Coordinates	16°44′0″N96°15′0″N
Name	Jon Kyl
Office1	Senate Minority Whip
Term start1	December 19, 2007
Leader1	Mitch McConnell
Predecessor1	Trent Lott
Jr/sr	United States Senator
State	Arizona
Alongside	John McCain
Term start	January 3, 1995
Predecessor	Dennis DeConcini
State3	Arizona
District3	4th
Term start3	January 3, 1987
Term end3	January 3, 1995
Predecessor3	Eldon Rudd
Successor3	John Shadegg
Birth date	April 25, 1942
Birth place	Oakland, Nebraska, U.S.
Party	Republican Party
Spouse	Caryll Collins
Children	KristineJohn
Alma mater	University of ArizonaRogers College of Law
Profession	Attorney
Religion	Presbyterian
Website	Senator Jon Kyl }}

Jon Llewellyn Kyl (; born April 25, 1942) is the junior U.S. Senator from Arizona and the Senate Minority Whip, the second-highest position in the Republican Senate leadership. In 2010 he was recognized by ''Time'' magazine as one of the 100 most influential people in the world for his persuasive role in the Senate.

The son of U.S. Representative John Henry Kyl, he was born and raised in Nebraska and lived for some time in Iowa. He received his bachelor's degree and law degree from the University of Arizona. He worked in Phoenix, Arizona as a lawyer and lobbyist before winning election to the United States House of Representatives, where he served from 1987 to 1995. He was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1994 and has been re-elected by large margins since.

Kyl is a staunch conservative, ranked by ''National Journal'' in 2007 as the fourth-most conservative U.S. Senator. He has been a fixture of Republican policy leadership posts, chairing the Republican Policy Committee (2003–2007) and the Republican Conference (2007). In December 2007 he became Senate Minority Whip. In February 2011, Kyl announced that he would not seek reelection to the Senate at the end of his third term, which concludes January 3, 2013. He expressly ruled out running for further office except, if offered, the Vice-Presidency.

Early life, education and career

Kyl was born in Oakland, Nebraska, the son of Arlene Pearl (née Griffith) and John Henry Kyl, a teacher at Nebraska State Teachers College. His father served as a Congressman from Iowa after moving his family to Bloomfield, Iowa. After graduating from high school in 1960, Kyl attended the University of Arizona where he earned a bachelor's degree in 1964, graduating with honors. Kyl is a member of the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity. He then earned a law degree in 1966 at the University of Arizona's James E. Rogers College of Law, and served as editor-in-chief of the ''Arizona Law Review''. Before entering politics, he was a lawyer and lobbyist with Jennings, Strouss & Salmon in Phoenix, Arizona.

Kyl is married to Caryll Collins, with whom he has had two children. They also have seven grandchildren.

U.S House of Representatives

Kyl served in the House of Representatives from 1987 to 1995. He was first elected in 1986 against Democrat Philip R. Davis, 64.5% to 35.5%. He was reelected in 1988 against Gary Sprunk of the Libertarian party, 87% to 13%; in 1990 against Democrat Mark Ivey, Jr., 61% to 39%; and in 1992 against Democrat Walter R. Mybeck, II, 59.2% to 26.7%.

U.S. Senate

Committee assignments

Committee on the Judiciary

*United States Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Terrorism (Ranking Member)

*United States Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Human Rights

*United States Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration, Refugees and Border Security

Committee on Finance

*United States Senate Finance Subcommittee on Taxation and IRS Oversight (Ranking Member)

*United States Senate Finance Subcommittee on Health Care

*United States Senate Finance Subcommittee on Social Security, Pensions, and Family Policy

Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction

Leadership

Kyl has been elected by his fellow Senate Republicans to a succession of leadership posts: Policy Committee chairman (2003–2007), Conference chairman (2007), and most recently (in December 2007), Senate Minority Whip. Kyl's ascension to Minority Whip makes him the first Arizonan to hold such an influential Senate leadership post since Democrat Ernest W. McFarland served as Senate Majority Leader from 1951 to 1953. Kyl is the only Arizona Republican to hold such a powerful leadership position.

Political positions

Kyl is considered to be a conservative, and was ranked by ''National Journal'' as the fourth-most conservative United States Senator in their March 2007 conservative/liberal rankings. In addition, in April 2006, Kyl was selected by ''Time Magazine'' as one of "America's 10 Best Senators"; the magazine cited his successful behind-the-scene efforts as head of the Senate Republican Policy Committee.

Crime victims' rights

Kyl was one of the original sponsors, along with Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein, of an effort to amend the United States Constitution to protect crime victims' rights in the criminal justice system. When in 2004 it appeared that the constitutional amendment would not receive the requisite 2/3 support to pass the Senate, Kyl and Feinstein authored the Crime Victims' Rights Act, which listed a victims' bill of rights and provided mandamus relief in appellate court for any victim denied those rights. The act also offered sanctions against government officials who wantonly and willfully refused to comply with the Crime Victims' Rights Act.

