title: Whitney (album)

text: At the 30th Grammy Awards, it received three nominations including Album of the Year, with Houston winning Best Pop Vocal Performance, Female for "I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)". With sales of over 20 million copies worldwide, "Whitney" is one of the best-selling albums of all time. On October 28, 2020, the album was certified diamond by the Recording Industry Association of America, for sales of over 10 million copies.


title: Whitney (album)

text: The album had a more pop feel than the first album. Narada Michael Walden, who produced "How Will I Know" on the first album, produced seven of the "Whitney" album's eleven tracks, three of which became number ones on "Billboard"s Hot 100 Singles chart in 1987 and 1988. Kashif, the producer of "You Give Good Love", contributed "Where You Are". Michael Masser, who was responsible for several hits from Whitney's debut album, contributed number 1 hit single "Didn't We Almost Have It All" and "You're Still My Man". Finally, Jellybean Benitez produced the top ten hit "Love Will Save the Day".


title: Whitney (album)

text: "Whitney" produced a then-record-equalling four number one singles from one album, making it the first album by a female artist, and overall only the second album by a solo artist, behind Michael Jackson's "Bad," yielded five number ones. The album is one of only seven albums in music history to generate at least four number one Hot 100 hits from the same album. This feat, with the three number ones from her debut album, also gave Houston seven consecutive number one songs; a record for the most consecutive number ones by any musical act. The most consecutive #1's title was previously held by both The Beatles and the Bee Gees with six each.


title: Whitney (album)

text: The first single released from the album, "I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)", made its debut at number 38, her highest debut at the time, on the "Billboard" Hot 100 chart, the issue dated May 16, 1987, and reached the top position in six weeks later, becoming her fourth number one hit. It also topped the Hot Adult Contemporary chart for three weeks. The single was a massive success globally, becoming one of her signature songs. In the United Kingdom, it entered the UK Singles Chart at number 10 on May 23, 1987, and reached the number one in two weeks later, staying there for two weeks. According to the Official Charts Company, it sold 760,000 copies and became her best-selling single in the country at the point. The single also peaked at number one of the singles charts in Australia for five weeks, Belgium for three weeks, Canada for a week, Germany for five weeks, Italy for one week, the Netherlands for four weeks, New Zealand for four weeks, Norway for seven weeks, Sweden for six weeks, and Switzerland for six weeks. Thanks to its strong sales and airplay across Europe, it went to top position of European Hot 100 Singles chart and remained at the summit for eight weeks. The single was certified Gold by the RIAA on July 28, 1987, for sales of one million more in the United States―the requirement for a Gold single prior to 1989, and re-certified Platinum for the same sales on February 13, 1989. In addition, it was certified Gold in the UK, Canada, and Sweden. The single sold 4.2 million copies worldwide.


title: Whitney (album)

text: The power ballad, "Didn't We Almost Have It All", was released as the album's second single in August 1987. It peaked at number one on the Hot 100 chart on September 26, 1987, and stayed on the top for two weeks. It also topped the Hot Adult Contemporary chart for three weeks, becoming her fifth chart-topper. The single peaked at number two in Canada.


title: Whitney (album)

text: The album's third and fourth singles, "So Emotional" and "Where Do Broken Hearts Go", both reached number one on the "Billboard" Hot 100 Singles chart in 1988, becoming her sixth and seventh number one hits, respectively. The former became her second number one hit on "Billboard" Hot Dance/Club Play chart and was certified Gold for shipments of 500,000 copies by the RIAA on December 6, 1995. The latter peaked at number one "Billboard" Hot Adult Contemporary chart for three weeks.


title: Whitney (album)

text: The fifth single to be released off the album, "Love Will Save the Day", peaked at number nine on the Hot 100 Singles chart. All five singles were top 5 Hot Black Singles hits, though none of them reached number one. "I Know Him So Well" was released as the sixth and final single from the album exclusively in Australia, Germany, Netherlands, and Spain.


title: Whitney (album)

text: Upon the album's debut, the critical receptions of "Whitney" were mixed. Most of critics admitted the commercial value of the album, but were critical because its standard pattern followed the predecessor's winning formula and the materials failed to reveal Houston's individuality. Jon Pareles of "The New York Times" criticized something as formulaic on the album, stating that: ""Whitney" plays everything safe. It uses three of the debut album's producers. [...] There are bouncy, tinkly songs aimed at teen-agers, [...] and slow tunes aimed at sentimental adults, as before. Even the album title fits in with an Arista Records custom of separating female singers—"Dionne," "Aretha," "Carly"—from their last names." He was not positive of her vocals on it, commenting "What's more unsettling is that in the two years since "Whitney Houston" was released, the singer hasn't gotten much more expressive. For too many songs, she takes the patched-together style of the debut album further [...] as if she were singing in a second language." He added that "For all the passionate avowals of the lyrics, Ms. Houston and her producers keep emotion at bay."


title: Whitney (album)

text: Vince Aletti from "Rolling Stone" also gave an unfavorable review, stating "the formula is more rigorously locked in than before, and the range so tightly circumscribed that Houston's potential seems to have shrunk rather than expanded" and the record is "smug, repressive and ridiculously safe." Also, he made some sarcastic comments about the first single, "I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)", calling it "How Will I spoken at Hollywood's blockbuster sequels. Robert Hilburn, in his review for "Los Angeles Times", regarded the album as "another commercial blockbuster", writing that the record is "a series of highly accessible selections that will work on a variety of radio formats." However, he expressed his considerable disappointment that "Whitney" did precious little to define the singer's vision, adding that she had a sensational voice but didn't assert much vocal character on it. Dolores Barclay of "The Associated Press" complimented Houston on her vocal ability: "Whitney Houston has a fine instrument and uses it well. Her voice takes us to places we know and to places we might want to forget and to places we dream about." But she, like other critics, was critical of the song material on the record, commenting "There is no depth, and not much excitement. Nor does this talented song stylist and Grammy winner take risks and try something just a little daring." The "St. Petersburg Times" showed a favorable attitude toward her new album at large, stating "["Whitney"] is, first and foremost, a product. It has been carefully designed, manufactured and packaged. As such, it's easy to be cynical about. But as products go, this is a pretty good one." They also praised her vocals: "Houston's voice sounds good, real good. [...] She's firmer, more confident."


title: Whitney (album)

text: With the highly anticipated release of her second album "Whitney", Houston became the first female artist to debut at number one in the history of the "Billboard" 200 chart (formerly the "Top Pop Albums" chart). It made her the fourth artist to achieve that feat overall, behind Elton John with "Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy" and "Rock of the Westies", Stevie Wonder with "Songs in the Key of Life" and Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band with "Live/1975–85". On June 27, 1987, the album topped the chart and remained there for eleven consecutive weeks, the longest run among the releases that reached peak position of the year. It also debuted at number fourteen on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart (formerly the "Top Black Albums" chart) and peaked at the number two, staying on the chart for a total of seventy-five weeks. The album was Houston's fastest-selling album in the United States at that time, with four million copies shipped within the first three months of its release. In 2020, it was certified Diamond (10× Platinum) in the US, for shipping/ selling over 10 million copies by the Recording Industry Association of America The album re-entered the "Billboard" 200 the week of February 25, 2012, after Houston's death, at number 122. It remained in the chart for 11 more weeks making 86 weeks on the "Billboard" 200 to date. The album has sold nearly 289,000 copies more since its reentry in 2012. It also sold 806,000 units at the BMG Music Club as of February 2003.


title: Whitney (album)

text: In the United Kingdom, the album debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart on June 13, 1987, and remained there for six weeks. "Whitney" became the first album to debut at number one in both the US and in the UK. It was 1987's third best-.selling album in the UK, behind Michael Jackson's "Bad" and U2's "The Joshua Tree", and was ranked number six on list of "The Best-Selling Albums of the 1980s in UK". With 1.2 million copies sold there, it would become the biggest selling album by a female artist in the UK, a record that has since been broken. With her debut also selling over a million copies, this would make Houston the first female artist to have two albums sell over a million copies in the UK. With current sales of over 2.2 million, the album was the first album by an African-American woman to sell over 2 million in the United Kingdom.


title: Whitney (album)

text: In Canada, the album topped the albums chart for eleven weeks. It remained at number one in the same weeks as it did in America. It being the third best-selling album in 1987, behind U2's "The Joshua Tree" and Bon Jovi's "Slippery When Wet". In addition, it peaked at number one in Germany for eleven weeks, Italy for five weeks, Norway for eleven weeks, Netherlands for six weeks, Switzerland for eleven weeks, Austria for two weeks, Sweden for four weeks, Australia for three weeks, New Zealand for two weeks, Spain, Finland, Taiwan, and so on. As a result of massive popularity across Europe, the album topped the European Hot 100 Albums chart for eight weeks in 1987. In Japan, with sales of 384,000 copies combined of LP, CD and Compact Cassette, the album became the third best-selling international album of 1987, behind "Top Gun Soundtrack Album" and Michael Jackson's "Bad". In 1988, "Whitney" was certified 6× Platinum by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) and 7× Platinum for shipments of 700,000 copies of the album by the Canadian Recording Industry Association (CRIA), respectively. It was also certified Platinum in Germany, Netherlands and Finland, respectively, 2× Platinum in Switzerland, Austria and Sweden, respectively. In November 2006, "Whitney" was ranked number forty-seven for sales of 2.2 million, making it her biggest-selling album in the UK, on list of "100 Best Selling Albums of All Time in the UK" announced by The Official UK Charts Company. The album has sold over 20 million copies worldwide.


title: Whitney (album)

text: The Billboard Music Awards, based on "Billboard" magazine's year-end charts, was not held before 1990. Nominated categories were those of which were ranked in Top 5 on the year-end charts. This is based on general numbers of nomination at the Billboard Music Awards.


title: Whitney (album)

text: "BRAVO" is the largest teen magazine within the German-language sphere. Since 1957, the magazine has distributed its "Bravo Otto" awards based on the readers' vote in different categories each year.


title: Whitney (album)

text: Categories in which Houston was ranked No. 1 were excluded. See above awards list for her #1-ranked-categories.


title: The Haves and the Have Nots (TV series)

text: The Haves and the Have Nots (sometimes referred to as Haves and Have Nots and abbreviated as HAHN) is an American crime drama and soap opera created, executive produced, written, and directed by Tyler Perry. The premise of the series is based on Perry's 2011 play of the same name.


