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NOT SURE ABOUT THE FOLLOWING ISSUES / OR NEED MORE INFOThere are a lot of "conspiracy theories" and other such unsubstantiated trash on the web, and I have ignored this garbage. The following are items that I believe have some credence, but I can't yet draw clear conclusions from them, and further information to substantiate them is needed. Note that a very good source for ruling out web rumors is www.PolitiFact.com. They specifically address web/email rumors, and lay to rest a lot of the junk. Note that the items below regarding "bad" associates of Obama should not be interpreted to mean that he should be condemned for associating with them. Without falling into the logical fallacy of guilt by association, you can say that a preponderance of circumstantial evidence may have some bearing on who he is and the way he thinks, and must be taken in the overall context of what we do know about him. Since we don't know Obama very well, who he associates with is an indirect way of finding out what he really thinks in his heart-of-hearts, at least to some degree. · McCain wants to keep the Bush tax cuts. o See Bush tax cuts: What are they & how do they affect the taxpayers and federal deficit · Obama wants to end the Bush tax cuts. o See Bush tax cuts: What are they & how do they affect the taxpayers and federal deficit · Where do Obama and McCain stand on the economic crisis (banking, mortgage, wallstreet). o See Economy: Where do McCain/Obama stand, what have they done & what will they do · Obama's former church (Trinity United Church Of Christ) seems very anti-white, and the Reverend Wright is definitely very racist. o "Initially, Obama said he disagreed with Wright but portrayed him as representing a part of him he couldn't disown. The preacher had officiated at Obama's wedding and been his spiritual mentor for some 20 years." Per http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/05/31/politics/main4142609.shtml o Obama said that he hadn't heard Reverend Wright make these inflammatory statements. This is from the Obama web site: "The statements that Rev. Wright made that are the cause of this controversy were not statements I personally heard him preach while I sat in the pews of Trinity or heard him utter in private conversation." Per http://www.barackobama.com/2008/03/14/on_my_faith_and_my_church.php o Oprah Winfrey was a member of Trinity United from 1984 to 1986, and she continued to attend off and on into the early to the mid-1990s. But then she stopped. A major reason—but by no means the only reason—was the Rev. Jeremiah Wright. According to two sources, Winfrey was never comfortable with the tone of Wright's more incendiary sermons. Per a Newsweek article titled "Something Wasn’t Wright, Why Oprah Winfrey left Rev. Jeremiah Wright's church." at http://www.newsweek.com/id/135392 o The Reverend Wright was the pastor there for 36 years. Obama met Wright and joined his church in the 1980s and resigned his membership in May, 2008. Per http://www.suntimes.com/news/politics/obama/981141,obama053108.article Also per http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeremiah_Wright#Relationship_with_Barack_Obama There are also lots of YouTube videos of Wright. o See highly racially inflammatory church document at http://www.tucc.org/scholarship_pdf/black value system.pdf regarding the "black value system".
