title: Baltasar Garzón

texts:
 former dictator for a crime committed abroad. Eventually it was turned down by British Home Secretary Jack Straw, who rejected <mask>'s request to have Pinochet extradited to Spain on health grounds. Kissinger and Operation Condor
<mask> asked for permission for cross-examination of former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger in connection with a plot in the 1970s known as Operation Condor.Dirty War
Garzón also filed charges of genocide against Argentine military officers on Dirty War's disappearance of Spanish citizens during Argentina's 1976–1983 dictatorship. Eventually, Adolfo Scilingo and Miguel Angel Cavallo were prosecuted in separate cases. Scilingo was convicted and sentenced to over 1,000 years incarceration for his crimes. Guantanamo
Garzón issued indictments for five Guantanamo detainees, including Spaniard Abderrahman Ahmad and Jordanian Jamil El Banna. Ahmad was extradited to Spain on 14 February 2004. El Banna was released to the United Kingdom, and in 2007, Garzón dropped the charges against him on humanitarian grounds. Bush Six

In March 2009, Garzón considered whether Spain should allow charges to be filed against former officials from the United States government under George W. Bush for offering justifications for torture.The six former Bush officials are: Alberto Gonzales, former Attorney General;
John Yoo, of the Office of Legal Counsel;
Douglas Feith, former undersecretary of defense for policy;
William Haynes II, former general counsel for the Department of Defense;
Jay Bybee, also at Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel; and
David Addington, Vice President Dick Cheney's Chief of Staff. However, the investigation was assigned to Judge Eloy Velasco who chose not to pursue it


title: Baltasar Garzón

type: original

texts:
 stating that Spain could not investigate the case if the U.S. did not intend to conduct its own investigation into the matter. In a U.S. diplomatic cable leaked by WikiLeaks it was revealed that Chief Prosecutor Javier Zaragoza intended to argue that the case
should not be assigned to Judge <mask>, and a later cable stated that <mask> was "forced to give up" the investigation. On 29 April 2009, <mask> opened an investigation into an alleged "systematic programme" of torture at Guantánamo Bay, following accusations by four former prisoners. Similarly, the leaked cable indicates that the Chief Prosecutor intended to also fight this investigation and that he feared, "<mask> may attempt to wring all the publicity he can from the case unless and until he is forced to give it up." In September 2009, the Spanish newspaper Público reported that, despite opposition, <mask> was proceeding to the next phase of his investigation. (Andy Worthington, writing in the Huffington Post gave an English language account of this story).Alex Saab
On 22 July 2020, <mask> said that he would represent Alex Saab in a U.S. extradition case. Appearance before the Spanish Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of Spain has declared admissible three criminal accusations against <mask> for 'prevarication' which implies using his authority as a judge to intentionally subvert the course of justice. This is a very serious criminal offense punishable by suspension from any (Spanish) judicial activity for up to twenty years. Crimes against humanity by Franco's government
In October 2008, <mask> opened a controversial inquiry into alleged crimes against humanity committed by the Nationalist government during the Spanish Civil War and the years that followed

masks: Garzón Garzón Garzón Garzón Garzón Garzón Garzón Garzón


title: Baltasar Garzón

texts: the war. This action was controversial because the offenses were nearly 70 years old, previous to the concept of crimes against humanity, and a 1977 general amnesty act barred any investigations related to criminal offenses with a political aim previous to 1976. In 2008, the inquiry was suspended. In September 2009, a trade union called "Manos limpias" (Clean Hands) filed a lawsuit against <mask> alleging that <mask> had abused his judicial authority by opening the inquiry.Manos Limpias is a "far-right group," according to The New York Times. <mask> denied any wrongdoing. In April 2010, <mask> was indicted by the Spanish Supreme Court for prevarication for arbitrarily changing his juridical criteria to engineer the case in order to bypass the law limiting his jurisdiction. If convicted, he could have been barred from his duties for 20 years. <mask>'s indictment has been highly divisive within Spain and controversial abroad. Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch condemned the indictment, and The New York Times published an editorial supporting him, whereas The Wall Street Journal condemned <mask>'s proceedings in an editorial supporting the rule of law. There were public protests in Spain from left wing organizations supporting <mask>.The International Commission of Jurists considers that his short-lived inquiry did not justify disciplinary action, let alone criminal prosecution, adding that the prosecution of judges for carrying out their professional work was "an inappropriate and unwarranted interference with the independence of the judicial process". On 24 April 2010, <mask> presented an appeal to the Supreme Court against the judge investigating the case, Luciano Varela for giving advice to the


title: Baltasar Garzón

texts: plaintiffs about the errors in their documents. <mask> accused the judge of partiality, in having "a direct interest in the proceedings and bias in the action" and having "worked closely with the plaintiffs by offering counsel or legal advice" intended help the complainants to correct a defect in their series of indictments to meet a deadline, an action which he defined as "atypical, extrajudicial and prejudicial to one of the parties" (i.e. him, as the accused). According to Garzón, "intervention by the instructing judge is not protected under any provision of the current legal procedural rules and is clearly unrelated to the substantive rules of Spanish court procedure". Luciano Varela accepted the appeal and temporarily stepped out from the case until the Supreme Court rules on the appeal. On 11 May 2010, Luis Moreno-Ocampo, chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) requested that the Judiciary of Spain might assign <mask> as a consultant to the ICC for six months, which would have allowed General Council of the Judicial Power of Spain (La Comisión Permanente Extraordinaria del Consejo General del Poder Juidicial or CGPJ) to avoid suspending <mask> during the impending trial for investigating crimes committed during the Francisco Franco era.In response, Judge Varela brought forward his conclusion that <mask> should stand trial, and the CGPJ rejected the request of the ICC on the basis that it appeared to be simply a personal request by Moreno-Ocampo, rather than an official ICC invitation. On Friday, 14 May 2010, <mask> was duly suspended from judicial activity (with pay) 'as a precaution, pending judgment' as a result of the decision of Judge Varela, which suspension is formally required by

masks: Garzón Garzón Garzón Garzón Garzón


title: Baltasar Garzón

texts:
 Spanish law. The CGPC subsequently declared that it would require five different certificates ('informes' in Spanish) to release <mask> to the ICC as a consultant for six months during his period of suspension from judicial activity. These were:

 That the public prosecutor (which opposes the trial of <mask>) certify that there would be no conflict of interest
 That the Supreme Court of Spain (hearing the case against <mask>) would not be delayed or inconvenienced
 That the ICC certify the appointment would not provide immunity for <mask> from either outstanding or future criminal process in Spain
 That Spain's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation declare the appointment of <mask> to be in the national interest of Spain
 That the Secretary General of the CGPJ was satisfied that all of the above certificates were appropriate and legally valid for this temporary assignment. José Manuel Gómez Begresista, the president of the CGPJ's Commission for Studies and Reports, impugned each of the above five conditions, which he characterized as 'ridiculous' since <mask> had previously been assigned to such work, and no immunity from Spanish law attaches thereto. He went on to state that the decision taken by the CGPJ "lacked any legal grounds whatsoever". Later that day, the CGPJ authorised the assignment of Garzón to the ICC.Coincidentally, on the same day, The Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg delivered final judgement in the case Vassili Kononov v. Latvia No. 36376/04, on 17 May 2010. The Russian Federation had maintained that any prosecution of the applicant was statute-barred, as supported by the dissenting opinion of Judge Costa joined by Judges Kalaydjieva and Poalelungi, which is

masks: Garzón Garzón Garzón Garzón Garzón Garzón


title: Baltasar Garzón

texts:
 officials, particularly as Garzón convicted the PSOE government officials promoting the GAL assassination squads.Impartiality questions
On 17 December 2010, <mask> challenged five of the seven Supreme Court justices that could be appointed to judge him for his activities in respect of the exhumation of Franco victims. He alleges that Juan Saavedra, Adolfo Prego Oliver, Joaquin Giménez, Francisco and Juan Ramon Berdugo Monterde should be disqualified from officiating in any way because they have participated in pre-trial activities and thus may have an interest in the outcome that might affect their impartiality. These five judges have intervened in the investigation of the case, and the defence claims that consequently – and according to a strict interpretation of the principle of nemo iudex in causa sua – such intervention demonstrates these five judges an indirect interest in the outcome of the process. The background to this case is that conservative opinion generally asserts that "the dictatorship" is past, and exhuming its less savoury activities is injurious to modern Spanish political interests (as may be Garzón's extraterritorial attempts to accuse foreign nationals of crimes against humanity). Certainly founding members of the People's Party, such as Manuel Fraga, were members of Franco's government, and there may be a fear that the more aggressively socialist opposition may wish to use these exhumations to imply thereby the intentions of modern Spanish political leaders may be less than entirely democratic, and that established political entities may seek to influence the course of justice (for example – between 2005 and 2010 – when the PP and PSOE denied the Spanish Senate the necessary majority to


title: Baltasar Garzón

texts:
 approve fresh judges for the Constitutional Court of Spain)

Banco Santander corruption allegation
The allegation is that <mask> dropped (adjourned sine die) a case against the director of Santander, Emilio Botín, in return for payment for some courses sponsored by the bank in New York between 2005 and 2006. This appeal to the Supreme Court follows a charge previously archived by the criminal court on 27 November 2006, since the alleged 1.2 million euro fee was deemed by the lower court to be in fact 216,000 euros, which was not paid to Garzón, but to the university foundation. This Supreme Court corruption case against Garzón was archived on 13 February 2012, on the next but one working day after Garzón's conviction for bugging the Gürtel corruption suspects.The Supreme Court Investigating Judge insisted that there was clear evidence of wrongdoing involving some 2.5 million US$, but, because the complaint was originally laid on 12 June 2009, but the last payment was made in May 2006 the 3-year statute of limitations relating to the Supreme Court had been exceeded by 25 days. It was not clear why the case, previously archived by a provincial court on 27 November 2006 was not referred back to the lower court where a 15-year statute of limitations applies provided there is disclosure of 'further and better evidence' which might then lead to a jury trial. Supreme Court trial
On 9 February 2012, the Supreme Court ruled that judge <mask> <mask> was guilty of illegally ordering the placement of wiretaps in jailhouses to record conversations between inmates and their lawyers in a case of corruption. Under Spanish law, such wiretaps are only expressly permitted for terrorism cases and the legality of their use in other

