Saturday, October 18, 2008

Aerial photos of Obama's stunning State Senatorial experience


I don't hear much about Barack Obama's experience. So I decided to do a flyover of the neighborhood where Obama served as a state senator. Specifically, the apartment complexes rehabbed and managed by his biggest backers. Folks like convicted felon and (17-year friend of Barack's) Tony Rezko. And top campaign officials like Valerie Jarrett.

Here's just one of the partially uninhabitable properties called Grove Parc Plaza Apartments, a 1000-unit complex. Quoting from the Boston Globe:


Valerie Jarrett, a senior adviser to Obama’s presidential campaign and a member of his finance committee. Jarrett is the chief executive of Habitat Co., which managed Grove Parc Plaza from 2001 until this [past] winter and co-managed an even larger subsidized complex in Chicago that was seized by the federal government in 2006, after city inspectors found widespread problems.


Allison Davis, a major fund-raiser for Obama’s US Senate campaign and a former lead partner at Obama’s former law firm. Davis, a developer, was involved in the creation of Grove Parc and has used government subsidies to rehabilitate more than 1,500 units in Chicago, including a North Side building cited by city inspectors last year after chronic plumbing failures resulted in raw sewage spilling into several apartments.



Antoin “Tony” Rezko, perhaps the most important fund-raiser for Obama’s early political campaigns and a friend who helped the Obamas buy a home in 2005. Rezko’s company used subsidies to rehabilitate more than 1,000 apartments, mostly in and around Obama’s district, then refused to manage the units, leaving the buildings to decay to the point where many no longer were habitable.

Campaign finance records show that six prominent developers - including Jarrett, Davis, and Rezko - collectively contributed more than $175,000 to Obama’s campaigns over the last decade and raised hundreds of thousands more from other donors. Rezko alone raised at least $200,000, by Obama’s own accounting. (This number now exceeds $500,000).



One of those contributors, Cecil Butler, controlled Lawndale Restoration, the largest subsidized complex in Chicago, which was seized by the government in 2006 after city inspectors found more than 1,800 code violations.

* * *

Obama [rewarded his backers with] legislative action as a state senator. In 2001, Obama sponsored a successful bill that increased state subsidies for private developers. The law let developers designated by the state raise up to $26 million a year by selling tax credits to Illinois residents. For each $1 in credits purchased, the buyer was allowed to decrease his taxable income by 50 cents.

The developers gave Obama their financial support. Jarrett, Davis, and Rezko all served on Obama’s campaign finance committee when he won a seat in the US Senate in 2004.

“In the winter I can feel the cold air coming through the walls and the sockets,” said Anthony Frizzell, 57, who has lived for almost two decades in a Rezmar building on South Greenwood Avenue. “They didn’t insulate it or nothing.”

Sharee Jones, who lives in another former Rezko building one block away, said her apartment was rat-infested for years.

“You could hear them under the floor and in the walls, and they didn’t do nothing about it,” Jones said.

The problems came to public attention in a dramatic way in 2004, after a sport utility vehicle driven by a suburban woman trying to buy drugs struck one of the buildings, causing it to collapse. City inspectors arrived in the ensuing glare, finding a long list of code violations, leading city officials to urge the federal government to seize the complex.

In the midst of the uproar, a small group of Lawndale residents gathered to rally against the Democratic candidate for the US Senate, Barack Obama.

The organizers had a simple message: Cecil Butler had donated $3,000 to Obama’s campaign. Habitat had close ties to Obama and Obama had remained silent about Lawndale’s plight.

Paul Johnson, who helped to organize the protest, said Obama must have known about the problems.

“How didn’t he know?” said Johnson. “Of course he knew. He just didn’t care.”

“I’m not against Barack Obama,” said Willie J.R. Fleming, an organizer with the Coalition to Protect Public Housing and a former public housing resident. “What I am against is some of the people around him.”

Jamie Kalven, a longtime Chicago housing activist, put it this way: “I hope there is not much predictive value in his history and in his involvement with that community.”


Sorry, Jamie: there is; and we should all worry.

Source: Boston Globe: Grim proving ground for Obama's housing policy and Ten degrees below zero.

Linked by: American Digest and Dan Riehl. Thanks!

