I’m a freelance writer and conservative blogger, citizen-journalist, political activist, new media and communications consultant, and grassroots organizer.
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I sign everything ”E” for the sake of brevity so a lot of people call me that – thus the name of this blog (which is also a spoof on the Entertainment Network’s cable show ”E! True Hollywood Story“).
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My professional writing portfolio includes a variety of corporate and political communications projects as well as newspaper, magazine, and third party blog content. In my capacity as a consultant, I specialize in new media communications, blogger network outreach and relations, ”high stakes” and strategic targeted messaging, the crafting of complex messages into intelligible content, speech writing, event and public service announcement scripting, PR, press creation and coordination, and opposition research.
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Politically and culturally, I’m a conservative with a libertarian streak and a Constitutionalist in the spirit of our Founding Fathers. I believe government is necessary but am skeptical of the well-intentioned authoritarianism of The Nanny State. I love our dear Republic and detest the slow creep of liberal fascism in this nation – including the rampant lefty bias in the mainstream media - and I will gasp my last breath (or strike my last keyboard key) in passionate protest against their further advancement.
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I regularly advocate for:
- small, efficient, and transparent government
- tax code simplification
- free trade policies and labor union reform (or elimination)
- the protection of our Second Amendment rights
- domestic oil drilling and refining & increased use of natural gas
- the construction of nuclear energy plants (and recycling of spent fuel)
- education reform including more charter schools and increased private competition
- an interpretive rather than quasi-legistlative judiciary
- tighter border security and strict immigration law enforcement
- a lean, mean military that puts fear and trembling into the hearts of all who would do harm to American citizens
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PROJECTS, MEMBERSIPS & ACHIEVEMENTS
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– Proud winner of the 2008 Sam Adams Alliance Golden Sammie award for “Blogivist of the Year” for the “Say Something, Do Something” spirit of this blog. Here’s the write-up on that (and all the ‘08 Sammie awards).
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-- Partnership with Andrew Riley and Duane Lester, the two founders of All American Blogger, in a new media partnership that owns RFC Radio (Radio for Conservatives). The station launched on President’s Day 2009 and is a 24/7 streaming online radio station offering quality, original News! Talk! and Rock!! for conservatives. (Check out RFC in the Media.) I am the Exective VP & Marketing Girl Friday: I promote the station far and wide, recruit new Talent and listeners, coordinate with new talk show Hosts, seek out advertisers, affiliates, and donors, and try to make sure Andrew doesn’t have a nervous breakdown.
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– Volunteer state editor of Nevada News Platoon, a new citizen-journalism project of dontgomovement.com that soft launched in mid-February and hopes to go fully Live!! in April/May 2009. (You can join the Nevada DontGo group here.) We’re looking for writers; please go to my Contact page and e-mail me if interested.
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– In addition to getting link-ups from Politico and Instapundit, one of my happiest blog days was participating in National Review Online’s election prediction Symposium on 11/4/08. (I am not too proud to admit that I shed a little tear of gratitude and joy to see my byline there.)
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– Member of Smart Girl Politics, a social media networking site for conservative women with the bug for political activism.
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– Happily, it looks like I will also play some sort of role in this, a new Political Action Committee dedicated to defeating Harry Reid in 2010. Reid has let Nevada down time and time again; it is time for him to go. As I write this, people all over Nevada are begging Dean Heller to run. See the blog for periodic updates.
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– In addition to working on various political projects in Nevada, I was/am the Communications Coordinator & Media Liason for the Conservative Leadership Conference in Las Vegas. I also occasionally appear as a guest political analyst on KNPR Nevada Public Radio as well as local Las Vegas news stations (like KLAS-TV).
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ORIGINS
Both my paternal and maternal families hail from Massachusetts, but I grew up in southeast Michigan where I was editor of both my high school and community college newspapers.
Between Michigan and Nevada, I lived in Massachusetts (2 years), Pennsylvania (3 years), and Florida (4 years). I spent most of the 90s working in sales and marketing, doing stints as a sales person, sales manager, corporate spokesperson, and sales and marketing trainer.
I first met The Venerable Mr. Crum while living and working in Florida. In late 1998 we moved to Las Vegas, got married, and started a new life which includes three great kids and two very spoiled cats.
EDUCATION
I’ve been attending UNLV part-time since 2002 and will graduate with a B.A. in English in December 2009. For my next academic endeavor, I’m considering a Masters in Ethics and Public Policy.
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E!! FACTS
Birthplace: Rota, Spain (1969)
Favorite city: Boston, MA
Favorite baseball team: Red Sox and whoever’s playing the Yankees
Favorite political blog: The Corner at National Review Online (best political writing in the blogosphere)
Conservative heroes: William F. Buckley, Barry Goldwater, Ronald Reagan
Favorite national conservative media types: Laura Ingraham, Jonah Goldberg, Mark Steyn, Mark Levin, Andy McCarthy, Victor Davis Hanson, Charles Krauthammer, Michelle Malkin
Favorite literary peeps: C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, T.S. Eliot, Virginia Woolf, D.H. Lawrence, E.M. Forster, Evelyn Waugh, George Eliot, Charlotte Bronte, Emily Bronte, Jane Austen, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Herman Melville, John Steinbeck, William Shakespeare
Most memorable Vegas moment: Glancing up from filling out our marriage application to see Carmen Electra and her entourage storm into City Hall, immediately followed by a drunken Dennis Rodman. (You may remember reading about their shotgun marriage – and Rodman’s request for an annulment nine days later?) It was 6:30 a.m. on Saturday, November 14, 1998. A few weeks later, we – the sole witnesses to the whole sordid affair – did an interview for Inside Edition.
Favorite Thing About Vegas: Our “Come As You Are” non-denominational church and all the great friends we’ve made there
Quirks: Too many to mention, but – happily!! - Mr. Crum shares them all so I am not alone in the world
