Image name	Alan Grayson high res.jpg
Birthname	Alan Mark Grayson
state	Florida
district	8th
term start	January 3, 2009
term end	January 3, 2011
preceded	Ric Keller
succeeded	Daniel Webster
party	Democratic Party
birth date	March 13, 1958
birth place	The Bronx, New York City, New York, U.S.
alma mater	Harvard University
profession	Attorney
residence	Orlando, Florida, U.S.
spouse	Lolita Grayson
children	5
website
religion	Judaism

Alan Mark Grayson (born March 13, 1958) is a former U.S. Representative for , serving from 2009 until 2011. He is a member of the Democratic Party. The district Grayson represented lies in central Florida and includes portions of Orange Lake, Marion, and Osceola Counties. Most of Orlando is in the district, including Walt Disney World. Grayson was defeated for re-election in 2010 by Republican Daniel Webster.

Early life and education

Grayson was born in the Bronx, New York City, New York, United States, to a Jewish family, the son of Dorothy Ann (née Sabin) and Daniel Franklin Grayson. He graduated from Bronx High School of Science in 1975 and worked his way through Harvard College as a janitor and nightwatchman, graduating in 1978 in the top two percent of his class, ''summa cum laude'' and Phi Beta Kappa with an A.B. in economics. After working two years as an economist, he returned to Harvard for graduate studies. In 1983, he earned a J.D. ''magna cum laude'' from Harvard Law School and a Masters of Public Policy from the John F. Kennedy School of Government. Additionally, he completed the course work and passed the general exams for a PhD in government.

Grayson wrote his masters thesis on gerontology and in 1986, he helped found the non-profit Alliance for Aging Research (AAR) in Washington, D.C., and served as an officer of the organization for more than twenty years.

Law career

Grayson was employed as a law clerk at the Colorado Supreme Court in 1983, and at the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals from 1984 to 1985, where he worked with two judges who later joined the U.S. Supreme Court: Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Antonin Scalia. He was an associate at the Washington D.C. firm of Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson for five years, where he specialized in contract law.

In 1991 he founded the law firm Grayson, Kubli which concentrated on government contract law. He was a lecturer at the George Washington University government contracts program and a frequent speaker on the topic. In the 2000s, he worked as a plaintiffs' attorney specializing in whistleblower fraud cases aimed at Iraq war contractors. One contractor, Custer Battles, employed individuals who were found guilty of making fraudulent statements and submitting fraudulent invoices on two contracts the company had with the Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq. On behalf of his clients, Grayson filed suit under the False Claims Act and its ''qui tam'' provisions. The jury verdict was more than $13 million, which was upheld on appeal in April 2009. The case remains the only successful prosecution of those who profited illegally from the war in Iraq. The Iraq war contractor fraud case brought Grayson his first national attention. In 2006, a ''Wall Street Journal'' reporter described Grayson as "waging a one-man war against contractor fraud in Iraq" and as a "fierce critic of the war in Iraq" whose car displayed bumper stickers such as "Bush lied, people died".

President of IDT Corp.

Grayson made his fortune as the first president of IDT Corporation (International Discount Telecom), which pioneered competition and discount pricing in the long-distance telecommunications industry and became a $2-billion-a-year Fortune 1000 company.

U.S. House of Representatives

Grayson is considered a progressive Democrat and he represented a district that was historically Republican. He supported Barack Obama in 2008. He was a member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, of which he was vice-chairman.

Committee assignments

Committee on Financial Services

*Subcommittee on Capital Markets, Insurance, and Government-Sponsored Enterprises

Committee on Science and Technology

*Subcommittee on Investigations and Oversight

*Subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics

Legislation head sponsored by Grayson

Pay for Performance Act (H.R. 1664)

Public Option Act (H.R. 4789)

War Is Making You Poor Act (H.R. 5353)

Shareholder Protection Act (H.R. 4790)

Paid Vacation Act of 2009 (H.R. 2564)

Political positions

Federal Reserve transparency

During his first term in office, Grayson supported Ron Paul's Audit the Fed legislation. Grayson gained attention for exchanges with Federal Reserve System Vice Chairman Donald Kohn and Inspector General Elizabeth A. Coleman. The 5-minute examination of Coleman in the House Financial Services Committee was posted on the Grayson's official YouTube page. As of December 2010, it has been viewed more than 4 million times.

Following the AIG bonus payments controversy, Grayson joined with fellow freshman Democrat Jim Himes of Connecticut to introduce the Grayson-Himes Pay for Performance Act, legislation to require that all bonuses paid by companies that had received funds under the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 be "based on performance". The bill was co-sponsored by eight other members of the House. On March 26, the bill was approved by the House Financial Services Committee by a vote of 38–22 and on April 1, the bill was passed by the full House of Representatives by a vote of 247–171.

Grayson was a co-sponsor of the Federal Reserve Transparency Act of 2009, which would provide additional provisions to audit the Federal Reserve, including removing several key exemptions.

Economic stimulus

Grayson made it a priority to increase the amount of federal money coming back to the 8th Congressional District. He often said that people in the 8th District have been "exporting taxes and importing debt." During his first year in office, the amount of federal grant dollars returning to the district nearly doubled (98 percent increase). Grayson established a grant notification system that notifies subscribers immediately when a federal grant opportunity in their areas of interest becomes available. He also hired a full-time grants coordinator who focused solely on helping people navigate the federal grants process.

Grayson twice broke ranks with Democratic leadership and joined Republicans to oppose the raising of the federal debt limit (Roll no. 46, 2/4/10, Roll no. 988 12/16/09). He said at the time of the February vote, "We need to live within our means. We need to eliminate wasteful spending. If we did those two simple things, we would not need to raise the debt limit."