masks: Garzón Baltasar Garzón


title: Baltasar Garzón

texts: cases is more vague. The Supreme Court also barred <mask> from the legal profession for 11 years. The court said: "<mask>'s methods are typical of totalitarian countries, without any respect of the right of defence." Since Garzon can not appeal the charges, his career as a judge is likely to have ended.He was also fined €2,500. People protested the trial and ruling outside the court with banners calling for "justice" and photos of the people said to have been killed by the Franco regime. Many other judges also came out in support of Garzón. Given the severity of the accusations against the Supreme Court, a large number of persons and institutions issued statements in support of the ruling. The progressive Judges for Democracy association stated that "The Supreme Court and any other criminal court can only be asked to apply the law and respect the presumption of innocence. This must be both in determining the facts and in interpreting the norm. Whether or not one agrees with the Court's decision and the interpretation on which it is founded, we must state that the Supreme Court has ruled in this context and should not be disqualified as such an institution for it.Margarita Robles, member of the General Council of the Judiciary and former Subsecretary of State with the socialist government, said that the Supreme Court ruling was "legally impeccable" and had been produced as part of a procedure "with all the guarantees." It was later revealed that the Supreme Court had made a mistake in sentencing by overlooking the fact the <mask> had been suspended for nearly a year in the period 2010/2011 solely on the basis of his pending trial on a charge relating to his investigation of Francoist atrocities, a charge on which he

masks: Garzón Garzón Garzón


title: Baltasar Garzón

texts:
 was subsequently cleared. Allegations of politicisation of the judiciary
In June 2010, <mask> was recruited as a consultant to the ICC. At the end of October 2010, the re-election of Judge Juan Saavedra to the Spanish Supreme Court Penal Division reactivated the three judicial processes against <mask>. The re-appointment of a right-wing judge may have suggested to the Spanish legal authorities that the complaints had sufficient weight to merit continuing the domestic process despite the rulings in the European Court of Human Rights cited above. The alleged "political colonisation" of the Spanish judiciary is an increasingly recurrent theme in the Spanish centre/left-wing media. More than 1,500 Spanish judges earlier this year criticised the influence of the major parties in the decisions of the Supreme Judicial Council (CGPJ) via a manifesto that for the first time exposed publicly what was claimed to be a long-standing open secret among Spanish lawyers.In a 2011 book, <mask> wrote that he had at times exceeded the provisions of domestic Spanish legislation, but quoted external sources, including international treaties, to explain his behavior. Other work
In July 2012, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange recruited <mask> as head of his legal team. In September 2012, <mask> wrote an article in The Journal Jurisprudence outlining his views on sexual violence during wartimes. Awards and honors

2009 Hermann Kesten Prize
2010 International Hrant Dink Award
2010 Prix René Cassin awarded by Jeune République, after a jury decision composed by Dominique de Villepin, Luis Moreno-Ocampo, Bertrand Badie, Stanley Hoffmann, Souleymane Bashir Diagne, Eva Joly, Mireille Delmas Marty and others. The work was designed by Miquel


title: Baltasar Garzón

texts:
 Barcelo (May 2010)
2011 Kant-Weltbürger-Preis, in Freiburg i.Br. in Germany, after a jury decision of the Kant Gesellschaft. The papers of the ceremony on 7 May 2011 were published in Berthold Lange (Hrsg.), Weltbürgerrrecht, Ergon Verlag, Würzburg, 2012. .Prix

Garzón was awarded 22 Honoris Causa Doctoral Degrees in 10 years, between 1999 and November 2009: 16 from Latin American countries, two from the US, two from the UK, and one from Belgium. His 22nd "Honoris Causa" Doctoral Degree award, awarded by the University of Jaén on 9 November 2009, was his first to be received in Spain. Bibliography
 (Christmas tale: A different world is possible), Ediciones de la Tierra (2002)
 (A world without fear), Plaza & Janes, S.A. and Debolsillo (February 2005)
Prologue of  (And if my child starts using drugs? Practical tips to prevent, know, and act), Begoña del Pueyo, Alejandro Perales (Editorial Grijalbo) (June 2005)
 (The fight against terrorism and its limits), Adhara Publicaciones, S.L. (February 2006)
Denis Robert, , Stock, 1996. Interviews and portrait of seven anticorruption judges: Bernard Bertossa, Edmondo Bruti Liberati, Gherardo Colombo, Benoît Dejemeppe, <mask> Garzón Real, Carlos Jimenez Villarejo, Renaud Van Ruymbeke

See also
Carmelo Soria, Spanish diplomat assassinated in 1976 by the Chilean DINA
Command responsibility

References

External links

Biography at SpainView
Judge Garzón: Introduction to a Life, article at Stanford
BBC News –  Profile: Judge <mask> Garzon
Judge Garzon Support Page
<mask> <mask> y José María Mena en Canal-L: "El crimen organizado siempre busca espacios de impunidad"

1955 births
Living people
People from the Province of Jaén (Spain)
Spanish judges
Spanish socialists
University of

masks: Baltasar Baltasar Baltasar Garzón


title: Benjamin Lewis Hodge

texts:
<mask> ( – August 12, 1864) was a Confederate politician who commanded the 19th Louisiana Infantry Regiment during the early stages of the American Civil War, including during the Battle of Shiloh. <mask> was born in Tennessee and later moved to Shreveport, Louisiana, becoming a wealthy lawyer and prominent local politician. Elected colonel of the new 19th Louisiana in late 1861, <mask> resigned from the army after Shiloh due to ill health. Returning to politics, he won an unopposed election for a seat in the Confederate House of Representatives and briefly served in the Second Confederate Congress before his death in 1864. Antebellum period
<mask> was born in Tennessee , according to census data. Little is known of his early life and education. By the 1850 census, he had become a lawyer and moved to Caddo Parish, Louisiana.At that time, he owned real estate valued at $1,000. <mask> achieved local prominence and served several terms in the state legislature. He was elected to the state senate in 1852 as a Whig from the district including Caddo, DeSoto, and Sabine Parishes. In 1855, <mask> was one of the organizers of the American Party (known as the Know Nothings) in Shreveport. He won election as a Know Nothing state representative from Caddo Parish in 1857. By the 1860 census, his assets had grown to a value of over $100,000, including four slaves, making him one of the wealthiest men in north Louisiana at the time and one of the most successful lawyers in the state. He was the owner of shops and the largest residence in Shreveport, and was invested in land and slaves, having married Caledonia Cash, the adopted daughter of a leading local planter, in 1852.Two Mississippi and Red River

masks:
Benjamin Lewis Hodge
Hodge
Hodge
Hodge
Hodge
Hodge


title: Benjamin Lewis Hodge

texts:
 steamboats, the B. L. <mask> and B. L. <mask> No. 2, built in 1857 and 1867, respectively, were named after him. Secession and Civil War
As a former Whig who had become a Know Nothing, <mask> prioritized the preservation of the Union over states' rights, in opposition to Southern Democrats. In the 1860 election, he became a prominent supporter of moderate Constitutional Union Party, serving as an elector for it. Traveling to Washington, <mask> addressed Constitutional Unionists there in early August, denouncing secessionists as corrupt office-seekers and affirming the party ticket as the sole alternative to Republican Party. In the months leading up to the election he campaigned for the Constitutional Unionists in north Louisiana. Motivated by economic interests, a majority of Shreveport voters went for the Constitutional Union ticket in November.Planters in the rest of Caddo Parish carried it for the Southern Democrats, who gained a plurality of the state vote over the Constitutional Unionists. After Republican Abraham Lincoln was elected president, <mask> became a proponent of immediate disunion, standing for election to the state secession convention for the senatorial district of Caddo, DeSoto, Natchitoches, and Sabine Parishes. <mask> and DeSoto Parish planter and state senator Henry Marshall significantly outpolled their cooperationist opponents who favored delaying secession, and signed the state secession ordinance after it was pushed through by those advocating immediate secession on January 26, 1861. <mask> soon stood for election as a delegate to the Montgomery Constitutional Convention that became the Provisional Congress, but lost to Marshall by eight votes. <mask> joined the

masks: Hodge Hodge Hodge Hodge Hodge Hodge Hodge Hodge


title: Benjamin Lewis Hodge

texts: army on April 20, becoming third lieutenant of the Shreveport Grays infantry company, which was slated to join the 1st Louisiana Regulars but instead went to Lieutenant Colonel Charles Didier Dreux's 1st Louisiana Battalion, where it was designated Company D. He brought <mask>, a free colored man, into service with him. After serving at Pensacola, <mask> and his unit were transferred to Virginia, one of the first Louisiana units to reach the state. The battalion served on picket duty in the Virginia Peninsula and on July 2 <mask> resigned his commission, returning to Louisiana with <mask>.A request by Major General Leonidas Polk to appoint <mask> as judge advocate general in his command was denied. <mask> unsuccessfully ran for a seat in the Confederate Senate in November and at Shreveport became captain of the Keachi Warriors. The latter became Company I of the 19th Louisiana Infantry Regiment, and <mask> was elected colonel of the regiment when it was organized on November 11. <mask> led the regiment in the 1862 Battle of Shiloh as part of Colonel Randall L. Gibson's brigade. About noon on the first day of the battle, April 6, the 19th Louisiana advanced into the Davis' wheat field against the Union center, and were struck by Union fire after reaching the log cabin in the middle of the field, their opponents obscured by the brush. <mask> advanced his men to seek shelter behind a fence on the north side of the field. In the brigade advance on Union positions that became known as the Hornet's Nest, he ordered a bayonet charge, which failed with the loss of a sixth of the regiment to fire from three Union regiments and their artillery.Gibson's brigade failed to break the Union line in several

masks:
James Lewis
Hodge
Hodge
Lewis
Hodge
Hodge
Hodge
Hodge
Hodge


title: Benjamin Lewis Hodge

texts: frontal assaults, with <mask> writing in his post-battle report that "it would have been madness to have kept my command there longer." Exhausted, the brigade was sent to the rear by corps commander Major General Braxton Bragg. <mask> advocated for bringing up artillery and flanking the Union line at the Hornet's Nest. Bragg ignored this suggestion, but <mask> was vindicated by the surrender of the Hornet's Nest defenders hours later when the Confederates employed massed artillery and flank attacks. That night, <mask> camped his regiment to the right of Brigadier General Patton Anderson's brigade, separating it from the rest of Gibson's brigade. On the morning of April 7, <mask> attempted to rejoin Gibson's brigade but Brigadier General Jones Withers ordered him to turn over command of the 19th Louisiana to its lieutenant colonel and put him in command of an improvised brigade consisting of his regiment, the 25th Alabama and Crescent Regiments, and the 5th Company of the Washington Artillery. His ad hoc formation was positioned on the right of the army in support of Brigadier General James R. Chalmers' brigade in Davis' field.The  guns of the Washington Artillery were temporarily overrun by Colonel William B. Hazen's brigade around 11:00, and the Louisianans charged forward to retake them, routing the Union troops. In the latter, <mask> was stunned by being thrown from his horse and had to be carried off the field. <mask> resigned his commission on May 29, due to health problems, after a long period on sick leave, returning to Shreveport. His resignation was not accepted until July 15. In the election of November 1863 he won a seat representing the 5th district in the Confederate House of

masks: Hodge Hodge Hodge Hodge Hodge Hodge Hodge


title: Benjamin Lewis Hodge

texts:
 Representatives after running unopposed, replacing the anti-administration Marshall, who declined to run for re-election. On February 19, 1864, he was appointed presiding judge of the military court of the Trans-Mississippi Department, a position that carried the rank of colonel with it. Due to travel time, <mask> was not admitted to the first session of the Second Confederate Congress until May 25.He proposed no bills and rarely voted, advocating for higher taxes and protectionism. The session ended on June 14 and <mask> returned to Louisiana. His health continued to decline and he died near Shreveport, likely at the mansion of his wife's stepfather, on August 12. His seat was filled by Henry Gray in a special election. <mask>, described by a contemporary newspaper as "well known as one of the most brilliant men in North Louisiana," was buried in an unmarked grave in Shreveport's Oakland Cemetery. <mask> and his wife had three sons, <mask>, A.G., and Thomas Green, the last of which died in 1956 at the age of 92. <mask> loaned his residence to department commander Lieutenant General Edmund Kirby Smith when the Trans-Mississippi Department was headquartered in Shreveport.A plaque was dedicated to <mask> at the Oakland Cemetery in 1979. Notes

