A legislature is a kind of deliberative assembly with the power to pass, amend, and repeal laws. The law created by a legislature is called legislation or statutory law. In addition to enacting laws, legislatures usually have exclusive authority to raise or lower taxes and adopt the budget and other money bills. Legislatures are known by many names, the most common being parliament and congress, although these terms also have more specific meanings.

In parliamentary systems of government, the legislature is formally supreme and appoints a member from its house as the prime minister which acts as the executive. In a presidential system, according to the separation of powers doctrine, the legislature is considered an independent and coequal branch of government along with both the judiciary and the executive.

The primary components of a legislature are one or more ''chambers'' or ''houses'': assemblies that debate and vote upon bills. A legislature with only one house is called unicameral. A bicameral legislature possesses two separate chambers, usually described as an upper house and a lower house, which often differ in duties, powers, and the methods used for the selection of members. Much rarer have been tricameral legislatures; the Massachusetts Governor's Council still exists, but the most recent national example existed in the waning years of caucasian-minority rule in South Africa.

In most parliamentary systems, the lower house is the more powerful house while the upper house is merely a chamber of advice or review. However, in presidential systems, the powers of the two houses are often similar or equal. In federations, it is typical for the upper house to represent the component states; the same applies to the supranational legislature of the European Union. For this purpose, the upper house may either contain the delegates of state governments, as is the case in the European Union and in Germany and was the case in the United States before 1913, or be elected according to a formula that grants equal representation to states with smaller populations, as is the case in Australia and the modern United States.

Because members of legislatures usually sit together in a specific room to deliberate, seats in that room may be assigned exclusively to members of the legislature. In parliamentary language, the term ''seat'' is sometimes used to mean that someone is a member of a legislature. For example, saying that a legislature has 100 "seats" means that there are 100 members of the legislature, and saying that someone is "contesting a seat" means they are trying to get elected as a member of the legislature. By extension, the term ''seat'' is often used in less formal contexts to refer to an electoral district itself, as for example in the phrases "safe seat" and "marginal seat".

See also

Legislative Assembly

Legislative Council

List of legislatures by country

References

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birth name	Michael Francis Moore
birth date	April 23, 1954
birth place	Flint, Michigan, United States
years active	1972–present
occupation	Actor, director, screenwriter, producer
spouse	Kathleen Glynn (1991–present)
alma mater	University of Michigan–Flint (dropped out)
website	http://michaelmoore.com/ }}

Michael Francis Moore (born April 23, 1954) is an American filmmaker, author and liberal political commentator. He is the director and producer of ''Bowling for Columbine'', ''Fahrenheit 9/11'', ''Sicko'', and ''Capitalism: A Love Story'', four of the top ten highest-grossing documentaries of all time. In September 2008, he released his first free movie on the Internet, ''Slacker Uprising'', documenting his personal crusade to encourage more Americans to vote in presidential elections. He has also written and starred in the TV shows ''TV Nation'' and ''The Awful Truth''.

Moore criticizes globalization, large corporations, assault weapon ownership, U.S. Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, the Iraq War, the American health care system, and capitalism in his written and cinematic works.

Early life

Moore was born in Flint, Michigan and raised in Davison, a suburb of Flint, by parents Veronica (née Wall), a secretary, and Frank Moore, an automotive assembly-line worker. At that time, the city of Flint was home to many General Motors factories, where his parents and grandfather worked. His uncle LaVerne was one of the founders of the United Automobile Workers labor union and participated in the Flint Sit-Down Strike. Moore has described his parents as "Irish Catholic Democrats, basic liberal good people."

Moore was brought up Roman Catholic, attended parochial St. John's Elementary School for primary school and originally intended to join the seminary. He then attended Davison High School, where he was active in both drama and debate, graduating in 1972. As a member of the Boy Scouts of America, he achieved the rank of Eagle Scout. At the age of 18, he was elected to the Davison school board.

Career

After dropping out of the University of Michigan–Flint following his freshman year (where he wrote for the student newspaper ''The Michigan Times''), Moore worked at the local Buick plant. At 22 he founded the alternative weekly magazine ''The Flint Voice'', which soon changed its name to ''The Michigan Voice'' as it expanded to cover the entire state. In 1986, when Moore became the editor of ''Mother Jones'', a liberal political magazine, he moved to California and ''The Michigan Voice'' was shut down.

After four months at ''Mother Jones'', Moore was fired. Matt Labash of ''The Weekly Standard'' reported this was for refusing to print an article by Paul Berman that was critical of the Sandinista human rights record in Nicaragua. Moore refused to run the article, believing it to be inaccurate. "The article was flatly wrong and the worst kind of patronizing bullshit. You would scarcely know from it that the United States had been at war with Nicaragua for the last five years." Berman described Moore as a "very ideological guy and not a very well-educated guy" when asked about the incident. Moore believes that ''Mother Jones'' fired him because of the publisher's refusal to allow him to cover a story on the GM plant closings in his hometown of Flint, Michigan. He responded by putting laid-off GM worker Ben Hamper (who was also writing for the same magazine at the time) on the magazine's cover, leading to his termination. Moore sued for wrongful dismissal, and settled out of court for $58,000, providing him with seed money for his first film, ''Roger & Me.''

Directing/producing

; ''Roger & Me'': Moore first became famous for his 1989 film, ''Roger & Me'', a documentary about what happened to Flint, Michigan after General Motors closed its factories and opened new ones in Mexico, where the workers were paid much less. Since then Moore has been known as a critic of the neoliberal view of globalization. "Roger" is Roger B. Smith, former CEO and president of General Motors.

; ''Pets or Meat: The Return to Flint'': (1992) is a short (23-minute) documentary film that was aired on PBS. It is based on the feature-length film ''Roger & Me'' (1989) by Michael Moore. The film's title refers to Rhonda Britton, a Flint, Michigan, resident featured in both the 1989 and 1992 films who sells rabbits as either pets or meat.

