Marissa DuBois in Slow Motion Full Fashion Week 2023, Fashion Channel Vlog,

Friday, June 1, 2012

Buddy Roemer quits 2012 race


On an unusually balmy March evening in Washington DC, a crowd of polished Beltway types—consultants, advocates, lobbyists, and the usual politicos—listen attentively to former Louisiana Governor Buddy Roemer at a salon on money in politics at a historic row house. Roemer, (in the South it's pronounced "roma") dives right into his speech, his distinct Shreveport accent and Methodist preacher rhythm echo in the room. "Washington isn't broken"—brief, effective pause—"it's bought!" The slight, white-haired 68-year-old drops phrases like "Goldman-friggin'-Sachs" with fire-and-brimstone inflections. The crowd listens politely. "It's not the White House I want," Roemer roars in his final crescendo. "I want a free America!"


You could be forgiven for having missed it, but Roemer has been running for president. A Harvard-educated four-term congressman, one-term governor, and successful banker, he campaigned for more than a year. In a field light on Southern Republicans (Newt Gingrich was born in Pennsylvania and Rick Perry, well…), he once might have looked like a contender. But not in the eyes of Republican tastemakers. Roemer was not invited to a single one of the 20 primary debates, a fact he repeats with unmitigated animosity. Which is why, after 20-plus years as a Republican convert (he started his career as a Democrat), he quit the party in February.


His third-party run was based on a signature issue: not accepting any campaign contributions exceeding $100. In a political system awash in money, it's a compelling concept, but then again, why $100? Why not $500? Why not the federally mandated maximum of $2,500 per donor, still peanuts compared to the million-dollar checks being written by superwealthy super-PAC donors? When you press him on this, Roemer defaults to folksy. "I hope people see past my farm"—a sly reference to his family's 2,000-acre plantation—"into my heart and see what the future ought to be—a president who's free to lead.


After 17 months of a wonderful campaign, the lack of ballot access in all 50 states makes the quest impossible for now.


I want to thank my family, particularly my wife Scarlett, and my three children Caroline, Chas, and Dakota. I’d also like to thank my three sisters, Margaret, Melinda, Melanie, and my brother Danny for all of their efforts.


I could not have done this without the guidance and brilliance of my campaign manager, Carlos Sierra of El Paso, and without the new media expertise of Jill Sherman and Morgan Martinez, the volunteer efforts of Joshua Chavers, the start-up assistance of a great leader, Skardon Baker of Los Angeles, the courage of my New England director, Jim Knowlton of Worchester, and the scheduling patience of William Pierce of Rhode Island.


A special thank you to Bill Klotz of Louisiana who never faltered— not once. My kitchen cabinet included Taunton Melville of Louisiana, Len Sanderson of DC, Larry Lessig of Massachusetts, Dennis Stine of Louisiana, Brian Silver of California, and Mark McKinnon of Texas.
New Easy ad campaign name for Godaddy is all about Domains & Hostings just ez2.me:Next time forGo Daddy.com: Easy to you justwww.ez2.me
Get Your Web Presence on the Right Track. .Com's for just $7.99!
Look more Products from Go daddy just log on
all about Domains & Hostings just ez2.me

Buddy Roemer


Charles Elson "Buddy" Roemer III, born October 4, 1943 is an American politician who was a candidate for the presidential nominations of the Republican Party and the Reform Party, respectively, in 2012. He withdrew. He was seeking the 2012 Americans Elect presidential nomination until that group announced it would not field a candidate in 2012 because no candidate reached the required minimum threshold of support to be on its ballot. He also served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from 1981 to 1988 before serving as the 76th Governor of Louisiana (52nd since U.S. Statehood), from 1988 to 1992.
In March 1991, while serving as Governor, Roemer switched from the Democratic to the Republican Party.


The Sterling Group, Inc (1992–1997)
After the 1991 election cycle concluded, Roemer teamed up with a long time friend, Joe Traigle, to form The Sterling Group, Inc. The two met in the late 1960s in Shreveport, Louisiana when they were both active in the Junior Chamber of Commerce (Jaycees).
The Sterling Group specialized in international trade of plastic raw materials between the US and Mexico. Roemer served as the Chairman of the board and Traigle served as President. Roemer was a strong supporter of improving Louisiana and US trade with Mexico. Traigle bought Roemer out of the company in 1997.