Bibliography

 – Unpublished manuscript in University of New Orleans collections

1824 births
1864 deaths
Members of the Confederate House of Representatives from Louisiana
19th-century American politicians
Louisiana lawyers
People from Tennessee
Politicians from Shreveport, Louisiana
Confederate States Army officers
1860 United States presidential electors
Louisiana Constitutional Unionists
Louisiana Know Nothings
American slave owners
19th-century

masks:
Hodge
Hodge
Hodge
Hodge
Benjamin Lewis
Hodge
Hodges


title: Mirza Ghulam Ahmad

texts: <mask> (13 February 1835 – 26 May 1908) was an Indian religious leader and the founder of the Ahmadiyya movement in Islam. He claimed to have been divinely appointed as the promised Messiah and Mahdi—which is the metaphorical second-coming of Jesus (mathīl-iʿIsā), in fulfillment of Islam's latter day prophecies, as well as the Mujaddid (centennial reviver) of the 14th Islamic century. Born in 1835 to a Rais family in Qadian, <mask> emerged as a writer and debater for Islam. When he was just over forty years of age, his father died and around that time he believed that God began to communicate with him. In 1889, he took a pledge of allegiance from forty of his supporters at Ludhiana and formed a community of followers upon what he claimed was divine instruction, stipulating ten conditions of initiation, an event that marks the establishment of the Ahmadiyya movement. The mission of the movement, according to him, was the reinstatement of the absolute oneness of God, the revival of Islam through the moral reformation of society along Islamic ideals, and the global propagation of Islam in its pristine form. As opposed to the Christian and mainstream Islamic view of Jesus (or Isa), being alive in heaven to return towards the end of time, <mask> asserted that he had in fact survived crucifixion and died a natural death.He traveled extensively across the Punjab preaching his religious ideas and rallied support by combining a reformist programme with his personal revelations which he claimed to receive from God, attracting thereby substantial following within his lifetime as well as considerable hostility particularly from the Muslim Ulema. He is known to have engaged in numerous public debates and

masks:
Mirzā Ghulām Ahmad
Ghulam Ahmad
Ghulam Ahmad


title: Mirza Ghulam Ahmad

texts:
 dialogues with Christian missionaries, Muslim scholars and Hindu revivalists. <mask> <mask> was a prolific author and wrote more than ninety books on various religious, theological and moral subjects between the publication of the first volume of Barahin-i-Ahmadiyya (The Proofs of Ahmadiyya, his first major work) in 1880 and his death in May 1908. Many of his writings bear a polemical and apologetic tone in favour of Islam, seeking to establish its superiority as a religion through rational argumentation, often by articulating his own interpretations of Islamic teachings. He advocated a peaceful propagation of Islam and emphatically argued against the permissibility of military Jihad under circumstances prevailing in the present age. By the time of his death, he had gathered an estimated 400,000 followers, especially within the United Provinces, the Punjab and Sindh and had built a dynamic religious organisation with an executive body and its own printing press. After his death he was succeeded by his close companion Hakīm Noor-ud-Dīn who assumed the title of Khalīfatul Masīh (successor of the Messiah).Although <mask> <mask> is revered by Ahmadi Muslims as the promised Messiah and Imām Mahdi, Muhammad nevertheless remains the central figure in Ahmadiyya Islam. <mask> <mask>'s claim to be a subordinate (ummati) prophet within Islam has remained a central point of controversy between his followers and mainstream Muslims, who believe Muhammad to be the last prophet. Lineage and family
<mask> <mask>'s lineage through his forefathers can be traced back to <mask> Beg, a descendant of the Mughal Barlas tribe. 1530 <mask> Beg migrated from Samarkand (present-day Uzbekistan) along with an entourage of two

masks:
Ghulam
Ahmad
Ghulam
Ahmad
Ghulam
Ahmad
Mirza Ghulam
Ahmad
Mirza Hadi
Mirza Hadi


title: Mirza Ghulam Ahmad

texts:
 hundred people consisting of his family, servants and followers. Travelling through Samarkand, they finally settled in the Punjab, India, where <mask> founded the town known today as Qadian during the reign of the Mughal emperor Babur, his distant relative. The family were all known as Mughals within the British governmental records of India probably due to the high positions it occupied within the Mughal empire and their courts. <mask> Beg was granted a Jagir of several hundred villages and was appointed the Qadhi (judge) of Qadian and the surrounding district.The descendants of <mask> are said to have held important positions within the Mughal empire and had consecutively been the chieftains of Qadian. Life

Early life and education
<mask> <mask> was born on 13 February 1835 in Qadian, Punjab, the surviving child of twins born to an affluent Mughal family. He was born in the Sikh Empire under Maharaja Ranjit Singh. He learned to read the Arabic text of the Qur'an and studied basic Arabic grammar and the Persian language from a teacher named Fazil-e-Illahi. At the age of 10, he learned from a teacher named Fazl <mask>. Again at the age of 17 or 18, he learnt from a teacher named Gul Ali Shah. In addition, he also studied some works on medicine from his father, <mask> Murtaza, who was a physician.From 1864 to 1868, upon his father's wishes, <mask> <mask> worked as a clerk in Sialkot, where he would come into contact with Christian missionaries with whom he frequently engaged in debate. After 1868, he returned to Qadian, as per his father's wishes, where he was entrusted to look after some estate affairs. During all this time, <mask> was known as a social recluse because he would spend most of his

masks:
Mirza Hadi
Mirza Hadi
Mirza Hadi
Mirza Ghulam
Ahmad
Ahmad
Mirza Ghulam
Ghulam
Ahmad
Ahmad


title: Mirza Ghulam Ahmad

texts:
 time in seclusion studying religious books and praying in the local mosque. As time passed, he began to engage more with the Christian missionaries, particularly in defending Islam against their criticism. He would often confront them in public debates, especially the ones based in the town of Batala. In 1886, certain leaders of the Arya Samaj held discussion and debate with <mask> <mask> about the truthfulness of Islam and asked for a sign to prove that Islam was a living religion. In order to dedicate special prayers for this purpose and so as to seek further divine guidance, <mask> <mask> travelled to Hoshiarpur upon what he claimed was divine instruction.Here, he spent forty days in seclusion, a practice known as chilla-nashini. He travelled accompanied by three companions to the small two-storied house of one of his followers and was left alone in a room where his companions would bring him food and leave without speaking to him as he prayed and contemplated. He only left the house on Fridays and used an abandoned mosque for Jumu'ah (Friday prayers). It is during this period that he declared God had given him the glad tidings of an illustrious son. Taking of the Bay'ah

<mask> <mask> claimed divine appointment as a reformer as early as 1882 but did not take any pledge of allegiance or initiation. In December 1888, <mask> announced that God had ordained that his followers should enter into a bay'ah with him and pledge their allegiance to him. In January 1889, he published a pamphlet in which he laid out ten conditions or issues to which the initiate would abide by for the rest of his life.On 23 March 1889, he founded the Ahmadiyya community by taking a pledge from forty followers. The formal

masks: Ghulam Ahmad Ghulam Ahmad Ghulam Ahmad Ahmad


title: Mirza Ghulam Ahmad

texts:
 method of joining the Ahmadiyya movement included joining hands and reciting a pledge, although physical contact was not always necessary. This method of allegiance continued for the rest of his life and after his death by his successors. His claim
<mask> <mask> proclaimed that he was the Promised Messiah and Mahdi. He claimed to be the fulfilment of various prophecies found in world religions regarding the second coming of their founders. <mask> <mask>'s followers say that he never claimed to be the same physical Jesus who lived nineteen centuries earlier. <mask> <mask> claimed that Jesus died a natural death, in contradiction to the traditional Muslim view of Jesus' physical ascension to heaven and the traditional Christian belief of Jesus' crucifixion.He claimed in his books that there was a general decay of Islamic life and a dire need of a messiah. He argued that, just as Jesus had appeared in the 14th century after Moses, the promised messiah, i.e. the Mahdi, must also appear in the 14th century after Muhammad. In Tazkiratush-Shahadatain, he wrote about the fulfillment of various prophecies. In it, he enumerated a variety of prophecies and descriptions from both the Qur'an and Hadith relating to the advent of the Mahdi and the descriptions of his age, which he ascribed to himself and his age. These include assertions that he was physically described in the Hadith and manifested various other signs; some of them being wider in scope, such as focusing on world events coming to certain points, certain conditions within the Muslim community, and varied social, political, economic, and physical conditions. Post-claim
In time, <mask> <mask>'s claim of being the Mujaddid (reformer) of his era

masks:
Mirza Ghulam
Ahmad
Mirza Ghulam
Ahmad
Mirza Ghulam
Ahmad
Mirza Ghulam
Ahmad


title: Mirza Ghulam Ahmad

texts:
 became more explicit.In one of his most well-known and praised works, Barahin-e-Ahmadiyya, a voluminous work, he claimed to be the Messiah of Islam. Muslims have maintained that Jesus will return in the flesh during the last age. <mask> <mask>, by contrast, asserted that Jesus had in fact survived crucifixion and died of old age much later in Kashmir, where he had migrated. According to <mask> <mask>, the promised Mahdi was a symbolic reference to a spiritual leader and not a military leader in the person of Jesus Christ as is believed by many Muslims. With this proclamation, he also rejected the idea of armed Jihad and argued that the conditions for such Jihad are not present in this age, which requires defending Islam by the pen and tongue but not with the sword. <mask> <mask> wrote two books named "Tuhfa e qaisariah" and "Sitara e Qaisaria" in which he invited Queen Victoria to embrace Islam and forsake Christianity. Reaction of religious scholars
Some religious scholars turned against him, and he was often branded as a heretic, but many religious scholars praised him like Sir Syed Ahmed Khan, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad among many others who praised him for his defense of Islam.After his death, opponents accused him of working for the British Government due to the termination of armed Jihad, since his claims of being the Mahdi were made around the same time as the Mahdi of Sudan (<mask>). Following his claim to be the Promised Messiah and Mahdi, one of his adversaries prepared a Fatwa (decree) of disbelief against <mask> <mask>, declaring him a Kafir (disbeliever), a deceiver, and a liar. The decree permitted killing him and his followers. It was taken all around India and was signed by some two

masks:
Mirza Ghulam
Ahmad
Mirza Ghulam
Ahmad
Mirza Ghulam
Ahmad
Muhammad Ahmad
Mirza Ghulam
Ahmad


title: Mirza Ghulam Ahmad

texts:
 hundred religious scholars. Some years later, a prominent Muslim leader and scholar, Ahmed Raza Khan, was to travel to the Hejaz to collect the opinions of the religious scholars of Mecca and Madina. He compiled these opinions in his work Hussam ul Harmain (The sword of two sanctuaries on the slaughter-point of blasphemy and falsehood); in it, <mask> <mask> was again labelled an apostate. The unanimous consensus of about thirty-four religious scholars was that <mask> <mask>'s beliefs were blasphemous and tantamount to apostasy and that he must be punished by imprisonment and, if necessary, by execution.Journey to Delhi

