The Truth about ObamaTruth.org
A new smear website, ObamaTruth.org, has released a nearly three-minute video called “The Audacity of Barack Obama.” It should come as no surprise that the video — and the website generally — relies on discredited sources and innuendo to tar Sen. Obama.
Here’s the video:
As you can see, the video divides its spurious claims into four chapters. What follows is an effort to shed light on the misleading charges made there, one chapter at a time.
***
Chapter 1
The Video’s Claim: “Within months after her husband was sworn in as U.S. Senator, Michelle Obama received a pay increase of $195,000 from the not-for-profit hospital where she works!”
The Truth: Michelle Obama did receive a raise two months after Sen. Obama was sworn in. Why? Because she was promoted to Vice President of University of Chicago Hospitals — a position she had been in line for since joining the hospital in 2002.
As the Chicago Tribune reported in 2006, Michelle Obama was brought on as Executive Director of Community Affairs, a new position that was intended to grow into a Vice President’s post, according to then-president of the hospital Michael Riordan. “I knew where I wanted to go with this position,” he told the paper. “I wanted to identify someone to grow into it.”
In fact, Riordan had discussed the promotion with Michelle Obama before the election, but “she had been reluctant to undertake the commitment until her husband’s Senate campaign was finished,” according to the report. She wanted to be sure they would maintain their primary residence in Illinois.
A hospital spokesman also listed the achievements of Michelle Obama that
warranted her promotion:
They included expansion of the institution’s women and minority vendor purchases, rejuvenation of its volunteer program and work she did to help set up a collaborative effort with South Side clinics and doctors’ offices to provide
primary care for low-income residents who otherwise would seek treatment at the emergency room.
Her new salary is right on par with that earned by other Vice Presidents at the hospital, too, and actually falls towards the lower end of the spectrum. “She is worth her weight in gold, and she is just terrific,” Riordan said.
Shockingly, the video failed to note these facts.
Chapter 2
The Video’s Claim: Sen. Obama says he wants to make healthcare more affordable, but “he didn’t tell us that his wife is one of 13 vice presidents at a not-for-profit hospital that in 2005 reported earnings of over $100 million — in part by charging uninsured minorities three and a half times as much as whites with insurance for the exact same care!”
The Truth: People without medical insurance are charged more than people with insurance in virtually every hospital in the country. Because of negotiations in the 1980s that kept prices lower for people with HMO plans or Medicare, hospitals raised their charges for many normal procedures in the 1990s, a reality that resulted in higher costs for PPOs and the uninsured.
According to the Council for Affordable Health Insurance, the state with the highest cost-to-charge ratio (which reflects how much more people without insurance are charged than people with insurance) is Nevada, which charges…wait for it…three and a half times more. Following Nevada is California, Alabama, Florida and Arizona. Illinois
doesn’t make the top five.
Without question, rising healthcare costs for the uninsured is a major problem. Blaming Michelle Obama for a flawed system that is in effect in every hospital in the country just
because she works at a hospital, however — not to mention insinuating that such a disparity is based on racial prejudice — is as irresponsible as it is absurd.
Chapter 3
The Video’s Claim: After encouraging college students to pursue public service over “the big house and the large salary,” Sen. Obama was the subject of an “embarrassing investigation into the purchase of his stately $1.65 million mansion” and now regrets purchasing land from indicted political fundraiser Tony Rezko.
The Truth: Sen. Obama bought his home on Chicago’s South Side at a price on par for
the neighborhood, using advance money from his bestselling book. Seven months later, he purchased an adjacent sliver of land from the wife of Tony Rezko, who had bought the bordering land on the same day Sen. Obama closed on his home (the seller required the sales be closed on the same day, as the New Republic points out). Tony Rezko is a well-connected Chicago fundraiser who is currently involved in two unrelated criminal cases.
Contrary to the video’s claim, there was no investigation into the purchase. The Washington Post reported that “There have been no allegations that Obama…broke the law or committed any ethics violations.” Still, Sen. Obama said he regretted the purchase, which he called “boneheaded,” because of how it could be perceived.
As the New Republic notes, “No one is seriously accusing Obama of any wrongdoing” in this situation. In addition, Sen. Obama has since that time opposed gambling interests that Rezko supports, and has donated $11,500 in campaign contributions from Rezko to charity.
Chapter 4
The Video’s Claim: Though Sen. Obama has spoken about worker’s rights to groups critical of Wal-Mart, he didn’t mention that the CEO of TreeHouse Foods received $26 million in compensation in 2005, while Wal-Mart’s CEO received $10.5 million, despite the fact that TreeHouse is a much smaller company — “maybe because he’s embarrassed his wife sits on the Board of Directors of TreeHouse Foods, a company that shut a plant in 2006 that was staffed primarily with low-paid Hispanics!”
The Truth: Michelle Obama joined the Board of Directors of TreeHouse Foods in June 2005, shortly after the company was spun off its parent company, Dean Foods. TreeHouse CEO Sam Reed was reportedly paid $26.2 million in 2005, much of which was in the form of stock options stemming from the company’s spin-off and contingent on the company’s level of performance, according to Crain’s Business. In other words, the company must do well for Reed to receive that money.
TreeHouse has an Executive Compensation Committee to determine the salaries of its executives. Michelle Obama does not sit on this committee. When asked, she pointed out that Reed’s compensation is “benchmarked to that of other food firms.” She also noted to a reporter that her income “is pretty low compared to my peers,” adding, “You wouldn’t ask that question if, like some people in politics, we had trust funds and were
rich.”
As for the claim about the plant that was shut down in 2006, it’s true. It was a pickle plant in La Junta, Colorado, and employed 153 people. It was not closed by TreeHouse directly, however, but by Bay Valley Foods, a division of the larger TreeHouse company. The video’s attempt to link Michelle Obama to the plant’s closure — and to once again inject racial overtones into its specious claim — is like saying the Secretary of Agriculture should be held responsible for the unfortunate closing of a military base in Maine.
A press release from Bay Valley Foods regretfully attributes the closure to “a reduction in our pickle business and a significant increase in overhead costs, making it necessary to consolidate our manufacturing network. The La Junta facility is a high-cost plant with the lowest utilization among Bay Valley Foods’ pickle plants. Production at La Junta will be reallocated among our five remaining pickle production facilities.”
***
The video is not the only deceitful aspect of ObamaTruth.org. Among the links on the site is one to the discredited Dick Morris column on Sen. Obama’s voting record, which we debunked in detail here.
In addition, RunObama discusses the deeply sketchy record of the political hit man believed to be behind the website. And Vermonters for Obama offers a great analysis that puts the Obama’s finances in perspective.
January 25th, 2007 at 4:30 pm EST
Wow - this was such a great post. I really appreciate you taking the time to research this for the rest of us. I would have seen that video and when people tried to use it to discredit him, I wouldn’t have anything to say about it. Thanks to your hard work I can now speak confidently in support of the Obamas if any of these allegations come up in conversation. Kudos!
