Couple new sites you need to check out daily. Rezkorama and Rezko Watch. Just in time for the trial that is starting today. Also, from the Chicago Tribune comes this article by John Kass about “the Chicago way”
The Chicago Way.
What is it? Is it easily abused? Is it dangerous in the wrong hands?
This is critical, as the nation’s eyes turn toward Chicago’s federal building, where Barack Obama’s personal real estate fairy, Tony Rezko, stands trial on federal corruption charges.
The phrase must be put in context, something the national media fails to do when they portray Obama as the boy king drawing the sword from the stone, ready to change America’s politics of influence and lobbyists, ignoring the fact that Chicago ain’t Camelot.With opening statements expected Thursday, the court will be packed with journalists foreign to our idiom. In the past, a few reporters have applied “The Chicago Way” to our pizza, theater and opera, thereby embarrassing themselves beyond redemption.
To prevent such outrage, I’ve enlisted the help of George Washington, father of our country, crooner Dean Martin and aged action star Sean Connery in a cutting-edge video premiering now at chicagotribune.com/kass.
One secret DaVinci Code-type sign for the Chicago Way is in the back room of the Chicago City Council chambers at City Hall, where a portrait of George Washington looks down at the crookedness below, and extends his own hand, palm up, itchy, needing that special grease.
But some strangers to our lands have used the Chicago Way with perfect pitch. Rezko’s buddy, former Iraqi electricity minister, Aiham Alsammarae, escaped an Iraqi prison where he was being investigated for corruption.
A reporter asked — How did you escape?
“The Chicago Way,” he said.
Check out the video he put together, quite telling. John’s interview on Glenn Beck yesterday is also a good read.
See author page
Obama/Rezko in a nutshell
http://moxargongroup.blogspot.com/2008/03/xran-xplains-obama-rezko-affair.html
I’d be more comfortable with Maliki being the President than the Messiah. Look at the advantages: Maliki will not want a rapid withdrawal from Iraq, there are no questions about his religious affiliation, and he has a proven record of dealing with Saddam’s henchmen.
Re: “there are no questions about his religious affiliation,”
As I recall Barak Obama is a member of the United Church of Christ. Of course some Conservative smears, assisted by Foxnews of course, were spread last year that he is a secret Muslim terrorist, having atended a “Muslim School” as a child. However the “Muslim” claims were proven to be complete lies.
Do you have any REAL proof that Barak is anything other than a Christian?
If not, then you are part of that lie-spreading smear machine that the GOP ratchets up every four years.
Re: “I’d be more comfortable with Maliki being the President than the Messiah.”
Conservatives sneer so well, and often.
By using the term “Messiah” to refer to Barak Obama, you are obviously participating in the Conservative fear campaign declaring how “dangerous” it is that those who support Senator Obama for president might be “too” enthusiastic.
Of course, when one of your own was saying things such as the following, every single Conservative thought it was just swell and agreed, 100%. But then that was DIFFERENT, wasn’t it?
http://www.beliefnet.com/story/156/story_15602.html
“This was Providence,” evangelical leader and presidential adviser Charles Colson told Beliefnet. “Anybody looking at the 2000 election would have to say it was.a miraculous deliverance, and I think people felt it again this year.” By allowing Bush to stay in office, Colson said, God is “giving us a chance to repent and to restore some moral sanity to American life.”
Or this:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2003/10/17/wboyk17.xml&sSheet=/news/2003/10/17/ixnewstop.html&secureRefresh=true&_requestid=15391
The general leading the hunt for Osama bin Laden and Saddam Hussein has publicly declared that the Christian God is “bigger” than Allah, who is a false “idol”, and believes the war on terrorism is a fight with Satan, it emerged yesterday.
Investigative reporters from the Los Angeles Times and NBC television have dug up two years’ worth of seemingly incendiary comments from Lt Gen William “Jerry” Boykin, the newly promoted deputy undersecretary of state of defence for intelligence.