Arms control

In November 2010, Kyl announced that he would oppose the New START arms control treaty's ratification in the lame duck session. He was unsuccessful in this regard, as the treaty passed easily.

Internet gambling

In September 2006, working with then-Congressman Jim Leach, Jon Kyl was a major Senate supporter of Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006. The Act was passed at midnight the day Congress adjourned before the 2006 elections. Prior to it being added to the bill, the gambling provisions had not been debated by any Congressional committee, although the general issue had been debated in multiple times in the past. When publication of the associated regulations was delayed until June 2010, Kyl responded by denying unanimous consent to confirm the appointment of 6 nominees to the US Treasury Department, none of whom specialized on gambling issues.

Healthcare

Kyl voted against the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act in December 2009, and he voted against the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010.

Other

In February 2006, Kyl joined Senator Lindsey Graham in an amicus brief in the ''Hamdan v. Rumsfeld'' case. The brief presented to the Supreme Court of the United States an "extensive colloquy" added to the Congressional Record. It was not, however, included in the December 21st debate as evidence that "Congress was aware" that the Detainee Treatment Act of 2005 would strip the Court of jurisdiction to hear "pending cases, including this case" brought by the Guantanamo detainees.

In 2011, Kyl said that the GOP had abandoned opposition to defense cuts.

Controversies

Planned Parenthood

On April 8, 2011, Kyl spoke on the Senate floor and claimed that performing abortions is "well over 90 percent of what Planned Parenthood does." Planned Parenthood responded that 90 percent of its services are to provide contraception, STD and cancer testing and treatment, and only 3 percent are abortion-related. A spokesperson for Kyl later claimed the senator’s remark "was not intended to be a factual statement but rather to illustrate that Planned Parenthood, an organization that receives millions in taxpayer dollars, does subsidize abortions." Politifact noted that Planned Parenthood's numbers (from their most recent Annual Report, year ending June 30, 2009) are the result of self-reporting and that there is no national audit on such claims, but stated their belief that Kyl "vastly overstated" the number. A political science professor writing at National Review Online suggested that perhaps Kyl's comments were based on the services specific to pregnancy itself, citing Planned Parenthood's 2009 annual report figures and claiming that 98% of those services were for abortion. The phrase "not intended to be a factual statement" was mocked by political comedians such as Stephen Colbert, who joked, "You can’t call him out for being wrong when he never intended to be right."

Political campaigns

Kyl was first elected to the Senate in 1994, defeating Samuel G. Coppersmith (D), then a member of the House of Representatives, 54% to 40%. Libertarian Party candidate Scott Grainger got 6% of the votes.

Kyl was reelected in 2000 without major-party opposition, with 79.3% of the vote. Independent William Toel got 7.8%; Green Party candidate Vance Hansen also got 7.8%; and Barry Hess of the Libertarian Party got 5.1%.

On November 7, 2006, Kyl defeated real estate developer and former Arizona Democratic Party chairman Jim Pederson to win his third term in the Senate. Kyl won with 53.3% of the vote; Pederson received 43.5%; and Libertarian Party candidate Richard Mack received 3.2%. The race was one of the most expensive in Arizona history, with Kyl raising more than $15 million and Pederson raising just shy of that amount.

A major issue in the campaign was illegal immigration. While in the Senate, Kyl cosponsored legislation that would give illegal immigrants up to five years to leave the country. Once there, they could apply for permanent residence or be guest workers. Since fellow Arizona Senator John McCain opposed this legislation, Pederson tried to use the issue as a way of allying with McCain and dividing the Republicans in Arizona. Controversy also arose when each candidate accused the other of supporting the amnesty provisions in a 1986 immigration bill, although both candidates deny ever supporting those provisions.

Kyl appeared in the U.S. national news near the end of the campaign as an example of a case where some bloggers were attempting to influence search engine results for searches on Kyl's name, using Google bombs.

