FreedomFEST 2009

HONEYMOONERS AT FREEDOMFEST 2009
RECORD CROWD OF NEARLY 1700.....200 SIGN UP AT THE DOOR.
“This was the best FreedomFest yet.  Congratulations!”    --John Mackey, CEO, Whole Foods Market

One attendee called this year’s FreedomFest a “phenomenon.”  Over 100 speakers, 95 exhibitors and 1700 attendees showed up at “the world’s largest gathering of free minds” July 9-11, 2009, at Bally’s Events Center in Las Vegas -- a record turnout, 21% increase over last year.  (This number does not include several hundred supporters of Ron Paul’s Campaign for Liberty who attended FreedomFest on Friday and Saturday.)   

Over 200 showed up at the door, and one couple got married in Vegas on July 8 (07-08-09) and spent their honeymoon at FreedomFest!
 
The conference offered 150 sessions on geo-politics, the economy, investments, philosophy, science & technology, art & literature, and healthy living.  As June Arunga said, “FreedomFest is a festival of ideas -- exciting, new, and refreshing.”   

John Mackey calls it “The Trade Show for Liberty.”  Mark Mullins (Fraser Institute) identifies it as “the new Mecca for libertarians.”  Keith Fitz-Gerald (Money Map) calls it "the conferences even speakers like to attend." I see it as the “focal point for free thinkers,” where independent thinkers and free minds break away from their busy schedule to come together once a year to learn, network, socialize, and re-energize their spirits.    

The fight for freedom has never been more apparent since the end of the cold war.  As one attendee put it, “This is THE year to attend FreedomFest, when our freedoms and financial assets are threatened more than ever.”   

Given the deep recession and uncertainty this nation faces, I was surprised by the record turnout.  According to a local Las Vegas business leader, FreedomFest was the only conference this year with higher attendance.  

Many more will see the Friday general sessions on C-SPAN (to be aired soon).   

Attendees came from every state of the union, and as far away as Australia, Japan, Argentina, and Kenya.  Dozens of students took advantage of the $99 student discount rate.   

You could feel the electricity as soon as you walked into the Exhibit Hall and the giant Laissez Faire Bookstore, run by Jim Peron and Jim Elswood.   

One attendee told me, “FreedomFest changed my life and my entire way of thinking.”   

I learned a lot myself as a moderator, speaker, and attendee.  For every one who comes, FreedomFest is a personal creation, because so much is going on that no two people experience it the same way.  As Jerry Cameron says, “It’s like having access to all the greatest intellectual food in the world and you just couldn’t eat fast enough to sample it all!”  

Many buy the CDs of the entire conference every year just to keep up. (The first thing I do when I arrive is sign up for all the recorded sessions.  If you are so inclined, check out the list of audioCDs at http://www.miracleofamerica.com/Freedom%..., or call 1-866-254-2057 to order by telephone. $5 per session; $397 for all sessions.)   

The program was huge, with over 150 speeches, panels and debates. “Liberty Watch” published the entire program in its July issue. I recommend you subscribe to this top quality libertarian publication. Go to http://www.liberty-watch.com.

The World Economic Summit: “The financial crisis is not over!” 

The first day of the conference, entitled “Clear and Present Danger,” was devoted to the on-going financial crisis.  Many of the financial sessions were standing room only.  Charles Gasparino, CNBC’s #1 reporter, was our first keynote speaker.  He told the audience not to depend on the government to protect their wealth from losses or fraud.  “The SEC has failed to uncover a single major scandal in the past 30 years,” he said.  “It should be abolished.”  

Other speakers throughout the conference included Steve Forbes, Larry Kudlow, Congressman Ron Paul, bestselling author Tom Woods (“Meltdown”), and John Fund.  Rick Rule (Global Resource Investments) moderated a panel on energy, telling attendees to expect oil & gas supplies to be tight in the future.  I gave a special 3-hour pre-conference seminar on “EconoPower:  Seven Power Tools for Investors, Managers, and Citizens” that was well attended.   

In the “All Star Prediction Panel” last year, all the participants (Peter Schiff, Bert Dohmen, Fred Foldvary, Dennis Slothower) warned attendees about the impending crisis while the media was painting a rosy picture.  What were our prognosticators saying this year?  They remained pessimistic and recommended staying heavily in cash, gold, or foreign stocks.  Some are still shorting the market.  Bert Dohmen, editor of the highly-acclaimed Wellington Letter, remains bearish, adding as an example, “How can a company like Boeing stay in business when they have received only one major order so far this year?”  His breakout session attracted a large crowd.   

Author Charles Murray (American Enterprise Institute) was more optimistic in the long run.  In his luncheon address, he spoke of three factors that will work in favor of liberty -- technology that liberates individuals from centralized institutions, a coming moral crisis among social democrats, and rediscovery of the role of freedom in imbuing life with meaning.