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Look Before You Leap: Obama’s Mobbed-Up Allies

By SusanUnPC on January 27, 2008 at 3:43 PM in Alexi Giannoulias, Barack Obama, Chicago politics, Tony Rezko

UPDATE x2: They’re thick as thieves … “$$$: State Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias was last spotted trying to set up a Saturday morning basketball game in Las Vegas so Barack Obama could loosen up on primary day [in Nevada].” — From Mike Sneed’s column at the Chicago Sun-Times, Jan. 18, 2008

UPDATE: At the end of this story, I’ve added an update showing the connection between the indicted Tony Rezko, who goes on trial Feb. 25 before Patrick Fitzgerald and his U.S. Attorney’s office in Chicago, and Alexi Giannoulias.

From the Chicago Tribune in its story, “Critics: Obama endorsements counter calls for clean government“: “In the 2006 Democratic primary, for example, Obama endorsed first-time candidate Alexi Giannoulias for state treasurer despite reports about loans Giannoulias’ family-owned Broadway Bank made to crime figures. Records show Giannoulias and his family had given more than $10,000 to Obama’s campaign, which banked at Broadway.” [Giannoulias is now a bundler for Obama's presidential campaign, aiming for $100,000.]

That’s Barack Obama endorsing “granny grifter” Alexi Giannoulias, who got elected as Illinois’ state treasurer with the hands-on support of Barack Obama. Besides his mob ties, Giannoulias “was involved in an alleged mortgage fraud five years ago against an 83-year-old woman.”

Curious now? Here’s SourceWatch.org — as independent a resource as you’ll find on the Internet — on Barack Obama’s ties to Alexi Giannoulias:

Alexi Giannoulias—a “man who has long been dogged by charges that the bank his family owns helped finance a Chicago crime figure” and “who became Illinois state treasurer” in 2006 after Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) “vouched for him”—”pledged to raise $100,000 for the senator’s Oval Office bid,” Charles Hurt reported September 5, 2007, in the New York Post.

The September 5, 2007, Chicago fundraiser was omitted from Obama’s public schedule and the event was closed to the press,” Lynn Sweet of the Chicago Sun-Times reported.

“Before he promised to raise funds for Obama, Giannoulias bankrolled Michael ‘Jaws’ Giorango, a Chicagoan twice convicted of bookmaking and promoting prostitution.

“Giannoulias is so tainted by reputed mob links that several top Illinois Dems, including the state’s speaker of the House and party chairman, refused to endorse him even after he won the Democratic nomination with Obama’s help. …

Below, “Obama the king maker“:

“Did U.S. Senator Barack Obama clear the field in the Democratic state treasurer’s race?” lawyer and political analyst Russ Stewart wrote January 4, 2006.

“Until incumbent Republican Judy Baar Topinka announced for governor, the only Democrat willing to run for the post was obscure Knox County State’s Attorney Paul Mangieri, of Galesburg. He was slated by the Democrats, and he is on record as opposing abortion rights. … When Topinka decided to move up, a flock of ambitious Democrats eyed the job,… But none announced, and all deferred to Alexi Giannoulias, a 29-year-old Chicago investment banker who was an early supporter of Obama in his 2004 Senate race, whose father owns Broadway Bank, and whose family helped bankroll the Obama campaign. Giannoulias has said that he will campaign as a ‘progressive,’ and he has promised to put more than $1 million in family funds into the race,” Stewart wrote.

“The bottom line,” Stewart said: “Obama is the potential king maker. Expect Obama to publicly endorse Giannoulias, cut television ads for him, and go heavy for him on black radio stations. Of course, there’s a downside. If Obama endorses Giannoulias and he loses, that would indicate that Obama’s clout is not transferable,” Stewart wrote

In March 2006, Giannoulias said that “his ‘good friend and mentor, Barack Obama,’ inspired him to run.

In fact, Giannoulias’ “endorsers” were “essentially the base of the Obama coalition: white north side progressives and south side blacks.”

“My prediction: The stars are aligning for Giannoulias, another silver spooner. Every politician in the Chicago area, Daleyites and anti-Daleyites, eager to collect campaign funds from Greek Americans in the future, will back Giannoulias. Obama’s early endorsement will be critical. Giannoulias will blanket the Chicago airwaves with ads proclaiming himself to be a reformer and a nonpolitician, and mail pieces will target liberal and feminist voters, ripping Mangieri’s anti-abortion stance. Mangieri won’t get more than 40 percent of the vote in the primary,” Stewart wrote. …

NOTE: All of the Sourcewatch statements above contain relative link footnotes, which I stripped out. Go to the source article at Sourcewatch for all of the links within the piece.

