If I were one of Obama's folks, here's how I'd ask him to respond re
the playing of the Ayers card:

"Yes, I know Bill Ayers.  Yes, he was a Weatherman.  Yes, he has
contributed to my campaign.  But the McCain-Palin campaign wants you to
misinterpret these facts, just as they have misinterpreted them.

"Yes, Bill Ayers was a violent radical - a domestic terrorist if you
will. As a young man, he thought the American political system was so
hopeless that the only way to change things would be through violence.

"But as he matured, he saw that this was incorrect.  He saw that change
was possible, that it could be brought about in nonviolent ways, that
there was indeed some hope for American politics. 

"I'd like to think that in some small way I may have helped him develop
that hope, and that's why he contributed to my state senate campaign.

"Bill Ayers was a terrorist.  Now he counts himself proud to be an
American, and he lives as a decent, law-abiding citizen making valuable
contributions to his community.

"The lesson of Bill Ayers is this: even terrorists can be transformed.
Given the opportunity to politically participate in meaningful ways,
given the hope that their actions can make a positive difference in
people's lives, given the right tools and a level playing field, even a
terrorist can lay down his weapons and join the rest of us."

by Skip Mendler (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 1 comments) on Monday, Oct 6, 2008 at 9:44:34 AM

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They're lying & they know they're lying.

Next Question?

by Mary Callaghan (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 15 comments) on Monday, Oct 6, 2008 at 11:18:54 AM

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Hey, Mr. Obama, how do you feel about CODEX Alimentarius?

A new investigation into 9/11?

The missing $3.5 TRILLION from Pentagon announced the day before 9/11 and buried since?

Foreign troops on our streets?

Pulling our troops out immediately, not just from Iraq and Afghanistan, but from the 102 countries around the world that make us more an imperial empire and the military branch for the One World Government, New World Order?

Dissolving Federal Reserve Bank?

Ridding us of our secret government and the gang of murders and thieves called the CIA?

Impeachment?

Trials for war crimes?

E-voting machines?

Your traitorous act of voting against the wishes of 95% public for this so-called "recovery bill"?

Your meeting with Bilderbergs?

Bohemia Grove?

The New World Order?

The Black Nobility City States of London, Washington DC and Vatican?

Fluoride in our water?

Chem-trails?

HAARP?

Giving corporations same rights as people?

The fact that you're a sock-puppet for Illuminati and have lied about everything since you started your quest to become the titular-head of our corrupt phony government that neither represents the people but instead is doing everything to kill us?

What's that?

Nothing?

I thought so ... oh well, let's go back to some trivial BS that most of you seem to be so impressed with.

by Mr M (8 articles, 0 quicklinks, 66 diaries, 2845 comments [654 recommended, 27 rejected]) on Monday, Oct 6, 2008 at 11:51:02 AM

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You define a terrorist as someone who tries to kill innocents for political purposes, then declare Ayers innocent because he never succeeded.  I thought he only had to try, by your definition?

So, did he try?

by UncleSim (1 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 514 comments [74 recommended, 3 rejected]) on Monday, Oct 6, 2008 at 12:53:04 PM

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Is not evidence of innocence.

I don't trust everything on TV, especially FOX, but most of these arguments in Obama's defense are as weak or weaker than the arguments against him.

Would it be true that if Obama really doesn't know Ayers, that he has nothing in common, despite working and speaking for many of the same values both say they hold today?

Even if I don't know, say, George Bush, if I went around acting like him, I'd expect criticism.

by UncleSim (1 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 514 comments [74 recommended, 3 rejected]) on Monday, Oct 6, 2008 at 12:58:42 PM

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If you served on a school board 10 years ago with someone who supports the legalization of marijuana, does that mean you agree with them? Does it mean you are a drug addict? Of course it does! You had a relationship - you sat right there, knowing the whole time what that guy believed. If you didn't agree with him, how could you have had any kind of association with him?

