Look up desperate in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Desperate may refer to:

• Despair (emotion), a feeling of hopelessness
• Desperate (film), a 1947 suspense film directed by Anthony Mann
• Desperate (Divinyls album)
• Desperate (Daphne Khoo album)
• "Desperate" (Daphne Khoo song)
• "Desperate", a song by David Archuleta from David Archuleta (album)
• "Desperate", a song by Fireflight from For Those Who Wait
• "Desperate", a song by Suburban Legends from Suburban Legends

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Michael "Mike" Delfino is a fictional character on the ABC television series Desperate Housewives. The character was played by actor James Denton from the show's inception, until the character's death in the eighth and final season of the show.

History[link]

Season 1[link]

Mike Delfino posed as the friendly neighborhood plumber but was quietly searching for his missing ex-girlfriend (Deirdre Taylor) who went missing in the early 1990s. She had been missing for many years and her father, Noah, wanted to know what had happened to her before he died — he was terminally ill. Deirdre's remains were discovered in the toy chest that had been under the Young family pool.

Paul Young murdered Martha Huber after she admitted blackmailing his late wife. He tried framing Mike, who was arrested but later released when Susan Mayer verified Mike's alibi. She also discovered that he had been in prison for manslaughter and drug dealing. Devastated, Susan ended their relationship and he wrote her a letter, explaining his history but Susan didn't trust him and returned it. However, she visited Kendra and Noah, looking for answers. Kendra explained that Mike and Deirdre were drug addicts. Mike was defending Deirdre from an undercover policeman, who insisted Deirdre sleep with him in exchange for his silence about her drug dealing. Mike tried stopping the policeman and caught them together. Mike and the policeman had a fight and they went over a balcony. Mike survived but the cop didn't. Susan and Mike reconciled when she found out it was self-defense.

Mike also discovered that Paul Young was involved in Deirdre's murder. He took Paul hostage and planned to shoot him until Paul told him that he and his late wife lived in Salt Lake City years ago. Mary Alice worked at a rehab centre and met Deirdre. One night, wanting drugs, Deirdre tried to sell her and Paul her watch — claiming the baby needed food but Mary Alice, knowing Deirdre would buy drugs, refused to give her cash. Knowing Mary Alice couldn't have kids, she offered them her baby son, Dana. Mary Alice agreed and they moved to Fairview with the baby, now named Zach. Three years later, Deirdre found them and demanded her baby back; they refused. Deirdre went to take Zach but Mary Alice stabbed her to stop her — she was preparing dinner before Deirdre arrived. Mike let Paul go, realizing Zach was his son. Meanwhile, Zach held Susan hostage after finding out Mike had kidnapped Paul and intended to kill him.

Season 2[link]

When Mike got home, he and Susan fought off Zach and he fled. Susan was stunned to discover that Zach is Mike's son. Mike told her after going to the mortuary to look at a body that could be Zach. Luckily, it wasn't but Susan was wary of Zach because his behaviour towards Julie was worrying, particularly when she asked him not to see Julie as much. Wanting to protect Julie, she encouraged Zach to go to Utah, looking for Paul and gave him money. When Mike found out, he ended their relationship.

Mike tried getting to know him, on his return from Utah, and Zach was initially interested. Paul, however, told Zach that he was getting tired of his obsession with two people who hadn't loved him enough to keep him. After that, Zach made it clear that he felt Paul was his father.

After Edie Britt set Susan's house on fire, Mike got Susan a wire to record Edie's confession. Mike then asked Susan to move in with him but Susan, while tempted, refused, moving into a caravan instead. Later, they made up and he planned to propose in the season finale but was knocked unconscious by Orson Hodge in a hit-and-run.

Season 3[link]

Mike survived the accident but spent 6 months in a coma. When he woke up, he was diagnosed with retrograde amnesia, having forgotten the last 2 years. Edie Britt took advantage, telling him that Susan had treated him like dirt. They had a brief relationship which she ended when he was arrested for Monique Polier's (whom he vaguely remembered) murder. Susan and her new boyfriend, Ian, did their best to get him out of jail. In prison, Paul Young tried befriending him so Zach would help him find Felicia Tilman, who he was accused of murdering. Zach helped Mike by paying his bail. Later, he visited a hypnotherapist to try to make sense of some memories. He realized Orson Hodge was responsible. He and Mike had a fight on the hospital roof and Orson fell off. Mike was cleared when the police found Alma and Monique's teeth and suicide note.