:::::::::

Read all of “Obama Shilled For Granny Grifter.”

I realize that almost everyone is smitten with Barack Obama and that the media — with very few exceptions like Brian Ross, the Chicago newspapers, and Craig Crawford — are giving him a free pass.

But just remember that the Republicans know all of this, and much more than I’ve discovered. They’re surely way ahead of little ol’ me.

And the Republicans will bury him with this, and the rest of what they’ve unearthed, in a general election.

Look before you leap.

It may be wise to consider the one candidate whose been investigated, endlessly, by every Republican politician and media outlet, and who has not only survived but also knows how to deal with their attacks.

:::::::::

P.S. There’s more to come. I’m just getting started.

[UPDATE]

[UPDATE] Giannoulias is directly connected to the indicted Tony Rezko, who goes on trial on February 25th, following a several-year investigation by the F.B.I. with an indictment written by the U.S. Attorney’s office headed by Patrick Fitzgerald:

The BROADWAY BANK (owned by Giannoulis and his family) LOANED REZKO PROJECT $11 MILLION DOLLARS: “Rezko and his then-partner in Chicago-Hudson LLC, Daniel Muhra [sic], purchased the site in 2001. But preonstruction sales for the units, priced from about $300,000 to $600,000, floundered, and construction never proceeded. In early 2002 the partnership borrowed about $10.9 million from Chicago-based Broadway Bank to carry the land, according to the bankruptcy filing.” — From the Chicago Tribune on 5/23/06

The BROADWAY BANK (owned by Giannoulis and his family) HELPED TONY REZKO’S REZMAR CORP. FINANCE A 24-STORY CONDOMINIUM: “When Mahru was a partner with Rezko, their company — Rezmar Corp. — was helped by Thomas’ Carnegie Realty Partners to obtain financing to build a 24-story condominium complex at Chicago and Hudson, a project that ultimately did not get off the ground. The financial institution that backed that deal was Broadway Bank, which is owned by the family of state Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias. Elected in the Democratic sweep last year, Giannoulias has had to answer criticism over loans his bank made to reputed crime figures. “Carnegie brought us to Broadway,” Mahru said, and introduced him to Giannoulias’ father. “We paid Carnegie a 1 percent commission on the loan, which is normal and customary.” A spokesman for Giannoulias referred questions to the bank, which could not be reached.” — From the Chicago Sun-Times, 5/5/07

And, of course we know that the Broadway Bank was the bank at which Obama opened his campaign fund account.

  • elizabeth

    Susan,

    Thank you again, I got so fired up I just posted a note on the last Obama entry.
    What I’m most upset with is the lack of vetting by the MSM. I have thanked you and Larry before regarding your work. I do not take it as just a love for the Clintons as other’s have accused. I see it for what it is. I prefer Edwards. It is obvious now that he is not viable in the MSM. However, the coverage needs to be fair, I guess that is too much to ask. What will everyone be saying if he gets to nom and the GOP goes after him as you suggest? Who will run to his aid? Will he still be a victim then? Frankly, I resent all the fawing, I find it fake and insulting.
    Keep it up. Would love to hear your thoughts.

    • simon

      And thank you, Susan, for staying on this, it’s even beyond Obama’s campaign, now, looking at the level of corruption.

      You do great work.

    • mostest

      Elizabeth,
      Fortunately, the vetting of Obama will take place. Unfortunately, it will be doing the general election and a republican will be in the white house.

  • Jay

    “P.S. There’s more to come. I’m just getting started.”

    ..like most bowel movements..

  • bj

    Keep giving ‘em the truth and they’ll think it’s hell!

  • Jay

    So there is no Obama wrongdoing here? This is some really sad stuff..lol

    • simon

      At first I thought it was just negative campaigning, but I’m beginning to wonder now, with that type of money, if Rezko IS still connected in the Middle East?

      Not that it has anything to do with Obama, other than his horrific judgement, but now the press is alluding to Obama mafia ties, which would include the Russians, and the Russian mafia is all over Iraq, and the middle east, Greece, and Turkey.

      It’s just conjecture, I admit, but boy, it leaves me feeling sick.