title: The Haves and the Have Nots (TV series)

text: "The Haves and the Have Nots" premiered on May 28, 2013, and ran for 8 seasons on the Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN), for a total of 196 hour-long episodes. The series finale aired on Tuesday, July 20, 2021. As part of the show's finale, a two-part cast reunion special consisting of all "The Have and Have Nots" main characters in front of a live studio audience was televised, part 1 on July 27 and part 2 on August 3.


title: The Haves and the Have Nots (TV series)

text: "The Haves and the Have Nots" was ranked among the top 2 scripted cable series with a majority African American cast. The soap opera led the ratings for OWN programming throughout much of its series run. It averaged 2.8 million total viewers across its 196 episodes. During its highest rated years from 2014 to 2017, the program averaged more than 3.1 million viewers each year. It was reported in June 2021 that the program is the most-watched scripted cable series among African American women and households.


title: The Haves and the Have Nots (TV series)

text: "The Haves and the Have Nots" is the first scripted and first fictionalized television series to air on the "Oprah Winfrey Network" and is considered the network's first claim to fame. Amid struggles to keep her network afloat before debuting "The Haves and the Have Nots", Oprah Winfrey was quoted in a 2012 interview as stating, “Had I known that it was this difficult, I might have done something else.” The success of "The Haves and the Have Nots", however, opened the door to myriad other popular scripted dramas on Winfrey's network, including but not limited to "Queen Sugar" and "Greenleaf".


title: The Haves and the Have Nots (TV series)

text: The series follows three families and their lifestyles as they struggle to coexist among one another in Savannah, Georgia: the rich, powerful, and locally very public Cryer and Harrington families (originally regarded as "The Haves") and the poor and destitute Young family (originally regarded as "The Have Nots"). The Young family is headed by Hanna, a single mother who works as the Cryer family's maid and also serves as the best friend and confidante of the lady of the house, Katheryn. Included as part of "The Have Nots" is another domestic worker, initially for the Cryer family and later for the local hospital, Celine Gonzales.


title: The Haves and the Have Nots (TV series)

text: "The Haves and the Have Nots" centers on the toxicity, conflicts, corruption, hardships and dysfunctional family relations similarly experienced between the underprivileged Young family and their well-to-do counterparts, who only ostensibly live the life of Riley. Drastically and destructively flawed character traits abound from both rich and poor, perpetually creating for multidimensional chaos, tension and calamity. Circumstances on the program are regularly resolved through wild acts of violence, sabotage, rape, framing, murder, arson and other criminal acts.


title: The Haves and the Have Nots (TV series)

text: While the Young family versus the Cryer and Harrington families originally lead polar opposite lifestyles in terms of social class, economics, social status, and surroundings, they are each similar in that they lead exceedingly toxic, dysfunctional lifestyles with broken family units. At the root of the turmoil are deeply wounded, complex backstories among all the characters that precede the existence of this television series. Habitual fraudulence is also at the root of the turmoil, in which mass amounts of wealth are regularly misappropriated back and forth between the show's main characters. As a result, there are repeated shifts in which characters are regarded as "the haves" and which are regarded as "the have nots," extended through the entire course of the series.


title: The Haves and the Have Nots (TV series)

text: While composed of a majority African American cast, "The Haves and the Have Nots" is notably made up of a collection of racially diverse actors and actresses: one of the upper class families are Caucasian American and the other is African American; the poor family is also African American; in addition to this, there is a poor maid who is Hispanic. To that end, when Angela Robinson (the actress who plays Veronica Harrington) was interviewed about her then new role on the series in late June 2013, she stated, "This is one of the only shows on television with a diverse cast that looks like America: black, white, Latino, straight, gay, rich, and poor."


title: The Haves and the Have Nots (TV series)

text: The series is set in Savannah, Georgia. The setting for "The Haves and the Have Nots" has been described as "firmly set in an antebellum setting that depicts what most people think about when they think of southern aristocratic culture of towns like Savannah, Georgia."


title: The Haves and the Have Nots (TV series)

text: "The Have and Have Nots" was primarily filmed at the Tyler Perry Studios in Atlanta, Georgia. Though various scenes of the program were shot from other cities of Georgia. Among examples, one of the settings for the show was the Old Douglas County Jail, located at 6840 Church Street in Douglasville, Georgia, 30134. The Old Douglas County Jail has been the site of many television and film productions, especially since the building and property was salvaged by local officials. As another example, scenes of the show were shot at the 151 W. Main Building in Canton, Georgia.


title: The Haves and the Have Nots (TV series)

text: A central antagonist in the series, the "Veronica Harrington" character drew considerable attention in the media for her brand of villainy, promoted as "the ice queen with ice water running through her veins." An NBC News article characterized the character as an "insecure woman that everyone loves to hate" and "a bougie buppie, diabolical diva who slept her way to the top of Savannah's high society".


title: The Haves and the Have Nots (TV series)

text: "The Haves and the Have Nots" debuted on May 28, 2013 on OWN. "The Haves and the Have Nots" is the first scripted television series to air on OWN. Both the show's first and second episodes aired back to back on its premiere night. "The Haves and the Have Nots" set a record for OWN, scoring the highest ratings ever for a series premiere on the network and held up that record for 3 years, with Greenleaf securing the record in June 2016.


title: The Haves and the Have Nots (TV series)

text: Within its first season, "Variety" had recognized "The Haves and the Have Nots" as "OWN's most popular series to date." Also within its first season, "The Haves and the Have Nots" had been critically acclaimed as being "one of OWN's biggest success stories with its weekly dose of soapy fun, filled with the typical betrayals, affairs, manipulations and a bitch slap or two."


title: The Haves and the Have Nots (TV series)

text: The "Haves and the Have Nots" episode "Why Didn't You Tell Me?" which aired on March 11, 2014, as the mid-season 2 finale had set a record for all of OWN programming, at that time the highest rated program in the station's history. The then record-breaking episode brought in 3.6 million viewers, surpassing the 3.5 million that tuned in for Oprah Winfrey's interview with Bobbi Kristina. Not only was the episode the most watched broadcast in all of OWN history at the time but it came in at number 1 among all of cable television and number 4 among all shows on television for its airing night.


title: The Haves and the Have Nots (TV series)

text: In May 2015, it was reported that the 3rd season of "The Haves and the Have Nots" was primetime's #1 original cable series among African-American women and total viewers, regularly attracting more than three million viewers.


title: The Haves and the Have Nots (TV series)

text: Taking cues from reality television programming, "The Haves and the Have Nots" aired a two-part cast reunion special in front of a live studio audience in the weeks following its series finale episode: the finale package began on Tuesday, July 20, 2021, with the series finale. Part I of the cast reunion aired on Tuesday, July 27, 2021, while part II aired on August 3, 2021. The move for a cast reunion addendum is novel in that cast reunion specials are, to date, uncharacteristic of scripted programming. They are a trademark of reality television that typically see turbulent exchanges among cast members in relation to the series of events from a recent season. The "Have and Have Nots" cast reunion special was hosted by Egypt Sherrod.


title: The Haves and the Have Nots (TV series)

text: Supposedly, due to a decline in "Have and Have Not" ratings and Perry's contract with OWN ending in 2019 (to transition to ViacomCBS's BET Network), it was determined that the series would conclude at 8 seasons. Despite a decline in Nielson ratings by its final seasons, "The Haves and the Have Nots" still remained OWN's highest rated program with a series run that lasted longer than most television programs. Moreover, announcement of the show's ending caused a stir among the show's fanbase, lamenting over its departure.


title: The Haves and the Have Nots (TV series)

text: In sharing her feelings on the soap opera's series end, Oprah Winfrey stated, "The Haves and the Have Nots was the first scripted drama we aired on OWN, and to say it took off from the first day it hit the air is an understatement. It’s all due to one man’s creativity and very vivid imagination. I thank Tyler, the incredible cast, the tireless crew, and every single viewer who watched with bated breath each week and tweeted along with us these past eight years".


title: Buzz Osborne

text: Roger "Buzz" Osborne (born March 25, 1964), also known as King Buzzo, is an American guitarist, vocalist and songwriter. He is a founding member of the rock band Melvins, as well as Fantômas and Venomous Concept.


title: Buzz Osborne

text: Born in Morton, Washington, Osborne is of English, Italian and Jewish descent. He moved to Montesano, Washington at the age of 12. He first started listening to the music of Aerosmith and Ted Nugent, then became greatly interested in punk rock after a few years. In the early 1980s, Osborne founded the Melvins with Matt Lukin and Mike Dillard who all attended Montesano High School (Wheeler Building) where he graduated in 1982. The Melvins began playing fast hardcore punk after Osborne was introduced to bands such as Black Flag, Flipper, and MDC by a friend. When Dillard left the band in 1984, Dale Crover was recruited, and the band's rehearsals moved to a back room of Crover's parents' house in Aberdeen, Washington. They began to play slower and "heavier" songs.


title: Buzz Osborne

text: In 1986, the band released their "Six Songs" EP on C/Z Records (later re-released as "Eight Songs", "10 Songs" and as "26 Songs" in 2003 on Ipecac Recordings) that was recorded live to a two-track. In October 1986, they recorded their first full album, "Gluey Porch Treatments", at Studio D in Sausalito, California, which was released in 1987 on Alchemy Records (and later re-released as a bonus on the CD version of their second album "Ozma" on Boner Records and in 1999 on Ipecac Recordings with some garage demos).


title: Buzz Osborne

text: In 1988, Osborne, with Crover, relocated to San Francisco, California where the band recorded their next album, "Ozma", in May 1989. It was released later that year.


title: Buzz Osborne

text: Osborne, along with the rest of the Melvins, knew the members of Nirvana. When Dave Grohl's previous band, Scream, disbanded, he approached Osborne for advice. Osborne, in response, introduced Grohl to Kurt Cobain and Krist Novoselic.


title: Buzz Osborne

text: In 1997, Osborne appeared in the promo video for The Offspring's video "All I Want", as a masked pianist. Osborne also appears in the 1994 video for the Beck song "Beercan" which samples the Melvins' song "Hog Leg".


title: Buzz Osborne

text: Osborne joined Tool onstage during their tour for "Ænima". The Melvins also opened for Tool on the tour. In 1998, Osborne joined a new band known as Fantômas with Faith No More vocalist Mike Patton, a band which he remains involved with to the present day.


title: Buzz Osborne

text: Fantômas' latest studio album release is 2005's "Suspended Animation". A concept album, it focused on the theme of holidays and featured a frenetic punk rock sound. The album was a commercial success and reached the No. 7 spot on "Billboard"s Top Heatseekers chart and No. 12 on its Top Independent Albums chart.