If you serve on the board of your local chamber of commerce with a person who was convicted 40 years ago for spousal abuse, does that mean you beat your wife? Does it mean you have a violent hatred for women? Sure, it does! How could you debase yourself like that if you weren't sympathetic to that scoundrel's views?

If you serve on the deacon's board at your church with a man who was a member of a violent street gang nearly half a century ago, are you a common thug also?

If you are on the city council with a woman who is known by all your neighbors to be a former prostitute who has cleaned up her act, does that make you a fornicator?

If you work at the same company with a man who was long ago convicted of sexual assault, does that make you a rapist or a molester? Maybe he works in your department along with 6 other people, and you have to work closely with him. Does the sin rub off onto you?

Now, for the really relevant question:

If you serve in the Congress, and in the same party with fellow legislators and DC lobbyists who are flat-out crooks, many of them under indictment and some convicted, aren't you guilty by association of being a crook also?

I guarantee you that McCain worked much more closely, and spent vastly more time with these criminals and riff-raff than Obama ever spent with Ayers. And this is just a partial list, past and present:

Larry Craig - Convicted of waggin' his weenie at an undercover cop in an airport bathroom. Blamed his solicitation on his "wide stance."

I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby - Chief of Staff for Dick Cheney. A federal grand jury indicted him on October 27, 2005 on five charges related to the investigation into the leak of a CIA operative's name (Valerie Palme) to the media.: one count of obstruction of justice, two counts of perjury and two counts of making false statements. The crimes charged in the indictment carry the following maximum penalties:
Obstruction of justice -- 10 years in prison;
Making false statements and perjury -- each 5 years.
Each count carries a maximum fine of $250,000."

Tom DeLay House Majority Leader (forced to give up his leadership post after indictment). A Texas grand jury indicted DeLay on September 28, 2005 on a charge of criminally conspiring with two political associates to inject illegal corporate contributions into 2002 state elections. (This charge has been dropped for technical reasons). On October 3, 2005 a Texas grand jury brought a charge of money laundering against DeLay. This crime is punishible by a maximum life prison term and a $10,000 fine. On December 16 Bush said that Delay is innocent, a comment some consider close to jury tampering. On December 5 Cheney flew to Texas to headline a fund raiser for DeLay, showing his support in spite of the indictments.

Representative Randy "Duke" Cunningham of California was convicted of conspiracy and tax evasion. He resigned from Congress November 28, 2005 after pleading guilty to evading taxes and conspiring to pocket $2.4 million in bribes from defense contractors, including a Rolls-Royce, a yacht and a 19th-century Louis-Philippe commode.

Jack Abramoff, a major Republican fundraiser, is being investigated by the Justice Department. An inquiry into Abramoff's activities has been broadened to include at least half a dozen lawmakers. Scanlon and Cunningham have agreed to cooperate with federal prosecutors.

James Tobin, who was regional director of the National Republican Senatorial Campaign Committee and New England director of Bush's reelection campaign, was indicted in federal court on four felonies accusing him of conspiring to jam Democratic and labor union get-out-the-vote phone banks in November 2002. U.S. Senator Bill Frist, former majority leader of the Senate, was Tobin's boss at the time nad may have known about the phone-jamming plan.

Ted Stevens is under federal investigation for his connections to a probe of Alaskan lawmakers and their relationship to the VECO oil company. Investigators are looking into the remodeling of Stevens' home in Girdwood, Alaska that involved top VECO executives. Former VECO chief executive Bill Allen, awaiting sentencing after pleading guilty to bribing Alaska lawmakers, spearheaded the remodeling project by hiring the contractors and directing them to send him the same bills that were being sent to Stevens. Allen's guilty plea makes brief mention of residential remodeling projects and states, "Veco was not in the business of residential construction or remodeling." Three contractors have stated they have been contacted by the F.B.I. and Stevens has stated that the F.B.I. has asked him to preserve documents related to the case. On July 31, 2007, Stevens' Girdwood home was raided by the F.B.I. and I.R.S., continuing their probe into his relationship with VECO.

