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Ralph Reed

2007-06-20T02:31:42Z

Rpecker:

[[Image:rreed.gif|thumb|right]]

'''Ralph Reed''' is founder and president of [[Century Strategies]], a public relations and public affairs firm with offices in [[Atlanta]] and [[Washington]]. He advises numerous [[Fortune 500]] companies.

As chairman of the Georgia [[Republican Party]] in 2002, he helped elect [[senate|U.S. Senator]] [[Saxby Chambliss]]. He also helped to elect [[Sonny Perdue]], the first [[GOP]] [[Governor]] in 130 years, and aided the GOP in gaining control of state Senate for first time since [[Reconstruction]]. During his tenure the state party budget increased from $5 million to $10.7 million, the donor base increased from 12,000 to 34,000, and the grassroots network grew to over 3,000 volunteers.

Reed has worked on seven presidential campaigns and served as Chairman of the Southeast Region for the Bush-Cheney ’04 effort, and campaign manager in Georgia. He has advised 88 campaigns for U.S. Senate, Governor and Congress in 24 states.

Reed has been named one of the top ten political newsmakers in the nation by Newsweek, one of the twenty most influential leaders of his generation by Life magazine, and one of the 50 future leaders of America by Time magazine. As executive director of the Christian Coalition (1989-1997), he built one of nation's most effective grassroots organizations.

He has appeared on numerous television programs, often guesting on CNN, and his columns have appeared in the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal. He is the author and editor of three best-selling books: Politically Incorrect: The Emerging Faith Factor in American Politics (1994); After the Revolution (1996); and Active Faith: How Christians are Changing the Face of American Politics (1996). He served as executive director of the College Republican National Committee (1982-1984), and also as youth co-chairman of the re-election campaign for President Ronald Reagan. He did not enter the military service after receiving his degrees, instead choosing a path toward conservative leadership and the Christian Coalition.

Reed has served on several corporate boards of directors and is active in SafeHouse, a faith-based organization helping the poor in inner city Atlanta.

Reed grew up in Toccoa, Georgia, and has a B.A. from the University of Georgia and Ph.D. in American History from Emory University. He and his wife Jo Anne have four children and reside in Duluth, Georgia.

==Role in the Christian Coalition==
Reed’s leadership at the Christian Coalition helped to move religious conservatives into the mainstream and make them one of the most important constituencies in the electorate. Political analysts now agree that the so-called “values voters” are among the most critical voting blocs in contemporary American politics. They proved critical to the election of the first Republican Congress in forty years in the 1994 landslide, and also were integral to the election victories of President George W. Bush in 2000 and 2004.

The strength of religious conservatives was dramatically demonstrated in the Republicans gaining control of Congress in 1994. In that election, Reed’s Christian Coalition turned out a record number of voters. Religious conservatives represented one out of every three voters, and voted roughly three-to-one for GOP candidates.
Standing on a record of intensive grassroots organizing and unprecedented fundraising success, the Christian Coalition gained significant influence within the Republican Party. According to a 1994 Campaigns and Elections magazine, in growing the grassroots of the Christian Coalition, religious conservatives gained a “substantial” or “dominant” role in 31 state Republican Party organizations. Subsequently, Reed used his tenure to achieve issue battle successes at the state level and then projected that grassroots strength to impact legislation in Washington.

But the underpinnings of that 1994 Republican victory had been built over a number of years by Reed and others working in and around the Christian Coalition of America.

Inspired by union organizers of the past, Reed built a political network that influences candidates at every level. In eight years, the group’s budget has grown from $200,000 to $27 million, and it now boasts 1.9 million members. Many wondered how Reed achieved this seemingly overnight success. Simply put, he wedded high technology with cutting-edge political organization to engineer the most efficient and effective projection of religion into the nation’s political life in modern times.

Furthermore, “The boyish-looking Reed…has also successfully moved Christian conservatives toward mainstream issues. In his 1993 article, “Casting a Wider Net,” [in the Heritage Foundation’s Policy Review] he warned that the 'pro-family movement still has limited appeal even among the 40 million voters who attend church frequently.' To win more elections, he argued, the coalition has to expand its traditional agenda of opposing abortion and gay rights to include calls for tax cuts and smaller government.”

