Andy Martin
Born	Anthony Robert Martin-Trigona 1945 Middletown, Connecticut
Known for	Litigation and allegations involving Barack Obama's birthplace and father

Anthony Robert Martin-Trigona, usually known as Andy Martin (born 1945) is an American perennial candidate for political office and recurrent litigant.

The Nation,^[1] The Washington Post,^[2] and The New York Times^[3] identified him as the primary source of false rumors that then-presidential candidate Barack Obama was secretly a Muslim. In a later interview with CNN, Martin explicitly abandoned this view and now asserts Obama's real father is not Barack Obama, Sr., but African American journalist Frank Marshall Davis.^[4]

On October 17, 2008, Martin filed a lawsuit against the state of Hawaii calling for the public release of Barack Obama's birth certificate and other vital records. To counter rumors that Obama is not a natural-born citizen of the United States, the Obama campaign previously posted an image of his short-form birth certificate online.^[5][6] Martin's lawsuit sought a copy of Sen. Obama's long-form birth certificate. The Hawaii Supreme Court later denied Martin's request.

Life and career[link]

Martin was born in 1945 in Middletown, Connecticut.^[7] His father, Ralph Beneducci Martin-Trigona, was of Italian, Maltese, and English descent, and his mother, Helen Anthony (née Vasiliou), was Greek American.^[8][9] He received a B.A. from the University of Illinois in 1966, and a J.D. from that institution in 1969.

In 1973 the Illinois Supreme Court refused to grant Martin a license to practice law in the state due to such conduct as attempting to have a parking violation thrown out because it had been "entered by an insane judge" and for commenting that an attorney, who suffers from a mild case of cerebral palsy, was "shaking and tottering and drooling like an idiot." The court also cited Martin's Selective Service record, which attributed to him a "moderately severe character defect manifested by well-documented ideation with a paranoid flavor and a grandiose character."^[10] Martin holds that the remark was written out of spite by an evaluator with whom he had a dispute.^[3]

Martin then became involved in consumer advocacy and referred to himself as "the people's attorney general". He took credit for being the first to file suit under the civil component of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO), as well as the first to file antitrust actions against the Big Three television networks for anticompetitive practices in network affiliation agreements.^[11]

Political campaigns[link]

Martin grew up as a Democrat, and served as an intern to Senator Paul Douglas in the summer of 1966. In 1977, he ran in a special election for mayor of Chicago, but lost to acting mayor Michael Bilandic.

Over the years, he has run for various offices in Connecticut, Florida and Illinois as a Democrat, a Republican and an independent. Among them:

• U.S. Senator from Illinois, 1978 (Democratic primary)
• U.S. Senator from Illinois, 1980 (Democratic primary)
• U.S. House from Connecticut, 1986 (Republican primary)
• President of the United States, 1988 (Democratic primary)
• Governor of Florida, 1990 (Republican primary)
• U.S. House from Florida, 1992 (Republican primary)
• Florida State Senate, 1996 (unsuccessful Republican nominee)
• U.S. Senator from Florida, 1998 (Republican primary)
• President of the United States, 2000 (Republican primary)
• U.S. Senator from Florida, 2000 (unsuccessful independent candidate)
• U.S. Senator from Illinois, 2004 (Republican primary, removed from ballot according to Illinois State Board of Elections)
• U.S. Senator from Florida, 2004 (Republican primary)
• Governor of Illinois, 2006 (Republican primary)
• U.S. Senator from Illinois, 2008 (Republican primary)
• U.S. Senator from Illinois, 2010 (Republican primary)
• President of the United States, 2012 (Republican primary)^[12][13]

