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Open Thread * We Will Live-Blog Greta’s Saturday Night Special on Blagojevich

By SusanUnPC on December 12, 2008 at 2:45 PM in Current Affairs

ANNOUNCEMENT of a NoQuarterUSA.net special event: We will live-blog Greta Van Susteran’s special Saturday night at 9:00 p.m. ET. That’s tomorrow night. (I’m plotting now. I wonder if I can entice Truthteller and/or Nocturnal Warrior and/or Larry Johnson to do a radio show following Greta’s special. Perhaps you can aide me by urging these people to do this radio show?)

It is probably not breaking news to any of you that the governor’s chief of staff, John Harris, has submitted his resignation, but at Greta’s blog, that is her latest item. BELOW I AM ADDING BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION on John Harris.

It is clear that, at one point, John Harris led an exemplary life, quite unlike most of the SHYSTERS who climb the Chicago-based political dunghill.

But, once Mr. Harris stepped into that muck and climbed that manure pile, he became a sewage-swilling rat like the rest of them.

The old, simple adage about dogs and fleas applies … although, in this case, the references to dunghill, muck, manure, sewage and rat are more descriptive.

From Greta’s blog:

Check out the email I just received from a colleague with a link to the Chicago Tribune:

From: Tribune Alerts
To: Cichowski, Marla
Sent: Fri Dec 12 13:12:23 2008
Subject: Governor’s chief of staff quits

John Harris submitted his resignation this morning, his attorney says. Latest developments at chicagotribune.com’s Breaking News Center.

And now, the biography of John Harris, once an honorable clean man who lost himself while swimming in and swilling the excrement in the sewers of Chicago:

NAME — John F. Harris

TITLE — Chief of staff to Gov. Rod Blagojevich

AGE-BIRTHDATE — 46; Feb. 17, 1962

HOME — Chicago

FAMILY — Wife, Patricia, and three sons.

EDUCATION — Graduated from Northwestern University in 1984 and Loyola University law school in 1987.

EXPERIENCE — Intelligence officer and judge advocate general in U.S. Army, 1984-1992; administration of Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley, including stint as budget director, 1996-2005; Blagojevich administration 2005-present.

  • lark

    To me the big issue is the 90 min. meeting that JJjr. had with Blago the day before the complaint popped.

    The seat was Blago’s to fill. And he said he was going to assume it himself.

    I think JJjr. tripped the wire with an offer. If Blago accepted it he’s toast, but maybe nothing was exchanged. But did JJjr. implicated Obanana with a quid pro quo deal? When will we know and how soon will we know it? Not very soon.

  • AF catfish

    Hi NoQ please fix the black bgcolor on your blog. When we click the “Read More” link, the bgcolor changes to black. Thanks!

    • Diana L. C.

      I thought there was just something wrong with my husband’s laptop. Good to learn it’s not just my problem.

      • bert

        I thought it might just be this thread. Whatever, I don’t like it. Hard to read the print.

        • Galt

          You can override the background color and fonts temporarily in your web browser. Google your browser type and: allow pages chose colors

          You can unclick that option and force a white background and black text. Just remember or write down what you did so you can undo it. :mrgreen:

          • oowawa

            YAY Galt!

            In Firefox 3, click tools/options/content/colors, then uncheck “allow pages to choose their own colors” then click OK–voila!

            • Galt

              Happy to help.

              • stodghie

                yeah, thanks galt. it worked for me.

                • Galt

                  You’re welcome! :)

    • socalannie

      Yes, I’m getting it also. I have a mac. Its really hard to read…lite gray on black. Is this a virus?

  • Lyn

    http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-blagojevich-jackson12dec12,0,6420556.story
    Blagojevich fundraiser held by Jackson allies Saturday

    As Gov. Rod Blagojevich was trying to pick Illinois’ next U.S. senator, businessmen with ties to both the governor and U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. discussed raising at least $1 million for Blagojevich’s campaign as a way to encourage him to pick Jackson for the job, the Tribune has learned.

