Coordinates	39°44′21″N104°59′5″N
show name	Hannity
genre	Political program
camera	multi-camera
picture format	480i (16:9 letterbox SDTV)720p (16:9 HDTV)
runtime	60 minutes
company	Fox News Channel
time slot	Weeknights 21:00 ET, after The O'Reilly Factor
presenter	Sean Hannity
country	United States
location	New York City
language	English
network	Fox News Channel
first aired	December 1, 2008
last aired	present
website	http://www.foxnews.com/hannity/ }}

''Hannity'' is a television show on the Fox News network, a replacement to the long-running show ''Hannity & Colmes''. It is hosted by conservative political pundit Sean Hannity.

Following the announcement on November 25, 2008 that Alan Colmes would leave the show, it was decided that the show would simply be entitled ''Hannity''.

On the rationale for the new program, Fox News Senior Vice President Bill Shine has stated:

The show's format consists of Hannity interviewing guests and providing his own commentary. Among notable segments is ''The Great American Panel'', running near the end of the show, featuring Hannity and three guests (two of which are notable political or news commentators, one liberal and the other conservative, with the third member being a special guest who is notable outside the political or journalistic community but usually holding conservative political views) in a panel discussion on important topics of the day. The ''Panel'' is split into two parts, in between parts Hannity (or sometimes the special panel guest) will toss a miniature football towards the camera.

The first guest on ''Hannity'' was former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich. Hannity featured an exclusive interview with Don Imus during his premiere week. During the second week, conservative talk show host Rush Limbaugh appeared in an exclusive two-part interview about the future of the conservative movement and the newly inaugurated President Barack Obama.

Criticism

On 18 June 2009, when discussing the government’s “Cash for Clunkers” program that gave financial incentives to consumers who traded in older vehicles for new, fuel efficient ones, Hannity said "..all we've got to do is ... go to a local junkyard, all you've got to do is tow it to your house. And you're going to get $4,500.” The nonpartisan Politifact watchdog group called that claim false because the program as proposed and passed, required that the vehicle must be in "drivable condition" and the trade-in had to have been "continuously insured consistent with the applicable state law and registered to the same owner for a period of not less than one year immediately prior to such trade-in."

Additionally, Hannity has been criticized for his coverage of the drought afflicting California's Central Valley in 2009 due to the deactivation of the local water pumps for the safety of the Delta smelt fish, which is on the endangered species list, despite the fact that there have been multiple causes for the drought and that the water pumps were re-activated in June 2009, while Hannity continued his coverage of the drought and issued demands to the Obama Administration to "turn the water on" for several months after the pumps reactivation.

References

External links

Category:Fox News Channel shows Category:2009 American television series debuts Category:2010s American television series Category:2000s American television series

Coordinates	39°44′21″N104°59′5″N
name	Sean Hannity
birth date	December 30, 1961|
birth place	New York City, New York United States
nationality	American
known for	Political commentary
education	New York University (did not graduate)Adelphi University (did not graduate)
employer	Citadel Broadcasting, Fox News Channel
occupation	Radio host/television host, political commentator, author
party	Conservative Party of New York State
religion	Catholic
spouse	Jill Rhodes Hannity
parents	Hugh J. and Lillian F. Hannity
website	Hannity.com
footnotes	}}

Sean Hannity (born December 30, 1961) is an American radio and television host, author, and conservative political commentator. He is the host of ''The Sean Hannity Show'', a nationally syndicated talk radio show that airs throughout the United States on Premiere Radio Networks. Hannity also hosts a cable news show, ''Hannity'', on Fox News Channel. Hannity has written three ''New York Times''–bestselling books: ''Let Freedom Ring: Winning the War of Liberty over Liberalism'', ''Deliver Us from Evil: Defeating Terrorism, Despotism, and Liberalism'', and ''Conservative Victory: Defeating Obama’s Radical Agenda''.

Personal background

Hannity is the son of Hugh J. and Lillian F. Hannity. His paternal and maternal grandparents emigrated from Ireland. He has two sisters, Joanne S. Hannity and Therese (Hannity) Grisham. He grew up in Franklin Square, New York and attended Sacred Heart Seminary in Hempstead, New York during his middle school years and St. Pius X Preparatory Seminary high school in Uniondale, New York. Hannity dropped out of New York University and Adelphi University to pursue his broadcasting career.

During the late 1980s, Hannity was a bartender in Santa Barbara, California.

Professional life

Hannity hosted his first talk radio show in 1989 at the volunteer college station at UC Santa Barbara, KCSB-FM, while working as a general contractor. The show aired for 40 hours of air time; Regarding his first show, Hannity has said, "I wasn't good at it. I was terrible." Hannity's weekly show on KCSB was canceled after less than a year by station managers upset with his remarks about gays and lesbians. This was after two shows featuring the book ''The AIDS Coverup: The Real and Alarming Facts about AIDS'' by Gene Antonio; among other remarks, Hannity told a lesbian caller "I feel sorry for your child". The station later reversed its decision to dismiss Hannity due in part to a campaign conducted by the Santa Barbara Chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union. Hannity decided against returning to KCSB.

After leaving KCSB, Hannity placed an ad in radio publications presenting himself as "the most talked about college radio host in America." Radio station WVNN in Athens, Alabama (part of the Huntsville market) then hired him to be the afternoon talk show host. From Huntsville, he moved to WGST in Atlanta in 1992, filling the slot vacated by Neal Boortz, who had moved to competing station WSB. In September 1996 Fox News co-founder Roger Ailes hired the then relatively unknown Hannity to host a television program under the working title ''Hannity and LTBD'' ("liberal to be determined"). Alan Colmes was then hired to co-host and the show debuted as ''Hannity & Colmes''.

Later that year Hannity left WGST for New York, where WABC had him substitute for their afternoon drive time host during Christmas week. In January 1997, WABC put Hannity on the air full-time, giving him the late night time slot. WABC then moved Hannity to the same drive time slot he had filled temporarily a little more than a year earlier. Hannity has been on WABC's afternoon time slot since January 1998.

Conservative Cal Thomas and liberal Bob Beckel, in their book ''Common Ground'', describe Hannity as a leader of the pack among broadcasting political polarizers, which following James Q. Wilson they define as those who have "an intense commitment to a candidate, a culture, or an ideology that sets people in one group definitively apart from people in another, rival group."

Television

Hannity was a co-host of ''Hannity & Colmes'', an American political "point-counterpoint"-style television program on the Fox News Channel featuring Hannity and Alan Colmes as co-hosts. Hannity presented the conservative point of view with Colmes providing the liberal viewpoint. Critics argued that the show highlighted Hannity's views and those of conservative guests over Colmes' and those of liberal guests.

Hannity had on air clashes with show guests such as Fr. Thomas J. Euteneuer of Human Life International, who challenged Hannity on his public dissent from the Catholic Church on the issue of contraception. Hannity stated that if the Catholic Church were to excommunicate him over the issue, he would join Jerry Falwell's Thomas Road Baptist Church.

In January 2007, Hannity began a new Sunday night television show on Fox News, ''Hannity's America''.

In November 2008, Colmes announced his departure from ''Hannity & Colmes.'' After the show's final broadcast on January 9, 2009, Hannity took over the time slot with his own new show, ''Hannity'', which has a format similar to ''Hannity's America''

Radio

Hannity's radio program is a conservative political talk show that features Hannity's opinions and ideology related to current issues and politicians. ''The Sean Hannity Show'' began national syndication on September 10, 2001 on over 500 stations nationwide. As of spring 2008, the program is heard by over 13.25 million listeners a week. In 2004, Hannity signed a $25 million five-year contract extension with ABC Radio (now Citadel Media) to continue the show through 2009. The program was made available via Armed Forces Radio Network in 2006. In June 2007, ABC Radio was sold to Citadel Communications.