References

External links

United States Senator Jon Kyl ''official U.S. Senate site''

Jon Kyl at PolitiFact.com Truth-O-Meter

Profile at SourceWatch

{{U.S. Senator box | before=Dennis DeConcini | state=Arizona | class=1 | start=1995 | alongside=John McCain}}

Category:1942 births Category:Living people Category:Arizona lawyers Category:Arizona Republicans Category:Members of the United States House of Representatives from Arizona Category:People from Oakland, Nebraska Category:Republican Party United States Senators Category:United States Senators from Arizona Category:University of Arizona alumni Category:James E. Rogers College of Law alumni Category:Conservatism in the United States

da:Jon Kyl de:Jon Kyl fr:Jon Kyl ga:Jon Kyl ko:존 카일 it:Jon Kyl la:Ioannes Llewellyn Kyl nl:Jon Kyl no:Jon Kyl pl:Jon Kyl pt:Jon Kyl ru:Кайл, Джон sk:Jon Llewellyn Kyl fi:Jon Kyl sv:Jon Kyl zh:瓊·凱爾

Kirk Adams is a former Republican member of the Arizona House of Representatives from legislative district 19. Adams served as a representative until 2009, at which point he was elected to the office of Speaker of the House. In the Spring of 2011, Adams resigned from office to announce that he would run in 2012 for Congress in Arizona's 6th congressional district, the seat left open by Jeff Flake.

Biography

Adams was born in Phoenix, Arizona, and graduated from Mountain View High School (Mesa) in Mesa, Arizona in 1991.

Speaker Kirk Adams is an advocate of conservative politics and small business. During his tenure in the Legislature, Speaker Adams advocated an aggressive agenda of reform and job creation. His legislative efforts include: health care reform; pension reform; initiative reform; tax reform; CPS reform; and transparency in government.

During his tenure in Congress, Adams endorsed legislation to promote private sector growth, one of which such pieces of legislation resulted in the largest permanent tax cut in Arizona history. Adams even took on the public-employee unions, authoring and passing a top-to-bottom reform of the state pension system to free taxpayers from ever increasing liabilities. Also, he personally opted out of the elected officials retirement plan, earning him recognition from the National Taxpayers Union. As Speaker, Adams helped ensure the passage of Arizona SB1070 and make sure it was defended both in the court of law and against the media and national boycott groups.

External links

''official Arizona House of Representatives website''

Category:Living people Category:Members of the Arizona House of Representatives Category:Arizona Republicans

Coordinates	16°44′0″N96°15′0″N
Name	Dennis Prager
Birth date	August 02, 1948
Birth place	USA
Religion	Jewish
Occupation	Radio host, political commentator, author, and television personality
Children	1 Grandchild (announced 9/15/2010)
Web site	dennisprager.com
Accessdate	}}

Dennis Prager (born August 2, 1948) is an American syndicated radio talk show host, syndicated columnist, author, and public speaker. He is noted for his conservative political and social views emanating from conservative Judeo-Christian values. He holds that there is an "American Trinity" of essential principles, which he lists as E Pluribus Unum, In God We Trust, and Liberty. He is a Media Fellow at the Hoover Institution of Stanford University. He taught Jewish and Russian History at Brooklyn College, and was a Fellow at the Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs, where he did his graduate work at the Russian Institute (now the Harriman Institute) and Middle East Institute from 1970-1972. He has lectured in 46 states and on six continents and traveled in 98 countries and the 50 U.S. states. He speaks French, Russian, and Hebrew, and has lectured in Russian in Russia and in Hebrew in Israel. An avid classical music lover, he periodically conducts orchestras in Southern California.

Early life

Raised in Brooklyn, New York, Prager attended Yeshiva Rambam from kindergarten through 8th grade and Yeshiva of Flatbush for high school, where he met his future co-author Joseph Telushkin in the 10th grade. Prager attended Brooklyn College majoring in Middle Eastern Studies and History; he graduated in 1970. He went on to study at the Russian Institute (now the Harriman Institute) at Columbia University.

Political views

In his articles, broadcasts, and lectures, Prager states that the U.S. is engaged in a "second non-violent civil war" "culture war" over the fundamental moral values on which he believes American society was built. Prager argues that many influential American institutions (including universities, trial lawyers, labor unions, the ACLU, civil rights groups, and most large newspapers and television networks) are dominated by "secular leftists," who, he says, attack and misrepresent Judeo-Christian values and their positive historical effect upon America and the world. In 2005, 24 of his columns were devoted to explaining those values and how he believes they make the United States special. Prager can be heard Monday through Friday, 9 to noon (Pacific), noon to 3pm (Eastern) in most major markets on the Salem Radio Network.

Controversy involving Keith Ellison

Prager in early 2009 accused Congressman Keith Ellison, a Muslim, of taking the oath of office in a photo-op reenactment of the actual oath with the Islamic Quran. Prager stated that America was "imperiled" by Ellison taking the oath on the Quran in substitution of the Bible as the Bible, "the moral basis of American civilization" in Prager's view, had never before been replaced by another religious work. Some conservative commentators such as Tucker Carlson were critical of this position, pointing out that the US Constitution requires no religious test. Carlson stated: "I'm no great defender of the Koran but I'm not sure why America is imperiled by Keith Ellison's taking the oath on it. …it's hard for me to believe I'm defending the Koran here. But that document [the Constitution] says very clearly no religious test will ever be required for holding office and you're implying holding up a religious test. …If you don't believe in the God at the very center [of] that document [the Christian Bible], you still have to acknowledge the centrality of the document? With respect, that doesn't make sense. …Here we have a Jew pushing a Muslim to use the Christian Bible. This is - that's America."

