Bob McNair and the Free Enterprise Institute

I did something different today.  First, I got up at 5:00 AM, very different for me.  These days, I only rise before 7:30 very reluctantly but Madeleine and I had been invited through Holy House to a special breakfast at a country club forty-five minutes away.  Desired arrival time was 6:40 AM.  I knew nothing about the sponsors of the breakfast or what we would be doing so I had minimal expectations.  Little did I know that I would be in the room with Bob McNair, owner of the Houston Texans, along with many other very impressive members of the Free Enterprise Institute.  We were at their annual Founders' Day Breakfast.

The food was good but I hardly noticed, overwhelmed as I was by both the brain power of the speakers and their commitment to liberty and the principles upon which our government is founded.  Bob McNair made the excellent point that liberty is an intangible and intangibles are fragile.  He said we could easily wake up in a socialist nation where control rests with the government instead of the people if we take our liberty for granted and fail to act to preserve it.  He made a football joke as well.

The key note speaker, Dr. Christian Kopff, spoke about the importance of studying latin and the classics.  He made quite a few statements about the poor curriculum, approach and expectations of the public schools.  The mission of the Free Enterprise Institute is to educate the electorate so his speech was especially appropriate.  The man who introduced Dr. Kopff told him he would be expecting great things of him next year because last year's keynote speaker is now the front runner for the Republican nomination for the presidency, Herman Cain.  That got a laugh.

I'm so excited to have heard about the Free Enterprise Institute.  I feel privileged that it is here in Houston.  I still have some research to do on it but, at first glance, it seems to be a real beacon of hope in dark times.

Oh--and I left with an armload of books including:

Econoclasts: The Rebels Who Sparked the Supply-Side Revolution and Restored American Prosperity by: Brian Domitrovic  I think he was my favorite speaker.  He is a historian whose specialty is economic history, specifically, the history of economic crises.  He had a lot to say about both our current situation and the solution and is working with Herman Cain on his economic policy.

Economics in One Lesson by Henry Hazlitt  This is a sort of overview of basic economics that I am hoping to use with Madeleine.  It will not be a chore as I loved econ.

The Devil Knows Latin: Why America Needs the Classical Tradition by: E. Chistian Kopff  Written by the keynote speaker.  I confess that the title grabbed my attention.  That and Holy House follows a classical curriculum so I'm interested to hear what this professor has to say.

I also got a book compliments of Bob McNair called This is Herman Cain: My journey to the White House.  Optimistic title. Gotta like that.

OK--time to study (after I watch House)!