January 25th, 2007 at 7:08 pm EST
Theresa Heinz’s money may not have been a detriment to Kerry’s campaign, but it certainly raised a few eyebrows. I wonder how Sugar Mama Obama’s success will be viewed if/when the word reaches the average voter (out of context of not).I certainly hope not, but after Webb’s speech about bridging the gap between modern day robber barons and the working class, any association with the former can’t be good.
January 26th, 2007 at 2:31 pm EST
Nothing makes conservatives turn more vicious then when wealthy Democrats have the gall to argue for policies that benefit the working class. The limosine liberal charge was used against Kerry, and it will undoubtedly be used against Obama, Edwards, and probably Hillary. Think about how much grief Nancy Pelosi gets about this — it is where all those pundits attacking her for wearing fancy clothes comes from. But there is just a fundamental flaw in the limosine liberal logic (like that alliteration?) — they suggest these liberals are being hypocritical, when there is no evidence they are being anything other than selfless, unless you can show them cheating on their taxes or doing something else shady to personally profit while holding Big Business at large to a higher standard.
January 26th, 2007 at 2:36 pm EST
Somebody give this man a blog!
January 27th, 2007 at 10:36 pm EST
It is not those 4-chapter $$$ dispute that is most dangerous about Mr. Obama’s candidacy, but the strong possibility of he being a closet Muslim, which he is trying to conceal. Why concealing, if there is no deceptive intention? Is Mr. Obama not applying a self-preservation Koran-based tactic called “al-Taqiyya”, i.e., “lying to non-Muslims to earn salvation” in times they are weak and overpowered? Both the CNN and the ABC videos failed to remove our suspicion, because those videos are BIASED and MISLEADING for not telling the whole truth. As a person who was born and grew up in Indonesia, I can here testify that the school attended by young Obama was indeed NOT a madrassa. However, The CNN video report on Sen. Obama’s Indonesia school http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S-kPCCog0BY&eurl= does not show any interview with the school children, their teacher, the Deputy Headmaster Mr. Priyono, or Obama’s former schoolmate, Mr. Winadyanto, whether or not they regard Osama bin Laden a terrorist. As an insider and expert of Indonesian Muslim community, I can assure that those people, if interviewed, will inevitably reveal themselves as anti- USA and pro-Islamic terrorists, especially Osama bin Laden. The truth is, most Indonesian Muslims, no matter whether ‘moderate’ or ‘extremist’, sympathize with the Islamofascist terrorists, jubilate to their attacks and ‘victories’, and consider Osama bin Laden as their hero against a common enemy, i.e., the infidels and their secular culture.Regarding Mr. Obama’s root in Indonesia the crucial question is: did his Muslim stepfather send the young Obama to attend the EVENING course in the NEARBY MOSQUE to study Islam? (The CNN video shows a mosque NEXT to the school). ALL mosques in Indonesia offer evening courses to study Islamic religion and culture. Devout Muslim fathers usually send their children to such evening course, which is called PESANTREN in the Indonesian language, or MADRASSA in international jargon, since they usually find a few hours per week of religion class taught at normal school was NOT ENOUGH. Most Madrassas or Pesantrens are teaching more or less radical fundamentalist Islamic teaching, allegedly to prevent young Muslims from being morally and ethically ‘corrupted’ by the secular culture. As it is true NOW, as also 40 years ago, such teaching has been being misused to foment hate towards the western culture, and –as such– offering a breeding ground for Islamofacists and terrorists. Today we witnessed the result of such a teaching all over the world. The 6-10 years of age is considered by the psychologist as the character-forming age, which determines the fundamental mindset through a person’s entire life. Therefore, it is very important to dig the truth. Senator Obama’s background remains OBSCURE, not ‘clean’ as some liberal media would like to present. A further revelation of his true religion is crucially needed.
January 27th, 2007 at 11:55 pm EST
Wow, Van Guard, you make a lot of statements of “truth” and “fact” that don’t stand up to even slight examination. First of all, CNN has the decency not to prey on children by trying to interview them at school without parental consent. What could they add to the story anyway. They could not attest to the environment there in 1967 (BEFORE al-Qaeda was formed and Osama bin Laden was 10 years old!!!)Even if his step-father (who, if he were a “devout Muslim father,” would have NEVER married a white atheist infidel) sent him to night school.. so what. I was raised fundamentalist Christian (Southern Baptist) and was re-baptized at age 12 (coming of age in our Church). I had a Sunday School teacher demonize the Supreme court over Roe v. Wade and cheer when death-penalty executions restarted after Furman v. Georgia. At the time, I agreed with her.So how was I able to become a pacifist Buddhist? I know several lawyers - their backgrounds are never OBSCURE. To get into Law School (esp. Harvard) requires some scrutiny. Being a member of the bar and on staff at a law firm entails much more scrutiny. Being in the state legislature brings more exposure. It is totally preposterous that he is a one-man sleeper cell for al-Qaeda.His background is not obscure. His “true religion” is that he is a member of the United Church of Christ. There no “revelation” to be had. He’s an American.
January 28th, 2007 at 12:48 am EST
Well said, Samatva.I wonder what “Van Guard” is a vanguard of…Quite frankly, I HOPE Barack DID attend “Pesantren” (which is actually a boarding school) becuse we need a President that has at least some idea of how other people think. At least Barack won’t have delusions that we can invade a country as be “welcomed as liberators.”If our leaders understood other cultures better, we’d be less likely to look like such jerks.
January 28th, 2007 at 12:58 am EST
Those attacking Barack must have a lot to lose - preferential treatment for Gov’t contracts or their taxes will go up. What burns me is that conservative “flag wavers” aren’t willing to pay for all the things that they want our country to do. I hereby apologize to my child (and hopefully, some day, grandchildren) for the enormous debt we are leaving to you.
January 29th, 2007 at 4:06 am EST
Reply to Mr. Samatva:I welcome any examination of my thesis by any institution. However, examination must be done on factual basis. not mere arguments. First of all, I do not demand CNN should interview the school children, although it would lend much more credibility if it does. Instead, CNN should AT LEAST interview the school teacher(s), or even better, the Deputy Headmaster Mr. Priyono, or Obama’s former schoolmate, Mr. Winadyanto. I here repeat my claim again, that, as an insider and expert of Indonesian Muslim community, I can assure that those people, if interviewed, will reveal their anti-USA attitude and even appreciate Osama bin Laden as their hero. I herewith challenge everybody to prove I am wrong. Mr. Wolf Blitzer has misled the American public to draw wrong conclusions from a video report that hides the real truth. This is a prima facie case of bad journalism. You are totally wrong with your opinion that a “devout Muslim” would NEVER marry a white atheist (infidel). According to many website articles, which also agree with my personal experience, just the reverse is true: It is the most radical and the most aggressive of the fundamentalists who are most possessed to marry (i.e., ‘conquer’) white women as trophies in their war against infidels. It is considered a victory of Islam over infidels, i.e., taking their (infidel) women as sexual slaves (however, since for the time being they are subjected to secular law, there is no other way for them as to marry the women they want to conquer). This is a FACT that can be found in a great abundance of websites. Read Qur’an 4:24, “All married women (are forbidden unto you) save those (captives) whom your right hands possess.” You can’t have sex with married women, unless they are slaves obtained in war (with whom you may rape or do whatever you like).It seems to me, although you were born into a Christian family and baptized for the second time, you have not been able to spiritually grasp the core of the Christian faith. To me, being a Christian means, we accept Jesus Christ as our savior and the Holy Spirit as a guide throughout our life. And yet, I am NOT a fundamentalist, but firmly believe that faith is 100% personal matter. No one can dictate you what you should believe, and/or define the God you are supposed to worship. This is in direct collision with Islam, which aims at converting the whole world to Islam with force:Qur’an:8:39 “Fight them until all opposition ends and all submit to Allah.”Qur’an:8:39 “So fight them until there is no more Fitnah (disbelief [non-Muslims]) and all submit to the religion of Allah alone (in the whole world).”Ishaq:324 “He said, ‘Fight them so that there is no more rebellion, and religion, all of it, is for Allah only. Allah must have no rivals.’”Read more violent Qur’an verses in http://www.prophetofdoom.net/Islamic_Quotes.Islam.
