Thomas Omestad covers international affairs and diplomacy. In his 10-plus years with U.S. News, he has covered Mideast peace efforts, Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez, Cuba under Fidel Castro, Syriaâs government, anti-Americanism, Georgiaâs new democracy, Taiwanese democracy, Muslims in Europe, Libyaâs future, Moroccoâs Islamists, German politics, post-authoritarian Indonesia, North Korean political prisons and nuclear challenge, reform efforts in Iran, and more. He writes on general issues of U.S. foreign policy. He occasionally travels with the press corps that accompanies the president and secretary of state. Prior to joining U.S. News in 1997, Omestad was for 10 years the associate editor of the journal Foreign Policy, published by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. In that capacity, he covered firsthand the fall of the Berlin Wall, the âVelvet Revolutionâ in Czechoslovakia, and the waning days of the Soviet Union. Earlier in his career, he reported for the Los Angeles Times and for the Associated Press in South Dakota. His articles on foreign affairs have appeared in the New York Times, the Washington Post, the International Herald Tribune, the New Republic, the Chicago Tribune, the Boston Globe, Christian Science Monitor, and the Miami Herald, among other publications. Omestad, a Minneapolis native, received a bachelor of science in economics, with honors, from the University of Minnesota in 1982, graduating Phi Beta Kappa. He also studied political science, business, German, and Japanese.

Omestad has been interviewed on national radio and television programs such as CNNâs Paula Zahn Now, CNN Headline News, and ABC Radioâs The Warren Pierce Show, as well as major market radio stations across the country.  Check out some of his more recent articles regarding Brazil and the current world food crisis both here and here.

PHILIP ZIMBARDO is internationally recognized as the âvoice and face of contemporary American psychologyâ through his widely seen PBS-TV series, Discovering Psychology, his classic research, The Stanford Prison Experiment, authoring the oldest current textbook in psychology, Psychology and Life, in its 18th Edition, and his popular trade books on Shyness in adults and in children; Shyness: What it is, what to do about it, and The Shy Child. Past president of the American Psychological Association, and the Western Psychological Association.

Zimbardo has been a Stanford University professor since 1968 (now an Emeritus Professor), having taught previously at Yale, NYU, and Columbia University. He is currently on the faculty of the Pacific Graduate School of Psychology, and the Naval Postgraduate School at Monterey, CA. He has been given numerous awards and honors as an educator, researcher, writer, and service to the profession. Recently, he was awarded the Vaclav Havel Foundation Prize for his lifetime of research on the human condition. His more than 300 professional publications and 50 books convey his research interests in the domain of social psychology, with a broad spread of interests from shyness to time perspective, madness, cults, political psychology, torture, terrorism, and evil.

Zimbardo has served also as the Chair of the Council of Scientific Society Presidents (CSSP) representing 63 scientific, math and technical associations (with 1.5 million members), and now is Chair of the Western Psychological Foundation. He heads a philanthropic foundation in his name to promote student education in his ancestral Sicilian towns. Zimbardo adds further to his retirement list activities: serving as the new executive director of a Stanford center on terrorism -- the Center for Interdisciplinary Policy, Education, and Research on Terrorism (CIPERT). He was an expert witness for one of the soldiers in the Abu Ghraib Prison abuses, and has studied the interrogation procedures used by the military in that and other prisons as well as by Greek and Brazilian police torturers.

Noted for his personal and professional efforts to actually 'give psychology away to the public', Zimbardo has also been a social-political activist, challenging the U.S. Government's wars in Vietnam and Iraq, as well as the American Correctional System.

His new book has been a New York Times bestseller: THE LUCIFER EFFECT: UNDERSTANDING HOW GOOD PEOPLE TURN EVIL (Random House, 2007; see www.lucifereffect.org).

Alex Kingsbury writes about homeland security, the war in Iraq, and other national and international news for U.S. News & World Report.

An associate editor, he has written cover stories about the Iraq war, college accountability, trends in E-learning, and World War II history. He reported stories from Iraq in 2007 and 2008.