· Torture McCain went through as a POW. Did this affected his mind? o You would think that if there were any issues, they would have come to light during McCain's long political career since the Vietnam war. (Per my opinion) o See McCain's alleged temper. · Obama appears to be a strong advocate of government involvement. o The following is from a review of Obama's Audacity of Hope at http://www.campusi.com/book_spid_0307237699_83.htm A point that comes through openly throughout the book is that Obama is a strong advocate of government involvement in just about every issue facing this country ... save one, "sexual morality." The recommendations to resolve various issues are prefaced with statements such as, "Well structured government programs ..." etc. He wrote in favor of "...labor laws and tax laws that restore some balance to the distribution of the nation's wealth." In the area of affirmative action Obama suggested that where there was evidence of on-going discrimination, "...goals and timetables for minority hiring may be the only meaningful remedy." In the health care arena he proposed a health plan put together by the nonpartisan National Academy of Science and Institute of Medicine under which the effects of diseases could be managed "through simple interventions like making sure patients control their diets, or take their medicines regularly ..." · I would like to know more about what Obama truly thinks, i.e. when not giving a prepared speech. He seems to be hesitant and stutters (this may just be thoughtfulness?) when talking off-the-cuff. The debates should shed more light on this. (Per my opinion) In the Rick Warren interviews he seemed to stutter a lot (interview at http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/08/16/warren.forum/) · Palin may have seriously considered banning books at a library. (what books or which types of books?) (nothing in FactCheck.org as of 9/5/08). o PolitiFact.com indicates that the "Story of banned books is murky", and that the librarian said “She was asking me how I would deal with her saying a book can’t be in the library.” Per http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/704/ · Palin may have used her office to try and fire brother-in-law (nothing in FactCheck.org as of 9/26/08). Brother-in-law is mentioned in the Anne Kilkenny (resident of Wasilla, Alaska) e-mail on Sarah Palin and is not flattering about Palin. Per http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/palinemail/ See Trooper brother-in-law issue elsewhere in this web page. · To what degree is Palin pro-life? (need to check to see if she is radical about it). o In the Anne Kilkenny (resident of Wasilla, Alaska) e-mail on Sarah Palin, Kilkenny claims that on being pro-life, Palin is "mixed. Knowingly gave birth to a Down’s syndrome baby BUT declined to call a special legislative session on some pro-life legislation." Per http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/palinemail/ · Obama appears to have, at age 25 (27?), had close ties with & received money from a guy named Khalid al-Mansour. o See YouTube.com video of Percy Sutton revealing an alleged Obama-Mansour money & help connection: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4EcC0QAd0Ug o Khalid Al-Mansour is a Black Muslim and Black Nationalist who was a “mentor” to the founders of the Black Panther party at the time the party was founded in the early 1960s. Sutton knew Al-Mansour well, since the two men had been business partners and served on several corporate boards together. Per http://www.newsmax.com/timmerman/obama_harvard_/2008/09/23/133199.html There are numerous YouTube.com videos of Khalid al-Mansour making highly racist statements. Here is Mansour being interviewed by Tony Brown: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3HnRC25NXw8&feature=related o Note that Obama spokesman Ben LaBolt told Politico that "Obama did not know and does not know Khalid al-Mansour." LaBolt said Obama doesn't have a relationship with Sutton and that "to our knowledge, no such letter was written." Per http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/0908/Obama_camp_denies_Sutton_story.html
o See article regarding this subject (with transcript): http://www.newsmax.com/newsfront/obama_sutton_saudi/2008/09/03/127490.html o Obama spokesman Ben LaBolt told Newsmax that Sutton’s account was “bogus” and a “fabrication that has been retracted” by a spokesman for the Sutton family. Asked which parts of Percy Sutton’s statements were a “fabrication,” LaBolt said “all of it. Al Mansour doesn’t know Obama. And Sutton’s spokesman retracted the story. The letter [to Harvard, which Percy Sutton says he wrote on behalf of Obama], the ‘payments for loans’ — all of it, not true,” he added. Per article regarding follow up to Sutton's statement and about Obama's Harvard funding: http://www.newsmax.com/timmerman/obama_harvard_/2008/09/23/133199.html
