Michael Thau

Investigative Columnist

Lori Kilpatrick grew up in a small rural southern farming community.  She joined the army right out of high school where she met her husband.  While traveling base to base she started a family as an Army wife and achieved a degree in education.

Her husband's family had settled in Douglas, Arizona and Lori's family retired from the service and settled in the area. As a small business owner, Lori decided to run for AZ state Senate.  Even though she lost, she realized that her commitment to making a difference and changing what she saw as corruption within the establishment would not keep her from trying again.

Running for County Supervisor of Cochise County, AZ she once again encountered the difficulties of running against an incumbent.  We are honored to have her on our show tonight as we discuss the perils and pitfalls and the accomplishments of running for public office.

Hector Rodriguez was born in Puerto Rico and raised in Lorain, Ohio.  In 1968 he arrived in Washington DC after completion of service as a Viet Nam Era Captain in the United States Army Strategic Communications Command.

He was appointed as Program Development Specialist and was assigned to a White House cabinet level agency under former Vice President Hubert Humphrey’s office. He worked with the Federal departments and national and community organizations in developing initiatives to reverse poverty and increase participation in federal programs.

In 1970 Mr. Rodriguez served as a special consultant to the US Commissioner of Education where he coordinated programs advancing education opportunities for children in low income municipal school systems.   

In 1972 he engaged our nations’ urban crisis at the National Urban Coalition. As Deputy Vice President for Cities Operations, Mr. Rodriguez worked with community, government and industry leaders on solutions for our riot torn urban centers. He assisted in organizing and managing 60 urban coalitions in our nation’s cities. He received the “Outstanding Service Award” NUC’s highest recognition for his service and contributions to our cities.

Mr. Rodriguez authored and presented the original proposal to the DC City Council, establishing what is now the DC Office of Latino Affairs which continues to generate millions of dollars in services to thousands of needy residents in the District of Columbia.

In 1991 in response to disturbances in the Mt. Pleasant /Columbia Heights neighborhoods Mr. Rodriguez launched the Las Americas Avenue Development Corporation and created a Tri-Neighborhood international tourism model advancing small business incubators, economic development and job creation. He also created a plan for the DC International Enterprise Zone.

Mr. Rodriguez was appointed to a cabinet post in 1998. As Director, DC Office of International Affairs he conducted protocol with embassies and high ranking officials in behalf of the Mayor and the District of Columbia. He also developed programs to position the District for international trade, commerce and investment. Among his accomplishments was a trade agreement he authored between DC and the Republic of Panama Chambers advancing trade and  commerce .

By nature Hector Rodriguez is a creative, solutions- driven institution builder. His professional and private life has been dedicated to public service, political participation and community economic development.

Selected civic activities and achievements:

Twice presented testimony before the US Senate- DC Full Vote/Latino participation.US government;Multiple testimonies before the DC Council- housing, economic development, education, international;Vice Chair, Committee to Support the DC Home Rule Charter-1974;Candidate, DC Council-1979,1980, 2002;Member, George Washington University Center for Small Business Advancement;Guest /Delegate White House-Summit of the Americas, Miami 1994;PresidentClinton; International Committee-US Hispanic Chamber of Commerce;VIP Escort Officer ,US Defense Department;Grand Marshall, DC Latin American Festival.

Selected Awards:

White House Communications Award- for providing support to the President of the US; George Washington Honor Medal-from the Freedom Foundation at Valley Forge; Latino Community Achievement Award- as author DC Office of Latino Affairs; Exceptional Service Citation-from the US Secretary of Transportation; Distinguished Community Service Award-New Human Foundation.

Mr. Rodriguez has a Bachelor of Arts from Kent State University where he majored in Communications and Political Science. He has proven leadership abilities with expertise in government operations, program formulation, economic development and international affairs.

Currently he is President of Rodriguez Communications, a consulting firm he founded in 2003 with the goal of connecting strategic markets and expanding business networks.

RADICAL SON: A Generational Odyssey By David Horowitz

Radical Son: Second Edition by David Horowitz is one of the most compelling and important political memoirs in recent American history - republished after more than twenty years with a new introduction by the author. In a narrative that possesses both remarkable political importance and extraordinary literary power, David Horowitz tells the story of his startling political odyssey from sixties radical to nineties conservative.    CALL Sandy at 516-735-5468 or e-mail Sandy to schedule interviews with David Horowitz.   A political document of our times, Radical Son traces three generations of one American family's infatuation with the radical left from the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917 to the collapse of the Marxist empire six decades later. David Horowitz was one of the founders of the New Left and an editor of Ramparts - the magazine that set the intellectual and revolutionary tone for the movement.    In the new edition of Radical Son, you'll learn:   The deep divisions that divide our country now began in the Sixties; The violence that tore up our cities this past summer and the coddling of black criminals began in the Sixties. A murder committed by the Black Panthers ended my life in the left; and  The leftward shift of the Democrat Party began with the riot that Tom Hayden staged at the 1968 Democrat convention after which he led the anti-American left into the Democrat Party. This left took over the Democrat Party with the election of Barack Obama in 2008.   From his vantage point at the center of the action, he populates Radical Son with vivid portraits of people who made the radical decade, while unmaking America at the same time. This painful and difficult journey from Left to Right has made Horowitz the most hated ex-radical of his generation. In telling his story, he provides not just an intimate personal account of his own transformation, but a scathing moral history of the American left, and a guide to the evolving political conscience of an entire generation.   "David Horowitz's political pilgrimage from a Sixties radical to a Reagan conservative - and the friends and enemies he has made along the way - makes for a very interesting, very compelling story. Speaking as a conservative: it's much better to have David Horowitz with you than against you. Radical Son demonstrates why." --William J. Bennett, Author of The Moral Compass   ABOUT THE AUTHOR: David Horowitz is a conservative thinker and writer who has authored dozens of books over the course of his lifetime. He began his political career as one of the founders of the New Left in the 1960s and served as an editor of its largest magazine, Ramparts. As described in this bestselling autobiography, Horowitz was forced to confront some difficult truths about the political left after a close friend of his was murdered by the Black Panthers, and ultimately found a political and intellectual home as a conservative activist. David is the renowned conservative commentator and New York Timesbestselling author of Big Agenda: President Trump's Plan to Save America and Dark Agenda: The War to Destroy Christian America. He is the founder and CEO of the David Horowitz Freedom Center in Los Angeles.