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Richard Vague, one of the nations leading CEOs, has been added to the roster of speakers at The Future of Freedom Foundations upcoming conference “Restoring the Republic: Foreign Policy and Civil Liberties.” Mr. Vague joins 23 other outstanding libertarian, liberal, and conservative speakers who will address these two critical issues during our landmark conference on June 1-4, 2007, at the Hyatt Regency Reston in Reston, Virginia.
Mr. Vague has been CEO of Barclays Bank Delaware since Barclays acquisition of Juniper Financial in December, 2004. Prior to that, he was co-founder and chief executive officer of Juniper Financial, a direct consumer credit card bank that commenced operations in October 2000. Vague was also co-founder, chairman, and chief executive officer of First USA, a credit card company that grew from a virtual start-up in 1985 to a credit card issuer with 57 million credit cards issued and $70 billion in loans. He also served as chairman of Paymentech, the merchant payment-processing subsidiary of First USA. Barclays currently issues credit cards in over 20 countries worldwide.
Mr. Vague was recently the subject of syndicated columnist Jim Lobe’s article “One CEO’s Dissent from the War on Terror,” which pointed out that Mr. Vague was spending much of his time and resources on another enterprise trying to persuade other conservative businessmen around the country that Bushs global war on terror has been a disaster and rally them in favor of an entirely different approach. In a report posted on a website he founded, AmericanRespect.com, Mr. Vague states, Simply put, U.S. policies and actions in Iraq and throughout the world have increased world terrorism. Force does not subdue, it enrages. We have the opportunity to lead the world out of this danger by building up, not tearing down.
Other well-known speakers at the conference include Congressman Ron Paul (R-TX), who recently formed a presidential exploratory committee, Judge Andrew Napolitano (Fox News legal commentator), Robert Scheer (San Francisco Chronicle columnist), former Congressman Bob Barr (R-GA), Daniel Ellsberg (Pentagon Papers), Joseph Margulies (lead counsel in Rasul v. Bush), Llewellyn H. Rockwell, Jr. (Ludwig von Mises Institute), Ted Galen Carpenter (Cato Institute), Robert Higgs (Independent Institute), Joanne Mariner (Human Rights Watch), James Bovard (author of Attention Deficit Democracy), Sheldon Richman (The Freeman and FFF), and Richard Ebeling (Foundation for Economic Education).
With the federal governments ever-growing debacle in Iraq, including outof-control federal spending, and its ever-increasing infringements on civil liberties, the threat to the freedom and well-being of the American people grows ever more ominous and dangerous. Referring to the ruling of the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals this week upholding the cancellation of habeas corpus for foreigners accused of terrorism, the New York Times editorialized that American liberty is at the precipice.
The speakers at this conference are a vanguard for leading our nation out of the foreign-policy morass in which we find ourselves a morass that threatens the freedom and well-being of each and every one of us and our families.
We hope youll join us for this seminal event. As Ludwig von Mises pointed out, No one can find a safe way out for himself if society is sweeping towards destruction. Therefore everyone, in his own interests, must thrust himself vigorously into the intellectual battle. None can stand aside with unconcern; the interests of everyone hang on the result.
For more information on the conference, e-mail Bart Frazier, program director, at bfrazier@fff.org or visit www.fff.org/conference2007/index.htm or telephone (703) 934-6101.
We hope to see you at the conference! Please be sure to make your reservations at the Hyatt Regency Reston immediately after registering for the conference because we have a limited number of discounted rooms.