  • CalGal

    Oh dear, I was a fan of this website, but I don’t like this posting at all! Does anyone think that if we keep piling mud on our own candidates, that they will be in the Republican playbook this election? Why do we do this to ourselves? Let’s pull up all the shady characters that Hillary and Bill have included in their circle through the years, if we feel it necessary to throw mud at each other.

    • Nellie

      Because it is better if we find out up front. In Roves January 10, article his ego required that he let the world know what his opening shots would be agaianst both Hillary and Obama.

      But this statement in the 10th paragraphy by the detestable Rove is scary:

      There’s more — and more powerful — material available.

      http://online.wsj.com/public/article_print/SB119992615845679531.html

      Cause if we don’t know the horse were getting – you can be sure, as Susan said, Rove already has files and files of dirt that we haven’t even thought about.

      Do you want to end up with 100 year war McCain by default?? All because our side did not dig deep enough and we are going to look like idiots, easily manipulated by a Superficial, Shrill Narcissistic Media, who is too lazy or incompetent to do their jobs. This same Media will be only to happy to publish whatever Rove has verbatim, which could destroy any chance of a Dem in the WH, if we are walking blind.

  • Sally

    CalGal, I thought Senator Clinton is one of our candidates. Not yours, huh?

  • Get the Facts

    If you wanted to know half the story without any of the integrity I guess you can read this site.

    The “Jaws” guy, that happened when Giannoulias was 5 years old, but the people who went through Obama’s kindergarden papers don’t mind bringing this up. And the “granny” story got thrown out in court, but that wasn’t the purpose. They wanted to shame the bank into settling a lawsuit that had no merit so they ran to the press, and the Giannoulias family wouldn’t take the bait.

    And if you acutally spent any time researching what is going on in our state instead of just crawling through our sewers you would find that Obama was right to endorse Giannoulias, he’s been the lone bright spot in what has been a foul, disgusting year in Illinois politics. If you don’t believe me just read any of the countless editorials praising Giannoulias including the one in the Springfield State Journal-Register last week praising Giannoulias for ending an insider deal with Republiican power brokers that went on for 25 years and cost the state $30 million.

    If you want to slime Obama with your bullshit you’re barking up the wrong tree.

    FROM LARRY JOHNSON:
    Get the FACTS? That’s a fucking joke. How about offering some? Jesus. You like the Bama? Fine. But blind faith does not make the other uncomfortable truths just disappear. Praise for Giannoulis does not mean the bilking of the elderly woman did not occur. Try presenting some actual facts in crafting a substantive response.

    • http://noquarterusa.net/ SusanUnPC

      Right. And what about the multiple references to both of the Chicago newspapers — who know this story like no other media outlet and have done the primary digging on all of this?

      Yeah, right. I thought so.

    • http://noquarterusa.net/ SusanUnPC

      ALEXI GIANNOULIAS IS SCHEDULED TO HOST A FUNDRAISER FOR OBAMA ON SEPTEMBER 5: “After Labor Obama will start another fund-raising sprint…On Sept. 5 there is another high ticket (host, $2,300) reception hosted by Alexi Giannoulias, the Illinois State Treasurer at Costa’s a restaurant in Chicago’s Greek Town.” — Chicago Sun-Times, 8/28/07

      GIANNOULIAS IS TRYING TO HELP ‘GREEKS FOR OBAMA’ RAISE $100,000: According to my.barackobama.com, Illinois State Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias has set a $100,000 personal fundraising goal for Greeks for Obama. His page says, “Barack Obama has been a great friend for the Greek community and now we are going to help him. Let’s help him raise the funds he needs so that American can have the change it deserves.” — my.barackobama.com

      FWIW, I’m not enjoying this. I just wish to hell that:

      1) people would wake up about this guy’s thick-as-thieves ties to the most corrupt top players in Chicago’s corrupt business and political world, and

      2) people would realize that the Republicans will endlessly advertise these close associations in television and print ads, as well as successfully pushing the media to finally address these stories nationally, rather than just in Chicago.

      In every instance I’m bringing up — from his purchase of the $1.6 million mansion to his association that helped elect a corrupt banker as Illinois’ state treasurer (!) — the motivator for Obama is personal greed. Every time, it’s all about his greed.

  • TeakWoodKite

    Has it occured to anyone that the folks that Obama has by degree been connected to are the same one that are controlled by Republican interests?