Mike was saddened when Ian and Susan got engaged but discovered that Ian proposed, knowing that Mike had intended to propose the night of his accident. Mike challenged Ian at a poker game and they did a deal: if Mike won, he could tell Susan but if Ian won, he couldn't. Ian won and Mike kept his distance but Ian had to thank Mike when he rescued him from drowning. Following an argument with Ian, Mike consoled Susan and they kissed, renewing Mike's hope that they would reconcile. Despite his deal with Ian, he told Susan what happened at the poker game. Susan was furious, refusing to see either of them but eventually decided to marry Ian. Upset, Mike left her a message, saying goodbye and left Wisteria Lane, unaware that Ian had ended things with Susan. Mike went camping so Susan went after him but offended by her guide's suggestion that she invited in too much drama, Susan went to find Mike alone. Back at the campground, she was reported lost, and Mike recognized Susan from the description. Susan left Mike a message, promising if they reconciled, they would be a normal couple. Mike found Susan and they went home. Exactly a year to the day after Mike's accident, they went out to dinner and on returning to Wisteria Lane, the trailer Susan decorated a year before, was waiting on her driveway. They lived the experience they were meant to have that night and Mike proposed.

They married in the woods in the middle of the night. Susan surprised him with a small wedding because she didn't want to put pressure on him for a big, expensive wedding.

Season 4[link]

In Season Four, Mike and Susan discovered that she was pregnant (result of WB). Mike told Susan that he had never been happier but problems arose when Julie asked for permission to go to a party. Susan agreed but Mike said no as he'd seen some crazy parties at the house in question. Susan agreed with Mike but later told Julie she could go but asked her not to tell Mike, wanting him to feel part of the decision-making process, and Julie went. Later that night, after Mike said he had driven past the house and seen topless girls, drunken people and music blaring, Susan claimed she needed something from the store and went to get Julie. However, at the party, she was mistaken for a stripper but brought Julie and Dylan home and a friend of Julie's phoned to check she'd got home all right, alerting Mike. He told Susan that he respected her decisions about how to raise Julie but expected her to consult him on how they raised their child.

The doctor suggested Susan and Mike go for genetic counselling and Mike admitted his father, Nick, was alive and in prison for first degree murder. They visited and Susan was shocked by how cold Nick was and needing to know that Nick felt remorse for his actions, visited him alone the next day. Nick told Susan that he regretted what his actions did to Mike as he became very unpopular, claiming that one never truly overcame that, and told Susan to watch Mike carefully. While at Bree's house, Mike dropped a painkiller. Bree found it and wondering what it was, researched it. On discovering that it was highly addictive, she told Susan who only believed it when she found pills hidden in Mike's flashlight. She confronted him and he threw the pills down the sink, telling her that he wasn't addicted but later retrieved them. Mike's drug dealer hassled him for money so he blackmailed Adam and Orson into prescribing him more. Mike's drug dealer came to the house and Susan, unaware he was a drug dealer, tried fixing him up with Julie until Mike told her that he was a drug dealer and she threw him out. He confessed that he had bought drugs illegally from the dealer so he could keep working, worried about the cost of raising a child. Susan thought that he had stopped taking them but found pills in the car. She confronted Mike and he accidentally pushed her down the stairs. They went to the hospital — worried about the baby — but punched a hospital worker so Mike was handcuffed to a seat. Luckily she and the baby were fine and Susan's ankle was only sprained. She was prescribed painkillers and when Mike asked for one, she told him if he didn't go to rehab, she would leave him and refuse him access to the baby. Mike agreed and went for thirty days.