<mask> <mask> went to Delhi, which was at the time considered a centre of religious learning and home to many prominent religious leaders, in 1891, with the intention of distinguishing what he believed to be the truth from falsehood. He published an advertisement in which he invited the scholars to accept his claim and to engage in a public debate with him regarding the life and death of Isa (Jesus), particularly Maulana Syed Nazeer Husain (1805–1901), who was a leading religious scholar. He also proposed three conditions that were essential for such a debate: that there should be a police presence to maintain peace, the debate should be in written form (for the purpose of recording what was said), and that the debate should be on the subject of the death of Jesus. Eventually, it was settled, and <mask> <mask> travelled to the Jama Masjid Delhi (main mosque) of Delhi accompanied by twelve of his followers, where some 5,000 people were gathered. Before the debate started, there was a discussion on the conditions, which led to the conclusion that the debate should not be upon the

masks: Ghulam Ahmad Ghulam Ahmad Ghulam Ahmad Ghulam Ahmad


title: Mirza Ghulam Ahmad

texts:
 death of Jesus, but upon the claims of <mask> <mask>. He explained that his claim could only be discussed after the death of Jesus was proven, for Jesus was considered by many to be living and the one who will descend to Earth himself. Only when this belief was refuted could his claim to be the Messiah be discussed.Upon this, there was a clamour among the crowds, and <mask> <mask> was informed that the other party alleged that he was at odds with Islamic beliefs and was a disbeliever; therefore, it was not proper to debate with him unless he clarified his beliefs. <mask> <mask> wrote his beliefs on a piece of paper and had it read aloud, but due to the clamour among the people, it could not be heard. Seeing that the crowd was drifting out of control and that violence was imminent, the police superintendent gave orders to disperse the audience, and the debate did not take place. A few days later, however, a written debate did take place between <mask> <mask> and Maulwi Muhammad Bashir of Bhopal, which was later published. <mask> <mask> is known to have travelled extensively across Northern India during this period of his life and to have held various debates with influential religious leaders. Challenge to opponents
<mask> <mask> published a book called The Heavenly Decree, in which he challenged his opponents to a "spiritual duel" in which the question of whether someone was a Muslim or not would be settled by God based on the four criteria laid out in the Qur'an, namely, that a perfect believer will frequently receive glad tidings from God, that he will be given awareness about hidden matters and events of the future from God, that most of his prayers will be fulfilled and that he will exceed

masks:
Mirza Ghulam
Ahmad
Mirza Ghulam
Ahmad
Ghulam
Ahmad
Mirza Ghulam
Ahmad
Ghulam
Ahmad
Ghulam
Ahmad


title: Mirza Ghulam Ahmad

texts:
 others in understanding novel finer points, subtleties and deeper meanings of the Qur'an. The sun and moon eclipse
After announcing his claim to be the Messiah and Mahdi, his opponents demanded that he should produce the "heavenly sign" detailed in the tradition attributed to the 7th-century Imam Muhammad al-Baqir, also known as Muhammad bin Ali, in which a certain sign is stated about the appearance of the Mahdi:

<mask>is maintain that this prophecy was fulfilled in 1894 and again in 1895, about three years after Ghulam <mask> proclaimed himself to be the Promised Mahdi and Messiah, with the lunar and solar eclipse during the month of Ramadhan, according to the <mask>iyya interpretation of the prophecy.<mask> <mask> declared that this was a sign of his truth and was in fulfillment of the tradition or prophecy. The eclipses being a sign of the Mahdi are also mentioned specifically in the Letters of Rabbani by <mask>. Scientific historical records indicate these eclipses occurred at the following dates:

Lawsuit
In 1897, a Christian missionary, Henry Martyn Clark, filed a lawsuit of attempted murder against <mask> at the court of District Magistrate Captain Montagu William Douglas in the city of Ludhiana. The charge laid against him was that he hired a man by the name of Abdul Hameed to assassinate Clark. However, he was not detained by the police and was declared innocent by the then-magistrate Captain Douglas. The Revealed Sermon

In 1900, on the occasion of the festival of Eid ul-Adha, he is said to have delivered an hour-long sermon extempore in Arabic expounding the meaning and philosophy of sacrifice. This episode is celebrated as one of the important events of the history of Ahmadiyya.The

masks:
Ahmad
Ahmad
Ahmad
Ghulam
Ahmad
Ahmad Sirhindi
Ahmad


title: Mirza Ghulam Ahmad

texts:
 sermon was simultaneously written down by two of his companions and came to be known as the Khutba Ilhamiyya, the revealed or inspired sermon. Ahmadiyya literature states that during this sermon, there was a change in his voice, he appeared as if in a trance, in the grip of an unseen hand, and as if a voice from the unknown had made him its mouthpiece. After the sermon ended, <mask> fell into prostration, followed by the rest of the congregation, as a sign of gratitude towards God. <mask> wrote later:

Challenge to John Alexander Dowie

In 1899, Scottish-born American clergyman John Alexander Dowie laid claim to be the forerunner of the second coming of Christ. <mask> <mask> exchanged a series of letters with him between 1903 and 1907. <mask> <mask> challenged him to a prayer duel, where both would call upon God to expose the other as a false prophet. <mask> <mask> stated:

Dowie declined the challenge, calling <mask> <mask> the "silly Mohammedan Messiah".<mask> <mask> prophesied:

The challenge of "prayer duel" was made by <mask> in September 1902.The Dictionary of American Biography states that after having been deposed during a revolt in which his own family was involved, Dowie endeavoured to recover his authority via the law courts without success and that he may have been a victim of some form of mania, as he suffered from hallucinations during his last illness. Dowie died before <mask>, in March 1907. Encounter with the Agapemonites
In September 1902 the Rev. John Hugh Smyth-Pigott (1852-1927) proclaimed himself the Messiah and also claimed to be God while preaching in the Church known as "The Ark of the Covenant" in Clapton in London. This church was originally built by the Agapemonites, a

masks:
Ahmad
Ahmad
Ghulam
Ahmad
Ghulam
Ahmad
Ghulam
Ahmad
Mirza Ghulam
Ahmad
Ghulam
Ahmad
Mirza
Mirza


title: Mirza Ghulam Ahmad

texts:
 religious movement founded by the Anglican priest Henry James Prince. <mask> <mask> wrote to Smyth-Pigott, informing him that such a blasphemous proposition did not behove man, and that in the future he should abstain from making such claims, or he would be destroyed. This message was sent in November 1902.Newspapers in America and Europe published <mask> <mask>'s notification. Despite this prophecy, Smyth-Piggot continued to claim divinity both before and after <mask>'s death in 1908, as reported by various contemporary newspapers at the time. Last journey
Towards the end of 1907 and early 1908, <mask> <mask> claimed to have received numerous revelations informing him of his imminent death. In April 1908, he travelled to Lahore with his family and companions. Here, he gave many lectures. A banquet was arranged for dignitaries where <mask> <mask>, upon request, spoke for some two hours explaining his claims, teachings and speaking in refutation of objections raised against his person; here, he preached reconciliation between Hindus and Muslims. He completed writing his last work, entitled Message of Peace, a day before his death.<mask> was in Lahore at the home of Dr. Syed Muhammad Hussain (who was also his physician), when, on 26 May 1908, he died as a result of old age and weakness. His body was subsequently taken to Qadian and buried there; he had previously claimed that an angel had told him that he would be buried there. Marriages and children

<mask> <mask> married twice. His first wife was his paternal cousin Hurmat Bibi. Later, they separated and lived separately for a long time. At the time of his second marriage, Hurmat Bibi gave him the permission to live with the second wife and

masks:
Mirza Ghulam
Ahmad
Mirza Ghulam
Ahmad
Mirza Ghulam
Mirza Ghulam
Ahmad
Ghulam
Ahmad
Death Ahmad
Mirza Ghulam
Ahmad


title: Mirza Ghulam Ahmad

texts:
 decided against a divorce. Children
With his first wife, Hurmat Bibi, he had two sons:
<mask> <mask> (1853–1931) (became Ahmadi)
<mask> <mask> (1855–1904) (died at the age of 49 years and did not become Ahmadi)

With his second wife, Nusrat Jahan Begum, he had ten children:

Five children died young:
Ismat (1886–1891)
Bashir (1887–1888)
Shaukat (1891–1892)
Mubarik (1899–1907)
Amtul Naseer (1903–1903)

Five children lived longer:
<mask>-ud-Din Mahmood <mask> (1889–1965)
<mask> <mask> (1893–1963)
<mask> <mask> (1895–1961)
(Nawab) Mubarika Begum (1897–1977)
(Nawab) Sahiba Amtul Hafeez Begum (1904–1987)