The Michelle Obama Middle Class Tax Cut Diet


10-21-2008 Update: The New York Post reports that they were duped and the story about Michelle's order was bogus.

A couple of days ago Michelle Obama reportedly ordered room service for an afternoon snack at the Waldorf=Astoria in New York City. It was a typical middle-class snack that epitomizes the suffering of the working-man during these hard financial times.

Two (2) Thai Lobster Bisque: $22.00 prepared with Mango Caviar, Coconut, Lime and Lemongrass

One (1) 1 oz. Tin Iranian Caspian Imperial Caviar: $299.00

Two (2) Maine Lobster: $102.00

Two (2) San Pelligrino sparkling waters: $16.00

Two (2) Krug Champagne Grande Cuvee Brut 750ML: $590.00

The Obama's bill for an afternoon snack (estimated, with tip): $1235.00

Remember: they're fighting for the middle class, folks. And to do so, the Obamas need to take the extra dough from Joe the Plumber, who I guess surpassed the threshold for the American dream, and spread the wealth around.

And you're wondering why there hasn't been an investigation of the Fannie and Freddie meltdowns that triggered a global economic crisis? Don't worry, peons, the Obamas have bigger lobsters to fry.

Does Barack Obama use hypnosis techniques in his public appearances?


I started reading this document utterly prepared to dismiss it as pure, unadulterated crackpottery (is that a word?).

Now I'm not so sure. The argument is well reasoned and covers everything from the Obama logo, to the candidate's body language, phraseology and gestures. See for yourself.

PDF: An Examination of Obama’s Use of Hidden Hypnosis Techniques in His Speeches

ACORN "basically raped our voter rolls"


Watch, learn and forward to your friends. The first and last panels are hotlinked to videos.

 

 


Related: Legacy.

Friday, October 17, 2008

Chebama


This gave me chills.

The resemblance is uncanny.

Update: The tightening polls can only mean one thing. Barack Obama has not closed the deal -- similar to his collapse against Hillary Clinton.

Shamelessly ripped from: Denny.

Chris Matthews gets pwnt on Hardball


Trust me. Watch this segment of PMSNBC's Screwball.

Chris Matthews had to throw out a pair of pants after getting pwnt by Rep. Michelle Bachman (R-MN).

Fun historical fact: on Oct 27, 1980 Jimmy Carter led Ronald Reagan by 3 percentage points.

'Joe the Plumber' forced to launch a 'Fight the Smears' site


'Joe the Plumber' is under attack by Democrats and the mainstream media (but I repeat myself). In fact, he's had to launch his own 'Fight the Smears' website.


The liberal nutjob columnist James Oliphant (I hear that's the description he prefers) said that "Joe the Plumber isn't really called Joe, doesn't have a plumbing licence, and may not be hurt by Barack Obama's tax plan after all."

And NBC President Joseph Zucker parked a satellite truck outside Joe's house in order to coordinate a series of background investigations. Didja know Joe owes $1,000 in back-taxes?

Meanwhile the forsaken residents of Grove Parc are suffering in Barack Obama's Englewood neighborhood with nary a reporter to notice the uninhabitable buildings. And Bill Ayers, Jeremiah Wright, Louis Farrakhan, Father Pfleger, Tony Rezko, Rashid Khalidi, Edward Said, and the entire range of Marxists and terrorists who launched Obama's career are given a pass by the mainstream media.

Vote accordingly.

Update: What is it about plumbers?

Linked by: Gateway Pundit and Denny. Thanks!

Laser gunship hits $30 million bulls-eye


The USAF awarded Boeing a $30 million contract for the test deployment phase of the Advanced Tactical Laser.

The ATL is a C-130H aircraft fitted out with a 12,000-pound high-energy chemical laser module that would be used as a weapon against ground targets. It's the smaller sibling of the Airborne Laser, a highly modified 747 under development that packs a similar weapon but that would be used against ballistic missiles.

The Advanced Tactical Laser will use a rotating ball turret to fire its laser weapon at ground targets.

Where the 747-centric ABL is designed to fire its laser through a bulbous nose apparatus, the ATL totes a belly turret reminiscent of the manned versions used in some World War II bombers.

The new Extended User Evaluation contract marks the start of a transition for the ATL, which Boeing has been working on as an Advanced Concept Technology Demonstration project. The EUE phase means another round of ground and flight tests, along with "hands-on operation" for the Air Force and other potential users.