Mike didn't go to the first Lamaze class, as he received his 30 day chip (30 days without drugs) but was there for the second. Mike told Susan that Bree Hodge's husband, Orson, had run him over, Susan furiously told Orson to stay away from her family and told Bree what happened. Orson and Bree grew apart because of this, and Susan apologized for it. After Mike's mother visited, Mike scolded his mother for her attitude towards Susan — asking personal questions and unable to believe that Susan couldn't cook. She apologized just before Susan gave birth to their baby boy. Mike wanted to name him Maynard after his grandfather (who was a father figure for him) but Susan preferred Connor. Mike convinced her to name their son Maynard James Delfino (he's known as M.J.).

5-year leap[link]

As the plot fast forwards 5 years in the future, Susan is seen coming home to a man that isn't Mike.

Season 5[link]

The fifth season premiered on U.S. television on Sunday September 28, 2008 with the episode "You're Gonna Love Tomorrow". As previously stated, season five takes place five years after the events of season four. In the new timeline, it is revealed that Susan is having a secret relationship with her painter/decorator Jackson Braddock. When Jackson asked why they couldn't go public, she replies, "Maybe I don’t deserve to be happy," which led to flashbacks revealing why Susan and Mike divorced: they were involved in a crash with another car. They survived but the occupants of the other car — Lila Dash and her daughter, Paige — died. Susan and Mike weren't responsible (the other car pulled out in front of them), but Susan blamed herself and Mike and the trauma took its toll on their marriage. When Mike arrives to collect their son ("M.J.") for the weekend, Susan tells Mike that she is seeing someone.

While Susan is now with Jackson, Mike started dating Katherine Mayfair, Susan's older friend. Mike and Katherine bonded over after bad dates and realize they are attracted to each other. When Susan finds out that they are dating and that Bree knew, it is clear that she still has feelings for Mike, whom she refers to as her soulmate. This bad feeling spills over into Mike and Susan's son, M.J., when he attacks Katherine. It emerges that this is a result of what Susan told M.J. when she and Mike first split up; that they would get back together eventually.

Worried about her and Mike's relationship, she tells him that her daughter wants her to move to Maryland, but isn't sure if she should go. Mike was non-committal but realized, thanks to Dave, that he was falling in love with Katherine and left her a basket of roses with a note saying "Don't go". When Katherine found them, she was thrilled — unaware that Dave had an agenda of his own, thinking Mike was responsible for the deaths of his wife and daughter. Dave planned his revenge — he, Mike and Katherine would go camping and he would shoot Katherine dead. Unfortunately, Dave's wife, Edie, sent him a text, telling him to come home. Edie confronts him — during the confrontation, Edie is about to call Mike when Dave nearly strangles her. Edie rushed out and was killed after being electrocuted when she crashed her car into an electricity pole after swerving to avoid Orson. Dave later learns that he nearly killed the wrong person. Susan confessed she was driving the night that Lila and Paige died and realized he should have been targeting her. Dave decides to kill Susan and Mike's six-year-old son, M.J. Delfino, in revenge.

Mike later struggled with his feelings for Susan and Katherine, and proposes to Katherine, who gladly accepts. In the finale, Dave gives Mike a videotape which he says is rehearsal footage of their band; it is actually Dave's confession which Mike wasn't supposed to see until after M.J. is dead. Needing a videotape to use at the wedding, Katherine puts it in her camera. Katherine and Mike are waiting to fly to Vegas and Katherine takes her wallet to buy cappuccinos and knocked the camera so Mike heard Dave's voice from her purse. Watching it, he sees Dave confess to killing M.J.. Mike runs to save him, leaving a message for Katherine. Unfortunately, it is misinterpreted. Mike phones Susan and told her that Dave is the man whose wife and daughter that died in the accident. He speaks to Dave, offering himself in Susan and M.J.'s place. Dave agrees and tells Mike to meet them at the site of the accident. Unknown to Mike, Dave plans to have Mike crash into his car and kill M.J., just as Susan did when she killed Lila and Paige. Susan manages to escape and tried to warn Mike, but he crashed into Dave's car anyway. Susan was relieved to find M.J. alive and well as Dave had told him to get out of the car. Susan, Mike, and M.J. share a hug, and Mike kisses Susan.

