On Thursday evening, Feb. 9, I’ll be giving a public talk at the University of Rochester in Rochester, New York. It will go from 7:30 to 9:00, with ample time during that time period for Q&A. The talk is titled: “Do We Need to Go to War for Oil?”

Here are the details.

For those who won’t be able to attend, which is most of these readers, you can read this piece I wrote on the issue a few years ago for the Independent Institute. Shortly after it was published, I briefed it to Congressman Ron Paul’s Freedom Caucus in his office. Eight Congressmen, all Republicans, attended. I think I persuaded 7 of them although some of the 7 might have already believed it. Certainly Ron Paul already agreed with my bottom line.

I will also talk a bit about why I think the Iranian government, though it is a threat to Iranians, is not a threat to the United States.

I’m looking forward to going back to Rochester. I left there in 1979 after 4 years as an assistant professor at the Business School (now the Simon School) and returned once to visit in 1980. I haven’t been back sense. At age 28 in 1979, I was kind of the Pied Piper on my street, Rockingham Street. I played with a bunch of the kids on that street. One of the parents was recently–I don’t know if he still is–the mayor of Monterey.