John Doolittle is reportedly under investigation by the Justice Department’s Public Integrity Unit for his ties to convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff. Doolittle, who calls Abramoff a close friend, has accepted large amounts of campaign money from Abramoff (which he refused to return after the lobbyist’s conviction), allegedly helped Abramoff’s tribal clients in dealings with the Interior Department, and also helped him win a contract from the Northern Mariana Islands by endorsing a politician on the island. In addition, Doolittle's wife, Julie, was paid a retainer by Abramoff for event planning work from 2002 to 2004. In 2004, Julie Doolittle was subpoenaed for documents in connection with the probe. While John Doolittle paid a lawyer over $38,000 to speak with the Justice Department during 2006, he has denied any wrongdoing or that he is the target of an investigation. In April 2007, the FBI raided his Northern Virginia home, seizing materials related to Sierra Dominion Financial Solutions Inc. (Julie Doolittle's firm). Rep. Doolittle resigned from the House Appropriations Committee shortly thereafter.

Tom Feeney has been mentioned multiple times in court documents filed by the Justice Department as "Representative #3" in the criminal investigation of Mark Zachares, a former congressional aide to Rep. Don Young (R-Alaska) and lobbyist who, in April 2007, pleaded guilty to accepting tens of thousands of dollars in gifts from lobbyist Jack Abramoff. In April 2007, the FBI asked Feeney for information about his dealings with Jack Abramoff as part of its ongoing investigation into the lobbyist convicted of defrauding clients. Feeney is one of three House members who accompanied Abramoff to Scotland on golfing trips (the others being convicted former Rep. Bob Ney and indicted former Rep. Tom DeLay). In January 2007, the House announced that Feeney had violated chamber rules by letting Abramoff pay for the trip. Feeney has stated that he is not a target of a probe and is "pleased to voluntarily cooperate" with the investigation.

Jerry Lewis is currently under investigation for his use of the “earmarking” process to benefit a lobbyist and friend, Bill Lowery. Of interest to the investigation is the revolving door between Lewis’ office and Lowery’s – two Lewis staffers have gone to work for Lowery as lobbyists, with one of them coming back to Lewis’ office – and Lewis' earmarking of projects for firms that Lowery represents, which has included the Brent Wilkes-owned ADCS. Federal investigators are also looking into a land deal which protected nearly 41 acres in Lewis’ neighborhood from developers. The land was given to the city of Redlands by Jack and Laura Dangermond. The couple, who founded and operate Environmental Systems Research, Inc., have received tens of millions of dollars in government contracts from the House Appropriations Committee that Lewis chaired through the 109th Congress. Protecting the land from development keeps property values high, as it is part of a scenic canyon. Furthermore, the Federal Election Commission is reviewing whether Lewis’s campaign committee violated election laws by failing to disclose contributions within a 48-hour deadline. The FEC sent Lewis’s committee a letter back in January 2007 requesting additional information on items in its post-general filing. Lewis won reelection in November 2006, although he lost his chairmanship as a result of the Democrats winning a majority of seats in the House.

Gary Miller is under investigation by the FBI for his real estate transactions. Specifically, in 2000, Miller appeared at a Monrovia City Council meeting to lobby city officials to purchase 165 acres of his in order to convert it into a wilderness preserve. In 2002, Miller sold the 165 acres to the city, earning a profit of over $10 million. The money earned from the land deal was then subject to both federal and state taxes, at a 31% rate. Miller, however, told the Internal Revenue Service and the state of California that Monrovia had forced him to sell the property under the threat of eminent domain. This, in his view, allowed him to shelter the profits from capital gains taxes for more than two years before he had to reinvest the money. Miller had previously claimed the same exemption in two subsequent Fontana property transactions. Monrovia officials, however, say that Miller sold the land willingly and that they did not force him to sell. Tax experts believe that Miller will have a difficult time proving that eminent domain was threatened three times by the same municipality.

Tim Murphy is under federal investigation for allegedly having legislative staff members perform campaign-related activities in his Pennsylvania district office. The investigation was launched after several employees admitted to the Pittsburgh Post Gazette that they had been asked to do campaign-related tasks such as distributing literature and mailing greeting cards to financial donors. Such activities are prohibited by both House ethics rules and federal law. Murphy has denied that he instructed his legislative staff to do campaign work.