o The Obama campaign told Newsmax that Obama self-financed his three years at Harvard Law School with loans, and did not receive any scholarship from Harvard Law school. Obama spokesman Ben LaBolt denied that Obama received any financial assistance from Harvard or from outside parties. “No - he paid his way through by taking out loans,” he said in an email to Newsmax. Per http://www.newsmax.com/timmerman/obama_harvard_/2008/09/23/133199.html o The following blog by Jack Cashill (an Emmy-award winning independent writer and producer with a Ph.D. in American Studies from Purdue) speculates that Obama had a godfather that helped him financially and helped him write & finance his book. He doubts that the Mansour that appears on YouTube is the one, but rather more likely, is a Dr. Khalid Abdullah Tariq al-Mansour, described as "an internationally acknowledged adviser to heads of state and business leaders in Africa, Asia, the Middle East and North America." Two other details argue for this al-Mansour's involvement in Obama's academic and literary careers. He has been a guest lecturer at Harvard University and has authored 24 books. Per http://www.worldnetdaily.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=73649 · Obama's acquaintance with William Ayers and wife Bernadine Dohrn (both former Weather Underground). Ayers surrendered and pleaded guilty in 1980 to possession of explosives, but served no time because case was dropped because government wiretaps were ruled illegal. Dohrn served time in prison. Per http://hnn.us/articles/1155.html o Obama senior strategist David Axelrod claimed in a CNN interview that aired Monday, Oct. 6, 2008 that Obama did not know about Ayers’ past when they met. “I mean… when he went, he certainly, he didn’t know the history.” Per http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2008/10/06/mccain-camp-dismisses-claim-obama-didn%E2%80%99t-know-ayers%E2%80%99-past/ o Regarding Ayers, Obama said “"This is a guy who lives in my neighborhood, who's a professor of English in Chicago who I know and who I have not received some official endorsement from. He's not somebody who I exchange ideas from on a regular basis. And the notion that somehow as a consequence of knowing somebody who engaged in detestable acts 40 years ago when I was 8 years old, somehow reflects on me and my values, doesn't make much sense." Per the April 2008 Democratic debate, in response to a question from ABC News' George Stephanopoulos. Per http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/Vote2008/story?id=5957466&page=1 o Ayers hosted a brunch for Obama, who was launching his run for the Illinois Senate at the home of Ayers & Dohrn. Per a USAToday article at http://www.usatoday.com/news/politics/election2008/2008-08-25-ayers_N.htm Also per http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/0208/Obama_and_Ayers.html o Obama and Ayers served together on the board of The Annenberg Challenge. Per http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/10/07/obama.ayers/?iref=hpmostpop This was a $110 million+ grant to improve Chicago schools ( $50 million + $60 million local matching funds). Ayers obtained the funding. Obama was later chosen as the chairman. (need citation) "It was ultimately un-successful in raising student achievement, according to evaluations of the project." per http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2007/03/07/26politics.h26.html o Obama read and publicly endorsed (in the Chicago Tribune) a book about juvenile crime written by William Ayers. “A Kind and Just Parent: The Children of Juvenile Court”. Ayers in his book specifically cites Obama as a kindred spirit in his Hyde Park neighborhood. (need citation) o Obama and Ayers jointly held a panel discussion at the University of Chicago debating the merits of the juvenile justice system. The panel was organized by Michelle Obama, an Associate Dean of Student Services at the time. Per http://www-news.uchicago.edu/releases/97/971104.juvenile.justice.shtml o In 2002 Obama and Ayers were on a panel on intellectualism that was co-sponsored by the Chicago Public Library. Per a USAToday article at http://www.usatoday.com/news/politics/election2008/2008-08-25-ayers_N.htm o In 2001, Ayers Contributed $200 To Obama's State Senate Campaign. Per www.followthemoney.org o A New York Times article quoted Ayers in 2001 as saying "I don't regret setting bombs, I feel we didn't do enough." Per http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F02E1DE1438F932A2575AC0A9679C8B63