At the end of the finale, Mike is seen marrying someone whose face is not shown. Neither Katherine nor Susan are shown in the pews at the church, and Marc Cherry has dressed both Katherine and Susan up in wedding dresses.

Season 6[link]

It is revealed that Mike broke up with Katherine and asked Susan to marry him, again. She accepts and they plan their wedding. Her daughter, Julie, then returns to Wisteria Lane. Though Susan is happy and in love with Mike, Katherine is devastated and jealous. Their friendship is deeply scarred by this. At the ceremony, Katherine approches Susan and explains how she feels and asks for her to make a public apology during the ceremony or she will make a huge scene. Susan then locks Katherine in a closet, she breaks out and a scene ensues after Mike and Susan are wed. Susan then apologizes publicly. However, Katherine tells her it doesn't matter because as of this moment, they are at war and she begins to plot revenge. When Katherine tells M.J. how Susan stole Mike away and takes the child from school, Mike verbally blasts her, saying he never loved Katherine and was thinking of Susan the whole time they were together. When a hurt Katherine says it'd be less painful for Mike to stab her with a knife, he retorts that he doesn't care enough about Katherine to kill her. After he leaves, Katherine calls 911 to say she's losing blood and then stabs herself. Katherine tells the police that Mike stabbed her and he's arrested. Trying to help him, Susan calls on Katherine's daughter Dylan, who's believed Katherine's tales that she's married to Mike. After talking to Mike in jail, Dylan realizes her mother has been lying and confronts her, causing Katherine to have a full breakdown that presumably exonerates Mike. Mike is currently having financial problems, but while he refuses any help coming from Susan, he takes a loan from Carlos. Susan eventually learns of their financial ruin and, after going over their finances she and Mike realize they need to cut back. This includes them moving to an apartment across town and, renting out their home. Though Mike knows it will help them get back on their feet, Susan becomes very angry with him as she is forced to leave the house where she raised her children. Though they make up and, leave Wisteria Lane, they quickly find a renter for their house... in the form of Mike's former enemy, Paul Young, the man who killed Martha Huber.

Season 7[link]

When Susan tells Mike about her lingerie job on the Internet and Paul Young's plan to buy their house, Mike decides to take an oil rig job in Alaska in order to earn more money. He has also been communicating with Felicia Tilman. When Susan develops kidney problems Mike surprises her at the hospital. They both fear the prospect of Susan succumbing to her disease and so they decide to have an early anniversary which turns into a sham. After everything backfires Mike admits he's not ready to lose Susan and tells her that she'll find a kidney donor. After Paul recovers from the gunshot wound he asks for Mike's help in finding Zach. Mike rejects but later changes his mind when he realizes that Zach is on drugs. Both Mike and Paul visit Zach and ask him to go to rehab. When Susan gets a kidney, courtesy of Beth, they both cannot wait for their sex drought to end with Susan dreaming of having sex but cannot recall her male counterpart.

Season 8[link]

Making the fatal mistake of crossing Donny, a vengeful loan shark, Mike is killed in a drive-by shooting in front of his home on Wisteria Lane, just seconds after expressing his love toward Susan. He pushes Susan down to the ground in order to save her while he is shot in the chest. He is then remembered by the housewives at his funeral. When Susan was cleaning out Mike's closet, she finds papers indicating that Mike was writing checks to a woman. Susan visits the address she finds in Mike's things and discovers that Mike had an autistic sister, Laura, whom he only learned about 8 years before. Mike's mother did not want to be "inconvenienced" by their special needs child. In the final moments of the series, as Susan leaves Wisteria Lane, Mike is among the spirits watching her go.