1995 gubernatorial election


In 1995, Roemer attempted a comeback, running again for governor. Having been squeezed out in 1991 between Edwards and Duke, Roemer chose to run on a much more conservative platform in 1995, emphasizing an anti-crime and anti-welfare stance. For example, he called for prisoner chain gangs to clean up litter on state highways. Roemer held a wide lead for much of the campaign, but faded in the days before the primary election as conservative state senator Mike Foster, who switched affiliation from Democratic to Republican during the campaign, peeled conservative votes away from him. Roemer finished fourth with 18 percent of the vote, two percentage points from making the runoff.


2004 U.S. Senate election


In the summer of 2004, Roemer briefly considered entering the race to succeed retiring U.S. Senator John Breaux. Roemer passed on the race, and Republican Representative David Vitter of suburban New Orleans was elected to replace Breaux.


Later business career


Having failed at his political comeback, Roemer has in recent years been an investor and banker. He formed one company that built retirement housing for retirees near universities, with alumni from each university being the target buyers. He also founded Business First Bank, based in Baton Rouge.
In June 2005, Roemer underwent triple bypass heart surgery at the Baton Rouge General Medical Center. In 2008, Roemer supported and campaigned for U.S. Senator John McCain of Arizona for President of the United States.
Roemer is currently President and CEO of Business First Bank in Baton Rouge.
In 2000, Roemer was inducted into the Louisiana Political Museum and Hall of Fame in Winnfield.
Ron Gomez (a Lafayette politicist) said that he believes Roemer "could have been one of Louisiana's great governors. The state's horrible financial condition when he took office, his dependence on an inexperienced and sometimes rashly immature staff in his first year or so, an overly-ambitious legislative agenda and his own unpredictable dealings with individual legislators all contributed to the failures he suffered. Ultimately, all of these factors led to his running third, as the incumbent, in the 1991 gubernatorial election. Gomez describes Roemer as "a dynamic orator who could light up an audience with his first two sentences. When he got wound up it was truly evangelical, and he made sense. His wiry, five foot seven, one-hundred thirty-five pound frame would seem to uncoil and grow as he outlined his vision as a fighter against crime, corruption and waste in government, poor education, taxes and industrial pollution.
New Easy ad campaign name for Godaddy is all about Domains & Hostings just ez2.me:Next time forGo Daddy.com: Easy to you justwww.ez2.me
Get Your Web Presence on the Right Track. .Com's for just $7.99!
Look more Products from Go daddy just log on
all about Domains & Hostings just ez2.me


Buddy Roemer 2012 presidential candidacy



In January 2011, Roemer told Baton Rouge television station WAFB that he was considering a bid for the U.S. presidency in 2012.On July 21, 2011 at Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire, Roemer announced his entry as a candidate for the Republican nomination for President.
On March 3, 2011, Roemer announced the formation of an exploratory committee to prepare for a possible run for the 2012 presidential nomination of the Republican Party. Roemer stressed that campaign finance reform would be a key issue in his campaign. Pledging to limit campaign contributions to $100 per individual, Roemer appeared as one of five candidates at a 2011 March forum in Iowa sponsored by the Faith and Freedom Coalition.
Candidate campaign participation
Roemer was not invited to any of the Republican debates because he failed to meet the 7% minimum criterion for popularity in polls. Roemer was not included as an option in several polls until the 2012 Iowa Caucus and the 2012 New Hampshire Primary in early January. Roemer attempted to reach audiences through social media, including tweeting responses to debates in which he could not participate. His donations averaged $30,000 a month, far below what is raised by the front runners.
This difference in campaign fundraising may be attributed to the fact that Roemer limited donations to $100 per US citizen, and denied all PAC, Super PAC, and corporate donations. His campaign garnered some visibility when Roemer starred in an advertisement for Stephen Colbert's Super PAC, in November 2011. The ad lampooned the flimsiness of legal restrictions against Super PACs coordinating with the candidates they support.
On Wednesday, November 30, 2011, Roemer officially announced that he would seek the Americans Elect nomination. On May 17, 2012, Americans Elect announced that they would not put forth a candidate in the 2012 presidential elections.
On February 23, 2012, Roemer dropped out of the GOP nomination to seek the Reform Party's nomination.On May 31, 2012, he announced that he was ending his 2012 presidential campaign altogether.
New Easy ad campaign name for Godaddy is all about Domains & Hostings just ez2.me:Next time forGo Daddy.com: Easy to you justwww.ez2.me
Get Your Web Presence on the Right Track. .Com's for just $7.99!
Look more Products from Go daddy just log on
all about Domains & Hostings just ez2.me