o Note that President Clinton pardoned two members of the Weather Underground per Obama in a debate with Hillary in the Pennsylvania debate just before the state’s primary (moderated by ABC’s George Stephanopoulos). Per http://blogs.abcnews.com/theblotter/2008/04/radical-ties-an.html o Obama campaign aids said that "they [Obama and Ayers] have not spoken by phone or exchanged e-mail messages since Mr. Obama began serving in the United States Senate in January 2005. Per http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/04/us/politics/04ayers.html?_r=1&bl&ex=1223265600&en=80352c05b6d4b135&ei=5087%0A&oref=slogin · Obama's connection with long time associate Louis Farrakhan, leader of the Nation of Islam. o Farrakhan praised Obama before a Nation of Islam gathering, even comparing him to the religion's founder, Wallace D. Fard Muhammad Per http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/specials/elections/chi-0402290312feb29,0,807167.story o Farrakhan described Obama as "the Messiah". Addressing a large crowd behind a podium Feb. 24 with a Nation of Islam Saviour's Day 2008 sign, Farrakhan proclaims, "You are the instruments that God is going to use to bring about universal change, and that is why Barack has captured the youth. And he has involved young people in a political process that they didn't care anything about. That's a sign. When the Messiah speaks, the youth will hear, and the Messiah is absolutely speaking." Per http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OowxMcVTjTE o Farrakhan prayed with Obama just before the Illinois senator announced his run for the presidency. Per http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/14/AR2008011402083.html o Obama denounced Farrakhan's support. Per http://www.suntimes.com/news/mitchell/821131,CST-NWS-mitch02.article o Jeremiah Wright's church published Trumpet Newsmagazine. Wright's daughters serve as publisher and executive editor. Every year, the magazine makes awards in various categories. In 2007, it gave the Dr. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr. Trumpeter Award to Louis Farrakhan, who it said "truly epitomized greatness." Farrakhan has vilified whites and singled out Jews to blame for crimes large and small. (A dominant role in the slave trade, for instance.) He has talked of Jewish conspiracies to set a media line for the whole nation. And yet Wright heaped praise on Farrakhan. According to Trumpet, he applauded his "depth of analysis when it comes to the racial ills of this nation." He praised "his integrity and honesty." He called him "an unforgettable force, a catalyst for change and a religious leader who is sincere about his faith and his purpose." These are the words of a man who prayed with Obama just before the Illinois senator announced his run for the presidency. Per http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/14/AR2008011402083.html · Obama's acquaintance with Tony Rezko. o Rezko was an early supporter of Obama's political carreer. Per http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/01/28/rezko.arrest/index.html?iref=newssearch o Obama, speaking Sunday to ABC's "This Week," described Rezko as "a friend of mine, a supporter, who I've known for 20 years." When asked about news reports suggesting he may have received more money than that connected to Rezko, Obama said, "What we've done is we've traced any funds that we know of that we think were connected to him. And if there any other funds that were connected to him that we're not aware of, then we will certainly return them. It's in our interest to do so." "I did make a mistake by purchasing a small strip of property from him, at a time where, at that point, he was under the cloud of a potential investigation," Obama told ABC Sunday. Shortly after his election to the U.S. Senate, Obama bought a house for $300,000 below the asking price. The same day, Rezko's wife bought the lot next door for full price. Months later, Obama bought a sliver of the Rezko land to expand his yard. As a state senator, Obama wrote letters supporting some Rezko deals. Per http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/01/28/rezko.arrest/index.html?iref=newssearch o "Political powerbroker Tony Rezko, whose links to presidential contender Barack Obama dropped him into the national spotlight this year, was convicted of money laundering, fraud and bribery charges by a federal jury Wednesday. Rezko -- who has contributed thousands to the campaigns of the Illinois senator and other Democrats -- was accused of demanding kickbacks from companies seeking Illinois state business." "Testimony at Rezko's trial in federal court brought up ties between Obama and Rezko, with a witness putting Obama at Rezko's house for a party where the guest of honor was Iraqi-British businessman Nadhmi Auchi. Obama has said he doesn't recall ever meeting Auchi, who was convicted of fraud in France. Amid the controversy, Obama acknowledged he had accepted contributions from Rezko and bought a strip of land from Rezko, a Chicago real-estate developer. Obama, who has not been accused of wrongdoing in the case, has vowed to give up the contributions, and called the purchase a mistake. He has already donated to charity at least $80,000 in campaign contributions linked to Rezko." Per a CNN report dated June 5, 2008 http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/06/04/rezko.trial/index.html?iref=newssearch · Ayers and Obama had teamed up for three years on the board of the Woods