Rick Renzi is currently the subject of two Justice Department investigations. First, he is under investigation for his involvement in a federal land swap deal. While officials have not revealed details of the probe, it is widely believed that it surrounds legislation Renzi agreed to introduce in 2005 completing a land swap for a former business partner, James Sandlin. Second, Renzi is being probed for introducing legislation (which became law) exempting the Fort Huachuca Army base in Arizona from maintaining water levels in the nearby San Pedro River. ManTech International, a military contractor who has been one of Renzi’s largest contributors and currently employs his father, has over $450 million in contracts at the base. In April 2007, the FBI raided Renzi's wife's Arizona insurance business, prompting him to step down from the House Intelligence, Resources and Financial Services Committees.

 Don Young, along with Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), is under federal investigation for delivering political favors for a company in Alaska. Specifically, officials are probing whether Young or Stevens accepted bribes, illegal gratuities or unreported gifts from VECO Corp., the largest oil-field engineering firm in Alaska. The company has been awarded numerous federal contracts since 2000, including several to provide logistics support for arctic research. Former VECO Chief Executive Bill Allen has held fund-raisers for Young in Anchorage, Alaska, and records show contributions to Young of at least $157,000 from VECO employees and its political-action committee between 1996 and 2006.

Bob Beauprez is currently under investigation by the Justice Department’s Wyoming office. The probe is examining whether Beauprez, a candidate in the 2006 gubernatorial election in Colorado, accessed a restricted federal database for information used in a television ad to attack his Democratic challenger, Bill Ritter. State investigators, who began looking into the matter before the Justice Department, have concluded that the information in the ad came from the National Crime Information Center, a federal database for which only law enforcement officials have access. Using the database for any purpose other than law enforcement is a federal crime which carries a punishment of up to one-year in prison. Beauprez ultimately lost the gubernatorial election to Ritter.

Randy “Duke” Cunningham was convicted of accepting $2.4 million in bribes in exchange for securing, through earmarks, defense and intelligence contracts for Mitchell Wade and Brent Wilkes. He is currently serving a sentence of 8 years and 8 months, the longest sentence ever given to a convicted member of Congress. The Justice Department is still investigating others in connection to Cunningham's misdeeds, including probing the House Appropriations Committee and the House Armed Services Committee.

Tom DeLay was indicted in September 2005 for money laundering and conspiracy in connection with the Texas redistricting scandal. The conspiracy charges were waived, but the former Majority Leader still faces the money laundering charge. DeLay was named as “Representative #2” in the guilty plea of his former chief of staff Tony Rudy, who was convicted in connection to the actions of Jack Abramoff. DeLay’s name has also surfaced in the Brent Wilkes-Duke Cunningham scandal and the Justice Department may be looking at his actions in relation to that case. DeLay resigned from the House in 2006.

 In late September 2006, Mark Foley resigned from the House after the public revelation of "over-friendly" emails and sexually suggestive instant message conversations he had with teenage congressional pages. In early October, the FBI announced that it would be investigating his actions. Soon after, the Department of Justice sent a "preservation letter" to the House counsel ordering the House to preserve all documents and other materials possibly related to Foley's electronic correspondence with House pages. FBI agents also began searching the country for other pages that may have had contact with Foley. Officials indicated that the investigation thus far was into whether Foley had violated laws against crossing state lines or using electronic communications to entice a minor into sexual acts.