With a Ph.D. in American History from Emory University, Reed built the Christian Coalition movement with an eye toward social reform movements that had taken place before his time. Reed believed that the long tale of religious involvement in American life should be embraced by all Americans because it had served our country well and unified believers of many denominations. He observed that Christians and religious rhetoric had been driving forces behind nearly every social movement in America, whether of the right or of the left. From abolition to the New Deal, from the labor movement to civil rights movement, Christians had been instrumental to the expansion of social justice in America. The Christian Coalition sought to stand on those historic movements as it united Catholics, observant Jews, and Protestants from every walk of faith.

==Reed Joined Coalition==
USA Weekly reported that Reed “got his chance in January 1989. At a Washington dinner party during George H.W. Bush’s inaugural, he was seated next to Pat Robertson, whom Bush had beaten in the primaries. Robertson, who’d never mounted a real threat but had managed to build strong grassroots organizations in several states, was looking for someone to take it from there.”

Robertson asked Reed to draft a proposal for a grassroots political organization to further the cause of Evangelicals and Roman Catholics. The product of this meeting and plan was the birth of the Christian Coalition, which quickly capitalized on Robertson’s campaign and the void left by the closing down of the Moral Majority.

In 1989, Reed was at a crossroads professionally: he had recently finished his doctoral studies in American history at Emory University after serving as the executive director of the College Republican National Committee during the Reagan years. In Reed, Robertson could not have found anyone better suited for the job as Ralph had once said that he wanted to be the “Christian Lee Atwater.” With Robertson’s initial lists and support Reed went on to spend the next eight years as executive director of the Christian Coalition (1989-1997), where he built one of nation's most effective grassroots organizations. The Christian Coalition became “the McDonald’s of conservative activist groups.”

In the midst of all this grassroots success, Reed still managed to author two best selling books, Politically Incorrect and Active Faith.

{{DEFAULTSORT:Reed, Ralph}}
[[category:political people]]

Trent Lott

2007-06-20T02:27:20Z

Rpecker:

'''Trent Lott''' is the junior [[U.S. Senate|Senator]] from [[Mississippi]].

==Legislative Career==
After graduating from [[Ole Miss]], Trent Lott was the staffer for Rules Committee chairman [[William Colmer]], a conservative Democrat. When Colmer retired in 1972, Lott ran as a Republican, receiving Colmer's endorsement.<ref>http://archives.cnn.com/2002/ALLPOLITICS/12/16/timep.lott.tm/</ref>. In the House, Lott achieved prominence, serving as Minority Whip from 1981-1989. In 1988 he was elected to the United States Senate to succeed [[John Stennis]]. In the Senate he has served as Majority Leader and Minority Leader, and is currently serving as the Minority Whip.

Lott resigned his position as Majority Leader after commenting that things would have been better had [[Strom Thurmond]] won his presidential bid. This angered many people, as Thurmond had run on a pro-segregation platform and once declared during his campaign against Democrat Harry S. Truman, who supported civil rights legislation: "All the laws of Washington and all the bayonets of the Army cannot force the Negro into our homes, our schools, our churches."

[[Category:US Senators]]

Paul Wolfowitz

2007-06-20T02:22:57Z

Rpecker:

[[Image:89698iukhbn.jpg|right|thumb|Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz briefs reporters at the [[The_Pentagon|Pentagon]] about the on-going campaign against the [[al Qaeda]] terrorist organization and the military capability of [[Taliban]] regime in [[Afghanistan]].
]]
'''Paul Dundes Wolfowitz''' (b. December 22, 1943) is an [[American]] academic, [[neoconservative]] thinker and political figure; he was a prominent architect of the foreign policy of the [[George W. Bush]] administration and the [[Iraq War]]. In the early 1970s, Paul Wolfowitz served as an aide to [[Democratic Party]] Senator Henry M. "Scoop" Jackson; from 1986 to 1989, he served as ambassador to the Republic of Indonesia; from 2001 to 2005, he served as the Deputy Secretary of Defense in the George W. Bush administration; he is currently the President of the [[World Bank]]. Wolfowitz described himself as a "Scoop Jackson Republican".