Legacy

Although <mask> <mask> aroused much opposition particularly from Muslim leaders owing to his messianic claims, opinion of him was not entirely negative.Many leading Muslim scholars, theologians and prominent journalists who were his contemporaries or had come into contact with him, had, despite differing with him in matters of belief, praised his personal character and acclaimed his works in the cause of Islam and the manner of his argumentation against proclaimants of other religions. The teachings that Jesus survived crucifixion, migrating towards the east in search of the Israelite tribes that had settled there and that he died a natural death upon earth, as propounded by <mask> <mask>, have been a source of ongoing friction with the Christian church since they challenge the core beliefs of Christianity and would nullify the doctrines of vicarious atonement and resurrection, the two principal tenets of Christianity. Western scholars and historians have acknowledged this fact as one of the features of <mask> <mask>'s legacy. <mask> <mask> was the first to propose a post-crucifixion journey

masks:
Mirza Sultan
Ahmad
Mirza Fazal
Ahmad
Mirza Basheer
Ahmad
Mirza Bashir
Ahmad
Mirza Sharif
Ahmad
Mirza Ghulam
Ahmad
Ghulam
Ahmad
Ghulam
Ahmad
Ghulam
Ahmad


title: Mirza Ghulam Ahmad

texts: to India for Jesus and the first—other than the local people—to identify the Roza Bal shrine in Kashmir as the tomb of Jesus. These ideas have been further expanded upon since his death in light of subsequent findings, both by Ahmadis and individuals independent of the Ahmadiyya movement. However, the views remain controversial having been dismissed by some while being supported by others. Anthropological research tends to corroborate a link between the tribes of Israel and the peoples of south/central Asia, specifically the Pashtuns of Afghanistan and the people of Kashmir– as suggested by <mask> <mask> in his book Jesus in India (and by others) – while findings from genetic evidence seem to remain equivocal.Jesus' survival of crucifixion and his natural death have become an important element of Ahmadi belief and Ahmadis have published extensively on this topic. A number of modern Muslim scholars and Muslim intellectuals seem to conform to the idea of Jihad as fundamentally a peaceful religious endeavour rather than chiefly (or unconditionally) a militaristic struggle, in accordance with <mask> <mask>'s standpoint on the issue. Furthermore, some Islamic scholars have opined that Jesus has died (<mask> <mask>'s assertion) or have expressed their own confusion on this matter, though the majority orthodox position of most Muslims with regard to this issue has not changed. One of the main sources of dispute during his lifetime and continuing since then is <mask> <mask>'s use of the terms nabi ("prophet") and rasool (messenger) when referring to himself. Most non-Ahmadi Muslims consider Muhammad to be the last of the prophets and believe that <mask> <mask>'s use of these terms is a violation of the

masks: Ghulam Ahmad Ghulam Ahmad Ghulam Ahmad Ghulam Ahmad Ghulam Ahmad


title: Mirza Ghulam Ahmad

texts: concept of the Finality of Prophethood. His followers fall into two factions in this regards. The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, which comprises by far the majority of Ahmadis, believes that <mask> <mask>'s prophetic status does not in any way infringe the finality of Muhammad's prophethood – to which it is wholly subservient and from which it is inseparable – and is in accordance with scriptural prophecies concerning the advent of the Messiah in Islam.This group is currently headed by <mask> <mask>'s fifth caliph, or successor, carrying the title of Khalifatul Masih, an institution believed to have been established soon after his death. The Lahore Ahmadiyya Movement, which comprises a small fraction of all Ahmadis and believes in an allegorical understanding of these terms with reference to <mask> <mask>, formed in 1914 when a number of prominent Ahmadis seceded from the main body soon after the election of <mask> <mask> as the second caliph. This group is administered by a body of people called the Anjuman Ishaat-e-Islam ("movement for the propagation of Islam"), headed by an Emir. The movement initiated by <mask> <mask> – which is often seen to have emerged as an Islamic religious response to the Christian and Arya Samaj missionary activity widespread in 19th century India, and is viewed by its adherents as embodying the promised latter day revival of Islam – has, since its establishment, grown in organisational strength and in its own missionary programme under the leadership of its caliphate. Although it has expanded to over 200 countries and territories of the world, numbering an estimated 10 to 20 million, it has received a largely negative (often hostile) response from mainstream Muslims who

masks:
Ghulam
Ahmad
Ghulam
Ahmad
Ghulam
Ahmad
Mirza Mahmud
Ahmad
Ghulam
Ahmad


title: Mirza Ghulam Ahmad

texts:
 view <mask> <mask> as a false messiah and his teachings as heretical, particularly the teaching that he was a prophet. Pakistan is the only state that specifically requires every Pakistani Muslim to denigrate <mask> <mask> as an impostor and his followers as non-Muslims when applying for a passport or a national ID card. See also

<mask>yya Caliphate
Jesus in Ahmadiyya Islam
List of founders of religious traditions
List of Mahdi claimants
List of people claimed to be Jesus
Mirza <mask> <mask> bibliography
Mujaddid
Seal of the Prophets

Notes

Further reading
The Essence of Islam, Islam International Publications, Ltd.; 2nd edition (2004),
Iain Adamson: Ahmad, The Guided One, Islam International Publications, 1990, revised 1991.Yohanan Friedmann, Prophecy Continuous – Aspects of Ahmadi Religious Thought and Its Medieval Background; Oxford University Press (2003)
Jesus in India, Ahmadiyya Muslim Foreign Mission Department, 1978, ; Original Masih Hindustan Mein, Oriental & Religious Publications Ltd., Rabwah (Online)

S. R. Valentine, 'Islam & the Ahmadiyya Jama'at', Hurst & Co, London/New York, 2008

External links

Official Website of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community
Official Website of the Lahore Ahmadiyya Movement
Complete List of the Works of <mask> <mask>-Ahmadiyya specifically caters to an Arabic-speaking audience. Like Al Islam itself, Islam-Ahmadiyya is home to a wide variety of content including books, articles and multimedia content
How To Distinguish Between A True Prophet And A False Prophet

1835 births
1908 deaths
Angelic visionaries
Founders of new religious movements
Indian Ahmadis
Indian Islamic religious leaders
People from Gurdaspur
Religious apologists
Self-declared

masks:
Ghulam
Ahmad
Ghulam
Ahmad
Ahmadi
Ghulam
Ahmad
Mirza Ghulam
Ahmad Islam


title: Chris Leroux

texts:
<mask> (born April 14, 1984) is a Canadian former professional baseball pitcher and television personality. He played for the Florida Marlins, Pittsburgh Pirates, and New York Yankees in Major League Baseball (MLB) and for the Tokyo Yakult Swallows of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). Leroux also competed for the Canadian national baseball team in international competitions. Career

Amateur career
Leroux attended St. Joseph Secondary School in Mississauga, Ontario. The Tampa Bay Devil Rays selected Leroux in the ninth round in the 2002 MLB draft, but he did not sign. He attended Winthrop University, where he played college baseball for the Winthrop Eagles baseball team. He also played collegiate summer baseball for the Falmouth Commodores of the Cape Cod League in 2004.Professional career

Minor leagues
The Florida Marlins selected Leroux in the seventh round of the 2005 MLB draft, and he signed. In 2006, Leroux was assigned to the Greensboro Grasshoppers of the Class A South Atlantic League, where he made three starts before being injured. After a rehab assignment with the Gulf Coast Marlins of the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League, he was assigned to the Jamestown Jammers of the Class A-Short Season New York-Penn League. In 11 total starts, he went 0-4 with a 6.06 earned run average (ERA), striking out 22 in  innings pitched. Leroux played 2007 with Greensboro, where in 46 appearances, he went 2-3 with a 4.14 ERA, striking out 76 in  innings. Leroux played 2008 with the Jupiter Hammerheads of the Class A-Advanced Florida State League, where in 57 games, he went 6-7 with a 3.65 ERA and one save, striking out 78 in 74 innings. Leroux began 2009 with the Jacksonville Suns of the Class AA Southern League, where he played until he was promoted to the major leagues by the Marlins.He had a few stints with Florida, but spent most of his time in Jacksonville, where in 46 games, he went 5-3 with a 2.70 ERA and two saves,


title: Chris Leroux

texts:
 striking out 55 in 60 innings. Florida Marlins
On May 23, 2009, Leroux was recalled by the Marlins. He made his MLB debut three days later against the Philadelphia Phillies. He was optioned the next day when Brett Carroll was recalled. He rejoined the Marlins when Matt Lindstrom went on the disabled list. In his third appearance, he recorded his first MLB strikeout, which was of Cristian Guzmán. In 5 games with the Marlins, he had a 10.80 ERA with two strikeouts in  innings

Leroux opened 2010 with the New Orleans Zephyrs of the Class AAA Pacific Coast League (PCL), but was recalled on April 14.<mask> was placed on the 15-day disabled list on May 19 with a right elbow strain. He missed 26 games, and was subsequently assigned to New Orleans. He was recalled on September 3 when the rosters expanded. Pittsburgh Pirates
<mask> was claimed off waivers by the Pittsburgh Pirates on September 13, 2010. In 23 games with both teams, he went 0-1 with a 6.75 ERA with 22 strikeouts in  innings. <mask> began 2011 with the Indianapolis Indians of the Class AAA International League, but after a poor start, he was demoted to the Altoona Curve of the Class AA Eastern League. After a 5-game stint with Altoona, he returned to Indianapolis.On July 3, <mask> was recalled to Pittsburgh, replacing Brad Lincoln. He was optioned to Indianapolis on July 22, but was recalled 5 days later, only to be placed on the disabled list with a left calf strain 2 days after that. He was activated from the disabled list on August 22, and remained on the roster for the rest of the season. In 23 games with the Pirates, he went 1–1 with a 2.88 ERA. Prior to the 2012 season, <mask> was placed on the 60-day DL with a right pectoral strain. He rejoined the club as a September call-up after rehab and an assignment to the AAA Indianapolis Indians. In 10 games with the Pirates, he had a 5.56 ERA with 12 strikeouts in 11.2 innings.Leroux made the 2013 Opening Day

masks: Leroux Leroux Leroux Leroux Leroux


title: Mara Wilson

texts:
<mask> (born July 24, 1987) is an American actress. She rose to prominence as a child for playing Natalie Hillard in the film Mrs. Doubtfire (1993) and went on to play Susan Walker in Miracle on 34th Street (1994), the title character in Matilda (1996), Annabel Greening in A Simple Wish (1997), and Lily Stone in Thomas and the Magic Railroad (2000). She took a 12-year hiatus following the latter film to focus on writing. She returned to acting in 2012, and has predominantly worked in web series. Early life
<mask> was born in Burbank, California, on July 24, 1987, the oldest daughter of Burbank PTA school volunteer <mask> (née Shapiro; 1953–1996) and KTLA broadcast engineer <mask>. Her mother was Jewish, while her father is half Irish. She was raised Jewish and became an atheist when she was 15.She has three older brothers named Danny, Jon, and Joel, and a younger sister named Anna. She is a cousin of political commentator and media host Ben Shapiro, but she has disavowed him due to differences arising from his conservative views and her opposing progressive beliefs. They have no contact with each other. <mask>'s mother was diagnosed with breast cancer on March 10, 1995, and died on April 26, 1996. The film Matilda was dedicated to her memory. <mask> later recalled that this affected her passion for acting. At age 12, <mask> was diagnosed with OCD.She has also been diagnosed with ADHD. She attended Idyllwild Arts Academy in Idyllwild, California. After graduation in 2005, she relocated to New York City to continue her studies at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, graduating in 2009. She appeared in her own one-woman show called Weren't You That Girl? while in college. Career