title: Buzz Osborne

text: In 2014, Osborne announced his first solo acoustic tour along with a 10" EP entitled "This Machine Kills Artists" and an album to follow in June on Ipecac Recordings.


title: Buzz Osborne

text: Osborne makes a cameo appearance in the 2014 video game "Sunset Overdrive" as himself and performs a song for the soundtrack.


title: Buzz Osborne

text: In 2017, he played as part of Crystal Fairy with Teri Gender Bender, Dale Crover and Omar Rodríguez-López. In that same year, he also co-produced the full length album "Orenda" by rock band With Our Arms to the Sun.


title: Buzz Osborne

text: Osborne has remarked, "From a very early age I was interested in underground music. I never appreciated the big stadium shows in the first place—I cut my milk teeth musically on smaller shows. A much more intimate basis. That's the lessons I learned from punk rock that I never forgot. That extends to today." As referred to before, he had a very wide set of musical influences since his childhood, ranging from arena rock to glam rock to punk to power pop and more. Osborne has called himself a lifelong "musical anthropologist" and stated that "since I never grew up around people who gave me any indication of how one was supposed to act, I was equally excited seeing the Kinks as I would be by seeing a punk rock band. Or Cheap Trick." In terms of hip hop music, he has stated that his favorite rap album is Run-D.M.C.'s "Raising Hell".


title: Buzz Osborne

text: From their earlier slow metal style, the Melvins have been attributed with providing the framework for what would become the grunge, sludge metal and drone doom genres. Buzz Osborne's seminal influence on grunge have sometimes led him (and his band) to be dubbed as the "Godfather of Grunge".


title: Buzz Osborne

text: Labelled as an "icon of the alt-metal world", Osborne has been named a key influence by guitarists such as Kurt Cobain (Nirvana), Adam Jones (Tool), Dave Grohl (Foo Fighters), Kim Thayil (Soundgarden), Brent Hinds and Bill Kelliher (Mastodon), Matt Pike (Sleep), Greg Anderson and Stephen O'Malley (Sunn O), Jimmy Bower (Eyehategod), Hank Williams III and Nate Garrett (Spirit Adrift). Adam Jones said that Osborne possesses the two most important qualities for any guitarist, i.e. "attitude and discipline", and compared his artistry with King Crimson co-founder Robert Fripp. Jones added: "Where I do more of a shoe-gazer thing onstage, Buzz will microwave a crowd." Scott Kelly of Neurosis stated that Osborne's non-cyclical approach to riffs was a massive influence on his band, wherein he plays a section once or at most twice in a song without repeating it again. Kim Thayil cited that same aspect as highly inspirational, in addition to Osborne's drop D tuning and slower compositions. Dylan Carlson, leader of the drone metal band Earth, has constantly cited Osborne's personal advice as a guide for his career path. The bands Earth and Sunn O))), which were heavily influenced by Melvins' slower pieces, based their amplifier choices on those of Osborne, as did Clutch as well.


title: Buzz Osborne

text: After Corrosion of Conformity original singer Mike Dean left the band in 1987, they contacted Osborne to join in.


title: Buzz Osborne

text: Although the Melvins had a massive influence on the "Seattle sound", Osborne has constantly expressed negativity toward that scene. He has denounced what he calls the romanticization of it, which he instead describes as a "horrendous nightmare"; Osborne was a childhood friend of Kurt Cobain and remained close to Chris Cornell of Soundgarden until both singers committed suicide following their struggles with drug addiction. At the time, Osborne and his Melvins bandmates also used drugs, including toluene, but by 2014 he had been around twenty years sober. In a 2018 interview, asked if his feelings about that period changed after the deaths of Cobain and Cornell, Osborne replied:


title: Buzz Osborne

text: Osborne has been married to graphic designer Mackie Osborne since 1993. They are dog owners, having kept several rescued dogs. The couple decided not to have children. Osborne does not believe rock musicians should make political statements and that people "should look for higher sources than entertainers for their political beliefs".


title: Buzz Osborne

text: In a 2011 interview with the music magazine "L.A. Record", Osborne stated when asked about American politics that "I hate conservatives, but I really hate liberals. Here's the thing. I have my own opinions about everything, and it's basically classic liberalism." In 2008, he told the magazine "Alarm" that he opposes what he sees as both modern socialist and fascist thought, stating that he's "into true liberalism, which means you mind your own goddamn business; you take care of yourself." In a 2014 interview with Tonedeaf, Osborne expressed that American economist Thomas Sowell has been a major influence on his career. "I consider Sowell the greatest philosopher of all time." Osborne explained. "He is a PhD economist and he's written more than 30 books about everything you can imagine, from social commentary to how economics works."


title: Buzz Osborne

text: In a 2008 interview with "City Newspaper" of Rochester, when asked about his collaboration with Jello Biafra on two albums, Osborne stated that "I don't relate at all to his politics. I believe in personal freedom, personal responsibility. And nobody tells you what to do more than the left wing. They're a bunch of fascists."


title: Buzz Osborne

text: In terms of issues covering copyright and illegal file-sharing of songs, Osborne's remarked, "The internet downloading—people need to get over it". He's also added, "Is it stealing? Sure, yeah—but it doesn't matter. It's over. Things have changed. We have to move on." In an earlier interview, he argued, "For me musically, I wish I woulda had something like YouTube when I was a kid so I could go, 'Oh, what's this Captain Beefheart?'"


title: Buzz Osborne

text: Osborne primarily used Gibson Les Paul guitars from the 1960s and 1970s played through Boss effect pedals and variety of vintage amplifiers and cabinets.


title: Queen Seondeok (TV series)

text: Queen Seondeok () is a 2009 South Korean historical drama produced by MBC and Time Box Production for the former's 48th founding anniversary, starring Lee Yo-won, Go Hyun-jung, Uhm Tae-woong, Kim Nam-gil and Park Ye-jin. It chronicles the life of Queen Seondeok of Silla. It aired on MBC from 25 May to 22 December 2009 on Mondays and Tuesdays at 21:55 for 62 episodes.


title: Queen Seondeok (TV series)

text: The viewership ratings for the show topped TV charts almost every week during its run, peaking at 43.6 percent. It swept the 2009 MBC Drama Awards; actress Go Hyun-jung's performance and subsequent grand prize win received near-universal acclaim.


title: Queen Seondeok (TV series)

text: The series begins at the end of King Jinheung's reign and continues until the end of Queen Seondeok's reign. Deokman was born as one of the twin daughters of King Jinpyeong and Queen Maya, but due to a prophecy, King Jinpyeong had to send his daughter away from the palace with the help of his clumsy but loyal servant Seohwa, in order to save Queen Maya from being ousted by Mishil, whose ambition was to become Queen. Seohwa raised Deokman as if she were her own, but a turn of events eventually led Deokman into finding out her real identity - only to be abandoned once again by her family in order to save the throne from Mishil's hand, with the exception of her twin sister Cheonmyeon, who ended up losing her life while trying to help Deokman escape. Out of hatred, Deokman set out to take back what was taken from her and avenge her sister by bringing Mishil down and becoming the first female king of Silla with the help of her trusted friend, Yushin, and troubled rogue Bidam who she loved, and ultimately led a rebellion near the end of her reign because of a misunderstanding.


title: Queen Seondeok (TV series)

text: It was filmed on location at MBC Dramia in Cheoin-gu, Yongin, Gyeonggi Province. Other historical dramas such as "Dong Yi", "Moon Embracing the Sun" and "Jumong" were also filmed there.


title: Queen Seondeok (TV series)

text: The series adopted significant artistic license regarding the portrayal of historical events in order to accommodate the dramatic storyline. Notably, the reign of King Jinpyeong was compressed by over two decades such that in the series, Queen Seondeok was born within a year of his coronation (her actual date of birth is unknown). Accordingly, the preceding King Jinheung's reign was extended by a similar period, with him being depicted as an elderly man at his death. This allowed for Mishil and other prominent figures during Jinheung's reign to be involved in events concerning the Queen during her time as Royal Princess, even though there is no evidence to suggest what sort of interaction the two had if any. Artistic license was used to imagine her as being of a similar age to Kim Yushin and Bidam, though again, it is not clear historically if this was the case. Another major change was in the date of her death: Bidam's execution and Kim Alcheon's appointment to his post were ordered by Jindeok of Silla, ten days after Queen Seondeok's death. Queen Jindeok is not mentioned in the series. More subtly, the real Seondeok likely never left Silla (stories concerning her childhood in the palace survive) and did not know Latin.


title: Queen Seondeok (TV series)

text: On 31 December 2009, Kim Ji-young, an obscure playwright and representative of Great Works Ltd., a culture content company, filed a plagiarism lawsuit against MBC and screenwriters Kim Young-hyun and Park Sang-yeon, saying they ripped off her script for "Seondeok, Queen of Mugunghwa", an unperformed musical she said she wrote in 2005. Kim argued that the development of the story and conflict between characters were similar to her play, including discord between two major female characters, Seondeok and Mishil; a romance between Deokman and General Kim Yushin; and the story of the young Deokman wandering through a desert. The MBC drama contains all of these plot twists, which are not based on history but which Kim says she invented. Kim said she shared some of her scripts with the Korea Creative Content Agency to attract investment in the musical, and believed that's how the content was leaked. Kim asked for in compensation and an injunction banning the broadcast of the soap opera. The injunction was turned down and "Queen Seondeok" ran from May to December 2009, but the copyright infringement case continued.


title: Queen Seondeok (TV series)

text: The MBC network and the series' writers maintained they did not know of the existence of Kim's play. MBC had copyrighted its script in May 2008. After Kim requested for an assessment by experts, the Seoul Southern District Court asked Seoul National University's Center for Law & Technology to investigate. In a process called a "script autopsy," the center first identifies similar content in the two scripts. At that point, university historians confirm historical facts regarding the characters and plot, and differentiates them from literary creations. Afterward, the center makes an appraisal based on copyright laws, then the court makes the final adjudication. In February 2011, the SNU Center for Law & Technology confirmed the plagiarism.


title: Queen Seondeok (TV series)

text: In December 2012, the High Court ruled in favor of plaintiff Kim Ji-young that "Queen Seondeok" was a work of plagiarism, and fined MBC (). In its ruling, the court stated that though the characters and the details were in fact different, "the overall plot was the same" and it is "most probable that the network relied on the script and plot of the musical to produce their drama." Furthermore, any additional reruns on cable TV and internet, and the making of DVD and related books were banned.