Other nations have been critical of Wolfowitz, and the criticisms intensified to calls for his ouster upon disclosure that in April of 2007 he allegedly obtained a large pay raise and promotion for his girlfriend, Shaha Ali Riza, a former bank official.<ref>http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/04/14/MNGHNP8M941.DTL</ref> He resigned on May 17, 2007 (effective June 30, 2007), as a result of an investigation by the World Bank Group's board of executive directors, which accepted his resignation, "ending a protracted and tumultuous battle over his stewardship, sparked by a promotion he arranged for his companion."<ref name=WBGS2> [http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/NEWS/0,,contentMDK:21339650~menuPK:34463~pagePK:34370~piPK:34424~theSitePK:4607,00.html "Statements of Executive Directors and President Wolfowitz"], ''[[World Bank Group]]'', May 17, 2007, accessed May 17, 2007.</ref><ref name=JonesUK>Matthew Jones, [http://uk.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUKSP8524620070518 "Wolfowitz Exit Seen Clearing Way for Progress"], ''[[Reuters]]'' (UK), May 18, 2007, accessed May 18, 2007. </ref>

== Military Service ==
Did not serve despite being eligible for service during the Viet Nam War.

==Education==
Paul Wolfowitz's father Jacob Wolfowitz, was a Professor of Mathematics at Cornell University. Paul Wolfowitz has a bachelor's degree in mathematics and chemistry from Cornell University; a Master's degree and Ph.D. in political science from the University of Chicago.<ref>http://www.whitehouse.gov/results/leadership/bio_466.html</ref> From 1994-2001, Paul Wolfowitz served as Dean and Professor of International Relations at the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies of The Johns Hopkins University.<ref>[http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/EXTABOUTUS/ORGANIZATION/EXTOFFICEPRESIDENT/0,,contentMDK:20519590~menuPK:64260190~pagePK:51174171~piPK:64258873~theSitePK:1014541,00.html Paul Wolfowitz's biography at World Banks site]</ref> [[Lewis "Scooter" Libby]] was one of his students when Wolfowitz taught courses in the Department of Political Science at Yale University.<ref>http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,3604,1449631,00.html</ref>

Eric Schmitt described Paul Wolfowitz as a "soft-spoken former aspiring-mathematician-turned-policymaker … [whose] world views … were forged by family history and in the halls of academia rather than in the jungles of Vietnam or the corridors of Congress … [His father] … escaped Poland after World War I. The rest of his father's family perished in the Holocaust." David Dudley described Wolfowitz as "liv[ing] in a world haunted by atrocities" and deeply affecting his son's personal and intellectual development. Speaking directly of the influence of the Holocaust on his own world-views, Wolfowitz said: "That sense of what happened in Europe in World War II has shaped a lot of my views … It's a very bad thing when people exterminate other people, and people persecute minorities. It doesn't mean you can prevent every such incident in the world, but it's also a mistake to dismiss that sort of concern as merely humanitarian and not related to real interest."

In August 1963, Paul Wolfowitz joined the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom led by [[Martin Luther King, Jr]].

==Books==
Lewis D. Solomon, Van Vleck Professor of Law at George Washington University, has recently published a biography of Paul Wolfowitz titled ''Paul D. Wolfowitz: Visionary Intellectual, Policymaker, and Strategist''<ref>http://www.amazon.com/Paul-Wolfowitz-Intellectual-Policymaker-Strategist/dp/0275995879</ref>.

==Interviews==
*[http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-7037799_ITM Bush's Brain Trust] by Sam Tanenhaus, ''Vanity Fair'', July 2003.
*[http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7306587/site/newsweek/ 'I'm Not a Unilateralist': Paul Wolfowitz Wants the World to Understand Him] by Lally Weymouth, ''Newsweek'', April 4, 2005.

==See Also==
*[http://www.slate.com/id/2115170/ That Bleeding Heart Wolfowitz] by Christopher Hitchens, ''Slate'', March 22, 2005.
*[http://www.newsmeat.com/washington_political_donations/Paul_Wolfowitz.php Paul Wolfowitz's political donations] by ''Newsmeat''.
*[http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/NEWS/0,,contentMDK:21319422~pagePK:34370~piPK:34424~theSitePK:4607,00.html Communication from the Executive Directors of the World Bank Group], ''World Bank Group'', May 1, 2007.
*[http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18628587/site/newsweek/ With the Best of Intentions] by Michael Hirsh, ''Newsweek'', May 21, 2007.

