Nepotism is favoritism granted to relatives regardless of merit. The word nepotism is from the Latin word nepos, nepotis (m. "nephew"), from which modern Romanian nepot and Italian nipote, "nephew" or "grandchild" are also descended.

Nepotism gained its name after the church practice in the Middle Ages, when some Catholic popes and bishops, who had taken vows of chastity, and therefore usually had no children of their own, gave their nephews such positions of preference as were often accorded by fathers to son.

Several popes elevated nephews and other relatives to the cardinalate. Often, such appointments were a means of continuing a papal "dynasty."

For instance, Pope Callixtus III, head of the Borgia family, made two of his nephews cardinals; one of them, Rodrigo, later used his position as a cardinal as a stepping stone to the papacy, becoming Pope Alexander VI. Alexander then elevated Alessandro Farnese, his mistress's brother, to cardinal; Farnese would later go on to become Pope Paul III.

The Residents are an American art collective best known for avant-garde music and multimedia works. The first official release under the name of The Residents was in 1972, and the group has since released over sixty albums, numerous music videos and short films, three CD-ROM projects and ten DVDs. They have undertaken seven major world tours and scored multiple films. Pioneers in exploring the potential of CD-ROM and similar technologies, The Residents have won several awards for their multimedia projects. Ralph Records, a record label focusing on avant-garde music, was started by The Residents.

Throughout the group's existence, the individual members have ostensibly attempted to operate under anonymity, preferring instead to have attention focused on their art output. Much outside speculation and rumor has focused on this aspect of the group. In public, the group appears silent and costumed, often wearing eyeball helmets, top hats and tuxedos - a long-lasting costume now recognized as their signature iconography. Their albums generally fall into two categories: deconstructions of Western popular music, or complex conceptual pieces, composed around a theme, theory or plot. They are noted for surrealistic lyrics and sound, disregard for conventional music composition, and the over the top, theatrical spectacle of their live performances.

Darrel J. Aubertine (born June 3, 1953) was a member of the New York State Senate for the 48th district, which covers Central New York and the North Country region counties of Oswego, Jefferson and St. Lawrence in New York State. He is a registered Democrat and represented the district in the state Senate from February 2008 to December 2010. He was chairman of the Senate's Agriculture Committee and Ranking Majority Member of the Senate Energy Committee, as well as the bicameral/bipartisan Legislative Commission on Rural Resources and the Senate's Upstate Democratic Caucus.

Aubertine currently serves as the Commissioner of the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets.

Aubertine was born in Cape Vincent, New York. He and his wife Margaret were married in 1977. They have three children: Erin, Paul, and Timothy.

On February 26, 2008 he won an upset victory in the predominantly Republican 48th district of the New York State Senate. Prior to serving in the state senate he served on the Cape Vincent town council from 1994 to 1996. In 1996 he was elected to the Jefferson County legislature where he served until 2002 when he was elected to the New York State Assembly representing the 118th district. He is the only farmer serving in the New York state Legislature and the only Democrat in the state Senate that represents exclusively rural areas; he is one of five Democrats in the Senate to represent a region of Upstate New York.