January 29th, 2007 at 3:01 pm EST
Wow, Lohn … I did not know that Hezbollah and al Qaeda supporters also read and write in Obamarama!Pesantren is not only a boarding school, but it also gives evening class in Islamic religion and culture, incl. Arabic and Qur’an reading & cantation. Only a minority of Indonesian school children attend Pesantren, although the latter is always established as part of a mosque, even the small ones, called ‘langgar’, which do not have a dome roof. Although they only represent a minority (nowadays the number is steadily and rapidly increasing), they receive high respect from their peers and are regarded as ‘expert’ in Islamic matters. Such a respect comes from the meaning of the word ‘Pesantren’, which means ‘breeding place for devout persons’ (devout=’santri’ in the Indonesian or Javanese language). As is the case now, as well as 40 years ago, students of ‘Pesantrens’ always stand up among their peers by being more intolerant, aggressive, hateful and belligerent against their non-Muslim fellows. This is quite natural and also understandable (but not justifiable), if you read the Qur’an yourself and do not listen to those who are applying the Qur’an-based ‘al Taqiyya’ (lying to non-Muslims as a survival tactic in times they are being overpowered). Regarding your remarks of invading a country (such as Iraq and Afghanistan) to be ‘welcomed as liberators’, seemingly you forget who attacked us first. While the 9/11 attack was a good reason for attacking the Taliban’s, the WMD was just a poorly picked-up cause to start the Iraq war. Even without WMD-argument the Iraq war is inevitable, and has to be conducted anyway, because postponing it would only cause more problems, if not even rendering it impossible. As a matter of fact, the first and main objective of the Iraq war has been successful, i.e., steering away Islamic terrorists from launching attacks inside USA by luring them to a foreign country. Today Islamic jihadists from all over the world are sending their terrorists to Iraq, instead of sneaking-in into USA and terrorize us all. Without the Iraq war, we would have experienced 9/11-style attacks day for day, endlessly.Regarding your remark ‘our leaders understood other cultures better’, I think our leaders readily understand other cultures pretty well, although they could make it better. What we have is a ‘Clash of Cultures’ as envisioned by Samuel Huntington. Although I may not vote for Hillary Clinton, I still have trust and respect for her and other Democrats (but not Barack Obama!), and that they will NOT stop the war by retreating from Iraq with defeat. If we retreat from Iraq with defeat, our entire Middle East policy would collapse, Iran would emerge as an unbridled nuclear power, and soon Israel would be wiped out from the map. I do not think we Americans would like that. Senator Obama does not deserve our trust, unless it is clarified that he is not lying regarding his faith.
January 29th, 2007 at 3:05 pm EST
Van Guard:You claim that to you, faith is a 100% personal matter, that “No one can dictate you what you should believe,” and that “This is in direct collision with Islam.”But you do not represent Christianity in general, which is right in line with your quotes from the Koran:”[A]t the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.” (Philippians 2:10-11)All religions believe they are the one true and only religion. Your argument is empty demagoguery and xenophobia. I suggest you read a little more deeply into religion, both your own and others.
January 30th, 2007 at 1:33 pm EST
Reply to Anonymous:Thank you for your advice. Sorry, it does not apply to me; probably to you yourself. I studied the Cathechismus and have been reading the Bible since my childhood. I studied the al Qur’an since my youth, and my home library is presently equipped with Qur’an translation (Dawood/Penguin) as well as Hadits (e.g., Ishaq, Tabari, Bukhari, etc.).Your Phillipians 2:10-11 quote recites no other than hope, wish, or at most, prognosis, but is completely absent of violence and force. It does not tell or command us to ‘FIGHT’, as in the previously quoted Qur’an Sura 8:39. The same non-violence is true for the entire New Testament. There is some violence in the Old Testament, but all of them are presented as STORIES referring to a third party (e.g., Israeli tribes) and never as a direct COMMAND to commit violence from God addressed to us as a second party. Direct commands from God are always good, such as the Ten Commandments.The Qur’an is fully different, if not just the opposite. It instigates violence as a DIRECT COMMAND from Allah addressed to a second person, ‘you’:”When YOU meet the unbelievers in the battlefield strike off their heads and, when YOU have laid them low, bind YOUR captives firmly. Then grant them their freedom or take a ransom from them, until War has laid down her burdens.” Muhammad (Sura 47):4″When the sacred months are over, slay the idolaters wherever YOU find them. Arrest them, besiege them, and lie in ambush everywhere for them. Repentance (Sura 9):5.”FIGHT against those to whom the Scriptures were given as believe in neither God nor the Last Day, who do not forbid what God and his apostle have forbidden, and do not embrace the true Faith, until they pay tribute out of hand and are utterly subdued.” Repentance (Sura 9):28″Therefore do not falter or sue [or call] for peace when YOU have gained the upper hand” Mohammad (Sura 47):34″Make war on them until idolatry shall cease and God’s religion shall reign supreme” The Spoils (Sura
:40 The Qur’an is full (on the order of hundreds, if not thousands) of such hateful and violent verses. I challenge you to provide evidence that contradicts what I said.
January 30th, 2007 at 1:40 pm EST
Erratum to my reply to Lohn:Not ‘Clash of Cultures’, but ‘(The) Clash of CIVILIZATIONS (and remaking of the World Order)’
January 30th, 2007 at 9:24 pm EST
It appears there are lots of educated opinions on this topic.But the big picture is still the big picture. The Iraq war was going to happen anyway, 9-11 gave Mr. Bush a great excuse to get the reactionary and gullible public’s support. But if you expect Obama to speak truthfully, why not expect the same of your president? Bush was dishonest about Iraq, period. I have seen nothing to convince me that Senator Obama was/is not honest about his schooling. He made a choice to be Christian in the mid-80’s. He had no control over what school his parents put him in at age 6.Iraqis and Americans are dying in record numbers in the “war on terror”. We’ll most likely be going into Iran soon, the writing is on the wall. Bush and Cheney and the right wing string pullers are “deciding” our country’s fate. Soon, it won’t matter whether it’s a “culture war” or a “war on terror” or whether our interests in the Middle East are protected. Soon there will be lots more dead people, a tanked American economy because of it, and still no success. When is enough enough?????Obama’s message is to keep America accountable to the world so if there is a global threat, the world can unite behind us to stop it. George Bush’s policy is a failure and has only and will continue to be so.When so much has ALREADY been lost in the war, how can anyone defend it??????????