In January 2007, Clear Channel Communications signed a groupwide three-year extension with Hannity on over 80 stations. The largest stations in the group deal included KTRH Houston, KFYI Phoenix, WPGB Pittsburgh, WKRC Cincinnati, WOOD Grand Rapids, WFLA Tampa, WOAI San Antonio, WLAC Nashville, and WREC Memphis.

The opening theme music for the ''Sean Hannity Show'' is "Independence Day" by Martina McBride followed by "Eye of the Tiger" by Survivor.

Books

Hannity is the author of three books. The first two, ''Let Freedom Ring: Winning the War of Liberty over Liberalism'' and ''Deliver Us from Evil: Defeating Terrorism, Despotism, and Liberalism'', were published through ReganBooks. Both of these books reached the nonfiction ''New York Times'' bestseller list, the second of which stayed there for five weeks. Hannity has stated that he is too busy to write many books, and dictated a lot of his own two books into a tape recorder while driving in to do his radio show.

Hannity wrote his third book, ''Conservative Victory: Defeating Obama’s Radical Agenda'', which was released by HarperCollins on March 30, 2010. The book became Hannity's third ''New York Times'' Bestseller.

Freedom Concerts

Since 2003, Hannity has hosted country music–themed "Freedom Concerts" to raise money for charity. According to WHIO, more than $9 million has been raised by the concerts and by WHIO listeners as of 2009.

Artists such as Charlie Daniels, Billy Ray Cyrus, Hank Williams, Jr., Ted Nugent, Montgomery Gentry, Martina McBride, Buddy Jewell, LeAnn Rimes, Lee Greenwood, Michael W. Smith, and Avalon have headlined at these concerts. Between musical sets, the concerts include short intermissions with politically conservative speakers such as Oliver North, G. Gordon Liddy, Mark Levin, Newt Gingrich, Jon Voight, and Rudy Giuliani. Headlining names for the 2010 concert series were Lynyrd Skynyrd, Charlie Daniels, and Michael W. Smith.

Awards and honors

Hannity received a Marconi Award in 2003 and 2007 as the Network Syndicated Personality of the Year from the National Association of Broadcasters. In 2009, ''Talkers Magazine'' listed Hannity as #2 on their list of the 100 most important radio talk show hosts in America. The same magazine gave Hannity their Freedom of Speech Award in 2003. In 2005, Jerry Falwell, chancellor of Liberty University, awarded Hannity an honorary degree. ''Radio and Records'' magazine has honored Hannity with the National Talk Show Host of the Year Award for three consecutive years.

Bibliography

Hannity, Sean (2002). ''Let Freedom Ring: Winning the War of Liberty over Liberalism'', ReganBooks, ISBN 0-06-051455-8.

Hannity, Sean (2004). ''Deliver Us from Evil: Defeating Terrorism, Despotism, and Liberalism'', ReganBooks, ISBN 0-06-058251-0.

Hannity, Sean (2010). ''Conservative Victory: Defeating Obama’s Radical Agenda'', Harper Paperbacks, ISBN 0-06-200305-4.

References

External links

Sean Hannity's official website

Sean Hannity's biography (Fox News)

''Hannity'' Official Fox News site

List of radio stations streaming the Sean Hannity Show

Sean Hannity's bio and title list from HarperCollins

Timeline of Hannity's life and career

Category:1961 births Category:Living people Category:Adelphi University alumni Category:American broadcast news analysts Category:American people of Irish descent Category:American political pundits Category:American political writers Category:American talk radio hosts Category:American writers of Irish descent Category:American Roman Catholics Category:Conservatism in the United States Category:Environmental skepticism Category:New York University alumni Category:People from New York City Category:People from Nassau County, New York Category:Fox News Channel people

de:Sean Hannity et:Sean Hannity es:Sean Hannity fr:Sean Hannity no:Sean Hannity pl:Sean Hannity simple:Sean Hannity sh:Sean Hannity fi:Sean Hannity sv:Sean Hannity yi:שאן הענעטי

Coordinates	39°44′21″N104°59′5″N
birth name	Michael Francis Moore
birth date	April 23, 1954
birth place	Flint, Michigan, United States
years active	1972–present
occupation	Actor, director, screenwriter, producer
spouse	Kathleen Glynn (1991–present)
alma mater	University of Michigan–Flint (dropped out)
website	http://michaelmoore.com/ }}

Michael Francis Moore (born April 23, 1954) is an American filmmaker, author and liberal political commentator. He is the director and producer of ''Bowling for Columbine'', ''Fahrenheit 9/11'', ''Sicko'', and ''Capitalism: A Love Story'', four of the top ten highest-grossing documentaries of all time. In September 2008, he released his first free movie on the Internet, ''Slacker Uprising'', documenting his personal crusade to encourage more Americans to vote in presidential elections. He has also written and starred in the TV shows ''TV Nation'' and ''The Awful Truth''.

Moore criticizes globalization, large corporations, assault weapon ownership, U.S. Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, the Iraq War, the American health care system, and capitalism in his written and cinematic works.

Early life

Moore was born in Flint, Michigan and raised in Davison, a suburb of Flint, by parents Veronica (née Wall), a secretary, and Frank Moore, an automotive assembly-line worker. At that time, the city of Flint was home to many General Motors factories, where his parents and grandfather worked. His uncle LaVerne was one of the founders of the United Automobile Workers labor union and participated in the Flint Sit-Down Strike. Moore has described his parents as "Irish Catholic Democrats, basic liberal good people."

Moore was brought up Roman Catholic, attended parochial St. John's Elementary School for primary school and originally intended to join the seminary. He then attended Davison High School, where he was active in both drama and debate, graduating in 1972. As a member of the Boy Scouts of America, he achieved the rank of Eagle Scout. At the age of 18, he was elected to the Davison school board.

Career

After dropping out of the University of Michigan–Flint following his freshman year (where he wrote for the student newspaper ''The Michigan Times''), Moore worked at the local Buick plant. At 22 he founded the alternative weekly magazine ''The Flint Voice'', which soon changed its name to ''The Michigan Voice'' as it expanded to cover the entire state. In 1986, when Moore became the editor of ''Mother Jones'', a liberal political magazine, he moved to California and ''The Michigan Voice'' was shut down.

After four months at ''Mother Jones'', Moore was fired. Matt Labash of ''The Weekly Standard'' reported this was for refusing to print an article by Paul Berman that was critical of the Sandinista human rights record in Nicaragua. Moore refused to run the article, believing it to be inaccurate. "The article was flatly wrong and the worst kind of patronizing bullshit. You would scarcely know from it that the United States had been at war with Nicaragua for the last five years." Berman described Moore as a "very ideological guy and not a very well-educated guy" when asked about the incident. Moore believes that ''Mother Jones'' fired him because of the publisher's refusal to allow him to cover a story on the GM plant closings in his hometown of Flint, Michigan. He responded by putting laid-off GM worker Ben Hamper (who was also writing for the same magazine at the time) on the magazine's cover, leading to his termination. Moore sued for wrongful dismissal, and settled out of court for $58,000, providing him with seed money for his first film, ''Roger & Me.''

Directing/producing

; ''Roger & Me'': Moore first became famous for his 1989 film, ''Roger & Me'', a documentary about what happened to Flint, Michigan after General Motors closed its factories and opened new ones in Mexico, where the workers were paid much less. Since then Moore has been known as a critic of the neoliberal view of globalization. "Roger" is Roger B. Smith, former CEO and president of General Motors.