Jim Gibbons, who is currently the governor of Nevada, is under investigation by the FBI for allegedly accepting unreported gifts and/or payments from a company, eTreppid Technologies LLC, in exchange for official acts while he served in Congress (1997-2007). The firm reportedly gave Gibbons airline tickets and a Caribbean cruise, and was later awarded secret military contracts while Gibbons served on the House Intelligence and Armed Services committees. In 2006, Gibbons was investigated by the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department for allegedly assaulting a Las Vegas cocktail waitress, Chrissy Mazzeo, in a parking garage outside of a bar. Following the initial accusations, Gibbons and his associates were accused of issuing contradicting statements, intimidating and bribing Mazzeo, and attempting to use their connections to the police department and others to obstruct the investigation. Gibbons was endorsed in his gubernatorial race that fall by the local sheriff in charge of the case, and his top political consultant had financial ties to the company that handled surveillance tapes from the garage where the alleged incident took place. Gibbons won the governorship in the November 2006 elections, and the investigation into his actions was dropped later that month after the Metropolitan Police Department found no evidence to support Mazzeo's accusations.

Katherine Harris is under investigation by both the Justice Department and Defense Department for her relationship with Mitchell Wade, the former head of a defense company who pleaded guilty to a series of criminal bribery offenses in February 2006. Wade made $32,000 worth of illegal contributions to Harris' House campaign in 2004. In addition, he paid for at least two dinners with her at a Georgetown restaurant in 2004-2005 that totaled roughly $6,000. Later, Wade requested that Harris help secure $10 million in federal money for a company project of his in Sarasota, Fla. Federal officials have subpoenaed records from Harris' U.S. Senate campaign office and interviewed several of her former staffers. Harris was defeated in her Senate bid by Democrat Bill Nelson in the November 2006 elections. Katherine Harris was also mentioned in the best selling book "The Best Democracy Money can Buy" by Greg Palast. As Florida Secretary of State, Harris oversaw the state's vote count in the controversial 2000 presidential election, which was won by George W. Bush, brother of then-Florida Gov. Jeb Bush.

In May 2006, ABC News cited “high-level official sources” in a report claiming that Hastert was under investigation by the FBI. According to the report, the FBI was looking into a letter Hastert wrote in 2003 urging then-Interior Secretary Gale Norton to block an Indian casino that would have competed with casinos operated by other tribes, which were represented by convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff. Hastert denied the claim, and others suggested that the government leak of an investigation was retaliatory for Hastert’s public opposition to the FBI raid of Rep. William Jefferson’s congressional office. Days after the report, Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty denounced it, stating “With regard to reports suggesting that the Speaker of the House is under investigation or 'in the mix,' as stated by ABC News, I reconfirm, as stated by the Department earlier this evening, that these reports are untrue." ABC News, however, refused to retract its original claim of an ongoing investigation. Hastert's office was also under investigation by the House Ethics Committee for its handling of early complaints about inappropriate contacts with House pages by former Rep. Mark Foley. On December 8, 2006, the committee reported that while Hastert had acted negligently, he had not violated any House rules.

In October 2006, Bob Ney pled guilty to taking money, gifts and favors in return for official actions on behalf of convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff and his clients. Ney also confessed to taking thousands of dollars in gambling chips from an international businessman who sought his help with the State Department. Ney was the eighth person convicted in the continuing federal investigation into Abramoff's activities, and the first member of Congress. The government has recommended that Ney be sentenced to twenty-seven months in prison. He resigned from Congress on November 17, 2006. On January 19, 2007, Ney was sentenced to thirty months in federal prison.

Curt Weldon is under investigation by the Justice Department for trading his political influence for lobbying and consulting contracts for his daughter, Karen Weldon. Specifically, the investigation centers around Weldon's efforts between 2002 and 2004 to aid two Russian companies and two Serbian brothers with ties to Slobodan Milosevic, the former president of Serbia. The Russian firms and a Serbian group run by the brothers' family had each hired a lobbying firm co-owned by Karen Weldon for fees totaling nearly $1 million a year. In one instance, Weldon allegedly intervened on the behalf of Itera International Energy Corp, a Russian firm represented by Karen Weldon, when U.S. officials canceled a federal grant to the company. In addition, he allegedly encouraged U.S. firms to do business with Itera at a time when its reputation had been damaged by allegations of corruption. Late in 2006, the FBI formally referred the matter to the department's Public Integrity Section. Weldon was defeated in his 2006 bid for reelection by Democrat Joe Sestak. Following his defeat, the House Ethics Committee released a statement saying that Weldon had failed to repay $23,000 worth of improper travel expenses that he accepted for a trip to Belgrade, Serbia. The committee promised to continue monitoring Weldon's actions with regards to the funds.