January 30th, 2007 at 11:23 pm EST
Van Guard,Why is it that crazy people like yourself always have such bad grammar and punctuation? I’ve been wondering for years.
January 31st, 2007 at 2:21 am EST
You are performing ‘Ad Hominem’ (attacking the person, instead of the argument). Please stay firm on the subject.
January 31st, 2007 at 3:47 am EST
I doubt if Bush has actually lied about the WMD. It could be that Bush himself has been misguided by his own Intelligence officer, who was too eager to serve and please his master. In other words, the Agency did not provide the correct information, because Bush would not like it. Instead, the Agency presented the information that Bush has wanted, although the Agency knew the information was not quite true. The Intelligence Agency might have counted on the chemical agent that the US has previously delivered to Saddam Hussein during the Iran-Iraq war. That chemical agent is still missing until today. The UN inspectors could not find it, our troops could not find it. Either Saddam has destroyed it, or it may still lie buried somewhere in Iraq. If the latter is true, Bush did not lie, because Saddam Hussein was indeed in possession of WMD, at least when the invasion began.In comparison, if Senator Obama is a closet Muslim, then he must be aware that he is lying, and he must be implementing the notorious al Taqiyya tactic. The key question is here, whether or not Mr. Obama is lying about his Muslim background. The CNN video did not prove anything, because no interview has been conducted. The video PICTURES do not say anything about the OPINION or IDEOLOGY of the school officials. In this case, Mr. Obama’s true faith can be easily tested with an independent Litmus Test, i.e., whether he eats pork and drinks beer. If he does not eat pork and does not drink beer, then he is a true Muslim in his heart, and he is lying to the American public. There is no evidence that Mr. Obama has made a choice to be Christian in the mid-80’s. If he is performing the al Taqiyya tactic, there is quite a few tricks that he could have made. One possibility is to become a member of the Trinity United Church of Christ by showing a FAKE Baptismal certificate from another church, since there is usually a mutual recognition of baptism among congregational churches. Even if his membership is genuine, the Trinity United Church of Christ to which Mr. Obama currently belongs is known as being pro-Arab, anti-Israel and does not recognize the legitimacy of the State of Israel. This would make a perfect al Taqiyya tactic. Soon after Mr. Obama enters the White House, he would reverse the US foreign policy and let Israel be destroyed. That would mean an ultimate decline, or even downfall, of the Western Civilization, as already warned by Samuel Huntington in his famous book ‘The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of the World Order’.
January 31st, 2007 at 5:20 am EST
VanGuard:Although I respect your meticulous research, I have to again defer to the big picture. Bush misled the American people, period. We are in a war that is killing thousands, with no successful outcome predicted.Hatred of any religion is wrong. Lying is wrong. There is evidence that Bush lied, no matter how you spin it. There is no evidence that Obama has lied, no matter how you spin it.I have a feeling that the details will be overly-focused on in any message henceforth, so I am ending my discourse with these comments.
January 31st, 2007 at 6:04 am EST
Hmmm… it sure seems like an easy solution: for his Chicago Bear superbowl Ad let him swill a large Budweiser and be eating a pork hogie- (with objective witnesses present, of course).All in favor?
January 31st, 2007 at 1:03 pm EST
Reply to Mechelle:I doubt if Bush has actually lied about the WMD. It could be that Bush himself has been misguided by his own Intelligence team, who was too eager to serve and please their boss. In other words, the Agency did not provide the correct information, because Bush would not like it. Instead, the Agency presented the information that Bush has wanted, although the Agency knew the information was not quite true. The Intelligence Agency might have counted on the chemical agent that the US has previously delivered to Saddam Hussein during the Iran-Iraq war. That chemical agent is still missing until today. The UN inspectors could not find it, our troops could not find it. Either Saddam has destroyed it, or it may still lie buried somewhere in Iraq. If the latter is true, Bush did not lie, because Saddam Hussein was indeed in possession of WMD, at least when the invasion began.In comparison, if Senator Obama is a closet Muslim, then he must be aware that he is lying, and he must be implementing the notorious al Taqiyya tactic. The key question is here, whether or not Mr. Obama is lying about his Muslim background. The CNN video did not prove anything, because no interview has been conducted. The video PICTURES do not say anything about the OPINION or IDEOLOGY of the school officials. In this case, Mr. Obama’s true faith can be easily tested with an independent Litmus Test, i.e., whether he eats pork and drinks beer. If he does not eat pork and does not drink beer, then he is a true Muslim in his heart, and he is lying to the American public. There is no evidence that Mr. Obama has made a choice to be Christian in the mid-80’s. If he is performing the al Taqiyya tactic, there is quite a few tricks that he could have made. One possibility is to become a member of the Trinity United Church of Christ by showing a FAKE Baptismal certificate from another church, because there is usually a mutual recognition of baptism among congregational churches. Even if his membership is genuine, the Trinity United Church of Christ to which Mr. Obama currently belongs is known as being pro-Arab, anti-Israel and does not recognize the legitimacy of the State of Israel. This would make a perfect al Taqiyya tactic. Soon after Mr. Obama enters the White House, he would reverse the US foreign policy and let Israel be destroyed. That would mean an ultimate decline, or even downfall, of the Western Civilization, as already warned by Samuel Huntington in his famous book ‘The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of the World Order’.
January 31st, 2007 at 1:13 pm EST
Reply to Mechelle:Your IMPRESSION of the big picture is deceptively wrong. The details does not match the impression you’ve got. This refers to the missing chemical agent.For the time being we can not say Mr. Obama is lying. All we can say is, we have a big DOUBT on him, since we found a LOT of incredibilty and contradictions in his statements and autobiography.Since the damage that would result from his LIES (if proven) will be detrimental to our Middel East policy and in the long run also the Western Civilization, we have to TEST right now, whether or not Mr. Obama is a closet Muslim.
January 31st, 2007 at 2:03 pm EST
Actually Michelle. I apologize for my above post and my ignorance about this entire Obama-is-a-Muslim thing. I’m a little slow on the uptake, and WHILE I really LIKE to type in CAPITAL letters to FORCE my POINT home, I’m actually just plain WRONG about this entire thing. MY BAD.
February 1st, 2007 at 1:10 am EST
THE ABOVE MESSAGE IS FAKED !I, VAN GUARD, DID NOT WRITE THE MESSAGE, NOR DID I APOLOGIZE TO MICHELLE.Moderator, please delete the fake message.Van Guard
February 1st, 2007 at 3:47 am EST
I appreciate and understand your concern, but I’m going to avoid deleting comments on this site unless they contain obscenity.For what it’s worth, though, I hope in the future we can all agree that impersonating another commenter, however misguided we may believe their views to be, isn’t a habit we want get into.Thanks everyone for reading and commenting on the site.
February 3rd, 2007 at 2:33 pm EST
Obama just your name alone I would not vote for you!!!!!!
February 3rd, 2007 at 6:18 pm EST
BrendaThat is pathetic. With that kind of logic how can you be confident in your own judgement?