Gen Boykin has repeatedly told Christian groups and prayer meetings that President George W Bush was chosen by God to lead the global fight against Satan.
He told one gathering: “Why is this man in the White House? The majority of Americans did not vote for him. He’s in the White House because God put him there for a time such as this.”
I’d be interested in seeing some evidence of this from FOX, Steve. “…assisted by Foxnews of course, were spread last year that he is a secret Muslim terrorist, having atended a “Muslim School” as a child.”
http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/us/2007/01/23/kurtz.obama.madrassa.cnn
Sorry Steve. I don’t have flashplayer7 yet, and am having pc troubles. Vid didn’t work. Strange to point to a FOX competitor as proof of bad programming by FOX. Kinda like pointing to a DNC website to back a rant about the RNC.
Nothing to see anyways Scott, the video doesn’t exist anymore. Just skips to the next one.
No. Had you watched the video, you would have seen the full report of how the story unfolded, from the original story put out with “unnamed” sources in the Washing Time, which ws then picked up as a “story” by FoxNews.
CNN is the one that did their homework and debunked the story. That is why I posted a link to them revealing both the fact that the “Muslim” story was false and that FoxNews was part of spreading the story.
Here’s teh story in print:
http://www.thebostonchannel.com/politics/10836367/detail.html
In the past week, many of you have read a now thoroughly-debunked story by Insight Magazine, owned by the Washington Times, which cites unnamed sources close to a political campaign that claim Senator Obama was enrolled for ‘at least four years’ in an Indonesian ‘Madrassa’ The article says the “sources” believe the Madrassa was ‘espousing Wahhabism,’ a form of radical Islam.
“Insight Magazine published these allegations without a single named source, and without doing any independent reporting to confirm or deny the allegations. Fox News quickly parroted the charges, and Fox and Friends host Steve Doocy went so far as to ask, ‘Why didn’t anybody ever mention that that man right there was raised — spent the first decade of his life, raised by his Muslim father — as a Muslim and was educated in a Madrassa?’
“All of the claims about Senator Obama raised in the Insight Magazine piece were thoroughly debunked by CNN, which, instead of relying on unnamed sources, sent a reporter to Obama’s former school in Jakarta to check the facts.
“If Doocy or the staff at Fox and Friends had taken [time] to check their facts, or simply made a call to his office, they would have learned that Senator Obama was not educated in a Madrassa, was not raised as a Muslim, and was not raised by his father — an atheist Obama met once in his life before he died.
Later in the day, Fox News host John Gibson again discussed the Insight Magazine story without any attempt to independently confirm the charges.
All of the claims about Senator Obama’s faith and education raised in the Insight Magazine story and repeated on Fox News are false. Senator Obama was raised in a secular household in Indonesia by his stepfather and mother. Obama’s stepfather worked for a U.S. oil company, and sent his stepson to two years of Catholic school, as well as two years of public school. As Obama described it, ‘Without the money to go to the international school that most expatriate children attended, I went to local Indonesian schools and ran the streets with the children of farmers, servants, tailors, and clerks.’ [The Audacity of Hope, p. 274]
So why are you only pointing to Fox when the New York Post and CNN Themselves (on the Glenn Beck show) parroted the charges?
But Fox is the only one Stevo’s conspiracy nuttery picked up on….
Steve, I don’t doubt or deny that there are people perpetuating all kinds of claims about Senator Obama’s religious background etc., but I still don’t see Fox perpetuating it-probably teasing with it, but (and I don’t watch a lot of FOX; mostly MSNBC) the only Fox mention I’ve seen was when Brit Hume teased it before a commercial break. That seems like the kinda quoting that would be half-quoted by their opponents, but…no flashplayer7=no video. Time for the Democratic Congress to buy me a new PC.
Re: “So why are you only pointing to Fox when the New York Post and CNN Themselves (on the Glenn Beck show) parroted the charges?”
OK.
In addition to Conservative outlets, Insight, The Washington Times and FoxNews, Conservative outlets The New York Post and Glen Beck also spread the smear, without checking facts.