His articles have appeared in the Chicago Tribune, the Washington Post Express, National Geographic Traveler, the Dallas Morning News, and been distributed by the New York Times. He has also written for the Watchdog Project, an initiative of the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard University.

He appears frequently on national television, including The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams, CBSâs Up to the Minute, CNNâs American Morning, CNN Headline News, C-SPANâs Washington Journal, FOX News Channelâs Studio B with Shepard Smith.

Kingsbury holds a bachelorâs in history from George Washington University and a Masterâs in journalism from Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.

Mark Bauerlein earned his doctorate in English at UCLA in 1988. He has taught at Emory since 1989, with a two-and-a-half year break in 2003-05 to serve as the Director, Office of Research and Analysis, at the National Endowment for the Arts. Apart from his scholarly work, he publishes in popular periodicals such as The Wall Street Journal, The Weekly Standard, The Washington Post, TLS, and Chronicle of Higher Education. His latest book, The Dumbest Generation: How the Digital Age Stupefies Young Americans and Jeopardizes Our Future; Or, Donât Trust Anyone Under 30 (www.dumbestgeneration.com), was published in May 2008.

Clintons4mccain was started as a grass roots effort by Cristi Adkins, Anne Franklin, Peter BoykinPeter BoykinThis e-mail address is being protected from spambots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it   and a team of Clinton Supporters who are adamantly opposed to the DNC, the media and Hollywood selecting their presidential nominee.  âWeâre mad as hell and not going to simply fall in line like Stepford Wives.â 
The Clintons4mccain group plans to join other organizations across the country for a large army of dedicated soldiers devoted to ONE unified missionâ

Operation NOBAMA.
To Join the group, you can go to  www.clintons4mccain.com as well as the myspace page, http://www.myspace.com/clintons4mccain and get the latest updates on the www.youtube.com/clintons4mccain channel. 
 

With the pressure building on Senator Obama and masses exodus, itâs only a matter of time before the DNC realizes itâs biggest failure in âVotergate 08â was the smoke and mirrors game they played on the entire 2008 Primary âSelectoralâ process.

Philip Shenon is an investigative reporter with The New York Times, where he has worked since 1981. He was the lead reporter on the investigation of the September 11 commission and has held several of the most important assignments of the Washington Bureau, including chief Defense Department correspondent, diplomatic correspondent, Congressional correspondent and Justice Department Correspondent. He has reported for The Times from scores of countries across six continents. This is his first book.

Prof. Fagan is an archaeological generalist, with expertise in the broad issues of human prehistory. He is the author or editor of 46 books, including seven widely used undergraduate college texts. Prof. Fagan has contributed over 100 specialist papers to many national and international journals. He is a Contributing Editor to American Archaeology and Discover Archaeology magazines, and formerly wrote a regular column for Archaeology Magazine. He serves on the Editorial Boards of six academic and general periodicals and has many popular magazine credits, including Scientific American and Gentleman's Quarterly.

Prof. Fagan has been an archaeological consultant for many organizations, including National Geographic Society, Time/Life, EncyclopÃdia Britannica, and Microsoft Encarta. He has lectured extensively about archaeology and other subjects throughout the world at many venues, including the Cleveland Museum of Natural History, the National Geographic Society, the San Francisco City Lecture Program, the Smithsonian Institution, and the Getty Conservation Institute.

In addition to extensive experience with the development of Public Television programs, Prof. Fagan was the developer/writer of Patterns of the Past, an NPR series in 1984-86. He has worked as a consultant for the BBC, RKO, and many Hollywood production companies on documentaries. In 1995 he was Senior Series Consultant for Time/Life Television's "Lost Civilizations" series.

Prof. Fagan was awarded the 1996 Society of Professional Archaeologists' Distinguished Service Award for his "untiring efforts to bring archaeology in front of the public." He also received a Presidential Citation Award from the Society for American Archaeology in 1996 for his work in textbook, general writing and media activities. He received the Society's first Public Education Award in 1997.

