• Michael Medved, nationally-syndicated talk show host, on "Israeli and Palestinian Elections: Two Models of Middle Eastern Democracy"
• Michelle Bernard, president of Independent Women’s Forum, on "Women’s Participation in the Democratic Processes in Iraq and Afghanistan"
• Ralph Peters, author of Beyond Baghdad, on "The Age of Faith & Terror: Religion as the Missing Strategic Factor"

I’d love for you to join me in a few weeks. The price is right ($75/day with banquets, $25/day without), and the opportunities for learning and networking are enormous.
 
Goldman Sachs Picks Environmentalists over Shareholders

When you invest your money in a company, you expect it to be used to grow the business and make you money, not to line the pockets of liberals.

The chairman of investment company Goldman Sachs doesn’t seem to understand this. According to the National Legal and Policy Center (NLPC), Henry Paulson is allowing his personal politics and volunteer interests to overshadow his commitment to his shareholders and employees.

Goldman Sachs recently donated 680,000 acres of land in Chile to a group connected to the Nature Conservancy, which Paulson also chairs. In addition, Goldman adopted an environmental policy last fall that parallels the agenda of the environmental nonprofit.

Outraged by this apparent conflict of interest, NLPC has filed a shareholder proposal for consideration at the Goldman Sachs annual meeting next week. The proposal asks for the Board to determine whether Paulson has violated the company’s Code of Business Conduct and Ethics.

In a letter to free-market shareholders, Steven Milloy and Tom Borelli of the Free Enterprise Action Fund agree with NLPC:

Goldman’s Code of Business Conduct and Ethics generally prohibits personal interests, including those involving family members, from interfering with firm interests. Goldman’s actions should instead rely on sound business, economic and scientific analyses, and not the personal, social and political interests of executives. Such conflicts of interest may reduce shareholder value.

Incidentally, the Free Enterprise Action Fund allows those of us on the Right a place at the table of these shareholder meetings to keep liberals from using corporations to push through agendas too extreme to make it through Congress.

Getting America Right Hits NYT Best Sellers List

I had the pleasure of being with Townhall.com Chairman Doug Wilson last week when he got the news: Getting America Right, the book he coauthored with Heritage Foundation President Ed Feulner, had made the New York Times Best Sellers list. We had already watched hourly as the book climbed the Amazon charts (eventually reaching #15 overall in books, #6 in nonfiction books, and #2 in political books), and now our first book was officially a bestseller offline as well. Thanks to those of you who have helped to make this important book a success.

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