    Ring Ring…”Hey Denny Boy!” …”Hey Karl…” what’s that you need?…sure thing here is the number in my 40 year old roledex of Who is who in Chicago. He said he had all the dirt on ‘em…”

    Personally I have to say they won’t need much. Obama will not be able to respond when he did not think to deal with his blind spots. He will be a deer in the Republican headlights. Why do I think this? Look at the way he has responded during the debates when directly challenged. Stage fright. The mind vapor locks. Get him off message and he goes into “old habits” or as Obama himself stated “selective lapses of memory” . He is going to be severly reminded.

    Obama’s campaign has relied heavily on people such as Kenneth Griffin, a Chicago-based hedge-fund manager who reportedly earned $1.4 billion last year.

    Walmart you say?

    http://billtotten.blogspot.com/2008/01/obama-unmasked.html

    • Cee

      See you a Giannoulias and raise you a Hsu and a Chatwal.

      “Sant S. Chatwal, An Indian American Businessman, Has Helped Raise Hundreds Of Thousands Of Dollars For Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton’s Campaigns, Even As He Battled Governments On Two Continents To Escape Bankruptcy And Millions Of Dollars In Tax Liens.” (John Solomon and Matthew Mosk, “When Controversy Follows Cash,” The Washington Post, 9/3/07)

      The IRS Pursued Chatwal For $4 Million In Unpaid Taxes While The State Of New York “Placed A Lien Seeking More Than $5 Million In Taxes.” “Chatwal’s case reached from his native India to New York City. The IRS pursued him for approximately $4 million in unpaid business taxes, while New York state placed a lien seeking more than $5 million in taxes.” (John Solomon and Matthew Mosk, “When Controversy Follows Cash,” The Washington Post, 9/3/07)

      “Across The Ocean, Three Indian Banks Forced Him Into U.S. Bankruptcy, And He Was Charged With Bank Fraud. He Was Out On Bond When He Showed Up In India In 2001 During A Visit By His Longtime Friend Bill Clinton.” (John Solomon and Matthew Mosk, “When Controversy Follows Cash,” The Washington Post, 9/3/07)

      Indian Authorities Charged Chatwal With Bank Fraud. “Just as Chatwal’s U.S. cases were being resolved, Indian authorities in December 2000 charged him with bank fraud. On April 30, 2001, he appeared in a Mumbai court and posted a $32,000 bond, according to court officials there. Chatwal was not under travel restrictions, though, and he went back to New York.” (John Solomon and Matthew Mosk, “When Controversy Follows Cash,” The Washington Post, 9/3/07)

      And Last Week, The Wall Street Journal And The Los Angeles Times Reported “HillRaiser” Norman Hsu Had Unusual Donation Patterns With Family Living In Small House And Is A Fugitive From California Authorities…Again:

      NEWSFLASH: “Democratic Fundraiser Norman Hsu Failed To Appear Wednesday For A Bail Hearing And A Judge Issued A New Warrant For His Arrest.” (“Democratic Donor A No Show At Hearing,” The Associated Press, 9/5/07)

      “The [Wall Street] Journal Noted Unusual Patterns Between Mr. Hsu’s Political Donations And Those Of People He Knew, In Particular The Residents Of A Tiny House In Daly City, Calif., Who Often Gave Large Contributions On The Exact Same Day And For The Exact Same Amount Mr. Hsu Did.” (Brody Mullins and Ianthe Jeanne Dugan, “Democrats Race To Return Cash From Big Donor,” The Wall Street Journal, 8/30/07)

      “[T]he Los Angeles Times Reported That Mr. Hsu Had Legal Troubles In His Past, And That He Faces Arrest In California After Failing To Appear For Sentencing More Than A Decade Ago On Charges Stemming From A Business Deal.” (Brody Mullins and Ianthe Jeanne Dugan, “Democrats Race To Return Cash From Big Donor,” The Wall Street Journal, 8/30/07)

      Norman Hsu Pleaded No Contest To Grand Theft And Vanished Without Serving His Sentence. “For the last 15 years, California authorities have been trying to figure out what happened to a businessman named Norman Hsu, who pleaded no contest to grand theft, agreed to serve up to three years in prison and then seemed to vanish.” (Chuck Neubauer and Robin Fields, “Democratic Fundraiser Is A Fugitive In Plain Sight,” Los Angeles Times, 8/29/07)