References[link]

Lawrence O'Donnell
O'Donnell at the 2009 premiere of Polliwood
Born	(1951-11-07) November 7, 1951 (age 60) Boston, Massachusetts, USA
Ethnicity	Irish American
Education	Harvard University
Occupation	Political analyst
Notable credit(s)	Political commentary: The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell The McLaughlin Group Morning Joe Television fictional series: The West Wing (producer, writer) Big Love, Homeland (actor)
Spouse	Kathryn Harrold (m. 1994, divorced)

Lawrence Francis O'Donnell, Jr. (born November 7,^[1] 1951) is a political analyst, journalist, actor, producer, writer, and host of The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell, a weeknight MSNBC opinion and news program. O'Donnell called himself a "practical European socialist" in a Newsmaker Interview dated November 11, 2005.^[2] He frequently filled in as host of Countdown before getting his own show on the cable network. Beginning 24 October 2011, The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell switched time slots with The Ed Show, with Ed Schultz taking over the 8 p.m. Eastern slot, and O'Donnell returning to the 10 p.m. Eastern slot.^[3]

O'Donnell has also appeared as a political analyst on The McLaughlin Group, The Al Franken Show, and Countdown. He was an Emmy Award-winning producer and writer for the NBC series The West Wing and creator and executive producer of the NBC series Mister Sterling. He is also an occasional actor, appearing as a recurring supporting character on the HBO series Big Love, portraying an attorney. He began his career as an aide to U.S. Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan and was Staff Director for the Senate Finance Committee.

Personal life[link]

O'Donnell was born in Boston on November 7, 1951; the son of Frances Marie (née Buckley), an office manager, and Lawrence Francis O'Donnell, Sr., an attorney.^[1] He attended St. Sebastian's School '70, where he was captain of his baseball team, and graduated from Harvard College in 1976.^[4] While at Harvard, he wrote for the Harvard Lampoon and was popular among its members due to his wit and sarcasm.^[5] In 1994, O'Donnell married television and movie actress Kathryn Harrold. O'Donnell and Harrold have a daughter, Elizabeth Buckley Harrold O'Donnell.^[6] O'Donnell and Harrold later divorced.

Career[link]

From 1977 to 1988, O’Donnell was a writer.^[4] In 1983, he published the book Deadly Force, about a case of wrongful death and police brutality in which O'Donnell’s father was the plaintiff’s lawyer.^[7] In 1986, the book was made into the film A Case of Deadly Force, in which Richard Crenna played O'Donnell’s father and Tate Donovan played O'Donnell, and for which O’Donnell was associate producer.^[8]

U.S. Congress[link]

From 1989 to 1995, he was a key legislative aide to Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan.^[4] From 1989 to 1991, he served as senior advisor to Moynihan. From 1992 to 1993, he was staff director of the United States Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, then chaired by Senator Moynihan. And then from 1993 to 1995, he was staff director of the United States Senate Committee on Finance, once again under Senator Moynihan’s chairmanship. He thus led the staff of the Senate's tax-writing committee during the consideration of President Bill Clinton's first budget, which Congress enacted in the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993.

Television[link]

From 1999 to 2006, O’Donnell was associated with the television drama The West Wing. Over that time, he wrote 16 episodes. From 1999 to 2000 he was executive story editor for 12 episodes, in 2000 he was co-producer of 5 episodes, from 2000 to 2001 he was producer of 17 episodes, from 2003 to 2005 he was consulting producer for 44 episodes, and from 2005 to 2006 he was executive producer for 22 episodes.^[9] O’Donnell won the 2001 Emmy award for Outstanding Drama Series for The West Wing, and was nominated for the 2006 Emmy for the same category.^[10]

In 2002, O’Donnell was supervising producer and writer for the television drama First Monday, and in 2003, he was creator, executive producer, and writer for the television drama Mister Sterling.^[9]

Acting[link]

O'Donnell plays Lee Hatcher, the Henrickson family attorney, in the HBO series Big Love about a polygamous family in Utah. In addition to being a producer on The West Wing, O'Donnell also played President Josiah Bartlet's father in a flashback sequence of the episode "Two Cathedrals".

He also portrayed Judge Lawrence Barr in two episodes of Monk. He played himself on a few episodes of Showtime's Homeland.