    Blagojevich made an appearance at an Oct. 31 luncheon meeting at the India House restaurant in Schaumburg sponsored by Oak Brook businessman Raghuveer Nayak, a major Blagojevich supporter who also has fundraising and business ties to the Jackson family, according to several attendees and public records.

    Two businessmen who attended the meeting and spoke to the Tribune on the condition of anonymity said that Nayak and Blagojevich aide Rajinder Bedi privately told many of the more than two dozen attendees the fundraising effort was aimed at supporting Jackson’s bid for the Senate.

    Among the attendees was a Blagojevich fundraiser already under scrutiny by federal investigators, Joliet pharmacist Harish Bhatt.
    more…..

    • Pennsylvania Red

      They’re going to need to scramble to raise money for AG Lisa Madigan instead.

      • sowsear

        No, if she’s going to do the dirty work of firing/declaring Blago unfit for office then she can’t be the one for the Senate job. I’ll bet Jarrett gets it after all. She took her name out when BO told her to. Something stinks as usual.

    • educatedwhitewoman

      Another juicy tidbit from that article:

      “The two businessmen who spoke to the Tribune on the condition of anonymity said they did so because they were afraid of repercussions in the close-knit and politically active Indian business community.

      The second said he overheard Nayak and Bedi discussing plans with Bhatt, the Joliet pharmacist..

      “Raghu said he needed to raise a million for Rod to make sure Jesse got the seat,” the second businessman said. “He said, ‘I can raise half of it, $500,000.’ The idea was that the other two would help raise the rest.”

      Bhatt, whose two Basinger’s Pharmacy outlets were searched by the FBI last week, has been the focus of a state and federal investigations into whether campaign donations were made in exchange for regulatory favors.

      Bhatt is a prominent Indian businessman who helped the state’s top pharmacy regulator win his job. The Tribune reported last year that state pharmacy auditors probing allegations of Medicaid fraud at Basinger’s complained that their bosses thwarted the investigation, allegations Bhatt has adamantly denied in interviews with the Tribune.”

  • AF catfish

    So Martin was a clean-cut guy until this. Probably a good move to resign now.

    I bet all sorts of Obama associates will go down as a way of covering for Bam’s sloppy mistakes. People think Obama’s so pious and his immediate associates dirty as hell. Rahm Emanuel’s image is already being soiled.

    What would be the medical term for Obama – the more he screws up, the worse his aides look and the more saintly Bam emerges? I think it would be a “carrier.”

    • bert

      Tahm Emanuel’s image was already soiled. This is just piled higher and deeper.

      • bert

        Rahm, Rahm, Rahm Emanuel, not Tahm. Computer behave!!

    • oowawa

      - the more he screws up, the worse his aides look and the more saintly Bam emerges? I think it would be a “carrier.”

      Catfish, I searched my memory for a novel with this plot, but could not think of anything. It’s a great story line! Somebody should really write a fantasy story-novel-play, something like “The Picture of Dorian Gray.” Undercover Black Man, if you’re out there, you’re a successful writer, go for it!

      • http://ezinearticles.com/?Three-Basic-Parenting-Styles&id=744499 Northwest rain

        Do not call out to TROLLS!

        That person is a sexist pig.

        Bro before Hos — kind of guy.

        • AF catfish

          You are you referring to?

          • AF catfish

            Drat! WHO are you referring to?

          • http://ezinearticles.com/?Three-Basic-Parenting-Styles&id=744499 Northwest rain

            oowawa mentioned the name of a troll — a very bad troll — in his comment. I will not repeat the name of that troll.

            I have a very long memory and I do not forget nor forgive trolls — especially one who chooses THAT user name.

  • csuzeq

    Obama may be teflon now, but he’d better be careful how many people he throws under the bus. There are many of them that may know stuff that won’t take kindly to getting the shaft whilst watching the messiah continue to be adored!