Why use a laser when the Air Force already has a wide array of missiles and bombs at its disposal? (The standard gunship variant of the C-130 can already be equipped with 40mm and 105mm cannons.) "Little to no collateral damage," Boeing says, thanks to the laser weapon's "ultra-precision engagement capability." That is, think laser pointer with extreme prejudice.

In addition, the laser would presumably strike silently--no thump-thump-thump or rat-a-tat-tat.

It gives silent but deadly a new meaning.

Your tax dollars at work: Feds have given ACORN $31 million


An analysis of federal spending reveals that the vote-fraud specialists known as ACORN have received $31 million in taxpayer funds. ACORN, which is under an FBI investigation for a "coordinated national scam" according to the AP, has also received untold millions from state and local agencies that receive federal block grants.

“Senator Obama recently said that he doesn’t need ACORN. Well, American taxpayers don’t need ACORN either. They don’t need ACORN’s voter registration fraud, and they no longer need to support ACORN with federal funds," said Republican House Leader John Boehner. "In conjunction with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and its political allies in the Democratic Party, ACORN also played a key role in creating the financial crisis that ultimately put our entire economy in peril. It’s time for us to stop forcing American taxpayers to fund the ACORN machine.”

One of the grants to an ACORN affiliate -- a Jan. 17, 2007 award to ACORN Associates in New Mexico -- appears to encourage the use of risky subprime loans, now viewed by many as a contributing factor in the recent freezing up of international credit markets. The title for the grant? “Education and Outreach Initiative/Subprime Lending Component.”

Barack Obama and ACORN played a critical role in the mortgage meltdown that precipitated the financial crisis in which we find ourselves. Beginning with community activism that flooded bank lobbies with angry protesters in the seventies and eighties, ACORN's leverage with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac reached a high point under the Clinton administration.

Another factor working in ACORN’s favor was that its increasing success with local banks turned those banks into allies in the battle with Fannie and Freddie. Precisely because ACORN’s local pressure tactics were working, banks themselves now wanted Fannie and Freddie to loosen their standards still further, so as to buy up still more of the high-risk loans they’d made at ACORN’s insistence. So by the 1993, a grand alliance of ACORN, national Democrats, and local bankers looking for someone to lessen the risks imposed on them by CRA and ACORN were uniting to pressure Fannie and Freddie to loosen credit standards still further.

At this point, both ACORN and the Clinton administration were working together to impose large numerical targets or “set asides” (really a sort of poor and minority loan quota system) on Fannie and Freddie. ACORN called for at least half of Fannie and Freddie loans to go to low-income customers. At first the Clinton administration offered a set-aside of 30 percent. But eventually ACORN got what it wanted. In early 1994, the Clinton administration floated plans for committing $1 trillion in loans to low- and moderate-income home-buyers, which would amount to about half of Fannie Mae’s business by the end of the decade...

In June 1995 Clinton and HUD Secretary Henry Cisneros (of Barrett Report fame) announced a comprehensive strategy for dramatically increasing home ownership. ACORN officials were guests of honor at the event. Clinton said, "Our homeownership strategy will not cost the taxpayers one extra cent. It will not require legislation.”

What he meant was that the unstated partnerships between Fannie and Freddie and groups like ACORN would facilitate mortgages to those "who have historically been excluded from homeownership.”

As we now know, Clinton’s plan was an utter disaster and cost taxpayers trillions of dollars. And it was around this time in 1995 when Chicago-area advertisements began hawking mortgages to customers with poor credit, few assets and even histories of bankruptcies. ACORN's role in this disaster is not nearly as well-known as that of Democrats Franklin Raines, Chris Dodd and Barney Frank, but it deserves to be.

And ACORN doesn't have its hands in just taxpayers' pockets. Consider that retired anchorman Tom Brokaw sits on the board of a liberal foundation that has given ACORN nearly a million dollars, presumably to fund its oh-so-pristine voter registration efforts.

If the economy is running on fumes, why would you turn it over to a Marxist who tacitly supports voter registration fraud, would raise taxes significantly and "spread the wealth around"? And if the country takes additional steps towards socialism -- controlling all three branches of government -- how could the U.S. ever return to its roots of individual liberty as envisioned by the Framers?