Grayson supported the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 and has been outspoken in favor of extending unemployment benefits for Americans who have lost their jobs. Grayson argues that the government has never cut off unemployment insurance when the unemployment rate was higher than eight percent. Grayson also voted for the FDA Oversight of Tobacco Products, which gives the FDA power to regulate tobacco products.

On a September 2009 ''Alex Jones Show'' segment, Grayson criticized Federal Reserve Chair Bernanke's senior adviser Linda Robertson, saying "Here I am the only member of Congress who actually worked as an economist, this lobbyist, this K-Street whore, is trying to teach me about economics!" Robertson had previously worked as a lobbyist for Enron. Grayson's language was widely criticized as inappropriate, and Grayson apologized.

Health care reform

In response to Republican arguments that the Obama administration's preferred health care bill was too long and complicated, Grayson on March 9, 2010, introduced H.R. 4789, the Public Option Act (sometimes called the Medicare You Can Buy Into Act), a short four-page bill which would allow all citizens and permanent residents of the United States to buy into the public Medicare program at cost. The bill attracted 82 co-sponsors and was referred to the Ways and Means Committee.

Grayson later voted for the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010. He voted in support of Eliminating Adjustments of Medicare Rates of Payment. He also voted against Republican substitutes for the health care amendment and insurance law amendments.

Civil rights

Grayson voted in support of the Hate Crimes Expansion Act, which expands the definition of hate crimes and strengthens enforcement of hate crime laws. He also voted for the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act. Grayson supported the Paycheck Fairness Act, a bill that allows victims of wage discrimination to sue for punitive damages.

Environment

Grayson voted for the House's 2009 American Clean Energy and Security Act (also known as the Cap and Trade Bill). The bill would provide for a $50 million "Hurricane Research Center" in Central Florida, and Grayson claimed it would immediately generate new jobs. Grayson noted after the passage of the ACES Act his concern about our dependence on foreign oil, the need to promote green technologies and renewable energy sources, and the job creation from the bill (an estimated 95,000 jobs in Florida). "This bill unleashes American ingenuity to solve the energy crisis. It lets us solve our problems by being Americans and thinking our way out of it. We will become an international energy power," he said in a news release.

The BP Oil Spill in the Gulf of Mexico affected Florida's number one industry, which is tourism. The lack of a relief well prevented company officials from shutting down the leak immediately. Instead, it took months to drill a new relief well, while millions of gallons of oil gushed into the Gulf each week. In response, Grayson introduced the Emergency Relief Well Act (H.R. 5666). It requires that an emergency relief well be drilled at the same time as any new exploratory well.

Defense

Grayson has been an outspoken critic of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. In May 2010, he introduced the "War Is Making You Poor Act" (H.R. 5353). The bill requires the President to fund the wars from the Department of Defense's FY '11 base budget of $550 billion. It uses the $159 billion in "supplemental funding" to eliminate federal income taxes for everyone's first $35,000 a year. The bill does not necessitate an end to the wars or mandate a cut-off date. In addition to the tax cuts, the bill cuts the federal deficit by $15.9 billion.

Grayson has tried to combat wasteful spending by government defense contractors by introducing his "Gold Plating Amendment." The amendment requires that cost or price account for half of the evaluation of bids for defense contracts. The law at the time allowed for cost to account for only one percent of the evaluation. The amendment passed as part of the National Defense Authorization Act (H.R. 2647) in June 2009. However, the language was stripped from the final bill during the conference committee between Senate and House leaders. Grayson worked successfully to get the amendment inserted into the IMPROVE Acquisition Act, which passed the U.S. House of Representatives on April 28, 2010.

Grayson voted for the 2009–2010 Defense Appropriations, which authorizes $681 billion of appropriations for the Department of Defense. He also supported the 2009–2010 Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Authorizations, which provided $46.18 billion in appropriations for 2009–2010.

Combating federal waste, fraud, and abuse

Grayson has worked to combat federal waste, fraud, and abuse. In the September 6, 2009 edition of The New York Times, columnist Gretchen Morgenson thanked Grayson for uncovering the fact that, due to the federal bailout of mortgage finance giant Fannie Mae, taxpayer money had been funding the legal defense fees for former top executives at the institution. Grayson requested information about these legal costs after a June 2009 hearing of the House Financial Services Committee. Grayson's work uncovered that, between September 6, 2008 and July 21, 2009, taxpayers spent $6.3 million defending Fannie Mae executives Franklin Raines, J. Timothy Howard, and Leanne Spencer. Taxpayers paid an additional $16.8 million to cover legal expenses of workers at the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight, Fannie’s former regulator.

In September 2009, Grayson used a parliamentary maneuver called an “extension of remarks” to provide crucial instruction on H.R. 3221, the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2009, a bill that, among other things, included a provision that prohibited funding for ACORN (the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now). Grayson’s extension of remarks directed that the legislation defund ''any'' organization that cheats the federal government, not just ACORN. The defunding measure passed the House with a final vote of 253–171. Grayson also encouraged the public to report companies covered by the bill and set up a method to report offending companies via his Congressional web site.

“Teach the Constitution Week”

On September 14, 2009, the U.S. House of Representatives passed Grayson’s “Teach the Constitution Week” resolution (H.Res. 686). The bill urged high schools to spend one week each September teaching the United States Constitution to high school seniors and also encouraged students to petition the government on an issue of personal importance to them to demonstrate their understanding of their rights and responsibilities as citizens of the United States. The non-partisan resolution was passed by a voice vote and featured 222 co-sponsors.

