Answer the question at the end by quoting:

Sean John Combs was born on November 4, 1969 in Manhattan's Harlem neighborhood in New York City, and was raised in Mount Vernon, New York. His mother, Janice (Smalls), was a model and teacher's assistant, and his father, Melvin Earl Combs, served in the U.S. Air Force and was an associate of convicted New York drug dealer Frank Lucas. At age 33, Melvin was shot to death while sitting in his car on Central Park West, when Combs was 2 years old. Combs graduated from the Roman Catholic Mount Saint Michael Academy in 1987.
Combs changed his stage name from "Puff Daddy" to "P. Diddy" in 2001. The gospel album, Thank You, which had been completed just before the beginning of the weapons trial, was released that March. He appeared as a drug dealer in the film Made and starred with Halle Berry and Billy Bob Thornton in Monster's Ball (both in 2001). He was arrested for driving on a suspended license in Florida. Combs began working with a series of unusual (for him) artists. For a short period of time, he was the manager of Kelis; they have a collaboration titled "Let's Get Ill". He was an opening act for 'N Sync on their Spring 2002 Celebrity Tour, and he signed California-based pop girl group Dream to his record label. Combs was a producer of the soundtrack album for the film Training Day (2001).  In June 2001, Combs ended Bad Boy Entertainment's joint venture with Arista Records, gaining full control of Bad Boy, its catalogue, and its roster of artists. The Saga Continues..., released on July 10 in North America, was the last studio album released by the joint venture. The album reached number 2 on the Billboard 200 and the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums charts, and was eventually certified Platinum. It is the only studio album under the P. Diddy name, and the first album by Sean Combs not to feature any guest appearances by Jay-Z or Lil Kim. Combs was executive producer of the reality TV show Making the Band, which appeared on MTV from 2002 to 2009. The show involved interviewing candidates and creating musical acts that would then enter the music business. Acts that got their start this way include Da Band, Danity Kane, Day26, and Donnie Klang.  In 2003 Combs ran in the New York City Marathon, raising $2 million for the educational system of the city of New York. On March 10, 2004 he appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show to discuss the marathon, which he finished in four hours and eighteen minutes. In 2004 Combs headed the campaign "Vote or Die" for the 2004 presidential election. On February 1, 2004, Combs (as P. Diddy) performed at the Super Bowl XXXVIII halftime show.

Why did combs change his name?





Answer the question at the end by quoting:

Portugal. The Man is an American rock band from Wasilla, Alaska, currently residing in Portland, Oregon. The group consists of lead singer John Baldwin Gourley, Gourley's partner & back-up singer Zoe Manville, Zach Carothers, Kyle O'Quin, Jason Sechrist and Eric Howk. Gourley and Carothers met and began playing music together in 2001 at Wasilla High School in Wasilla.
On June 22, 2007, they released their second full-length album, Church Mouth, again produced by Casey Bates, and set out on a full U.S. headline tour with support from The Photo Atlas, Play Radio Play, Tera Melos and The Only Children among others. They then toured Europe and followed it up with another US headlining tour with support from Rocky Votolato and Great Depression during September and October. Following this tour, they joined Thursday on a short east coast tour in November alongside Circle Takes The Square.  In 2008, the band left their label, Fearless Records, and added Ryan Neighbors, their touring keyboardist, as an official member and replacement for Wes Hubbard. On July 30, 2008, it was announced that Portugal. The Man was releasing Censored Colors under its independent record label, Approaching AIRballoons, in partnership with Equal Vision Records. It was released September 16. Zoe Manville, a musician and graphic designer, was involved with this album and has an active involvement on all albums since 2008 including vocals on many of the tracks on Woodstock. John Gourley was also chosen as the recipient of the 2008 AP Magazine's "Best Vocalist of the Year".  In 2009, Portugal. The Man played at Bonnaroo and also at Lollapalooza in Grant Park, Chicago. On April 9, the band announced the next album, The Satanic Satanist, which was released on July 21, 2009. The Satanic Satanist is themed around memories and stories from singer John Gourley's youth in Alaska. The album was recorded with the help of record producer Paul Q. Kolderie of Pixies and Radiohead fame.  On February 11, 2010, Gourley announced that American Ghetto, the band's fifth studio album, would be released on March 2. In order to avoid another leak, no copies of the album were solicited until the release date.

what were the independent years?





Answer the question at the end by quoting:

Thomas Dale "Tom" DeLay (; born April 8, 1947) is a former member of the United States House of Representatives, representing Texas's 22nd congressional district from 1985 until 2006. He was Republican Party (GOP) House Majority Leader from 2003-05. DeLay began his career as a politician in 1978 when he was elected to the Texas House of Representatives.
DeLay was known to "primary" Republicans who resisted his votes (i.e., to threaten to endorse and to support a Republican primary challenge to the disobedient representative), and, like many of his predecessors in Congress, used promises of future committee chairmanships to bargain for support among the rank-and-file members of the party. Employing a method known as "catch and release", DeLay allowed centrist or moderately conservative Republicans to take turns voting against controversial bills. If a representative said that a bill was unpopular in his district, then DeLay would ask him to vote for it only if his vote were necessary for passage; if his vote were not needed, then the representative would be able to vote against the party without reprisal, a practice which has been followed by other party leaders and whips from both sides of the aisle, Democrat and Republican, respectively, when in power.  In the 108th Congress, a preliminary Medicare vote passed 216-215, a vote on Head Start passed 217-216, a vote on school vouchers for Washington, D.C., passed 209-208, and "Fast track", usually called "trade promotion authority", passed by one vote as well. Both political supporters and opponents remarked on DeLay's ability to sway the votes of his party, a method DeLay described as "growing the vote". DeLay was noted for involving lobbyists in the process of passing House bills. One lobbyist said, "I've had members pull me aside and ask me to talk to another member of Congress about a bill or amendment, but I've never been asked to work on a bill--at least like they are asking us to whip bills now." His ability to raise money gave him additional influence. During the 2004 election cycle, DeLay's political action committee ARMPAC was one of the top contributors to Republican congressional candidates, contributing over $980,000 in total.  Partly as a result of DeLay's management abilities, the House Republican caucus under him displayed unprecedented, sustained party cohesion.  On September 30, 2004, the House Ethics Committee unanimously admonished DeLay because he "offered to endorse Representative [Nick] Smith's son in exchange for Representative Smith's vote in favor of the Medicare bill."

Was this effective?
Both political supporters and opponents remarked on DeLay's ability to sway the votes of his party,