February 4th, 2007 at 6:09 pm EST
Mechelle, I agree with Brenda.Obama’s name means a LOT, all justifying our supsicion he is concealing his background.BLATANT LIES by and about BARACK OBAMA(1) LIE #1 From http://www.usvetdsp.com/dec06/obama_muslim.htmObama’s own lie: Obama stated in his Convention speech: ‘My father … grew up herding goats.’ The ‘goat herder’ claim has been repeated endlessly. It is a lie.Fact (by Ted Sampley): Obama’s grandfather, Hussein Onyango Obama was a prominent and wealthy farmer. His son, Obama’s father, was a child of privilege, not privation. He was not a herdsman, but an outstanding student, who once got a Kenyan government’s scholarship to study in Hawaii, where he met Obama’s mother. That’s why after completing his study Obama’s father went back to Kenya to take a high position with the Kenyan government.(2) LIE #2 (by WASHINGTON POST – January 18, 2007 - Editorials - page A22 “ Mr. Obama, 45, presents himself …. that he’s the son of a Kenyan father and a Kansan mother, a Midwesterner who spent part of his childhood in an Indonesian village.”Fact: This is a blatant lie! His family residence in Southern Jakarta is one of the most affluent suburbs of Jakarta (see Op-Ed article in the newspaper The Jakarta Post - Opinion and Editorial - January 17, 2007 , written by Julia Suryakusuma, a personal friend of Obama’s mother, Ann Dunham. The Jakarta Post article is available at http://www.thejakartapost.com/yesterdaydetail.asp?fileid=20061129.F03This fact is commensurate with his stepfather (Soetoro) being a high official of the Indonesian Oil Company (Permina, now Pertamina, a privatized state company, which was Indonesia’s most corrupt company; http://newhistorian.wordpress.com/)Mr. Soetoro must have studied in Hawaii under the Indonesian state scholarship. This means, after graduation he MUST serve the Indonesian government to pay-off his study, i.e., by becoming a manager with the state-owned oil company, Pertamina, which was formerly owned by the international oil company Shell that has been nationalized in 1957 by the Indonesian government (http://www.mongabay.com/reference/country_studies/indonesia/all.html)(3) LIE #3 http://www.worldaffairsboard.com/united-states-politics/35769-mullah-osama-errrr-barack-obama-done.htmlMr. Obama says his father was “raised a Muslim, but by the time he met my mother he was a confirmed atheist….”Comment: Sooo … an atheist or agnostic who named his first born son ‘Barack’, which is definitely NOT African but an Islamic/Koranic name? (related to ‘Mubarak’; ‘Baraka’ means ‘Allah blessed’). This fact alone refutes Mr. Obama’s statement that his father was “raised a Muslim, but by the time he met my mother he was a confirmed atheist….” http://www.worldaffairsboard.com/united-states-politics/35769-mullah-osama-errrr-barack-obama-done.html . If we have to accept Obama’s words as truth, then Mr. Obama must have been born BEFORE his father met his mother!
February 4th, 2007 at 7:06 pm EST
This is the most foolish treatise I have ever read. Not one of the “facts” refutes the claims listed in the “lie” sections. Your sources cannot speak with authority about Sen. Obama’s childhood, and appear to accuse him of fabrication — on questions of little to no consequence — for purely partisan reasons.In #1, you provide no evidence or link, just the words of someone who was not present for Sen. Obama’s childhood, to suggest that his father was not a goat farmer? Are you serious? Not only do you give us no sound reason to doubt this fact of Sen. Obama’s background, but you don’t even give us reason to believe that it should matter either way.In #2, your “refutation” does not even address the claim you call a “lie.” As has been widely reported, Lolo Soetoro was called back to Indonesia, as were all Indonesians abroad, as part of a nationalistic move initiated by the government’s leadership. His new family joined him. He went to work for the oil company once back in Jakarta. As could be asked of every aspect of your treatise, what is your point?In #3, there’s no reason an atheist wouldn’t draw on his cultural heritage when naming his child. Your “comment” proves nothing other than the fact that you apparently have an unhealthy obsession with trying to find a lie where the world agrees there is none.Van Guard, I appreciate your engagement on this topic, but wish it was based on something more substantial than baseless fears and xenophobic nonsense. Not once on this blog have you discussed questions of consequence, preferring instead to trade in vague innuendo and specious insinuation.There are issues worth discussing in this race. Religion is one of them, as is cultural heritage, values, and even policy, and your comments on these topics are welcome here. But I’ll ask that you refrain from casting dangerous and unfounded aspersions when all you have to support your claims is tin foil hat conspiracy theories and your own belligerence.Thanks as always for visiting the site.
February 4th, 2007 at 10:33 pm EST
Thank you JHC for your comments. I so appreciate your grounded perspective and also the obamarama website.In regards to the two prior naysayers I will say this: fear, hatred and suspicion never serve people well in the long run. The naysayers to a message of hope from an incredible public servant like Barack Obama will see how wrong they are eventually, in my opinion. I just hope it is not too late for our country and world by then. It is our job to support Barack Obama (and most importantly his vital message)to further this message of hope, so that the fear mongers don’t continue to control our country and further it down the road of destruction it’s currently on. Love for our neighbor (this includes the whole world), hope, and commitment to this planet are the only things worth fighting for anymore.Perhaps the naysayers would be better served on a website where there are similar opinions to their paranoid fears and hatred. I doubt they’re going to get much positive resonse from the hope camp.Any continued fear/hate based response will not be acknowledged by me. I will not cater to this perspective in any way shape or form, or give it credence by saying any more on the matter.
February 5th, 2007 at 2:24 pm EST
Dear Mechelle and JHC:You missed the point. It is not what Mr. Obama would ‘hopefully’ bring to America, but the fact that he is LYING to the American people, which makes him suspicious. My writing has identified THREE of his lies, which are easily recognized as such by way of REASON, on the basis of facts I have described, i.e., (1) that his father was NOT a goat herder, but a prominent person with Kenyan government(2) that his Indonesian family home was NOT a VILLAGE, but one of the most affluent suburb of Jakarta, and (3) that he has claimed for something logically impossible, i.e., that to be born BEFORE his father met his mother!I donot think America is ready to vote such a LIAR as President. Such a person would only lead us to a catastrophic future.As to what Obama could bring anything new and beneficial for America, he has nothing but only HOPE. He only points out what WERE allegedly wrong (which is disputable), but does not suggest any solution for the problem. People can not live with hope and insinuations. We must have concrete plans to solve our problems. Obama does not have plans, but only hope (hope for whom?). On top of that, he has an OBSCURE background, which he seeks to hide and misrepresent. These are very good reasons to reject him as a Presidential candidate.May God bless you all.Van Guard
February 12th, 2007 at 9:03 am EST
Van Guard, how come no one is on your side? I guess your just so smart and we are all idiots..
So… I’m going to name my son Husein. So I guess my son for the rest of his life will have people doubting that he is a Christian if he choses to be because of the name I gave him? So your saying I chose the religion that people think my son is by giving him an arabic name?
Judging someone by their name and not by the “content of their charater” - MLK is prejudice.