      Ronald Smetana Of The California Attorney General’s Office: “He is a fugitive.” (Chuck Neubauer and Robin Fields, “Democratic Fundraiser Is A Fugitive In Plain Sight,” Los Angeles Times, 8/29/07)

      Hillary Spokesman Howard Wolfson: “Norman Hsu is a longtime and generous supporter of the Democratic party and its candidates, including Senator Clinton.” (Brody Mullins, “Big Source Of Clinton’s Cash Is An Unlikely Address,” The Wall Street Journal, 8/29/07)

      http://www.gop.com/Print/?Guid=83604ea9-b0d9-4729-a22f-ed6f0f976ada&pg=news

      • norris morris

        This does not excuse Barack. His hands are dirty. And Hsu was too.

        Barack was supposed to protect his constituents. Poor in South Side. His district handled financial workouts for pensions state funds and federal funds for rehabs in low-housing apartments all in his district. Rezko, Obama’s patron took federal and pension fund money and never repaired, gave heat, or paid mortgages on 11 of these in Obama’s district? 11 failed in Obama’s district, the others were known to anyone who could read a paper.All became derelict, abandoned crack houses.

        Is this supposed to be mitigated by what the Clintons have taken? Obama gets a pass?

        It seems Hillary is the only victim. All of these candidates [edwards is the most honest]they have plenty to hide.

        No matter what you say or rationalize you cannot change Obama’s betrayal of the poor he was supposed to protect in these slum rehab deals. He might be under the radar legally, but he had to know unles he’s an imbecile. If this isn’t morally corrupt, please tell us why?

        It seems that Obamites will excuse him of any behavior that everyone else is accountable for.

        • Cee

          Have I missed your criticism of Hillary for being associated to these people?

          I’ve said before that this is all smoke but if you want to keep blowing it, I’ll blow some back.

      • norris morris

        I don’t doubt this for a second. It does not excuse someone parading as the saviour of hope and change [to what?].

      • http://NoQuarterUSA.net Larry Johnson

        You still don’t get it. It is not the act of taking the money that is the problem. It is the combination of the foreknowledge of problems with the donor and the failure to give all of the problem money back.

        That’s where Obama has failed and Hillary is out of the crosshairs. No one who is going to play politics on a national level can avoid having characters like this show up and try to buy their way in. I’m not castigating Obama (though his innocence bullshit, by refusing to acknowledge he plays this game while telling the public that he’s outraged about gambling in the casino) for a simple photo op. We’re talking relationship. Hanging with the bad guys even after you know there are questions is what is so troubling about Barack.

        • Cee

          Larry,

          Hillary has done the same thing. I don’t see the outrage about her not giving back the donations from that Cherry guy.

          I’ll post this again.

          Here is another link of Hillary to Rezko his name is Myron Cherry He is now being sued for swindling companies out of millions of dollars (RICO)
          …
          http://blogs.suntimes.com/sweet/2007/06/sweet_blog_scoop_clinton_list.html

      • simon

        Apples and oranges.

        AFAIK, Hsu is fighting tax fraud, and apparently, doesn’t have connections to notorious crime figures, perhaps, even, in the middle east. Even a simple tax bill can rapidly inflate, within a year, with penalties and interest, the amount can double. Hsu’s money may be accounted for, though, as his business may be legitimate.

        Rezko, on the other hand, took money, and failed to execute the work in a good faith manner, overt stealing, if you will, it’s a little different from not paying a tax bill, if we’re speaking of “missing money” that ended up in a candidate’s campaign chest.

        But we’ll see what the whispers say…

        In a nutshell, what is disturbing, as someone mentioned, the players Obama is dealing with seem, in some way, to be tangentially connected to Rove, and even Cheney.

        And those players may be responsible for financing 9.11,(Sybil Edmonds).

        Too sad.

  • Cee

    Jesus. People hated when the Bill and Hill were treated to the guilt by association tactic.
    They’ll hate it now too.

    Should I wait for a photo of this guy to show up with the Clinton family too and be outraged? LOL!

    • TeakWoodKite

      Cee: the “guilt by association” carving tool has never stopped when it comes to the Clintons.
      Obama has not even graduated from the local version of this. Most of Chicago politics have been historically ingrown and taken for granted. I’m not outraged in the least, LOL. In fact, given that politics in the US is a no-fault bloodsport and bet on by the worlds’ biggest Corporate high rollers, I am more interested in how the current power structure manifests and;weather or not it will need to reveal itself with force or stealth and to what extent if so. Pretty darn skippy isn’t it?