New Frontier Congressional Gold Medal Act

On the 40th anniversary of the historic Apollo 11 moon landing in 1969, the U.S. House of Representatives passed Grayson’s New Frontier Congressional Gold Medal Act of 2009 (H.R. 2245). The bill asked the President to present Congress’s highest civilian honor, the Congressional Gold Medal, to Apollo 11 astronauts Neil Armstrong, Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin Jr., and Michael Collins, as well as John Glenn, the first American to orbit the Earth. Only about 200 medals have ever been awarded in the country’s history. The New Frontier Congressional Gold Medal Act of 2009 passed the House unanimously on July 20, 2009.

Controversial public remarks

Grayson quickly gained a reputation as an elected official who was "not shy about his opinions." He was unrestrained in his criticism of right-wing positions, politicians, and pundits, particularly those employed by and/or frequently appearing on Fox News Channel. His sharp characterizations in public remarks earned him national attention both positive and negative.

Health care

In September 2009, during the debates leading to the passage of the Affordable Health Care for America Act by the House in November, Grayson summed up the "Republican health care plan" as "'Don't get sick, and if you do get sick, die quickly.'" His remarks were widely condemned by Republican politicians but, according to Grayson, were well received by his constituents. Grayson reported that his comments resulted in over 5,000 campaign contributions and that the positive emails he received outnumbered the negative ones by a four-to-one margin; the comments also generated funds from the Democratic National Committee towards his upcoming 2010 campaign race. Grayson raised $347,000 for his reelection campaign during the third quarter, much of it attributed to his remarks.

He defended his comment and in a House Floor speech stated, “I apologize to the dead and their families that we haven't voted sooner to end this holocaust in America." Grayson, who is Jewish, apologized to the Anti-defamation League for those offended by his generic use of "holocaust". He also maintained that Congressional Republicans have failed to offer a feasible plan. In October 2009 he launched www.NamesOfTheDead.com, a website to "memorialize Americans who die because they don’t have health insurance." He subsequently read stories of the dead submitted through the ''Names of the Dead'' site on the House floor.

Political campaigns

Grayson is the second Democrat to represent this district since its formation after the 1970 census (it was the 5th District from 1973 to 1993 and has been the 8th District since 1993). The only other Democrat to represent this district, Bill Gunter, gave it up after only one term to run for the United States Senate in 1974.

2006

In 2006, Grayson first entered into electoral politics, losing the 2006 Democratic primary for Florida's 8th Congressional District to Charlie Stuart, a prominent local businessman and center-right Democrat. Stuart went on to lose the general election to incumbent Republican Ric Keller. In late 2007, Grayson announced that he would run again for the 8th District seat, and again faced Stuart in the primary. During the primary, his campaign retained the services of Bill Hillsman.

2008

In the August 26, 2008 Democratic primary, Grayson prevailed, receiving 48.5 percent of the vote. Stuart trailed with 27.5 percent, with three other candidates splitting the remaining 24 percent. During the general election campaign, Grayson maintained a consistent lead over Keller, who had barely eked out renomination in the Republican primary over attorney Todd Long. On Election Day, Grayson received 172,854 votes, or 52 percent, to Keller's 159,490 votes, or 48 percent. Although Keller won three out of four counties in the district, Grayson won by a margin of 55 percent to 45 percent in Orange County, home to Orlando and by far the largest county in the district. Grayson was also helped by a massive voter registration drive by the Democratic Party in the 8th District that gave Democrats a slight edge in registered voters.

2010

Grayson was challenged by Republican nominee Daniel Webster, Florida TEA Party nominee Peg Dunmire, Independent candidate George Metcalfe, and write-in Florida Whig Party candidate Steve Gerritzen.

Grayson ran a September 2010, commercial calling Webster a "draft-dodger," (Webster had received student deferments and a draft classification as medically unfit for service), and a later 30-second commercial calling Webster "Taliban Dan" and warning viewers that "Religious fanatics try to take away our freedom, in Afghanistan, in Iran and right here in Central Florida." Grayson's ads were criticized for editing video mid-sentence to make Webster appear to be saying things he did not say. Grayson released a toned-down version without the edited video or Taliban references in early October.

Grayson was targeted by conservatives and conservative groups in commercials and the media, and on the Internet. On Glenn Beck's radio show, Sarah Palin agreed with a co-host's remark, "It’s okay if the Republicans lose every seat in the Senate and the House except for one. As long as that one is Alan Grayson losing." Conservative Newsweek columnist George Will called Grayson "America's worst politician." Grayson was also heavily targeted in attack ads funded by groups such as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the 60 Plus Association. The Chamber of Commerce ads were in turn criticized by Grayson and his supporters as "deeply dishonest".

Grayson was endorsed by 8th District resident, former Congresswoman Patricia Schroeder (D-CO), who characterized Webster as having "13th-century views" on women's issues. Former DNC Chair and Vermont governor Howard Dean called Grayson a "healthcare hero." Grayson received more votes for "progressive hero" from Democracy for America than any other candidate in the country. Moveon.org, in an appeal to its members, termed Grayson "a populist hero who's never afraid to call out the pernicious corporate influence in Washington."

Grayson conceded the race on the evening of November 2 after Webster showed a clear lead. Election results were: Grayson 38 percent Webster 56 percent

2012

On the evening of July 11, 2011, Grayson announced in an e-mail to supporters that he planned to run once again for Congress. Grayson was the only Democrat running in a newly-created Democratic-oriented District (renumbered as the 9th) in Central Florida as of February 2012. The district's voters are 42% Hispanic and could favor a Hispanic Democrat if one sought the party's nomination. The new District, one of two newly created due to population growth, was designed for the Hispanic population of Central Florida.

Personal life

Grayson was ranked as the 11th-wealthiest member of Congress in 2010, based on financial disclosure forms with a minimum net worth of $31.41 million, according to ''Roll Call''. Grayson disclosed that his attorney fees and costs for the war contractor case had exceeded $4 million.

While pursuing the whistleblower cases, Grayson worked from a home office in Orlando, where he lives with his wife and five children.