Pete Domenici is the subject of a "preliminary inquiry" by the Senate Ethics Committee for his role in the U.S. attorney firings controversy. In March 2007, Domenici admitted to contacting the U.S. attorney for New Mexico, David Iglesias, concerning an ongoing investigation into a New Mexico Democrat in late 2006. Iglesias, who was fired weeks later, alleged that Domenici pressured him to accelerate the pace of the probe. Domenici’s actions appeared to violate Senate rules. In a discussion of Senate Rule 43, the Senate Ethics Manual states that “[t]he general advice of the Ethics Committee concerning pending court actions is that Senate offices should refrain from intervening in such legal actions...until the matter has reached a resolution in the courts.” The manual also indicates that senators should not consult with an agency regarding any enforcement or investigative matter.

Now...

Do you really want to start a fight about associations?

by JC Garrett (40 articles, 65 quicklinks, 7 diaries, 604 comments [10 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Monday, Oct 6, 2008 at 6:30:16 PM

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I have been listening to Fox here and there tonight. I have a desire for nightmares, bad ones. They have said the name Ayers like fifty times while I read your comment. Guests are trying to divert to the economy and they keep saying terrorist and Ayers. This is rediculous. We need to shout this from the rooftops of every building in this country! 

by Yvonne (5 articles, 0 quicklinks, 3 diaries, 38 comments) on Tuesday, Oct 7, 2008 at 12:03:31 AM

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As I thought I said, if I were to act like Bush, I'd expect criticism.  I believe all politicians deserve such criticism.  If we are not allowed to examine their dealings, there can be no correction of error.

The Republicans as well as the Democrats deserve criticism for both their associations and their actions.  But their actions outweight their associations.

The problem is, politicians rarely get the judicial attention they so richly deserve, simply because of their position, and the associations their positions bring.

Perhaps politicians should be locked in their offices for the duration of their service, interacting with the world only through official communications, and perhaps a conjugal visit on occasion from their spouse.   No campaigning, no press releases about what a good name they gave to the latest papercut they're about to unleash on the populace, just penitent service.

After all, that's what we like to pretend we get from them, right?

by UncleSim (1 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 514 comments [74 recommended, 3 rejected]) on Saturday, Oct 11, 2008 at 3:22:28 PM

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he doesn't need any defending. Both Bill Ayers and the Rev Jeremiah Wright are far more principled & correct in their overall political perspective than Obama is. Obama could profit by hanging out with those guys more, not less.

It's probably true that Obama & Ayers don't have much of a relationship, but that's Obama's loss. He's in desperate need of friends who could explain to him what's wrong with Wall St bailouts & the warfare state. Ayers knows about that stuff, and Obama doesn't.

The violence tactic of the Weathermen was a mistake, as Ayers now acknowledges. But it wasn't nearly as terrible a crime as the US war in Vietnam. The mentality that we should furiously condemn the Weathermen for setting off bombs, while saying nothing about the criminality of US foreign policy that the bombs were protesting -- is utterly ridiculous & very much responsible for the disastrous straits in which the US now finds itself.

Instead of distancing himself from Ayers, Obama should invite him & his brilliant wife over for tea and crumpets, & extended philosophical discussions.

by Richard Mynick (2 articles, 4 quicklinks, 1 diaries, 1552 comments [255 recommended, 5 rejected]) on Monday, Oct 6, 2008 at 1:15:22 PM

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According to Jane Harmon's Homegrown Terrorist bill, I am a terrorist because I dissent to the Government's coup. I am concerned about animals and therefore, I am a homey terraist. I am against ppl that obstruct the laws of the constitution, again, homey terra. I am against the Iraq war, again, homey terra. I am against the ppl that are against protesting in public, again, I am a home grown terrorist, according to those that REIGN over us.