; ''Canadian Bacon'': In 1995, Moore released a satirical film, ''Canadian Bacon'', which features a fictional US president (played by Alan Alda) engineering a fake war with Canada in order to boost his popularity. It is noted for containing a number of Canadian and American stereotypes, and for being Moore's only non-documentary film. The film is also one of the last featuring Canadian-born actor John Candy, and also features a number of cameos by other Canadian actors. In the film, several potential enemies for America's next great campaign are discussed by the president and his cabinet. (The scene was strongly influenced by the Stanley Kubrick film ''Dr. Strangelove.'') The President comments that declaring war on Canada was as ridiculous as declaring war on international terrorism. His military adviser, played by Rip Torn, quickly rebuffs this idea, saying that no one would care about "... a bunch of guys driving around blowing up rent-a-cars."

; ''The Big One'': In 1997, Moore directed ''The Big One'', which documents the tour publicizing his book ''Downsize This! Random Threats from an Unarmed American'', in which he criticizes mass layoffs despite record corporate profits. Among others, he targets Nike for outsourcing shoe production to Indonesia.

; ''Bowling for Columbine'': Moore's 2002 film, ''Bowling for Columbine'', probes the culture of guns and violence in the United States, taking as a starting point the Columbine High School massacre of 1999. ''Bowling for Columbine'' won the Anniversary Prize at the 2002 Cannes Film Festival and France's César Award as the Best Foreign Film. In the United States, it won the 2002 Academy Award for Documentary Feature. It also enjoyed great commercial and critical success for a film of its type and became, at the time, the highest-grossing mainstream-released documentary (a record now held by Moore's ''Fahrenheit 9/11''). It was praised by some for illuminating a subject slighted by the mainstream media.

; ''Fahrenheit 9/11'': ''Fahrenheit 9/11'' examines America in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 attacks, particularly the record of the Bush administration and alleged links between the families of George W. Bush and Osama bin Laden. ''Fahrenheit'' was awarded the ''Palme d'Or'', the top honor at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival; it was the first documentary film to win the prize since 1956. Moore later announced that ''Fahrenheit 9/11'' would not be in consideration for the 2005 Academy Award for Documentary Feature, but instead for the Academy Award for Best Picture. He stated he wanted the movie to be seen by a few million more people via a television broadcast prior to election day. According to Moore, "Academy rules forbid the airing of a documentary on television within nine months of its theatrical release", and since the November 2 election was fewer than nine months after the film's release it would have been disqualified for the Documentary Oscar. However, Fahrenheit received no Oscar nomination for Best Picture. The title of the film alludes to the classic book ''Fahrenheit 451'' about a future totalitarian state in which books are banned; according to the book, paper begins to burn at 451 degrees Fahrenheit. The pre-release subtitle of the film confirms the allusion: "The temperature at which freedom burns." At the box office, as of 2010 ''Fahrenheit 9/11'' is the highest-grossing documentary of all time, taking in over US$200 million worldwide, including United States box office revenue of almost US$120 million. In February 2011, Moore sued producers Bob and Harvey Weinstein for US$2.7 million in unpaid profits from the film, claiming they used "Hollywood accounting tricks" to avoid paying him the money.

; ''Sicko'': Moore directed this film about the American health care system, focusing particularly on the managed-care and pharmaceutical industries. At least four major pharmaceutical companies—Pfizer, Eli Lilly, AstraZeneca, and GlaxoSmithKline—ordered their employees not to grant any interviews to Moore. According to Moore on a letter at his website, "roads that often surprise us and lead us to new ideas—and challenge us to reconsider the ones we began with have caused some minor delays." The film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival on 19 May 2007, receiving a lengthy standing ovation, and was released in the U.S. and Canada on 29 June 2007. The film was the subject of some controversy when it became known that Moore went to Cuba with chronically ill September 11th rescue workers to shoot parts of the film. The United States is looking into whether this violates the trade embargo. The film is currently ranked the fourth highest grossing documentary of all time and received an Academy Award nomination for Best Documentary Feature.

; ''Captain Mike Across America'':Moore takes a look at the politics of college students in what he calls "Bush Administration America" with this film shot during Moore's 60-city college campus tour in the months leading up to the 2004 election. The film was later re-edited by Moore into ''Slacker Uprising''.

; ''Capitalism: A Love Story'': On September 23, 2009, Moore released a new movie titled ''Capitalism: A Love Story'', which looks at the late-2000s financial crisis and the U.S. economy during the transition between the incoming Obama Administration and the outgoing Bush Administration. Addressing a press conference at its release, Moore said, "Democracy is not a spectator sport, it's a participatory event. If we don't participate in it, it ceases to be a democracy. So Obama will rise or fall based not so much on what he does but on what we do to support him."

Acting

Moore has dabbled in acting, following a 2000 supporting role in ''Lucky Numbers'' as the cousin of Lisa Kudrow's character, who agrees to be part of the scheme concocted by John Travolta's character. He also had a cameo in his ''Canadian Bacon'' as an anti-Canada activist. In 2004, he did a cameo, as a news journalist, in ''The Fever'', starring Vanessa Redgrave in the lead.

Television

Between 1994 and 1995, he directed and hosted the BBC television series ''TV Nation'', which followed the format of news magazine shows but covered topics they avoid. The series aired on BBC2 in the UK. The series was also aired in the US on NBC in 1994 for 9 episodes and again for 8 episodes on Fox in 1995.

His other major series was ''The Awful Truth'', which satirized actions by big corporations and politicians. It aired on Channel 4 in the UK, and the Bravo network in the US, in 1999 and 2000.

Another 1999 series, ''Michael Moore Live'', was aired in the UK only on Channel 4, though it was broadcast from New York. This show had a similar format to ''The Awful Truth'', but also incorporated phone-ins and a live stunt each week.