Grayson reportedly ran a red light on his way to a fundraiser in downtown Orlando on March 10, 2012, entering cross traffic and striking a Lynx bus. Three passengers on the bus were hospitalized with minor injuries and Grayson's 2009 Mercedes Benz was severely damaged, but he and his passenger were not hurt. Police issued a citation to Grayson, who said he did not know what color the light was when he entered the intersection.

References

External links

Alan Grayson for U.S. Congress ''official campaign site''

Alan Grayson: "Bipartisanship Has Become Code Word for Appeasement" – video report by ''Democracy Now!''

Category:1958 births Category:American businesspeople Category:American health activists Category:Businesspeople from Florida Category:Businesspeople from New York City Category:Florida Democrats Category:Florida lawyers Category:Harvard Law School alumni Category:Harvard University alumni Category:Jewish members of the United States House of Representatives Category:John F. Kennedy School of Government alumni Category:Living people Category:Members of the United States House of Representatives from Florida Category:People from the Bronx Category:People from Orlando, Florida Category:The Bronx High School of Science alumni Category:Whistleblowing

de:Alan Grayson he:אלן גרייסון pl:Alan Grayson sh:Alan Grayson sv:Alan Grayson

Name	Ben Stein
Birth name	Benjamin Jeremy Stein
Birth date	November 25, 1944
Birth place	Washington, D.C., United States
Nationality	American
Party	Republican
Occupation	Actor, writer, commentator, lawyer, teacher, humorist
|education	Columbia College
Alma mater	Yale Law School
Home town	Washington, D.C.
Residence	Beverly Hills,Malibu,Washington, D.C.,Sandpoint, Idaho
Yearsactive	1970–present
Home page	http://www.benstein.com
Emmyawards	Daytime Emmy - Outstanding Game Show Host 1999 ''Win Ben Stein's Money''with Jimmy Kimmel
Spouse	Alexandra Denman (1968-1974; 1977-present)
Children	Tom (adopted)
Parents	Herbert Stein,Mildred (née Fishman) Stein }}

Benjamin Jeremy "Ben" Stein (born November 25, 1944) is an American actor, writer, lawyer, and commentator on political and economic issues. He attained early success as a speechwriter for American presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford. Later, he entered the entertainment field and became an actor, comedian, and Emmy Award-winning game show host.

Stein has frequently written commentaries on economic, political, and social issues, along with financial advice to individual investors. He is the son of economist and writer Herbert Stein, who worked at the White House under President Nixon. His sister, Rachel, is also a writer. While, as a character actor, he is well known for his droning, monotone delivery, in real life he is a public speaker on a wide range of economic and social issues.

Life and career

Early years

Stein was born in Washington, D.C., the son of Mildred (née Fishman), a homemaker, and Herbert Stein, a writer, economist, and presidential adviser. He is Jewish and grew up in the Woodside Forest neighborhood of Silver Spring, Maryland. Stein graduated from Montgomery Blair High School in 1962 along with classmate journalist Carl Bernstein; actress Goldie Hawn (class of 1963) was one year behind. Actor Sylvester Stallone was a schoolmate at Montgomery Hills Junior High School. He went on to major in economics at Columbia University's Columbia College, where he was a member of Alpha Delta Phi society and the Philolexian Society. After graduating with honors from Columbia in 1966, Stein went to Yale Law School, graduating in June 1970. He says that he did not have the highest grades in his class at Yale, but was voted valedictorian by the students because he was most popular.

Legal and academic career

He was first a poverty lawyer in New Haven, Connecticut, and Washington, D.C. before becoming a trial lawyer for the Federal Trade Commission.

Stein's first teaching stint was as an adjunct professor, teaching about the political and social content of mass culture at American University in Washington, D.C. He subsequently taught classes at University of California, Santa Cruz on political and civil rights under the United States Constitution. At Pepperdine University in Southern California, Stein taught libel law and United States securities law and its ethical aspects. He was a professor of law at Pepperdine University Law School, from about 1990 to 1997.

Stein was the commencement speaker for the Liberty University 2009 graduation on Saturday, May 9, at Williams Stadium. At this ceremony, the University awarded him an honorary degree. According to the school, Stein "delivered a message about creationism, patriotism, and value for humanity to graduates and their families."

Writing career

Stein writes frequently on a variety of topics, including politics, investing, and economics. He writes a regular column in the conservative magazines ''The American Spectator'' and ''Newsmax''. He has also written for numerous publications including ''The Wall Street Journal'', ''The New York Times'', ''New York Magazine'', ''Penthouse'', ''Los Angeles Magazine'', and ''Barron's Magazine'', where his discussion of the Michael Milken Drexel Burnham Lambert junk bond situation, as well as the ethical dimensions of management buyouts, attracted heavy US national attention in the 1980s and 1990s. He wrote a regular biweekly column for ''Yahoo! Finance'' online, with his last article dated August 7, 2009. His bestselling books (with investment advisor Phil DeMuth) include ''Yes, You Can Retire Comfortably'', ''Can America Survive?'', and ''Yes, You Can Time the Market''. In 2009, he published a collection of essays, ''The Real Stars''.

Stein was fired from his position as a Sunday Business columnist at ''The New York Times'' in August 2009, due to a policy forbidding writers from performing product endorsements or advertising. Stein had recently become an advertising spokesperson for credit information company FreeScore.com, and according to a ''Times'' statement, had assumed there would be no conflict provided that he did not discuss credit scoring in general or FreeScore.com itself in his column. However, the publication felt that it would be inappropriate for him to write for them while he was involved in advertising, and terminated his contract. Writing in ''The Spectator'', Stein states his belief that the real reasons for his firing were budget cuts at the ''Times'', his criticism of President Obama, and pressure from those critical of ''Expelled'', who "bamboozled some of the high pooh-bahs at the ''Times'' into thinking there was a conflict of interest".