Defense of Marriage Act


Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) (Pub.L. 104-199, 110 Stat. 2419, enacted September 21, 1996, 1 U.S.C. § 7 and 28 U.S.C. § 1738C) is a United States federal law that defines marriage as the legal union of one man and one woman. The law passed both houses of Congress by large majorities and was signed into law by President Bill Clinton on September 21, 1996.
Under the law, no U.S. state or political subdivision is required to recognize a same-sex marriage treated as a marriage in another state. Section 3 of DOMA codifies the non-recognition of same-sex marriage for all federal purposes, including insurance benefits for government employees, Social Security survivors' benefits, and the filing of joint tax returns. This section has been found unconstitutional in two Massachusetts cases, a California bankruptcy case, and a California class action suit on the part of public employees. The Obama administration announced in 2011 that it had determined that Section 3 was unconstitutional and, though it would continue to enforce the law, it would no longer defend it in court. In response, the House of Representatives undertook the defense of the law on behalf of the federal government in place of the Department of Justice (DOJ).


Text


The main provisions of the act are as follows:
Section 2. Powers reserved to the states
No State, territory, or possession of the United States, or Indian tribe, shall be required to give effect to any public act, record, or judicial proceeding of any other State, territory, possession, or tribe respecting a relationship between persons of the same sex that is treated as a marriage under the laws of such other State, territory, possession, or tribe, or a right or claim arising from such relationship.
Section 3. Definition of marriage
In determining the meaning of any Act of Congress, or of any ruling, regulation, or interpretation of the various administrative bureaus and agencies of the United States, the word 'marriage' means only a legal union between one man and one woman as husband and wife, and the word 'spouse' refers only to a person of the opposite sex who is a husband or a wife.


Enactment


Georgia Representative Bob Barr, then a Republican, authored the Defense of Marriage Act and introduced it in the House of Representatives on May 7, 1996. Senator Don Nickles of Oklahoma introduced it in the Senate. Its Congressional sponsors stated, "The bill amends the U.S. Code to make explicit what has been understood under federal law for over 200 years; that a marriage is the legal union of a man and a woman as husband and wife, and a spouse is a husband or wife of the opposite sex." Nickles said: "If some state wishes to recognize same-sex marriage, they can do so". He said the bill would insure that "the 49 other states don't have to and the Federal Government does not have to. In opposition to the bill, Colorado Rep. Patricia Schroeder said: "You can't amend the Constitution with a statute. Everybody knows that. This is just stirring the political waters and seeing what hate you can unleash. Barr countered that Article IV Sec. 1 of the Constitution grants Congress power to determine "the effect" of the obligation of each state to grant "full faith and credit" to other states' acts.
The 1996 Republican Party platform endorsed DOMA, referencing only Section 2 of the act: "We reject the distortion of [anti-discrimination] laws to cover sexual preference, and we endorse the Defense of Marriage Act to prevent states from being forced to recognize same-sex unions. The Democratic Party platform that year did not mention DOMA or marriage. In a June 1996 interview in the gay and lesbian magazine The Advocate, Clinton said: "I remain opposed to same-sex marriage. I believe marriage is an institution for the union of a man and a woman. This has been my long-standing position, and it is not being reviewed or reconsidered. He also wrote that "raising this issue is divisive and unnecessary.
Some Democrats viewed the legislation as politically motivated rather than a response to societal developments. Sen. Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts called DOMA the "Endangered Republican Candidates Act and said it was "a mean-spirited form of legislative gay-bashing designed to inflame the public four months before the November election. Gay and lesbian rights organizations found there was little time to lobby in opposition, because the Clinton administration preferred to have DOMA become law as quickly as possible and not become an issue in the fall presidential campaign. Kennedy led an effort to pass hiring and employment protection for gays and lesbians, the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), in concert with DOMA, but the effort failed in the Senate by one vote.
The bill moved through Congress on a legislative fast track and met with overwhelming approval in both houses of the Republican-controlled Congress, passing by a vote of 85–14 in the Senate[20] and a vote of 342–67 in the House. Democratic Senators voted for the bill 32 to 14 (with Pryor of Arkansas absent), and Democratic Representatives voted for it 188 to 65, with 15 not participating. All Republicans in both houses voted for the bill with the sole exception of the one openly gay Republican congressman, Rep. Steve Gunderson of Wisconsin. On the day it passed the House, a White House spokesman called the legislation "gay baiting". Clinton, who was traveling when Congress acted, signed it into law promptly upon returning to Washington, D.C., on September 21, 1996. The White House released a statement in which Clinton said "that the enactment of this legislation should not, despite the fierce and at times divisive rhetoric surrounding it, be understood to provide an excuse for discrimination, violence or intimidation against any person on the basis of sexual orientation".