His 1996 run for the Florida State Senate came unraveled when it was revealed that he had named his campaign committee for his 1986 congressional run "The Anthony R. Martin-Trigona Congressional Campaign to Exterminate Jew Power in America." The revelation led the state Republican Party to renounce him. Just before the election, he assaulted two cameramen from WPTV, the NBC affiliate in West Palm Beach. He was convicted of criminal mischief and sentenced to a year in jail. He was freed pending appeal, but made personal attacks on the judge while on the way out of the courtroom. The judge held Martin in criminal contempt of court and sentenced him to seven months in jail. However, he was let out of jail after only a month due to a "paperwork glitch". Martin never returned, and a warrant was issued for his arrest. If he is ever arrested, he will have to serve 16 months in jail.^[7] The warrant was still outstanding at least as of the time of Martin's 2008 Senate run, but he said the issue is being "resolved."^[14]

During his 2000 run for president, he accused George W. Bush of using cocaine. In 2003, several months before Saddam Hussein was captured, he claimed to have found the former Iraqi dictator's hideout.^[7]

Martin was a 2010 Republican candidate for U.S. Senator in Illinois for the seat being vacated by Sen. Roland Burris.^[15] In December 2009, Martin ran radio ads which included Martin requesting that one of his primary opponents, Congressman Mark Kirk, answer claims about his sexuality made by Jack Roeser, a radio talk show host.^[16] Another ad alleged, that Kirk, as well as, former House Speaker Dennis Hastart, had always known of fellow Congressman Mark Foley's relationship with a former Page, and had done "Nothing to stop Foley's Pedophilia, for years", and said, that by extension, Kirk was "A De facto pedophile".^[17][18] In response, the state Republican Party announced that Martin would no longer be recognized as a legitimate candidate.^[16][19] Martin returned 37,359 votes, five percent of the total votes.^[20] He attempted to run for the U.S. Senate in the general election as a member of the Reform Party of Illinois, but he did not qualify for the ballot.^[21]

Litigation and anti-semitism allegations[link]

Over the years, Martin has filed numerous lawsuits, and has been labeled as a vexatious litigant by several jurisdictions. Edward Weinfeld, a federal judge for the Southern District of New York, observed that he had a tendency to file "a substantial number of lawsuits of a vexatious, frivolous and scandalous nature."^[10] A number of these filings were allegedly anti-Semitic in nature. In a 1983 bankruptcy case, he filed a motion calling the presiding judge "a crooked, slimy Jew who has a history of lying and thieving common to members of his race."^[3] In another motion that year, Martin stated, "I am able to understand how the Holocaust took place, and with every passing day feel less and less sorry that it did."^[3] He went on to say that "Jew survivors are operating as a wolf pack to steal my property." ^[22] When later pressed in an interview about his remarks, Martin claimed that the anti-Semitic comments were inserted into his court papers by malicious judges.^[3]

In 1983, Jose Cabranes, a federal judge for the United States District Court for the District of Connecticut, issued a sweeping injunction barring Martin or anyone acting "at his behest, at his direction or instigation, or in concert with him" from filing any new action or proceeding in any federal or state court without first seeking permission from the court in which he wished to file that action or proceeding.^[23] In his ruling, Cabranes noted that Martin had a tendency to file legal actions with "persistence, viciousness, and general disregard for decency and logic." According to Cabranes, Martin's practice was to file "an incessant stream of frivolous or meritless motions, demands, letters to the court and other documents," as well as "vexatious lawsuits" against anyone who dared cross him, including court personnel and their families. For instance, in the midst of the proceeding, Martin sued Judge Cabranes himself, along with the judge's wife. Martin then sought, unsuccessfully, to have Cabranes recused. ^[24]

On appeal from Judge Cabranes' ruling, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals limited the scope of the injunction to federal courts, but stated that the federal courts were constitutionally obligated to protect themselves and the administration of justice from vexatious litigants like Martin.^[25]

Since then, Martin has continued his pattern of filing legal actions. He has repeatedly been cited for contempt for violating the federal injunction.^[26] The United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida estimated that he has filed thousands of proceedings over the years. In 1993 the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals determined that his mother was acting in concert with him by filing a federal civil rights action against several Florida state officials. The court noted similar wording in the suit filed by Martin's mother and a petition filed by Martin himself. In throwing out the suit, the Eleventh Circuit called Martin "a notoriously vexatious and vindictive litigator who has long abused the American legal system."^[23] Most recently, a libel and invasion of privacy suit against Media Matters and its founder, David Brock, was dismissed with prejudice because Martin had violated the terms of the injunction.^[27]