Fund, a Chicago charitable organization. Together, they voted to donate $75,000 of the largesse they controlled to the Arab American Action Network. The AAAN was co-founded by Rashid Khalidi, a longtime supporter of Palestinian “resistance” attacks against Israel, which he openly regards as a racist, apartheid state. Despite considerable evidence to the contrary, Khalidi peremptorily denies having been a PLO operative or having directed its official press agency for six years (from 1976 to 1982). There can be no gainsaying, though, that he was an influential apologist for Yasser Arafat, the terror master who spawned two Intifadas and ordered the murder of American diplomats. Per a National Review Online article by Andrew McCarthy at http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/04/11/opinion/main4009369.shtml. · Obama was a teacher of community organizers with the "Gamaliel foundation". Chicago-based Gamaliel Foundation is an umbrella group for church-based community organizers. o The core views of the Gamaliel Foundation are similar to that of Reverend Right per Stanley Kurtz (however, he is obviously biased). There may be something to this (per my opinion) (see Gamaliel's vision statement below) o See article "Senator Stealth" by Stanley Kurtz (a right-wing, but well credentialed reporter for various right-wing publications). http://www.eppc.org/publications/pubID.3521/pub_detail.asp. <<< Read some of this article & it has many statements backed up by very little actual information. o Gamaliel's vision statement at http://www.gamaliel.org/Foundation/vision.htm does seem to concentrate too much on blame & oppression. (per my opinion) The first paragraph of their vision statement: "Religion has often played a mixed role in our society. Religion has been used to foster the evils of racism, poverty, violence, and intolerance as a powerful force to divide people with fear and hatred of one another. Still, the deepest values of our faith must unite all people through hope, acceptance and a deep desire for justice." Each subsequent paragraph seemed to be about the same (i.e. pointing out how bad humanity is & how there is hope for justice) (per my opinion). There are a lot of loaded phrases: "raw greed", "great disparity of wealth and poverty ", "haves", "have-nots", "concentration of money on political decisions corrupts democratic processes". The first listed goal of Gamaliel is " to bring about shared abundance". NOTE: This vision statement was "Approved by the Gamaliel National Council of Presidents – November 30, 2005", which was presumably after Obama was there. · Michelle Obama's college thesis "which Princeton tried to keep under lock and key, testifies to a race-obsessed worldview." She "recoiled at the thought of 'further integration and/or assimilation into a white cultural and social structure that will only allow me to remain on the periphery of society; never becoming a full participant.'” Per a National Review Online article by Andrew McCarthy at http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/04/11/opinion/main4009369.shtml. · Obama's ties to ACORN (the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now) (need citation) o A Wall Street Journal article had this to say about ACORN: Operating in at least 38 states (as well as Canada and Mexico), Acorn pushes a highly partisan agenda, and its organizers are best understood as shock troops for the AFL-CIO and even the Democratic Party. As part of the Fannie Mae reform bill, House Democrats pushed an "affordable housing trust fund" designed to use Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac profits to subsidize Acorn, among other groups. Per a Wall Street Journal editorial from 2006 at http://opinionjournal.com/editorial/feature.html?id=110009189%3C/p%3E o Per A CNN report on Oct. 10, 2008: "Over the last 4 years a dozen states investigated complaints of fraudulent registrations filed by ACORN, and complaints of fraud by ACORN have exploded nationwide in just the last few weeks." "Despite its past, the Obama campaign gave $800,000 to ACORN to help fund its primary registration drive, and ACORN has endorsed Barak Obama for president." Per http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/politics/2008/10/10/griffin.acorn.elex.fraud.cnn?iref=videosearch Also per http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/10/09/acorn.fraud.claims/index.html?iref=newssearch · Obama was the board chairman of The Annenberg Challenge (a $110m+ grant to improve Chicago schools) which had the goal of improving academics, was judged later to have done nothing to improve the schools. o "It was ultimately unsuccessful in raising student achievement, according to evaluations of the project." per http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2007/03/07/26politics.h26.html o The $110m+ figure comes from Stanley Kurtz (a biased source), but is probably close to the correct amount. The Annenberg portion was $49.2m per the above