Contributors

First, let me start by saying that I am neither a Democrat, nor am I a Republican. I’m a Libertarian…and probably a more moderate one, at that. I have no particular “agenda”. I simply believe in smaller government and states’ rights, as did our founding fathers, and I believe many Americans have lost sight of such reasoning. One thing people so often misunderstand about Libertarians, about me – we aren’t against taking care of fellow Americans and our planet. We simply believe that Americans take care of ourselves and other Americans best, and we believe that any of the truly necessary “government” solutions belong with the individual states, not the national government. Government as primary caretaker creates inefficiency, cost, fraud and loss of innovation . The collaborators of the Constitutional Convention were very clear on this. They believed strongly in the concepts of state sovereignty, in “People’s Law”, in Adam Smith’s “Wealth of Nations”, free markets and free minds. Less government means more resources in the private sector to take care of our neighbors, more innovation and a more prosperous nation. Believing in our Constitution and opposing socialist policies does not make us bad people; in fact, it’s quite the contrary.

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Billy Hallowell’s career in journalism and commentary began at an early age. Following the Columbine shooting in 1999, the then 15-year-old launched Teen Web Online, a web site intended to address violence, discrimination and other social issues facing America’s young generation.

“At the time, I was so stunned. I founded Teen Web as an outlet for my generation to get relevant information, while becoming empowered to make change in local communities.”

Through journalism, media, public speaking appearances and the blogosphere, Hallowell has worked for more than a decade to inspire and motivate his generation. He has been published and featured in political and cultural books, textbooks, articles and Web sites that focus on the youth of America and its role in the future of our world.

In 2002, Hallowell founded the Columbine Survivor Project and Peace Project. The latter became an annual event at The College of Mount Saint Vincent in Riverdale, NYC, where Hallowell joined co-hosts Miss USA, Miss Teen USA and Lori Beth Denberg, among others, to present a day-long inspirational event to high school and college students in the New York City area. During the same year, he founded Pathufind Media, an ongoing project that subcontracts affordable speakers to colleges and community groups.

In 2002, Teen Web Online received an endorsement from MTV’s John Norris. Through a contact at the network, Hallowell was offered a bi-weekly column on SHiNE.com, a non-profit and media outlet for American youths. This then led to a print and online column with Positive Teens Magazine in 2003.

Also in 2003, Hallowell was selected to represent the United States at the World Bank’s conference on youth development in Paris, France. Following this experience, he was honored by the International Youth Foundation with the YouthAction Net Fellowship. On the educational front, he was a Rhodes Scholar nominee in 2006 and the recipient of the prestigious Clark Fellowship during the same year. In addition to these honors, Hallowell has received a number of journalism and community awards for his work.

From 2008 until 2009, he served as the director of content and Chief Executive Officer of VoterWatch, a non-partisan non-profit that focused on issues pertaining to U.S. government transparency. During this time, he was the founder of the 2008 Presidential Debates Project, featuring Dick Morris, Sophia Nelson, The Heritage Foundation, Public Agenda and other prominent political figures and organizations. Additionally, he joined Lawrence Lessig’s Open Debates Coalition to urge both presidential campaigns to make the 2008 debates more open and engaging.

Additionally, during the 2008 election cycle, Hallowell joined co-host Stephen Nichols (MTV’s Real World) for Static News, a weekly political radio show. Subsequently, Hallowell’s experience on Election Day was recorded for the upcoming documentary American Reality (from the producers of Control Room).

Media outlets he has been featured in or produced works for include: Big Government, Big Hollywood, Big Journalism, The Daily Caller, FrontPage Magazine, The Democrat & Chronicle, COSMO Girl Magazine, NY Teen, Teenage Buzz Magazine, Positive Teens Magazine, SNAP, Many Voices, Many Visions, NBC’s The John Walsh Show and Radio Disney, among many others. Currently, Billy hosts RENEWtv, a project devoted to reforming America’s conservative movement.

Billy Hallowell was educated the College of Mount Saint Vincent in Riverdale, New York, and graduated with a B.A. in communications, with concentrations in broadcasting, corporate and journalism, and a minor in writing. In June 2008, Billy completed his M.S. in social research from Hunter College in Manhattan, New York. You can follow Billy on Twitter (@BillyHallowell).

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I am Carol Greenberg, a Conservative from Ohio. I am a Constitutionalist, a firm believer in 2nd Amendment and 10th Amendments rights. Please visit me on twitter @LadyImpactOhio.

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I’m a journalist living in Jacksonville, Florida, and in my other life I’m a poet. In my best life I’m a wife, mom and friend.

