restrictions impact our company and my job? What’s this about the FHA forcing banks to lend to more deadbeats? How will the continued deficits and unsustainable debt effect our company’s products in international markets? The employer is the major credible source of information on all these close to home issues. Greg’s message is to get active and use new media to stay active.
Back to politics, Greg used the Tea Party and the growing number of independents to show that voters increasingly identify themselves not with a party but with values and ideas. The values and ideas win elections. And, as recently illustrated in Egypt, a minority of people, using new media to broadcast appealing values and ideas, can topple governments.
Which gets us back to our purpose at Reno Hayek, to articulate conservative solutions to current issues and to support their intelligent champions. With regard to this second part we announced the formation of a political action arm of the Hayek Group which will roll out in March.
We thank Greg Casey for a great evening; see: http://bipac.org.
We also thank Ryan Costella for his update on EmpowermentNV, check out the new website: http://www.Empowermentnevada.com, and “Own It.” Also John Dunn gave a status update on NV4CFE; see: http://NV4CFE.org.
Save the date for our next dinner Tuesday March 15th.
BIPAC CEO Greg Casey to Kick Off Our 2011 Program
Posted by Tom in Symposium Notes on January 18, 2011
With the November election now history and changes already taking place in D.C. there is no one better to kick off our year than Greg Casey, President and CEO of the Business-Industry Political Action Committee (BIPAC), the ultimate Washing to insider.
Greg, a personal friend of Randy York’s, has a fascinating background which includes Legislative Director and Chief of Staff to a member in the U.S. House of Representatives, Chief of Staff to a member of the U. S. Senate, Transition Director for the newly elected Governor of Idaho, Interior Transition Team for the newly elected President of the United States, Deputy Chief of Staff in the Office of the Senate Majority Leader and as an elected officer of Congress, serving as the 34th Sergeant at Arms and Doorkeeper of the United States Senate where he served as Chairman of both the United States Capitol Police Board and the Capitol Guide Service and on the Board of the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center.
We expect Greg to share some old inside stories and to give his initial thoughts on the new folks in Washington. I’d particularly like to hear whatever insight he can give on the current seemingly overreaching regulatory environment, particularly at the EPA, FCC and HHS. At the end of the evening I’d anticipate either a great case of Potomac fever or a great aversion to it!
We will welcome Greg to our podium on Tuesday February 15h.
Monthly Reno Hayek Symposium Dinner
Posted by Tom in Deficit, Economics, Financial Crisis, Financial Policy, Symposium Notes on April 21, 2010
Last evenings Symposium Dinner was a double-header first with an excellent presentation by Howard Fletcher whom Bob Skach sponsored for the dinner. Howard brought his extensive credentials in international business to bear in discussing the current economy from a big picture, 50,000 foot perspective. Detailed statistics backed up the main lesson, that our over leverage, over consumption, and under savings caused this “balance sheet” recession. Different from an “inventory” recession because it is caused by inflated values yet constant high debt levels, while the inventory recession is a simple temporary unbalance of supply and demand. The problem here is the lingering nature of the downturn and slow recovery, in this case exacerbated by government mistakes. (What’s new!) Again in this case given the multiple deficit levels, concomitant debt and horrendous unfunded liabilities at all government levels the future is dire short and near term. But Howard does forecast a start-stop recovery in the second half of the decade.
Our second speaker, Tom Cargill presented his provocative thoughts on the Fed’s anticipated exit from its unprecedented free money policy. This both in terms of zero interest rates and historic, dramatic expansion of money supply (M2). The $12 Trillion of deficits and debt was shockingly illustrated with Federal Reserve graphs. Tom made the point that the political pressure to keep the status quo will not abate. Next, the so-called “independence” of the Fed is ofttimes illusory in face of that pressure. Thus the only issue is the Fed’s political will to use its ample tools to start removing the punchbowl from the party.
After the presentations those in attendance undertook a lively exchange which was at times very telling, at least in the sense that each participant knew what the conclusions were. We face a dismal immediate future. Leaders from both parties tend to get bit by Potomac fever and avoid proper but hard decisions. There is a good chance of a revolution in the two upcoming election cycles as a strong majority of the electorate resent big government. The role of the government is the issue. Given agreement that it is too all-consuming, the question is how to effectively keep restricting and diminishing it.
I want to thank Howard and Tom for a thought provoking evening and great fodder for future discussions.