Bibliography

Prager's columns are handled by Creators Syndicate. He wrote for the Sunday ''Los Angeles Times'' "Current" section, and writes a weekly column published in newspapers such as the ''Washington Examiner'' and online at Townhall.com, National Review Online, ''Jewish World Review'' and elsewhere. He also writes a bi-weekly column for the ''Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles''.

He is also the author of four books:

''Nine Questions People Ask About Judaism'' (with Joseph Telushkin) (1986) ISBN 0-6716-2261-7

''Think a Second Time'' (1996) ISBN 0-0609-8709-X

''Happiness Is a Serious Problem: A Human Nature Repair Manual'' (1999) ISBN 0-0609-8735-9

''Why the Jews? The Reason for Antisemitism'' (with Joseph Telushkin) (2003) ISBN 0-7432-4620-9

See also

List of newspaper columnists

References

External links

Prager University

Dennis Prager Controversy in Joining the US Holocaust Memorial Museum from Holocaust Survivors and Remembrance Project

Dennis Prager Features at Creators Syndicate

Pragerradio.com

Townhall columns

Podcasts of Prager's recent articles

Dennis Prager Biography

Why Are Atheists So Angry? A Debate Between Prager and Sam Harris

Category:1948 births Category:American Jews Category:Living people Category:American columnists Category:American political pundits Category:American talk radio hosts Category:Jewish American writers Category:American Orthodox Jews Category:Islam-related controversies Category:Writers on antisemitism Category:Scholars of antisemitism Category:Columbia University alumni Category:People from Brooklyn

de:Dennis Prager he:דניס פרגר yi:דעניס פרעגער

Coordinates	16°44′0″N96°15′0″N
name	Dennis Miller
birth date	November 03, 1953
birth place	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States
medium	Stand-up, Television, Film, Books, Radio
nationality	American
active	1975–present
genre	Satire/Political satire/News satire, Observational comedy, Wit/Word play, Black comedy, Surreal humor
subject	American politics, American culture, current events, pop culture, libertarianism, American conservatism
influences	George Carlin, Jay Leno, Richard Belzer, Dean Martin,
spouse	Carolyn (Ali) Espley (April 10, 1988 – present) (2 children)
notable work	''Weekend Update'' anchor on ''Saturday Night Live''Host of ''Dennis Miller Live''Color commentator on ''Monday Night Football''Host of ''The Dennis Miller Show''
website	www.dennismillerradio.com

}} Dennis Miller (born November 3, 1953) is an American stand-up comedian, political commentator, actor, sports commentator, and television and radio personality. He is known for his critical assessments laced with pop culture references. He rose to fame as a cast member of ''Saturday Night Live'' in 1985, and subsequently hosted a string of his own talk shows on HBO, CNBC and in syndication. He currently hosts a daily, three-hour, self-titled talk radio program, nationally syndicated by Westwood One.

Although in his early years of fame he was perceived to be quite liberal and anti-Republican, in recent years, Miller has become known for his right leaning political opinions. He is a regular political commentator on Fox News Channel's ''The O'Reilly Factor'' in a segment called "Miller Time", and previously appeared on the network's ''Hannity & Colmes'' in a segment called "Real Free Speech".

Early life

Miller was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and grew up in Castle Shannon, a suburb of Pittsburgh, where he graduated from Keystone Oaks High School in 1971. His parents separated and Miller was raised by his mother, Norma, a dietitian. Miller is of Scottish descent. At Point Park University, he majored in journalism because he thought it would be easy: "I remember seeing ''All the President's Men'' and thinking Redford looked cool in his crinkled tie." He was a member of Sigma Tau Gamma Fraternity. About his social status during this period, Miller writes: "When I went to college, I lived on campus, and the guys I hung out with made me do some things I'm not proud of, although they made the characters in ''Revenge of the Nerds'' look like the Rat Pack in 1962. I myself made that kid Booger look like Remington Steele" (''I Rant, Therefore I Am''). Miller graduated from Point Park University in 1976.

In 1979 Miller won $500 as a runner-up in Playboy magazine's first annual humor competition with the following joke:

Television career

In the early 1980s, Miller hosted ''The Trolley Show'', a Saturday afternoon newsmagazine for teenagers, on Pittsburgh's KDKA-TV. He also produced humorous essays for the syndicated ''Evening Magazine'' television program. Miller then began performing stand-up in New York comedy clubs such as Catch A Rising Star and The Comic Strip, as well as in Los Angeles at The Comedy Store. He appeared on ''Star Search'', where he lost out to fellow comedian Sinbad after the two tied with judges' scores, but Sinbad won with a higher studio-audience approval rating.

