COOL Announces Spring Courses

(Lebanon, PA) – The Constitutional Organization Of Liberty (COOL), a conservative, non-partisan political action committee registered with the Pennsylvania Department of State, has announced its course offerings for the Spring 2009 cycle.

Laurel Lynn Petolicchio, 2009 Chairman for COOL, said that the four-year old organization will be offering three classes in the next two months – Institute On The Constitution (IOTC): Framework Of Government and The Birth Of Freedom in April, and a symposium on the Pennsylvania Constitution in May.

"The Birth Of Freedom class is a new course that we are introducing," Petolicchio said. "It was developed by the Acton Institute and we thought it would provide a good grounding for participants who wanted to learn more about the nature of liberty and it’s development in western culture."

Regarding the next session of the IOTC and the course on the state constitution, Petolicchio said these classes were scheduled partly in response to requests of COOL members.

"We just finished the first part of the IOTC and the class said they did not want to wait until later in the year to continue, and since our schedule was open, we went ahead and plugged in the second part in April," she said. "As for the course on the state constitution, people have been asking us about doing something on it for a while, and we have got the pieces put together sufficiently to make it work."

State Senator Mike Folmer, who will be conducting part of the course on the state constitution, said he felt it was time that the citizens had the opportunity to learn something about the document that regulates how the state is supposed to operate.

"Unfortunately, we just aren’t teaching anyone about the Pennsylvania Constitution," he said. "And that’s unfortunate because so many of the problems we have experienced in state government in the last several years have stemmed from either ignorance of the document or a willful disregard for it."

"We are a nation and a state of laws, and if the state government fails to operate according to the fundamental law it is supposed to abide by – the state constitution – then it is incumbent upon the people to learn about the state constitution and demand accountability of their elected officials," he said.

The IOTC: Framework Of Government will take place on each consecutive Thursday from April 2 thru April 23, from 7:00 – 9:00 PM at Open Door Baptist Church in Lebanon.

The Birth Of Freedom will be conducted on Friday, April 24, from 7:00 – 9:00 PM at Lebanon Evangelical Free Church in Jonestown.

The course on the Pennsylvania Constitution is scheduled for Saturday, May 2, from 9:00 AM to Noon at Open Door Baptist Church. As seating is limited, reservations are required.

The cost for each course is $15 per person and $25 per household, and includes complimentary membership in COOL for the year. More information can be found at COOL’s website, www.ReclaimLiberty.com.