Obama should just say, shut the F&^% up. I know, he can't. But he should debunk it all with facts and he just says, no I'm not. Uh huh, uh uh, uh huh, uh uh. Gawd, what a tragedy of football locker room BS. Figures with Rove in charge. Rove, Bush's brain but resembles the very end of the  intestines.

by shirley reese (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 592 comments [98 recommended, 1 rejected]) on Monday, Oct 6, 2008 at 3:05:02 PM

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He wanted to blow buildings up but not kill innocent people, and that makes it OK? Hogwash! The terrorist label is appropriate.

by Scott (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 745 comments [30 recommended, 3 rejected]) on Monday, Oct 6, 2008 at 9:50:34 PM

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a phony story about an "enemy attack" on one of its destroyers, then uses this deliberate lie to get Congress to approve the "Gulf of Tonkin Resolution," then uses this Resolution to send a half million US soldiers to Vietnam, where they kill several million Vietnamese -- mostly defenseless peasants -- over a period of years, while dropping fantastic quantities of napalm & poisonous defoliating chemicals all over the countryside?

I'm just curious how someone like you would describe such a government. Do you find anything at all disturbing about power being used in that way?

by Richard Mynick (2 articles, 4 quicklinks, 1 diaries, 1552 comments [255 recommended, 5 rejected]) on Tuesday, Oct 7, 2008 at 12:28:41 AM

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McCain's mission
Presidential candidate visits UNM to discuss economic crisis, criticize Obama
By: Hunter Riley

HERE IS URL;
http://www.dailylobo.com/home/index.cfm?event=displayArticle&ustory_id=ee6b6566-b4b4-4d8a-8135-4be24a728193

Close to 1,000 people came to see Republican presidential candidate John McCain on campus Monday.

Meanwhile, outside the SUB, about 250 students and community members rallied in protest of McCain, chanting, carrying signs and marching on campus.

McCain discussed the economic crisis and criticized his opponent, Sen. Barack Obama.

"There are essential things we don't know about Sen. Obama or the record that he brings," McCain said. "All people want to know is what this man has actually accomplished and done."

McCain said Obama does not have the experience to run a country and that he is unsure of the fate of America in Obama's hands. He said the only way to know which way Obama will take the country is to look at the direction he's taken in the past.

But Obama has called McCain a liar every time he questions his policies or his record, McCain said.

"I don't need lessons about telling the truth, and were I ever to need any improvement in that regard, I probably wouldn't seek advice from a Chicago politician," McCain said.

The audience was vocal in their support of McCain.

"Who is the real Obama?" McCain said.

"A terrorist! A liar!" some audience members shouted.

McCain said that if he becomes president, he will freeze spending on everything that is not a valuable function of the government.

"I'll balance the federal budget by the end of my term in office," he said.

McCain said the state of the economy will have an effect on students and that he will help students struggling to pay for college.

McCain said Obama is personally acquainted with the people who created the economic crisis we are facing today. Obama has received more money from Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae than any other senator in history, McCain said.

McCain said Obama is not being direct with how he will spend federal money and that Americans should pay careful attention to that.

"According to third-party estimates, he will increase government spending by over $860 billion, but he denied it," McCain said. "He has refused to tell you how much he does plan to spend."

While McCain directed attacks at his opponent, protesters assembled outside the rally to show their support for Obama.

Sophomore Zoe Kolon said McCain's criticism of Obama wasn't strong enough to overcome the flaws in the Republican platform.

"I would say Obama offers a lot for the economy. With the state the economy is in right now, I think Obama is more likely to pull it out than McCain would," Kolon said. "I am against McCain's stance on the war and his tax break, giving money to the upper class."

Gabbi Campos / Daily Lobo
Students outside the SUB protest Sen. John McCain's visit on Monday.

Protesters outside the SUB ballroom where McCain was speaking were loud enough to be heard inside.

Emily Zamballo, who attended the rally outside the SUB, said it was inspiring to see so many young people caring about politics.