title: Dagen McDowell

text: Mary Dagen McDowell (born January 7, 1969) is an American anchor and co-host of "The Bottom Line" on Fox Business. As well as a contributor on Fox News.


title: Dagen McDowell

text: A native of Campbell County, Virginia, from a family of Irish background, McDowell graduated from Wake Forest University with a degree in Art history.


title: Dagen McDowell

text: McDowell began her career as a financial journalist at the "Institutional Investor"'s Newsletter Division.


title: Dagen McDowell

text: McDowell co-hosts "Mornings with Maria" on Fox Business, "Markets Now", appears regularly on "Your World with Neil Cavuto", appeared on "Imus in the Morning" prior to Imus' death in 2019, and has been a weekly panelist for "Cashin' In" (she has won the "Cashin' In" Challenge three times, in 2013, 2014, 2015, defeating the other three panelists, all of whom are professional money managers). Dagen is regularly asked to provide her opinions about economic and political views on Fox News. She has served as a panelist on "Cavuto on Business", which airs on Saturdays, took over hosting "Bulls and Bears" in 2016 following predecessor Brenda Buttner's eventually fatal cancer diagnosis, and participates regularly in "Outnumbered" and "The Five" and "Gutfeld!". She also worked for TheStreet.com.


title: Dagen McDowell

text: In December of 2022 Fox Business named McDowell co-host of a new show called "The Bottom Line" alongside Sean Duffy. The program will debut on January 23, 2023.


title: Party in the U.S.A.

text: "Party in the U.S.A." is a song recorded by American singer Miley Cyrus for her first extended play (EP) "The Time of Our Lives" (2009). It was released on August 4, 2009, by Hollywood Records as the lead single from the project. The song was written and produced by Dr. Luke, with additional songwriting provided by Jessie J and Claude Kelly. "Party in the U.S.A." was originally intended for Jessie J, but after deciding it was not edgy enough for her, they passed it to Cyrus and adjusted the lyrics to fit her persona. Not completely identifying with "Party in the U.S.A.", Cyrus chose it for "The Time of Our Lives" partially due to a need for tracks. It is a pop song, with lyrics reflecting her relocating from Nashville, Tennessee, to Hollywood, California. This is one of four collaborations between Cyrus and Dr. Luke, with the EP title track "The Time of Our Lives", will.i.am's "Fall Down" and "Wrecking Ball" following in 2013.


title: Party in the U.S.A.

text: In the United States, the song peaked at number two on the "Billboard" Hot 100. The song was the seventh best-selling digital single of 2009 in the United States. It was certified seven times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and quadruple platinum by Music Canada. , the song has sold six million in pure sales in the United States. In 2020, during an appearance on "Jimmy Kimmel Live!", Cyrus officially received a plaque with an RIAA Diamond certification for "Party in the U.S.A.", making it one of the few songs in history to reach this milestone.


title: Party in the U.S.A.

text: The music video for "Party in the U.S.A.", directed by Chris Applebaum, pays tribute to the 1978 film "Grease" and Cyrus' parents' courting days. It occurs mainly at a drive-in theater and won the MuchMusic Video Award for Best International Artist Video at the 2010 award show. The song was performed live for Cyrus' world tours, the 2009 Wonder World Tour, the 2011 Gypsy Heart Tour, and the 2014 Bangerz Tour. At the 2009 Teen Choice Awards, Cyrus' use of a pole during a performance of "Party in the U.S.A.", which some interpreted to be a dance pole, caused a media uproar. Although co-writer Jessie J originally decided not to record "Party in the U.S.A." after writing it, she did eventually, among various other artists, perform a cover version of the song. "Party in the U.S.A." has also been parodied by "Weird Al" Yankovic. The song premiered on radio on July 28, 2009, before its official release.


title: Party in the U.S.A.

text: Soon after signing a record deal with Lava Records, aspiring British singer Jessie J commenced work on her debut album. She collaborated with songwriters and producers Dr. Luke and Claude Kelly in her first writing session, where "Party in the U.S.A." was conceived with the intention of being performed by Jessie J. However, she decided not to record the song, believing its cheerful tone was at odds with the darker, edgy material she preferred. Jessie J. stated, "And I remember thinking this song is amazing, but I don't know if it's me 110 percent, you know. You can kind of feel it." The song reached Cyrus while she was creating an EP with Dr. Luke. The writing team then reworked the lyrics, intending to write an accompanying theme for Cyrus' joint clothing line with Max Azria, exclusively sold in Walmart stores. In order to please audiences, Dr. Luke, Kelly and Jessie J fixated on composing a fun, upbeat song that narrated reflections of Cyrus' personality. "They feel they're buying into a great experience but also buying into the artist," Kelly said of the song's fans. To write his contributions to the song, Kelly said he desired to mimic Cyrus' songwriting: "It's the same song from a different point of view, you just have to find that unique perspective." To record the song's instrumentation, they decided to mingle computerized sound with "the warmth of live instrumentation", using live electric guitars and drums. Cyrus was pleased with the song and selected it partially due to a need of tracks for "The Time of Our Lives". This is the first of several collaborations between Dr. Luke and Cyrus. Dr. Luke would later co-produce Cyrus' 2013 smash hit single "Wrecking Ball".


title: Party in the U.S.A.

text: Cyrus has stated "Party in the U.S.A." is not a reflection of her musically, as she preferred songs with more of an edge. She said the track was "an all-American song" and claimed she had never heard a Jay-Z (a black hip-hop rapper) song in November in that year, an artist which the lyrics refer to. However, she did state she enjoyed the music of Britney Spears, also mentioned in the song. "Party in the U.S.A." was chosen as the lead single from "The Time of Our Lives", as Cyrus thought personnel were "picking up on it", although she did not expect for it to be commercially successful. The song was first played on radio stations on July 29, 2009, following a leak of the track on the Internet on July 28, 2009. "Party in the U.S.A." was officially released for airplay on August 3, 2009. It impacted contemporary hit radio in the United States on August 4, 2009, and was released as a digital download a week later.


title: Party in the U.S.A.

text: "Party in the U.S.A." is a song with a length of three minutes and twenty-three seconds. The song has been described as "reggae-powered pop tune". The song is set in common time and has a moderate tempo of 96 beats per minute. It is written in the key of F# major. Cyrus' vocals feature belter refrains. It follows the chord progression F#–A#m–D#m–C#. The song's instrumentation includes a "clash between feathery jazz guitar chords and a booming synth bassline serving as hook".


title: Party in the U.S.A.

text: The lyrics for "Party in the U.S.A." are autobiographical; although initially about Jessie J's relocation from the United Kingdom to Los Angeles, it was rewritten to better reflect on Cyrus' relocation from Nashville, Tennessee. In the verses, the subject details her experiences in Hollywood and struggles with fitting in that make her feel homesick and intimidated. In the chorus, the subject is able to feel more confident by listening to her favourite songs. Vicki Lutas of BBC interpreted, "However cringe it sounds, your favourite song can make you feel okay and feel more confident, even if you're not really."


title: Party in the U.S.A.

text: Michael Hann of "The Guardian" said "Party in the U.S.A." was a cute pop song. Later, while reviewing the Wonder World Tour, he elaborated that the song was a reminder "that manufactured pop need not be a bad thing – if the manufacturing is good enough". Jaime Gill of Yahoo! Music said, "Fortunately for Cyrus, [the other songs from "The Time of Our Lives"] flee your brain cells within seconds of their final chords, which means you're more likely to remember the breezily brilliant hit 'Party in the U.S.A.'" Mikael Wood of New York City's "Time Out" magazine described the song as a "killer tune [...] which proves that Miley makes for a much better rapper than you might expect". Heather Phares of AllMusic selected the track as one of the EPs best, describing it as a frothy party anthem suitable for Cyrus' alias, Hannah Montana.


title: Party in the U.S.A.

text: Erik Ernst of "The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel" said the song was "ridiculously catchy". Mikael Wood of "Entertainment Weekly" decided that "Party in the U.S.A." was Cyrus' bouncy attempt at urban music, since she had previously transitioned into other markets. Jessica Holland of "The Observer" deemed "Party in the U.S.A." one of the highlights on "The Time of Our Lives". Michael Menachem of "Billboard" stated the song was one of Cyrus' most entertaining songs. Menachem continued, "[Dr. Luke] injects the song with an energy recalling Robyn and early Gwen Stefani. After successfully tackling dance and country formats and delivering one of the year's strongest ballads ('The Climb'), Cyrus continues to show off her impressive range." Ryan Brockington of "The New York Post" said that although the track was more mainstream than Cyrus' prior singles, he did not hate it. Vicki Lutas of BCC described "Party in the U.S.A." as "a breath of fresh air" while being "seriously stomping" and slightly relatable. She said the song's best attribute was Cyrus' voice and concluded that Cyrus contains an ability of making her voice sound interesting all the time. Upon listening to the track, Lutas feels that "suddenly you think someone else is in the room with you and you've got all the ingredients for, well, a huge party contained in one little song."


title: Party in the U.S.A.

text: "Party in the U.S.A." debuted and peaked at number two on the "Billboard" Hot 100 on the week ending August 29, 2009, due to the sale of over 226,000 digital downloads, thus becoming the fastest-selling single released by Hollywood Records. It was kept from number one by "I Gotta Feeling" by the Black Eyed Peas and "Down" by Jay Sean featuring Lil Wayne. It became Cyrus' best charting effort to that time, surpassing her previous best single "The Climb", which peaked at number four in May 2009. The week's appearance also marked the highest debut by a female solo artist since Carrie Underwood's "Inside Your Heaven", which debuted at number one in July 2005. In the succeeding weeks, "Party in the U.S.A." continued to sell and stayed on the "Billboard" Hot 100, spending 28 weeks in total. It also peaked at number one on Mainstream Top 40 and number 13 on Adult Top 40. According to "Billboard", "Party in the U.S.A." was the seventh-best selling digital single of 2009 in the US. The single was certified diamond by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for shipments exceeding four million copies and became Hollywood Records' best-selling single to date. By October 2012, "Party in the U.S.A" had surpassed 5 million sales in the United States, making Cyrus the youngest artist to have a single that sold more than five million downloads. As of July 2017, the song had sold 5,981,000 downloads in the US.


title: Party in the U.S.A.