edweek.org article, and there were matching funds that more than matched the Annenberg portion, per Kurtz. (need citation) o Stanley Kurtz characterized the information he viewed as showing grant preferences for ethnic identity projects, such as Juneteenth awareness (the black alternative to 4th of july), but turned down things like The Chicago Algebra Project (goal to increase student achievement), and The District 5 Math Initiative (goal to aid Hispanic students in the process of learning English, to further learn math and science). (need citation) · Obama refuse to salute the american flag in this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hU9iCANi02o (he was one of 8 people on stage in the video & the other 7 were saluting, i.e. hand over heart) o This web page: http://www.truthorfiction.com/rumors/o/obama-salute.htm indicates that the date was 9/16/07 at an event in Indianola, Iowa where six Democratic presidential candidates appeared. It also has mitigating information such as Obama leading the pledge in congress. o Per the above web page: A spokesperson for the Senator told Fox News that it was ridiculous to suggest that Obama was making any kind of a statement and that sometimes "he does and sometimes he doesn't place his hand over his heart during the National Anthem." o NOTE: This was singing of the national anthem, not the pledge of allegiance. Many people don't salute (hold hand over heart) during the national anthem. See video about this at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_03IRTw3Bag · Obama is accused of having been the only member of congress(?) who did not support a moderate anti-Islamist Muslim Bangladeshi journalist, Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury who had been kidnapped imprisoned, & was being tortured in Bangladesh. Per Richard L. Benkin in an article at http://www.americanthinker.com/2008/03/barack_obama_would_let_shoaib.html o Searched FactCheck.org and PolitiFact.com for "Choudhury" with no hits. o This article gives Choudhury's background: http://www.aish.com/societyWork/society/A_Moderate_Muslim_in_Danger_of_Ext.asp · A guest commentator on Larry King accused Palin of not believing in global warming and that it’s a hoax by the media. Need more info on this. · I've heard comments that Palin is against abortion even in the case of incest and rape. This appears to be at least an exaggeration. o In the Anne Kilkenny (resident of Wasilla, Alaska) e-mail on Sarah Palin, Kilkenny claims that on being pro-life, Palin is "mixed. Knowingly gave birth to a Down’s syndrome baby BUT declined to call a special legislative session on some pro-life legislation." Per http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/palinemail/ o She said in the Gibson interview regarding abortion that it was her personal view and that it should be left up to the states to decide. Per the unedited transcript of the Gibson interview at http://marklevinshow.com/gibson-interview/ · Obama's voting record in Illinois senate o See http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/01/17/politics/main2369157.shtml o See http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/20/us/politics/20obama.html · Obama's second amendment position (right to bear arms) o NRA Claims that Obama would "Pass Federal Laws Eliminating Your Right-to-Carry", which FactCheck.org ruled as a true statement, saying "In 2004, while running for the Democratic nomination for the Senate seat he now holds, Obama indeed called for national legislation to prevent anyone but law enforcers from carrying concealed firearms." Per http://www.factcheck.org/elections-2008/nra_targets_obama.html o Note that the NRA has made many misleading claims about Obama. However, I am in agreement with the NRA on this one issue. Banning the carrying of concealed weapons has the unintended negative consequence of only criminals carrying around handguns. (Per my opinion) o Need more info about Obama's intentions in this area. · McCain's involvement in the "Keating Five" scandal in the 1980's o The investigation ended in early 1991 with a rebuke that McCain "exercised poor judgment in intervening with the regulators." But the Senate ethics committee also determined McCain's actions "were not improper nor attended with gross negligence." Per http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/03/24/politics/main3964240.shtml?source=search_story o After a lengthy investigation, the Senate Ethics Committee determined in 1991 that Alan Cranston, Dennis DeConcini, and Donald Riegle (all Democrats) had substantially and improperly interfered with the FHLBB in its investigation of Lincoln Savings, with Cranston receiving a formal reprimand. Senators John Glenn (a Democrat) and John McCain (the lone Republican) were cleared of having acted improperly but were criticized for having exercised “poor judgment”. Per http://foxforum.blogs.foxnews.com/2008/10/06/cthomas_1006/
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