I Found This Tidbit When I Wasn’t Watching the Debate….RE: Ayers/Obama Early Relationship

~~Posted by InsightAnalytical-GRL

I get nervous watching debates, so instead I roamed around some of the debate threads and somehow wound up at the Audacity of Hypocrisy site, which is now “offically” called Audacity of Deception and Hypocrisy…

Anyway, this was posted yesterday (October 7) and I think it’s an interesting nugget:

Breaking: William Ayers Mentioned Obama in his “A Kind and Just Parent” Book

Posted by admin

October 7, 2008

Ayers had to know Obama at a very close level to mention him in his book along with Muhammad Ali and Louis Farrakhan. The book came out in 1998. It takes about 2-3 years to write and publish a book, so this friendship can be placed going back to at least 1995. The evidence comes straight from William Ayers. Read the page at Google Book.

Unfortunately, page 82 can’t be copied, so here’s transcript of the page:

…erful university and its allied neighborhood association have worked to manipulate boundaries and borders to assure “stability” and separation.  Our neighbors include Muhammad Ali, former mayor Eugene Sawyer, poets Gwendolyn Brooks and Elizabeth Alexander, and writer Barack Obama. Minister Louis Farrakhan lives lives a block from our home and, we think, a unique dimension to the idea of “safe neighborhood watch”: the Fruit of Islam, his security force, has its eye on things twenty-four-hours a day. I pass Farrakhan’s mansion, offer a cheery wave to the Fruit, get a formal nod in response, and turn north two blocks across 47th Street, into the lap of urban blight.

***

Publication Details:

224 pages

A Kind and Just Parent: The Children of Juvenile Court

By William Ayers

Published by Beacon Press, 1998

ISBN 0807044032, 9780807044032

Ayers’ book was published by the Beacon Press, which “is a department of the Unitarian Universalist Association” which is based in Boston.  According to the mission statement,

Beacon Press is an independent publisher of serious non-fiction and fiction. Our books often change the way readers think about fundamental issues; they promote such values as freedom of speech and thought; diversity, religious pluralism, and anti-racism; and respect for diversity in all areas of life.

I don’t know exactly how long it takes to publish a “serious” book, but judging from several scholarly acquaintances who have published, the 2-3 year time frame that the folks at the Audacity site have proposed seems entirely reasonable to me.

Back in February of this year, Politico was among the first to delve into William Ayers history. The opening paragraphs of the story, titled “Obama Once Visited ’60’s Radicals” read:

In 1995, State Senator Alice Palmer introduced her chosen successor, Barack Obama, to a few of the district’s influential liberals at the home of two well known figures on the local left: William Ayers and Bernardine Dohrn.

While Ayers and Dohrn may be thought of in Hyde Park as local activists, they’re better known nationally as two of the most notorious — and unrepentant — figures from the violent fringe of the 1960s anti-war movement.

Now, as Obama runs for president, what two guests recall as an unremarkable gathering on the road to a minor elected office stands as a symbol of how swiftly he has risen from a man in the Hyde Park left to one closing in fast on the Democratic nomination for president.

“I can remember being one of a small group of people who came to Bill Ayers’ house to learn that Alice Palmer was stepping down from the senate and running for Congress,” said Dr. Quentin Young, a prominent Chicago physician and advocate for single-payer health care, of the informal gathering at the home of Ayers and his wife, Dohrn. “[Palmer] identified [Obama] as her successor.”

Obama and Palmer “were both there,” he said.

The publication date of the book–1998–with a mention of Obama seems to reinforce the early date of their first meeting, reported as 1995.

For more insight into what was going on with Barack Obama in 1995, see my earlier post “What Makes Obama Run?” from The Chicago Reader, December 1995.

Parts 1 & 2–The Lineup: A Who’s Who of The Associates of Barack Obama

~~By Grail Guardian

Editor’s Note: Part 1 of “The Lineup” has been added to this post to make the information it contains easily available.–See the Part 1 for the comments to the original posting.–GRL

After Part 1 of this article was published, we received several requests/suggestions for more individuals to be included in the hit parade. As with Part 1, please circulate it to friends, family, co-workers, casual acquaintances, or anyone who needs to be educated about the truth the MSM has kept buried. And per a special request from reader Song, I would like to challenge each and every one of you to ask 10 people to vote against Barack Obama on November 4^th.

The Lineup: Part 2

Alexi Giannoulis: Became Illinois State Treasurer after Barack Obama vouched for him. He has been described as a “man who has long been dogged by charges that the bank his family owns helped finance a Chicago crime figure”. Giannoulis “pledged to raise $100,000 for the senator’s Oval Office bid,” Charles Hurt reported September 5, 2007, in the New York Post. Lynn Sweet of the Chicago Sun-Times reported, “Before he promised to raise funds for Obama, Giannoulias bankrolled Michael ‘Jaws’ Giorango, a Chicagoan twice convicted of bookmaking and promoting prostitution.

