Bravo YAL! We're listed as the 18th out of the 40 most-trafficked liberty movement websites listed here at DBPK's website.

I'll say this is pretty legit, and we should pat ourselves on the back!  This achievement shows that we are an integral part of the liberty movement.

YAL is happy to announce our new South Central Regional Director, Corie Whalen.  The South Central Region includes Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Colorado, Kansas, Louisiana, and Arkansas.

Writes Corie:

In May of 2007, just as I was entering my 20's, without knowing much about Ron Paul, I became a big fan by simply listening to him talk about the Constitution, and the more I learned, the more I liked. As a result, I dove head first into the rather chaotic, but of course fun, "Boston Ron Paul Meetup Group." That endeavor lead to me being one of the primary organizers of the "Boston Tea Party Freedom Rally" held on December16th, 2007, at Faneuil Hall, on the same day Paul supporters set the all-time one day fundraising record. I was given the chance to address the crowd, and Rand Paul was our keynote speaker. Senator Paul recently deemed the event "the first tea party" in his new book "The Tea Party Goes to Washington" - and it makes me extremely proud to look back on that day and see all the progress we've made since.

After Rep. Ron Paul won his second consecutive CPAC straw poll, Young Americans for Freedom quickly distributed an inflammatory press release announcing Dr. Paul was "off his meds" and would no longer be on their advisory board.  A bizarre publicity stunt, the press release's harsh language left little room for the civil discourse and friendly relationship Young Americans for Liberty -- not to mention Ron Paul himself -- historically had with YAF.

Here at YAL, we put out our own press release on the subject, expressing disappointment at YAF's declaration that it was "more aligned with Obama" than Ron Paul, and offering to join YAF in a reasonable foreign policy debate.  Meanwhile, YAF followed up their original release with a second strike, this time in the form of an article published in the Daily Caller.  So when the Daily Caller contacted YAL wondering if we'd like to respond, YAL Executive Director Jeff Frazee took the opportunity:

A civil debate on foreign policy is desperately needed in this country, especially within the conservative movement. The outside threats facing our nation today are serious but dramatically different from the dangers Ronald Reagan faced during the Cold War.

The neo-conservative policies of pre-emptive war, a domestic surveillance state, and unchecked executive power have not only failed but blatantly violated our Constitution — there’s nothing conservative about them. As Mike Church puts it, “these are decepti-cons.”

Traditional warfare has changed, the Internet has revolutionized revolutions, and we are bogged down in the longest, most costly war in our country’s history. It’s time to revive the conversation about what constitutes a conservative foreign policy.

However, in order to make any progress and grow as a movement, we must treat each other (and act) like adults. Immature name-calling and shameless publicity stunts, particularly those directed at leaders within our movement, have no place in civil discourse.

Tactics like calling Congressman Paul “delusional,” “off his meds,” and referring to his foreign policy as “treasonous” are absurd and downright childish.

Young Americans for Freedom, and specifically YAF’s senior national director, Jordan Marks, owe the congressman an apology.

Read Jeff's full article here, leave a comment at the Daily Caller, and please share this call for civility with everyone you know in the conservative movement!  It's high time to stop acting like children and debate like adults.

Adam Wood discusses why he made the decision to resign from his position at YAF and why a libertarian and conservative youth movement is key to victory in 2012.