Hi everyone! Miss you all and hope to be able to catch up with you soon.
Been busy going to "school" for the job hunt.
Went to the Tea Party in Boston and heard Sarah Palin speak - it was a fabulous day! The Boston Common never looked more beautiful with all the flowering trees in bloom and tulips out. As you can imagine I met alot of AWESOME people.
Going to a rally this afternoon for Charlie Baker who'se running for Governor.
Also trying to help this wonderful former Marine named Sean Bielat defeat Barney Frank whom I met at a fundraiser at the Endicott estate. Met another wonderful fellow who'se running for Congress and gonna work to help him get elected too.
His name is Keith Lepore and was a combat photog in Afghanistan embedded with the 82nd and 101st ABN. Here's info on both these great men.
I may not have a "job", but hopefully I can use my time to do something to help our great Country!
LOVE to you ALL!!!!!!!!!
mary ann
Who is Keith Lepor?With nearly thirty years of professional, academic and research experience in international relations, international business and international studies, Keith Lepor lends a unique perspective on how to solve our nation’s most critical problems today --abroad and most importantly right here on American soil.
Mr. Lepor, author, foreign and business development analyst, consultant, speaker and recently combat photojournalist, combines his skills to communicate to and with people directly about the importance of a strong national security and energy policy, which in turn he believes will create jobs and turnaround our economy.
Mr. Lepor marries his interest in global affairs with one of his lifelong passions, photography. In 2007, Mr. Lepor's first assignment in Afghanistan consisted of a twelve-month tour of duty in support of US and Coalition forces with the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF/NATO) where he worked as both a combat photojournalist and Forward Media Team Leader - running a team of Afghan print and radio journalists in Regional Command East. He also embedded extensively with the Army 82nd and 101st Airborne as well as the Third Marine Regiment, Third Marine Division; French, British and Afghan Forces.
In 2004, his first trip to the Okavango Delta in Botswana, he focused on capturing nature. Lepor continues to be captivated by the disastrous political upheavals and human devastation in places around the world including central Africa. His work has broadened in photojournalistic focus to capture counterinsurgency and guerilla warfare. He has provided imagery, undertaken specific work and completed photojournalism assignments around the globe for such clients as CNN International, MONUC, various departments of the United Nations, The Global Fund for AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, and World Health Organization (WHO).
Mr. Lepor’s interests in shaping United States foreign policy have had an impact both in Washington and around the world. In 1997, he edited and published After the Cold War (University of Texas Press, 1997, Forward by Mikhail Gorbachev), which helped articulate debate on the future of this country’s foreign policy during the 2000 Presidential race. He is currently a US member of the Council for Security Cooperation in the Asia Pacific (USCSCAP), the Asia Society (New York), Gulf/2000 Project at Columbia University and the Middle East Institute in Washington, D.C.
He is passionate about our country and is emboldened to run for the United States Congress after a recent assignment in Afghanistan where he found that some American men and women fighting for our country’s freedom against terrorism have been given less than desirable means to defend this nation. Given the lack of optimum equipment, inadequate troop strength -- and the growing concern of our troops on the ground over the imminent closure of Guantanamo and watching terrorists being read their Miranda rights, Mr. Lepor was moved to advocacy.
Keith Lepor was born in Boston, Massachusetts in 1961 to a middle-class working family. To find work, his father, a non-scheduled cargo pilot, moved the family around Europe and the US several times. During a flight assignment in 1975, when the Lepors lived in the U.S. Virgin Islands, Keith’s father contracted an ailment and died suddenly. Keith was just 14. His mother eventually moved the family to Seattle during Keith’s final two years of high school. Growing up in a one-parent household, Keith faced many challenges. None was tougher than surviving cancer. As a former “Jimmy Kid,” fighting for his life and living in a household that was very much financially challenged, Keith knows what it’s like for families to struggle against adversity.