== References ==
<references/>
{{DEFAULTSORT: Wolfowitz, Paul}}
[[category:Political people]]

Paul Wolfowitz

2007-06-20T02:22:22Z

Rpecker:

[[Image:89698iukhbn.jpg|right|thumb|Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz briefs reporters at the [[The_Pentagon|Pentagon]] about the on-going campaign against the [[al Qaeda]] terrorist organization and the military capability of [[Taliban]] regime in [[Afghanistan]].
]]
'''Paul Dundes Wolfowitz''' (b. December 22, 1943) is an [[American]] academic, [[neoconservative]] thinker and political figure; he was a prominent architect of the foreign policy of the [[George W. Bush]] administration and the [[Iraq War]]. In the early 1970s, Paul Wolfowitz served as an aide to [[Democratic Party]] Senator Henry M. "Scoop" Jackson; from 1986 to 1989, he served as ambassador to the Republic of Indonesia; from 2001 to 2005, he served as the Deputy Secretary of Defense in the George W. Bush administration; he is currently the President of the [[World Bank]]. Wolfowitz described himself as a "Scoop Jackson Republican".

Other nations have been critical of Wolfowitz, and the criticisms intensified to calls for his ouster upon disclosure that in April of 2007 he allegedly obtained a large pay raise and promotion for his girlfriend, Shaha Ali Riza, a former bank official.<ref>http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/04/14/MNGHNP8M941.DTL</ref> He resigned on May 17, 2007 (effective June 30, 2007), as a result of an investigation by the World Bank Group's board of executive directors, which accepted his resignation, "ending a protracted and tumultuous battle over his stewardship, sparked by a promotion he arranged for his companion."<ref name=WBGS2> [http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/NEWS/0,,contentMDK:21339650~menuPK:34463~pagePK:34370~piPK:34424~theSitePK:4607,00.html "Statements of Executive Directors and President Wolfowitz"], ''[[World Bank Group]]'', May 17, 2007, accessed May 17, 2007.</ref><ref name=JonesUK>Matthew Jones, [http://uk.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUKSP8524620070518 "Wolfowitz Exit Seen Clearing Way for Progress"], ''[[Reuters]]'' (UK), May 18, 2007, accessed May 18, 2007. </ref>

==Education==
Paul Wolfowitz's father Jacob Wolfowitz, was a Professor of Mathematics at Cornell University. Paul Wolfowitz has a bachelor's degree in mathematics and chemistry from Cornell University; a Master's degree and Ph.D. in political science from the University of Chicago.<ref>http://www.whitehouse.gov/results/leadership/bio_466.html</ref> From 1994-2001, Paul Wolfowitz served as Dean and Professor of International Relations at the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies of The Johns Hopkins University.<ref>[http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/EXTABOUTUS/ORGANIZATION/EXTOFFICEPRESIDENT/0,,contentMDK:20519590~menuPK:64260190~pagePK:51174171~piPK:64258873~theSitePK:1014541,00.html Paul Wolfowitz's biography at World Banks site]</ref> [[Lewis "Scooter" Libby]] was one of his students when Wolfowitz taught courses in the Department of Political Science at Yale University.<ref>http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,3604,1449631,00.html</ref>

== Military Service ==
Did not serve despite being eligible for service during the Viet Nam War.

Eric Schmitt described Paul Wolfowitz as a "soft-spoken former aspiring-mathematician-turned-policymaker … [whose] world views … were forged by family history and in the halls of academia rather than in the jungles of Vietnam or the corridors of Congress … [His father] … escaped Poland after World War I. The rest of his father's family perished in the Holocaust." David Dudley described Wolfowitz as "liv[ing] in a world haunted by atrocities" and deeply affecting his son's personal and intellectual development. Speaking directly of the influence of the Holocaust on his own world-views, Wolfowitz said: "That sense of what happened in Europe in World War II has shaped a lot of my views … It's a very bad thing when people exterminate other people, and people persecute minorities. It doesn't mean you can prevent every such incident in the world, but it's also a mistake to dismiss that sort of concern as merely humanitarian and not related to real interest."

In August 1963, Paul Wolfowitz joined the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom led by [[Martin Luther King, Jr]].

==Books==
Lewis D. Solomon, Van Vleck Professor of Law at George Washington University, has recently published a biography of Paul Wolfowitz titled ''Paul D. Wolfowitz: Visionary Intellectual, Policymaker, and Strategist''<ref>http://www.amazon.com/Paul-Wolfowitz-Intellectual-Policymaker-Strategist/dp/0275995879</ref>.

==Interviews==
*[http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-7037799_ITM Bush's Brain Trust] by Sam Tanenhaus, ''Vanity Fair'', July 2003.
*[http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7306587/site/newsweek/ 'I'm Not a Unilateralist': Paul Wolfowitz Wants the World to Understand Him] by Lally Weymouth, ''Newsweek'', April 4, 2005.