''Saturday Night Live''

Miller's big break came in 1985 when he was discovered by Lorne Michaels at The Comedy Store. He landed a spot on ''Saturday Night Live'', where he succeeded Christopher Guest as the ''Weekend Update'' anchor. The spot was supposed to go to comic Jon Lovitz, but Lovitz was scheduled for other parts on the show and needed the ''Update'' segment to do costume changes; so Miller was drafted to read the news. Miller began his fictional news reports with "Good evening, and what can I tell you?" and closed with "That's the news, folks, and I am outta here!" Fans of ''SNL'' became accustomed to his smirky delivery, high-pitched giggle, and frequently primped hair idiosyncrasies that would be spoofed by Dana Carvey, Tom Hanks, and Jimmy Fallon, all of whom have impersonated Miller on the show. When Miller left ''SNL'' in 1991, the anchor's chair was turned over to Kevin Nealon.

In 1988, Miller released a stand-up comedy CD, ''The Off-White Album'', derived from an HBO special titled ''Mr. Miller Goes to Washington'', which drew heavily from the observational and metaphor-driven style he was known for on ''Saturday Night Live'', and showed glimpses of the political humor that would influence his later work. A well-received HBO special, ''Dennis Miller: Black and White'', aired shortly after the release of the CD.

Although Miller spent much of his time on ''SNL'' behind the ''Weekend Update'' desk, he was included in some sketches and did a few recurring characters and celebrity impersonations.

Recurring characters

Koko, one of the pixies in the recurring sketch "Miss Connie's Fable Nook"

Steve, one of The Stand-Ups (others include Jon Lovitz as Bob, Damon Wayans as Keith, and Tom Hanks as Paul)

Celebrity impersonations

Gary Hart

George Harrison

Nathaniel Crosby

''The Dennis Miller Show''

In 1992, following his departure from ''Saturday Night Live'', Miller launched a late-night TV talk show, ''The Dennis Miller Show'', syndicated by Tribune Entertainment. ''The Dennis Miller Show'' was among the first "alternative" talk shows, featuring cutting-edge bands and other groundbreaking guests not seen on other late-night programs of the time. For example, Toad the Wet Sprocket made their national television debut on the show, and Henry Rollins stopped by occasionally to chat with Miller and perform spoken word. Andy Summers, formerly of the band The Police, led the house band, and Nick Bakay was the announcer. The show's staff boasted a standard mix of past and future performers, writers, and producers of note including Nick Bakay, Todd Baker, Mark Brazill (''That '70s Show''), Eddie Feldmann, David Kohan & Max Mutchnick (creators of ''Will & Grace''), Norm Macdonald, Bob Odenkirk (''Mr. Show''), John Riggi, Kevin Rooney, Herbert Sargent (''Saturday Night Live''), Drake Sather, and Dave Thomas (''Second City TV'').

''Dennis Miller Live''

Beginning in 1994, Miller hosted ''Dennis Miller Live'', a half-hour talk show on HBO. The show's theme song was the iconic Tears for Fears hit ''Everybody Wants to Rule the World'', and also utilized a snippet of the song ''Civilized'' by the Rollins Band. The show was taped at CBS Television City on the same stage that ''The Price Is Right'' is taped. It utilized a small set and sparse lighting, and there was no band. It comprised mainly Miller, speaking to the largely unseen studio audience, on a darkened stage. He hosted one guest per show, with whom he would discuss the topic of the day. Early on, they were all interviewed live via satellite, but soon most guests were live in the studio. There was also a call-in segment. The number was originally given as 1-800-LACTOSE. Later, he referred to it only by its numeric equivalent (1-800-522-8673). Within the time available, Miller typically could accommodate only two or three calls. He gradually eliminated call-ins entirely in the last few seasons of the show. Miller and his writing staff won five Emmy Awards during the show's run, which aired 215 episodes over nine years. HBO cancelled the show in 2002.

''Monday Night Football''

In 2000, Miller beat out Rush Limbaugh and Tony Kornheiser (among others) for a job as color commentator on ABC's ''Monday Night Football''. His commentary was sprinkled with esoteric references. A common Miller-ism was after a Hail Mary pass fell incomplete, he would say "Hail Mary is denied – separation of church and state." After two seasons, Miller and former San Diego Chargers' quarterback Dan Fouts (who worked alongside play-by-play man Al Michaels) were replaced by the veteran football commentator John Madden. In 2010, TV Guide Network listed Miller's stint at #12 on their list of ''25 Biggest TV Blunders''.