MSNBC[link]

In 2009, O'Donnell became a regular contributor on Morning Joe with Joe Scarborough. His aggressive debate style on that program and others has led to several notable on-air confrontations, one of the most notable being an interview with Marc Thiessen on Morning Joe that became so heated that Scarborough took O'Donnell off the air.^[11][12][13]

Also in 2009 and 2010, O'Donnell began appearing frequently as a substitute host of Countdown with Keith Olbermann, particularly when Olbermann's father was ill in the hospital.

On September 27, 2010, O'Donnell began hosting a 10 p.m. show on MSNBC, called The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell.^[14][15]

On January 21, 2011, it was announced that O'Donnell would take over the 8 p.m. slot from Keith Olbermann after Olbermann announced the abrupt termination of his show, Countdown with Keith Olbermann;^[16] it later returned to the 10 p.m. hour.

Controversy[link]

In October 2004, O'Donnell got into a heated debate on Scarborough Country with John O'Neill, spokesman for the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, over the allegations O'Neill made against John Kerry in his book Unfit for Command: Swift Boat Veterans Speak Out against John Kerry.^[17] In the debate, O'Donnell repeatedly and boisterously accused O'Neill of lying. Guest host Pat Buchanan tried to constrain O'Donnell with little success, and O'Neill at one point responded, "I will [provide evidence] if you'll shut up, Larry."^[18]

Before showing a taped interview with RNC Chairman Michael Steele, O'Donnell caused controversy over his intro to the interview which was considered racially insensitive. He said, "Michael Steele is dancing as fast as he can, trying to charm independent voters and Tea Partiers while never losing sight of his real master and paycheck provider, the Republican National Committee". After drawing criticism from Steele and talk-radio host Larry Elder, O'Donnell apologized for his remarks.^[19][20][21]

O'Donnell also drew criticism during an interview with congressman Ron Paul, when Paul accused him of breaking an agreement to not ask him about other political candidates.^[22] O'Donnell said he was not part of any agreement, but an MSNBC spokeswoman stated, "We told Rep. Paul’s office that the focus would be on the tea party movement, not on specific candidates".^[23]

During an October 2011 interview, O'Donnell accused Republican primary candidate Herman Cain of sitting on the sidelines during the civil rights protests of the 1960s and also charged him with avoiding the draft during the Vietnam War. Erick Erickson (a conservative blogger) called it "Perhaps the most detestable media character assassination I have seen in a very long time." Conor Friedersdorf said the questions posed by O'Donnell were "offensive" and declared, "In this interview, O'Donnell goes to absurd lengths to use patriotism and jingoism as cudgels to attack his conservative guest, almost as if he is doing a Stephen Colbert style parody of the tactics he imagines a right-wing blowhard might employ. Does he realize he's becoming what he claims to abhor?"^[24] O'Donnell's interview with Cain was later defended by Reverend Al Sharpton ^[25]

During the April 11, 2012 broadcast of The Last Word, O'Donnell apologized for comments made regarding the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (aka Mormon church) that, in his own words, offended many, including some of the shows most supportive fans^[26].

Political views[link]

O'Donnell called himself a "practical European socialist" in a 2005 interview.^[2] Despite regularly expressing support for regulated capitalism and mixed economies, O'Donnell again declared himself a "socialist" on the November 6, 2010 Morning Joe show, stating: "I am not a progressive. I am not a liberal who is so afraid of the word that I had to change my name to 'progressive'. Liberals amuse me. I am a socialist. I lie to the extreme left, the extreme left of you mere liberals."^[27] On the 1 August 2011 episode of The Last Word, O'Donnell further explained, "I have been calling myself a socialist ever since I first read the definition of socialism in the first economics class I took in college." O'Donnell went on to state that what he means by calling himself a socialist is