==See Also==
*[http://www.slate.com/id/2115170/ That Bleeding Heart Wolfowitz] by Christopher Hitchens, ''Slate'', March 22, 2005.
*[http://www.newsmeat.com/washington_political_donations/Paul_Wolfowitz.php Paul Wolfowitz's political donations] by ''Newsmeat''.
*[http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/NEWS/0,,contentMDK:21319422~pagePK:34370~piPK:34424~theSitePK:4607,00.html Communication from the Executive Directors of the World Bank Group], ''World Bank Group'', May 1, 2007.
*[http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18628587/site/newsweek/ With the Best of Intentions] by Michael Hirsh, ''Newsweek'', May 21, 2007.

== References ==
<references/>
{{DEFAULTSORT: Wolfowitz, Paul}}
[[category:Political people]]

Edward M. Kennedy

2007-06-20T02:13:10Z

Rpecker:

[[Image:Tedkennedy.jpg|right|thumb]]
'''Edward Moore ("Ted" or "Teddy") Kennedy''' (b. 1932) is the second longest-serving [[United States|U.S.]] [[Senator]], a [[Democrat]] from [[Massachusetts]]. His family has been a major part of the Democratic Party for almost 50 years, beginning with his older brothers President [[John F. Kennedy]] (assassinated in 1963) and [[Robert F. Kennedy]] (assassinated in 1968). He served his country in the US Army during the Korean War, serving from 1951-1953. Ted Kennedy was long assumed to become the Democratic nominee for president himself, but the [[Chappaquiddick]] scandal in 1969 caused him to delay his candidacy until 1980, when he was unable to overcome the power of incumbency enjoyed by Democratic President [[Jimmy Carter]].

Ted Kennedy has always represented the most [[liberal]] side of the Democratic Party, from support for taxpayer-funded abortion to same-sex marriage. Senator [[Robert Byrd]] defeated him for a leadership position (Majority Whip) in the Senate in 1971 and Kennedy has never5 served as Majority Leader. His political power behind the scenes is undisputed.

In addition to many other bills, Kennedy played a key role in the crafting the language in the [[No Child Left Behind]] Act of 2001 (Public Law 107-110), a massive [[education]] bill signed into law by Republican President [[George W. Bush]].

He is currently Chairman of the United States Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, where the first bill he pushed through was an increase in the minimum wage by $2.10, to $7.25. In April 2006 he was honored by Time magazine as one of "America's 10 Best Senators."<ref>http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1183965,00.html</ref>

[[Category:US Senators]]

Ted Nugent

2007-06-20T02:04:03Z

Rpecker:

[[Image:450px-Ted_Nugent_in_concert.jpg|right|250px|thumb]]
'''Ted Nugent''' (b. 12/13/1948) is a [[conservative]] musician, originally from [[Detroit]], [[Michigan]], but currently living in [[Texas]]. He has recorded 30 albums that have sold over 35 million albums worldwide. He has published several books, including a cookbook he co-authored with his wife, Shermane. Nugent is an avid hunter and is often criticized by liberal animal rights protesters. He is a friend of [[George W. Bush]]. [http://www.tednugent.com/news/tv_stranglehold.shtml]

Nugent is on the Board of Directors of the [[National Rifle Association]]. Although he did not serve his country during the Viet Nam War, despite being eligible in 1967, he is in support of the American military and the [[Republican Party]]. Nugent also believes that [[homosexuality]] is an abomination.

Howard Stern

2007-06-20T00:01:11Z

Rpecker: /* Political and Religious views */

'''Howard Stern''' is an [[United States of America|American]] satellite radio personality, notable for his crude and vulgar humor.

==Overview==

Known for his use of scatological and sexist humor, the self-proclaimed "King of All Media" has been dubbed a "shock jock" for his use of shocking or unorthodox content as a promotional draw as well as his highly controversial comments that have included bigoted and misogynistic remarks about various religious and ethnic groups and women.

He is best-known for his national radio show, which for many years was syndicated on FM radio stations (and a few AM stations) throughout the United States until his last broadcast via terrestrial radio on December 16, 2005. After a brief hiatus, he began broadcasting via the subscription-based Sirius satellite radio service in January of 2006. Although Stern had a weekly audience of more than 10 when on terrestrial radio, on satellite Stern's audience is in the 3 million range.