; ''Pets or Meat: The Return to Flint'': (1992) is a short (23-minute) documentary film that was aired on PBS. It is based on the feature-length film ''Roger & Me'' (1989) by Michael Moore. The film's title refers to Rhonda Britton, a Flint, Michigan, resident featured in both the 1989 and 1992 films who sells rabbits as either pets or meat.

; ''Canadian Bacon'': In 1995, Moore released a satirical film, ''Canadian Bacon'', which features a fictional US president (played by Alan Alda) engineering a fake war with Canada in order to boost his popularity. It is noted for containing a number of Canadian and American stereotypes, and for being Moore's only non-documentary film. The film is also one of the last featuring Canadian-born actor John Candy, and also features a number of cameos by other Canadian actors. In the film, several potential enemies for America's next great campaign are discussed by the president and his cabinet. (The scene was strongly influenced by the Stanley Kubrick film ''Dr. Strangelove.'') The President comments that declaring war on Canada was as ridiculous as declaring war on international terrorism. His military adviser, played by Rip Torn, quickly rebuffs this idea, saying that no one would care about "... a bunch of guys driving around blowing up rent-a-cars."

; ''The Big One'': In 1997, Moore directed ''The Big One'', which documents the tour publicizing his book ''Downsize This! Random Threats from an Unarmed American'', in which he criticizes mass layoffs despite record corporate profits. Among others, he targets Nike for outsourcing shoe production to Indonesia.

; ''Bowling for Columbine'': Moore's 2002 film, ''Bowling for Columbine'', probes the culture of guns and violence in the United States, taking as a starting point the Columbine High School massacre of 1999. ''Bowling for Columbine'' won the Anniversary Prize at the 2002 Cannes Film Festival and France's César Award as the Best Foreign Film. In the United States, it won the 2002 Academy Award for Documentary Feature. It also enjoyed great commercial and critical success for a film of its type and became, at the time, the highest-grossing mainstream-released documentary (a record now held by Moore's ''Fahrenheit 9/11''). It was praised by some for illuminating a subject slighted by the mainstream media.

; ''Fahrenheit 9/11'': ''Fahrenheit 9/11'' examines America in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 attacks, particularly the record of the Bush administration and alleged links between the families of George W. Bush and Osama bin Laden. ''Fahrenheit'' was awarded the ''Palme d'Or'', the top honor at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival; it was the first documentary film to win the prize since 1956. Moore later announced that ''Fahrenheit 9/11'' would not be in consideration for the 2005 Academy Award for Documentary Feature, but instead for the Academy Award for Best Picture. He stated he wanted the movie to be seen by a few million more people via a television broadcast prior to election day. According to Moore, "Academy rules forbid the airing of a documentary on television within nine months of its theatrical release", and since the November 2 election was fewer than nine months after the film's release it would have been disqualified for the Documentary Oscar. However, Fahrenheit received no Oscar nomination for Best Picture. The title of the film alludes to the classic book ''Fahrenheit 451'' about a future totalitarian state in which books are banned; according to the book, paper begins to burn at 451 degrees Fahrenheit. The pre-release subtitle of the film confirms the allusion: "The temperature at which freedom burns." At the box office, as of 2010 ''Fahrenheit 9/11'' is the highest-grossing documentary of all time, taking in over US$200 million worldwide, including United States box office revenue of almost US$120 million. In February 2011, Moore sued producers Bob and Harvey Weinstein for US$2.7 million in unpaid profits from the film, claiming they used "Hollywood accounting tricks" to avoid paying him the money.

; ''Sicko'': Moore directed this film about the American health care system, focusing particularly on the managed-care and pharmaceutical industries. At least four major pharmaceutical companies—Pfizer, Eli Lilly, AstraZeneca, and GlaxoSmithKline—ordered their employees not to grant any interviews to Moore. According to Moore on a letter at his website, "roads that often surprise us and lead us to new ideas—and challenge us to reconsider the ones we began with have caused some minor delays." The film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival on 19 May 2007, receiving a lengthy standing ovation, and was released in the U.S. and Canada on 29 June 2007. The film was the subject of some controversy when it became known that Moore went to Cuba with chronically ill September 11th rescue workers to shoot parts of the film. The United States is looking into whether this violates the trade embargo. The film is currently ranked the fourth highest grossing documentary of all time and received an Academy Award nomination for Best Documentary Feature.

; ''Captain Mike Across America'':Moore takes a look at the politics of college students in what he calls "Bush Administration America" with this film shot during Moore's 60-city college campus tour in the months leading up to the 2004 election. The film was later re-edited by Moore into ''Slacker Uprising''.

; ''Capitalism: A Love Story'': On September 23, 2009, Moore released a new movie titled ''Capitalism: A Love Story'', which looks at the late-2000s financial crisis and the U.S. economy during the transition between the incoming Obama Administration and the outgoing Bush Administration. Addressing a press conference at its release, Moore said, "Democracy is not a spectator sport, it's a participatory event. If we don't participate in it, it ceases to be a democracy. So Obama will rise or fall based not so much on what he does but on what we do to support him."

Acting

Moore has dabbled in acting, following a 2000 supporting role in ''Lucky Numbers'' as the cousin of Lisa Kudrow's character, who agrees to be part of the scheme concocted by John Travolta's character. He also had a cameo in his ''Canadian Bacon'' as an anti-Canada activist. In 2004, he did a cameo, as a news journalist, in ''The Fever'', starring Vanessa Redgrave in the lead.

Television

Between 1994 and 1995, he directed and hosted the BBC television series ''TV Nation'', which followed the format of news magazine shows but covered topics they avoid. The series aired on BBC2 in the UK. The series was also aired in the US on NBC in 1994 for 9 episodes and again for 8 episodes on Fox in 1995.

His other major series was ''The Awful Truth'', which satirized actions by big corporations and politicians. It aired on Channel 4 in the UK, and the Bravo network in the US, in 1999 and 2000.

Another 1999 series, ''Michael Moore Live'', was aired in the UK only on Channel 4, though it was broadcast from New York. This show had a similar format to ''The Awful Truth'', but also incorporated phone-ins and a live stunt each week.

In 1999 Moore won the Hugh M. Hefner First Amendment Award in Arts and Entertainment, for being the executive producer and host of ''The Awful Truth'', where he was also described as "muckraker, author and documentary filmmaker".

Music videos

Moore has directed several music videos, including two for Rage Against the Machine for songs from ''The Battle of Los Angeles'': "Sleep Now in the Fire" and "Testify". He was threatened with arrest during the shooting of "Sleep Now in the Fire", which was filmed on Wall Street; the city of New York had denied the band permission to play there, although the band and Moore had secured a federal permit to perform.

He also directed the videos for R.E.M. single "All the Way to Reno (You're Gonna Be a Star)" in 2001 and the System of a Down song "Boom!".

Appearances in other documentaries

Moore appeared in ''The Drugging of Our Children'', a 2005 documentary about over-prescription of psychiatric medication to children and teenagers, directed by Gary Null a proponent of Alternative Medicine. In the film Moore agrees with Gary Null that Ritalin and other similar drugs are over-prescribed, saying that they are seen as a "pacifier".

Moore appeared on fellow Flint natives Grand Funk Railroad's edition of Behind The Music.

Moore appeared as an off-camera interviewer in ''Blood in the Face'', a 1991 documentary about white supremacy groups. The film centers around a neo-Nazi gathering in Michigan.

Moore appeared in ''The Yes Men'', a 2003 documentary about two men who pose as the World Trade Organization. He appears during a segment concerning working conditions in Mexico and Latin America.

