It's that time again! Yes, you guessed it....

Leading the Majority is on THIS FRIDAY at 2pm EST on Rightalk.com.

You can also listen to the show on the LTM home page starting the Monday after the show.

This week Rick and Vince welcome Arthur C. Brooks, AEI Scholar and Louis A. Bantle Professor of Business and Government Policy at Syracuse University's Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs and Whitman School of Management.

Professor Brooks will join Rick and Vince to discuss his latest book, Gross National Happiness: Why Happiness Matters for America--and How We Can Get More of It, which former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich has called "a must read for every person who wants to understand what policies America needs."

So tune in live at 2pm EST on www.rightalk.com. And if you miss it check the LTM home page on Monday and we'll have the show posted then.

Your Fearless Producer,

Michelle Selesky

You’ll notice several new posts in the On The Issues section recently, a reflection of the desire to bring Newt.org visitors timely and interesting stories that illustrate conservative principles in action. Look for daily content updates that might otherwise go unnoticed among the headlines on the economy and the 2008 election season. As always, your comments are desired (and encouraged) on stories we post, and on the blogs posted by our users. They are read and appreciated by many, and help extend the conversation.

From time to time, we would also like to turn your attention to interesting technologies that might help you expand your horizons through technology, or make it easier to network with other conservatives.

On that note, there is a nifty program that helps you organize your inbox and contact lists, called Xobni (inbox spelled backwards, www.xobni.com) You can read the NY Times article by Brad Stone here. In a nutshell:

“Xobni … has produced free downloadable software that, once installed, indexes all the e-mail in Outlook and makes those messages quickly and easily searchable.” … “Other programs, like Google Desktop, perform that same basic index-and-search function. But Xobni, which its creators call an “intelligent filter,” adds a few more features. When it scours the inbox, it extracts phone numbers it thinks are associated with the sender. So when a user searches for a person, Xobni presents the number in a side panel to Outlook.”

While just for Outlook now, Xobni promises to support other popular email clients in the future. Conservative bloggers, campaign workers, local activists, and just about anybody that actively uses Outlook can benefit from a tool such as this. Getting things done is always easier when you have multiple levels of contacts, as our lives are ever more influenced by social networking.

Your comments on tips like these are appreciated, and we look forward to hearing from you in the On The Issues section of Newt.org.

I have read your thoughtful comments to my blog post from last week and hope this more thorough response answers some of your questions.

Entering the Arena:
Why Conservatives Must Engage in the Environment-Energy Policy Debate

What conservatives too often narrowly – and mistakenly – dismiss as "environmentalism" really encompasses four very real, parallel challenges:

Happy Friday, Leaders of the Majority! Have we got a fully-loaded all-star line-up for you today!

This week Rick and Vince welcome Nicholas Negroponte, founder and chairman of the One Laptop Per Child non-profit association. Mr. Negroponte will talk about the innovative XO laptop and his efforts to provide children around the world with a quality education.

Rick and Vince will also be joined by Dr. William Forstchen, co-author of the newly released, Days of Infamy. The New York Times bestselling author will talk about his new book how and how we can apply the study of "active history" to 2008.

Dr. Philip Salzman will also join Rick and Vince to talk about his book, Culture and Conflict in the Middle East.

Negroponte, Forstchen and Salzman are all leading experts in their field of study... that makes for one great show!

So tune in TODAY at 2pm ET on www.rightalk.com to listen to Leading the Majority with Rick & Vince!

*UPDATE* Friday's show is now available on-demand, just click here to listen

Your Fearless Producer,

Michelle Selesky

I’ve always wanted to title an essay like that, “On the Road.”   Living in North Carolina I was always an admirer of Charles Kuralt.   

As I write this Newt and I are running around NYC promoting the launch of “Days of Infamy.”    It can get hectic, even a bit intimidating when you walk into a book store and four hundred people are lined up for copies.   Newt might be use to it, but as a writer I am a bit more of a recluse.   Another thing, of so many, that I admire about Newt is that he is inexhaustible. 

First, to Randy, and a couple of other friends who have written back so far.   Thank you!   Hope you are well and appreciate your thoughts.  I like the feedback and questions so keep them coming!
 
I wanted share a few thoughts about the writing of this book, and just things in general when it comes to a book launch, especially one co-authored with Newt.

Sure, I could drone on for boring pages about the fact that it was a heck of a lot of hard work.   What isn’t if you want to do something right?   But on the other side, it was also a lot of fun.   It’s hard to explain working with Newt.   A lot of people ask me about it, my usual answer with a grin is... 

© Callista Gingrich, Gingrich Productions

Well its a busy week already here as Newt and Callista are traveling around the country promoting the new work of historical fiction by Newt and Bill Forstchen, Days of Infamy.

Callista has been snapping photos of a few events and we've posted a photo album of the tour so far. Click here to see photos of the book tour.

There are several media appearances, including The Daily Show w/ Jon Stewart tonight, so make sure you check out the Calendar to see when he is appearing on radio, tv or in-person for a book signing.

*UPDATE* Check out this video interview with Newt conducted today by John Fout at TheStreet.com.

Also here is a clip from his interview with Barbara Walters this morning.

Princella Smith has been doing admirable work for American Solutions to build support for the Platform of the American People (POAP). The Platform is a core set of "tri-partisan" values, principles and solutions that will unite a majority of Americans and effect real change now.

Mrs. Smith's efforts have lead to the Nevada GOP recently adopting 13 planks into their State Platform, and U.S. Representative Kay Granger endorsing the Platform of the American People as well. There have also been almost 100 new people signing up on the POAP as well.

Princella will be on Neil Cavuto's show today on FOX at 4:05pm EST, and also she will appear with Newt on Hannity's America this Sunday, May 4th, at 9pmEST to talk about American Solutions and the Platform of the American People. Tune in!

I attended a conservative bloggers luncheon in D.C. this week with Sen. John Ensign (R-NV). He spoke on behalf of the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) and estimated that if Democrats pass the Card Check bill, then, for Wal-Mart alone (were it to be unionized by the easy Card Check method) up to $430 million in union dues would be collected -- money which funneled into political activity would utterly change the political landscape as we know it.

Sen. Ensign pulled no punches with his example above and stated that the biggest reason to help Senate Republicans keep their seats is to prevent the Democrats from passing the Card Check bill. This is important from a conservative perspective because it is a fundmental expectation that when you vote you do so privately, without intimidation. A Card Check bill would remove from workers the right to cast a secret ballot when deciding on unionzation and make it so they just need to sign a card, in public or wherever union officials could harrass you into doing so.

To wit, watch this excellent ad featuring a "Sopranos" star on the issue:

To learn more about preventing the Card Check bill from passing, visit the NRSC.