Fagan is critical of non-traditional archaeology, and has written scathing reviews of rivals outside academia. His own stance, that archaeology should remain a compendium of material facts, is influential within the field. This view permits Fagan's well-known textbooks to skirt issues that are controversial or political, including issues regarding gender, migration, and pre-Columbian oceanic voyages. His expository style is a departure from the kind of serious theoretical questioning of an earlier generation of archaeologist, particularly the pre-World War II generation of archaeologists, whose work he encompasses, but whose theoretical leanings he ignores. Critics of Fagan, therefore, point to his similarity with later members of the Boasian school of anthropology, who were more interested in tracking objects on a grid than in explaining similarities among objects found in various places, or denoting how notions of similarity were to be constructed.

Fagan appeared on The Daily Show on March 17th, 2008 to discuss 'climate change and its impact on human history.'

Simon LeVay is a neuroscientist and author known for his studies about brain structures and sexual orientation. He is the co-author of a textbook on human sexuality and has also coauthored books on diverse topics such as earthquakes, volcanoes, parkinson's disease, and extraterrestrial life. LeVay has written a novel, Albrick's Gold, whose main character, Roger Cavendish, is partially based on LeVay himself.

LeVay held positions at Harvard from 1974 to 1984, after which he worked at the Salk Institute from 1984-1993. While at the Salk institute he was also Adjunct Associate Professor of Biology at University of California, San Diego.

Much of his early work looked at visual cortex in animals, especially cats. LeVay's textbook on human sexuality (now in its second edition) was described in one review as "an exceptional book that addresses nearly every aspect of sexuality from multiple theoretical, historical, and cultural perspectives."

Professor Lichtmanâs books include Prejudice and Old Politics: The Presidential Election of 1928; Your Family History; Ecological Inference; and The Keys to the White House. He was named the 1992-1993 Scholar-Teacher of the Year, the universityâs highest faculty honor, and has provided commentary for all major U.S. broadcasting networks and cable companies, the Voice of America, and many foreign broadcast companies, including BBC and CBC. He worked with Dan Rather as a CBS consultant during the impeachment of President Clinton, served as the 2004 election-night analyst for BBC Worldwide, and is now political analyst for CNN Headline News. His more than 100 scholarly and popular articles have appeared in such journals and newspapers as the American Historical Review, the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the New York Times, and the Washington Post. He is also a columnist for the Montgomery Gazette and has served as an expert witness in more than 70 voting rights and redistricting cases.

Prof. Munger received his Ph.D. in Economics at Washington University in St. Louis in 1984. Following his graduate training, he worked as a staff economist at the Federal Trade Commission in the first Reagan Administration. His first teaching job was in the Economics Department at Dartmouth College, followed by appointments in the Political Science Department at the University of Texas (Austin, 1986-1990) and the University of North Carolina (Chapel Hill, 1990-7). At UNC, he served as Director of the Master of Public Administration Program, training city and county managers. He moved to Duke in 1997, and was promoted to Full Professor in 2000. He also became chair of the Political Science Department in 2000, and still serves in that post. Mike also has joint appointments in the Economics and Public Policy departments at Duke.

Prof. Munger's academic research has focused on Presidential - Congressional conflict, campaign finance, and regulation of markets. In addition to more than 80 articles and papers published in professional journals and edited volumes, Prof. Munger has coauthored or coedited (with Melvin Hinich) three books, Ideology and the Theory of Political Choice (University of Michigan Press, 1994), Analytical Politics (Cambridge University Press, 1997), and Empirical Studies in Comparative Politics (Kluwer Academic Press, 1998). His fourth and most recent book, Analyzing Policy: Choices, Conflicts, and Practices, was published in August 2000 by W.W. Norton. Current research interests include the evolution of the ideology of racism in the antebellum South, ballot access reform, and a study of how human subjects playing a computer simulation choose platforms in virtual "elections."

He blogs at Kids Prefer Cheese (link: http://mungowitzend.blogspot.com).

Ronald Kessler is the New York Times bestselling author of seventeen non-fiction books. Kessler began his career as a journalist in 1964 on the Worcester Telegram, followed by three years as an investigative reporter and editorial writer with the Boston Herald. In 1968, he joined the Wall Street Journal as a reporter in the New York bureau. He became an investigative reporter with the Washington Post in 1970 and continued as a staff writer until 1985.