Moore was interviewed for the 2004 documentary, ''The Corporation.'' One of his highlighted quotes was: "The problem is the profit motive: for corporations, there's no such thing as 'enough'".

Moore appeared in the 2006 documentary ''I'm Going to Tell You a Secret'', which chronicles Madonna during her 2004 Re-Invention World Tour. Moore attended her show in New York City at Madison Square Garden.

Books

Moore has authored three best-selling books:

''Downsize This!'' (1996), about politics and corporate crime in the United States,

''Stupid White Men'' (2001), ostensibly a critique of American domestic and foreign policy but, by Moore's own admission, "a book of political humor," and

''Dude, Where's My Country?'' (2003), an examination of the Bush family's relationships with Saudi royalty, the Bin Laden family, and the energy industry, and a call-to-action for liberals in the 2004 election.

Political views

Though Moore rejects the label "political activist", he has been active in promoting his political views. According to John Flesher of the Associated Press, Moore is known for his "fiery left-wing populism," and publications such as the Socialist Worker Online have hailed him as the "new Tom Paine."

Moore was a high-profile guest at both the 2004 Democratic National Convention and the 2004 Republican National Convention, chronicling his impressions in ''USA Today''. He was criticized in a speech by Republican Senator John McCain as "a disingenuous film-maker." Moore laughed and waved as Republican attendees jeered, later chanting "four more years." Moore gestured his thumb and finger at the crowd, which translates into "loser."

During September and October 2004, Moore spoke at universities and colleges in swing states during his "Slacker Uprising Tour". The tour gave away ramen and underwear to young people who promised to vote. This provoked public denunciations from the Michigan Republican Party and attempts to convince the government that Moore should be arrested for buying votes, but since Moore did not tell the "slackers" involved for ''whom'' to vote, just to vote, district attorneys refused to get involved. Quite possibly the most controversial stop during the tour was Utah Valley State College in Orem, Utah. A fight for his right to speak ensued and resulted in massive public debates and a media blitz. Death threats, bribes and lawsuits followed. The event was chronicled in the documentary film ''This Divided State''.

Despite having supported Ralph Nader in 2000, Moore urged Nader not to run in the 2004 election so as not to split the left vote. On ''Real Time with Bill Maher'', Moore and Maher knelt before Nader to plead with him to stay out of the race. In June 2004, Moore stated that he is not a member of the Democratic party. Although Moore endorsed General Wesley Clark for the Democratic nomination on January 14, Clark withdrew from the primary race on February 11.

Moore drew attention when charging publicly that Bush was AWOL during his service in the National Guard, describing Bush as "The Deserter" (see George W. Bush military service controversy).

On April 21, 2008, Moore endorsed Barack Obama for President, stating that Hillary Clinton's recent actions had been "disgusting."

In December 2010, Moore publicly offered to contribute $20,000 to the bail of Julian Assange, then held in custody in Britain after Swedish prosecutors sent a European Arrest Warrant, wanting to question Assange for alleged sex crimes. Moore also wrote an open letter to the Swedish government, citing statistics on the increasing number of reported rape cases in Sweden. Some of these statistics appear to have been misinterpreted.

Personal life

Since 1990, Moore has been married to producer Kathleen Glynn, with whom he has a stepdaughter named Natalie. They live in Traverse City, Michigan.

Moore is a Catholic, but has said he disagrees with church teaching on subjects such as abortion and same-sex marriage. He acquired a life membership to the National Rifle Association following the Columbine massacre.

In 2005 ''Time'' magazine named him one of the world's 100 most influential people. Also in 2005, Moore started the annual Traverse City Film Festival in Traverse City, Michigan.

Moore's net worth has been estimated at "8 figures".

Controversy

Moore was criticized by Sean Hannity for criticizing capitalism while benefiting from it himself.

Published work

Bibliography

Filmography

''Roger & Me'' (1989)

''Pets or Meat: The Return to Flint'' (1992) (TV)

''Canadian Bacon'' (1995)

''The Big One'' (1997)

''And Justice for All'' (1998) (TV)

''Lucky Numbers'' (2000) (as actor)

''Bowling for Columbine'' (2002)

''The Corporation'' (2003)

''Fahrenheit 9/11'' (2004) "Palme d'Or" in Cannes

''Sicko'' (2007)

''Captain Mike Across America'' (2007)

''Slacker Uprising'' (2008)

''Capitalism: A Love Story'' (2009)

Television series

''TV Nation'' (1994)

''The Awful Truth'' (1999)

''Michael Moore Live'' (1999)

References

External links

Michael Moore on YouTube

The Populist: Michael Moore Can Make You Cry / ''New Yorker'' (16 February 2004)

America's Teacher by Naomi Klein, ''The Nation'', September 23, 2009

A 2007 NOW on PBS interview with Michael Moore What makes him tick, and why our health care system ticks him off

Michael Moore on His Life, His Films and His Activism - video interview by ''Democracy Now!''

Michael Moore on 2010 Midterm Elections, the Tea Party, and the Future of the Democratic Party

Category:1954 births Category:Living people Category:People from Flint, Michigan Category:Actors from Michigan Category:American alternative journalists Category:American anti–Iraq War activists Category:American anti-war activists Category:American documentary filmmakers Category:American film actors Category:American film directors Category:American health activists Category:American political writers Category:American social commentators Category:American writers of Irish descent Category:César Award winners Category:Documentary film directors Category:Eagle Scouts Category:Emmy Award winners Category:National Rifle Association members Category:University of Michigan alumni Category:Writers from Michigan Category:Writers Guild of America Award winners Category:Youth empowerment individuals Category:Youth rights individuals Category:Roman Catholic activists Category:Academy Award winners

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Coordinates	39°44′21″N104°59′5″N
Name	Robert Gibbs
Office	28th White House Press Secretary
Deputy	Jennifer Psaki
President	Barack Obama
Term start	January 20, 2009
Term end	February 11, 2011
Predecessor	Dana Perino
Successor	Jay Carney
Birth date	March 29, 1971
Birth place	Auburn, Alabama, U.S.
Party	Democratic Party
Alma mater	North Carolina State University
Website	White House Briefing Room }}

Robert Lane Gibbs (born March 29, 1971) was the 28th White House Press Secretary. Gibbs was the communications director for then-U.S. Senator Barack Obama and Obama's 2008 presidential campaign. Gibbs, who has worked with Obama since 2004, was press secretary of John Kerry's 2004 presidential campaign and has previously specialized in Senate campaigns, having served as communications director for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and for four individual Senate campaigns, including those of Obama in 2004 and Fritz Hollings in 1998. Gibbs was also the press secretary of Representative Bob Etheridge. On November 22, 2008, Gibbs was announced as the press secretary of the Obama administration. He assumed the role of press secretary on January 20, 2009, and gave his first official briefing on January 22.

On January 5, 2011, Gibbs announced that he would leave the White House to become an outside advisor to the administration. He left on February 11, 2011.

Early life and education

Gibbs was born in Auburn, Alabama. His parents, Nancy and Robert Coleman Gibbs, worked in the Auburn University library system and involved their son in politics at an early age. Nancy Gibbs would take Robert, then known as "Bobby," to local League of Women Voters meetings rather than hire a babysitter, and involved him in "voter re-identification" work at the county courthouse. Gibbs attended Auburn City Schools and Auburn High School. At Auburn High, Gibbs played saxophone in the Auburn High School Band, was a goalkeeper on the Tigers' soccer team, and participated in the school's debate squad. Gibbs graduated from Auburn High in 1989, in the same class as novelist Ace Atkins, LEGO artist Eric Harshbarger, and the Chief Hospitalist at Valley Medical Center, Dr. Michael Mena.