I’ve provided articles, copy and content to places like The Christian Science Monitor, The Writer, Coastal Homes, The Florida Times Union, United Press International, Sky News and many others. I currently freelance a regular column for The Writer at the magazine Web site (“Web Savvy”). I one-up articles at many different places. I’ve written one nonfiction book, ‘Killing Earl.’ It’s a memoir about a mystery illness our younger daughter experienced. I’ve contributed to anthologies featuring poetry and nonfiction.

My poetry is published in journals like the magazine published by Florida Council of Teachers of English and on Web sites and in magazines like Foliate Oak,Pif, ByLine and Fairfield Review. It’s included in anthologies like 'Letters to the World' and in text materials created by an educational publisher. I’ve done poems on TV and on public radio. An exciting moment for me was reading at the U.S. Library of Congress for Florida Poets Arrive. My collection 'A Poetry Break' won several awards and it was selected by a bookseller’s organization as a nominee for poetry book of the year.

My new book 'Hook, Line and Linker' will be out in 2010.

I'm honored to serve as senior media analyst for The Congressional Medal of Honor Society Convention to be held in Charleston, SC, in 2010.

Last year I decided to come out of the political closet and write about politics. I’ve lost a few “friends” as a result but I’ve gained a large portion of my dignity in return. I knew that by doing this I would lose a few clients. I am, however, careful to keep politics out of the writing I do that does not relate to politics. I manage to anger members of both political parties and I would not be doing my job if I did otherwise.

Though The US Report is only a year old, our content is picked up by major media via our agreement with Newstex.

I also write the Jacksonville Events column for The Examiner.

If you really want to know more, or if you need a writer, email me by using the form on this website [link at the top of the page]. I get mountains of email from readers, and I really do try to answer them all. Sometimes I fail, so don’t take it personally. I always answer emails from editors and potential clients. I am a capitalist.

If you’re an aspiring writer, your best resource is the magazine The Writer. I’ve already disclosed I’m published there and I do the column online. But I read that magazine long before I was polished enough to do either. It’s the very best writing resource you’ll find in my opinion. It's also the oldest continually published trade magazine for writers in the US.

My professional memberships include The American Society of Journalists and Authors, The Authors Guild and the Online News Association.

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My journey in the political realm started out down the middle. I considered myself right of center, which meant I really didn’t like the way the Republican establishment was working out, but I REALLY wasn’t a liberal. I tried my heart out to “be fair”, if you will. Always tried to see both sides of a debate, and always thought both sides were nuts at times(especially liberals)

Then my father died, and it all changed.

Let me explain.

My father was the epitome of the ultimate Republican. He was John Wayne tough combined with entrepreneurial success. As the owner of a construction company in Illinois, he helped build most of our tri-state area over a 50-year career, and gave a lot of people jobs in that timeframe. That was the Republican way. He died in February of 2010 at 82 years old, leaving behind a real strong foundation for family.

So this is where I come into play. He remembered what the Republican party truly was, a group that championed hard work, success, wealth, and competition to help this country, while at the same time leaving strong foundations, not only for our families, but for the country as a whole. As was mentioned, he left a strong foundation for my family.

But the foundation is crumbling right now. The liberal mindset is a dangerous one. It’s one of handouts, having it easy, and punishing the successful so the less successful can have a little more. It champions everything being “fair”, and not hurting any feelings. All of this has brought distrust to our country at levels we haven’t seen in ages.

Yet, I believe we can come back, and will come back.

This is the United States of America. This is the country that other countries have wanted to be for a couple hundred years. We are the ones that have raised the bar on business, technology, education, and everything else in between. People in other countries wanted to come HERE for a better life. We are a resilient country, and we’ve been through harder times before. I will not give up on this country, and I will do what it takes to bring back the feeling of being proud of this country.

I want to help bring back that feeling of competition, where people will bust their butts to try to get ahead, and in turn, make this country profitable.

I want to help people be responsible with money, and in turn, force governments to do the same.

I want to bring back the proud feeling of God to this country.

Most of all, I want people to know that THIS IS OUR COUNTRY! You follow our standards, and we will not follow yours! The Michael Moores of the world can go hug a tree in the Amazon or something if they aren’t happy.

I’m 31 years old, and this is my mission. The mission to bring my Dad’s Republicans back in the fold, which would be an era of prosperity and responsibility, of family and friends, of unity and liberty.

Who is with me?

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I was born on Long Island to two hippies, and moved to rural suburbs of Rochester, NY at 10 years old. Lived there until I was 16, when I moved to Belgium for a year-long exchange program. Returned and spent senior year of high school and first year of college in New York City. Transferred to Rutgers University, traveling every summer and graduated with a BA in History. Lived in Washington DC first year out of college, then moved to Cambodia the next year to work at a non-profit school. Returning to the States in June and looking to join the vast right-wing conspiracy and return to the nation's capital.

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