Kessler's first book was THE LIFE INSURANCE GAME, an exposà of the life insurance industry published in 1985. His second book, THE RICHEST MAN IN THE WORLD: The Story of Adnan Khashoggi, is the inside story of the world"s preeminent arms dealer. Kesslerâs next book, SPY vs. SPY: Stalking Soviet Spies in America, is the only book on the FBIâs secret counterintelligence program and contains the first interview with Karl Koecher, a Soviet bloc spy who became a mole in the CIA.

Kesslerâs fourth book, MOSCOW STATION, is about the security breaches at the U.S. embassy in Moscow, the involvement of U.S. Marines, and the resulting investigations. Kesslerâs THE SPY IN THE RUSSIAN CLUB: How Glenn Souther Stole Americaâs Nuclear War Plans and Escaped to Moscow is the bizarre tale of one of Americaâs most damaging spies who defected to the Soviet Union and committed suicide there.

Kesslerâs sixth book, ESCAPE FROM THE CIA: How the CIA Won and Lost the Most Important KGB Spy Ever to Defect to the U.S., is about the defection and redefection of KGB officer Vitaly Yurchenko from a restaurant in Washingtonâs Georgetown section. It contains the only interview with Yurchenko by a western journalist and portrays the CIAâs disastrous mishandling of the case. Kesslerâs INSIDE THE CIA: Revealing the Secrets of the Worldâs Most Powerful Spy Agency depicts what the CIA really does and was the only book about the agency written with the CIAâs limited cooperation.

For Kesslerâs eighth book, THE FBI: Inside the Worldâs Most Powerful Law Enforcement Agency, the FBI gave Kessler unprecedented access to the bureau. The book revealed for the first time the defection of Vasili Mitrokhin, whose notes from the KGBâs archives disclosed the existence over the years of hundreds of spies in the U.S. The book is the authoritative work on the modern FBI. Its findings led to the dismissal of William Sessions as FBI director over his abuses.

Having probed the CIA and FBI, Kessler was prepared to take on the modern White House. INSIDE THE WHITE HOUSE: The Hidden Lives of the Modern Presidents and the Secrets of the Worldâs Most Powerful Institution depicts what the presidents and first families are really like and how the White House really operates, as seen by the Secret Service, Air Force One stewards, and White House aides and residence staff who know the true story.

Kesslerâs tenth book, THE SINS OF THE FATHER: Joseph P. Kennedy and the Dynasty He Founded, is the first major biography of Joe Kennedy in more than thirty years. Based in part on the only interview ever given by the surgeon who performed the lobotomy on her, the book reveals that for political reasons, Joe Kennedy covered up the fact that his daughter Rosemary was mentally ill rather than retarded, as the family has long claimed. The book documents payoffs Kennedy made to win the presidency for Jack. And it reveals an affair with his Hyannis Port secretary that lasted nine yearsâthree times longer than his affair with movie star Gloria Swanson.

Kesslerâs latest book, THE TERRORIST WATCH: Inside the Desperate Race to Stop the Next Attack, presents the chilling story of terroristsâ relentless efforts to mount another devastating attack on the United States and of the heroic efforts being made to stop those plots. Drawing on unprecedented access, the book takes readers inside the war rooms of this battle for our survivalâfrom the newly created National Counterterrorism Center to FBI headquarters, from the CIA to the National Security Agency, from the Pentagon to the Oval Officeâto explain why we have gone so long since 9/11 without a successful attack and to reveal the many close calls we never hear about.

Kessler and the book were featured on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.