“Giannoulias is so tainted by reputed mob links that several top Illinois Dems, including the state’s speaker of the House and party chairman, refused to endorse him even after he won the Democratic nomination with Obama’s help.” States Congresspedia

Jim Johnson: Former Fannie Mae Chair that was hired to vet Vice Presidential candidates for the Obama Campaign. Johnson allegedly received $7 million from Countrywide Mortgage, one of the biggest players in the sub-prime mortgage fiasco. He received below market mortgage rates form the lender that Obama railed against personally:

“This is a company that is as responsible as any firm in the country for the housing crisis we’re facing today. When Countrywide Financial was sold a few months ago, its top two executives got a combined $19 million. These are the folks who are responsible for infecting the economy and helping to create a home foreclosure crisis….They get a $19 million bonus while people are at risk of losing their home. What’s wrong with this picture?”

Emil Jones: President of the Illinois Senate and Obama’s political mentor. When in the State Senate, all of Obama’s accomplishments were in his 7th year. Jones was discovered to have handed Obama all these bills after being worked on by other legislators. Jones is credited with the statement “I’m gonna make me a U.S. Senator.” When asked who that might be, Jones replied “Barack Obama”.

David Axelrod: Chicago political consultant and Chief Strategist and Media Advisor to Obama, Axelrod has worked on the campaigns of John Edwards, Deval Patrick, and Eliot Spitzer. He also owns ASK Public Strategies, a firm credited with mastering the tactic of “Astroturfing” or organizing a political effort and making it look like a grassroots effort. Wikipedia describes it as follows: “Astroturfing may be undertaken by an individual pushing a personal agenda or highly organized professional groups with financial backing from large corporations, non-profits, or activist organizations. Very often the efforts are conducted by political consultants who also specialize in opposition research.”

Tom Daschle: Former Democratic Senate Majority and Minority leader who was voted out of office by South Dakotans despite his presitgious position. Daschle is now a nationa Co-Chair for the Obama campaign. According to Wikipedia: “On February 13, 2006, Daschle became one of two Democrats (with Rep. Jane Harman of California) to endorse a warrantless domestic surveillance program conducted under the authority of President George W. Bush by the National Security Agency (NSA).”

Percy Sutton: This 87-year-old icon of the Civil Rights Movement recently recounted a story where he claimed he was asked to write a recommendation for Barack Obama to enter Harvard. Sutton’s quote follows:

“I was introduced to him by a friend who was raising money for him and the friend’s name was Dr Khalid al Mansour from Texas. He is the principle adviser to one of the world’s richest men. He told me about Obama. He wrote to me about him and his introduction was ‘there is a young man that has applied to Harvard and I know that you have a few friends left there because you used to go up there to speak, would you please write a letter in support of him?’ That’s before Obama decided to run. And he interjected the advice that Obama had passed the requirements, had taken, and passed, the requirements necessary to get into Harvard and become President of the Law Review. That’s before he ever ran for anything. I wrote a letter in support of him to my friends at Harvard saying to them I thought there was a genius that was going to be available and I surely hoped they would treat him kindly.”

Khalid al Mansour/Donald Warden: The mysterious man Percy Sutton referred to in his interview is somewhat difficult to identify (a very common name in several countries). The al Mansour that is also known as Donald Warden has ties to both the radical Black Panthers and has served on the board of a bank in Nigeria that may have connections to money raised for Barack Obama. For more detail, I recommend the following 2 articles, and bear in mind again the caveat “follow the money”: (photo not readily available)

More at Texas Darlin’s blog:

Dr. Khalid Abdullah Tariq al Mansour

Khalid al Mansour/Donald Warden: Obama Money Man in Nigeria?

The ACORN connection:

While not all directly associated with Barack Obama, these people formed the basis of his political philosophy and influenced him heavily, sometimes via theory, often via a strong organizational connection. Understanding who they are leads to a better understanding of the 2008 Presidential election.