Is that better?
And, if “teasing” the story is your way of giving FoxNews another CONSERVATIVE FREE PASS, then go ahead.
But I knew that, somehow, Scott would try to find a way to make this all the Democratic Congress’ fault. Can’t hold Conservative outlets accountable, can we?
Sidetracked by fevered rebuttals about Obama’s religion because of a quip, touchy, touchy.
Isn’t Obama’s “boneheaded” connection to Rezko the current topic of discussion? Obama’s “personal real-estate fairy” who just walked through the property with Obama and bam, $300,000 discount for Obama and that’s before we even get to the garden. What type of fairy dust did he sprinkle for that little space and did the dust come from Iraq?
The Chicago Way indeed.
Wasn’t it the Clinton Camp that released thosetings about Obamssiah attending a Madrasa??? Kind of like making Obamassiah look darker in a campaign ad.
Pretty much all of the supposed Conservative News organizations dropped that sory quickly after it came out.
But Obamassiah’s friendship with Rezko isnotgoing to go away. He is in a trial and his good friend Rod “the bod” Blogojovic is comingout in it. And Rod, Barak and Rezko are part of the most corrupt city in America, Chicago. Any one from Chicago isgoing to be tainted with worruption, it is whatthe whole city is driven by. Kick backs, qurstionable land deals, and voter fraud worst than any other cityin America, along with St Clair county with I live, it was all out in the open how fraud was.
It also doesn’t help that Rezko gave a lot o fmoney to Obamassiah and that Rezko got a $5 million loan from a Iraqi that was part of Saddam’s regime.
sorry
… along with St Calir County where I live, it was all out in the open how fraudulent it was.
Re: “Sidetracked by fevered rebuttals about Obama’s religion because of a quip, touchy, touchy.”
No.
I was just commenting as to how the GOP smear machine is gearing up andw will insist on bringing up (documented) lies in order to maintain the traditional negative tone that has characterized all Republican campaigns since Lee Atwater. When discussion Barak Obama’s possible political problems in Illinois, ther was no need to bring up the peripheral issue of the “alleged” Muslim nature of his religious beliefs. However, as a loyal Conservative Igor could do nothing elase. Additionally he brought in the other GOP theme that Obama’s supporters had a “religious tone” to they presidential preference. I noted a few comments about George W. Bush that were similarly phrase, with which Conservatives had no problem at all.
I know that the priginal purpose of this thread was to discuss any chance that Barak Obama will be tinged with political corruption in Illinois. However it was igor who brought up the “side” issues. I was just reminding the readers that these side issues were red herrings, as well as being lies (about his religion).
Iagree his religion or wahtever has nthingto do with his corruption. Chicago is a den of thieves and where if you want to learn how to make a corrupt political machine work.
Obama was the person togo into communites andgettehm riled up for the political bosses. Great job for an Alinski protege.
Steve,
As stated before and by others on this thread, the “GOP Smear Machine”, which is amaturish compared to the “DNC Smear Machine”, are not the ones putting this stuff out. You want smear and the attack machines, look no farther that what Clinton and Obama are doing to each other.
“I was just commenting as to how the GOP smear machine is gearing up andw will insist on bringing up (documented) lies in order to maintain the traditional negative tone that has characterized all Republican campaigns since Lee Atwater.”
Actually, you are using a crystal ball to accuse and smear the GOP, conveniently forgetting how well oiled the DNC machine has been, just ask the President and VP. Igor’s quip just enabled you to waste bandwidth and ignor the information provided in this topic.
Now, how did Obama manage to get $300,000 knocked off the purchase price of his home and why did the Rezko’s overpay when they purchased the lot…. after the stroll?
Re: “Great job for an Alinski protege.”
Ever read “Rules for Radicals”? It’s one of the great political description books in the last few decades. Karl Rove and many Conservatives have read it and taken away political lessons. It is not really a Left-wing philosophy book, but a realistic description of how to make a political point. Good read and I have forgotten all about (long dead) Saul until you mentioned him.