text: "Party in the U.S.A." peaked at number three on the Canadian Hot 100. The single was certified quadruple platinum by the Music Canada for the sales of 160,000 digital downloads. The song also became successful in Australia, New Zealand and Japan. On the week ending September 13, 2009, "Party in the U.S.A." debuted at number 14 on the Australian Singles Chart. The following week, the song ascended to a new peak at number nine and peaked at number six on the week ending November 8, 2009. The single was certified 11× platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) for the shipment of 770,000 copies. "Party in the U.S.A." debuted at number 11 on the New Zealand Singles Chart and peaked at number three on the week ending November 9, 2009. The single was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of New Zealand (RIANZ) for the shipment of 15,000 copies. On the week ending January 11, 2010, "Party in the U.S.A." debuted at number 49 on the Japan Hot 100 chart and, in the succeeding week, reached its peak at number four.


title: Party in the U.S.A.

text: In the United Kingdom, "Party in the U.S.A." entered and peaked at number 11. The song tied with "See You Again" and "The Climb", which charted in August 2008 and March 2009, respectively, for Cyrus' best-charting effort in the United Kingdom until 2013. In Ireland, the song peaked at number five. In mainland Europe, "Party in the U.S.A." peaked at number 17 on the European Hot 100 Singles chart, number six on both the French Singles Chart and Hungarian Singles Chart, and peaked at number 12 on Norwegian Singles Chart. It received lower commercial success throughout other regions of Europe, becoming a top 40 hit in Austria, Belgium (Flanders and Wallonia), Czech Republic, Denmark, Spain, and Sweden.


title: Party in the U.S.A.

text: Cyrus contacted Chris Applebaum to direct the accompanying music video for "Party in the U.S.A.", with ideas for the video already conceived. Her ideas for the video's theme were about "high-gloss, glamorous white trash." She told Applebaum she desired to pay homage to one of her favorite movies, "Grease" (1978), and her parents' courting days. Video conception sprang forward with the idea to resemble the scene in "Grease" where John Travolta sings "Sandy". In the scene, Travolta exits from a car and walks over to a jungle gym, where he sits on a swing and performs the song as projections are displayed in the background. To render tribute to her parents' courting days, Cyrus and Applebaum named a drive-in theater in the video Corral Drive-In after a Kentucky drive-in where Cyrus' parents had a date. "In addition, Miley's mom Tish used to drive '79 black Pontiac Trans Am, "Smokey and the Bandit" style, and obviously that's the car that Miley arrives in," Applebaum said.


title: Party in the U.S.A.

text: The video commences by showing a drive-in theater in the day. Cyrus later arrives in a black 1979 Pontiac Trans Am, clothed by a black tank top, distressed hot pants, cowboy boots and a black vest. Cyrus and several female extras make their way to a blue pick-up truck, where Cyrus sings using a digital microphone and the extras accompany her. In the song's second verse, Cyrus lies against a wall depicting the drive-in's name, "Corral Drive-In". Then, an American flag with 33 stars and 8 stripes unfurls before a freestanding wall in a vacant landscape, where she sings into a microphone as glitter confetti drops from above. Later, she, standing on a swing in the center, and several backup dancers appear in a jungle gym during the evening. For the song's final refrain, Cyrus performs with four backup dancers on a stage, where the background plays the American flag and letters above it that spell "USA". Cut-scenes feature people entering the drive-in theater, Cyrus walking throughout the drive-in alone, or her and the backup dancers performing in the jungle gym. The video ends with Cyrus whipping her hair in the stage setting.


title: Party in the U.S.A.

text: A 90-second snippet was shown on September 23, 2009, on "Dancing with the Stars". Subsequently, that day, the video premiered online on ABC's Music Lounge. Jocelyn Vena of MTV said, "The video is reminiscent of Cyrus' performance of the track on the Teen Choice Awards over the summer — minus the pole dancing." According to a survey held by MTV, responses for the music video varied from populations who were "not feeling it" for various reasons to those who enjoyed "the video's energy and thought that the added bit of sexiness was a healthy progression for Cyrus." At the Canadian 2010 MuchMusic Video Awards, which Cyrus hosted, the video won the MuchMusic Video Award for Best International Artist Video and was nominated for the , but lost to Adam Lambert's video for "Whataya Want from Me". As of May 2022, the video has amassed over 865 million views on YouTube.


title: Party in the U.S.A.

text: Cyrus' first live performance of "Party in the U.S.A." at the Teen Choice Awards held on August 10, 2009. Clothed by a tank top that revealed a portion of her bra, black hot pants, and leather boots, Cyrus and backup dancers appeared from a trailer. Midway through the performance, Cyrus danced atop an ice cream pushcart with a pole (which was suggested to be a dance pole by numerous critics) for approximately forty seconds. Cyrus described the performance to be about her heritage: "[My] performance tonight is funny, but I wanted it to be about [something more]. I'm like, 'This is to represent where I am from. I'm so proud of it.' All the girls trying to be Hollywood and stuff with their big glasses, me shooing them away." The performance was met with a media uproar in regards to her dancing being too suggestive and sexual for a teen-oriented event, which caused Disney to issue a statement distancing themselves from the performance. Ian Drew, senior editor of "Us Weekly" said, "She already has this risque image, so it really wasn't much of a stretch. That's how Britney [Spears] took off. She was the good girl gone bad, and it looks to be working for Miley as well." Other contemporary critics used negative comparisons to Spears, but Cyrus welcomed the comparisons via a post on her official Twitter account. Child psychologist Wendi Fischer told "Newsday": Cyrus was communicating to her fans that it is acceptable to pole dance, which, according to Fischer, was unacceptable. "Miley's only 16. Why is she rushing it?", she concluded. Other critics defended Cyrus. Apryl Duncan of About.com said viewers should have fixated on her accomplishments that night, winning six awards, rather than the sexuality of the performance. Following the controversy of the performance, Cyrus replaced the ice cream pushcart with a luggage cart while touring.


title: Party in the U.S.A.

text: In 2009, Cyrus continued promotion for the single and "The Time of Our Lives", performing "Party in the U.S.A." on NBC's "Today" and "VH1 Divas" in the United States. In the winter, she promoted the track in the United Kingdom at 95.8 Capital FM's Jingle Bell Ball, the annual gala for British Royal Family, Royal Variety Performance, and "", as well as in Ireland on "The Late Late Show". Cyrus performed the song on all venues of her first world concert tour, the Wonder World Tour, which extended from September to December 2009. During each performance, Cyrus was clothed by a black tank top, black hot pants, black leather boots and a denim vest as images on the overhead screens depicted an abundance of sites in and representations of the United States. She roamed throughout the stage with several backup dancers and, mid-performance, entered a luggage cart that escorted her throughout the stage again. The lyrics' reference to Jay-Z was replaced with one for Michael Jackson in all live performances. Mikael Wood of "The Los Angeles Times", who attended the September 22, 2009, concert at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, believed "Cyrus managed a reasonable approximation of a rapper" in the performance. Dave Paulson of "The Tennessean" reported that the song's performance at the November 25, 2009, concert at the Sommet Center in Nashville, Tennessee, "received cheers at Jonas Brothers–worthy decibel levels."


title: Party in the U.S.A.

text: In 2010, while promoting her "Can't Be Tamed" album, Cyrus performed "Party in the U.S.A." at Rock in Rio concerts in Lisbon, Portugal, and Madrid, Spain, the 1515 Club in Paris, France, G-A-Y club in London, "Good Morning America", 2010 MuchMusic Video Awards, in Toronto, Ontario. and a concert at the House of Blues in Los Angeles, which was streamed across over 30 websites owned by MTV Networks. In 2011, she performed the song in her second and third world concert tours, the Gypsy Heart Tour


title: Party in the U.S.A.

text: In 2013, Cyrus sang "Party in the U.S.A." during her performances held to promote "Bangerz" album. She performed the single on "Jimmy Kimmel Live!", 2013 iHeartRadio Music Festival in Las Vegas, "Today", and the series of Jingle Ball concerts in December (including Jingle Bell Ball in Los Angeles). In 2014 she included this song on her Bangerz Tour. While singing "Party in the U.S.A.", Cyrus has shorter blonde hair, a leotard with red, white, and blue sequins, a white cowboy hat, star-spangled boots, and a set of fake teeth during the performance. The backup dancers were dressed as American monuments. Her performance received positive reviews from critics. Théoden Janes of "The Charlotte Observer" wrote, "She turned a verse of Party in the U.S.A. into a cool, cocky rap" and John J. Moser of "The Morning Call" said that the performance resonated with the audience, even though Cyrus was lifted atop a huge pedestal. Jane Stevenson of the "Toronto Sun" wrote, "She went for a big ending, with fireworks, confetti, an elevating stage and dancers dressed as Abe Lincoln, Mount Rushmore, the Liberty Bell and The Statue of Liberty for the final older song Party in the U.S.A." A critic from "Nashville Scene" wrote, "Party in the U.S.A. was sung by Miley and screamed back by the people in the crowd. Cue red-white-and-blue confetti. Cue fireworks. Pack the Bangerz Tour up and put the circus back on the road. Fans in other cities need to party, too." Cyrus also performed the song during the musical festival on June 21, 2014, Summertime Ball at Wembley Stadium of London, in front of 80,000 people.


title: Party in the U.S.A.

text: In honor of Pride Month, Cyrus performed "Party in the U.S.A" at the Capital Pride in Washington, D.C. on June 11, 2017. On September 15, she performed the song for the BBC Radio 1 Live Lounge, accompanied with other songs like "Malibu", "See You Again", "Younger Now" and a cover of Roberta Flack's "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face".


title: Party in the U.S.A.

text: Cyrus again performed the "Party In the U.S.A." along with "Edge of Midnight" and "Prisoner" on "Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve with Ryan Seacrest" in Times Square on December 31, 2020.


title: Party in the U.S.A.

text: In the sixth season episode of "The Office", "Sabre", Ed Helms (portraying Andy Bernard) and Ellie Kemper (portraying Erin Hannon) performed a parody of "Party in the U.S.A." for the coordinating director of Sabre, using an acoustic guitar. The parody was focused on the city in which the series is set, Scranton, Pennsylvania. Because of their boss mispronouncing the word "Sabre", it ended without a rhyme. Kelly West of Cinema Blend wrote, "Still, it was adorable seeing the two sing together. Unfortunately, the rhythm of their flirtation is just as awkward (and equally charming) as the rhythm of the song they attempted to perform."


title: Party in the U.S.A.

