The "Right, Left, and In Between Dialogue" planning committee present the 3rd in a series of local public forums, bringing together representatives of widely diverse thoughts.

The public is invited to hear speakers from many sides of the issue, and to participate in the discussion.

The format will be 3 speakers from each perspective, and a moderator.

The 1st part will be approximately 30 minutes, with each speaker giving introductory remarks of about 5 minutes each. Speakers will alternate between "right" and "left" viewpoints.

The 2nd part, also approximately 30 minutes, will have the speakers asking each other questions, and discussing their areas of agreement and disagreement.

The 3rd part will have audience members posing questions to the speakers.

The moderator will be Mike Spain, Associate Editor of the Times Union.

Panel:
The speakers will include "left" representation by Mabel Leon, Joe Lombardo, and Jason Peterson; and the "right" representation of John Minehan, Steven Vasquez, and Patrick Zeigler.

John Minehan is a lawyer who is of counsel to Minard Law, PLLC in Highland, New York. He graduated with honors from Albany Law School in 1999, where he served as a Note and Comment Editor on the Albany Law Journal of Science & Technology. That year he also received his Masters of Business Administration, concentrated in Health Administration, from the Graduate Management Institute, Union College. He received his undergraduate degree from the Virginia Military Institute, graduating Distinguished in General Merit, in 1984. Mr. Minehan served in a variety of Field Artillery and Military Intelligence assignments with the US Army in the Federal Republic of Germany, South West Asia, the Horn of Africa and the Continental United States.

Steven Vasquez is the NY State Coordinator for the Campaign for Liberty, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization of over 220,000 nationwide focusing on protecting individual civil rights, constitutional limited government, sound money, and non-interventionist foreign policy. As a leader in the NY Capital District along with a tireless group of Ron Paul grassroots supporters, Steven helped lead the charge against REAL-ID, the Patriot Act, 2nd Amendment civil rights violations, and the increase in government intervention. Steven ran in 2008 for Congress in the NY 21st District. A local entrepreneur, Steven founded ReQuest in Troy, NY, a consumer electronics company that invented the media server. Steven has an MBA, Masters of Engineering in Computer Networks, and a BS in Electrical Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

Patrick S. Ziegler is an active member of the Republican Party as a State Coordinator for Huck PAC and a Town of Ballston Committeeman. Patrick recently declared his interest in running for the 20th Congressional District seat as an independent Republican with strong grassroots support. He believes that government should work in the best interest of the people by limiting involvement in the private sector, protecting individual rights and freedoms and eliminating conflicts of interest within government. Patrick spent 13 years in higher education finance, eventually launching his own lending company, which lost its line of credit as a result of the fallout from the sub-prime mortgage crisis. He now works in insurance and assists families with college financing. He has a B.A. in Communication Arts from Molloy College and an M.A. in U.S. History from the University at Albany.

Mabel Leon of Schenectady is a mother of four grown child and four grandchildren. Her children and grandchildren are the personal inspiration in her life and the motivation for her social activism on issues of peace, justice, and human rights. She has worked for over 30 years in the professional field of early childhood education and child care. She is an amateur photographer. She is a member of Women Against War and Grannies for Peace.

Jason Peterson enlisted in the Marine Corps in the Delayed Entry Program in the 1st month of his senior year at Land O'Lakes High School, Land O' Lakes, Florida, as an Infantryman for six years. He went to Parris Island, S.C. in August of 1989 upon graduation of high school, graduated from the School of Infantry in March of 1990, checked in to 1st Battalion, 3rd Marines. While serving in 1st Battalion 3rd Marines he crossed trained with the Gurkha's from Nepal. He served as the 2nd platoon radio operator in Desert Shield and Storm, where he received his combat action ribbon, and then the company radio operator for Bravo Company. After Desert Storm he successfully completed the Commando Course in Tahiti while cross training with the Tahitian Marines, deployed to the Philippines conducting live ammunition patrols in search of Guerillas, and cross training with the Japanese Self Defense Force while deployed to mainland Japan. During his last year in the Marine Corps, Jason was transferred to Marine Aircraft Group 24 where he taught Base Defense. He was promoted to E-5, Sergeant, awarded his second Navy Achievement Medal, and was discharged honorably on August 9, 1995. Jason lives in Delmar, NY and is a member on the coordinating committee for Bethlehem Neighbors for Peace and is also a member of the Thomas Paine chapter of Veterans for Peace.

Joe Lombardo is a founding member and member of the coordinating committee of Bethlehem Neighbors for Peace. He is also on the administrative committee of the National Assembly to End the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars and Occupations, which is a national network of anti-war groups. During the Vietnam War, Joe was a full-time staffer for the National Peace Action Coalition, one of the two national anti-war coalitions of the period. He is a New York State worker , a member of CSEA and a member of the Troy Area Labor Council. Joe has been a life-long peace and labor activist.

Doors will open at 6:30pm, with the forum starting promptly at 7:00pm.

Note that this event was reschuled from Feb 24th due to a snowstorm that day.

Location:
WAMC Linda Norris Auditorium
339 Central Ave (at Quail St)
Albany, NY 12206
Map and directions:
maps.google.com...

Contact: Dennis Karius at the below email address, or 518 456-5721; or Mark Ryan at [show email address]

Sponsored by: the Right, Left and In Between Dialogue Planning Committee, consisting of people who are active members in the following local organizations: MoveOn.org Capital Region Council , Campaign for Liberty, Interfaith Alliance of NYS, 9-12 Project, Capital District Greens, We The People, Bethlehem Neighbors for Peace, John Birch Society, Labor-Religion Coalition of the Capital District/Jobs with Justice, and ARISE (A Regional Initiative Supporting Empowerment).

The "Right, Left, and In Between Dialogue" planning committee's first forum was on health care: ActivistResource.org...