Martin has been sanctioned at the state level as well. He is banned from seeking indigent status in Florida courts due to his history of filing abusive petitions.^[28] Martin is also prohibited from filing lawsuits in New York, unless represented by an attorney or with the court's prior approval. ^[29]

Role in rumors about Obama[link]

Allegations of Obama being a Muslim[link]

According to a report by journalist Chris Hayes for The Nation, Martin issued a press release shortly after Obama's keynote speech at the 2004 Democratic National Convention that he had evidence Obama "lied to the American people" and "misrepresent[ed] his own heritage." Martin claimed that Obama was really a Muslim, was possibly hiding this fact "to endanger Israel,"^[1] and that "[Obama's] Muslim religion would obviously raise serious questions in many Jewish circles."^[3]

Within a few days, the conservative site Free Republic picked up Martin's press release, triggering a long discussion. However, according to Hayes, the issue went dormant after Obama's election to the Senate, only to pick up again in 2006 as rumors spread that Obama was considering a presidential run.^[1] In October, a conservative blog, Infidel Bloggers Alliance, reposted Martin's press release in response to a question about Obama's heritage.^[30] Then, on December 26, conservative activist Ted Sampley, co-founder of Vietnam Veterans Against John Kerry, posted a column suggesting Obama was a closeted Muslim, heavily quoting Martin's original press release.^[31] According to Hayes, the first of many emails suggesting Obama was a Muslim was forwarded to Snopes within hours of Sampley's story. Hayes believes that the email was likely a slightly altered version of the Sampley article, which was in turn heavily based on Martin's 2004 press release. Martin told Hayes that he got numerous calls once the emails began circulating. When the callers asked him if he wrote the release, Martin replied, "They are all my children."^[1]

On June 28, 2008 Martin told the Washington Post that he wasn't "trying to smear anybody," but that it was "just an underreported story."^[2]

Jerome Corsi's book The Obama Nation, published on August 1, 2008, opens with a quote from Andy Martin on Obama's alleged Muslim heritage and supposed attempts to conceal it.^[3] Jim Rutenberg of The New York Times says that the book has been "widely discredited".^[3]

On October 5, 2008, Martin was featured as a "journalist" on Hannity's America of the Fox News Channel. According to The New York Times, "The program allowed Mr. Martin to assert falsely and without challenge that Mr. Obama had once trained to overthrow the government."^[3] In a subsequent appearance on Hannity & Colmes, Robert Gibbs, Obama's communications director, criticized Hannity for allowing Martin to appear on the show.^[32]

Fox Senior Vice President Bill Shine later retracted support for Martin as a guest: "Having that guy on was a mistake. We obviously didn't do enough research on who the guest was."^[33][34]

Allegations of Obama's father being Frank Marshall Davis[link]

In an interview featured on the CNN network's American Morning program on October 27, 2008, Andy Martin explicitly abandoned his view that Barack Obama is a Muslim.^[4] In the interview, Martin asserts a newer view that Obama is not the son of Barack Obama, Sr., but is rather the son of Frank Marshall Davis, an African American journalist and political activist who wrote for a newspaper in Hawaii in the 1940s and 1950s that was accused by the House Un-American Activities Committee as being a front for the Communist Party USA.^[4] Martin claimed that he discovered this after his recent trip to Honolulu, although he offered CNN no substantive proof for the claim.^[4]

Lawsuit against the state of Hawaii[link]

Senator Barack Obama's short-form birth certificate

On October 17, 2008, Martin filed a lawsuit in a state circuit court of Hawaii against Governor Linda Lingle and health department director Dr. Chiyome Fukino seeking to verify the state's official birth certificate of Barack Obama.^[35] Months before this suit, the Obama campaign posted an image of his short-form birth certificate online.^[5][6] Martin's lawsuit sought to order the state to release a copy of Sen. Obama's long-form birth certificate.^[36]