Gibbs went on to attend the North Carolina State University, serving as goalkeeper for the North Carolina State Wolfpack soccer team from 1990 to 1992. Gibbs graduated from North Carolina State ''cum laude'' with a B.A. in political science in 1993.

Career

While a student at North Carolina State in 1991, Gibbs became an intern for Alabama's 3rd congressional district Congressman Glen Browder. Gibbs quickly rose through the ranks of Browder's staff, rising to become the representative's executive assistant in Washington, D.C. Gibbs returned to Alabama in 1996 to work on Browder's unsuccessful Senate campaign that year. In 1997, Gibbs was press secretary for Congressman Bob Etheridge of North Carolina and, in 1998, was spokesman for Senator Fritz Hollings' successful re-election campaign. Gibbs worked in the campaigns of two other senators and served as communications director for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, before taking the position of press secretary of John Kerry's 2004 presidential campaign.

U.S. presidential election, 2004

Early in the 2004 presidential campaign, Gibbs was the press secretary of Democratic candidate Senator John Kerry. On November 11, 2003, Gibbs resigned "in reaction to the firing of Jim Jordan, abruptly let go by Kerry Sunday night." Gibbs was replaced by Stephanie Cutter, a former spokeswoman for Ted Kennedy. After leaving the Kerry campaign, Gibbs became spokesman for a 527 political group formed to stop the 2004 presidential campaign of Howard Dean which launched attack ads against Dean. Gibbs was criticized in February 2007, during the Obama Presidential campaign, by some left leaning bloggers.

Advisor to Barack Obama

Gibbs joined Barack Obama's 2004 U.S. Senate campaign as communications director in mid-April 2004 and remained with the senator through the first two years of Obama's term. Gibbs is credited with guiding Obama through those first years and molding his rise on the national scene. According to ''The New York Times'', Gibbs advised Obama on politics, strategy and messaging, and spent more time with Obama than any other advisor.

U.S. presidential election, 2008

The appointment of Gibbs by Obama to the post of communications chief was met with mild controversy by some critics in the Democratic National Committee, who cited Gibbs' role in the aggressive campaign tactics used to block the nomination of Howard Dean in the 2004 race. Obama, however, referred to Gibbs as his "one-person Southern focus group" and welcomed him as part of his close-knit team that included strategist David Axelrod, campaign director David Plouffe, and research director Devorah Adler. In his communications role, Gibbs became known as "the enforcer" because of his aggressive rapid-response methods for countering disinformation tactics from opponents. Gibbs assumed responsibility for "shaping the campaign message, responding to the 24/7 news cycle, schmoozing with the press and fighting back when he disagree[d] with its reporting." As the chief intermediary between the Obama campaign and the press, Gibbs sought to counter the Republican National Committee's opposition research tactics against Obama in early 2007.

Gibbs adopted a policy of rapid response to claims by conservative news outlets that questioned Obama's religious upbringing. In response to the "Obama is a Muslim" meme suggested by these claims, Gibbs disseminated information to other news networks that Obama is not nor has ever been Muslim. At the time, Gibbs said, "These malicious, irresponsible charges are precisely the kind of politics the American people have grown tired of."

After comments by George W. Bush to the Israeli Knesset questioning Obama's foreign policy platform's focus on international diplomacy, Gibbs responded, calling Bush's comments "astonishing" and "an unprecedented attack on foreign soil." Gibbs argued that Bush's policy amounted to "cowboy diplomacy" that had been discounted by Bush's own Secretary of Defense, Robert Gates, and quoted with Gates' own words: "We need to figure out a way to develop some leverage ... and then sit down and talk...if there is going to be a discussion, then they need something, too. We can't go to a discussion and be completely the demander, with them not feeling that they need anything from us."

He was widely blamed by news media executives for "holding hostage" reporters, while Obama and Hillary Clinton met for the first time after a heavily-contested Democratic primary season. He countered back, “It wasn't an attempt to deceive in any way ... It was just private meetings.”

White House Press Secretary

On November 22, 2008, it was announced by the Obama Transition Team that Gibbs would be the White House Press Secretary for the Obama administration. He assumed the role of press secretary on January 20, 2009, and gave his first official briefing on January 22.

Gibbs has repeatedly angered some Democrats, such as by acknowledging the Republicans could win the House of Representatives in 2010.

In an interview with The Hill, Gibbs derided the “professional left” and "liberals," who “wouldn’t be satisfied if Dennis Kucinich was president.” He said that people who compare Obama's policies to George W. Bush's "ought to be drug tested.”

Personal life

Gibbs is married to Mary Catherine Gibbs, an attorney, and lives in Alexandria, Virginia with their son, Ethan. His parents live in Apex, North Carolina, where his mother Nancy is acquisitions director for the libraries at Duke University. Gibbs is a college football fan, particularly of the Auburn Tigers.

References

Further reading

External links

White House Briefing Room

Official Twitter page

The Many Faces of Robert Gibbs - slideshow by ''Life magazine''

Profile at SourceWatch

Monica Langley, "Meet Obama's Media 'Enforcer'", ''Wall Street Journal'', August 28, 2008.

Biography and News

Category:1971 births Category:Alabama Democrats Category:American political consultants Category:Auburn High School (Alabama) alumni Category:Barack Obama Category:Living people Category:Obama Administration personnel Category:North Carolina State University alumni Category:People from Auburn, Alabama Category:White House Press Secretaries

de:Robert Gibbs fr:Robert Gibbs it:Robert Gibbs ko:로버트 기브스 ja:ロバート・ギブズ no:Robert Gibbs sv:Robert Gibbs

Coordinates	39°44′21″N104°59′5″N
Name	Rand Paul
Jr/sr	United States Senator
State	Kentucky
Term start	January 3, 2011
Preceded	Jim Bunning
Alongside	Mitch McConnell
Birth date	January 07, 1963
Birth place	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Occupation	Ophthalmologist
Alma mater	Baylor University(1981–1984) Duke University (M.D., 1988)
Religion	Presbyterian(Baptized Episcopalian)
Website	Senator Rand PaulRand Paul 2010
Residence	Bowling Green, Kentucky
Party	Republican
Spouse	Kelley Ashby Paul(m. 1990)
Relations	Ron PaulCarol Wells Paul(parents)
Children	William, Robert, and Duncan }}

Randal Howard "Rand" Paul (born January 7, 1963) is the junior United States Senator for Kentucky. He is a member of the Republican Party. A member of the Tea Party movement, he describes himself as a "constitutional conservative" and a libertarian. He is the son of Republican Congressman and 2012 Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul of Texas and had never previously held political office. Paul first received national attention in 2008 when making political speeches on behalf of his father. Rand Paul is the first United States Senator in history to serve alongside a parent in the U.S. House of Representatives.

A graduate of the Duke University School of Medicine, Paul has been a practicing ophthalmologist in Bowling Green, Kentucky, since 1993, and established his own clinic in December 2007. In 1994, he founded Kentucky Taxpayers United, of which he is still the chairman.

In August 2009, Paul officially announced his candidacy for the United States Senate seat being vacated by retiring Senator Jim Bunning of Kentucky. Paul won the Republican Party's nomination in May 2010, defeating Kentucky Secretary of State Trey Grayson. In the General Election, Paul defeated Kentucky Attorney General Jack Conway on November 2, 2010. As a supporter of the Tea Party movement, Paul has been vocal in advocating for term limits, a balanced budget amendment, and the Read the Bills Act, in addition to the widespread reduction of federal spending and taxation. He has gained prominence for his independent positions on many political issues, often clashing with both Republicans and Democrats.