      I’d say it depends on the photo, no? LOL

      • norris morris

        Photo ops at fundraisers or whatever are one thing….and not great to see this creep with anyone. But the subject right now is Mr. Uniter who will deliver us to WHAT?

        But it doesn’t change the most cynical attitudes of apology for Obama’s transgrssions with regard to civic duty. They all do this so it’s ok for Mr Transcendtal because……why?

  • Get the Facts

    Ok let’s talk facts. A woman takes out a loan that she can afford, but she says that she plans to share the funds with three shady characters. Giannoulias doesn’t feel comfortable and sends her a letter telling her so. She wants to do it anyway. The loan gets approved. She shares the money with these shady characters and other family members and these three guys run off with the money and are never heard from again.

    The children, fearing their inheritance just got swindled decide to sue the bank to try to get them to forgive the loan. The bank says no dice. The woman who took out the loan to this day says Giannoulias did nothing wrong and praises him, but her family proceeded with a frivolous lawsuit anyway. They threaten to “embarass” the Giannoulias family unless the bank forgives the loan. They still say no. It goes to trial and sure enough they run to the papers. Family members get on the stand (this really happened) and during cross examination the attorney asks her if she got a $50,000 check from the woman who took out the loan the day after the loan was given, she admits that she did and never paid it back. The judge, in his endless pity for this pathetic lawsuit allowed the plaintiffs to take the witness off the stand and have her testimony stricken from the record. And of course we all know how the case ends.

    But you want to keep peddling your bullshit in an effort to throw anything at Obama. Nevermind the facts, of course.

    • simon

      Even if she could afford it, the bank could have said no.

      Why would the bank loan money to this woman, if they knew the recipients, ultimately, were questionable?

      Plausible deniability?

      Who received the 50,000 and why?

      Where did the $50,000 go?

      Do the bank officers have any connections to this woman, business, or otherwise?

      See?

      Too many unanswered questions for your explanation to work.

  • truthteller2007

    Obama claims he met Giannoulias on “the basketball court,” when in fact he met Giannoulias at the East Bank Club, an exclusive gym northwest of the Loop in the River West neighborhood. But I imagine Obama’s ties to Giannoulias, an investment banker, stem from Obama’s tenure on the Illinois state Senate Committee on pensions, a committee to which he was appointed in 2003.

    • TeakWoodKite

      Senate Committee on pensions, ya say? The plot thickens. mmmmm

    • Nellie

      The same Pensions Rezko et al got caught defrauding?

      • simon

        The hits just keep a com’in…

      • http://noquarterusa.net/ SusanUnPC

        Yes, Nellie. Yes. It’s bad. And I think Fitzgerald knows a lot that he hasn’t revealed…. will probably come out during Rezko’s trial that begins on Feb. 25.

        Obama is up to his eyeballs with these shady characters.

    • Cee

      Obama claims he met Giannoulias on “the basketball court,” when in fact he met Giannoulias at the East Bank Club, an exclusive gym

      Ah, no basketball court there?

  • Get the Facts

    Yes the East Bank Club has a basketball court. Good work Sherlock. And he wasn’t an investment banker, he was a lender (see above), also in Illinois the pension committee doesn’t make investment decisions that happens at the Illinois State Board of Investment.

  • truthteller2007

    get the facts,

    the illinois state board of investment is one organization that makes these decisions. the teacher’s pension fund also makes decisions about investments. you, my friend, need to obtain the facts.

    i can recommend reading if you desire instruction on this subject.

  • Nancy Kimberlin

    My husband and I are life long Democrats, white professionsals, he is a professor, I am a nurse. Our neighbors also white and professionals are life long Republicans. What does that say, it says Obama isn’t just getting the black vote. Our children white and professionals are also voting for Obama. Some Democrats are eating their own and it is going to come back to haunt them. Please give it a rest.

    • Percy

      Nancy, why? What is your reason for backing Obama? Was it necessary for you to just say, I am white, and was still affected by the Obama Koolaid? Your white vote makes Obama a viable candidate? Enlighten me…..from your view point, why is Obama the Best Candidate and what would make him a good president? I am stuggling to “get it” …. I want to… I just can’t. Please help me.

  • truthteller2007

    Kimberlin,

    Did you read the diary, or is your devotion to Obama blind?