When <mask> was five, she became interested in acting after watching her older brother Danny appear in television commercials. Her parents were initially disinclined, but eventually agreed to allow her to act.After appearing in several commercials for businesses like Lunchables, Bank of America, Texaco, and Marshalls, she was

masks:
Mara Elizabeth Wilson
Mara Elizabeth Wilson
Suzie Wilson
Mike Wilson
Wilson
Wilson
Wilson
Wilson


title: Mara Wilson

texts: invited to audition for the 1993 comedy film Mrs. Doubtfire. Producers were impressed and awarded her the role of Natalie Hillard. The following year, she appeared in the remake of Miracle on 34th Street. In 1994, <mask> was cast in a recurring role as Nikki Petrova on Melrose Place and played Barbara Barton in the television film A Time to Heal. She sang "Make 'Em Laugh" at the 67th Academy Awards broadcast on March 27, 1995, with Tim Curry and Kathy Najimy. In 1995, she won the ShoWest Award for Young Star of the Year. <mask>'s film work caught the attention of Danny DeVito, and she was cast as the main protagonist Matilda Wormwood in the 1996 film Matilda.She was nominated for three awards for her performance, winning the YoungStar Award for Best Performance by a Young Actress in a Comedy Film. In 1997, she starred in A Simple Wish alongside Martin Short. Although <mask> was nominated for three awards, the film mostly received negative reviews by critics. In 1997, <mask> went to a table reading for What Dreams May Come starring Robin Williams, but she did not get the part. A year later, she unsuccessfully auditioned for the 1998 remake of Disney's The Parent Trap but the role was given to Lindsay Lohan after she was deemed too young. In 1999, she portrayed Willow Johnson in the 1999 film for The Wonderful World of Disney titled Balloon Farm, based on a fiction book. In 2000, <mask> appeared in the fantasy film Thomas and the Magic Railroad, which was her last film.She retired from film work shortly afterward. She received a script for the 2001 film Donnie Darko, but declined to audition for the film. After retiring from film acting, she began stage acting. Her theater credits include A Midsummer Night's Dream and Cinderella. She also starred in her own live shows Weren't You That Girl? and What Are You Afraid Of? In 2012, <mask> appeared briefly in one episode of a web series called Missed Connection in the role of Bitty and made special appearances on internet review shows for That Guy with the Glasses—most

masks: Wilson Wilson Wilson Wilson Wilson Wilson


title: Mara Wilson

texts:
 notably a comedic turn playing an adult Matilda during a review of Matilda by The Nostalgia Chick, Lindsay Ellis.That year, she explained why she quit film acting: "Film acting is not very fun. Doing the same thing over and over again until, in the director's eyes, you 'get it right', does not allow for very much creative freedom. The best times I had on film sets were the times the director let me express myself, but those were rare." In May 2013, <mask> wrote an article for Cracked.com, offering her opinion of the delinquency of some former child stars. As of 2013, she worked for Publicolor. Her play Sheeple was produced in 2013 for the New York International Fringe Festival. In an interview that December, <mask> stated that her film acting days are over, and that she is instead focusing on writing.Her book Where Am I Now? : True Stories of Girlhood and Accidental Fame was published on September 13, 2016. <mask> has a recurring role on the podcast Welcome to Night Vale as "The Faceless Old Woman Who Secretly Lives in Your Home", as well as her own storytelling show called What Are You Afraid Of? In 2016, she made a brief return to television in a Mrs. Doubtfire-inspired episode of Broad City, in which she played a waitress where the comical Heimlich scene from the movie was re-enacted. That same year, she also voiced Jill Pill, a writer/director anthropomorphic spider, in season 3 of BoJack Horseman. She voiced Liv Amara/Diane "Di" Amara in Big Hero 6: The Series. In a 2017 NPR interview, The Simpsons voice actor Nancy Cartwright stated that a young <mask> was the inspiration for a character's voice on the episode "Bart Sells His Soul".Charity work
In 2015, <mask> collaborated with Project UROK, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to aid teens with mental illness. Personal life
As of 2013, <mask> resides in the Queens borough of New York City. She is bisexual. In 2015, <mask> appeared in a video by the mental health charity Project UROK in which she discussed the mental illnesses she has experienced,

masks: Wilson Wilson Wilson Wilson Wilson Wilson Wilson


title: Mara Wilson

texts:
 including anxiety, depression, and OCD. She also discussed her history of mental illness on Paul Gilmartin's podcast The Mental Illness Happy Hour. In a 2017 op-ed in Elle magazine, <mask> defended 13-year-old actress Millie Bobby Brown after commentators sexualized Brown's public image. In a 2021 New York Times op-ed, she commented on the documentary Framing Britney Spears and the parallels between their lives as child stars.She recalled an incident in which she was asked to comment on the burgeoning sexuality of an 18-year-old Spears when she herself was barely 13, and expressed relief at largely escaping oversexualization of her public image compared to Spears. She described her disappointment when a reporter called her a "spoiled brat" after she stated that she wanted the day off on her 13th birthday instead of granting interviews. She apologized for sounding like a "spoiled brat". Filmography

Screen roles

Stage roles

A Midsummer Night's Dream (2004)
 Cinderella (2005)
 Weren't You That Girl? (2009)
 What Are You Afraid Of? (2014)

Bibliography
 Sheeple (Play, 2013)
 Where Am I Now? : True Stories of Girlhood and Accidental Fame (2016)

Awards and nominations

References

External links
 <mask> at Substack

 <mask> on Instagram

1987 births
Living people
20th-century American actresses
Actresses from Los Angeles
Jewish American atheists
American child actresses
American voice actresses
American stage actresses
American people of Irish descent
American women podcasters
American podcasters
American soap opera actresses
American women bloggers
American bloggers
American women writers
Bisexual actresses
Bisexual writers
Jewish American actresses
Jewish American dramatists and playwrights
Jewish women writers
LGBT dramatists and playwrights
LGBT Jews
LGBT people from California
People with obsessive–compulsive disorder
Singers from Los Angeles
Tisch School of the Arts alumni
Writers from Los Angeles
21st-century American actresses
21st-century American women writers
People from Burbank, California
American

masks:
Wilson
Mara Wilson
Mara Wilson


title: Ponkunnam Varkey

texts:
<mask> (; 1 July 1910 – 2 July 2004) was a writer and activist from Kerala, India. He authored more than 120 short stories and 16 plays and is widely acclaimed as a writer who had always upheld social relevance in his works. <mask> combated many evils that existed in society during his days. His stories heightened the values of freedom and democracy. His name was synonymous with protest and he used his literary prowess to launch an uncompromising struggle against social injustice. <mask> was one of the pioneers of the progressive writers' forum and literary writers' co-operative in Kerala. He was the president of Kerala Sahitya Akademi and Sahithya Pravarthaka Co-operative Society.Biography
<mask> was born on 1 July 1910, in a Syrian Christian family of Edathua village in Kuttanad, Alappuzha district (Alleppey), to Kattappuram <mask> Joseph and Annamma Joseph. After his father's death <mask> went to his mother's house at Ponkunnam in Kottayam. As <mask> himself had said, his childhood was not a protected one, but based on the dictum of the survival of the fittest. While studying in school, he was attracted to Indian independence movement and the subject matter of his early writings was related to this theme. After high school studies he passed the Malayalam 'Vidwaan' examination; the then prevalent qualifying test for language teachers and joined a Catholic school, near Ponkunnam. But his relationship with the management was unpleasant and he left the institution when he was appointed teacher at the Vernacular Middle School in Pampady in 1942. Soon he resigned this job and jumped into the freedom struggle and was imprisoned.He was associated with the Communist Party for

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title: Ponkunnam Varkey

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 some time and was the secretary of Purogamana Kala Sahitya Sangham (progressive writers' forum) for five years. He died on 2 July 2004, a day after his 94th birthday. His wife Claramma had died in 1991. They had four sons and three daughters. Literary career
<mask> entered the literary field in 1939 with Thirumulkazhcha, a collection of poems that got rave reviews from the stalwarts of the time. It won the award of the Madras government in 1939. <mask> soon changed his track and chose prose, finding that drama and short story were the most effective vehicles to bring the written word close to the spoken one.He was already in the vortex of the great churning that was taking place in Kerala's social arena; he used his literary prowess to launch an uncompromising struggle against social injustice. This brought him in direct conflict with the then Diwan. His short stories Manthrikkettu and Model were banned in 1946 by the government of the princely state of Travancore (now forming southern Kerala) on the charge of treason and <mask> was imprisoned for six months. In 1944, <mask> started the National Book Stall, with the support of people like D. C. Kizhakemuri. But the venture was a total failure; after a few years, it merged with the Sahithya Pravarthaka Co-operative Society (SPCS), world's first writer's publishing cooperative and <mask> functioned as its president. This was one of the most creative periods in his life. <mask> has published 24 volumes of short stories, 16 volumes of plays, two collection of poems one collection of essays (profiles of some politicians and public figures) and a volume of autobiography.His short story Sabdikkunna Kalappa has always been

masks: Varkey Varkey Varkey Varkey Varkey Varkey


title: Ponkunnam Varkey

texts:
 considered one of the best short stories in Malayalam
literature. It describes the close relationship between a farmer and his ox. His dramas were noted not only for its social criticism but with its artistic beauty. The dramas when staged his messages were bringing closer to the masses. His left oriented philosophy and relentless fight against feudalism, its decadent values and institutionalised church made him darling of the downtrodden and, simultaneously a thorn in the eye of the powerful. The recurrent themes of <mask>'s writings are the decadence in the echelons of power and the corruption among the clergy. His style is direct, simple and unostentatious and the characters of his stories are ordinary rural folk, mostly farmers and workers.The focus of his works was on human relationships and man's relationship with nature. <mask>'s writing expedited the evolution of a congenial atmosphere for social change in the first half of the 20th century in India. In 1973 <mask> was nominated as the president of Kerala Sahitya Akademi. In 1997, Ezhuthachan Puraskaram, the highest literary honour of the Kerala government was awarded to <mask>. Film career
He wrote screenplays for several films and produced two films. His entry into the film industry was through Navalokam, for which he penned the story and dialogue. The screenplay was heavily loaded with pro-labour dialogues and the film received heavy cuts from the Censor Board.He also worked for films like Asha Deepom, Snehaseema, Bharya, Vidhithanna Vilakku, School Master and many others. He also produced two films – Makam Piranna Manka and Chalanam. <mask> was an honorary member of Malayalam Cine Technicians' Association

masks: Varkey Varkey Varkey Varkey Varkey


title: Joe Barton

texts: <mask> (born September 15, 1949) is an American politician who represented  in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1985 to 2019. The district included Arlington, part of Fort Worth, and several small towns and rural areas south of the Dallas–Fort Worth Metroplex. He was also a member of the Tea Party Caucus. In 2014, <mask> became the longest-serving member of the Texas congressional delegation. <mask> described himself as "a constant defender of conservative ideals and values". He advocated for deregulation of the electricity and natural gas industries, and served as vice-chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committees. He denied that manmade carbon emissions had contributed to global warming, was a proponent of the use of fossil fuels, voted in favor of the May 2017 GOP plan to replace Obamacare, supported President Donald Trump's ban on immigration from certain predominantly Muslim nations, and supported the death penalty for people caught spying.<mask> led a successful effort to repeal the oil export ban in the House in 2017. His environmental record of defending industries against tighter pollution controls earned him the nickname "Smokey <mask>." <mask> came to national prominence after telling a citizen at a town hall meeting to "shut up." He came to national attention again when sexually

