He is NOT the judge from "My Cousin Vinny" -- that's Fred Gwynne.
He earned his law degree from Vanderbilt University. His character on Law and Order, Arthur Branch, went to Yale.
His father, Fletcher Thompson, was a used car dealer.
He has a brother named Kenny.
He's originally from Alabama.
He was elected Senator from Tennessee in 1994 to complete the two years remaining of Al Gore's Senate term. He was easily re-elected in 1996 and served through 2003, making part of his Senate term simultaneous with his stint on Law and Order.
He played himself in the 1985 movie Marie, which led to his playing a CIA director in the 1987 movie No Way Out.
While in the Senate, he voted for McCain Feingold, though he may not favor it anymore.
He voted "guilty" on article 2 of the Clinton impeachment (obstruction of justice) but against convicting the president.
In 2000, Thompson endorsed John McCain for president.
He was a lobbyist before and after being a Senator. He has worked for clients including GE and the savings and loan industry, for whom he successfully lobbied for deregulation in the early 1980s (making him the savior of George W. Bush's brother Neil, who bankrupted Silverado Savings and Loan in Colorado).
During the 1970s, he was co-chief counsel to the Senate's Watergate committee, and in that capacity placed the famous question, "what did the president know, and when did the president know it?" into the mouth of his close friend and associate, Senate Majority Leader Howard Baker of Tennessee (he had been Baker's campaign manager).
His voice can be heard on the Watergate tapes asking Deputy Assistant to President Nixon Alexander Butterfield " "Mr. Butterfield, are you aware of the installation of any listening devices in the Oval Office of the President?"
He has appeared in some pretty good movies, including "The Hunt for Red October", "Die Hard 2: Die Harder", "Cape Fear", "Barbarians at the Gate" and currently, "Bury my heart at Wounded Knee."
In March, 2003, he appeared in a Citizens United ad supporting the war in Iraq, in which he was quoted as saying: "When people ask what has Saddam done to us, I ask, what had the 9/11 hijackers done to us -- before 9/11."
He is divorced and remarried, and has a four-year-old child with his current wife, along with several grown children and grandchildren. His new wife is considerably younger than he's (she's 40, he's 64).
He helped guide John Roberts' nomination through Congress at the request of GWB.
His voice was used during the video presentations at the 2004 Republican convention.
He served on the legal defense advisory board for Scooter Libby.
He has non Hodgkins Lymphoma (cancer) that's in remission.
He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, was a member of the United States-China Economic and Security Review Commission and a Visiting Fellow with the American Enterprise Institute, researching national security and intelligence. He is signed to the Washington Speakers Bureau and is a special program host and senior analyst for ABC News Radio, where he fills in for Paul Harvey. He blogs and podcasts daily on the ABC Radio Network website.
Thompson's announcement should be on or around July 4th, timed for maximum impact.
<%
dim done
done = request.form("done")
if done = "" then
done = "No"
%>
Tell a friend
<%
Else
if request.form("done") = "Yes" then
'sets variables
dim email, sendmail
email = request.form("email")
Set sendmail = Server.CreateObject("CDONTS.NewMail")
'put the webmaster address here
sendmail.From = "webmaster@aspbasics.com"
'The mail is sent to the address entered in the previous page.
sendmail.To = email
'Enter the subject of your mail here
sendmail.Subject = "Check out this website"
'send a specific page or send a site url
dim url
'url = Request.ServerVariables("HTTP_REFERER")
url = "http://www.aspbasics.net"
'This is the content of the message.
sendmail.Body = "Site recommendation from a friend!" & _
vbCrlf & vbCrlf & "A friend has sent you this email and thought you would should check out this site." & _
vbCrlf & url & vbCrlf
'this sets mail priority.... 0=low 1=normal 2=high
sendmail.Importance = 1
sendmail.Send 'Send the email!
response.redirect Request.ServerVariables("HTTP_REFERER")
'Response.write ("Sent to ") & email
End if
End if
%>
"[T]he practice of arbitrary imprisonments, have been, in all ages, the favorite and most formidable instruments of tyranny.' Alexander Hamilton, Federalist No. 84, August, 1788