Political career

Stein began his political career as a speechwriter and lawyer for President Richard Nixon, and later for President Gerald Ford. On May 3, 1976, ''Time'' magazine speculated on the possibility of Stein having actually been Deep Throat. Stein responded over the years by not only denying he was Deep Throat, but by going further and accusing journalist Bob Woodward of falsifying the famous secret source. In the May 14–21, 1998 edition of the ''Philadelphia City Paper'', Stein is quoted saying, "Oh, I don't think there was a Deep Throat. That was a fake. I think there were several different sources and some they just made up." After Mark Felt's identity as Deep Throat was revealed, Stein stated that Richard Nixon would have prevented the rise to power of the Khmer Rouge if he had not been forced to resign. For his actions leading to that resignation, Stein said:

In 2005, Stein said in the ''American Spectator'':{{bquote|Can anyone even remember now what Nixon did that was so terrible? He ended the war in Vietnam, brought home the POWs, ended the war in the Mideast, opened relations with China, started the first nuclear weapons reduction treaty, saved Eretz Israel's life, started the Environmental Protection Administration. Does anyone remember what he did that was bad?

Oh, now I remember. He lied. He was a politician who lied. How remarkable. He lied to protect his subordinates who were covering up a ridiculous burglary that no one to this date has any clue about its purpose. He lied so he could stay in office and keep his agenda of peace going. That was his crime. He was a peacemaker and he wanted to make a world where there was a generation of peace. And he succeeded.

That is his legacy. He was a peacemaker. He was a lying, conniving, covering up peacemaker. He was not a lying, conniving drug addict like JFK, a lying, conniving war starter like LBJ, a lying, conniving seducer like Clinton—a lying, conniving peacemaker.}}

On June 24, 2008, Stein received the Freedom of Expression Award at the Entertainment Merchants Association’s Home Entertainment Awards for "his outspoken economic and political beliefs."

Career in the media

Stein became a Hollywood consultant before he moved into acting. His film career was launched by his performance as the monotonous economics teacher in the 1986 movie ''Ferris Bueller's Day Off''. In one scene, he gives an unscripted economics lecture, relying on his own experience in economics. The topics covered in his lecture are the Smoot-Hawley Tariff of 1930 and the then-current debate over supply-side economics. The film's director John Hughes told him to speak about something he knew well. The only scripted lines are those in which he calls attendance, repeating "Bueller?...Bueller?" in a monotone voice.

Stein played similarly bland and unemotional characters. He had a recurring role in the TV series ''The Wonder Years'' and played himself in ''Dave''.

He also appeared in several television commercials, most notably for the product "Clear Eyes" throughout the 1990s and 2000s (decade) ("The difference is clear…Clear Eyes." "Clear Eyes, Wow!")—many ads spoof movies of the day, such as one where Stein is a painter (a play on ''The Da Vinci Code''). Before this, he appeared for a Godfather's Pizza ad in 1987 and as a bland science teacher in a 1990 ad for Sprinkled Chips Ahoy Cookies.

In 1997, Stein was given his own game show by Comedy Central titled ''Win Ben Stein's Money'' along with co-host Jimmy Kimmel (replaced by Nancy Pimental and later by Sal Iacono). True to its name, the money that contestants won on the show was subtracted from the $5,000 Stein earned per episode (in addition to his salary). The show won five Daytime Emmy Awards before ending its run in 2003.

In 1999, during the height of ''Win Ben Stein's Money'''s popularity, Comedy Central gave Stein another show, a talk show with celebrity guests entitled ''Turn Ben Stein On''. One of the mainstays of the show was Stein's dog, Puppy Wuppy, who had free run of the set.

Other movies and television shows in which Ben Stein has appeared include ''Charles in Charge''; ''Seinfeld''; ''Full House''; ''Casper''; ''Casper: A Spirited Beginning''; ''Casper Meets Wendy''; ''The Mask'' and its sequel, ''Son of the Mask'' as well as the TV show, ''The Mask: The Animated Series''; ''Earthworm Jim''; ''Star Search''; ''MacGyver''; ''Richie Rich''; ''Game Show Moments Gone Bananas''; ''Cavuto on Business''; ''The O'Reilly Factor''; ''CBS News Sunday Morning''; ''Planes, Trains and Automobiles''; ''Family Guy''; the Michael Berger-hosted version of ''Match Game''; ''Fairly Odd Parents''; ''Duckman''; ''Married... with Children''; ''The Emperor's New School''; ''My Girl 2''; and the intelligent design documentary ''Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed''.

In addition, Stein's voice roles include The Pixies, magical creatures on the animated series ''The Fairly OddParents''; Mr. Purutu on the animated Series ''The Emperor's New School''; Professor Wisenstein in ''Bruno the Kid''; the birthday party clown, Mr. Giggles, on ''The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius''; a bingo caller on ''Rugrats''; and Pip on ''Animaniacs'', as well as the narrator of the Animaniacs' movie ''Wakko's Wish''. Stein also voiced a psychiatrist, again named after himself, in the USA TV series ''Duckman''; he once appeared in the sitcom ''Married with Children'' as a receptionist in the animal afterlife. He also made a cameo appearance in the comic book ''Young Justice'', as Ali Ben Styn. Another cameo appearance was as Rabbi Goldberg in the ''Family Guy'' episodes "When You Wish Upon a Weinstein" and "Family Goy". Stein also voiced the character Sam Schmaltz in the 1996 computer adventure game ''Toonstruck''.

In addition, Stein has written for the television industry, including outlines for the TV movie ''Murder in Mississippi'' and for the lengthy ABC miniseries ''Amerika''. He has also contributed to the creation of the well-liked TV comedy ''Fernwood 2 Night''.