In 1999 Moore won the Hugh M. Hefner First Amendment Award in Arts and Entertainment, for being the executive producer and host of ''The Awful Truth'', where he was also described as "muckraker, author and documentary filmmaker".

Music videos

Moore has directed several music videos, including two for Rage Against the Machine for songs from ''The Battle of Los Angeles'': "Sleep Now in the Fire" and "Testify". He was threatened with arrest during the shooting of "Sleep Now in the Fire", which was filmed on Wall Street; the city of New York had denied the band permission to play there, although the band and Moore had secured a federal permit to perform.

He also directed the videos for R.E.M. single "All the Way to Reno (You're Gonna Be a Star)" in 2001 and the System of a Down song "Boom!".

Appearances in other documentaries

Moore appeared in ''The Drugging of Our Children'', a 2005 documentary about over-prescription of psychiatric medication to children and teenagers, directed by Gary Null a proponent of Alternative Medicine. In the film Moore agrees with Gary Null that Ritalin and other similar drugs are over-prescribed, saying that they are seen as a "pacifier".

Moore appeared on fellow Flint natives Grand Funk Railroad's edition of Behind The Music.

Moore appeared as an off-camera interviewer in ''Blood in the Face'', a 1991 documentary about white supremacy groups. The film centers around a neo-Nazi gathering in Michigan.

Moore appeared in ''The Yes Men'', a 2003 documentary about two men who pose as the World Trade Organization. He appears during a segment concerning working conditions in Mexico and Latin America.

Moore was interviewed for the 2004 documentary, ''The Corporation.'' One of his highlighted quotes was: "The problem is the profit motive: for corporations, there's no such thing as 'enough'".

Moore appeared in the 2006 documentary ''I'm Going to Tell You a Secret'', which chronicles Madonna during her 2004 Re-Invention World Tour. Moore attended her show in New York City at Madison Square Garden.

Books

Moore has authored three best-selling books:

''Downsize This!'' (1996), about politics and corporate crime in the United States,

''Stupid White Men'' (2001), ostensibly a critique of American domestic and foreign policy but, by Moore's own admission, "a book of political humor," and

''Dude, Where's My Country?'' (2003), an examination of the Bush family's relationships with Saudi royalty, the Bin Laden family, and the energy industry, and a call-to-action for liberals in the 2004 election.

Political views

Though Moore rejects the label "political activist", he has been active in promoting his political views. According to John Flesher of the Associated Press, Moore is known for his "fiery left-wing populism," and publications such as the Socialist Worker Online have hailed him as the "new Tom Paine."

Moore was a high-profile guest at both the 2004 Democratic National Convention and the 2004 Republican National Convention, chronicling his impressions in ''USA Today''. He was criticized in a speech by Republican Senator John McCain as "a disingenuous film-maker." Moore laughed and waved as Republican attendees jeered, later chanting "four more years." Moore gestured his thumb and finger at the crowd, which translates into "loser."

During September and October 2004, Moore spoke at universities and colleges in swing states during his "Slacker Uprising Tour". The tour gave away ramen and underwear to young people who promised to vote. This provoked public denunciations from the Michigan Republican Party and attempts to convince the government that Moore should be arrested for buying votes, but since Moore did not tell the "slackers" involved for ''whom'' to vote, just to vote, district attorneys refused to get involved. Quite possibly the most controversial stop during the tour was Utah Valley State College in Orem, Utah. A fight for his right to speak ensued and resulted in massive public debates and a media blitz. Death threats, bribes and lawsuits followed. The event was chronicled in the documentary film ''This Divided State''.

Despite having supported Ralph Nader in 2000, Moore urged Nader not to run in the 2004 election so as not to split the left vote. On ''Real Time with Bill Maher'', Moore and Maher knelt before Nader to plead with him to stay out of the race. In June 2004, Moore stated that he is not a member of the Democratic party. Although Moore endorsed General Wesley Clark for the Democratic nomination on January 14, Clark withdrew from the primary race on February 11.

Moore drew attention when charging publicly that Bush was AWOL during his service in the National Guard, describing Bush as "The Deserter" (see George W. Bush military service controversy).

On April 21, 2008, Moore endorsed Barack Obama for President, stating that Hillary Clinton's recent actions had been "disgusting."

In December 2010, Moore publicly offered to contribute $20,000 to the bail of Julian Assange, then held in custody in Britain after Swedish prosecutors sent a European Arrest Warrant, wanting to question Assange for alleged sex crimes. Moore also wrote an open letter to the Swedish government, citing statistics on the increasing number of reported rape cases in Sweden. Some of these statistics appear to have been misinterpreted.

Personal life

Since 1990, Moore has been married to producer Kathleen Glynn, with whom he has a stepdaughter named Natalie. They live in Traverse City, Michigan.

Moore is a Catholic, but has said he disagrees with church teaching on subjects such as abortion and same-sex marriage. He acquired a life membership to the National Rifle Association following the Columbine massacre.

In 2005 ''Time'' magazine named him one of the world's 100 most influential people. Also in 2005, Moore started the annual Traverse City Film Festival in Traverse City, Michigan.

Moore's net worth has been estimated at "8 figures".

Controversy

Moore was criticized by Sean Hannity for criticizing capitalism while benefiting from it himself.

Published work

Bibliography

Filmography

''Roger & Me'' (1989)

''Pets or Meat: The Return to Flint'' (1992) (TV)

''Canadian Bacon'' (1995)

''The Big One'' (1997)

''And Justice for All'' (1998) (TV)

''Lucky Numbers'' (2000) (as actor)

''Bowling for Columbine'' (2002)

''The Corporation'' (2003)

''Fahrenheit 9/11'' (2004) "Palme d'Or" in Cannes

''Sicko'' (2007)

''Captain Mike Across America'' (2007)

''Slacker Uprising'' (2008)

''Capitalism: A Love Story'' (2009)

Television series

''TV Nation'' (1994)

''The Awful Truth'' (1999)

''Michael Moore Live'' (1999)

References

External links

Michael Moore on YouTube

The Populist: Michael Moore Can Make You Cry / ''New Yorker'' (16 February 2004)

America's Teacher by Naomi Klein, ''The Nation'', September 23, 2009

A 2007 NOW on PBS interview with Michael Moore What makes him tick, and why our health care system ticks him off

Michael Moore on His Life, His Films and His Activism - video interview by ''Democracy Now!''