Knowledge was highly valued in Keith’s family, and he took every opportunity to advance his education. After graduating from a public high school in 1979, Keith attended Boston University and received a B.A. in International Relations and Political Science in 1983. He pursued his keen interest in Middle Eastern studies at the American University in Cairo, Egypt, receiving an M.A. in 1984. He continued his graduate academic work at St. Antony’s College, Oxford University where he received an M.Litt. in International Relations in 1988. Keith Lepor for Congress | P.O. Box 8068 Boston, MA, 02114 | Contact | Media Inquiry
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Sean Bielat is the first strong challenger to Barney Frank since the 1980s. His experience and accomplishments have shaped his views:
--As a businessman, Sean believes in focusing on economic growth and fiscal responsibility
--As a Marine, he believes in peace through strength
--As an American, he believes in a return to Constitutional values and citizen-legislators
Sean's career highlights include--
Major, U.S Marine Corps Reserve
Independent Consultant. Helped client companies build market strategies
Program Manager, iRobot Corporation. Led $100 million, 100 person business line providing life-saving defense robots used to destroy roadside bombs in Iraq and Afghanistan
Chairman, NATO Industrial Armaments Group. Led an international team studying the potential for use of advanced reconnaissance technology in urban warfare
Management Consultant, Mckinsey & Company
Lieutenant, U.S. Marine Corps (active duty)
Sean and his wife are residents of Brookline, MA where they are expecting their first child in August. They are members of St. Mary of the Assumption Catholic Church in Brookline. Sean currently works as an independent consultant and serves as an officer in the Marine Corps Reserve.
Sean worked his way through college and graduate school, aided by scholarships and the GI Bill. He now holds a Master in Public Policy from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, a Bachelor of Arts from Georgetown University, and will soon complete a Master of Business Administration from The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania. He is a member of the Knights of Columbus, the International Institute for Security Studies, and the Council on Emerging National Security Affairs.
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A note from Sean:
Hello and thanks for visiting our website!
Like many of you, I believe that we face serious problems today—high unemployment and slow economic growth, a rapidly spiraling deficit, an inequitable and inefficient tax system, environmental and energy issues, concerns about our national security—the list seems to go on and on. Unfortunately, Washington isn’t providing solutions. Instead, Congress and the administration are playing partisan games and trying to push through major legislation without first getting the buy-in of the American people.
We need a return to civility in our politics and reason in our debates. We need citizens who step forward to take on the problems that we face. We need a return to the values that made America a beacon of freedom and a nation of opportunity. We need real leadership. It’s time for a change!
I have always believed in the importance of service to country and community. This belief has shaped my worldview and been a guiding principle throughout my life. Both of my grandfathers served in the military during World War II, all of my uncles and my father served during the Vietnam era, and my brother and I both served as well--and I continue to serve as a Major in the Marine Corps Reserve. My grandfather was a hero to me, and I remember listening as a young boy to his stories of the war.
My grandfather was born in a small town in Western New York. He left school in 8th grade to help support his family during the Great Depression. He joined the Civilian Conservation Corps, doing the tough work of cutting fire breaks in California and building public works projects in the Southwest. He volunteered for the Army shortly after the attack on Pearl Harbor and saw combat in North Africa, Sicily, St. Lo, and the Battle of the Bulge. When he left the Army, he collected his mustering out pay of $278.40 and returned to “regular” life. He took a job in a shovel factory and worked there until he retired. He lived a difficult life in difficult times but, like many in his generation, he never believed that anyone owed him anything. His hard work and dedication to his country and his family were, and are, an inspiration to me.
My grandparents’ efforts made life a little easier for my parents, who in turn provided me with a middle-class upbringing and an emphasis on hard work, service, and education. With the help of scholarships, part-time jobs, the GI Bill, and student loans, I was fortunate to complete college and graduate school, opening up new opportunities. Now, as my wife and I prepare to welcome our first child into the world, I can’t help but feel that the “American Dream” really exists and that our country offers opportunities that no other country can match.
But too many of our fellow citizens are struggling, wondering when and how they will achieve their dreams. How will we adequately provide for our families? When will we see more jobs? When will the economy turn around? Will our children be better off than we are? Will America be a stronger and safer nation tomorrow than it is today? These are questions that unite us as Americans. And these are the questions that our elected Representatives must help us answer.
I ask you to join us today in helping to find answers, in helping to create a better future, and in keeping the American dream a vibrant and vital presence in our national consciousness. It’s time for new leadership in America. Please support us in bringing a new voice to the people of Massachusetts.
Sincerely,
Sean Bielat
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The Bielat for Congress team is comprised of a handful of Scott Brown veterans, experienced political consultants, and a few other staff members, and hundreds of volunteers. We have put together a team that knows how to win in Massachusetts and so far more than 500 volunteers have signed up to help in this important race.
You can join Team Sean today by clicking here. We are dedicated to working hard over the next several months to elect Sean Bielat to the United States Congress to replace Barney Frank.