The answer is to ensure that the crypto-Marxist doesn't win the election, no matter how many bogus registrations ACORN submits and no matter how much crack cocaine it gives out in exchange for votes.

Thursday, October 16, 2008

Larwyn's Link Kerplosion: The Podcast


• Download this free, fascinating podcast from Mark Levin explaining Obama's bible (no, not the real Bible... Saul Alinsky's "Rules for Radicals", which bears an uncanny and frankly terrifying resemblance to Obama's class warfare rhetoric and organized rebellion from within).

• Obama's Internal pollsters: "Obama campaign is very, very worried"

• Factcheck.org: During the debate Obama lied about ACORN... and, as an added bonus, he lied about Bill Ayers and The Born-Alive Act. Blatantly. To millions of Americans. I guess it depends on what the meaning of "Born Alive" is.

• Feds appear to be organizing a RICO indictment against ACORN. It couldn't happen to a nicer bunch of "community organizers".

• Another celebrity endorser for Barack Obama -- America-hater Kofi Annan

• Shocker: the media lied (*sigh*) again. The Secret Service confirms that no one shouted 'kill him' at the McCain rally. Doesn't the press have a Palin expense report to track down?

• YouTube: The Obama Tax Plan explained by Penn & Teller

Obama team sends media marching band onto field before the game is won


The Obama campaign victory party is well underway.

Pity the voters (the real ones, that is) haven't spoken yet. The Anchoress describes the presumption, illusions and reality.

It's happened before.

League of Dead Voters


Eddie's one of the dead voters signed up to vote on November 4th by ACORN. He's back from the dead to complain about the use of his name by the "community organizers."

The League of Dead Voters

How to do 50 impressions in 50 seconds


How to do 50 impressions in 50 seconds:

Just wondering...


I've tried to categorize the people that seem to be the strongest supporters of Barack Obama:
  • Trial Lawyers
  • Service Employees International Union
  • Illegal aliens
  • American Committee On Registration Nonsense (I think that's what ACORN stands for)
  • Rich, guilty liberals (see: Hollywood and Wall Street)
  • Hamas, Hezbollah and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
  • Environmental nuts who don't want to drill for oil (got a wind car handy?)
  • Hippies and others who don't want to work, sleep 'til 1pm, and constantly look for handouts

Anyone I miss?

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

New on ABC: The Barack Bunch!


Looks like a great show!

The complete cast makes for interesting reading!

Chris' Thought o' the Day


Chris sends his profound "Thought o' the Day":

Back in 1990, the Government seized the Mustang Ranch brothel in Nevada for tax evasion and, as required by law, tried to run it. They failed and it closed. Now we are trusting the economy of our country to a pack of nitwits who couldn't make money running a house of ill repute and selling booze?

Yup.

Tipster says the fix is in for tonight's debate


Tipster W provides a prediction for tonight's debate:

BOB SCHIEFFER TO SABOTAGE OBAMA AT HOFSTRA UNIVERSITY FINAL PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE

So Goes CBS's GOP support. Example: Dan Rather fired to promote the Bush administration, now, the set up is CBS's Bob Schieffer to sabotage Obama. Three of many CBS/Schieffer hits on Obama: (1)Listen for the repeated re-questioning of Obama regarding serious topics while light and airy questions are presented to McCain. (2)Watch Schieffer call speaking time on Obama while allowing McCain to 'talk on' at his leisure. (3) Schieffer will question Obama about 'terrorist association' McCain has accused him of, simultaneously, Schieffer will refuse to ask McCain about the many 'evil' & 'terrorist' associations McCain & Palin have amongst themselves, noted below.

THE LIBERAL MEDIA IS ANOTHER GOP LIE, IT'S SKILLFULLY PORTRAYED AS SUCH BUT REMAINS THE CONSERVATIVE MEDIA AS OWNED BY RNC FRIENDLY CORPORATIONS. The Times reveals that Brokaw has "played a pivotal role out of public view, both within NBC and in its dealings with the campaign of John McCain. Browkaw had Olbermann and Matthews fired from NBC's coverage of the presidential debates and election night on behalf of the McCain Campaign.