  • http://edgeoforever.wordpress.com/ Not Your sweetie
    • lark

      My feeling is he tripped the wire. Everyone else is getting marred with the aftershock. He probably implicated Obanana with a quid pro quo. Blago will be ruined financially, his reputation ruined. Rahm is toast. Dems will be mad. The only one that will need to defend himself to the end is JJjr. Everyone else can negotiate something. Obanana will loose big time the confidence of his staffers.

      As of now, JJjr. will not get the Senate seat since it will be quite difficult to run for it with the specter of a grand jury indictment to come later.

  • educatedwhitewoman

    Rahm Emmanuel (D-Tomczak)

    References to Tomczak can be found in this Google search.

    http://www.google.com/search...

  • AF catfish

    Look at this friggin revisionist history happening right under our eyes!!

    WaPo today: Obama-the-saintly emerged squeaky clean from the cesspool of Chicago!

    The president-elect’s connection to Blagojevich is emblematic of his political rise in Chicago. Obama had contact with corruption, but rarely firsthand. He relied on the establishment when he needed it, but he maintained enough distance to cast himself as an outsider.

    “Few people I’ve ever known have as good a sense about who might end up getting you in trouble,” said Denny Jacobs, a retired Illinois politician from East Moline who befriended Obama when they both served in the state Senate. “It’s like a sixth sense. Chicago’s a mess, and he was surrounded by it. But he knew the people that could drag you down and tarnish your image.”

    CAN WE PUKE NOW? JUST A FEW MONTHS AGO … IT WAS SO DIFFERENT
    Chi Sun-Times, March:

    Is Rezko still a friend?

    “Yes,” Obama said, “with the caveat if it turns out the allegations are true, then he’s not who I thought he was, and I’d be very disappointed with that.”

    And it’s that friendship, Obama said, that probably kept him from realizing it was a mistake to enter into a real estate deal with Rezko.

    “Probably because I’d known him for a long time, and he’d acted in an aboveboard manner with me,” he said. “And I considered him a friend … It’s further evidence that I’m not perfect.”

    Newsweek, March:

    The alleged crimes probably wouldn’t have gotten much attention outside the clannish world of Chicago politics, except for one detail: Rezko is an old friend and onetime financial backer of Barack Obama.

    Obama is not implicated in Rezko’s alleged illegal activities. But the candidate’s name could surface in the trial, and the murky relationship between the two men–especially Rezko’s part in Obama’s purchase of a house–has become an issue in the campaign.

  • heybigspender

    Ali Bama and the Forty Thieves.

  • educatedwhitewoman

    Greta, check this out. The Chicago Tribunes says that Jesse Jackson Jr’s supporters were trying to raise at least a million dollars for Blagojevich:

    http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-blagojevich-jackson12dec12,0,6420556.story

    • AF catfish

      It’s not much different from Obama’s fundraising prowess earned him favor with the DNC Nancy Pelosi and Howard Dean.

      And that Pelosi strong-armed superdelegate votes via by witholding campaign donations until the supers complied.

  • wodiej

    it continues to amaze me how Obama is surrounded and linked to a very long line of dirty, corrupt, dishonest and hateful people but yet….Obama wants us to believe he knew nothing about any of it.

    Everyone has been a friend to someone and found out later they were not who they thought they were. But not every friend you have!! If all your friends are shady and you aren’t then at the very least you have piss poor judgment. But I think Obama’s situation can’t be describes as “birds of a feather flock together”

  • cathnealon

    How many “murky relationships” does this fraud have to have before people wake up? Is the mainstream media insane? He bought his house and the side lot in a criminal deal with Rezko for God’s sake. And now he or one of Chicago crooks was dealing with Blago to sell a position in the Senate. This is P.C. used as a terrorist tactic to keep people from questioning the One because of the color of his skin.

  • William L. Donlon

    I WOULD RUN THIS BALL THE OTHER WAY!

    So the Ill. Gov talked about filling the Senate seat.

    So did David Patterson of New York and guess who’s name came up??

    Caroline Kennedy. BIG SURPRISE!