Re: “As stated before and by others on this thread, the “GOP Smear Machine”, which is amaturish compared to the “DNC Smear Machine”, ”
I very much doubt that John McCain thought they were “ameturish” after the South Carolina Presidential Primary of 2000.
Considering the sweetheart deals the Religious Right, including Blackwater, have gotten from the Bush Administration, corruption is not an issue that belongs to one party entirely, no matter what we see from the various blogs.
But on to Obama. Here are some posts. I do not see anything that is illegal and Barak, after his donor was indicted, gave the contributins to charity. This is something that politicians of both parties have done to innoculate themselves when one of their many donors gets caught cheating. I’ve attached some news links that go over the facts. I included ABC news, but I generally do not trust any of the network news shows as they mostly just read wire copy over the air. There were also a cople of FoxNews links that came up, but we all know their track record when it comes to Barak Obama, so I left them off.
http://www.suntimes.com/news/politics/124171,CST-NWS-obama05.article
Q: Why is it that you were able to buy your parcel for $300,000 less than the asking price, and Rita Rezko paid full price? Who negotiated this end of the deal? Did whoever negotiated it have any contact with Rita and Tony Rezko or their Realtor or lawyer?
A: Our agent negotiated only with the seller’s agent. As we understood it, the house had been listed for some time, for months, and our offer was one of two and, as we understood it, it was the best offer. The original listed price was too high for the market at the time, and we understood that the sellers, who were anxious to move, were prepared to sell the house for what they paid for it, which is what they did.
We were not involved in the Rezko negotiation of the price for the adjacent lot. It was our understanding that the owners had received, from another buyer, an offer for $625,000 and that therefore
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-campaign_04mar04,0,5412950.story
http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/Story?id=4111483&page=2
There is no mention of Obama in the Rezko indictment. Federal authorities say the investigation is focused on Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, identified in court filings as Public Figure A.
Come on now, the reason the is no mention of Obama is that the indictments scope is limited to the charges. This story is going to drag on for quite some time, Rezko is way to dirty for this to just go away.
Re: “Come on now, the reason the is no mention of Obama is that the indictments scope is limited to the charges. ”
??????
Isn’t that what criminal indictments are supposed to be? To be limited to crimes (alleged to have been) committed? Not to the NewsMax and Washington Times screaming headlines (which will, of course, be immediately picked up and repeated by FoxNews) we will certainly see for the next eight months, declaring that Barak Obama was personally responsible for the sinking of the Lusitania?
But then, Barak Obama may be dirty. He certainly won’t be the first politician who got a sweetheart deal on his home. I recall that Bob Dole picked up his Florida Condo in the 1990’s for $100K under market price in a sale directly from the CEO of Archer-Daniels Midland (with six months before the first payment was due), which was also receiving $ billions in subsidies for Ethanol in Doles home state of Kansas.
http://www.publicintegrity.org/report.aspx?aid=440
Poor Steve can’t read. 🙁
“And, if “teasing” the story is your way of giving FoxNews another CONSERVATIVE FREE PASS, then go ahead. But I knew that, somehow, Scott would try to find a way to make this all the Democratic Congress’ fault. Can’t hold Conservative outlets accountable, can we?”
…but I started my post off with, “Steve, I don’t doubt or deny that there are people perpetuating all kinds of claims about Senator Obama’s religious background etc.” IMO there’s no way you could have looked past that, and thus you’ve (again) chosen to cherry-pick facts and make false declarations. That surely works well at nutroot sites, but not someplace where people are interested in truth not half truths (and half truths ain’t truths at all).
Keep trying Steve. Someday you’ll have the courage to look at things in an American light rather than in an anti-Bush/anti-“conservative”/anti-Republican light.
“Ever read “Rules for Radicals”?”
No I haven’t, but I bet someone else may have:
http://www.hillaryclinton.com/news/release/view/?id=6311
“Great job for an Alinski protege.”
No kidding!