Van Guard, why do I get the feeling that you are prejudice? You agreed with brenda on the her/his comment - Obama just your name alone I would not vote for you!!!!!!
you said “I agree with Brenda, name means alot”
Someone’s name means nothing. By saying it means alot is saying you are prejudice because you are judging him on his name. People have controll over their own lives. Even if his dad sent him to terrorist school when he was young and gave him the most Islamic name what would that prove? Your saying that he’ll be a muslim? your saying he doesnt have a mind of his own and just follows the religion of his father?
40 years ago Islamic fundamentalist suicide bombers wanting to “fight the west” because they feel they are atwar with the west. So I guess Muslims in Europe and USA are at war with themselves. One hand attacking your face while the other fights back LOL.
Islamic extremist advicating people to kill theirselves saying they will go to heaven didnt exist when obama was a child. even women covering themselves, didnt exist. This whole thing started when Ruhollah Khomeini became Supreme Rules of Iran. He is the one that changed everything. He made women cover up and started the extremist views. This happened in 1979 which is after obama was a little kid in elementary school. So regardless of how islamic they were back then, they werent what you see today.
Infact Khomeini who was a radical fundamentalist was exiled from Iran. So I dont think Iran was giving bombs to people that want to kill americans
USA helped put Khomeini in power btw so they could get cheap oil just incase you want to know. so I guess you can blame the old US administration for contributing to the problems we see today
February 12th, 2007 at 2:26 pm EST
Spectator:
I appreciate all your comments very much. I don’t think anyone will ever convince VanGuard that he/she is wrong though. I’ve learned that unfortunately that’s how people tend to react when they think in the way VanGuard appears to think about things.
There is usually only spin, not logic, or mercy involved in how they make their judgements and decisions. It’s usually blanketed with a religion that supposedly defends their thinking.
As a religious person myself, I will NEVER be bigoted in this way. Mercy and love breeds mercy and love. Hate and fear have never accomplished anything in this life, only more wars under the guise of religion.
Again Spectator, I appreciate your comments and believe that Obama’s message of Hope will prevail in our country. It is long overdue and sorely needed.
February 12th, 2007 at 3:00 pm EST
mechelle.. hmmmm…. or maybe he’s just a little teenage troll wanting some attention? so he gets it by provoking arguements?
oh one correction in my last post..
40 years ago Islamic fundamentalist suicide bombers wanting to “fight the west” because they feel they are at war with the west DIDN’T EXIST
also Supreme Rules, I ment Supreme Ruler hehe.
Dont mind me I’m just a spector putting in my two cents
February 12th, 2007 at 3:01 pm EST
btw Obama has been in public office longer than Hillary. so wtf is this about experience. First lady dont mean sheet
February 12th, 2007 at 3:43 pm EST
I can only hope that this person is a teenager wanting attention, however I fear that they aren’t. I fear that this person is a voice for the hate/fear camp and their rhetoric and spin. The hard-mindedness and warped logic they spew is unbelievable. I hope Obama can soften their hearts before Nov. 07.
February 13th, 2007 at 2:31 pm EST
i fear this person is a voice for hate? soften their hearts?
grow the hell up sissy
February 13th, 2007 at 5:19 pm EST
I’m quite grown up thank you. VanGuard’s comments were very concerning and should be to anyone who bothers to analyze them. Hardmindedness and fear is exactly why we’re in the mess we’re in in America, VanGuard’s comments were exactly that.
Obama is concerned with changing the tone in this country, and transforming it. I echo that concern, and it is people like VanGuard who need to grow up.
February 17th, 2007 at 10:27 pm EST
Oh, come on now. Go over to the website wherethemoneygoes.com and read all of the news stories (there are links to stories in major newspapers all over the blog) on this whole hospital charity care, collections, and billing scandal. It is such a huge scandal that multiple attorney generals, including from Illinois (Lisa Madigan is onto the sleazy hospital collections mess, where they sic collections lawyers on the working poor who can barely afford to make minimal payments on their outrageous hospital bills, and she’s been pushing for a charity care mandate of something like 8%), are all over this issue!
The reason they are onto Obama is because ever since his wife got a cushy promotion over at U of C Hospitals, Senator Obama hasn’t really spoken out much on the issue. I mean, we understand that he’s between a rock and a hard place here, but let’s face it…his wife works for a major hospital, and in Illinois, the Attorney General is all OVER these supposed “non-profit” hospitals that rake in millions and yet dole out minimal amounts of charity care. What the heck do they get tax breaks for in the first place if not to help those in greatest need of care? They’re tax exempt, and yet they are stingy on the level of charity care.
So, everyone is just pointing this out. I’m serious. Go read that blog carefully, find the multiple news stories by many other reporters from newspapers all over the nation, and then ask yourself what the heck is Senator Obama actually doing to stop these abuses? He used to be feautured on the website of the SEIU (Service Employees International Union) when they protested the hard-nosed collection tactics used by Illinois hospitals. Then, when Michelle got her cushy promotion at U of C Hospitals, Barack disappeared from the SEIU website. He’s been rather low key about the issue, too.
This is a disgrace what hospitals are doing. There was even a case out in California where a paraplegic man was dumped on skid row by the hospital. Go to wherethemoneygoes.com and look for that patient dumping story and read it. It was from last week. It is horrible.
I say turn the heat on. Maybe then, Senator Obama, and others like him, will actually turn off the rhetoric and turn up the action so they actually DO something about this issue.
Illinois is the national hotspot for this whole issue, and it is going to be a big one come the 2008 elections. Democrats care about the poor and the working poor? About healthcare? Good. Let’s see them DO something about it already.
February 18th, 2007 at 12:05 pm EST
I haven’t researched the issue as completely as you obviously have, however I do know one thing: the problems we have right now are so great and Obama offers common sense solutions. Obama has the ability to unite the divided country because he has “it”. “It” is that quality it takes to lead a nation TOGETHER instead of DIVIDED like we are now.
Perhaps fixing the healthcare problem (like he is proposing) in our nation will include the problem you are mentioning? Have you researched what he wants to do to fix the problems in our healthcare systems or are you just making blanket statements with one example to back it up?
We must keep the big picture in mind right now. What we currently have is a brainless puppet running our nation, who is about to get us into another war (through the back door of course, so Congress won’t have to authorize it). There is so much corruption in our current administration and their handling of this war, how can you even focus your negative energy on finding the holes in everyone else’s campaigns? As long as we’re talking about corruption, I think Halliburton could fund this war on all its abuses, no bid contracts, and wasting of taxpayers money.
Talk all that energy you have to research things and take a look into what’s actually happened in this country in the past few years. Then you might see that a candidate like Obama for president is exactly what this country needs.
May 16th, 2007 at 10:25 am EST
I’m a conservative who was very curious to read about Obama’s response to the question on his reaction in case of an attack on America, partly because the media claimed it was the weakest answer and differed from the other candidates.
Boy, did they get it wrong?
Obama’s response actually showed better judgment in a time of crisis than all the other candidates whose responses where nothing short of typical republican big-mouth, tough-talk, arrogance. Who exactly will they ’strike, ‘kill’ or ‘retaliate’ against? That’s why we went to Iraq instead of going after Bin Laden. And while they’re busy ’striking’, ‘killing’ or ‘retaliating’ who looks after the devastation back home?