text: On the May 26, 2011, episode of talk show "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon", "Party in the U.S.A." was covered in the style of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, a recurrent bit on the show. Host Jimmy Fallon sang lead (impersonating Neil Young), while playing an acoustic guitar and harmonica. Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young members David Crosby and Graham Nash joined to Fallon with vocal harmonies. Matthew Perpetua of "Rolling Stone" described it as "a sad, beautifully harmonized folk rendition of Miley Cyrus' 'Party in the U.S.A.' that manage[d] to make the joyful tween anthem sound like a vintage Sixties protest song."


title: Party in the U.S.A.

text: A parody titled "Party in the CIA" was included on "Weird Al" Yankovic's 13th studio album, "Alpocalypse" (2011).


title: Party in the U.S.A.

text: Prior to the 2012 Summer Olympics, the United States women's national soccer team made a video of the players lip synching to the song; the video became very popular.


title: Party in the U.S.A.

text: Following the death of Osama bin Laden on May 2, 2011, a resurgence in the popularity of the "Party in the U.S.A." video occurred. The official YouTube video was flooded with comments regarding the death of bin Laden and it was immediately deemed a celebratory anthem for the event. The song's association to his death continued on other social media, such as Facebook and Twitter, and it was played as individuals celebrated outside of the White House. About it becoming an anthem for bin Laden's death, Nitsuh Abebe of "New York" magazine wrote, "I have to confess that my list of reactions to the news did not get anywhere near 'watch a Miley Cyrus video.' The reason it occurred to others is surely as simple as it seems: This is a recent hit song whose title is dominated by the words "party" and "U.S.A." Looking for anything more apt would be overthinking it. Cyrus' video [...] is stocked with a great many of those things we like and do well: a drive-in theater, trucks and muscle cars, Daisy Dukes, giant flags. It is, just like bin Laden's death, another convenient opportunity to celebrate ourselves."


title: Party in the U.S.A.

text: Following the 2020 United States presidential election, as major news outlets announced Democratic nominee Joe Biden the winner of the presidential race, on November 7, 2020, supporters in New York City started singing "Party in the U.S.A." at Times Square. This caused the song to re-enter the charts, breaking through the iTunes Top 200. Cyrus also tweeted a video in celebration of Biden's win, writing "Now THIS is a PARTY IN THE USA!"


title: Combat shotgun

text: A combat shotgun is a shotgun issued by militaries for warfare. The earliest shotguns specifically designed for combat were the trench guns or trench shotguns issued in World War I. While limited in range, the multiple projectiles typically used in a shotgun shell provide increased hit probability unmatched by other small arms.


title: Combat shotgun

text: While the sporting shotgun traces its ancestry back to the fowling piece, which was a refinement of the smoothbore musket, the combat shotgun bears more kinship to the shorter blunderbuss. Invented in the 16th century by the Dutch, the blunderbuss was used through the 18th century in warfare by the British, Austrian, Spanish (like the Escopeteros Voluntarios de Cadiz, formed in 1804 or the Compañía de Escopeteros de las Salinas, among others) and Prussian regiments, as well as in the American colonies. As use of the blunderbuss declined, the United States military began loading smaller lead shot (buckshot) in combination with their larger bullets, a combination known as "buck and ball". The buck and ball load was used extensively by Americans at the Battle of New Orleans in 1814 and was partially responsible for the disparate casualty rates between American and British forces. The advantage of this loading was that it had a greater chance of hitting the enemy, thus taking wounded soldiers out of a fight. The disadvantage of this load was that the buckshot did not cause as severe wounds at longer ranges, and contemporary accounts show many of the British wounded recovering quickly as they had been struck by the buckshot rather than the ball. Fowling pieces were commonly used by militias, for example during the Texas Revolution. However, buck and ball worked as well or better in standard or even rifled muskets. Buck and ball loads were used by both sides of the American Civil War, often by cavalry units.


title: Combat shotgun

text: The development of the repeating pump-action shotguns in the 1890s led to their use by the US Marines in the Philippines insurrections and by General "Black Jack" Pershing's pursuit of Pancho Villa, and "riot" shotguns quickly gained favor with civilian police units, but the modern concept of the combat shotgun was fully developed by the American Expeditionary Forces during World War I. The "trench gun", as it was called, was a short-barreled pump action shotgun loaded with 6 rounds containing antimony hardened 00 buckshot, and equipped with a bayonet. The M1897 and M1912 also could be slam fired: the weapon having no trigger disconnector, shells could be fired one after the other simply by working the slide if the trigger was held down, though in the heat of combat one could easily short-stroke the weapon and jam it. When fighting within a trench, the shorter shotgun could be rapidly turned and fired in both directions along the trench axis. The shotguns elicited a diplomatic protest from the German government, claiming the shotguns caused excessive injury, and that any troops found in possession of them would be subject to execution. The US Government rejected the claims, and threatened reprisals in kind if any US troops were executed for possession of a shotgun.


title: Combat shotgun

text: The shotgun was used by Allied forces and Allied-supported partisans in all theaters of combat in World War II, and both pump and semi-automatic shotguns are currently issued to all branches of the US military; they have also been used in subsequent conflicts by French, British, Australian, and New Zealand forces, as well as many guerrillas and insurgents throughout sub-Saharan Africa, Latin and South America, and Southeast Asia. Six different model of shotguns were accepted in the US army during World War II, the most popular being the M97 and M1912. One disadvantage of using a shotgun in the Pacific Theatre was the way of carrying the shotshells. The standard rifle pouches that carried shotshells were small, only about 30 rounds if carried vertically. Some Marines carried the shells in SL-3 grenade vests from World War I, but these vests were hard to come by. Also used were modified bandoliers and whatever came to hand or could be improvised.


title: Combat shotgun

text: Another disadvantage was paper-hulled shotshells, which would swell when they became damp in a rainy or humid environment, and would not fit into the chamber even after drying out. Commercial paper hulls were later impregnated with wax to make them water resistant, but in combat the heat from rapid firing would cause the wax to melt, often resulting in a jammed gun. Military-issue shotshells were usually made entirely of brass to avoid these issues, until the introduction of plastic hulls in the early 1960s.


title: Combat shotgun

text: General Alexander Patch was seen being armed with a Winchester shotgun when he personally led an attack in Guadalcanal.


title: Combat shotgun

text: In the jungle warfare during the Malayan Emergency, the British Army and local forces of Malaya used shotguns to great effect due to limited space in the jungles and frequent close combat. In the Vietnam War, the shotgun was used as an individual weapon in the American army during jungle patrol and urban warfare like the Tet Offensive.


title: Combat shotgun

text: During the Somalian conflict in 1992, the US task forces tested out a new type of Remington shotgun called Ciener Ultimate Over/Under, which was an under-barrel attachment for the standard M16 variants during Operation Gothic Serpent. The idea was for a soldier in an entry team to be able to breach a locked door with the shotgun and then immediately switch to the assault rifle to clear the room. According to the Army Rangers, their verdict was positive for this new type of breaching gun.


title: Combat shotgun

text: In operations in post-invasion Iraq, US forces used their combat shotguns to clear out suspected insurgent hideouts in house to house fighting. One notable experimental shotgun used in limited numbers during Operation Enduring Freedom is the XM26 for breaching doors or close-quarter battle (CQB).


title: Combat shotgun

text: The most common type of shotgun used for this purpose is the manually operated, slide-action/pump-action type like the Remington M870 or Mossberg 590A1. The latter is currently the pump-action of choice for US armed forces, and both have seen service with other militaries. The pump-action type is less prone to malfunction (particularly when dirty) than semi-automatic designs. Pump-action shotguns are also less expensive than their semi-automatic counterparts. Even so, semi-automatic shotguns such as the Benelli M1014 are currently seeing service in NATO-aligned armed forces.


title: Combat shotgun

text: Combat shotguns typically have much shorter barrels than shotguns used for hunting. They usually have magazines of modified design to hold more than the 3 to 5 shots normal with sporting or hunting shotguns. Most combat shotguns have tubular magazines mounted underneath the barrel. These are identical to those of hunting shotguns, except for being longer to hold more ammunition. Some recent designs have detachable box magazines.


title: Combat shotgun

text: Combat shotguns are mostly similar to the police riot shotgun. The military versions may have provisions to mount a bayonet, and may be fitted with ventilated steel or plastic hand guards over the barrel to reduce the danger of a soldier burning their hand on the hot barrel during rapid fire. Riot shotguns are more likely to trade off increased magazine capacity for decreased size. For example, a combat model would be more likely to have a 51 cm (20 inch) barrel and up to a 10-round capacity, while riot shotguns are often found with barrels of 35 to 46 cm (14 to 18 inches) and a capacity of 5 to 8 rounds.


title: Combat shotgun

text: The combat shotgun has evolved from its original role as a short range combat weapon into a wider role in modern times. With proper configuration, ammunition and training, the modern combat shotgun plays three roles:


title: Combat shotgun

text: Effective range of the shotgun with standard buckshot is limited to about 20–30 meters. Slug rounds, if available, can extend the effective range of the shotgun to 100 meters (although this is also dependent on the shotgun's sighting system; rifle sights and ghost ring sights will allow the average shooter to effectively engage human-sized targets at considerably greater distances than with a bead sight).


title: Combat shotgun

text: Less lethal rounds vary, with ranges from 10 meters for rubber buckshot to 75 meters for rubber slugs. These less lethal munitions are the same type as used by police, and have served well in riot control situations, such as that in Kosovo in 2001.


title: Combat shotgun

text: When used as a door breaching system, the shotgun may be provided with a muzzle extension to allow it to be pressed firmly against the door while providing the correct standoff distance for optimum performance. While there are specialized rounds for breaching doors with minimal hazard to any occupants of the room, any type of round will do the job, though with some degradation of effectiveness and increased risk of collateral damage. In operations in Iraq, the shotgun was the preferred method of door breaching by infantry units, ideally with a frangible breaching slug. For the breaching role, shorter barrels are preferred, as they are more easily handled in tight quarters.