Ben Stein hosted a show on VH1 called ''America's Most Smartest Model''. The show aimed to find the smartest among fourteen models through a series of challenges.

On May 14, 2006, during an appearance on the Fox News program ''Your World with Neil Cavuto'', Stein called for a tax increase of 3.5% for wealthy Americans, to be earmarked for soldiers and military initiatives. Indeed, Stein wrote an editorial for ''The New York Times'' critical of those who would rather make money in the world of finance than fight terrorism.

On December 28, 2009, Stein appeared on CNN's Larry King Live with Dr. Ron Paul to discuss the attempted bombing of an American plane on Christmas Day 2009. Stein said that Dr. Paul's stance that the United States were "occupiers" in Iraq and Afghanistan "is the same anti-Semitic argument we've heard over and over again." The comment started a shouting match between the two men and prompted anger from Dr. Paul's supporters and those who believe Stein went too far in calling Paul's argument anti-Semitic. Stein issued an apology on December 30, 2009.

He is an occasional political and economics commentator on CNBC's ''Kudlow & Company''.

Financial and economic commentary

In the period preceding the Late-2000s recession, Stein made frequent and vehement claims that the economy was not in recession, and that the issues in the housing market would not affect the broader economy. On March 18, 2007, in a column for ''CBS News''' online version of ''CBS News Sunday Morning'', Stein famously proclaimed in the beginning of the subprime mortgage crisis that the foreclosure problem would "blow over and the people who buy now, in due time, will be glad they did," the economy was "still very strong," and the "smart money" was "now trying to buy — not sell — as much distressed merchandise" in mortgages as possible.

In an August 12, 2007 column in the New York Times titled "Chicken Little’s Brethren, on the Trading Floor", Stein, while acknowledging "I don’t know where the bottom is on subprime. I don’t know how bad the problems are at Bear (Bear Stearns)" claimed that "subprime losses are wildly out of all proportion to the likely damage to the economy from the subprime problems," and "(t)his economy is extremely strong. Profits are superb. The world economy is exploding with growth. To be sure, terrible problems lurk in the future: a slow-motion dollar crisis, huge Medicare deficits and energy shortages. But for now, the sell-off seems extreme, not to say nutty. Some smart, brave people will make a fortune buying in these days, and then we’ll all wonder what the scare was about."

On August 18, 2007, on Fox News Channel's ''Cavuto on Business'', Stein appeared with other financial experts dismissing worries of a coming credit crunch. Thirteen months later, in the Global Financial Crisis of September 2008, global stock markets crashed, Lehman Brothers went bankrupt, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were taken over by the US government, AIG was bailed out by the Federal Reserve, Merrill Lynch was sold to Bank of America Corporation, and Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs confirmed that they would become traditional bank holding companies.

In a Yahoo! Finance article written on October 17, 2008, Stein explained that his understanding of the debt obligations based on real estate loans was less than the "staggeringly large" amount of obligations that were created through trade in derivatives of those, and so why it wasn't as similar to collapse of junk bond empire in early 1990s as he'd thought it would be: "Where I missed the boat was not realizing how large were the CDS [credit default swaps] based on the junk mortgage bonds."

Business commentator Henry Blodget wrote a piece for Business Insider in January 2008 entitled "Ben Stein is an Idiot," stating that Stein's criticism of those with bearish views and positions on the market was either "delusional," or a deliberate and "shrewd" attempt to create false controversy and drive up web traffic.

Political views

Abortion

Stein is a pro-life activist and was given a Pro-Life Award in 2003 by the National Right to Life Educational Trust Fund.

Larry Craig scandal

In 2007, Stein chastised the police and the GOP leadership for their response to the Larry Craig scandal. Stein said that Craig's sexuality should not be an issue: "A party that believes in individual rights should be rallying to his defense, not making him walk the plank."

Tax code

Though often labeled as a political and economic conservative, Stein has criticized the U.S. tax code for being too lenient on the wealthy. He has repeated the observation made by Warren Buffett, one of the richest individuals in the world (who pays mostly capital gains tax), that Buffett pays a lower overall tax rate than his secretaries (who pay income taxes and payroll taxes). Stein has advocated increasing taxation on the wealthy. However, in 2010, after Obama proposed not extending tax cuts for the highest earning taxpayers, Stein stated he was being punished, saying: "But for what? I don't own slaves. I employ a lot of people full- and part-time and they are all happy with their pay. When charity calls, I almost always write out a check. I don't have a yacht or ponies or a plane. My wife doesn't wear a tiara. I don't gamble."

Other

Ben Stein endorsed Democrat Al Franken in the 2008 Minnesota Senate race, calling him an "impressive guy". That year, he also stated that he would vote for Ralph Nader for President. In January 2012, Stein appeared in political advertisements sponsored by Associated Industries of Florida supporting legislation that would create three resort casinos in South Florida.

Invesco Field interview

Stein drew fire for a 2008 interview with Glenn Beck in which Stein compared U.S. President Barack Obama's campaign rally at Invesco Field to Adolf Hitler's Nazi rallies at Nuremberg. ''The Economist'' called Stein's invocation of Nazism an intentional use of Reductio ad Hitlerum fallacy to distract from the campaign.

Intelligent design

Stein has denounced evolution, which he and other intelligent design advocates call "Darwinism", declaring it to be "a painful, bloody chapter in the history of ideologies," "the most compelling argument yet for Imperialism," and the inspiration for the Holocaust. Stein does not say belief in evolution alone leads to genocide, but that scientific materialism is a necessary component. He co-wrote and stars in ''Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed'', a film that aims to persuade viewers that evolution was instrumental to the rise of the eugenics movement, Nazi Germany, and the Holocaust, and portrays advocates of intelligent design as victims of intellectual discrimination by the scientific community, which has rejected intelligent design as creationist pseudoscience.