I’m an ardent republican and conservative. But I’d hate to see any of the current republican candidates become president. That may well happen if the democrats choose wrong. Perhaps if Jesse Jackson didn’t lose dramatically in Wisconsin in 1988, a Democrat would’ve been President. Instead they sent Dukakis who eventually lost. It’s just my thought.
The only candidate in this entire race that has the one thing that attracted me to George Bush is Obama. God bless you JHC for this wonderful blog. Please keep it up. I noticed that the last post was in February.
June 10th, 2007 at 11:24 pm EST
I won’t vote for this hypocrite. Obamatruth.org has more sound explanation than this website. Sorry. But Obama is an opportunist. I am not racist by any account.
August 26th, 2007 at 2:36 am EST
Chapter 1: You still don’t address the fact that income inequality is one of the biggest issues for the American public. Michelle received an almost $200,000 INCREASE in pay? Way not to overcharge those poor uninsured people who come to your hospital after already coughing half a lung up. OHHH, but her pay was on par with others in her field… good excuse for deterring sick and dying people.
Chapter 2: Thanks for waving that glowstick, arm cast out wide, signaling “LOOK OVER HERE WHILE I EXPLAIN AWAY THIS INCONVENIENT FACT!” First you try to justify why the uninsured should be charged 3x more than the going rate, acting as if this were a moral act by presumption, THEN you wave the glowstick in the other hand throwing out statistics regarding which states are outscrewing the public more than the others. Illinois isn’t at the top! Whew! All’s well in Kansas. So why didn’t you explore whether or not the University of Chicago hospital in fact DID claim profits despite being a non-profit organization? I wonder if THATS where her $200,000 pay increase came from… hmmm.
Chapter 3: What you fail to inform the public of is the fact that Obama’s ties to Rezko go much further than a land deal. Obama also employed the son of a Rezko business associate, who, it turns out, is a co-conspirator under indictment for federal fraud, receiving kickbacks of $6 million from government deals and trying to shake down a Hollywood producer for $1.5 million in campaign contributions to Gov. Blagojevich. Remember the mob and Chicago? You think the mob disappeared? There are so many under-the-table deals going on in that town, and thats just what we know about! Speaking of corruption in Chicago, guess who served as an Assistant to the Mayor? Thats right, Michelle Obama. Make what you will of it.
Chapter 4: And I quote:
“The video’s attempt to link Michelle Obama to the plant’s closure — and to once again inject racial overtones into its specious claim — is like saying the Secretary of Agriculture should be held responsible for the unfortunate closing of a military base in Maine.”
This one doesn’t pass the laugh test. The analogy to a Secretary of Agriculture closing a military base is absurd. You, I, and all of the readers understand full well that corporations are authoritarian organizations with a top-down infrastructure. The Secretary of Ag. has no more say in base closures than a secretary has a say in her marketing firm’s next ad campaign slogan. To imply that a member of the board of directors has no influence on company policy is dishonest at best. She is reaping untold rewards on the board of a company who was already barely paying enough for many of the La Junta citizens to subsist on. Closing that plant will inevitably send many of those 153 workless into poverty. Some will likely lose their homes, others might starve for all we know.
Your house is really pretty though, Michelle Obama! Where on EARTH did you get those drapes!?
December 17th, 2007 at 1:18 am EST
lindsay lohan maxim
January 13th, 2008 at 12:23 pm EST
Google ‘Freedom’s Enemies, Barack Hussein Obama” by Beckwith.
February 11th, 2008 at 12:49 am EST
These preposterous claims that there is anything at all scandalous about Barack Obama are ludicrous.
Claim 1: Obama attended an Indonesian Islamic school for two years from age 6 to 8. CNN reports that it isn’t a fundamentalist school, but they didn’t satisfy your skepticism. Either way, non-story.
Claim 2: Michelle Obama was a vp at a hospital and got paid a salary that was competitive with the position. Non-story.
Claim 3: Michelle Obama was on the board of a company that closed a plant. She didn’t sit on the committee that decides what plants to close, but even if she did, how is that a problem. Factories that don’t perform well close in a capitalist society. Obama is not suggesting this won’t ever happen under his presidency. Non-story.
Claim 4: Obama knew a very prominent Chicago democratic fundraiser, who was later indicted. Obama has actively distanced himself from the fundraiser and given campaign donations to charity. Again, non-story. Every politician has some kind of tie to someone who didn’t have the moral character or good judgment to always do what’s right. What’s important is to look at Obama’s actions, his knowledge of any potentially illegal conduct, and his response to the idictment. In every instance Obama did the right thing.
Seriously, this is pathetic.
You people need to work harder to convince me that any of this is even sketchy. I mean we’re talking about politicians here. With all the Republican congressmen in Abramoff’s pocket, hiring gay prosititutes in airport bathrooms, texting kids with predatory messages, and taking lobbyist handouts left and right, you try to convince me that any of this is an issue??
Enough with the thinly veiled attempt to discredit a public servant with your ridiculous innuendos. There is absolutely nothing there. You have no argument whatsoever. You are playing games with the facts and purposely attempting to deceive people that Obama is a crook or an Islamic radical or a hypocrite. Your arguments hold no merit and your slippery arguments and blatant fallacies show that you don’t have a single leg to hold up your case.
Try building something for a change instead of tearing down. You can help America more by spending your time doing something positive for our country.
February 17th, 2008 at 8:28 pm EST
“I hear’d that Obama is part Taliban. Im also a racist and have studied Islamo-fascism so much that frankly Im a little bit afraid to go to the movies. Those gosh darn taliban are everywhere you know. I ant votin for no darn muslim taliban.” I know Im usually very longwinded but to save time I condensed my argument into this paragraph I hope you enjoy my brilliance.
February 17th, 2008 at 8:37 pm EST
I would just like to say for those people who have posted that obamatruth.org makes perfect sense. What grade did you drop out of elementary school? Its obviously really bad race baiting propaganda. But my question is who made the website? If its republicans I would understand but it sounds more like Hillary supporters because of the obvious attempts at scaring latino voters. If it is actually a Clinton disinformation campaign it speaks volumes about the Clintons, not so much about Obama.
February 20th, 2008 at 4:38 am EST
there are trolls all over yahoo answers putting this up acting like average joe’s asking people if they knew this about Obama……. i called them on it and she threatened me….. modern day high tech mudslinging.
March 15th, 2008 at 8:33 pm EST
Not much activity here anymore, so it seems. Sadly, the left largely argues without fact and slings insults that trigger emotions with the American public. Of course, when the right engages the same tactics, the left argues the points are irrelevant, facts are baseless, and submits to name-calling (ie Republicans hate children). I read one post here from the left that points to “tin-foil” conspiracies and then later read some interesting “tin-foil” conspiracies from the left itself. It never ceases to amaze me when I hear “what grade I dropped out of” as a response to a valid point I’ve made, so I’m not shocked to see it mentioned in this blog.