The short-form birth certificate that the Obama campaign posted online states that his date of birth as August 4, 1961, his place of birth as Honolulu, Hawaii, and other details.^[35] Martin was quoted as saying, "I want to see a certified copy issued by the state of Hawai'i, not one issued by the state of Obama."^[35]

Hawaii State Department and Health spokeswoman Janice Okubo stated that only people with a "tangible relationship" to Barack Obama can access a copy of his birth certificate, adding that a 1949 law "was enacted primarily to protect your private information, especially in these days where there's ID theft."^[35] Attorney General Mark Bennett stated that he has not seen the lawsuit and cannot comment on it, but says that according to Hawaii Revised Statutes it is unlawful to release vital records to anyone except individuals listed in state records as having close relations with Obama (i.e. a spouse, parents, descendants, or someone with a common ancestor).^[35] In regard to a designee representing Obama, Okubo says "If someone from Obama's campaign gave us permission in person and presented some kind of verification that he or she was Obama's designee, we could release the vital record."^[35]

On October 22, 2008, in a Honolulu court proceeding overseen by the Honorable Bert I. Ayabe of the First Circuit of the Supreme Court of Hawaii, the court denied Martin's petition No. 29414 for a writ of mandamus to order the release of Obama's vital records. The official document of the original proceedings states:

Upon consideration of the petition for a writ of mandamus filed by petitioner Andy Martin and the papers in support, it appears that the issuance by the Department of Health of a certified copy of a vital statistics record to petitioner was not mandatory, but involved the exercise of discretion and judgment...the department shall not permit inspection of public health statistics records, or issue a certified copy of any such record or part thereof, unless it is satisfied that the applicant has a direct and tangible interest in the record...Therefore, petitioner is not entitled to mandamus relief against the respondent public officials...IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the petition for a writ of mandamus is denied."^[37]

A further hearing was held on November 18. On November 19, the court denied Martin's "emergency motion" and dismissed Martin's lawsuit, based on Martin's lack of legal standing to obtain another person's birth document.^[38]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikinews has related news: Wikinews interviews Andy Martin, U.S. Republican Party presidential candidate

• Martin's personal Website
• Presidential campaign website
• Campaign finance reports and data at the Federal Election Commission

Bob McChesney performs at the U.S. Navy School of Music in 2011.

Bob McChesney is an LA based jazz and studio trombonist, famous for his use and mastery of the 'doodle - tongue,' a method of articulation on the trombone as well as his ultra fast and melodic solos.

Biography[link]

Mr. McChesney is a trombonist born in Maryland, and began studying trombone at the age of nine, and holds a bachelor's degree from State University of New York at Fredonia. He moved to Los Angeles in 1979.

Some of his film credits include Rocky Balboa, The Pursuit of Happyness, Everyone's Hero, The Good Shepherd, Mystic River, Rush Hour 2, Bringing Down the House, The Cooler, Space Jam, and many others. TV shows featuring his work include The Simpsons, Family Guy, American Dad, Happy Hour, Looney Tunes, JAG, King of the Hill, Futurama, and more.

Discography[link]

He can be heard as a jazz soloist on his own "No Laughing Matter - The Bob McChesney Quartet Plays Steve Allen", Horace Silver's It's Got to Be Funky (1993), Bob Florence's Grammy 2000 winning CD "Serendipity 18", along with others.

