Welcome!

Hi, my name is Jess Raby, the proud 25 year old son of Hoyt and Donna Raby. I grew up in a large Christian family of seven. We attended church on Sunday mornings, evenings, and Wednesday nights. No questions were asked, we were there. Growing up, my family and I gave nearly all of our extra-curricular attention to the world of sports. All of us kids played football, basketball, baseball, and even golf at some point in our lives competitively. The closest I ever came to watching the news was on Friday nights waiting for Friday Night Hits, the local news sports segment that concentrated on High School Football.

I never paid any attention to politics. The only person I knew personally that did was my grandfather, Archie Raby. He raised his family - my dad and his sisters, as family that valued conservative social beliefs, but more liberal economics ideas. My late Grandfather supported the likes of Al Gore, Bill Clinton, Jimmy Carter, and people like Franklin Roosevelt. He was always committed to strict Christian social views but his vote would be based more on the President’s role in helping middle class families. I grew up saying I was a “Democrat” before I knew what that meant. My Uncle, Ken Yager, was the Roane County Mayor as a Republican; I didn’t know what that meant either. All of my family of course supported him, but in any other political arena, it was the Democratic candidate that my family tended to support.

My life was suddenly changed while attending college at Walter State Community College in Morristown, Tennessee by the attacks of 9/11. I began, for the first time in my life, watching closely the news to see how our President George Walker Bush would respond to the attacks. , I supported, as many Americans did at the time, the aggressive actions taken against the Taliban and Al Qaeda in Afghanistan. However, I didn’t pay much attention to politics beyond 9/11 until I moved to Chattanooga, TN to finish my college years at the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga. While attending school, I worked at Sears, and met a man who followed politics very closely named Roger Kincer. Each time we worked together, I quizzed him on his opinions.
It was then that my studies of politics and all related subjects really flourished. Kincer recommended me to a website- Boortz.com. Libertarian Neal Boortz who hosts his own radio show out of Atlanta would post a link called “Nealz Nuze” that I would read almost everyday. There he would give his view of the news of the day. This was what he considered a commentary of the news from a different perspective that we could not get from those in the mainstream media. Below his opinions he would link to columns written by conservative and libertarian columnists. It was there that I fell in love with the work of Walter Williams, Thomas Sowell, and Ralph Peters. Williams and Sowell concentrated on economics and social political policies, while Peters concentrated on foreign issues. From there I began buying their books on Amazon.com and continued to expand my knowledge of politics. By listening to Boortz on the radio, sometimes through noon I heard a man named Rush Limbaugh express his views and commentary on politics and current events.

Today I watch Fox News to keep up with the more fair and balanced reporting of the day’s events. Additionally, I watch commentary shows which include Neil Covuto’s show that concentrates on economics, Bill O’Reilly and his commentary on politics, and social issues, and finally Hannity and Combs for their concentration on Politics and the day’s news. In addition to paying closer attention to the news, I decided to educate myself on foreign policy issues by reading the works of Michael Evans, a Middle East expert – Robert Spencer, an expert on the religion of Islam, and Tommy Franks – 4 Star General of our armed forces during the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq. I read books that were recommended by my favorite University professor, Wilfred McClay, which concentrated on foreign policy philosophies. Most importantly I have continued my studies away from school by reading the works of authors such as William Bennett and David McCullough. I study World and American History for hours each week These influencers on my life: radio commentators such as Sean Hannity, Rush Limbaugh, Neal Boortz and others, as well as conservative authors who’s work is posted on websites such as Townhall.com, have been most convicting in my political life. Learning from them and other authors and experts like Charles Murray, whose studies focus on social policies and their effects on minorities, women, and society has shaped my political worldview. And, finally the influence of individuals like Roger Kincer and the many professors of mine whom I respect, has molded me into a well founded, rounded and educated man who desires to spread conservative ideas that help bring about prosperity to all who embrace the basic principles of personal freedom and personal responsibility.