Stern's show often has such guests as strippers, "little people" (midgets), pornographic actors, regular actors, musicians and comedians. Some of the more unorthodox topics of the Stern show include details of homosexual practices, and talking or trying to talk female guests into disrobing, and of course constant flatulence jokes.

==Biography==

Stern received his Bachelor's degree in 1976 from Boston University, where he had worked as a volunteer at the college radio station.

After graduation, he worked as a disc jockey for WRNW in Westchester County, New York playing rock music. He discovered a talent for Lenny Bruce-type comedy, and developed a wide-ranging confrontational style. He migrated to FM radio stations in Detroit, Michigan and Washington, D.C., and returned to New York in 1982 to work at NBC's flagship AM radio station WNBC-AM. Also working at NBC was David Letterman, who became a fan of Stern's radio show. Stern's guest appearance on Late Night with David Letterman on June 19, 1984, launched Stern into the national spotlight and gave his radio show unprecedented exposure. Stern has appeared on Letterman's show many times thereafter.

Stern and his crew were fired from NBC in 1985 in response to a particularly outrageous sketch — "Bestiality Dial-A-Date" — and returned to the FM band by joining local rival station WXRK, premiering on November 18, 1985 and returning permanently to morning drive in February 1986. Stern's show was syndicated nationwide in the 1990s by Infinity Broadcasting.

Although both his parents are Jewish, Stern claims on his show to be "a half-Jew". His paternal grandparents, Froim and Anna (Gallar) Stern, and maternal grandparents, Sol and Esther (Reich) Schiffman, were Jews from Austria-Hungary who emigrated to America at about the same time.

On June 4, 1978, Stern married his college girlfriend, Alison Berns, at Temple Ohabei Shalom in Brookline, Massachusetts; they have three daughters. In October of 1999, Stern announced that Alison had left him. Alison remarried in 2001 to David Lobosco. Since early 2000 Stern has been dating model Beth Ostrosky, who is 19 years younger than him. Ostrosky has appeared in the men's magazine ''FHM'' several times, and in early June of 2005, the editor-at-large of the magazine, Jake Bronstein, was fired after he commented that Ostrosky is only famous because she dates Stern. Many sources have said that Stern pressured FHM to fire him.

In one typical example of his radio show, he persuaded a female caller to have phone sex with him on the air. He made deep buzzing noises into his microphone, and had her sit on a speaker with the volume turned up until she reached an on-the-air orgasm. Another notable episode was on WWDC-FM (DC101 Radio) in Washington D.C. in which Stern called Air Florida Airlines and asked what the fare was for a one-way ticket from Washington National Airport to the 14th Street Bridge (on the Potomac River less than 1 mile from the airport). He was making fund of the crash of Air Florida Flight 90 one day earlier, on January 13, 1982, which had killed 78 persons (both onboard the airplane and in vehicles stopped in traffic on the bridge). That June 29, Stern was fired from DC-101 radio after being suspended for criticizing his station management and two other radio stations.

Stern refers to himself as the "King Of All Media," a parody of Michael Jackson's claiming of the title "King of Pop." Stern believes he represents the future of America, where public moral standards will continue to loosen. His show is frequently the subject of complaints by millions listeners who find his deliveries offensive - something he deliberately encourages.

In March of 1995, one day before the funeral of slain Tejano singer Selena Quintanilla, Stern played the sounds of gunshots in the background over some of her music. He also made several racist comments, such as "Alvin and the Chipmunks have more soul", and "Spanish people have the worst taste in music...they have no depth." After pressure from his radio station, Stern gave an on-air apology a week later in Spanish.

In 1997, Stern's autobiographical book, Private Parts, was adapted to film. The movie did moderately well at box offices and in video release, garnering a total of over $60 million. However, this take was far below expectations. He had also announced plans for a film provisionally titled ''The Adventures of Fartman'' based on a character created for his appearance at the 1992 MTV Video/Music Awards. As of 2007, this project has not even begun pre-production.

His April 21, 1999 show drew angry criticism and official "censure" from the Colorado State Legislature for his comment regarding the motives of the two male students who murdered 12 classmates and one teacher in the Columbine High School massacre in Colorado:

:"There were some really good-looking girls running out with their hands over their heads. Did those kids try to have sex with any of the good-looking girls? They didn't even do that? At least if you're going to kill yourself and kill all the kids, why wouldn't you have some sex? If I was going to kill some people, I'd take them out with sex."

