I do not have any pets now. My youngest daughter has been lobbying for a snake, which is definitely out of the question-- although she did coax me into petting an enormous python at the recent exotic pet show at the State Fairgrounds. Growing up my family had dogs as pets. My wife and I and our kids are in discussions now about getting a dog.

The Dept of agriculture should continue to play a role in encouraging local food production as a means toward reducing CO2 emissions in an effort to reduce global warming.

In Illinois s new law encourages local food production. The Local Food, Farms, and Jobs Act sets procurement goals of local farm and food products for food purchases funded by the state.

One goal of the law is that by 2020 20% of all food and food products purchased by state agencies and state-owned facilities be produced in Illinois. State-owned facilities include prisons and public universities.

A second goal of the law is that by 2020 10% of all food and food products purchased by entities that are at least partly funded by state dollars be produced in Illinois. This category includes public schools, child care facilities, and hospitals

I particularly like policies that do multiple things at once. For instance, requiring schools and child care facilities to purchase locally grown food, reduces carbon emissions

Elaine Marshall and I are 2 very different candidates with 2 every different sets of life stories and professional experiences.

My life story presents arc of a great-grandmother born into slavery to the opportunity for me to run for the US Senate not from inside the political system but from the outside. I have also been privileged to be a part of many many communities and have had a broad array of life and professional experiences--- from the community in East Winston-Salem where I grew up, to the campus of Winston-Salem State (where spent the afternoons of my elementary school years with my dad, who was a professor there) to Duke University and Harvard Law School to representing a broad array of businesses in a large law firm as a young lawyer to starting and growing a law firm that represented entrepreneurs and and innovative non-profits in the community development arena. This broad and deep experience has allowed me to see first hand the common interests of communities that often see themselves as defined by their differences. Now more than ever, our state and our country need leadership the focuses on our common interests and the innovative ways that we can achieve success together. These experiences in my life and in my career allow me to speak to the interests of a broad audience of North Carolinians and also frame my approach to public policy. I think this will make me a different kind of candidate.

I believe global warming is an accepted scientific fact that requires us as a nation to search for renewable energy source thereby lowering our CO2 emissions. This search creates the economic environment that spawns green jobs which, in turn, will become an increasingly bigger part of our state and national economy. North Carolina is well positioned by virtue of its vast agricultural lands and farming expertise, coastal plains, mountain regions, research universities and high tech business centers to be a leader in alternative energy in the areas of biofuels, wind and solar power. Federal governmental policies the promote research and investment in these technologies will not only help address climate change and reduce our dependence on oil, but will help create the new businesses and industries in North Carolina that will lead to the next wave of good jobs and prosperity in our state.

I am not sure what label applies here. However, I am a firm believer in opportunity and hard work. I also believe that everyone has the responsibility to use their talents and abilities to work to improve the lives of others, and to give back to society. I am deeply devoted to my family, and would say that my teenagers would describe me as old school and conservative in my attitudes about their dress, the music they listen to and, the television and movies they watch.

Regarding President Carter's comments, I find it difficult and not particularly helpful or relevant to assess what is in the hearts of others. I prefer to assess people by their actions.

I support the principle that two users each paying for different levels of access to the Internet should be able to connect to each other at that given rate of access.

I would oppose any attempt to remove competition by imposing a tiered service model or through the creation of artificial scarcities

Of course it must be noted that Pres. Bush inherited a budget surplus, not a deficit. Deficit spending to fund the stimulus was based on the view by economists across the political spectrum that absent a significant stimulus package a depression could have been triggered last year. Sustainable balanced budget can only be achieved when we have meaningful health care reform that drives down unsustainable health care costs.