CNBC show

{{infobox television | | show name	Dennis Miller | image | caption Dennis Miller on his self-titled CNBC show | format Talk show | runtime 60 minutes | creator | starring Dennis Miller | opentheme | endtheme | country | network CNBC | first_aired January 26, 2004 | last_aired May 13, 2005 | num_episodes 220 | italic_titleno }}

In 2003, Miller provided short-lived regular commentary for the Fox News show ''Hannity & Colmes'' before moving on to do a prime-time political show on CNBC in early 2004 called, simply, ''Dennis Miller''. The hour-long show contained a daily news segment called "The Daily Rorschach", which was reminiscent of his ''Weekend Update'' segments. He also had a chimpanzee, as a nod to the early days of the Today show and their mascot J. Fred Muggs. The show also featured a panel discussion dubbed "The Varsity", which offered a wide variety of political viewpoints on current topics. Frequent "Varsity" panelists included Ed Schultz, Gloria Allred, Willie Brown, David Horowitz, Mickey Kaus, Steven Katz, Lawrence O'Donnell, Phil Hendrie, and Harry Shearer. CNBC cancelled the show in May 2005 due to declining viewership.

Guest appearances and commercials

Miller has appeared as a guest or guest star on various shows, including ''Boston Public'', ''The Daily Show'', ''Hannity & Colmes'', ''NewsRadio'', ''The O'Reilly Factor'', ''The Norm Show'', ''Real Time with Bill Maher'', ''SportsCenter'', and late-night talk shows such as ''The Tonight Show with Jay Leno'', ''Late Night with David Letterman'' and ''The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson''.

Miller hosted the MTV Video Music Awards in 1995 and 1996. He was also the host of HBO's 1996 series of election specials, ''Not Necessarily the Election''.

He has appeared in various television commercials, serving as a spokesman for M&M;'s candies, 10-10-220 long distance service, and the Internet service provider NetZero. About these activities he has remarked: "Everybody has to sell out at some point to make a living. I'm a family man. I sold out to make an M&M; commercial. They offer incredible amounts of money, and I say, ‘What can I do to sell one more piece of candy for you? Do you want me to hug the M&M;?’ " Dennis also did a short B2B commercial for Blockbuster/IBM partnership company, New Leaf Entertainment http://retailgeek.com/retail/future-of-retail-as-seen-in-1992.

Return to Fox News Channel

On September 21, 2006, Miller returned to Fox News Channel with a two-and-a-half-minute commentary on illegal immigration during his "Real Free Speech" segment on ''Hannity & Colmes''. He appeared on 13 of the 17 aired episodes of the comedy show ''The Half Hour News Hour''. Currently, he has a weekly segment called "Miller Time" on ''The O'Reilly Factor''. Miller has also appeared on ''Red Eye w/ Greg Gutfeld'' under the pseudonym "Mansquito", a name Miller has pledged to use on future appearances on the network.

Game shows

Miller co-hosted the game show ''Grand Slam'', which aired on GSN in 2007.

For one month, Miller hosted ''Amne$ia'' for NBC. The show was a replacement program commissioned during the 2007–08 Writers Guild of America strike and was canceled once the strike was resolved and scripted programming returned to the network.

''Sports Unfiltered'' on Versus

Miller's days as a sports commentator did not end when he left ''Monday Night Football.'' In 2007, Versus, the cable network best known for its coverage of the National Hockey League, tapped Miller to host ''Sports Unfiltered''.

Radio career

''The Dennis Miller Show''

In January 2007, Miller signed a deal with Westwood One to launch a weekday three-hour talk radio program. The program debuted on March 26, 2007. The show's website provides a live stream of the broadcast. The site also makes archives of all shows available in MP3 format. The live feed is free, but a subscription to the Dennis Miller Zone (DMZ) is required in order to access archived broadcasts. The show airs on 250+ stations, many of which (especially in the major markets) are owned by Salem Communications, airing on tape delay on some of those stations between 6–9 pm ET and 9 pm-12 am ET. Salem stations also air a "best of" Miller show on Saturdays. His former on-air sidekick "Salman" (David S. Weiss) also wrote for ''Dennis Miller Live''. His producer "Christian" previously appeared on-camera as dozens of different characters during the "Daily Rorschach" segment on his CNBC television show.

Miller's program includes serious discussions about American culture, current events, politics, and their place in the global context. The show is infused with Miller's sarcasm, which is often characterized by obscure pop culture references. For example, each hour of the show opens up with an arcane reference. The first hour's opening phrase is a combination of dialogue from the film ''Thank You for Smoking'' and a U.S. space program slogan coined by Alan Shepard: "What's up, Hiroshi? Let's light this candle!" Miller's other opening phrases for his second and third hours respectively are "Come to me my babies, let me quell your pain", (Powers Boothe as Jim Jones in ''Guyana Tragedy: The Story of Jim Jones'') and "ABC – Always be closing if you want the knife set" (from ''Glengarry Glen Ross'').