I won’t hide: I’m a 30-something white male, Christian and Republican, with a six-figure income. I know that line would be quoted, misquoted, and taken out of context if anyone else visits this site, but I’ll continue. I was raised as a Democrat, helping my grandfather with Mondale’s campaign when I was a little boy. My single mother raised me working three jobs at times to be sure we had enough food. My extended family was Christian and Southern Baptist, so my Christian pedigree consisted of a few visits in my life to churches of various denominations as well as personal research into Judaism, Buddhism, and Islam.
Common sense is subjective. My common sense lead me to question much of what I read and experienced. I grew up wanting to be successful, while combating my personal obstacles of being extremely lazy and disorganized. My quit wit and charming conversation were the only things that allowed me to grow to a point that I could manage my weaknesses. That said, I feel as though I’ve experienced the American dream and yet I’ve not even felt a fraction of what Obama and Clinton have enjoyed.
Now that I see that a poor boy can rise above and eventually help his mother live the life she’s always wanted to live, I understand capitalism. I understand free market. I understand choice, free will, and mistakes. The government does not know better than the citizens, nor can the government save us from ourselves. Basic principles of the Democratic party are simply wrong when compared to history and human nature. That doesn’t mean Republicans get it right all the time–ideally, I’d love to see Republican policies with a touch of Democratic sensitivity, and a leader who can put them together so American can be what it was founded to be.
Politicians are all privileged people. We pick our leader from the top 1% or so of the wealthiest Americans; of course that does not always yield the top 1% brightest. The doubts about Obama are all very real, and very accurate. In a country where more people vote for American Idol than will probably vote for our next President, Obama was winning on speech delivery and buzz words. Yet, researching his history and record, question marks arise from his education, his voting, and his views. Obama’s campaign has carried momentum on the wings of “change” and yet has supported and continues to support a racist, vile, hate merchant in Rev. Wright (who just days ago left Obama’s campaign). He has skipped politically convenient votes on major issues, flip-flopped on others when politically convenient, and has been associated with shady figures just like any politician (he donated a fraction of what his Syrian buddy raised for him and kept the rest). So in the end you’re left with an inexperienced candidate who has risen to fame based on nothing but personality (unless you ask Ferraro). Obama can attack Ferraro for being divisive and yet has contributed thousands to a divisive, blatant racist in Rev. Wright. Obama’s public repudiations of Wright’s comments are laughable as he’s sat through his sermons for years.
This blog’s rebuttal of the $100 profits at The University Chicago Hospitals is very thin, basically stating that since this happens everywhere then it’s perfectly acceptable. It’s not. Over-charging those without insurance is not okay if everyone else it doing it and if Obama wasn’t your typical politician then we should have been reading about Michelle’s attempts to change the policies there. The problem isn’t that America can’t afford healthcare so the government needs to take over like Big Brother. Perhaps instead of socialism we can put other measures in place to keep costs in line and fine those organizations charging $300 for pillows, $50 for soup, etc.
I’m not voting for anyone preaching socialism. I’m not voting for anyone requesting that the IRS files our taxes for us. I’m not voting for higher taxes when we need to be more fiscally responsible. I’m not voting for open borders.
I’m not happy with McCain, but he’s not left of Obama and Clinton on any of those issues. Anyone with an econ class in their past knows Bush didn’t have anything to do with the tech bubble or the housing bubble, or the credit greed of the investors surrounding mortgage debts. Take away the economy from the debate and someone always throws Iraq. It’s true, Iraq did/does have WMDs. It’s true that we shipped them there to help fight Iran. So Bush didn’t lie–the numbers weren’t exact, but they were still there.
The argument about the Bible and the Quran is ridiculous. The Bible has a very violent and corrupt history, but we have evolved. Evolved to the point that I can call myself a Christian, having stepped foot in a church maybe a handful of times in my life. I’ve read three translations of the Quran, focusing on a few suras in context as well as hadiths for background. The problem is that we’ve evolved and the Bible has changed–the Quran cannot be changed and is still being strictly interpreted. There is no comparison between today’s Christians and today’s Muslims–if you believe so, maybe you should answer me: in what grade did you drop out of school? There are vast resources to learn about the world events and their historical roots but it requires patience and perseverance. Much more patience than is required to sit at a keyboard and lash out at the “tin foil” conspiracy theorists.
My apologies for the ramblings and the topics, but all has been touched upon in this blog in one post or another. For what it’s worth I don’t see how McCain can lose–no one trusts Hillary, Obama’s change platform is showing gaping holes, and both are much more liberal than Bill Clinton’s original campaign. In the end, I just hope whoever is in office can keep us safe and lead us through a changing, troubled world. Thanks to all who have a voice, regardless of whether I agree or not–too many people vote without an opinion. Even if you wrongly agree to policies that might bring harm to our country, if you’re reading and posting then you’ll stumble upon the truth, eventually. Take care everyone!!
March 23rd, 2008 at 11:35 pm EST
I think the point is that the Obama’s have portrayed themselves as giving a crap about the poor and uninsured, when the truth is that they have profited big time off the misery of others just like every other POLITICIAN has. They are hypocrites in the worst way and America needs to see this before it is too late.
March 23rd, 2008 at 11:40 pm EST
Also, truly amazing that a woman who had been “busy with her husband’s campaign” for months and months had the time to prove herself at work to the tune of $195,000.
March 24th, 2008 at 2:55 pm EST
If one reads both websites and finds that an explanation is all that is required in response to the allegations, he/ she is gullible. When I see hospital profit margins in the hundreds of thousands I really wonder how a state senator can explain just how his wife was groomed for a top position by doing PR work. Then I compare those figures to a large hospital corporation operating in the capitol region of NY that is lucky to have made one million dollars. I come up with a scenario where not-for-profits are really socialized healthcare at an astonishing expense and financial burden to their local taxpayers.
Then there is the Rezko thing. I don’t think there is any crdibility to Obamas’ statement that he hardly knew the man. Their circles of associates and business dealings were to close and repeated over years to believe there was no personal friendship or private / low profile meeting of the minds. Nobody creates a papertrail if they are knowingly going to have to deny involvement someday. Thats a lesson he learned well or he wouldn’t be where he is today.
As far as the pickle factory, the company made a decision to not be associated with illegals who most likely were the predominant employee. After all, the plan to isolate this country from mexico/ South America is Obamas and he professes to be able to get the US out of everywhere there isn’t a problem. Some foreign policy, cut and run. I wonder if he ever stuck up for anyone else who needed help. I guess as long as he has a good view from the “Hill” nothing else matters.
April 20th, 2008 at 7:09 am EST
Eric, Rezko toured the house with Obama. Damn, will you Obama folks please wake up and do your research? You’d elect him to keep from admitting you’re wrong.
They could give a durn about the poor, healthcare, housing… trust me, I lived it.
If you elect him, you will never forgive yourselves.
June 29th, 2008 at 7:08 pm EST
Just him belonging to a racist church for 20years is what concerns me.
June 29th, 2008 at 8:20 pm EST
Corol that 195,000.00 was a raise,She makes more then that.
June 30th, 2008 at 6:38 am EST
Exhausted, as read, jessica biel naked i cant even though, letting those connections are going to.
July 17th, 2008 at 6:05 pm EST
braless exposure