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title: Joe Barton

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 explicit photos that he had shared with women surfaced online in 2017. In November 2017, <mask> announced that he would not seek re-election in 2018. Early life, education, and early career
<mask> was born in Waco, Texas, the son of Bess Wynell (née Buice) and Larry Linus <mask>. He graduated from Waco High School.He attended Texas A&M University in College Station on a Gifford-Hill Opportunity Award scholarship, and received a B.S. in industrial engineering in 1972. An M.Sc. in industrial administration from Purdue University followed in 1973. Following college, <mask> entered private industry until 1981, when he became a White House Fellow and served under United States Secretary of Energy James B. Edwards. Later, he began consulting for Atlantic Richfield Oil and Gas Co., before being elected to the United States Congress in 1984. U.S. House of Representatives

Elections

1984–86

<mask> made his first run for elected office in 1984, when he entered the Republican primary for Texas's 6th congressional district after three-term incumbent Phil Gramm left his seat to run for the United States Senate that year.He finished first in the five-candidate field with 42%,  and very narrowly defeated Max Hoyt in the runoff with 50%. He then defeated Democratic nominee and former State Representative Dan Kubiak

masks: Barton Barton Barton Barton Barton


title: Joe Barton

texts:
 57%–43%. <mask> was one of six freshmen Republican U.S. congressmen elected from Texas in 1984, known as the Texas Six Pack. In 1986, <mask> won re-election against Democratic candidate Pete Geren, who was later elected to Congress from a neighboring district. <mask> defeated Geren 56%–44%. 1988–2010

During this period, <mask> won each re-election with 60% of the vote or more. His worst general election performance was in 2006, when he defeated Democratic candidate David Harris 60%–37%, a 23-point margin.The 2008 election was his second-worst performance, defeating Democratic candidate Ludwig Otto by a 26-point margin, 62%–36%. He was only challenged in the primary twice in this time period: in 1992 and 1994. In 1992, he defeated Mike McGinn 79 to 21%. In 1994, he defeated Jerry Goode 89%–11%. 2012
Because of increasing controversy surrounding his record in office, election battles became increasingly contentious. In 2011, a Super PAC was formed by Texas conservative groups to remove him and several other long-time incumbents from office. The Democratic National Committee used <mask>'s comments in political ads, shown nationally against all Republican candidates.Several websites were created and dedicated to simply removing <mask> from office. DefeatJoeBarton.com/ was created by Democratic challengers.

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title: Joe Barton

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 All content was later removed, though the site is still owned. <mask> drew three primary challengers: <mask>, Mayor of Addison; Itamar Gelbman, a security consultant; and Frank C. Kuchar, a Dallas businessman and former preacher. Chow is Texas' first Asian-American mayor. He called <mask> "the most corrupt congressman in the State of Texas." At the end of March 2012, <mask> had $1.3 million in cash on hand, compared with $28,800 for Chow, $178,000 for Gelbman, and $463 for Kuchar.2014

In the Republican primary on March 4, <mask> won re-nomination to a 16th term in the U.S. House. He polled 32,579 (72.7%); his 2012 primary opponent, Frank Kuchar, trailed with 12,260 votes (27.3%). On November 4, <mask> handily won re-election over Democratic opponent David Cozad. 2016

<mask> polled 55,197 votes (68.7%) in a three-candidate field for the Republican House nomination in the March 1 primary election. The runner-up, Steven Fowler, received 17,927 votes (22.3%). To win his 17th consecutive term in the House, <mask> then defeated in the November 8 general election the Democrat Ruby Faye Woolridge (born 1948) of Arlington, who had polled 22,954 votes (69.7%) in her earlier three-candidate Democratic primary. <mask> finished with 159,444 votes (58.3%) to Woolridge's 106,667 (39%); the most any Democrat had

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 received against <mask> in his three-decade career.The remaining 7,185 votes (2.6%) went to the Green Party candidate, Darrel Smith, Jr.

2018
Texas's filing deadline for the House seat held by <mask> was December 11, 2017. The primary was held March 6, 2018. <mask> initially said that he would run for reelection, but announced on November 30, 2017, that he would not seek reelection in 2018. If <mask> resigned from his seat (as predicted by Austin Republican strategist Matt Mackowiak), there would be a special, open primary election in 2018, in which candidates from all parties would appear on a single ballot; if no candidate received more than 50% of the vote, then the top two vote-getters (regardless of party) will advance to a runoff. Democrat former educator Ruby Faye Woolridge had indicated she would run for the seat, as did Democrats Jana Lynne Sanchez (endorsed by the New Democrat Coalition and the environmental group Climate Hawks Vote), party activist Justin Snider, Levii R. Shocklee of Arlington, and lawyer John Duncan. Republicans Jake Ellzey (a retired U.S. Navy fighter pilot and commissioner on the Texas Veterans Commission) and Dr. Monte Mark Mitchell (a Fort Worth physician, attorney, and custom home builder) filed to oppose <mask>, and other Republican candidates for <mask>'s seat may


title: Joe Barton

texts:
 include State Representative Tony Tinderholt, State Senators Brian Birdwell and Konni Burton, Ellis County Commissioner Paul Perry, and former Tarrant County Tax Assessor-Collector Ron Wright (<mask>'s former chief of staff and district director). The Fort Worth Star-Telegram urged that <mask> not seek re-election.Tim O'Hare, the Chairman of the Tarrant County Republican Party, called on <mask> "to not seek re-election and to retire from Congress by the end of [2017]," saying he is guilty of "sexual immorality." Republican State Senators Konni Burton and Brian Birdwell also urged <mask> to not seek re-election. Brian Mayes, a Dallas political consultant, said <mask> was vulnerable in his upcoming election battle "if he gets a motivated opponent", and that he risked getting lumped in "fairly or unfairly" with sexual misconduct allegations in Congress. <mask> announced on November 30, 2017, that he would not seek reelection. Tenure

<mask> voted against the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 in both of its manifestations. In March 2011, <mask> sponsored the Better Use of Light Bulbs Act, which would repeal the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, signed by President George W. Bush. The 2007 law would set energy efficiency standards for light bulbs, effectively eliminating most or all

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title: Joe Barton

texts:
 incandescent light bulbs.<mask> said "People don't want Congress dictating what light fixtures they can use." <mask> is a member of the Freedom Caucus and the United States Congressional International Conservation Caucus. In the first session of the 115th United States Congress, <mask> was ranked the 42nd most bipartisan member of the House by the Bipartisan Index, a metric published by The Lugar Center and Georgetown's McCourt School of Public Policy to assess congressional bipartisanship. Congressional action
 Former Chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, House sponsor of the Energy Policy Act of 2005, and chairman of the House–Senate energy conference committee. On his website he speaks of his diligent work to promote a conservative agenda, and how "in his first legislative victory as Chairman, the House overwhelmingly passed legislation to limit indecency on the public airwaves." Both initiated and eliminated "safe harbor" provision for MTBE (in Energy Policy Act of 2005). Co-founded the Congressional Privacy Caucus, cosponsor of the anti-spyware SPY ACT, initiated National Institutes of Health Reform Act of 2006.Opposed the extension of the Voting Rights Act in 2006
 <mask> was a leading voice in Congress for forcing the switch from analog to digital TV. <mask> has supported the


title: Joe Barton

texts:
 auctioning off the public airwaves to private companies. Global warming

Prompted by a February 2005 Wall Street Journal article, <mask> launched an investigation that year into two climate change studies from 1998 and 1999. In his letters to the authors of the studies he requested details on the studies and the sources of the authors grant funding. The Washington Post condemned <mask>'s investigation as a "witch-hunt". During former Vice President Al Gore's testimony to the Energy and Commerce Committee in March 2007, <mask> asserted to Gore that "You're not just off a little, you're totally wrong" (climate scientists have refuted <mask>'s assertion), stating that "Global warming science is uneven and evolving." Upset with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's passage of global warming legislation in 2009, he said: "You can't regulate God."At the same time, <mask> implied in 2009 that wind is a "finite resource," and there was a claim made that <mask> was suggesting that greater use of wind turbines would "slow the winds down," which would "cause the temperature to go up," although a report in Snopes suggested that <mask> was merely quoting an academic study which suggested that increased use of wind turbines might have unintended consequences for the environment, and that the claim about the linkage between

masks: Barton Barton Barton Barton Barton Barton Barton


title: Joe Barton

texts:
 increased use of wind turbines and slowing down the winds was incorrect. In 2013, when discussing the Keystone XL pipeline, he referred to the Genesis flood narrative in the Bible to argue that current climate change isn't man-made. <mask> rejects the scientific consensus on climate change that climate change is real and that human activity is the primary cause. <mask> has "mocked human-caused climate change" according to The New York Times, and is "a long-time denier of global warming" according to Time magazine, and "a longtime skeptic of human involvement in climate change" according to HuffPost. In any event, he suggested that humans will "adapt" to climate change because we can "get shade." "<mask> has made a reputation for his outspoken rejection of man-made climate change, and for his support for the oil industry," according to Suzanne Goldenberg in The Guardian. Autism bills controversy
<mask> tried to block the bipartisan Combating Autism Act of 2006.He said that the money steered toward environmental causes of autism was not the reason he blocked passage of the bill. The controversy stemmed from the conflict between two bills in the House and Senate. <mask> introduced the National Institutes of Health Reform Act of 2006, while Senator Rick Santorum introduced the Autism bill. Santorum said in a