The media response to the film has been largely unfavorable. It received a 10% meta-score from Rotten Tomatoes. Multiple reviews, including those of ''USA Today'' and ''Scientific American'', have described the film as propaganda.

In a Trinity Broadcasting Network interview with Paul Crouch Jr. regarding Stein's movie, Stein made the following statement about science and religion:

Stein: When we just saw that man, I think it was Mr. Myers, talking about how great scientists were, I was thinking to myself the last time any of my relatives saw scientists telling them what to do they were telling them to go to the showers to get gassed … that was horrifying beyond words, and that’s where science — in my opinion, this is just an opinion — that’s where science leads you.

Crouch: That’s right.

Stein: …Love of God and compassion and empathy leads you to a very glorious place, and science leads you to killing people.

Crouch: Good word, good word.

At the University of Vermont, Stein was invited to receive an honorary degree and be the commencement speaker for the graduating class of 2009. The university president Dan Fogel received complaints about Stein's planned appearance, due to Stein's views on evolution. Due to the furor, Stein declined his commencement invitation.

At the Liberty University 2009 graduation Stein was awarded an honorary degree and, according to the university, "spoke extensively about his work on “Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed,” a documentary exposing the flaws of Darwinism and showing how the scientific community discriminates against scholars who believe in creationism."

Personal life

Stein is married to entertainment lawyer Alexandra Denman, with whom he has an adopted son. Tommy was adopted as an infant in 1987. Stein lives with Denman in Beverly Hills and Malibu, California. He also has a summer home in Sandpoint, Idaho. Stein also owns an apartment in the Watergate complex in Washington, D.C., which he inherited from his parents.

Bibliography

Stein's book titles to date (7 fiction, 21 nonfiction) include:

! Year !! Title !! Publisher !! ISBN
rowspan="2"
''On the Brink: A Novel'' (coauthor: Herbert Stein)	Ballantine Books
	''Dreemz'' (hardcover: ''California Dreemz'')	Ballantine Books
	''The View from Sunset Boulevard: America as brought to you by the people who make television''	Basic Books
	''′ Ludes''	St. Martin's Press
	''Her Only Sin''	St. Martin's Press
	''Hollywood Days, Hollywood Nights: the Diary of a Mad Screenwriter''	Bantam Books
	''A License to Steal: the Untold Story of Michael Milken and the Conspiracy to Bilk the Nation''	Simon & Schuster
	''How to Ruin Your Life''	Hay House
	''How to Ruin Your Love Life''	Hay House
rowspan="2"	''How to Ruin Your Financial Life''	Hay House
''Can America Survive? The Rage of the Left, the Truth, and What to Do About It''	New Beginnings Press
rowspan="2"	''Yes, You Can Be a Successful Income Investor: Reaching for Yield in Today's Market''	New Beginnings Press
''Yes, You Can Still Retire Comfortably: The Baby-Boom Retirement Crisis and how to Beat It''	New Beginnings Press
	''How Successful People Win: Using "Bunkhouse Logic" to Get What You Want in Life''	Hay House
	''The Real Stars: In Today's America, Who Are the True Heroes?''	New Beginnings Press
	''How to Ruin the United States of America''	New Beginnings Press

References

External links

Ben Stein's Official Website

Ben Stein's column on Yahoo! Finance

''Booknotes'' interview with Stein on ''A License to Steal'', January 30, 1993.

Category:1944 births Category:Actors from Washington, D.C. Category:American comedians Category:American film actors Category:American game show hosts Category:Washington, D.C. Republicans Category:American lawyers Category:The American Spectator people Category:American speechwriters Category:American television actors Category:American University faculty and staff Category:Columbia University alumni Category:Connecticut lawyers Category:Daytime Emmy Award winners Category:Intelligent design advocates Category:Jewish actors Category:Jewish American writers Category:Jewish creationists Category:Jewish comedians Category:Living people Category:People from Beverly Hills, California Category:People from Montgomery County, Maryland Category:People from Washington, D.C. Category:University of California, Santa Cruz faculty Category:Washington, D.C. lawyers Category:People of the Watergate scandal Category:Writers from California Category:Writers from Maryland Category:Writers from Washington, D.C. Category:Yale Law School alumni Category:People from Silver Spring, Maryland Category:People from Sandpoint, Idaho Category:American pro-life activists

de:Ben Stein fr:Ben Stein nl:Ben Stein ja:ベン・スタイン pt:Ben Stein simple:Ben Stein sv:Ben Stein

name	Jeremy Kyle
birth date	July 07, 1965
birth place	Reading, England, United Kingdom
nationality	British
other names	''Jezza''
known for	''The Jeremy Kyle Show''
education	University of Surrey
employer	''ITV''
years active	1996–present
occupation	Broadcaster
spouse	(divorced)
children	3 daughters, 1 son
website	}}

Jeremy Kyle (born 7 July 1965) is an English radio and television presenter, best known for his British daytime television chat show on ITV, ''The Jeremy Kyle Show''. Kyle is also the host of an American talk show of the same name which premiered on 19 September 2011.

Radio career

From 1986-95, Kyle worked as a salesman for life insurance, recruitment, and radio advertising. He then became a radio presenter and after a brief stint at Orchard FM in Taunton and Leicester Sound in Leicester, he was signed by Kent's Invicta FM in 1996. In 1997, he joined BRMB in Birmingham, presenting the shows ''Late & Live'' and ''Jezza's Jukebox''.