Impact


The General Accounting Office issued a report in 1997 identifying "1,049 federal statutory provisions classified to the United States Code in which benefits, rights, and privileges are contingent on marital status or in which marital status is a factor". In updating its report in 2004, the GAO found that this number had risen to 1,138 as of December 31, 2003.[27] With respect to Social Security, housing, and food stamps, the GAO found that "recognition of the marital relationship is integral to the design of the program[s]." The other major categories the GAO identified were veteran's benefits, including pensions and survivor benefits; taxes on income, estates, gifts, and property sales; and benefits due federal employees, both civilian and military. Among many specifics, it noted the rights of the widow or widower of the creator of a copyrighted work and certain financial disclosure requirements that include the spouses of members of Congress and certain officers of the federal government. Education loan programs and agriculture price support and loan programs also implicate spouses. Financial aid to "family farms" is restricted to those in which "a majority interest is held by individuals related by marriage or blood.
Because the federal Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) controls most employee benefits provided by private employers, DOMA prevents most employers in the private sector from providing health care, pension, and disability benefits to same-sex spouses on an equal footing with opposite-sex spouses. ERISA does not affect employees of state and local government or churches, nor does it extend to such benefits as employee leave and vacation.
Under DOMA, persons in same-sex marriages are not considered married for immigration purposes. U.S. citizens and permanent residents in same-sex marriages can not petition for their spouses, nor can they be accompanied by their spouses into the U.S. on the basis of a family or employment-based visa. A non-citizen in such a marriage can not use it as the basis for obtaining a waiver or relief from removal from the U.S.
Following the end of the U.S. military's ban on service by open gays and lesbians, "Don't ask, don't tell," in September 2011, Admiral Mike Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, noted that DOMA limited the military's ability to extend the same benefits to military personnel in same-sex marriages as their peers in opposite-sex marriages received, notably health benefits. Same-sex spouses of military personnel are denied the same access to military bases, legal counseling, and housing allowances provided to different-sex spouses.


Political debate


The 2000 Republican Party platform endorsed DOMA in general terms and indicated concern about judicial activism: "We support the traditional definition of 'marriage' as the legal union of one man and one woman, and we believe that federal judges and bureaucrats should not force states to recognize other living arrangements as marriages. The Democratic Party platform that year did not mention DOMA or marriage in this context. Both Barr and Clinton later regretted their support and called for DOMA's repeal.
New Easy ad campaign name for Godaddy is all about Domains & Hostings just ez2.me:Next time forGo Daddy.com: Easy to you justwww.ez2.me
Get Your Web Presence on the Right Track. .Com's for just $7.99!
Look more Products from Go daddy just log on
all about Domains & Hostings just ez2.me

Logo world's largest airlines.


There are several methods to measure the size of an airline, so several different lists of the world's largest airlines are available.


BY SCHEDULED PASSENGERS

Scheduled passengers carried

Delta Air Lines Boeing 747
Rank
Airline
2009
2008
2007
2006
2005
1
161,049,000
106,070,000
72,900,000
73,584,000
86,007,000

2
101,339,000
101,921,000
101,911,000
96,277,000
88,380,000

3
85,719,000
92,772,000
98,162,000
99,835,000
98,038,000

4
81,421,000
86,412,000
68,400,000
69,265,000
66,717,000

5
76,543,000
70,543,000
66,100,000
53,400,000
51,300,000

6
71,394,000
73,844,000
74,795,000
73,484,000
70,015,000

7
66,280,000
57,961,000
56,900,000
48,512,000
43,228,000
8
65,300,000
57,647,000
49,030,000
40,532,000

9
62,809,000
66,692,000
53,700,000
55,925,000
57,547,000

10
51,016,000
54,776,000

Notes
  • Based on International Air Transport Association and individual companies' published figures
  • 1 United will become the world's largest carrier when operations with Continental Airlines are complete
  • 2 numbers include Swiss International Air Lines since 2007, Austrian Airlines and bmi since 2009
  • 3 numbers according to fiscal year, which ends in March
  • 4 includes Northwest Airlines since 2009, regional affiliates since 2008