Early life and education

Randal Howard Paul was born on January 7, 1963 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to Carol Wells Paul and Ron Paul. Paul's father is a physician and U.S. Representative of Texas's 14th congressional district. The middle child of five, his siblings are Ronald "Ronnie" Paul Jr., Lori Paul Pyeatt, Robert Paul and Joy Paul-LeBlanc. Paul was baptized in the Episcopal Church and became a Christian as a teenager. Despite his father's libertarian views and strong support for individual rights, the novelist Ayn Rand was not the inspiration for Paul's first name; he went by "Randy" while growing up. His wife shortened his name to "Rand".

The Paul family moved to Lake Jackson, Texas in 1968, where Rand was raised and Ron began his medical practice and for an extent of time was the only obstetrician in Brazoria County. When Paul was 13, his father was elected to the United States House of Representatives. In his teenage years, Paul studied the Austrian economists that his father respected, as well as Ayn Rand. Paul went to Brazoswood High School and was on the swimming team and played defensive back on the football team. Paul attended Baylor University from fall 1981 to summer 1984. Paul was enrolled in the honors program at Baylor, and had scored approximately in the 90th percentile on the Medical College Admission Test. During Paul's time at Baylor, he was involved in the swim team and Young Conservatives of Texas and was a member of a secret organization known as the NoZe Brotherhood. Paul left Baylor early when he was accepted into the Duke University School of Medicine, where he earned his Doctor of Medicine (M.D.) degree in 1988 and completed his residency in 1993.

Personal life

In Atlanta, Paul met Kelley Ashby, a Rhodes College English major. Paul and Ashby were married on October 20, 1990, and moved to Bowling Green, Kentucky, less than from her hometown of Russellville, Kentucky, in 1993.

Kelley Paul is a freelance writer, and she manages payroll and marketing communications for Paul's surgical practice. The couple have three sons: William, Duncan, and Robert.

Medical career

Paul has held a state-issued medical license since moving to Bowling Green in 1993. He received his first job from Dr. John Downing of Downing McPeak Vision Centers, which brought him to Bowling Green after completing his residency. Paul worked for Downing for about five years before parting ways. Afterwards, he went to work at the Gilbert Graves Clinic, a private medical group in Bowling Green, for 10 years before creating his own practice in a converted one-story house across the street from Downing's office. After his election to the U.S. Senate, Paul merged his practice with Downing's medical practice. Paul has had two malpractice lawsuits filed against him since 1993. Paul was cleared in one case and the other was settled for $50,000. Regardless, his medical work has been praised by Downing and Paul has medical privileges at two Bowling Green hospitals. Paul specializes in cataract and glaucoma surgeries, LASIK procedures, and corneal transplants.

As a member of the Bowling Green Noon Lions Club, Paul founded the Southern Kentucky Lions Eye Clinic to help provide eye surgery and exams for those who cannot afford to pay. He is a regular presenter at the annual Men's Health and Safety Day conference held by The Medical Center of Bowling Green since 1998. In 1999 Paul founded the Non-profit organization National Board of Ophthalmology (NBO).

Board certification

In 2010 the ''Louisville Courier-Journal'' reported that Paul, who described himself as a "board-certified" ophthalmologist, was not certified by the American Board of Ophthalmology (ABO). In 1995, Paul passed the American Board of Ophthalmology boards earning his certification under the ABO for a term of one decade. In 1997, after a dispute with the American Board of Ophthalmology over recertification requirements, Paul, along with 200 ophthalmologists formed the National Board of Ophthalmology (NBO). A spokesperson for the American Board of Medical Specialties stated: "He [Paul] is not board-certified."

Paul's ABO certification lapsed on December 31, 2005, and Paul has since been certified by the NBO. ABO administrator Beth Ann Slembarski says that over 95 percent of the nation’s practicing ophthalmologists have American Board of Ophthalmology certification. Regardless of his additional certifications, Paul has been licensed by the state to practice medicine in Kentucky since 1993, and his license is in good standing with no history of disciplinary action. The Courier-Journal reported: "There is no indication that Paul isn't qualified to practice ophthalmology."

Political activism

As founder and chairman of the anti-tax organization Kentucky Taxpayers United (KTU) since 1994, Paul regularly presents "taxpayers' friend" awards to state legislators. KTU, which regards itself as nonpartisan, but is criticized for being ideological and conservative, examines legislator records on taxation and spending to inform voters where their own lawmakers stand on the issues. Paul's editorial commentary on behalf of KTU has been published and recognized in the ''Kentucky Post''.

KTU sponsors the Taxpayer's Pledge of Americans for Tax Reform, encouraging politicians to pledge publicly to vote uniformly against tax raises. Nine of fifteen Northern Kentucky legislators signed the pledge, such as Senator Dick Roeding and Representative Royce Adams in 1996. In 2000, these legislators considered a hotel room tax hike (favored by Governor Paul Patton for helping expand the Dr. Albert B. Sabin Convention Center in nearby Cincinnati), even though the increase might "incur the wrath of Paul's group," as two newspapers put it.

Paul stated that Patton's argument for "revenue recovery" was merely a euphemism for taxes and said that KTU would fight reelection of any pledge-breakers; Adams requested in writing that Paul's group release him from his pledge, stating that it only applied to his first term. By the close of session in April, the tax increase had failed, although Patton had achieved most of his intended budget; Paul stated legislators were pressured to finalize the budget by deadline rather than to "face accusations of shutting down government."

Paul often speaks on his father's behalf, and he and his son William attended the third Republican presidential debate of 2007 in New Hampshire, as well as campaigned door-to-door in the state for his father. At a New Hampshire rally with 250 in attendance (plus 30 members of his own family), Paul repeated a campaign meme by pretending to take a call from Rudy Giuliani during his remarks, and joking that Giuliani needed campaigners and wanted to borrow the Paul family.

On December 16, 2007, the 234th anniversary of the Boston Tea Party, Paul spoke at Faneuil Hall in favor of small government principles, calling for what CNN termed a "modern day revolution." He continued campaigning across the country for his father in 2008, traveling as far as Montana.

Paul has authored a book entitled ''The Tea Party Goes to Washington'', released on February 22, 2011, which defends the Tea Party movement.

Electoral history

Primary campaign

In the beginning of 2009, Paul was the focus of an online grassroots movement to draft him in a bid to replace beleaguered Republican Kentucky senator Jim Bunning. The news of his potential candidacy became a topic of national interest and was discussed in the ''Los Angeles Times'' and locally in the Kentucky press. Commenting on Paul's possible candidacy, Congressman Ron Paul noted that "Should Senator Bunning decide not to run, I think Rand would make a great U.S. Senator."

On May 1, 2009, Paul officially confirmed that if Bunning, whose fundraising in 2009 has matched his poor numbers in opinion polling for the 2010 election, declined to seek a third term, he would almost certainly run in the Republican Party primary to succeed him, and formed an exploratory committee soon after, while still promising to stay out of the race if Bunning had ultimately decided to run for re-election. Paul made this announcement on MSNBC's ''The Rachel Maddow Show'', though the news was first broken by a local Kentucky news site.

On July 28, 2009, Bunning announced that he would not run for re-election, after facing insufficient fundraising. This announcement left only Paul and Secretary of State Trey Grayson as the remaining candidates for the Republican nomination, with Paul announcing on August 5, 2009 that he would officially run for the U.S. Senate as a Republican. The announcement was made through a series of national TV events, radio, and other programs, as well as through newspapers in Kentucky.

Early fundraising success

On August 20, 2009, Paul's grassroots planned a moneybomb to kick off his campaign for United States Senate. The official campaign took in $433,509 in 24 hours. According to Paul, This set a new record in Kentucky's political fundraising history in a 24-hour period.