  • Get the Facts

    Yes there are three investment boards that manage the five Illinois pension funds, the Illinois State Board of Investment makes investment decisions for the State Employees Pension Fund, the General Assembly Pension Fund and the Judges Pension Fund. The Teacher Retirement System makes investment decisions for its own fund as does the State University Employees Retirement System. Does that cover it?

    You’ll notice, however, that none of these matches your red herring, none of them are the Illinois State Senate Pension Committee.

    • simon

      I would suppose the reporters in Chicago who investigate Obama would be able to clear this up, there seems to be some obfuscation.

    • truthteller2007

      I did not state what you claim I did. I noted that Illinois’s various pensions are managed by distinct entities, which you acknowledge in your comment. And now that this is finally established, I wonder what your response to my initial comment actually is. I imagine you are aware of the attempt to consolidate the various pensions in 2003. And I imagine you know Levine and Rezko opposed the proposed consolidation.

  • http://www.food4humanity.org HoosierHoops

    Hi All
    I’m Back! Your changing servers really messed me up.
    I knew something was wrong when no one was posting on the old site.
    It’s pretty bad when you have got to reply to your own posts cause nobody was there..Kind of ‘I am Legend’ in cyberspace.
    So there must be a DNS issue with the Router in Santa Clara I was using..I’m good here in Indiana but i wonder what will happen monday evening back in Cali..
    Guess I’d better ping you and make a hard coded change to the tables..
    Any woo..I need to review this last weeks postings and mak some comments before i hit the sack.

  • techinvestor

    This thread is loaded with anti-Obama folks who lack the ability to be objective…I’ve lived in Chicago over 10 yrs and Obama has a great deal of integrity and IF there was something significant to the Rezko ties the Sun-Times or Chicago Tribune would have uncovered it by now — they have serious investigative reporters and have examined everything…In spite of all we know the Chicago Tribune (the largest paper in the Midwest) chose to endorse Obama today…and in the last 48 hours we also see Obama endorsements from Ted Kennedy, Caroline Kennedy, the Philladelphia Inquirer, the San Francisco Chronicle, the San Jose Mercury News, the Arizona Republic, and the Seattle Times…Obama is the only candidate who can unite our country and build a working majority for change…He is incredibly bright and has some of the best advisors (like Samantha Power from Harvard).

    Is Barack Obama the next JFK?

    http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/william_rees_mogg/article3260817.ece

    • http://noquarterusa.net/ SusanUnPC

      You make strong arguments. However, there are things that even intrepid newspaper reporters can’t get, and that’s because — unlike Patrick Fitzgerald and the F.B.I. — they can’t wield the threats of subpoenas, criminal investigations, interviews, putting the squeeze on by playing off one defendant against another, the fear of a public trial, the terror of the prospect of prison and the loss of a financial empire.

      Patrick Fitzgerald and his compatriots at the F.B.I. can operate at a far more seriously threatening level than can any newspaper reporter.

      The newspaper reporters, however, keep writing this story. They keep mentioning the ties to the mob. For years the newspaper reporters have been doing this. They would NEVER keep mentioning the mob ties if they didn’t have solid evidence.

      But they can only go so far. LOOK AT THE VIDEO I POSTED HERE. Look at the Chicago television reporter’s attempts to interview Barack Obama on this matter.

      Look at the quote I provide above the video — from Lynn Sweet of the Sun-Times — in which she says that Barack Obama has never once consented to be interviewed by ANY media on Rezko.

      (Yes, he’s been asked a couple times — most recently today on ABC’s This Week — but he dodged the question, and George S. provided NO FUCKING FOLLOW-UP. George let it die. Even though Obama’s reply was a total lie. I’ll post what Obama said later. His nose is getting longer and longer. BUT he gets away with it because the serious journalists — like Lynn Sweet and other Chicago reporters — can’t get to him, and the “journalists” like George S. don’t persist! It’s maddening.)

      • TeakWoodKite

        I really wish did not think like this but after 7 years of lies…I don’t dare to wonder if there are leaks in the US attorneys Chicago’s office that would find it self moving up the Repub food chain to be revealed in some “timely” manner.
        Fitzgerald is real good at playing close to the vest but this investigation is no small thing if he has been on it for 2 years. I dare say it is most likely longer since he appeared perturbed when given the the CIA leak case, like he had been interupted.

        It is maddening!