Not that we choose the socialist option every time but we do consider socialism a reasonable option under certain circumstances; in fact, under many circumstances. As any introductory economics course can tell you, there is no capitalist economy anywhere in the world, and there is no socialist economy anywhere in the world, not even Cuba. We are all mixed economies; that is, mixes of capitalism and socialism, and we all vary that mix in different ways. China has more capitalism, and a lot more capitalism, than has Cuba, but it also has a lot more socialism than we [the United States] do. Our socialist programs include the biggest government spending programs: Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, as well as welfare, and the socialist program I hate the most, agriculture subsidies. Yes, I'm a socialist, but I hate bad socialism, and there is plenty of bad socialism out there, just like there is plenty of bad capitalism out there, like the capitalism that pollutes our rivers or makes health care too expensive for so many people. I can argue this because every side of this is true: capitalism is good, capitalism is bad; socialism is good, socialism is bad; all of those things are true at the same time. That's why we have a mixed economy, an economy in which we are trying to use the best, most efficient forms of capitalism, and the best, most efficient forms of socialism, where necessary. So my full truth is I am as much a capitalist as I am a socialist; but since we live in the only mature country in the world where "socialist" is considered such a dirty word that no one would dare admit to being one, I feel more compelled to stand up for the socialist side of me than the capitalist side of me.^[28]

Philanthropy[link]

In late 2010 O'Donnell made a trip to Malawi with the intent of providing desks for students who had never seen desks. MSNBC and UNICEF partnered to create the K.I.N.D. fund - Kids in Need of Desks - with the mission to deliver desks to African schools. During its first year, the program raised $2,413,999 and delivered 39,949 desks with over 5,000 more in the pipeline on their way to classrooms.

References[link]

External links[link]

• Lawrence O'Donnell at the Internet Movie Database
• The Last Word Blog
• Lawrence O'Donnell on Twitter

Wayne LaPierre
Wayne LaPierre in February 2011.
Born	(1948-11-08)November 8, 1948
Education	BA in Education, MA in Government
Alma mater	Siena College, Boston College
Occupation	CEO and Executive Vice President of the NRA, author, television host
Known for	Second Amendment Activism
Home town	Roanoke, VA

Wayne LaPierre (born November 8, 1948),^[1] is an American author and Second Amendment advocate. He is best known for his position as the Executive Vice President of the National Rifle Association.

Background[link]

LaPierre graduated from Patrick Henry High School in Roanoke, VA in 1967. He received his BA in Education from Siena College in Loudonville, NY and his MA in Government from Boston College. He has been a government activist and lobbyist ever since finishing his MA, including positions on the Board of Directors of the American Association of Political Consultants, the American Conservative Union, and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation.

National Rifle Association Activity[link]

Since 1991, he has served as Executive Vice President and Chief Executive Officer of the National Rifle Association, the largest American gun rights organization. LaPierre joined the NRA in 1977 after working as a legislative aide to a Democratic Virginia Delegate Vic Thomas.

LaPierre has authored several books on weaponry topics, ranging from shooting practices to terrorism to gun safety to crime. He also makes appearances promoting the NRA at gun shows and political events. Citing Democratic candidate John Kerry's history of authoring and supporting gun control legislation, LaPierre actively campaigned against the senator in the 2004 Presidential elections.

In the media[link]

Television[link]

LaPierre hosts Crime Strike, a syndicated weekly television program which advocates gun use for the purpose of self-defense and highlights situations where people have used their guns against criminal suspects.

Online[link]

In October 2006, LaPierre instituted a weekly podcasts on the NRAnews.com website called "What They Didn't Tell You Today." Every weekday, LaPierre gives a short broadcast about gun rights.

Books[link]

• Guns, Crime, and Freedom (1994)
• Shooting Straight: Telling the Truth About Guns in America (2002)
• Guns, Freedom, and Terrorism (2003)
• The Global War on Your Guns (2006)
• The Essential Second Amendment Guide (2007)

Politics[link]

In 2000, LaPierre said President Bill Clinton tolerated a certain amount of violence and killing to strengthen the case for gun control and to score points for his party.^[2] Clinton White House spokesman Joe Lockhart called it "really sick rhetoric, and it should be repudiated by anyone who hears it."^[3]

In 2004, LaPierre debated Rebecca Peters, head of the International Action Network on Small Arms, at King's College London.

References[link]

External links[link]

• NRA Leaders: Wayne LaPierre
• NRAnews.com
• Edited transcript of Rebecca Peters' debate with Wayne LaPierre
• Ruby Ridge documents at TruTV (formerly CourtTV)