External links[link]

• http://www.bobmcchesney.com/

Martin Freeman
Martin Freeman during filming of Sherlock in 2010
Born	Martin John C. Freeman (1971-09-08) 8 September 1971 (age 40) Aldershot, Hampshire, England
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1997 – present
Awards	BAFTA TV - Best Supporting Actor for Sherlock (2011)

Martin John C. Freeman (born 8 September 1971)^[1] is an English actor. He is known for his roles as Tim Canterbury in the BBC's Golden Globe-winning comedy The Office, John in Love Actually, Arthur Dent in the film adaptation of Douglas Adams' The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Dr. Watson in Sherlock and Paul Maddens in Nativity!. He has been cast in the lead role of Bilbo Baggins in Peter Jackson's two-part adaptation of The Hobbit.^[2]

Early life[link]

Martin Freeman was born in Aldershot, Hampshire, the youngest of five children. His father, Geoffrey, a naval officer, and his mother, Philomena separated when Freeman was a child, and when Freeman was ten, Geoffrey died of a heart attack. Freeman was raised Roman Catholic. As a child, Freeman was asthmatic, and had to undergo a hip operation due to a "dodgy" leg. He was schooled at a Catholic comprehensive before attending London's Central School of Speech and Drama.^[3][4]

In an edition of Who Do You Think You Are? aired on 19 August 2009, he discovered that his grandfather, Leonard Freeman, was a member of the Royal Army Medical Corps during World War II.^[5] Private L W Freeman, a Territorial Army volunteer in the 150(N) Field Ambulance Regiment, was killed in Northern France on 24 May 1940 in a Stuka dawn attack. His unit was evacuated from Dunkirk two days later.

Career[link]

Freeman joined a youth theatre group at 15, but it was not until he was 17 that his confidence in his acting had led to the decision to pursue it as a career.^[3]

Freeman has appeared in at least 18 TV shows, 14 theatre productions, and several radio productions. He is notable for his role as Tim Canterbury in The Office. He also appeared in the sitcom Hardware. Additionally Freeman has appeared in several films, including Sacha Baron Cohen's Ali G Indahouse (2002) and Richard Curtis' Love Actually (2003). As well as his various comic roles, Freeman has also appeared in serious dramatic parts. He began to move into more serious dramatic roles on television with his appearance as Lord Shaftesbury in the 2003 BBC historical drama Charles II: The Power and The Passion. He can also be seen making a brief appearance in the first episode of the second series of This Life. Freeman also starred in the BBC's television series The Robinsons and had a cameo performance in episode 1 of Black Books.

He had a cameo in Hot Fuzz (2007), a film written by Shaun of the Dead writers Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright, and had a brief non-speaking role in Shaun of the Dead as Yvonne's boyfriend, Declan. He is in the 2007 film The All Together written & directed by Gavin Claxton. He also appeared alongside Roger Lloyd Pack, Jamie Hogarth and Christopher Mellows in the 2007 Bill Kenwright theatre production of The Last Laugh.

He also features in the video for Faith No More's cover of "I Started a Joke". He has recently covered a few shows on BBC 6 Music. In May 2009 he starred in a comedy, called Boy Meets Girl – a four part drama that charts the progress of characters Veronica and Danny after an accident which causes them to swap bodies.^[6]

He has starred in a 48 hour film project entitled 'The Girl Is Mime'.

Freeman plays Dr. John Watson in Sherlock, the BBC contemporary adaptation of the Sherlock Holmes detective stories. The first episode, "A Study in Pink", was broadcast on 25 July 2010 to critical acclaim. For his performance in the role he won the BAFTA award for Best Supporting Actor, 2011.

Freeman will play Bilbo Baggins, the main character in the two-part Peter Jackson film series The Hobbit.^[7][8]

Personal life[link]

Freeman resides in Hertfordshire with his partner,^[9] actress Amanda Abbington, whom he met on the set of Channel 4’s Men Only in 2000. The couple have a son and daughter,^[3][4] and have since appeared in other productions together, including Picking Up The Pieces, The Debt, The Robinsons and the feature film comedy The All Together.

Freeman is a lifelong fan of Motown music and interviewed Smokey Robinson in an edition of The Culture Show aired in October 2009.^[10]

Freeman is a vegetarian.^[11]

Filmography[link]

Films[link]

Television[link]

Awards and nominations[link]

References[link]

External links[link]