Kessler is chief Washington correspondent of Newsmax.com, a web site with an average of 4.1 million unique visitors a month, and of Newsmax magazine, which has a readership of 600,000. His stories for Newsmax have included interviews with President Bush, Donald Trump, Andy Card, Gen. Michael Hayden, Mitt Romney, Sen. Joseph Lieberman, Lynne Cheney, Dana Perino, Jim Cramer, Deborah Norville, Robert S. Mueller III, Margaret Spellings, Brian Lamb, Juan Williams, Jeb Bush, and Fran Townsend. Kessler's Newsmax stories were instrumental in bringing to light Barack Obama's association with his radical minister, the Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright, Jr. You can sign up for Kesslerâs reports here.

Kessler has won sixteen journalism awards, including two George Polk awardsâone for national reporting and one for community service. He won the top prize for business and financial reporting given by the Washington chapter of the Sigma Delta Chi society of professional journalists. Kessler has also won the American Political Science Associationâs Public Affairs Reporting Award, the Associated Pressâ Sevellon Brown Memorial Award, and Washingtonian magazineâs Washingtonian of the Year award. He is listed in Whoâs Who in America.

Dave Rosenak is a successful Chicago executive, who has given a lot of thought to issues that the candidates are clearly avoiding - issues that are of major concern to all of us. Rosenak decided to take a proactive approach and offer some possible solutions of his own, all colorfully chronicled in his new book, Running Amok.

In a recent radio interview, Rosenak commented, "We must hold our presidential candidates' feet to the fire when it comes to viable solutions to the problems America faces today. Our forefathers established a government that was FOR and BY THE PEOPLE. The presidential candidates must take note of those issues that effect us all. We must become proactive in examining ways to control our borders. We must become proactive in solving our fuel crisis and helping our government discover renewable and affordable fuel resources. We cannot accept the failed policies of the past on such issues as immigration reform and health care, and We must require that the next president take a more effective approach in his or her foreign policies, and do everything possible to improve the image of our country that has become so blemished after entering the war in Iraq. We must demand from our congressmen and women that we put an end to the spending of the illions of dollars that taxpayers fork out on disputes for, and with other nations, while we ignore issues of importancehere at home, like poverty, health care and education. We do nothing when major corporations lay off thousands of American's to outsource manufacturing and customer services with countries who cannot even speak our language. We must do something to insure that generations to come will not inherit our sad legacy, or face an insurmountable mountain of debt!"

John Avlon is author of Independent Nation: How Centrists Can Change American Politics [Random House, 2005]. He served as Chief Speechwriter and Deputy Policy Director for Rudy Giuliani's 2008 Presidential Campaign. Previously, he was a columnist and associate editor for the New York Sun.

Avlon was the youngest and longest-serving speechwriter in Mayor Giuliani's City Hall. After the attacks of September 11th, 2001, he and his team were responsible for writing the eulogies for all firefighters, police officers and emergency workers killed in the destruction of the World Trade Center. His essay on the attacks, "The Resilient Cityâ concluded the anthology Empire City: New York through the Centuries and won acclaim as âthe single best essay written in the wake of 9/11.â

Avlon has appeared on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, Fox News, CNN, MSNBC, PBS, and C-Span. He has spoken at the Yale, the Citadel, the Kennedy School of Government, the State Department"s visiting journalist program, and civic organizations around the nation.

In a profile, author Stephen Marshall wrote âAvlon talks about politics the way ESPN anchors wrap up sports highlights.â Columnist Kathleen Parker wrote, âAmericans who are fed up with the Ann Coulter/Michael Moore school of debate and are looking for someone to articulate a commonsense, middle path, may have found their voice in John Avlon.â

He is the president of Prides Crossing Executive Communication and worked on Bill Clintonâs 1996 presidential campaign. His essay on the attacks of September 11 -- "The Resilient City," published in the anthology Empire City: New York Through the Centuries -- won acclaim from Fred Siegel, author of The Future Once Happened Here, as "the single best essay written in the wake of 9/11."

Dr. Walid Phares is a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies where he focuses on Middle East history and politics, global terrorist movements, democratization and human rights.  Dr. Phares also leads the foundation's Future of Terrorism Project, which considers how the Jihadi-Islamist threat will mutate over time and what can be done to defend against new, more deadly strains of terrorism.