In 2000, Kyle moved to the Century FM network, taking this format with him. The show was called ''Jezza's Confessions''. It was broadcast between 9pm and 1am. He won a Sony Award for ''Late & Live'' in 2001. On 1 July 2002, he made his first broadcast on Virgin Radio, presenting ''Jezza's Virgin Confessions'' every weekday from 8pm to midnight. In mid-2003, he broadcast the show from 9pm to 1am every weekday, and in January 2004 the show went out from 10pm to 1am, Sunday to Thursday. He left Virgin Radio in June 2004. From 5 September 2004, Kyle presented the ''Confessions'' show on London's Capital FM. The new programme aired Sunday to Thursday from 10pm to 1am with live calls on relationship issues of all kinds. ''Capital Confessions'' came to an end on 22 December 2005 to make way for ''The Jeremy Kyle Show'', a similar show which ran from January 2006 to December 2006.

In late 2007, Kyle began a new show (''The Jeremy Kyle Show''), broadcasting across Gcap Media's One Network, of which Orchard FM, Invicta FM and BRMB, his previous employers, are a part. The programme differed from his previous shows in that he interviewed celebrities. Kyle also began broadcasting a new programme, on Essex FM, in November 2007.

Kyle joined Talksport on 21 September 2008 to present a lunchtime sports show every Sunday called ''The Jeremy Kyle Sunday Sports Show''.

As a result of Talksport's Premiership coverage on a Sunday, Kyle's show was cancelled, and he left the station.

TV career

In 2005 Kyle moved his format to ITV, with a programme also entitled ''The Jeremy Kyle Show''. Here Kyle has reached his widest audience to date. His often aggressive manner with guests has been the source of both popularity and criticism. He is seemingly unafraid of reprisal from his guests, believing that speaking his mind is better than holding his peace. Guests sometimes take offence at Kyle's comments, one guest even attempting to throw a chair at him, whilst another threw an envelope at the back of his head, but he often justifies his criticism by claiming that he only wants to help them. Kyle recently claimed on air that his show was watched by 1.8 million viewers, a very high figure for a daytime chat show.

In September 2007, Judge Alan Berg described ''The Jeremy Kyle Show'' as trash which existed to "titillate bored members of the public with nothing better to do". He went on to say "It seems to me that the purpose of this show is to affect a morbid and depressing display of dysfunctional people whose lives are in turmoil" and added that it was "human bear-baiting". The judge so characterised it "after [a] husband was provoked into headbutting [his] wife's lover in front of [Kyle's] studio audience".

In February 2008, ''The Jeremy Kyle Show'' was again criticised in court after a man who found out during the recording of a show that he was not the father of his wife's baby later pointed an air rifle at her.

Other shows Kyle is involved with include ''Kyle's Academy'', a ten-part series for ITV1 daytime which first aired on 18 June 2007. A team of experts (so-called life coaches and psychotherapists), headed by Kyle take five people and work with them over an intensive fortnight to help them on the road to a happier more fulfilled life. Kyle has also presented ''Half Ton Hospital'', a show about morbidly obese people in the United States. In December 2009 he played himself in ITV1's comedy-drama ''The Fattest Man in Britain''.

On 19 April 2011, Kyle began presenting a new documentary series called ''Military Driving School'', where he visited the Defence School Of Transport in Yorkshire, following a group of new recruits as they undergo training as front line military drivers. He is the presenter of the ITV1 show ''High Stakes'', which began on 11 October 2011. Billed as a game of "knowledge, risk, and tension," the show involves participants answering questions and stepping on the correct six squares on a grid in order to avoid trap numbers.

Writing career

Kyle writes a column for ''Pick Me Up'', a women's weekly magazine published by IPC. In his column, titled ''Jeremy Kyle Says...'', Kyle adopts a frank style in responding to readers' problems that closely resembles the approach he takes on The Jeremy Kyle Show.

In 2009 Kyle wrote his first book, 'I'm Only Being Honest', about Britain's social problems and his views on how to solve them including recounts of his past and personal life.

Personal life

Kyle was born in Reading, Berkshire. His father was an accountant and personal secretary to the Queen Mother. He attended the independent Reading Blue Coat School in Sonning, Berkshire and studied history and sociology at the University of Surrey.

He met his first wife, Kirsty Rowley, in 1988, when he was a recruitment consultant in an agency in Bristol. They became a couple within a fortnight, and were engaged within two months. They married in Almondsbury near Bristol seven months later, in July 1989. Their daughter, Harriet, was born in June 1990. The marriage ended just five months after the birth, in November 1990. His ex-wife has since claimed that Kyle had carefully concealed a destructive and expensive gambling habit from her over the course of their marriage.

He met former model Carla Germaine in 1999, while he was presenting on a BRMB radio show, and Germaine entered the controversial ''Two Strangers and a Wedding'' contest hosted by the station.

As the winner of the bride part of the contest, her prize was to marry the selected groom, Greg Cordell. Their marriage lasted only three months, after claims that Greg had an affair just days after their honeymoon, and she subsequently married Kyle in 2002. They have two daughters and a son together.

Kyle is a supporter of West Ham United. He suffers from obsessive–compulsive disorder and has stated that he "licks his mobile phone to make sure it's clean", as stated in his book "I'm Only Being Honest".

Kyle has described his opinion on "Broken Britain": :''I think it starts with the breakdown of the family unit. Society should invest more in our kids. There should be community centres and youth clubs. And our benefits system – it's the greatest in the modern world. But there are loopholes and people taking advantage.''

In October 2010, Kyle appeared at the Conservative Party Conference in Birmingham. He chaired "Getting Britain Back To Work" alongside George Osborne.

References

External links

''The Jeremy Kyle Show'' at itv.com

Category:1965 births Category:Living people Category:Alumni of the University of Surrey Category:English people of Scottish descent Category:English radio DJs Category:English radio personalities Category:English television presenters Category:English television talk show hosts Category:People educated at Reading Blue Coat School Category:People from Canning Town Category:Virgin Radio (UK)

cy:Jeremy Kyle