Most shows feature three guests (one per hour), mostly from the world of politics and entertainment, as well as calls from listeners. Guests include fellow comedians and ''SNL'' alumni (such as Dana Carvey and Jon Lovitz), pundits and authors such as Ann Coulter, Aaron Klein and Mark Steyn (while the show's guest list leans right of center, there are several liberals who have appeared on the show, such as Dennis Kucinich and Alan Dershowitz), Presidential candidates, several sports commentators, and some "regulars", Howard Fineman of ''Newsweek'', singer Peter Noone of Herman's Hermits, Nikki Finke, and Representative David Dreier, a Republican congressman from California, among many others. Dennis Miller generally takes calls every hour, and in addition to comments about culture and politics, Miller encourages humorous callers and often comments on their comedic delivery. A segment on Fridays is set aside for "Dennis Ex Machina", his term for a segment without a guest, where he allows phone calls on any topic.

According to ''Talkers Magazine'' estimates, as of September 2010, Miller's show has an estimated 1,740,000 weekly listeners. Talkers ranks him 33rd among the country's top radio talk show hosts in 2011. Miller and Westwood One renewed their agreement in September 2009, for an undisclosed number of years.

Other endeavors

Miller periodically performs stand-up at the Orleans Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas. In recent appearances, he has done a mix of his old and new material, with some political jokes as well.

He has authored four books based on his stand-up comedy and television monologues: ''The Rants'' (1996), ''Ranting Again'' (1999), ''I Rant, Therefore I Am'' (2000), and ''The Rant Zone'' (2001).

Miller has appeared in several films, in both comedic and non-comedic roles. His movie credits include ''Madhouse'', ''Disclosure'', ''The Net'', ''Never Talk to Strangers'', ''Bordello of Blood'', ''What Happens in Vegas'' and ''Murder at 1600''. He plays the Howard Stern-like talk-radio host Zander Kelly in ''Joe Dirt'' (2001) and appears as himself in ''Thank You for Smoking'' (2006).

Miller guest hosted the Slammy Awards episode of WWE Raw on December 14, 2009.

Comedic style

Miller is known for his laid-back style (for example, calling people "babe" or referring to them as "cats") and acerbic, brooding sense of humor. His specialty is the rant—a stream-of-consciousness diatribe monologue in which he rails against whatever happens to be bothering him at the moment. Such rants typically begin with "Now, I don't want to get off on a rant here, but..." and end with "...of course, that's just my opinion. I could be wrong." (During the first two seasons of ''Dennis Miller Live'', his rants ended with "Aw, fuck it. Who wants pie?")

Miller's monologues and standup routines often feature elaborate similes and metaphors involving allusions to obscure people, places, and things. Miller has alluded to his own reputation for obscurity by titling one of his television specials ''Citizen Arcane''. On his passion for language, he has remarked: "I've always loved the flirtatious tango of consonants and vowels, the sturdy dependability of nouns and capricious whimsy of verbs, the strutting pageantry of the adjective and the flitting evanescence of the adverb, all kept safe and orderly by those reliable little policemen, punctuation marks. Wow! Think I got my ass kicked in high school?"

He was voted number 21 on Comedy Central's list of the 100 Greatest Stand-ups of All Time.

Personal life

Miller married Carolyn "Ali" Espley, a former model from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, on April 10, 1988. Espley is best known as the girl in Kajagoogoo's "Too Shy" music video. The couple live in Santa Barbara, California, with their two sons, Holden (born 1990) and Marlon (born 1993). His younger brother Jimmy Miller has been a manager for comedians such as Jim Carrey, Will Ferrell, Judd Apatow, and Sacha Baron Cohen.

Political views

During the late 1980s and continuing through the 1990s, Miller was generally perceived as a cynic on the left, ever eager to bash conservative Republicans. This perception did not change much even when Miller told ''USA Today'' in 1995: "I might be profane and opinionated, but underneath all that are some pretty conservative feelings. On most issues, between Clinton and Newt Gingrich, I'd choose Newt in a second, even though he is a bit too exclusionary." Miller also declared himself a "conservative libertarian" in a 1996 ''Playboy'' interview.

Miller's ideology changed significantly in the years following the September 11, 2001 attacks, when he became one of the Hollywood celebrities backing George W. Bush and the war in Iraq. Miller has said that one of the defining moments, in addition to 9/11, for his move from the Democratic to the Republican Party was watching a 2004 primary debate between the nine Democrats then contending for their party's nomination. "I haven't seen a starting nine like that since the '62 Mets", he remarked.