Scheduled international passengers carried

Ryanair Boeing 737-800 shortly after takeoff
Rank
Airline
2009
(thousands)
2008
(thousands)
2007
(thousands)
1
66,500
57,647
49,030
Fiscal year ended March 31, 2010
2
55,589
42,151
41,322
Includes Lufthansa Regional and Lufthansa Italia
3
45,164
35,417
30,173
Fiscal
4
31,256
32,508
31,549
Fiscal year ended March 31, 2010
5
27,844
29,054
28,302
6
27,454
22,444
20,448
Fiscal year ended March 31, 2010
7
24,558
18,860
17,447
8
Netherlands KLM
22,333
23,808
23,165
9
19,514
21,154
21,479
10
16,480
19,142
18,957
Fiscal year ended March 31, 2010



New Easy ad campaign name for Godaddy is all about Domains & Hostings just ez2.me:Next time forGo Daddy.com: Easy to you justwww.ez2.me
Get Your Web Presence on the Right Track. .Com's for just $7.99!
Look more Products from Go daddy just log on
all about Domains & Hostings just ez2.me

Federal appeals court in Boston rules Defense of Marriage Act unconstitutional


BOSTON –  A battle over a federal law that defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman appears headed for the Supreme Court after an appeals court ruled Thursday that denying benefits to married gay couples is unconstitutional.
In a unanimous decision, the three-judge panel of the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston said the 1996 law deprives gay couples of the rights and privileges granted to heterosexual couples.
The court didn't rule on the law's more politically combustible provision -- that states without same-sex marriage cannot be forced to recognize gay unions performed in states where it's legal. It also wasn't asked to address whether gay couples have a constitutional right to marry.
The law was passed at a time when it appeared Hawaii would legalize gay marriage. Since then, many states have instituted their own bans on gay marriage, while eight states have approved the practice, led by Massachusetts in 2004.


“To conclude,” he added, “many Americans believe that marriage is the union of a man and a woman, and most Americans live in states where that is the law today. One virtue of federalism is that it permits this diversity of governance based on local choice, but this applies as well to the states that have chosen to legalize same-sex marriage.’’


While saying that gays and lesbians have been victims of chronic discrimination, Boudin also said the push for the law was not mainly motivated by anti-homosexual fervor.


“As with the women, the poor and the mentally impaired, gays and lesbians have long been the subject of discrimination,’’ he wrote. “In reaching our judgment, we do not rely upon the charge that DOMA’s hidden but dominant purpose was hostility to homosexuality. The many legislators who supported DOMA acted from a variety of motives, one central and expressed aim being to preserve the heritage of marriage as traditionally defined over centuries of Western civilization.’’


The court issued its ruling in two related cases. In the first, a lawsuit was brought by seven same-sex couples married in Massachusetts and three surviving spouses of those marriages. The state brought a companion case, arguing that the federal government had historically left the definition of marriage to the states, even when the states disagreed on controversial issues such as interracial marriage.


A federal judge in Boston ruled in 2010 in favor of both Massachusetts and the same-sex couple plaintiffs.The Obama administration has said it will not defend DOMA in the courts. But the Republican-led US House of Representatives stepped in to press the Circuit Court appeal. And it is now likely to take the case to the US Supreme Court, said GLAD’s Bonauto.


Paul Clement, an attorney for the House Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group, which the House set up to defend DOMA, did not immediately return a call for comment.


Jonathan Knight and Marlin Nabors, two of the GLAD plaintiffs in the case, who have been married for the past five years, said in a telephone conference call organized by the organization that they were happy with the decision.


“Marlin and I have been together for seven years and married for five years,’’ said Knight. “We do our very best to live our lives together in truth and authenticity and we know that our relationship is full of the same kind of hopes, struggles, and dynamics as all other couples.’’


He added, “We are thrilled to learn that the law is on the same page, and that we fall into the same class as everyone else. We are no longer second-class citizens.’’


The Defense of Marriage Act was enacted during President Clinton’s administration, at a time when Congress was wary of a Hawaii court decision that could have enabled that state to recognize same-sex marriages. Hawaii lawmakers later restricted marriages to unions between a man and a woman, though lawmakers gave same-sex couples some civil protections.
New Easy ad campaign name for Godaddy is all about Domains & Hostings just ez2.me:Next time forGo Daddy.com: Easy to you justwww.ez2.me
Get Your Web Presence on the Right Track. .Com's for just $7.99!
Look more Products from Go daddy just log on
all about Domains & Hostings just ez2.me