Michael Moore on 2010 Midterm Elections, the Tea Party, and the Future of the Democratic Party

Category:1954 births Category:Living people Category:People from Flint, Michigan Category:Actors from Michigan Category:American alternative journalists Category:American anti–Iraq War activists Category:American anti-war activists Category:American documentary filmmakers Category:American film actors Category:American film directors Category:American health activists Category:American political writers Category:American social commentators Category:American writers of Irish descent Category:César Award winners Category:Documentary film directors Category:Eagle Scouts Category:Emmy Award winners Category:National Rifle Association members Category:University of Michigan alumni Category:Writers from Michigan Category:Writers Guild of America Award winners Category:Youth empowerment individuals Category:Youth rights individuals Category:Roman Catholic activists Category:Academy Award winners

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Name	Rachel Maddow
birthname	Rachel Anne Maddow
birth date	April 01, 1973
birth place	Castro Valley, California, U.S.
education	B.A., Stanford UniversityD.Phil, Oxford University
occupation	News anchorPolitical commentatorTelevision host
credits	''The Rachel Maddow Show'' (MSNBC)''The Rachel Maddow Show'' (Air America Radio)
url	http://www.rachelmaddow.com/ }}

Rachel Anne Maddow (; born April 1, 1973) is an American television host and political commentator. Her syndicated talk radio program, ''The Rachel Maddow Show'', aired on Air America Radio. Maddow hosts a nightly television show, ''The Rachel Maddow Show'', on MSNBC. She was a guest host of ''Countdown with Keith Olbermann'' and ''Race for the White House''. Maddow is the first openly gay anchor to host a prime-time news program in the United States.

Asked about her political views by the ''Valley Advocate'', Maddow replied, "I'm undoubtedly a liberal, which means that I'm in almost total agreement with the Eisenhower-era Republican party platform."

Early life and education

Maddow was born in Castro Valley, California. She is the daughter of Robert B. "Bob" Maddow, a former United States Air Force captain and a lawyer for the East Bay Municipal Utility District, and Elaine Maddow (née Gosse), a school program administrator from Newfoundland, Canada. She has one older brother, David. Her father is of Russian and Dutch descent and her mother is of English and Irish ancestry. Maddow's mother was raised a strict Roman Catholic, and Maddow herself grew up in a community that her mother has described as "very conservative." Maddow was a competitive athlete and played three sports in high school. Referencing John Hughes films, she describes herself in high school as "a cross between the jock and the antisocial girl."

A graduate of Castro Valley High School in Castro Valley, California, Maddow earned a degree in public policy from Stanford University in 1994. At graduation she was awarded the John Gardner Fellowship. She was also the recipient of a Rhodes Scholarship and began her postgraduate study in 1995 at Lincoln College, Oxford. In 2001, she earned a Doctor of Philosophy (DPhil) in politics from Oxford University. Her thesis is titled ''HIV/AIDS and Health Care Reform in British and American Prisons'' (supervisor: Dr Lucia Zedner). She was the first openly gay American to win a Rhodes scholarship.

Radio career

Maddow's first radio hosting job was at WRNX (100.9 FM) in Holyoke, Massachusetts, after she entered and won a contest the station held to find a new on-air personality. She was hired to co-host WRNX's morning show, ''The Dave in the Morning Show''. She went on to host ''Big Breakfast'' on WRSI, in Northampton, Massachusetts, for two years. She left the show in March 2004 to join the new Air America. There she hosted ''Unfiltered'' along with Chuck D (of the hip hop group Public Enemy) and Lizz Winstead (co-creator of ''The Daily Show''), until its cancellation in March 2005. Two weeks after the cancellation of ''Unfiltered'' in April 2005, Maddow's weekday two-hour radio program, ''The Rachel Maddow Show'', began airing; in March 2008 it gained an hour, broadcasting from 6 to 9 p.m. EST with David Bender filling in the third hour for the call-in section, when Maddow was on TV assignment. In September 2008, the show's length returned to two hours when Maddow began a nightly MSNBC television program. In February 2009, after renewing her contract with Air America, Maddow returned to the 5 am hourlong slot. Her last Air America show was on January 21, 2010, two weeks before its owners filed bankruptcy.

Television career

In June 2005, Maddow became a regular panelist on MSNBC's ''Tucker.'' During and after the November 2006 election, she was a frequent guest on CNN's ''Paula Zahn Now.'' In January 2008, Maddow was given the position of MSNBC political analyst and was a regular panelist on MSNBC's ''Race for the White House'' with David Gregory and MSNBC's election coverage, as well as a frequent contributor on ''Countdown with Keith Olbermann.''

In April 2008, Maddow was the substitute host for ''Countdown with Keith Olbermann'', her first time hosting a program on MSNBC. Maddow described herself on air as "nervous." Keith Olbermann complimented her work and she was brought back to host "Countdown" in May 2008. The day she hosted was the highest rated news program among people 25 to 54 years of age, a demographic key to ratings. For her success, the next Monday Olbermann ranked Maddow third in his show's segment "World's Best Persons". Maddow filled in again on ''Countdown'' for eight and a half broadcasts while Olbermann was on vacation in July 2008 and the second half of the show on July 21. Maddow also filled in for David Gregory as host of ''Race for the White House''.