Dr. Phares is the author of ten books on terrorism and the Middle East.  His latest book, The Confrontation: Winning the War against Future Jihad was published in 2008, War of Ideas: Jihadism Against Democracy was published April, 2007. His book, Future Jihad, Terrorist Strategies Against America, has been listed on Foreign Policy magazine's best selling titles for three months. 

In addition, Dr. Phares serves as a Fox News Channel Middle East Contributor.  A fluent English, French, and Arabic speaker, he is a frequent guest on Fox News Channel, CNN, the BCC, al-Jazeera, al Hurra, al-Arabiya, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, CTV,  Global TV, and hundreds of radio programs.  Previously Dr. Phares served as a terrorism analyst for MSNBC.  He writes frequently for academic publications and newspapers, including Global Affairs, Middle East Quarterly, International Journal of Security Studies, Journal of South Asian and Middle Eastern Studies Philadelphia Inquirer, National Review, and Chicago Sun Times. 

A frequently consulted expert, for more than two decades Dr. Phares has been called upon by European Commissioners, European Parliament members, as well as French, British, Belgian, Italian, Portuguese, Swedish, and Cypriot legislators, officials and Diplomats. He has served as an expert for the Dutch Government on Terrorism. He has also testified to the U.S. Senate Subcommittee on the Middle East and South East Asia, the House committees on international relations and Homeland Security and regularly conducts congressional, State Department, Department of Defense, and Department of Justice briefings.

Dr. Phares is also a senior fellow at the European Foundation for Democracy, a policy institute based in Brussels that is dedicated to defending democratic values, promoting freedom and addressing the ideologies of terrorism.

Dr. Phares is an Adjunct Professor at National Defense University School for National Security Executive Education (SNSEE). From 1993 to 2006, Dr. Phares was a professor of Middle East Studies at Florida Atlantic University. He has also held teaching positions at Florida International University and the University of Miami.  He holds degrees in law and political science from Saint Joseph and the Lebanese Universities in Beirut, a Masters in international law from the Universite de Lyons in France, and a Ph.D. in international relations and strategic studies from the University of Miami in the United States.

This is a show you won't want to miss, with two great repeat offenders: columnist Jill Zimon and comedian/satirist (maybe guest host of The Allan Colmes Show?, nah just kidding) Steve Young.  To make this episode even more rare, J. Scott had an emergency tooth extraction that afternoon.  So our engineer Dee Scott.. I mean <ahem!>, our engineer Dee Clements stepped up to help host the show.

Check out Jill Zimon, at themoderatevoice.com, her blog writeslikeshetalks.com as well as her own personal site jillmillerzimon.com

Steve Young is a former stand-up comedian, whos social and political satire is recognized as some of the funniest, yet still poignant, observations with his stories regularly gracing the op-ed pages of major newspapers across the country and placing Steve in demand as a TV "pundit" on networks such as the Fox News Channel and CNN, as well as appearing on The Today Show, Connie Chung and Good Morning America. As an author of the inspiring "Great Failures Of The Extremely Successful" (Tallfellow Press, Sept 2002) he was able to get the greats of many different fields to share their remarkable stories of adversity. Of "Great Failures...", Jack Canfield, co-creator of "Chicken Soup For The Soul," said, "When you finish reading this amazing book, you will never let failure or fear of failure stand in your way again."

Pat Smathers (D) Lt. Governor

When devastating hurricane floods struck his hometown in 2004, Mayor Pat Smathers had two options: Rebuild or build better.

Smathers, a problem solving Democrat, chose the latter, partnering with fellow community leaders and state government to strengthen the mountain town his family has called home for eight generations.

As mayor, school board attorney and former champion high school and college athlete, Smathers has learned what small towns expect of their leaders: A dedication to success. A willingness to work hard. And the resourcefulness to create solutions that work for everyone.

"It's time to fulfill those expectations at the state level,â? says Smathers, a husband, father of two and retired lieutenant colonel in the National Guard. âNorth Carolinians deserve a leader who will meet our state"s challenges with openness, optimism and invested innovations. As lieutenant governor, I will honor those hometown values we all share.â?