"It's just a nice thing to see traditions carried on when people like me are getting very depressed about what has been happening and we are very sorry about the state of our country," she said. "We feel responsible for it a lot."
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© Copyright 2008 Daily Lobo     
 
 
  
 

by Stephen Fox (96 articles, 3 quicklinks, 11 diaries, 802 comments [33 recommended, 1 rejected]) on Tuesday, Oct 7, 2008 at 1:42:13 AM

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"TRUTH: Bill Ayers is not, and apparently never was, a terrorist. The conventional definition of a terrorist is someone who tries to kill innocent people for political purposes. As Factcheck.org noted, In fact, nobody died as a result of bombings in which Ayers said he participated as part of the Weather Underground."

What Ayers does not mention is that the bomb that killed his friends was an antipersonnel bomb meant for an army dance at Fort Dix in New Jersey. Had it exploded at its chosen target, thousands of soldiers and their dates would have been killed. "Terrorists destroy randomly," he writes, "while our actions bore...the precise stamp of a cut diamond. Terrorists intimidate, while we aimed only to educate." Somehow, the GIs his comrades aimed to kill-or the policemen he might have murdered had a bomb he planted in a Chicago station gone off-do not count. And the GIs' dates, and the civilians working at the police station, also do not count. Their deaths would simply have been a way of educating people-as Bill Ayers continues to educate them at the University of Illinois, Chicago...... .......CURIOUSLY, YOU WON'T FIND IN AYERS'S PAGES an account of the "War Council" held by the Weather Underground in Flint, Michigan, in December 1969, at which he and Dohrn [his wife] were key players. It was at the Flint War Council that Dohrn admonished the four hundred delegates to stop being "wimpy" and "scared of fighting," and to "get into armed struggle." Invoking the example of Charles Manson, who had killed Sharon Tate and all her houseguests in the Los Angeles hills, Dohrn declared, "Dig it. First they killed those pigs, then they ate dinner in the same room with them, they even shoved a fork into a victim's stomach! Wild!" She closed her speech by holding up three fingers in what she called the "Manson fork salute." Dohrn was followed by one of Ayers's friends, John Jacobs, who told the crowd, "We're against everything that's 'good and decent' in honky America. We will loot and burn and destroy." The delegates then discussed how to get weapons, make bombs, and rent "safe houses"-after which they broke into a nearby Catholic Church to engage in group sex...... ......Similarly, Ayers never acknowledges that later terrorism followed directly from his example and his policy. After the Weather Underground collapsed, many of his old comrades joined the new May 19th Communist organization, which became a support group for the ultra-violent Black Liberation Army. Kathy Boudin and David Gilbert, for instance, ended up in prison for life for their role in the Black Liberation Army's 1981 Brinks Robbery, in which a black cop was murdered. (Ayers and Dohrn took in Boudin and Gilbert's child after their imprisonment.) Ayers ends with the scene of rejoicing as he and Dohrn watched the television images of America's defeat in Vietnam. "We were overjoyed," he writes, and they "spent several days celebrating, laughing and crying." Today, they still go every March 6 to put flowers on the site of the Village townhouse where their own bombs destroyed their comrades' young lives. They also traveled to Vietnam, to pay homage to Ho Chi Minh at his grave.

by Alan Williams (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 858 comments) on Tuesday, Oct 7, 2008 at 1:54:39 PM

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"TRUTH: Appearing on a speaking panel is not a sign of friendship. There is no evidence that Obama had any role in ever inviting Ayers to speak."

Michelle Obama, Associate Dean of Student Services and Director of the University Community Service Center, hopes bringing issues like this to campus will open a dialogue between members of the University community and the broader community. "Students and faculty explore these issues in the classroom, but it is an internal conversation," Obama said. "We know that issues like juvenile justice impact the city of Chicago, this nation and -- directly or indirectly -- this campus. This panel gives students a chance to hear about the juvenile justice system not only on a theoretical level, but from the people who have experienced it."

by Alan Williams (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 858 comments) on Tuesday, Oct 7, 2008 at 5:38:14 PM

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