A second "moneybomb" was held on September 23, 2009, to counter a D.C. fundraiser being held for primary opponent Trey Grayson, by 23 Republican United States Senators, 17 of whom voted for the bank bailout. The theme was a UFC "fight" between Paul and "We the People" vs. Trey Grayson and the "D.C. Insiders." The money bomb ended up raising $186,276 for Paul in 24 hours on September 23; bringing Paul's Senate campaign's total raised to over one million. Later in the campaign, Paul claimed his pledge to not take money from lobbyist and Senators who voted for the bailout was only a "primary pledge" and Paul later held a DC fundraiser with the same Senators who were the target of the September 23, 2009 "moneybomb." Paul ended up raising some $3 million during the primary period.

Primary victory

Although Grayson was considered the frontrunner in July 2009, Paul found success characterizing Grayson as a "career politician" and challenging Grayson's conservatism. Paul ran an ad in February that made an issue out of Grayson's September 2008 admission that he voted for Bill Clinton when he was 20 years old. Although the Paul campaign later removed the video from YouTube, Paul's Democratic general election competitor put it back up on October 20 after Paul had taken exception to the Democrat making an issue out of Paul's own college-age actions. James Dobson, a Christian evangelical figure, endorsed Grayson on April 26 based on the advice of what Dobson described as "senior members of the GOP", but on May 3 the Paul campaign announced that Dobson had changed his endorsement to Paul after Paul and some Paul supporters had lobbied Dobson insisting on Paul's social conservative bona fides.

On May 18 Paul won the Republican Senatorial primary by a 23.4% margin, meaning he would face the Kentucky Attorney General Jack Conway, in the November 2 general election.

General campaign

On June 28, 2010, Rand Paul supporters held their first post-primary online fundraising drive, this time promoted as a "money blast."

BP oil spill comments

On May 21, 2010, Paul generated some controversy by characterizing statements made by Obama administration officials regarding the BP oil spill cleanup as sounding "un-American". Paul said: }} Paul may have been referring to a statement by Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, who said "our job is basically to keep the boot on the neck of British Petroleum to carry out the responsibilities that they have, both under the law and contractually to move forward and to stop this spill." Salazar's remark was later slightly misquoted as "boot on the throat" by Press Secretary Robert Gibbs. Gibbs clarified at the same press conference, when asked if this metaphor did not imply hostility to BP, "I think the President accurately conveyed in his remarks yesterday that we are going to do everything humanly possible, and ensure that BP is doing everything humanly possible, to deal with this as comprehensively and as quickly as they can."

Private property and civil rights

Paul criticized the ''Bowling Green Daily News'' on May 30, 2002 for supporting the Fair Housing Act. He explained that "a free society will abide unofficial, private discrimination, even when that means allowing hate-filled groups to exclude people based on the color of their skin." On May 19, 2010, Paul stated that he favors 9 out of 10 titles of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, but had he been a senator during 1960s, he would have raised some questions on the constitutionality of Title II of the Act, which prohibits private businesses who provide public accommodations from discriminating on the basis of race, religion, or national origin against their customers, arguing that it infringes upon constitutional freedoms. Paul stated on National Public Radio, "I'm in favor of everything with regards to ending institutional racism". Paul favors community and neighborhood pressure to persuade private businesses, rather than federal laws that he argued might violate the constitution. Paul said he abhors racism, and he would have marched with Martin Luther King Jr. to repeal Jim Crow Laws. Paul's comments on Title II of Civil Rights Act of 1964 stirred controversy and brought concern among Republican party insiders about his viability in the general election. Paul later released a statement declaring that he would have voted for the Act and stated "unequivocally ... that I will not support any efforts to repeal the Civil Rights Act of 1964". Paul stating that while he "abhors racism," he doesn't like the idea of the federal government determining who a business may serve. Amid a flurry of controversy, Paul became the first American politician to cancel an appearance on ''Meet the Press'' in their 64-year history. Additionally, RNC Chairman Michael Steele, publicly denounced him, saying that Paul's opposition to the Civil Rights Act is a "misplaced" philosophy for the 21st Century.

Paul addressed his feelings about intentions of the legislation relating to public offices, stating that he "overwhelmingly agrees with the intent of the [Civil Rights Act] which was to stop discrimination in the public sphere and halt the abhorrent practice of segregation and Jim Crow laws," and that Constitutional challenges to the law have been settled by the courts.

College activities

On August 9, 2010, an article was published in ''GQ'' profiling Paul's activities as an undergraduate student at Baylor University. The article noted that during Paul's time at Baylor, he became a member of the NoZe Brotherhood, a college secret society described as a cross between Yale's Skull & Bones and the Harvard Lampoon. The group had an anti-authoritarian bent that often mocked Baylor's strict atmosphere of religiosity, and two years before Paul's arrival, the group had been banned from campus for being, in the words of Baylor's president at the time, "lewd, crude, and grossly sacrilegious." The article also included an account from an anonymous woman who said she was on the swim team with Paul, describing an incident in which Paul and one of his friends from the NoZe Brotherhood had tied her up, blindfolded her, ordered her to take bong hits, and took her to a creek where she was urged to worship a deity called "Aqua Buddha". The woman, who did not allege any wrongdoing on Paul's part, called the incident "sadistic" and "messing with my mind", but also a "joke". Nevertheless, the story received widespread media coverage. A few days later, the woman clarified that she was not physically forced to do anything and that she played along with the prank, and said the whole thing had been blown out of proportion. Coverage of the story died down after Paul denied he had kidnapped anyone or forced anyone to take drugs or worship a so-called "Aqua Buddha". However, coverage of the event was subsequently revived in mid-October when ''Politico'' ran a new story on the topic, this one quoting articles from a 1983 NoZe newsletter as well as a different classmate's claim that in those days "Randy smoked pot, he made fun of Baptists." Within the week, Paul's opponent ran a TV ad asking why Paul had belonged to a group that had mocked Christianity and Christ and had tied up a woman and made her worship "Aqua Buddha". The story received widespread national media attention after a contentious October 17 debate between Paul and Conway in which the two candidates sparred extensively over the accusations and exchanged many insults. Paul refused to shake his opponent's hand after the debate had concluded.

Endorsements

Paul has secured endorsements from several public figures and political organizations. They include the Downsize DC Foundation, Concerned Women for America, Gun Owners of America, Steve Forbes, FreedomWorks, Club for Growth, James Dobson, Sarah Palin, Jim DeMint, Cathy Bailey, Jim Bunning, Erick Erickson, National Federation of Independent Business, Council for Citizens Against Government Waste, National Right to Life, US Chamber of Commerce, National Vietnam and Gulf War Veterans Coalition, Mike Huckabee, and Tony Perkins/FRC Action PAC.

U.S. Senate career

Tenure

Paul was sworn in on January 5, 2011 along with his father, marking the first time in congressional history that a child served in the Senate while the parent simultaneously served in the House of Representatives. He was assigned to serve on the Energy and Natural Resources, Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, Homeland Security and Government Affairs, and Small Business committees. Paul also formed the Senate Tea Party Caucus with Jim DeMint and Mike Lee as its inaugural members. Paul’s first legislative proposal was to cut $500 billion from federal spending in one year. This proposal includes cutting the Department of Education by 83 percent and the Department of Homeland Security by 43 percent, as well as folding the Department of Energy into the Department of Defense and eliminating the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Seven independent agencies would be eliminated and food stamps would be cut by 30 percent. Under Paul’s proposal, defense spending would be reduced by 6.5 percent and international aid would be eliminated. He later proposed a five-year budget plan that he believed would balance the budget.

