William Harrison "Bill" Frist, Sr. (born February 22, 1952) is an American physician, businessman, and politician. He began his career as an heir and major stockholder to the for-profit hospital chain of Hospital Corporation of America. Frist later served two terms as a Republican United States Senator representing Tennessee. He was the Republican Majority Leader from 2003 until his retirement in 2007.

Frist was born in Nashville, Tennessee, to Dorothy (Cate) Frist and Thomas Fearn Frist, Sr. He is a fourth-generation Tennessean. His great-great grandfather was one of the founders of Chattanooga, Tennessee, and his father was a doctor and founded the health care business organization which became Hospital Corporation of America. Frist's brother, Thomas Jr., became chairman and chief executive of Hospital Corporation of America in 1997.

Frist graduated from Montgomery Bell Academy in Nashville, Tennessee, and then from Princeton University in 1974, where he specialized in health care policy at the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs. In 1972, he held a summer internship with Tennessee Congressman Joe Evins, who advised Frist that if he wanted to pursue a political career, he should first have a career outside of politics. Frist proceeded to Harvard Medical School, where he received the degree of Doctor of Medicine with honors in 1978. While at Harvard he shared an apartment with future United States Congressman David Wu.

William "Bill" Maher, Jr. ( /ˈmɑːr/; born January 20, 1956) is an American stand-up comedian, television host, political commentator, author, and actor. Before his current role as the host of HBO's Real Time with Bill Maher, Maher hosted a similar late-night talk show called Politically Incorrect originally on Comedy Central and later on ABC.

Maher is known for his political satire and sociopolitical commentary, which targets a wide swath of topics including religion, politics, bureaucracies of many kinds, political correctness, the mass media, greed among people and persons in positions of high political and social power, and the lack of intellectual curiosity in the electorate. He supports the legalization of marijuana and same-sex marriage, and serves on the board of PETA. He is also a critic of religion and is an advisory board member of Project Reason, a foundation to promote scientific knowledge and secular values within society. In 2005, Maher ranked at number 38 on Comedy Central's 100 greatest stand-up comedians of all time. Bill Maher received a Hollywood Walk of Fame star on September 14, 2010.

Rachel Anne Maddow (pronounced /ˈmædoʊ/; born April 1, 1973) is an American television host, political commentator, and author. Maddow hosts a nightly television show, The Rachel Maddow Show, on MSNBC. Her syndicated talk radio program of the same name aired on Air America Radio. Maddow is the first openly gay anchor of a prime-time news program in the United States.

Asked about her political views by the Valley Advocate, Maddow replied, "I'm undoubtedly a liberal, which means that I'm in almost total agreement with the Eisenhower-era Republican party platform."

Maddow was born in Castro Valley, California. Her father, Robert B. "Bob" Maddow, is a former United States Air Force captain who resigned his commission the year before her birth and found civilian work as a lawyer for the East Bay Municipal Utility District. Her mother, Elaine Maddow (née Gosse), is a school program administrator from Newfoundland, Canada. She has one older brother, David. Her father is of Russian and Dutch descent and her mother is of English and Irish ancestry. Maddow's mother was raised a strict Roman Catholic, and Maddow herself grew up in a community that her mother has described as "very conservative." Maddow was a competitive athlete and played three sports in high school. Referencing John Hughes films, she describes herself in high school as "a cross between the jock and the antisocial girl."

Thomas Dale "Tom" DeLay (/dəˈleɪ/; born April 8, 1947) is a former member of the United States House of Representatives, representing Texas's 22nd congressional district from 1984 until 2006. He was Republican Party (GOP) House Majority Leader from 2003 to 2005, when he resigned because of criminal money laundering charges in connection with a campaign finance investigation. He was convicted of money laundering in January 2011 and sentenced to three years in prison but is free on bail while appealing his conviction.

Tom DeLay began his career as a politician in 1978 when he was elected to the Texas House of Representatives. In 1985, he became a born-again Christian. In 1988, after just a few years in the U.S. House, Tom DeLay was appointed Deputy Minority Whip. In 1994 he helped Newt Gingrich effect the Republican Revolution, which gave the Republicans the victory in the 1994 midterm election and swept Democrats from power in both houses of Congress, putting Republicans in control of the House of Representatives for the first time in forty years. In 1995, he was elected House Majority Whip.

Joshua Otis "Josh" Turner (born November 20, 1977) is a country music singer and actor signed to MCA Nashville Records in 2003, Turner has released four studio albums for the label. The first of these was 2003's Long Black Train, whose title track was his breakthrough single release. 2005's Your Man accounted for his first two Number One hits: "Your Man" and "Would You Go with Me," while 2007's Everything Is Fine included a #2 in "Firecracker." Haywire, released in 2010, produced his biggest hit, the #1 "Why Don't We Just Dance." Josh also released a Cracker Barrel album called "Live at the Ryman" in 2007. Overall, Turner has charted ten times on the Billboard country singles charts, with all but one of his singles reaching Top 40 or higher.

Josh Turner was raised in Hannah, South Carolina. Growing up in the church, he found himself singing the bass and baritone parts in numerous choirs. His parents are both of English ancestry. After high school, he moved to Nashville to pursue a career in music and enrolled in Belmont University. After college, his fledgling career got a boost on Dec. 21, 2001, during his debut on the Grand Ole Opry, when he debuted a song he wrote titled "Long Black Train." He received a standing ovation in the middle of the song, then sang it again for an encore.