Appearance report

I got through my appearance for the Brandeis University National Women's Committee, Laguna Hills Chapter rather nicely. The committee, whose central purpose is to support the Brandeis University library, holds monthly meetings and invites speakers four times a year.

I had the opportunity to to explain that the Register's editorial pages re separate from the news pages, that the editorial pages are rooted in a philosophy that holds indivudal liberty to be the most important political principle, and that it's not the same as being conservative, as many believe.

I explained how our philosophy led us to oppose the Iraq war from the outset, going into some detail on the differences between preemptive (justifiable) and preventive (almost never justifiable) war, and finally got to the stated topic, whether the election Tuesday will be a refenedum on the war. I suggested it would be if the Democrats win big, not just taking a House majority by a seat or two, but gaining 25 or more seats on the Republicans (15 needed to gain the majority.

Laguna Woods being a retirement community, the audience was mostly fairly elderly, mostly female. The Q&A session was lively, with a lot of viewpoints expressed and many people suitably skeptical about our government -- as an institution, not necessarily just an administration -- being able to much of anything right. All in all an enjoyable experience. Contact me at abock@ocregister.com if you want to book me as a speaker.