This incident prompting a Denver radio station to suspend his show.

Howard Stern divorced his wife Allison in 2000 and February of 2007 became engaged to his longtime girlfriend, Beth Ostrosky, who is 19 years younger than him.

On February 25, 2004, Clear Channel Communications "indefinitely suspended" him from six markets because of indecency involving sexual and racist dialogue during his show. The show in question featured Rick Salomon, whose claims to fame include a publicly released home video showing him having sex with heiress Paris Hilton. During this broadcast Stern held a sexually-provocative and racially insensitive interview with Saloman, asking him graphic questions about anal sex and making light of a caller's use of the word "nigger". Clear Channel president John Hogan said, "Clear Channel drew a line in the sand today with regard to protecting our listeners from indecent content, and Howard Stern's show blew right through it...it was vulgar, offensive and insulting, not just to women and African-Americans but to anyone with a sense of common decency." Because some of Clear Channel's employees have donated money to the Republican Party, Stern claims the company was trying to penalize him for his harsh verbal attacks on President Bush.

On October 6, 2004, Stern announced on his show that he has signed a five year, $500 million deal with the satellite radio service Sirius. This move has been met with much controversy, as Stern has been talking about his move to Sirius on his show, even telling listeners how to purchase Sirius equipment and subscriptions. Stern even held a rally in New York where he gave out coupons for free or discounted Sirius equipment.

Stern's last show on conventional AM/FM "terrestrial" radio was on December 16, 2005. The ''Howard Stern Show'' debuted on Sirius, on January 9, 2006.

==Political and Religious views==

Although raised [[Jewish]], Stern is a militant [[atheist]]. Stern and his staff often mock [[religion]] and the show is widely considered inappropriate for children, due to inappropriate content (both related to religion and not).

Stern's shows have also featured political commentary. Although Stern used to be a self-proclaimed [[Libertarianism|libertarian]], in recent years he has abandoned that philosophy and embraced [[liberal]] positions that are in direct opposition to libertarian ideology, such as government regulation of corporations, radical [[environmentalism]], gun control, income redistribution through higher taxation, socialized medicine, and government funding for [[abortion]] and embryonic stem cell research. He also considers [[Ralph Nader]] to be one of his heroes. He is also a supporter of [[Michael Moore]] and was very vocal in his endorsement of Moore's film "''Fahrenheit 9/11''" which was released in June of 2004. Moore was even a guest on Stern's show the week of the film's release and called into the show a day before the 2004 presidential election. Moore appeared on Stern's show again on June 18, 2007 to promote socialized medicine, which Stern also staunchly supports.

Stern was a staunch supporter of Bush after 9/11, and was a supporter of the invasion of Afghanistan. This, along with his humor directed toward women and minorities, has led many to believe he represents the far right of the politcal spectrum.

Stern is now considered by many [[conservatives]], libertarians, and moderates/centrists to represent the far-left of the political spectrum.

During a week vacation in February of 2004 he read comedian [[Al Franken]]'s anti-Bush book, ''Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them: A Fair and Balanced Look at the Right''. He told his listeners "If you read this book, you will never vote for [[George W. Bush]]. I think this guy is a religious fanatic and a Jesus freak, and he is just hell-bent on getting some sort of bizzaro agenda through -- like a country-club agenda -- so that his father will finally be proud of him ... I don't know much about Kerry, but I think I'm one of those 'Anybody but Bush' guys now. I don't think G.W. is going to win. What do you think about that?"

On July 25, 2006 Stern launched into a tirade against [[Connecticut]] Senator [[Joe Lieberman]]. He attacked Lieberman's past support of indecency laws and his current support of the [[War on Terror]] [http://www.crooksandliars.com/posts/2006/07/26/9212/]. In February of 2007, Stern announced on his radio show that he will most likely vote for [[Rudy Giuliani]] [http://howardstern.com/rundown.hs?d=1170738000#8882] for president in 2008, however he is currently supporting [[Hillary Clinton]].

==Trivia==
* Stern share the same birthday as Rush Limbaugh (January 12).
* Stern is 6 ft 5 in (196 cm) in height.

==External Links==
*[http://www.howardstern.com Howard Stern.com] 
{{DEFAULTSORT: Stern, Howard}}
[[Category:Broadcasters|Stern, Howard]]