title: Combat shotgun

text: Limited ammunition capacity is one of the primary downsides of the combat shotgun. While box magazines are available in some models (such as shotgun derivatives of the AK-47 design, like the Saiga-12), the tubular magazine is still dominant. This limits capacities; the current US pump shotgun issued, the Mossberg 590, has a 5 or 8 shot capacity depending on barrel length. The tubular magazine does allow easy "topping off" (a tube-fed pump shotgun can be kept shouldered and aimed at a target and ready to fire while being loaded), so training emphasizes the need to load the magazine to full capacity whenever the opportunity presents itself. A common doctrine is "shoot one, load one": load a shell immediately after every shot (when this does not jeopardize the operator's safety), to ensure that the shotgun is fully loaded at all times; this ensures that the operator has a full magazine at their disposal in case of emergencies when they may not be able to reload in between shots. A pistol is also advised as a backup weapon, should the operator empty the magazine and not have time to reload. A sling to carry the shotgun is essential if it is to be used in conjunction with another weapon, so that the shotgun may be readily accessible.


title: Combat shotgun

text: The bulk and weight of shotgun ammunition also limits its utility as a general-issue weapon. Weight per 100 rounds of an average 12-gauge 00-buck shell is ; for an average .223/5.56 round, weight per 100 rounds is about or a 3.8:1 weight ratio of 12-gauge buckshot and 5.56×45mm. This means just eight 12-gauge buckshot shells weigh approximately the same () as thirty 5.56×45mm rifle cartridges. While an individual soldier can easily carry several hundred rifle or pistol cartridges in box magazines, only a few dozen shotshells can be carried practically.


title: Combat shotgun

text: A Joint Service Combat Shotgun Program report on the lethality of shotguns in war states, in support of the use of the shotgun in warfare, "the probability of hitting a man-sized target with a shotgun was superior to that of all other weapons", and goes on to support this with statistics compiled by the British from the conflict in Borneo in the 1960s - Operation Claret.


title: Combat shotgun

text: The buckshot typically used in a combat shotgun spreads out to a greater or lesser degree depending on the barrel choke, and can be effective at ranges as far as 70 m (75 yards). The delivery of the large number of projectiles simultaneously makes the shotgun the most effective short range weapon commonly used, with a hit probability 45% greater than a sub-machine gun (5-round burst), and twice as great as an assault rifle (3-round burst). While each pellet is only roughly as effective as a small caliber handgun round, and offers very poor penetration against an armored target, the multiple projectiles increases the likelihood of one or more peripheral wounds.


title: Combat shotgun

text: The most common type of ammunition used in combat shotguns, whether for military or law enforcement purposes, is buckshot, typically a 70 mm (2 inch) 12-gauge shell loaded with 9 hardened 00 buckshot, with a diameter of about 8.4 mm (.33 inch). Buckshot is brutally effective at close ranges against unarmored targets—enough so that Germany issued a protest against its use in 1918. The only other types of ammunition currently in use in military shotguns are breaching rounds, which are either specially designed frangible rounds designed to destroy a door lock or hinge while minimizing the risk of damage to occupants of the room or very light (#9) birdshot, which accomplishes the same purpose. Shotgun slugs are currently under consideration by the US military as an anti-materiel round; the tendency of typical commercial shotgun slugs to deform on impact would render them illegal under the Hague Convention of 1899 and so a jacketed, hardened or sabot slug may be adopted. Less lethal rounds are used by U.S. troops serving as police forces in occupied territory; beanbag and rubber bullet rounds are commonly used to discourage looters and rioters.


title: Combat shotgun

text: In military use, flechette ammunition has also been used in shotguns (primarily by special forces, such as its use by the SEALs in the Vietnam War), but this is not common. Other experimental shotgun ammunition has been created, such as SCMITR, but none have been successful enough to be adopted.


title: Combat shotgun

text: Due to the great flexibility of the shotgun, it is often used in non-offensive roles as well. The US Infantry, for example, offers a number of less lethal varieties of ammunition for use in the riot control role, and for door breaching with #9 birdshot, shotgun slugs, and specialized breaching rounds. Less-lethal options also include the use of grenade launching cups, special launching cartridges and a less-lethal grenade.


title: Combat shotgun

text: There are a number of experimental rounds currently under development and consideration by the US military, including explosive rounds and stand-off breaching rounds, which could further improve the range and flexibility of the combat shotgun.


title: Combat shotgun

text: There are two primary modes of operation for combat shotguns, the pump action, and various semi-automatic designs, mostly gas operation and recoil operation designs. The SPAS-12, SPAS-15, and Benelli M3 shotguns, combine the two, offering pump action or, when the pump is locked forwards, autoloading operation. There have also been a few fully automatic shotguns produced such as the AA-12.


title: Combat shotgun

text: The autoloading shotgun (semi or fully automatic) offers a higher rate of fire than a pump shotgun, though controlling a heavy recoiling shotgun in rapid fire is difficult. The autoloading action is more suitable for firing from a prone position, as operation of a pump action moves the elbow normally used to support the shotgun, and it can more effectively be used one-handed, unlike pump actions which require two hands for effective cycling of the action.


title: Combat shotgun

text: The pump shotgun is more versatile than the semiautomatic, as it will fire low powered less lethal munitions which lack sufficient pressure to cycle the action in an autoloading design. A pump shotgun, which does not rely on its ammunition for energy to cycle, operates normally with the lower powered ammunition, and provides utility in combat and riot control situations. In addition, the pump shotgun has an advantage in situations such as door breaching, where the shotgun is immediately dropped (retained by a sling) and replaced by another weapon after the door has been breached. By not cycling the action after firing the final breaching rounds (multiple rounds are often required) the pump shotgun is left without a loaded round in the chamber, unlike a semiautomatic shotgun.


title: Combat shotgun

text: Due to the widespread use of the shotgun as a sporting firearm, it is used in guerrilla warfare and other forms of asymmetric warfare. Che Guevara, in his 1961 book "Guerrilla Warfare", notes that shotgun ammunition can be obtained by guerrillas even in times of war, and that shotguns loaded with heavy shot are highly effective against unarmored troop transport vehicles. He recommends that suburban guerrilla bands should be armed with easily concealable weapons, such as handguns and a sawed-off shotgun or carbine. Guevara also mentions an improvised weapon developed by guerrillas consisting of a sawed-off 16 gauge shotgun provided with a bipod to hold the barrel at a 45 degree angle. Called the "M-16", this was loaded with a blank cartridge formed by removing the shot from a standard shotshell. A wooden rod was then placed in the barrel, with a Molotov cocktail attached to the front. This formed an improvised mortar capable of firing the incendiary device accurately out to a range of 100 meters.


title: Ecofeminism

text: Ecofeminism is a branch of feminism and political ecology. Ecofeminist thinkers draw on the concept of gender to analyse the relationships between humans and the natural world. The term was coined by the French writer Françoise d'Eaubonne in her book "Le Féminisme ou la Mort" (1974). Ecofeminist theory asserts a feminist perspective of Green politics that calls for an egalitarian, collaborative society in which there is no one dominant group. Today, there are several branches of ecofeminism, with varying approaches and analyses, including liberal ecofeminism, spiritual/cultural ecofeminism, and social/socialist ecofeminism (or materialist ecofeminism). Interpretations of ecofeminism and how it might be applied to social thought include ecofeminist art, social justice and political philosophy, religion, contemporary feminism, and poetry.


title: Ecofeminism

text: Ecofeminist analysis explores the connections between women and nature in culture, economy, religion, politics, literature and iconography, and addresses the parallels between the oppression of nature and the oppression of women. These parallels include but are not limited to seeing women and nature as property, seeing men as the curators of culture and women as the curators of nature, and how men dominate women and humans dominate nature. Ecofeminism emphasizes that both women and nature must be respected.


title: Ecofeminism

text: Though the scope of ecofeminist analysis is dynamic, American author and ecofeminist Charlene Spretnak has offered one way of categorizing ecofeminist work: 1) through the study of political theory as well as history; 2) through the belief and study of nature-based religions; 3) through environmentalism.


title: Ecofeminism

text: While diverse ecofeminist perspectives have emerged from female activists and thinkers all over the world, academic studies of ecofeminism have been dominated by North American universities. Thus, in the 1993 essay entitled "Ecofeminism: Toward Global Justice and Planetary Health" authors Greta Gaard and Lori Gruen outline what they call the "ecofeminist framework". The essay provides a wealth of data and statistics in addition to outlining the theoretical aspects of the ecofeminist critique. The framework described is intended to establish ways of viewing and understanding our current global situations so that we can better understand how we arrived at this point and what may be done to ameliorate the ills.


title: Ecofeminism

text: Building on the work of North American scholars Rosemary Ruether and Carolyn Merchant, Gaard and Gruen argue that there are four sides to this framework:


title: Ecofeminism

text: They hold that these four factors have brought us to what ecofeminists see as a "separation between nature and culture" that is for them the root source of our planetary ills.


title: Ecofeminism

text: Ecofeminism developed out of anarcha-feminist concerns with abolishing all forms of domination, while focusing on the oppressive nature of humanity's relationship to the natural world. According to Françoise d'Eaubonne in her book "Le Féminisme ou la Mort" (1974), ecofeminism relates the oppression and domination of all marginalized groups (women, people of color, children, the poor) to the oppression and domination of nature (animals, land, water, air, etc.). In the book, the author argues that oppression, domination, exploitation, and colonization from the Western patriarchal society has directly caused irreversible environmental damage. Françoise d'Eaubonne was an activist and organizer, and her writing encouraged the eradication of all social injustice, not just injustice against women and the environment.


title: Ecofeminism

text: This tradition includes a number of influential texts including: "Women and Nature" (Susan Griffin 1978), "The Death of Nature" (Carolyn Merchant 1980) and "Gyn/Ecology" (Mary Daly 1978). These texts helped to propel the association between domination by men of women and the domination of culture over nature. From these texts feminist activism of the 1980s linked ideas of ecology and the environment. Movements such as the National Toxics Campaign, Mothers of East Los Angeles (MELA), and Native Americans for a Clean Environment (NACE) were led by women devoted to issues of human health and environmental justice. Writings in this circle discussed ecofeminism drawing from Green Party politics, peace movements, and direct action movements.


title: Ecofeminism

text: Ecofeminist theory asserts that capitalism reflects only paternalistic and patriarchal values. This notion implies that the effects of capitalism have not benefited women and has led to a harmful split between nature and culture. In the 1970s, early ecofeminists discussed that the split can only be healed by the feminine instinct for nurture and holistic knowledge of nature's processes.


title: Ecofeminism

text: Since then, several ecofeminist scholars have made the distinction that it is not "because" women are female or "feminine" that they relate to nature, but because of their similar states of oppression by the same male-dominant forces. The marginalization is evident in the gendered language used to describe nature, such as "Mother Earth" or "Mother Nature", and the animalized language used to describe women in degroratory terms. Some discourses link women specifically to the environment because of their traditional social role as a nurturer and caregiver. Ecofeminists following in this line of thought believe that these connections are illustrated through the coherence of socially-labeled values associated with 'femininity' such as nurturing, which are present both among women and in nature.