Slate.com commentator Dennis Cass describes Miller as having changed from a "left-leaning, Dada-ist wisenheimer" to a "tell-it-like-it-is, right-wing blowhard." The perceived change did not surprise former ''Saturday Night Live'' colleague and Democratic Party Senator Al Franken, however: "People have said to me, ‘What happened to Dennis?’ Nothing happened to Dennis. He's the same Dennis. He's always had a conservative streak on certain issues."

While not at all shy about expressing his conservative opinions on topics such as taxes and foreign policy, Miller is quick to point out that he is still quite liberal on many social issues, including abortion and gay marriage. During a recent interview, Miller said "I'm basically a libertarian. I'm pro-gay marriage and pro-choice, but nobody wants to hear all that.... They determine who you are based on the war." During an interview on ''The Tonight Show with Jay Leno'', he said that he did not believe in global warming, and that even if it was happening, he would not mind it because he does not like to be cold.

In a radio interview with Penn Jillette on September 22, 2006, Miller explained his libertarianism, saying, "...[a libertarian is] what I am, I'll be honest with you. I'm for gay marriage. I don't believe in abortion but I'm pro-choice 'cause it's none of my business. Pretty much anything goes with me if you're not infringing yourself on other people but, I'll tell ya, 9/11 changed me.... You gotta go around and explain it to people and they think you're a turncoat."

On February 21, 2007, while appearing as a guest on ''The O'Reilly Factor'', and again on May 25, 2007, while appearing as a guest on ''The Tonight Show'', Miller stated that he initially supported Rudy Giuliani for president in 2008. After Giuliani's departure from the race he redirected his support to John McCain.

Media

Film

''Madhouse'' (1990) - Wes

''Disclosure'' (1994) - Mark Lewyn

''The Net'' (1995) - Dr. Alan Champion

''Never Talk to Strangers'' (1995) - Cliff Raddison

''Bordello of Blood'' (1996) - Rafe Guttman (Miller often refers to this film as his "magnum opus.")

''Murder at 1600'' (1997) - Detective Stengel

''Joe Dirt'' (2001) - Zander Kelly

''What Happens in Vegas'' (2008) - Judge Whopper

HBO specials

''Mr. Miller Goes to Washington'' (1988)

''The 13th Annual Young Comedians Special'' (1989) (host)

''Black and White'' (1990)

''Live from Washington, D.C.: They Shoot HBO Specials, Don't They?'' (1993)

''State of the Union Undressed'' (1995)

''Citizen Arcane'' (1996)

''The Millennium Special: 1,000 Years, 100 Laughs, 10 Really Good Ones'' (1999)

''The Raw Feed'' (2003)

''Dennis Miller: All In'' (2006)

''The Big Speech'' (2010)

Audio

''The Off-White Album'' (Warner Bros. Records, 1988)

''The Rants'' (Random House Audio, 1996)

''Ranting Again'' (Random House Audio, 1998)

''Rants Redux'' (Random House Audio, 1999)

''I Rant, Therefore I Am'' (Random House Audio, 2000)

''The Rant Zone: An All-Out Blitz Against Soul-Sucking Jobs, Twisted Child Stars, Holistic Loons, and People Who Eat Their Dogs!'' (HarperAudio, 2001)

''Still Ranting After All These Years'' (HarperAudio, 2004)

Print

''The Rants'' (Doubleday, 1996) ISBN 0-385-47804-6

''Ranting Again'' (Doubleday, 1999) ISBN 0-385-48852-1

''I Rant, Therefore I Am'' (Doubleday, 2000) ISBN 0-385-49535-8

''The Rant Zone: An All-Out Blitz Against Soul-Sucking Jobs, Twisted Child Stars, Holistic Loons, and People Who Eat Their Dogs!'' (HarperCollins, 2001) ISBN 0-06-621066-6

References

External links

Official website for Dennis Miller and his radio show

Dennis Miller FAQ version 3.9

Annotated Dennis Miller Archive (Detailed explanations of some of Miller's ''Monday Night Football'' quips)

''Real Detroit Weekly'' Interview

Category:Actors from Pennsylvania Category:American comedians Category:American game show hosts Category:American libertarians Category:American stand-up comedians Category:American talk radio hosts Category:American people of Scottish descent Category:KDKA people Category:Emmy Award winners Category:American television talk show hosts Category:CNBC programs Category:National Football League announcers Category:People from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Category:1953 births Category:Living people Category:Point Park University alumni

da:Dennis Miller de:Dennis Miller (Autor) fr:Dennis Miller it:Dennis Miller pl:Dennis Miller sv:Dennis Miller th:เดนนิส มิลเลอร์