I have not read his bokl but I know enough about Alinski to know that no Republican would ever use his tactics. Republicans do not use class envy and rile people up to take over the government. That is for people on th Left to use, not on the right, except Huckabe, but I don’t consider him to be a conservative anyway. Alinski and his ilk used the class envy tactic make people mad at the rich, so they would vote for Democrats to take care of them. That has nothing to do with anything a conservative would use. And Obama was the person to rile up the locals in his Chicago neighborhood.
And his good friend Rezko was making deals with a Iraqi that gave Rezko I think it was $5million and owned a lot of Pizza parlors in Chicago area. But his Iraqi friend was indicted and convicted in France of Fraud charges. Just read the Rezko watch and see what is going on in Chicago. I can not write al fo waht is going on in a comment box. Obama’s good friends Rod the bod was already named in the court case.
I found this article interesting.
http://www.houstonpress.com/2008-02-28/news/barack-obama-screamed-at-me/full
As for the “is Obama muslim?” question.
He was born muslim. Apparently, when he went to a Christian school, his religion was stated to be muslim. His father and his step-father were muslim. Obviously, his more distant relatives in Africa were/are muslim. He states that he is Christian, and we have no reason to state that that’s a false statement. Nevertheless, we are at war with islamists. It bothers me that he has so many connections to islam.
By the way…do a search on Obama Odinga…
And that isn’t even starting on his socialist inclined mother….
Thanks Suek, nothing like a bit of Obama history to expose him for what he really is. Will add this one to my favorites, I’m sure it will come in handy in the near future.
Re: ““Ever read “Rules for Radicals”?”
No I haven’t, but I bet someone else may have:”
I did not see any mention of Saul D. Alinski in the link you posted. Or was that just the standard Conservative digression into “we hate Hillary” commentary?
As long as we are digressing into other politicians, Newt Gingrich is/was a fan of dear old Saul, so having read the man’s writing is not an automatic indicator of evil, as you Conservatives must believe.
And, if you ready my response, I just said that I read his book, not that I was a devotee of him. But then that is a distinction that was not perhaps part of your agenda?
Re: “Thanks Suek, nothing like a bit of Obama history to expose him for what he really is. Will add this one to my favorites, I’m sure it will come in handy in the near future.”
Again, as long as we are digressing into other presidential candidates:
We can always post Obama’s sins next to a reprint of the tale of the Keating Five. Or is that off limits?
I know this is an impositiion (really) to double post, but I forgot to add to my post that I have also read William Buckley, James Dobson, Hunter S. Thompson and Richard Nixon. I am not as constrained in my reading as some here might portray me. I just have, and express, my opinions regarding what I read, here and eslewhere.
The reason for posting Hillary’s web page is a twofer. One, she is presently using the tactics you are accusing the GOP of against Obama and 2., she is a protege of Salinsky. So is Obama:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/24/AR2007032401152.html
I attended an event several years ago where Gingrich mentioned Alinsky in his speech, he was campaigning for my Illinois congressman, he said it is useful to study what motivates the opposition. More connections, Hillary- Illinois, Obama-Illinois, Alinsky-Illinois, my congressman-Illinois, probably why he mentioned Alinsky and what motivates the opposition while he campaigned against a democrat.
Most of Alinski’s protegee’s are from Chicago .
Also do not forget thet connectiosn that Obama has to the WEather Underground, he met them i Chicago also when he took over the Illinois spot from. I forget her name rght now, but she was the Illinois representative that Obama stole the campaign from, but she introduces Obama to the Left wing people in Chicago and 2 of them are professors in Chicago that were part of the WEather Underground, a terrorist organization that bombed any places and are still to this day not ashamed of bombing places. One even said he wished they bombed more places. And guess what, they are protege’s of Alisnski also.
Yes, Gingrich and other conservatives may have read Alinski’s book, but it is to know thy enemy. It is good to know what the enemy is doing. Kind of like what Steve is doing here
Re: ” but she introduces Obama to the Left wing people in Chicago ”
“Introduced”?