In February, Paul was one of two Republicans to vote against extending three key provisions of the USA PATRIOT Act (roving wiretaps, searches of business records, and conducting surveillance of "lone wolves" — individuals not linked to terrorist groups). In May, he remained the last senator opposing the PATRIOT Act, and was ultimately defeated on May 26.

On March 2, Paul was one of nine senators to vote against a stopgap bill that cut $4 billion from the budget and temporarily prevent a government shutdown, citing that it did not cut enough from the budget. One week later, Paul voted against the Democratic and Republican budget proposals to keep funding the federal government, citing that both bills did not cut enough spending. Both bills failed to pass the senate. He later voted against stopgap measures on March 17 and April 8, both of which passed the senate. On April 14, Paul was one of 19 senators to vote against a budget that cut $38.5 billion from the budget and fund the government for the remainder of the fiscal year. Paul voiced opposition to U.S. intervention in the Libyan civil war and has criticized President Obama for not gaining congressional consent for Operation Odyssey Dawn. During the debt ceiling crisis, Paul stated that he would only support raising the debt ceiling if a balanced budget amendment was enacted. Paul was a supporter of the Cut, Cap and Balance Act, which was tabled by the Democrats. On August 3, Paul voted against a bill that would raise the debt ceiling.

Committee assignments

Committee on Energy and Natural Resources

*Subcommittee on Energy

Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions

*Subcommittee on Primary Health and Aging

Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs

*Ad Hoc Subcommittee on Contracting Oversight

*Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations

*Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations

Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship

Political views

Paul supports term limits, a balanced budget amendment, and the Read the Bills Act, in addition to the widespread reduction of federal spending and taxation. He has gained prominence for his independent positions on many political issues, often clashing with both Republicans and Democrats.

Abortion and bioethics

Paul is opposed to abortion and supports a Human Life Amendment and a Life at Conception Act. He also opposes abortion in cases of rape and incest, but supports use of the morning-after pill. He opposes federal funding for abortion. He takes a states' rights position, favoring the overturn of ''Roe v. Wade'' and allowing states to decide on the legality of abortions without federal involvement.

According to the Paul campaign, Paul received a 100% pro-life score on a Kentucky Right to Life survey and indicated on the survey that he opposed human cloning. This was disputed by Kentucky Right to Life, however, who endorsed Paul's primary opponent instead and claimed that Paul did not, in fact, answer the cloning question.

Campaign finance reform

Paul opposes the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 and has called it a "dangerous piece of legislation". Instead, he supports regulating the contracts given out by Congress and placing limits on corporations receiving government contracts. Paul opposes legislation limiting the amount of money individuals, corporations, and organizations can give to candidates. Additionally, Paul has proposed "mandating a clause in all federal contracts over $1 million that requires the recipient to pledge not to lobby government or contribute to campaigns during the terms of the contract."

Civil liberties

Paul opposes the USA PATRIOT Act, including warrantless searches and breach of individual privacy.

Economics and tax cuts

Paul has been a longtime opponent of the bank and auto industry bailouts.

He also opposes the Federal Reserve Act of 1913 and the Federal Reserve's control of the money supply and interest rates. He has advocated allowing the free market to regulate interest rates, and supports Congress' constitutional role in controlling the money supply. Paul endorses H.R. 1207, the Federal Reserve Transparency Act, a bill, introduced by his father, mandating an audit of the Federal Reserve. Although Paul would abolish the Federal Reserve, he supports transparency and accountability of the semi-private institution. Additionally, Paul opposes inflation and supports "restoring the value of the dollar that has devalued by approximately 95% since the Federal Reserve's inception in 1913".

Paul supports tax cuts and a Balanced Budget Amendment, and has criticized both Republicans and Democrats on deficit spending.

In October 2010 the Kentucky coordinator for Americans For Fair Taxation stated that Paul would "vote for the FairTax", which would replace federal income taxes with a 23% national consumption tax and includes rebate provisions for taxes on all money spent up to the poverty line. The Associated Press confirmed with a representative of the Paul campaign that the statement fairly reflected Paul's position, but the next day Paul distanced himself from the proposal, saying that while he supports tax reform in general, he hasn't committed to the proposal, adding that it is "a little complicated to administer" and that "it would probably work better at the state level than the national."

Education

Paul supports returning control of education to local communities and parents and thus eliminating the federal Department of Education, but he says that some functions of the Department of Education, such as disbursing student loans and Pell Grants, should be transferred to other departments instead of being eliminated. Paul opposes federal regulation of homeschooling.

Energy

Paul supports allowing the free market to compete and dictate which forms of energy to use. He opposes subsidizing energy companies, and would support allowing tax breaks for companies that produce alternative energy such as wind, solar, or geothermal. He has said that subsidizing the energy industry will only add incentive for companies to lobby the federal government.

Health care

Paul opposes federal government involvement in health care. He would repeal the HMO Act of 1973 that "drives a wedge between the patient and [one's] doctor". He believes that government has driven up the cost of health care and causes the quality and coverage to decrease. Paul would support a free market approach to health care, including tax deductions for medical expenses. He opposes federal regulations discouraging businesses from providing coverage. He supports Health Savings Accounts (HSAs). On Medicare, Paul has suggested higher deductibles as well as changes to premiums or eligibility rules as ways to address what he sees as the program's looming financial problems, saying "You want to have more participation by the person who's receiving the entitlement... by that I mean that they need to be more involved with some sort of economic transaction every time they use their entitlement, and that means they have to bear more of the burden." Paul also stated that he does not support such changes for current retirees or people nearing retirement.

Illegal immigration

Paul has proposed adding security to the border by installing an electronic fence and helicopter stations to respond to breaches. He opposes birthright citizenship for children of illegal immigrants. Paul has said that courts should review the 14th Amendment, which guarantees citizenship to "all persons born or naturalized in the United States," to conclude whether or not it should apply to the children of illegal immigrants. If court challenges fail, Paul would support a constitutional amendment that would deny citizenship to children of illegal immigrants who are born in the United States.

Medical marijuana

Paul believes the issue of medical marijuana is a states' rights issue and that the federal government should not interfere. In August, the Associated Press reported that Paul said he was opposed to the legalization of marijuana for medicinal purposes, but the Paul campaign says he was misquoted. Though Paul describes himself as a "social conservative," he was nonetheless described by the AP reporter as holding "libertarian leanings on drugs" and believing some drug sentences were too harsh.

Foreign policy and national defense

Paul holds that the primary Constitutional function of the federal government is national defense, and that the greatest national security threat is the lack of border security. He supports eliminating issuance of visas to people from “about ten rogue nations.” He supports trying terrorists caught on the battlefield in military tribunals at Guantanamo Bay detention camp. Paul believes that when the United States goes to war, Congress must declare war as mandated by the United States Constitution.

During his 2010 Senate campaign Paul questioned the idea that U.S. Middle East policy is "killing more terrorists than it creates." He supported the war in Afghanistan and opposed rapid withdrawal from Iraq. He says he would have voted against the invasion of Iraq and questioned whether the intelligence was manipulated."

He also spoke against U.S. overseas military bases.

Same-sex marriage

Paul opposes same-sex marriage, but believes the issue should be left to the States to decide.

Second Amendment

Paul would oppose all gun control legislation, a position he says is supported by the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution.

References

External links

Senator Rand Paul ''official U.S. Senate website''

Official Campaign Website

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cs:Rand Paul de:Rand Paul fr:Rand Paul is:Rand Paul it:Rand Paul nl:Rand Paul no:Rand Paul pl:Rand Paul pt:Rand Paul sv:Rand Paul