John Ashcroft, former U.S. attorney general and advocate of the Patriot Act, will come to give a talk at the University of Colorado from 7 to 9 p.m. Nov. 27 at Macky Auditorium.

The event, which is being sponsored by the CU Cultural Events Board, is titled The Patriot Act: A Push for Safety or An Intrusion of Privacy?

Ashcroft was involved in numerous controversial decisions during his tenure as Attorney General, including the Valerie Plame leak scandal, draping a curtain in front of the partially naked breast of a popular Washington D.C. statue and his now-famous quote as he resigned from office, ""The objective of securing the safety of Americans from crime and terror has been achieved."

The talk will be followed by a post-event mixer in the Humanities building. It is unknown whether Mr. Ashcroft will attend.

Tickets to the lecture are free to CU students. They can be picked up at the UMC Connection.

Of particular interest, the Cultural Events Board is asking that if you want to ask Mr. Ashcroft a question during what is described on the event's facebook listing as "open question and answer session," that you submit them ahead of time to ceb@colorado.edu.

Events

Here are a few things you can do this weekend. It's supposed to be pretty nice, weather-wise.

- The Boulder Chamber Orchestra will perform An American Festival from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. Nov. 16 at First Baptist Church, 1237 Pine St. The show will pay respects to four American composers. Tickets are $8.50 to $16 and kids younger than 12 are free. For more information, call 583-1278.

- The Colorado Military Historians and the Boulder History Museum will present Game Day Sunday from noon to 4 p.m. Nov. 18 at the museum, 1206 Euclid Ave. Guests are invited to participate in these reenactments of famous battles with miniature figurines and sometimes remake history. Admission is $2 to $5. For more information, call 303-449-3464.

-In the mood for a little piano music? The 22 nd annual Multiple Piano Festival will take place at 7 p.m. Nov. 17 at the Vance Brand Civic Auditorium, 600 E. Mountain View Ave., Longmont. This is a showcase of multiple pianos on stage and students from around Boulder County will perform. Tickets are $8. For more information, visit www.bamta.org.

News

-The Campus Press has a story about the proposed smoking ban on the CU campus.

-The Daily Camera has a story about Boulder and Fairview high schools controversy surrounding football.

-Finally, the Denver Post has a story about a Boulder charter school founder who has been accused of theft.

Have a nice weekend!