title: Joe Barton

texts:
 CNN interview that the Senate bill was intended to be "fit into" <mask>'s bill in the House bill. He stated that "I was in constant conversation with him [<mask>] and many House members all last week in an attempt to help the NIH bill come through the Senate, as well as try to move the Combating Autism bill through the Senate." Santorum stated that the Senate bill would investigate possible environmental causes, while the House bill would prevent that. <mask> let the bill die in committee, which upset many people who were vocal about saying <mask> had sacrificed the interests of autistic children in the interests of the oil and gas companies that donate heavily to his campaign.BP oil spill controversy
In June 2010, <mask> accused the Obama administration of a "$20 billion shakedown" of oil giant BP after the company reached an agreement with the administration to establish an escrow account to pay the claims of people harmed by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. He made the accusation at the outset of a House hearing where BP's chief executive officer, Tony Hayward, appeared for the first time before Congress. Facing Hayward at the witness table, <mask> said, "I apologize. I do not want to live in a country where any time a citizen or a corporation does something that is legitimately


title: Joe Barton

texts:
 wrong, is subject to some sort of political pressure that is, again, in my words — amounts to a shakedown, so I apologize." Prior to the establishment of the agreement, the Obama administration had been public in their criticism of BP for the oil spill. <mask>'s remarks were criticized by White House spokesman Robert Gibbs and Vice President <mask>, GOP congressional leadership as well as by <mask>'s fellow Republicans, some of whom called on him to relinquish his leadership role in the House Energy Subcommittee. <mask> later said that his earlier remarks had been "misconstrued" and that he believed BP was responsible for the accident.Later that day, he issued a statement apologizing for using the term "shakedown" and fully retracted his apology to BP. Sodomy and abortion
In 2010, <mask> backed a policy platform that called for re-criminalizing sodomy in Texas. He has 100% ratings from socially conservative groups such as the Family Research Council and the Christian Coalition of America for his opposition to abortion and LGBTQ rights. CREW report
The organization Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) put <mask> on its "CREW's Most Corrupt Report 2011". The article stated that on <mask>'s 2008 financial disclosure statement, he inaccurately reported on the source of a natural gas

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 interest that he bought into. The share was purchased through a longtime donor and supporter, who later died. This was discovered by the Dallas Morning News in 2010.According to the Dallas Morning News article, <mask> made over $100,000 on the investment. The article and CREW Report both pointed out how <mask> buying this undervalued asset from an "advisor" on energy issues could be a conflict of interest to the Congressman's position as the Chair of the House's Energy Subcommittee. It quoted James Thurber, a Distinguished Professor of Government at American University, as saying: "If you are elected as a public servant to try to do what is right for the public generally and then you use that position to help bring in material wealth, I think it's unethical." CREW also reported that <mask> paid his wife Terri $57,759 in salary and bonuses, from his campaign funds in the 2006 election cycle. A spokesman said that Terri served as the campaign's outreach director and planned fund raising and special events. in addition, <mask>'s daughter Kristin was paid $12,622 in salary and bonuses, and his mother, <mask>, was paid $7,000 for a car. Crude oil ban
<mask> expressed in September 2014 his full support of the U.S. lifting the 40-year-old ban on crude oil exports – an issue that sparked controversy among members

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title: Joe Barton

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 of the Republican Party.Several research reports had found that exporting the glut of shale oil would ultimately lower U.S. and global fuel prices, rather than raise them; U.S. public opinion was divided on the issue. Online poker
<mask> has sought to permit online poker, and regulate it on a federal level. To that end, he has introduced the Online Poker Act of 2011, the Internet Poker Freedom Act of 2013, and the Internet Poker Freedom Act of 2015. Health care
<mask> favored repealing the Affordable Care Act (ACA, or Obamacare). Explaining why the American Health Care Act (the House Republicans' bill to repeal and replace for the Affordable Care Act) failed in March 2017, <mask> said, "Sometimes you're playing fantasy football and sometimes you're in the real game. We knew the president, if we could get a repeal bill to his desk, would almost certainly veto it. This time we knew if it got to the president's desk it would be signed."Hurricane Harvey relief
<mask> voted against Hurricane Harvey relief in 2017. <mask> said that he could not support an increase in the debt ceiling. Immigration
<mask> supported President Donald Trump's 2017 Executive Order 13769 banning entry to the United States by nationals of seven Muslim-majority nations. In November 2017, <mask> called on the House leadership to pass


title: Joe Barton

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 naturalization legislation for children who came across the border illegally with their parents. Committee assignments
 Committee on Energy and Commerce (Chair emeritus)
 Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade
 Subcommittee on Communications and Technology
 Subcommittee on Energy and Power
 Subcommittee on Environment and Economy
 Subcommittee on Health
 Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations

1993 U.S. Senate election

In 1993, <mask> ran in the special election for the U.S. Senate seat vacated by the resignation of Lloyd Bentsen, who became United States Secretary of the Treasury in the Clinton administration. <mask> finished third in the contest, behind state treasurer Kay Bailey Hutchison and Senator Bob Krueger, thus missing a runoff slot. He divided the more conservative vote in that election with House colleague Jack Fields of Houston.Barton Family Foundation
The Barton Family Foundation was established in 2005 to support charities within the congressman's district. His daughter-in-law, <mask>, is the Foundation's Executive Director. Major energy corporations, such as the Chicago-based nuclear energy producer, Exelon Corporation, make major gifts to the Foundation. In June 2008, at a time when <mask> had introduced legislation to assist corporations with the recycling of spent

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title: Joe Barton

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 nuclear fuel, the corporation donated $25,000 to the Foundation. Exelon has also donated $80,000 to <mask>'s campaign funds. The Foundation gave $90,000 to the local Boys and Girls Club, this is the only recorded donation made by the Foundation in its seven-year history. Sex scandal

In November 2017, nude selfie pictures of <mask> surfaced online, which he acknowledged were authentic, and which he apologized for to his constituents.He confirmed he himself took the photo, apparently from a video of him masturbating, and sent it to women with whom he was having consensual sexual relationships. An anonymous Twitter user posted the photo of <mask>, who had pointed his camera upward from below his genitals, next to a text message reading, "I want you soo bad. Right now. Deep and hard." An anonymous woman said that she had received the selfie and other explicit images from <mask>, but had not been the person who posted any of them on the internet. She also shared with the Washington Post a 2015 recorded phone call in which <mask> warned her against using the explicit materials "in a way that would negatively affect my career", threatening to report her to the Capitol Police if she did so. On the taped phone call, <mask> said "...I ... met you twice while married and had sex with you on two different


title: Joe Barton

texts: occasions"; the woman said that they had slept together in 2012 in Washington, DC, and in 2014 in Texas, and that the Congressman had reimbursed her for her airfare in cash on both occasions. The woman also shared with the Washington Post text and social media messages <mask> exchanged with her, as well as a 53-second cellphone video in which <mask> recorded himself masturbating. She described to the newspaper encounters and contact with <mask> spanning a five-year period, beginning in 2011. She said she came forward because: "It's not normal for a member of Congress who runs on a GOP platform of family values and conservatism to be scouring the Internet looking for a new sexual liaison." A week later a second woman, Kelly Canon, a board member of the Arlington Republican Club and a member of the Republican Women of Arlington who is a constituent of <mask>'s, shared a series of messages — some with sexual overtones — that <mask> had sent to her. <mask> sent the messages in 2012 and 2013, while <mask> was married to his second wife. The messages included questions from <mask> about whether Canon was "wearing a tank top only .. and no panties," followed by "answer me miss evasive."<mask> also messaged her that "men are men...and u r definitely a sexy woman." When Canon responded that "all the good ones are

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 married," <mask> replied: "I dont know about good..but I am married ... but ...I am not thinking good thoughts at this moment ... blush." <mask> confirmed that he had the message exchange. A third woman, Cheryl Small, said on November 30, 2017, that <mask> had sex with her multiple times in his Ennis office while he was married. His second ex-wife said: "Of course I wasn't surprised. I guess I was more surprised that some of these ladies finally came forward."She said she found it ironic that <mask> was one of President Bill Clinton's loudest critics during the Monica Lewinsky scandal. Similarly, columnist Jim Schutze of the Dallas Observer noted that <mask> practically built his political career "on condemning the behavior of others and even on trying to make other people's private behavior against the law ...."

While <mask> had no plans to resign immediately, according to a spokeswoman, and initially had said that he would run for reelection in 2018, a number of state and local politicians indicated that they might challenge him in the 2018 election for his seat. <mask> hired a crisis communication firm, and said he had suffered a "potential crime." Outlets including Slate, NBC and CNN opined that <mask> might be a victim of revenge porn, which—though not a federal crime—is a class A misdemeanor in


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 Texas, punishable by up to one year in county jail and up to a $4,000 fine. Randy Bellomy, Chairman of the Ellis County Republican Party, said "His lifestyle is inconsistent with Republican ideals, and he has brought disgrace not only to Ellis County and the 6th Congressional District, but also to the people of Texas and this great nation." Brian Mayes, a Dallas political consultant, said that the sexting "is something you'd expect from a young, immature college kid, not a grandfather." Texas GOP Chairman James Dickey said that the case is distinguishable from that of former Congressman Anthony Weiner and his sexting scandal, but that the two controversies share one "consistent message that everyone should take to heart: We should all think very hard before we post, text or otherwise share anything."<mask> announced on November 30, 2017, that he would not seek reelection. The Fort Worth Star-Telegram ran an editorial in reaction entitled "Hey <mask>, skipping the next election is not enough. It's time to go." It opined that it was not appropriate for <mask> – who "can no longer be taken seriously" – to continue to represent the 6th Congressional District for another year, until January 2019. Personal life
<mask> was divorced from his first wife (Jeanette/Janet Sue Winslow) in 2003. He remarried in 2004,

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 and divorced from his second wife (Terri) in 2015. In 2017 he was again engaged.His wife Terri said she filed for divorce after evidence that <mask> had engaged in multiple affairs, and finding "a very sexually explicit video of one of his mistresses." He has four children and five grandchildren. In December 2005, <mask> suffered a heart attack and was taken to George Washington University Hospital. Electoral history

|+ : Results 1984–2016
! Year
!
! Republican
! Votes
!%
!
! Democratic
! Votes
! %
!
! Third Party
! Party
! Votes
!%
!
! Third Party
! Party
! Votes
! %
!
! Third Party
! Party
!Votes
! %
! | |6,547
| |3%
|
|-
|1998
||
| |<mask>
| |112,957
| |73%
|
| |Ben Boothe
| |40,112
| |26%
|
| |Richard Bandlow
| |Libertarian
| |1,817
| |1%
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|-
|2000
||
| |<mask>
| |222,685
| |88%
|
| |No candidate
| |
| |
|
| |Frank Brady
| |Libertarian
| |30,056
| |12%
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|-
|2002
||
| |<mask>
| |115,396
| |70%
|
| |Felix Alvarado
| |45,404
| |28%
|
| |Frank Brady
| |Libertarian
| |1,992
| |1%
|
|

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