Any Pro-Drilling NY Landowners Interested in Debating?

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MDN received the following invitation for New York landowners who support drilling to participate in a debate in Nyack, NY (near New York City) on Dec. 1st:

Dear Mr. Willis

I am searching for one (or more) landowners who would be interested in being a Principal Speaker in Favor of the Motion at the next Hudson Valley Debate Union event, to be held Thursday 1 December 2011, at 7 p.m., at the Nyack Village Theater, 91 Main Street, Nyack NY (Rockland County), which is about 26 miles north of Times Square.

This event is co-sponsored by the Rockland County Times, which has been an independent weekly newspaper serving the county since 1888.

The motion for debate will be, This House supports the adoption of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation’s proposed regulations for high-volume hydraulic fracturing (6 NYCRR Parts 52, 110, 550-556, and 750)

The Hudson Valley Debate Union has been producing face-to-face, interactive "Oxford style" debates since September 2008.  The Oxford-style format allows Principal Speakers and Voting Guests to participate in vigorous discussions of today’s public policy decisions.

At an HVDU debate event, the six Principal Speakers, three on each side of the question, are each allotted ten-minute periods to make their case.  The first two and the last two minutes of each ten-minute slot are "protected," but the middle six minutes are subject to Points of Information.

To make a Point of Information, a Voting Guest or another Principal Speaker stands, raises his or her hand, and calls out, “Point of Information!”  The Principal Speaker with the floor may decline a Point by calling out, “No thank you, sir/madam.”   Principal Speakers may refuse any and all Points of Information, but we expect them to take at least one or two.  After all of the Principal Speakers are finished, the question is put to the vote of the House, and the tellers announce the results of the vote.

As I like to say, it’s the most exciting thing you can do on two feet.

I look forward to hearing from you.  You can find out more about the HVDU at our Web sites above, and at our YouTube channel (hvdebateunion).

Very truly yours,

PATRICK McGRATH
Founder and Executive Director
Hudson Valley Debate Union

Phone 845-915-3159
[email protected]
www.hudsonvalleydebate.com
www.hvdebateunion.org

Any intrepid MDN readers who are willing? Contact Mr. McGrath direct at his details above. And let MDN know if you do!