Can I go through a list of people to whom George W. Bush or John McCain were “introduced” and hold them accountable for that “introduction”? George W. Bush was introduced to Ken lay of Enron. (in fact they even exchanged personal greeting cards and letters). Can I hold George W. Bush accountable for the Enron frauds for which Ken Lay was convicted?
Or is that kind of political “linking” only allowed when Conservatives do it.
I certainly look forward to the Conservative slime machine this fall as I watch it gearing up right here.
Nice deflection. Ken Lay is also good friends with Bill Clinton. And it is a little bit different when you meet a business man than the polticical elite that control Chicago. Big difference there. He was introduced as her hand picked successor, and she wanted him to meet the Left wing Radicals of Chicago.
Oh Well, I am not going to change your mindand you will not change my mind. I am gettting tired of going around in circles with you.
Re: “Nice deflection. Ken Lay is also good friends with Bill Clinton. ”
It was not meant as a deflection. My point was that, for a politician, “being introduced to” is pretty much meaningless, regardless of which party affiliation the politician has. The job description has “introduced to” somewhere around the second line.
I was mainly going after Stix’s attempt to somehow link Senator Obama with the Weather Underground, a group that was active when he was about ten years old, via an “introduced to” piece of evidence.
That is the kind of innuendo that NewsMax and FoxNews practice with some regularity. And I believe it is a scurrilous political tactic.
Whether or not he is dirty remains to be seen. And I would not pretend, from this vantage point, to say one way or the other really.
It is not the same. Doi you know how Chicago works. She was introdiucing him to the pokitical elite in Chicago. Not just some meet and greet. This was announcing him to the Political machine in Chicago. Chicago is not a place you can have a politcal career without having patronage to the leftist that run the city. Not the one’s that are elected the ones that pay for the graft and kickbacks. The Weather Underground people are lionized by the political class in Chicago. Ask Rick Moran and people that live there before you try and talk your way out of something you do not know anything about.
Re: “It is not the same.”
Of course.
It never is when Conservatives are trying to smear a Democrat.
I guess we will just have to agree to disagree, because not amount of evidence will change your mind. Because only Right Wing people smear people, and no Left Wing people smear anybody. And it helps to know about the area before you start talking about it also. I have many friends and family that live in the Chicago area and know what is going on there, but what do they know, they are all part of that Vast Right Wing Conspiracy.
Re: “Because only Right Wing people smear people, and no Left Wing people smear anybody. ”
I never said that.
I never claimed that Democrats are innocent. Only Conservatives claim perfection.
I am still wondering why telling the rtuth about someone is a smear. They did it with the Swift Boats Veterans and now you are saying we are smearing Obama, bt all we are saying is th truth about him.But in the Left you can call the President the Chimphilter or whatever. Ort we have Dan Rather smearing the President with the False But True story about his Natianla Guard Record. But when we point out facts about Obama, Kerry, Hillary, Bill or any Democrat it is a smear campaign. How any fake stories have the Left put out about Bush.
The Left are all a bunch of Hypocritical hacks and I pu the MSM in with then political hacks too. How many stories about Democrats being corrupt, but fail to point out the fact they are Democrats, but if a Republican screws up it is in the Title of the story. Why is that???? I just want to know.
And why is it whena Republican is caught he reties and goes away, but Democrats stay around and get voted for 30 years or more after thier corruption is pointed out??? Another one that I want to know about???
Re: “But in the Left you can call the President the Chimphilter or whatever. ”
I doube that, on this site, The Democratic party, or Democrats, are called by that term one time out of ten. The rest of the time it is some distorted spelling indicitavie of nothing less thatn unrestrained hate. similar spellings of Hillary Clinton’s name are routine here.
Or is that DIFFERENT?
Re:”And why is it whena Republican is caught he reties and goes away,”
John McCain was caught as part of the Keating Five in the scandal of the collapse of the Savings and Loan industry in 1989. Please remind me, did he retire and “go away”?
Or is that DIFFERENT?
not
“Only Conservatives claim perfection.”