* As a result of John's friendship with CBS & Bob Schieffer, there's some special knowledge of Debate topics as McCain, while on the Mark Readon Show, promises that moderator Bob Shieffer will bring up the Ayres & Wright associations. (Link)

* Guess Who The #1 National Debate Sponsor is: Anheuser-Busch Companies (BUDWEISER)~Isn't there a strong association/connection here, to Cindy McCain?
(Link)

The fix is in for a GOP candidate?

I'll believe it when I see it.

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Official ACORN Employment Application


Dumpster-diving pays off again for Junior Cub Reporter Biff Spackle.


Full-name:
Please enter your real name, you will have an opportunity to make up names later

Do you have access to a car or other vehicle?
Yes
No
Don't know/don't remember

If No, do you know how to hot-wire an ignition?
Yes
No

If Yes, how many homeless vagrants or illegal aliens can you transport?
0-1 Coupe
2-4 Sedan
5-7 Minivan
9-11 Conversion van
12-99 Schoolbus
100-199 Semi with empty trailer

Do you know any dead people?
No
Yes

If you had to make up names for some reason, which do you prefer to use?
Dead people
Disney characters
Members of the Dallas Cowboys/NFL team
Cast of Beverly Hills 90210
Cast of Star Trek
Superheroes like "Batman" or "Underdog"
Other cartoon characters like "Tin Tin" or "Jonny Quest"
Names of cheap beers, malt liquors and wines
Series of random letters like "Aasdfasdf Aasdfasfs"

Please check any relevant experience?
Intimidating bank employees
Slashing tires
Arson
Breaking and Entering
Armed Robbery
Pickpocketing
Mail fraud
Wire fraud
Real estate flipping, mortgage fraud
Rating subprime debt tranches "AAA"

How would you prefer to be paid?
Cash
Check
Cigs
Cigs (menthol)
Cheap beers
Cheap malt liquors
Cheap wine (specify red, white or gray)
Crack cocaine
Cans of mackerel

When can you start work?
Now
Tomorrow after 3pm

If tomorrow, do you need written directions to remember how to return here?
Yes
Maybe

Related: Obamacorn, Mickey Mouse, and John McCain. Linked by: Dan Riehl. Thanks! Hat tips: Leo Alberti (Obamacorn logo), Michelle Malkin and Larwyn.

Introducing New WealthSpread!


You too can spread economic fairness. Tax the proletariat...

... because remember: Economics is a zero-sum game.

Ripped from: the astoundingly funny People's Cube.

It's official: Jesse Jackson says 'Zionists who control America' can kiss Israel goodbye if Obama elected


The New York Post reports that Jessie ("Hymie-town") Jackson has sounded the death knell for Israel.

PREPARE for a new America: That’s the message that the Rev. Jesse Jackson conveyed to participants in the first World Policy Forum, held at this French lakeside resort last week.

He promised “fundamental changes” in US foreign policy - saying America must “heal wounds” it has caused to other nations, revive its alliances and apologize for the “arrogance of the Bush administration.”

The most important change would occur in the Middle East, where “decades of putting Israel’s interests first” would end.

Oh, and did you know that the evil Jews control America?

Jackson believes that, although “Zionists who have controlled American policy for decades” remain strong, they’ll lose a great deal of their clout when Barack Obama enters the White House.

The Obama campaign attempted to distance itself from Jackson's comments, noting that he was not an official adviser. Jackson, however, was having none of it.

....Obama has been "a neighbor or, better still, a member of the family." Jackson's son has been a close friend of Obama for years, and Jackson's daughter went to school with Obama's wife Michelle.

"We helped him start his career," says Jackson. "And then we were always there to help him move ahead. He is the continuation of our struggle for justice not only for the black people but also for all those who have been wronged."

And one other thing: prepare to whip out the checkbook. Jackson says reparation payments are on the agenda (the 600,000 Union soldiers who died freeing the slaves don't count for much in Jackson's eyes).

Will Obama's election close the chapter of black grievances linked to memories of slavery? The reverend takes a deep breath and waits a long time before responding.

"No, that chapter won't be closed," he says. "However, Obama's victory will be a huge step in the direction we have wanted America to take for decades.

More handouts sound like a great idea! They've worked so well for the urban poor, encouraging more marriages and increasing student achievement!

Hey, I've got an idea! Let's kill off Charter Schools while we're at it. That should help students even more!

More: More on Obama's anti-Israel supporters.