''The Rachel Maddow Show''

MSNBC announced in August 2008 ''The Rachel Maddow Show'' would replace ''Verdict with Dan Abrams'' in the channel's 9 p.m. slot the next month. Since its debut, the show has topped ''Countdown'' as the highest rated show on MSNBC on several occasions. After being on air for more than a month, Maddow's program doubled the audience that hour.

Early reviews for her show were mostly positive. ''Los Angeles Times'' writer Matea Gold stated Maddow "finds the right formula on MSNBC," and ''The Guardian'' writes Maddow has become the "star of America's cable news." ''Associated Press'' columnist David Bauder said she's "[Keith] Olbermann's political soul mate" and the Olbermann-Maddow shows are a "liberal two-hour block."

Distinguishing herself from others on the left, Maddow said she's a "national security liberal" and in a different interview that she's not "a partisan." ''The New York Times'' called her a "defense policy wonk" who is writing a book on the role of the military in postwar American politics. During the 2008 presidential election, Maddow did not formally support any candidate. Concerning Barack Obama's candidacy, Maddow said during the primaries, "I have never and still don't think of myself as an Obama supporter, either professionally or actually."

Personal life

Maddow lives in Manhattan and western Massachusetts with her partner, artist Susan Mikula. The couple met in 1999, when Mikula hired Maddow to do yard work at her home. Maddow was working on her doctoral dissertation at the time. Their first date was at a National Rifle Association "Ladies' Day on the Range" event. Although Massachusetts recognizes same-sex marriage, as of 2009 Maddow and Mikula had no plans to marry.

As of 2008 Maddow did not own a television set, but was committed to getting one so that Mikula can watch her show.

2012 Massachusetts Senate race

In March 2010, Republican Scott Brown, the junior United States Senator from Massachusetts, speculated that Maddow was going to run against him for his seat in 2012. He used this premise for a fundraising email that read "...The Massachusetts political machine is looking for someone to run against me. And you're not going to believe who they are supposedly trying to recruit — liberal MSNBC anchor Rachel Maddow." Maddow said Brown's speculation was false. On her March 23, 2010, TV program, Maddow said, "I have the best job in the world. I am not running for office. Scott Brown didn't ask me if I was running or planning to run for office, before he wrote a fundraising letter with my name. No, it's completely made up by him." Despite her comments, the next day Brown continued along the same line, telling a Boston radio station, "Bring her on." To help put an end to the matter, Maddow ran a full-page advertisement in the ''Boston Globe'' confirming she was not running, and separately demanded Brown's apology. She added that despite repeated invitations over the months, Brown had refused to appear on her TV program.

Honors and awards

Maddow was named in ''Out'' magazine's "Out 100" list of the "gay men and women who moved culture" in 2008. Maddow was voted "Lesbian/Bi Woman of the Year (American)" in AfterEllen's 2008 Visibility Awards. Maddow won a Gracie Award in 2009, presented by the American Women in Radio and Television. In 2009, Maddow was nominated for GLAAD's 20th Annual Media Awards for a segment of her MSNBC show, "Rick Warren, Change To Believe In?", in the Outstanding TV Journalism Segment category. On March 28, 2009, Maddow received a Proclamation of Honor from the California State Senate, presented in San Francisco by California State Senator Mark Leno. In April 2009, she was listed at number four in ''Out'' magazine's Annual Power 50 List. Maddow placed sixth in the "2009 AfterEllen.com Hot 100" list (May 11, 2009) and third in its "2009 Hot 100: Out Women" version. Maddow was included on a list of openly gay media professionals in The Advocate's "Forty under 40" issue of June/July 2009. In 1994, Maddow was an Honorable Mention in the Elie Wiesel Foundation for Humanity Prize in Ethics. In June 2009, Maddow's MSNBC show was the only cable news show nominated for a Television Critics Association award in the ''Outstanding Achievement in News and Information'' category. In March 2010, Maddow won at the 21st Annual GLAAD Media Awards in the category, ''Outstanding TV Journalism- Newsmagazine'' for her segment, "Uganda Be Kidding Me". Maddow was the 2010 commencement speaker and was given an honorary Doctor of Laws (LLD) degree at Smith College in Northampton, MA in May 2010. In July 2010, Maddow was presented with a ''Maggie Award'' for her ongoing reporting of healthcare reform, the murder of Dr. George Tiller, and the anti-abortion movement. In August 2010, Maddow won the ''Walter Cronkite Faith & Freedom Award'', which was presented by The Interfaith Alliance. Past honorees included Larry King, Tom Brokaw, and the late Peter Jennings.

References

External links

Profile and show at MSNBC

Category:1973 births Category:Alumni of Lincoln College, Oxford Category:American anti–Iraq War activists Category:American people of Canadian descent Category:American political pundits Category:American Rhodes scholars Category:American talk radio hosts Category:American television personalities Category:American women journalists Category:LGBT journalists Category:LGBT people from the United States Category:LGBT radio personalities Category:LGBT rights activists from the United States Category:LGBT television personalities Category:Living people Category:MSNBC Category:NBC News Category:People from the San Francisco Bay Area Category:Stanford University alumni

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name	Sushma Swaraj
office	Leader of Opposition (Lok Sabha)
term start	18 December 2009
predecessor	Lal Krishna Advani
constituency	Vidisha (Madhya Pradesh)
office1	Minister of Information and Broadcasting
term start1	30 September 2000
term end1	29 January 2003
primeminister1	Atal Bihari Vajpayee
office2	Chief Minister of Delhi
term start2	13 October 1998
term end2	3 December 1998
office3	Minister of Information and Broadcasting and Telecommunications
term start3	19 March 1998
term end3	12 October 1998
primeminister3	Atal Bihari Vajpayee
office4	Minister of Information and Broadcasting
term start4	16 May 1996
term end4	1 June 1996
primeminister4	Atal Bihari Vajpayee
office5	Haryana State Minister of Education, Food and Civil Supplies
term start5	1987
term end5	1990
office6	Haryana State Minister of Labour and Employment
term start6	1977
term end6	1979
birth date	February 14, 1952
birth place	Palwal, Haryana
party	Bharatiya Janata Party
alma mater	Punjab University, Chandigarh
religion	Hinduism
spouse	Swaraj Kaushal
residence	New Delhi
party	Bharatiya Janata Party
profession	Lawyer }}

Sushma Swaraj () (born 14 February 1952) is an Indian politician of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)and Member of Parliament. She is currently the Leader of the Opposition in the 15th Lok Sabha. She is a former union cabinet minister of India and a former Chief Minister of Delhi. Also she served as the Chairperson of the BJP's 19 member campaign committee for the 2009 General Elections. She was the first female chief minister of Delhi.

