JOURNALIST AND BEST-SELLING AUTHOR, E.J. DIONNE, SPEAKS WITH TOWN HALL???S WRITERS BLOC

Los Angeles, CA ??" Thursday, February 21, 2008 ??" E.J. Dionne, Author, ???SOULED OUT: Reclaiming Faith and Politics after the Religious Right will speak with Lisa Specht, Partner, Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP on Thursday, March 6, 2008 at the James Bridges Theater, UCLA as part of TOWN HALL???s ongoing Writers Bloc series.

Dionne is an Op-Ed columnist for The Washington Post and a Senior Fellow in Governance Studies at the Brookings Institution. He spent 14 years with the New York Times reporting on state and local government and national politics. He is a frequent commentator on politics for NPR, CNN and NBC???s ???Meet the Press. In his most recent book, ???SOULED OUT???, Dionne explains why the end of the Religious Right doesn't signal the decline of evangelical Christianity but rather its disentanglement from a political machine that sold it out to a narrow electoral agenda.

Lisa Specht is a Partner and the Land Use Chair at Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP. Her civic involvement includes chairing the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Commission and the City of Los Angeles Recreation and Parks Commission. She also served as Chief Counsel for the 2000 Democratic National Convention in Los Angeles.

Throughout its 70 year history, TOWN HALL has hosted discussions with notable authors such as Carl Sagan, Ray Bradbury and Gore Vidal. This year, TOWN HALL???s Writer???s Bloc welcomed comedian and author, Steve Martin.

TOWN HALL Los Angeles is a nonpartisan and nonprofit organization comprised of leaders and engaged citizens dedicated to examining important issues facing our society. Being a civic organization in the ???Creative Capitol of the World, Town Hall members crave outlets for their interests. Town Hall???s Writers Bloc series brings compelling speakers and topics to the Los Angeles community. To question prominent authors on their latest works, join TOWN HALL.

All accredited members of the media are invited to cover this event.

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