Derald Hafner (D) U.S. Congress NC-13

Derald Hafner is an economist and the Democrat candidate in the 2008 congressional elections for the 13th Congressional District of North Carolina. He is seeking the nomination to challenge incumbent Rep. Brad Miller (D-N.C.). The primary will take place in May 2008.

Colonel Dennis Nielsen (D) Governor

Colonel Dennis Nielsen is a retired military officer with 35 years of dedicated service in the United States Air Force. During his committed time of military service he flew a variety of military aircraft including the T-38, F-100, A7, F16 and C26. He was well known throughout the military for his outstanding leadership capabilities and was selected as the Director of Safety for the Air National Guard.

While serving as the Director of Safety at ANG Headquarters in Washington DC he had the responsibility of the flight weapons and ground safety for more than 120,000 military personnel in over 200 locations. His last military assignment before retirement was flying a C-26 surveillance aircraft for the counter drug agency.

During Colonel Nielsenâs service in the military he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross after diverting his A-7 fighter jet during a test flight away from a populated area after engine failure, potentially saving hundreds of lives while risking his own. This award is given only to those who distinguish themselves by heroism or extraordinary achievement while participating in aerial flight and is given only to exceptional and outstanding individuals.

He was also honored in a memorial statue after his image was captured by a photographer during his rescue of a small child after the crash of flight 232 in Sioux City, Iowa. Additionally, the story of his bravery and leadership was later depicted in a docudrama Crash Landing: The Rescue of Flight 232, 1992.

Colonel Nielsen graduated form the University of Nebraska with a degree in Law Enforcement. He has accomplished graduate studies with in an assortment of subjects including International Studies. He has a number of published articles including; âZeroâs Not a Number but a New Way of Thinkingâ?, âVirtual Safetyâ? and âVision the Ability to See.â?

Col. Nielsen is also an experienced businessman who has operated several small businesses and served on the Board of Directors for others. He and his family also owned and operated a family farm. He was elected to the board of directors of a credit union and served as a member of the Sioux Gateway Airport Disaster Board. His wife, Linda Nielsen, has also owned and operated a fitness center.

Colonel Nielsen has also served a variety of community organizations and nonprofit groups. Presently he serves as the vice president and member of the board of directors of the Air Force Heritage Foundation, a non-profit organization that promotes Air Force History. He is the chairman of the board of directors for a non-profit organization that provides financial counseling and tax preparation to low and moderate income individuals and seniors. Col. Nielsen has worked as a volunteer for various community organizations such as the YMCA coaching both youth soccer and basketball. He has also supported various companion animal rescue organizations with their efforts. Col. Nielsen is currently active in veteranâs affairs and maintains a web site to assist veterans and current military members. He is also a former member of Civil Air Patrol, a volunteer search and rescue organization that mentors young people interested in careers in the aviation.

Greg Dority (R) Lt. Governor

Greg Dority is a 1981 graduate of North Carolina State University where he majored in Political Science. He spent most of the 1980's directing security at the ABC News Washington, DC bureau before departing just prior to the Gulf War in 1991. During the 1990's he worked in various capacities within the security field and traveled extensively in the Balkans and Caucuses. He did his graduate work at The George Washington University and today is Managing Partner of Sterling Security in Washington, North Carolina.
 
Following the events of September 11, 2001 Greg began a professional transition to International Development. His work experience focused on economic restructuring of post-war regions, to include a stint with the Christian humanitarian organization World Vision. In 2003 he served as a member of the United Nations Security Advisory Board in Tirana, Albania.
 
Greg is a widower with a ten year old daughter. His current message of fiscal conservatism is directed toward shaping the future that she and her contemporaries will be challenged with. He makes his home in Washington, North Carolina where he is active in Republican politics and local civic organizations.

Jim Snyder (R) Lt. Governor

James E. Snyder, Jr., was born in Lexington, Davidson County, North Carolina.  He attended Lexington City Schools and graduated from Lexington Senior High School in 1963.  He was named a Morehead Scholar at the University of North Carolina and graduated from Wake Forest College and The Wake Forest University School of Law.  He attended Wake on a basketball scholarship and played tennis as well. 