Early life

She was born in Palwal, Haryana in a Hindu Family. She was educated at S.D. College, Ambala Cantonment and earned a B.A. degree. She studied LL.B. from the Law Department of Punjab University, Chandigarh. She is an advocate by profession.

She has been associated with many social and cultural bodies in various capacities. She was President of the Hindi Sahitya Sammelan, Haryana for four years.

Political career

Sushma Swaraj began her political career as a student leader in the 1970s, organizing protests against Indira Gandhi's government. She was a member of the Haryana Legislative Assembly from 1977–82 and then from 1987–90. As a Janata Party MLA in Devi Lal's government, she was the Cabinet Minister of Labour and Employment (1977–1979). She joined the BJP in 1980. Under a combined Lok Dal-BJP government led by Devi Lal, she was the Cabinet Minister of Education, Food and Civil Supplies (1987–1990). She was judged Best Speaker of Haryana State Assembly for three consecutive years.

In 1980, 1984, and 1989, she unsuccessfully contested the Lok Sabha elections from Karnal in Haryana. All three times, she was defeated by the Congress Party's Chiranji Lal Sharma.

She was elected as a member of the Rajya Sabha in 1990. In 1996, she was elected to the 11th Lok Sabha from South Delhi. She was Union Cabinet Minister of Information and Broadcasting in 1996, during the 13-day Atal Bihari Vajpayee Government.

She was re-elected to 12th Lok Sabha for a 2nd term in 1998. Under the second Vajpayee government, she retained the Information and Broadcasting ministry and had additional charge of the Ministry of Telecommunications from 19 March to 12 October 1998.

She left the Union Cabinet from October – December 1998 to serve as the first woman Chief Minister of Delhi. The BJP lost the assembly elections, and she returned to national politics.

In 1999, she took on a high profile as she contested against the Congress party's President, Sonia Gandhi, from the Bellary constituency in Karnatka, which had returned Congress winners since India's independence. The fervent, high-pitched campaign came to an end with the expected loss of Sushma, Gandhi polled 51.7 percent of the vote, Swaraj coming not too far behind with 44.7 percent.

She returned to Parliament in April 2000 as a Rajya Sabha member from Uttarakhand. She was re-inducted into the cabinet as the Minister of Information and Broadcasting, which she held from September 2000 until January 2003. At that time, she was made the Minister of Health and Family Welfare, and also held the post of Minister of Parliamentary Affairs. She held these posts from January 2003 until May 2004, when the National Democratic Alliance government lost elections.

In a heavily publicized and emotionally charged episode following the elections, Sushma Swaraj threatened to shave her head, don a white saree and eat groundnuts (symbolically mourning) if Sonia Gandhi, the Italian-born Congress leader, became Prime Minister of India.

She was re-elected to the Rajya Sabha in April 2006 from Madhya Pradesh. She served as the deputy leader of BJP in Rajya Sabha. Speculation ran high that Sushma Swaraj was one of the top contenders to be President of the BJP, following Advani's resignation from that role in late 2005. Rajnath Singh ultimately was elected to that post.

She won the 2009 election to the 15th Lok Sabha from the Vidisha constituency in Madhya Pradesh, on a BJP candidacy, by a highest margin of 4.01 lakh votes. This is her 10th election.

Leader of the opposition

Sushma Swaraj appointed as leader of the opposition party and replaced Lal Krishna Advani in December 2009 in the 15th Lok Sabha,

Personal life

She married Swaraj Kaushal on 13 July 1975 and has a daughter.

Positions held

1977–82 and 1987–90 Member, Haryana Legislative Assembly. 1977–79 Cabinet Minister, Labour and Employment, Government of Haryana. 1987–90 Cabinet Minister, Education, Food and Civil Supplies, Government of Haryana.

April 1990 Elected to Rajya Sabha

1996 Member, Eleventh Lok Sabha

16 May-1 June 1996 Union Cabinet Minister, Information and Broadcasting.

1998 Member, Twelfth Lok Sabha (2nd term)

19 March-12 Oct.1998 Union Cabinet Minister, Information and Broadcasting and Telecommunications (Additional charge)

13 Oct.-3 Dec. 1998 Chief Minister, Delhi

April 2000 Elected to Rajya Sabha (2nd term)

30 Sept. 2000–29 Jan. 2003 Minister of Information and Broadcasting

29 Jan. 2003 – 22 May 2004 Minister of Health and Family Welfare and Minister of Parliamentary Affairs

April 2006 Re-elected to Rajya Sabha (3rd term) 16 May 2009 Elected to the 15th Lok Sabha. 3 June 2009 Elected as Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha..