title: Ecofeminism

text: Alternatively, ecofeminist and activist Vandana Shiva wrote that women have a special connection to the environment through their daily interactions and that this connection has been underestimated. According to Shiva, women in subsistence economies who produce "wealth in partnership with nature, have been experts in their own right of holistic and ecological knowledge of nature's processes". She makes the point that "these alternative modes of knowing, which are oriented to the social benefits and sustenance needs are not recognized by the capitalist reductionist paradigm, because it fails to perceive the interconnectedness of nature, or the connection of women's lives, work and knowledge with the creation of wealth (23)".  Shiva blames this failure on the Western patriarchal perceptions of development and progress. According to Shiva, patriarchy has labeled women, nature, and other groups not growing the economy as "unproductive". Similarly, Australian ecofeminist Ariel Salleh deepens this materialist ecofeminist approach in dialogue with green politics, ecosocialism, genetic engineering and climate policy.


title: Ecofeminism

text: In "Ecofeminism" (1993) authors Vandana Shiva and Maria Mies ponder modern science and its acceptance as a universal and value-free system. They view the dominant stream of modern science not as objective science but as a projection of Western men's values. The privilege of determining what is considered scientific knowledge and its usage has been controlled by men, and for the most part of history restricted to men. Many examples exist, including the medicalization of childbirth and the industrialization of plant reproduction.


title: Ecofeminism

text: A common claim within ecofeminist literature is that patriarchal structures justify their dominance through binary opposition, these include but are not limited to: heaven/earth, mind/body, male/female, human/animal, spirit/matter, culture/nature and white/non-white. Oppression, according to them, is reinforced by assuming truth in these binaries, which factuality they challenge, and instilling them as 'marvelous to behold' through what they consider to be religious and scientific constructs.


title: Ecofeminism

text: The application of ecofeminism to animal rights has established vegetarian ecofeminism, which asserts that "omitting the oppression of animals from feminist and ecofeminist analyses … is inconsistent with the activist and philosophical foundations of both feminism (as a "movement to end all forms of oppression") and ecofeminism." It puts into practice "the personal is political", as many ecofeminists believe that "meat-eating is a form of patriarchal domination…that suggests a link between male violence and a meat-based diet." During a 1995 interview with "On the Issues," Carol J. Adams stated, "Manhood is constructed in our culture in part by access to meat-eating and control of other bodies, whether it's women or animals". According to Adams, "We cannot work for justice and challenge the oppression of nature without understanding that the most frequent way we interact with nature is by eating animals". Vegetarian ecofeminism combines sympathy with the analysis of culture and politics to refine a system of ethics and action.


title: Ecofeminism

text: The key activist-scholars in materialist ecofeminism are Maria Mies and Veronika Bennholdt-Thomsen in Germany; Vandana Shiva in India; Ariel Salleh in Australia; Mary Mellor in the UK; and Ana Isla in Peru. Materialist ecofeminism is not widely known in North America aside from the journal collective at "Capitalism Nature Socialism". A materialist view connects institutions such as labor, power, and property as the source of domination over women and nature. There are connections made between these subjects because of the values of production and reproduction. This dimension of ecofeminism may also be referred to as "social feminism", "socialist ecofeminism", or "Marxist ecofeminism". According to Carolyn Merchant, "Social ecofeminism advocates the liberation of women through overturning economic and social hierarchies that turn all aspects of life into a market society that today even invades the womb". Ecofeminism in this sense seeks to eliminate social hierarchies which favor the production of commodities (dominated by men) over biological and social reproduction.


title: Ecofeminism

text: Spiritual ecofeminism is another branch of ecofeminism, and it is popular among ecofeminist authors such as Starhawk, Riane Eisler, and Carol J. Adams. Starhawk calls this an earth-based spirituality, which recognizes that the Earth is alive, and that we are an interconnected community. Spiritual ecofeminism is not linked to one specific religion, but is centered around values of caring, compassion, and non-violence. Often, ecofeminists refer to more ancient traditions, such as the worship of Gaia, the Goddess of nature and spirituality (also known as Mother Earth). Wicca and Paganism are particularly influential to spiritual ecofeminism. Most Wicca covens demonstrate a deep respect for nature, a feminine outlook, and an aim to establish strong community values.


title: Ecofeminism

text: In her book "Radical Ecology," Carolyn Merchant refers to spiritual ecofeminism as "cultural ecofeminism". According to Merchant, cultural ecofeminism, "celebrates the relationship between women and nature through the revival of ancient rituals centered on goddess worship, the moon, animals, and the female reproductive system." In this sense, cultural ecofeminists tend to value intuition, an ethic of caring, and human-nature interrelationships.


title: Ecofeminism

text: Susan A. Mann, an eco-feminist and professor of sociological and feminist theory, considers the roles women played in these activisms to be the starter for ecofeminism in later centuries. Mann associates the beginning of ecofeminism not with feminists but with women of different races and class backgrounds who made connections among gender, race, class, and environmental issues. This ideal is upheld through the notion that in activist and theory circles marginalized groups must be included in the discussion. In early environmental and women's movements, issues of varying races and classes were often separated.


title: Ecofeminism

text: Beginning in the late 20th century, women worked in efforts to protect wildlife, food, air and water. These efforts depended largely on new developments in the environmental movement from influential writers, such as Henry David Thoreau, Aldo Leopold, John Muir, and Rachel Carson. Fundamental examples of women's efforts in the 20th century are the books "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson and "Refuge" by Terry Tempest Williams.


title: Ecofeminism

text: Ecofeminist author Karen Warren lists Aldo Leopold's essay "Land Ethic" (1949) as a fundamental work to the ecofeminist conception, as Leopold was the first to pen an ethic for the land which understands all non-human parts of that community (animals, plants, land, air, water) as equal to and in a relationship with humans. This inclusive understanding of the environment launched the modern preservation movement and illustrated how issues can be viewed through a framework of caring.


title: Ecofeminism

text: Women have participated in environmental movements, specifically preservation and conservation beginning in the late nineteenth century and continuing into the early twentieth century.


title: Ecofeminism

text: In India, in the state of Uttarakhand in 1973, women took part in the Chipko movement to protect forests from deforestation. Non-violent protest tactics were used to occupy trees so that loggers could not cut them down.


title: Ecofeminism

text: In Kenya in 1977, the Green Belt Movement was initiated by environmental and political activist Professor Wangari Maathai. It is a rural tree planting program led by women, which Maathai designed to help prevent desertification in the area. The program created a 'green belt' of at least 1,000 trees around villages, and gave participants the ability to take charge in their communities. In later years, the Green Belt Movement was an advocate for informing and empowering citizens through seminars for civic and environmental education, as well as holding national leaders accountable for their actions and instilling agency in citizens. The work of the Green Belt Movement continues today.


title: Ecofeminism

text: In 1978 in New York, mother and environmentalist Lois Gibbs led her community in protest after discovering that their entire neighborhood, Love Canal, was built on top of a toxic dump site. The toxins in the ground were causing illness among children and reproductive issues among women, as well as birth defects in babies born to pregnant women exposed to the toxins. The Love Canal movement eventually led to the evacuation and relocation of nearly 800 families by the federal government.


title: Ecofeminism

text: In 1980 and 1981, women like ecofeminist Ynestra King organized a peaceful protest at the Pentagon. Women stood, hand in hand, demanding equal rights (including social, economic, and reproductive rights) as well as an end to militaristic actions taken by the government and exploitation of the community (people and the environment). This movement is known as the Women's Pentagon Actions.


title: Ecofeminism

text: In 1985, the Akwesasne Mother's Milk Project was launched by Katsi Cook. This study was funded by the government, and investigated how the higher level of contaminants in water near the Mohawk reservation impacted babies. It revealed that through breast milk, Mohawk children were being exposed to 200% more toxins than children not on the reservation. Toxins contaminate water all over the world, but due to environmental racism, certain marginalized groups are exposed to a much higher amount.


title: Ecofeminism

text: The Greening of Harlem Coalition is another example of an ecofeminist movement. In 1989, Bernadette Cozart founded the coalition, which is responsible for many urban gardens around Harlem. Cozart's goal is to turn vacant lots into community gardens. This is economically beneficial, and also provides a way for very urban communities to be in touch with nature and each other. The majority of people interested in this project (as noted in 1990) were women. Through these gardens, they were able to participate in and become leaders of their communities. Urban greening exists in other places as well. Beginning in 1994, a group of African-American women in Detroit have developed city gardens, and call themselves the Gardening Angels. Similar garden movements have occurred globally.


title: Ecofeminism

text: The development of vegetarian ecofeminism can be traced to the mid-80s and 90s, where it first appeared in writing. However, the roots of a vegetarian ecofeminist view can be traced back further by looking at sympathy for non-humans and counterculture movements of the 1960s and 1970s. At the culmination of the decade ecofeminism had spread to both coasts and articulated an intersectional analysis of women and the environment. Eventually, challenging ideas of environmental classism and racism, resisting toxic dumping and other threats to the impoverished.


title: Ecofeminism

text: In the 1980s and 1990s ecofeminism began to be heavily critiqued as 'essentialism'. The critics believed ecofeminism to be reinforcing patriarchal dominance and norms. Post structural and third wave feminists argued that ecofeminism equated women with nature and that this dichotomy grouped all women into one category enforcing the very societal norms that feminism is trying to break. However the criticism was based on a category mistake made by those who missed the emerging political critique of patriarchal ideology.


title: Ecofeminism

text: Ecofeminist and author Noel Sturgeon says in an interview that what anti-essentialists are critiquing is a strategy used to mobilize large and diverse groups of both theorists and activists. Additionally, according to ecofeminist and author Charlene Spretnak, modern ecofeminism is concerned about a variety of issues, including reproductive technology, equal pay and equal rights, toxic pollution, Third World development, and more.


title: Ecofeminism

text: Ecofeminism as it propelled into the 21st century became aware of the criticisms, and in response ecofeminists with a materialist lens began doing research and renaming the topic, i.e. queer ecologies, global feminist environmental justice, and gender and the environment. The essentialism concern was mostly found among North American academics. In Europe and the global South, class, race, gender and species dominations were framed by more grounded materialist understandings.