Following law school, Jim returned to Lexington to practice with his father.  His father passed away, and Jim was appointed to serve his unexpired term as a member of The North Carolina House of Representatives. 

He has been a practitioner in law in Lexington for in excess of 37 years and has been admitted to practice before various Federal Courts in North Carolina and The Supreme Court of the United States.  He was named as one of the five outstanding young leaders in North Carolina by the North Carolina Jaycees and has been a local business leader with Chairmanship of the Board of Managers of Security Bank and Trust/Omni/Central Carolina Bank in Lexington.

In addition to his service in the General Assembly, Jim has taken many opportunities to help build a better community in Lexington and Davidson County.  He served on the Board of Trustees of the Davidson County Community College (1973 to 1981); the Board of Visitors of Wake Forest University Divinity School, The Select Committee of the North Carolina Board of Law Examiners; Lexington Rotary Club, member; Board of Directors United Way, member; Board of Directors at Lexington YMCA; member, and City of Lexington, Human Races Committee, member.

Jim is a conservative thinker and writer who has published sixteen books, three are multiple additions, including the Conservative Mind, âA New Model for Governmentâ? and two legal treaties.  

Jim is married to his high school sweetheart, Miss Sandra Joyce Craver, of Lexington, and they have been blessed with two daughters and six grandchildren.  He has been a member of the First Baptist Church in Lexington for his entire life and has served as a deacon and moderator of the Board of Deacons. 

Jim finished second to now Senator Elizabeth Dole in the 2002 North Carolina Republican Primary for U.S. Senate and was the Republican nominee for Lieutenant Governor in the 2004 North Carolina General Election receiving in excess of 1.4 million votes. 

Elbie Powers (R) Governor

Born, July 2, 1951 raised and worked on the farm in Robeson county, NC. Share cropping. Graduated from St.Pauls High School 1968.

 Becky who works as a school teacher in Macon county public schools. After her 33 years of teaching school, a very noble profession, today being her very last day of teaching. As of today Feb. 29^th 08' she retires (Leap year day, so she leaped out). To you Becky, Congratulations Honey, job well done. You have paid your dues well.

I currently own a small farm in eastern NC of Sampson county. In 1996 I discontinued row crop farming, cotton, wheat, soybeans switching over to a Pecan orchard consisting of just under 1000 pecan trees. Aerial view of farm in 06'. I produce, process and store all pecans on my farm directing selling to the consumer, restaurant's, bakery's etc. My building where I process all pecans is called "The Nut House, Inc". Yes I will be the first Governor straight from the Nut House.....

Why the run for Governor!!!

I feel current politicians are out of touch with the working class in NC and the United States. They continue to penalize working people for succeeding in life by way of more taxes, while they load our wagons, tell us to pull, many people jump on for the ride. If you, put me at the Governors desk for four years I will hands down out perform any other candidate regarding tax relief. I feel politicians come by each four years trying to tell us they are one of us. I also think the working people should have a safety net and am checking into this (your ideas welcomed). If an elected official does not stand behind their campaign platform, we taxpayers should have a way of replacing them at the half way mark of their term. I ask you, please help get the word out, just compare my plans, to ALL the other candidates.

Adam Fogel is the Right to Vote Director at FairVote-The Center for Voting and Democracy. He developed a voting curriculum for high schools to encourage students to get involved in the political process and register to vote.

Before joining FairVote, Adam served as the Pennsylvania Field Director for a voter registration project funded by the Pew Charitable Trusts that registered over 500,000 new, young voters. He was a fellow at the Center for Political Participation at Allegheny College for two years, where he designed an educational outreach program in high schools called "Why Bother? The Importance of Voting in America.â? In 2005, The Institute of Politics at Harvard University adapted âWhy Bother?â? into a national program.

A Cleveland, Ohio native, Adam earned a B.A. in Political Science and English from Allegheny College in May, 2006. He is currently enrolled in a master's degree program at the Graduate School of Political Management at George Washington University. He resides in Washington, DC.