    • Percy

      Explain this “uniter” concept? The break out in votes in South Caroina didn’ indicate that he is a uniter. He has been a uniter amongst the black community with others shuffled in. When is he going to unite all of us? This country amazed me with the back to back support of George Bush… and now the support of Obama…..without really seeing beind the curtain. We are in trouble.

  • http://www.evergreenpolitics.com shoephone

    Is Barack Obama the next JFK?

    Ah yes, a bit of satire for a Sunday evening.

    • http://noquarterusa.net/ SusanUnPC

      It was my profound pleasure to post these two stories recently, partly because I dug through collections of images from Kennedy’s life, World War II, and more, and used several of those great images in the piece:

      Obama and Kennedy: Gut vs. Experience »
      By SusanUnPC on Jan 3, 2008 in John F. Kennedy, Obama, Presidential Candidates, Democrats

      The Obama campaign has often summoned the spirit of John F. Kennedy. That evocative association is finally and forever severed in “Ask Not! Why Obama is No JFK,” a new Washington Monthly article by Ted Widmer — who Steve Clemons calls “one of the most insightful historians of early American political history and Director of […]

      THIS NEXT POST features an incredible video of JFK as the savvy, smart-as-a-whip, tough-as-a-tank, wiley politician:

      Part II

  • MPinSC

    This stuff is going to kill us in the general if we nominate this guy. It has not even begun to hit the fan, and won’t, until after Feb 25th.

    • Nellie

      Exactly. Patrick Fitzgerald lets out very, very little – the absolute minimum to get a Grand Jury indictment. Obama is tied to the indictment, and the depth of involvement will not be known until the beginning of April or so. Meanwhile as Progressives our credibility will be totally devasted for decades to come, because so many were enchanted by ‘inspiring words’ they did not do their homework.

      Its both frightening and sickening.

  • mary C.

    A wee bit off topic (how true the above stories are will not be relevant when fox news starts running them, and believe me there is a reason that most conservative pundits are saying nice things about Obama now-like they want him to win).

    I want the word to get out about how to counter the MSM trashing of Clinton constantly,especially MSNBC-the GE-defense contractor that really wants a repub. win.

    -. the 6 minute rule: if you stay on a tv station for 6 min., that station gets the ratings. And honestly, they only care about ratings so that they can attract advertisers. Getting lists of advertisers, writing them, and boycotting takes way too long. My daughter told me about the 6 min. rating-she did pr for cnn for years and says that this is the best way to go.

    • TeakWoodKite

      So how do they know I ….o crap they now have the way to to do that eh? what cable I watch…oh big brother. I only really like “Worst Person in the World”

    • Nellie

      The six minute rule is true – IF, and only IF you have a Nielsen TV box attached to your TV. Otherwise, they have no idea of what each of us individually is watching.

  • J.Citizen

    Wow. This stuff is dynamite!

    A bank loans money to a developer!!!
    Can you imagine???

    Obama endorses a pro-choice candidate against an anti-choice candidate?
    The noive of him!

    Obama attends a fundraiser that is closed to the public. Whoa – special prosecutor time!

    And what you got against a poor ol’ bookie?

    Geez, are you guys trying out for a Scaife fellowship here or something?

    • Cee

      Remember the old adage that when pointing one finger at someone, you’re pointing three back at yourself?

      Remember that Whitewater ultimately cost the taxpayers $60 million to investigate. Plus the Clinton’s tried and failed to stick us with their legal fees!

      Do we really want to go back to the future? Personally, I’d like to go Barack to the future.

      http://www.huffingtonpost.com/karen-russell/whitewater-v-rezko-the-_b_83040.html

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  • mary C.

    not true—–I asked her about having to have a box attached to your tv and she said no longer necessary.

    I suppose there must be someother way to check, but she still does pr for a major bus. corp. and deals with bus. reporters all the time.

  • BigTobacco

    The Clintons are really scraping the bottom of the barrel with this smear…

    How much money have they taken from lobbyists? How much money have the gotten from the modern-day slavemasters in China? How much have they gotten from crooked assed donors?

    http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/31/us/politics/31donor.html
    http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/30/us/politics/30bundler.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
    http://digg.com/2008_us_elections/Clinton_Owned_by_Lobbyists
    http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-na-donors19oct19,0,4231217.story?coll=la-home-center

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  • http://www.smithmonitoring.com/ Home Security

    Informative post!