18 Dec 2009 Sushma Swaraj appointed as leader of the opposition party and replaced Lal Krishna Advani in December 2009.

References

Category:People from Ambala Category:1952 births Category:Living people Category:Indian politicians Category:Bharatiya Janata Party politicians Category:Chief Ministers of Delhi Category:Indian women in politics Category:Panjab University alumni Category:People from Delhi Category:Leaders of the Opposition (India) Category:Indian Hindus Category: Indian women lawyers

hi:सुषमा स्वराज mr:सुषमा स्वराज ta:சுஷ்மா சுவராஜ் te:సుష్మాస్వరాజ్

Name	Herman Cain
Office	Chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City
Term start	1995
Term end	1996
Predecessor	Burton A. Dole, Jr
Successor	A. Drue Jennings
Office2	Deputy Chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City
Term start2	1992
Term end2	1994
Predecessor2	Burton A. Dole, Jr
Successor2	A. Drue Jennings
Birth date	December 13, 1945
Birth place	Memphis, Tennessee, US
Residence	Sandy Springs, Georgia, US
Occupation	BusinessmanRadio hostColumnist
Party	Republican
Spouse	Gloria Cain
Children	Melanie Cain and Vincent Cain
Religion	National Baptist
Alma mater	Morehouse College (B.A.)Purdue University (M.S.)
Website	hermancain.com }}

Herman Cain (born December 13, 1945) is an American businessman, politician, columnist, and radio host from Georgia. He is the former chairman and CEO of Godfather's Pizza and a former deputy chairman (1992–94) and chairman (1995–96) of the board of directors to the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City. Before his business and economics career he worked as a mathematician in ballistics for the United States Navy. Cain's newspaper column is distributed by North Star Writers Group. He lives in the Atlanta suburbs, where he also serves as a minister at Antioch Baptist Church North.

In January 2011, Cain announced he had formed an exploratory committee for a potential presidential campaign for the Republican presidential nomination in 2012, and on May 21, 2011, Cain officially announced his candidacy.

Background

Cain was born in Memphis, Tennessee, on December 13, 1945, the son of Lenora (née Davis) and Luther Cain, Jr. His mother was a cleaner and his father was a chauffeur. He was raised in Georgia. He graduated from Morehouse College in 1967 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in mathematics and received a Master of Science degree in computer science from Purdue University in 1971, while he was also working full-time in ballistics for the U.S. Department of the Navy. Cain has authored four books: ''Leadership is Common Sense'' (1997), ''Speak as a Leader'' (1999), ''CEO of SELF'' (October 2001), and ''They Think You're Stupid'' (May 2005). He also authored an article titled "The Intangibles of Implementation" in the technical journal ''Interfaces'' (Vol. 9, No. 5, 1979, pp. 144-147), published by the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences (INFORMS).

Business career

After completing his master's degree from Purdue, Cain left the Department of the Navy and began working for The Coca-Cola Company as a business analyst. In 1977, he joined Pillsbury where he rose to the position of Vice President by the early 1980s. He left his executive post to work for Burger King – a Pillsbury subsidiary at the time – managing 400 stores in the Philadelphia area. Under Cain's leadership, his region went from the least profitable for Burger King to the most profitable in three years. This prompted Pillsbury to appoint him President and CEO of Godfather's Pizza, another of their then-subsidiaries. Within 14 months, Cain had returned Godfather's to profitability. In 1988, Cain and a group of investors bought Godfather's from Pillsbury. Cain continued as CEO until 1996, when he resigned to become CEO of the National Restaurant Association – a trade group and lobby organization for the restaurant industry – where he had previously been chairman concurrently with his role at Godfather's.

Cain became a member of the board of directors to the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City in 1992 and served as its chairman from January 1995 to August 1996, when he resigned to become active in national politics. Cain was a 1996 recipient of the Horatio Alger Award.

Cain was on the board of directors of Aquila, Inc. from 1992 to 2008, and also served as a board member for Nabisco, Whirlpool, Reader's Digest, and AGCO, Inc.

Media work

Cain serves as a commentator for Fox Business; he is also a syndicated columnist distributed by the North Star Writers Group. Until February 2011, Cain hosted ''The Herman Cain Show'' on Atlanta talk radio station News Talk 750 WSB, a Cox Radio affiliate. In 2009, Cain founded "Hermanator's Intelligent Thinkers Movement" (HITM), aimed at organizing 100,000 activists in every congressional district in the United States in support of a strong national defense, the FairTax, tax cuts, energy independence, capping government spending, and restructuring Social Security.

Political activities

Role in the defeat of the Clinton health care plan

Cain publicly opposed the 1993/1994 health care plan of President Bill Clinton and First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton. As president-elect of the National Restaurant Association, he challenged Bill Clinton on the costs of the employer mandate contained within the bill and criticizing its effect on small businesses. Cain has been described as one of the primary "saboteurs" of the plan: :The Clintons would later blame "Harry and Louise," the fictional couple in the ads aired by the insurance industry, for undermining health reform. But the real saboteurs are named Herman and John. Herman Cain is the president of Godfather's Pizza and president-elect of the National Restaurant Association. An articulate black entrepreneur, Cain transformed the debate when he challenged Clinton at a town meeting in Kansas City, Mo., last April. Cain asked the president what he was supposed to say to the workers he would have to lay off because of the cost of the "employer mandate." Clinton responded that there would be plenty of subsidies for small businessmen, but Cain persisted. "Quite honestly, your calculation is inaccurate," he told the president. "In the competitive marketplace it simply doesn't work that way." Joshua Green of ''The Atlantic'' has called Cain's exchange with Clinton his "auspicious debut on the national political stage."

1996 Senior Advisor of Dole/Kemp Campaign

Cain was a senior economic advisor to the Dole/Kemp presidential campaign in 1996.

2000 presidential campaign

Cain briefly ran for the Republican presidential nomination in 2000; he says it was more about making political statements than winning the nomination. "George W. Bush was the chosen one, he had the campaign DNA that followers look for." However, Cain went on to state, "I believe that I had a better message and I believe that I was the better messenger."