    The one and same Kennedy who, with Uncle Ted “Passed Daddys Mantle to Obama.

    The Kennedy who held Mechelle’s hand on Opra against the big bad Clintons.

    Lets see:

    Hillary wins Mass. and New York but both Kennedys support Obama — and then a Senate Seat!!

    BIG SURPRISE!!!

    Lets see:

    Rev. Wright breaks on Foxs News and that same week Richardson endorses Obama— and then he gets a Cabinet Post!!!

    BIG SURPRISE!!!

    The first Senate Seat held by a Black Man since reconstruction is open to appointment by the Ill. Gov and JJJr. and Daddy want it??

    BIG SURPRISE!!!

    Obama and David Patterson can get Quid pro for the seats they are handing out

    But the White Ill. Gov can’t.

    What’s his crime??

    Saying MFer on the phone??

    Saying the appointment was “Gold”– It is!!

    Saying he wanted something for it— Yeah???

    Half the crap in this indictment is “Fluff” and any good trial lawyer knows it.

    And then there is the rush to remove the Ill. Gov from the whole process.

    Could we New Yorkers do the same to Patterson and get an Up Stater appointed??

    We haven’t had one since Bobby Kennedy came with carpetbag in hand in 1964.

    This is Bullshit.

    • lark

      But really, two people come out to do the same thing or players in a team come out to play, one does great the other throws the game. Is all in the details and the attention they are giving to the issues. Some people ‘get distracted.’ I don’t think Patterson is given to distractions. That’s the difference and not the race issue.

  • TeakWoodKite

    The 12 days of Obama.

    and counting.

    “Dick Cheney and I do not want this nation to be in a recession. We want anybody who can find work to be able to find work.”
    GWB 60 Minutes II December 2000.

  • Murray

    Has it occurred to anyone that Obama may be behind this “Gotta-Get-Blago-Out-RIGHT-NOW” push? After all, Blago was not co-operating.
    Obama HAS destroyed politicians’ careers before.

  • stodghie

    i don’t see carolyn getting the senate seat now. she’ll dutifully go foward because uncle teddy is leaving you know. there may be no place to go. if she does get it, i predict she can’t keep it.

  • snailracer

    Oh sure, Obama has been clean as the driven snow during all these years in Chicago.

    Didn’t we wonder why he went to Chicago after finishing Harvard? Now we know. So where did the money come from that paid for his senate seat?

  • http://donnadarko.wordpress.com donna darko

    Thank you, No Quarter, for keeping everyone updated on all the important stories.

  • http://donnadarko.wordpress.com donna darko

    Just to think, Rahm/Obama’s Gatekeeper, was probably the one keeping tabs on PUMAs to get US in trouble.

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  • Linda C.

    I wonder how Blago and JJJr feel about being political toast for “all that they did for the one”. Obama basically shut them out. I wonder if either one will cry first to pull the rest down with them. JJJr believes he worked hard for that senate seat. Interesting notion.

    • lark

      They feel like they are going to get even times ten.

      • http://donnadarko.wordpress.com donna darko

        Did you see this? Blagojevich is Calling Obama’s Bluff… If he goes down, so does the President-Elect

        Blagojevich began the day praying with several ministers in his home before heading to his office, telling them he is innocent and will be vindicated “when you hear each chapter completely written,” according to one of the pastors.

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  • snookums
  • snookums

    “Live-blogging” is self-indulgent irrelevance. As a format for intelligent discussion of current events, it’s on a par with twittering.

    “Watch me watch TV!” How narcissistic can you get?

    If GVS’ show is worth discussing, why should I pass it up to watch you type a second-hand description and toss of opinions without taking any time to think?

    Live-blogging is like CNN’s “hologram” reporters. They send a reporter out into the field and then spend a million dollars to make it look like the reporter is still in the studio. Completely pointless, but it makes the folks at CNN think they’re hot stuff.

  • Kostermann

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aV63_5awshc

    when they caught her all she said was she couldn’t stand the way he drove ~~

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