2004 U.S. Senate candidacy

In 2004, Cain ran for the U.S. Senate in Georgia, pursuing the seat that came open with the retirement of Democrat Zell Miller. Cain sought the Republican nomination, facing congressmen Johnny Isakson and Mac Collins in the primary. Cain and Collins both hoped to deny Isakson a majority on primary day in order to force him into a runoff. Collins tried to paint Cain as a moderate, citing Cain's support for affirmative action programs, while Cain argued that he was a conservative, noting that he opposed the legality of abortion even in cases of rape and incest. Cain finished second in the primary with 26.2% of the vote, ahead of Collins, who won 20.6%, but because Isakson won 53.2% of the vote, Isakson was able to avoid a runoff.

2012 presidential candidacy

In 2010, "Cain addressed more than 40 Tea Party rallies, hit all the early presidential states, and became a YouTube sensation." In April, he teased the audience at the Southern Republican Leadership Conference about his being a possible 2012 presidential candidate by saying that there may be a "dark horse candidate." On September 24, 2010, Cain announced that he was considering a run for president in 2012 on the Republican Party ticket. "In December, he was the surprise choice for 2012 GOP nominee in a reader poll on the conservative Web site RedState.com, narrowly edging out [Sarah] Palin."

Cain announced the formation of a presidential exploratory committee on January 12, 2011 on the Fox News Channel program ''Your World with Neil Cavuto''.

Cain supports a non-federally subsidized efficient economic stimulus, saying: "We could grow this economy faster if we had bolder, more direct stimulus policies," criticizing President Barack Obama's stimulus plan as simply a "spending bill" instead of meaningful stimulus through permanent tax cuts.

In February 2011, Cain addressed the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC). Ed Morrisey of the conservative website Hot Air said he "stole the show" and that some attendees were moved to tears by the speech. In contrast, liberal website AlterNet accused Cain of pandering to white conservatives and referred to him and other black conservatives as "garbage pail kids". Cain called the news website's attacks racist and condemned its "shameful behavior".

A number of comments made by Cain regarding his attitudes towards Muslim people have caused controversy. He has stated that he was "uncomfortable" when he found that the surgeon operating on his liver and colon cancer was Muslim, later explaining "based upon the little knowledge that I have of the Muslim religion, you know, they have an objective to convert all infidels or kill them". Following a number of such comments, he was asked in March 2011 if he would feel comfortable appointing a Muslim to his administration or as a Judge. Cain said "No, I will not ... There's this creeping attempt, there's this attempt, to gradually ease Shariah Law, and the Muslim faith into our government. It does not belong in our government" and he went on to cite court cases in Oklahoma and New Jersey as evidence. He was criticized for this remark by conservatives at Grover Norquist's weekly Wednesday Gatherings, one of whom called the remark "frightening." Cain's statement was also criticized as "bigotry" and "muslim bashing" from CAIR, whose spokesperson stated "It would be laughable if it weren't having such a negative impact on the lives of Muslim Americans". Cain opposed the building of an Islamic Center for a Muslim community at a site in Tennessee, claiming that it was "an infringement and an abuse of our freedom of religion" and "just another way to try to gradually sneak Shariah law into our laws". Defending himself against the suggestion that this would be bigotry or discrimination during an interview with Chris Wallace, he defended his position, saying "I'm willing to take a harder look at people who might be terrorists, that's what I'm saying".

In an interview with Bloomberg view, Cain argued that he is a 'black American' rather than an 'African American' on account of being able to trace his ancestors within the US, describing Barack Obama as "more of an international...look, he was raised in Kenya, his mother was white from Kansas and her family had an influence on him, it’s true, but his dad was Kenyan". Interviewer Jeffrey Goldberg pointed out that Obama had spent 4 years of his childhood abroad, and that it was in Indonesia – not Kenya, at which point Cain revised his claim.

On May 5, 2011 Fox News presented a presidential campaign debate. Cain was one of five potential candidates who participated. (The others were Tim Pawlenty, Ron Paul, Gary Johnson and Rick Santorum as the higher-profile candidates declined Fox's invitation.) Cain was declared the winner by pollster Frank Luntz after a show of hands among 29 debate witnesses who were chosen by Fox to act as a post-performance focus group.

On June 3, 2011, an Insider-Advantage poll showed Cain leading the field of Republican primary candidates among Georgia Republicans. A July 2011 Zogby poll showed Cain in second place nationally, with 18% of the vote, behind Michele Bachmann and ahead of Romney.

Political positions

Personal life

Religious involvement

Cain is an associate minister at Antioch Baptist Church North in Atlanta, which he joined at the age of 10. The church is part of the National Baptist Convention, USA.

Cancer

In 2006, Cain was diagnosed with Stage IV cancer in both his colon and his liver. Cain underwent surgery and chemotherapy following the diagnosis, and has since reported that he is cancer-free.

Race

Cain has shared first-hand accounts of racial discrimination. In a YouTube video uploaded by his campaign, he describes the experience of sitting behind the white/black demarcation on buses. He also talks about the experience of taking turns with his brother, standing watch as each took a drink from the "white" side of a segregated water fountain in a department store.

Honorary degrees

Cain is the recipient of eight honorary degrees from Creighton, Johnson & Wales, Morehouse College, Nebraska, New York City Technical College, Purdue, Suffolk University, and Tougaloo College.

References

External links

Herman Cain, President 2012 official campaign website

Column archives at the North Star Writers Group

Profile at ''Forbes''

Watch Herman Cain Battle Bill Clinton on Health Care, Joshua Green, ''The Atlantic'', January 2011, with Profile

Category:1945 births Category:Living people Category:African American United States presidential candidates Category:African American radio personalities Category:American businesspeople Category:American chief executives Category:American columnists Category:American political writers Category:American talk radio hosts Category:Colorectal cancer survivors Category:Georgia (U.S. state) Republicans Category:Morehouse College alumni Category:People from Atlanta, Georgia Category:People from Memphis, Tennessee Category:Purdue University alumni Category:Radio personalities from Atlanta, Georgia Category:United States presidential candidates, 2012 Category:Businesspeople from Tennessee

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