Saul Alinsky: Writing a brief overview of Alinsky is nearly impossible; so I strongly urge you do look into the varied sides of this man further. That being said, Alinsky was a radical and community organizer (sound familiar?) who started the movement that grew into the SDS and ACORN (among other groups). Perhaps his own words explain his ideas best:

“Make the enemy live up to their (sic) own book of rules,” Alinsky wrote in his 1989 book Rules for Radicals. When pressed to honor every word of every law and statute, every Judeo-Christian moral tenet, and every implicit promise of the liberal social contract, human agencies inevitably fall short. The system’s failure to “live up” to its rule book can then be used to discredit it altogether, and to replace the capitalist “rule book” with a socialist one. (Courtesy Discover the Networks.org)

Alinsky served as mentor to many (including Hillary Clinton, who is said to have studied him and then continued on her political career, and Barack Obama, who still uses his techniques on a daily basis in this election), and put the fear of God into just as many (he one traveled to Oakland, CA and the local politicos were so shaken that they actually passed a resolution to ban him from the city). His talent was for organizing the poor into powerful political forces that can combat government and replace it with Socialism. Barack Obama is said to have taken Alinsky training when he began his Community Organizer career in Chicago. To understand Saul Alinsky and his followers is to gain much insight into Obama.

Richard Andrew Cloward and Frances Fox Piven: Columbia University radicals and creators of the so-called “Cloward-Piven strategy,” which called for swamping the welfare rolls with new applicants, beyond what the system could bear. The idea was that the resulting economic collapse would lead to political turmoil and ultimately socialism. This concept was used effectively in New York City, and was cited as one of the causes of the city’s financial collapse as welfare rolls jumped from 150,000 to over a million in just 10 years.

(Photo not readily available)

Wade Rathke: The founder and chief organizer of ACORN (Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now), a group Obama has worked for and represented in lawsuits, and Service Employees International Union (SEIU). Rathke’s brother Dale was reported to have embezzled over $940,000 from ACORN and it’s affiliates, which Wade did not report to the full board and kept hidden for 8 years. ACORN is under investigation for voter registration fraud in 18 states, and past employees have admitted to simply making up names of supposed voters. Many consider ACORN to be a leftist extremist organization using the principles of Saul Alinsky and Cloward & Piven.

George Wiley: Mentor of Wade Rathke, founder and leader of the radical ACORN, best know for his use of the Cloward & Piven strategy. Wiley is known as the Founder of the National Welfare Reform Organization, and as a pioneer of the radical “franchise” concept, now used by ACORN and other groups, which helps local activists quickly build local outlets of national activist organizations by using church groups and other pre-existing community groups.

Carl Davidson: Former President of Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) with Bill Ayers and Bernadine Dorhn (a precursor to the Weather Underground), Davidson is credited with organizing the 2002 Anti-War rally where Obama gave his infamous speech against the Iraq war. Davidson is a self-styled “progressive for Obama” according to his blog http://carldavidson.blogspot.com/

Claire McCaskill: This Missouri Senator has supported Obama since her children shamed her into it in the beginning of 2008. McCaskill has been a vocal supporter, and her name was bandied about as a potential VP pick by Obama. She has been accused by ACORN workers in MO of using the organization to bring out new voters to support her instead of registering new voters or getting them to support a minimum wage bill as they were hired to do. The workers were all fired from ACORN after refusing to campaign for McCaskill.

Herbert and Marion Sandler: A New York lawyer and Wall Street analyst that sold Golden West Financial (GDW), one of the largest savings and loans in the nation to Wachovia Bank just before their portfolio dragged the S & L under. Wachovia failed in the recent Wall Street crisis as a result of the high number of sub-prime mortgages it acquired in its $24 billion purchase of GDW. The Sandlers personally made billions (yes, that’s with a B), and went on to fund organizations like ACORN and the International Crisis Group, the staff of which is said to form the basis of the future State Department of an Obama Administration.

Peter Lewis: Chairman of Progressive Insurance who along with George Soros gave $23 million to Moveon.org, and formed a group called The Democracy Alliance, both strong ACORN supporters. In 2004 he was one of the top donors to 527 groups promoting a far left agenda. Lewis describes himself as “half screwball, half businessman” and once showed up to a City Council meeting wearing a Lone Ranger outfit.

For a look at ACORN on video, see Uppity Woman’s post from 9/30/2008 “Video:Barack Obama and ‘Let’s Take Over The World” Acorn .'”

***************

Part 1–A Who’s Who of The Associates of Barack Obama

~~By Grail Guardian

For months now, we’ve been reading and hearing from the Obama campaign that it’s not experience that matters for Barack Obama (whose paper-thin resume includes being a Community Organizer, Chair of the failed Chicago Annenberg Challenge, and running for public office), but rather the excellent judgment that he displays. In light of the continued media frenzy favoring Obama and shielding him from public scrutiny, I decided that it would be timely to revisit that judgment in the form of the people Obama associates with professionally and personally (both past and present). I personally have been able to find few people that are close to the Illinois Senator that I would want anywhere near the Oval Office, but I’ll let you be the judge. I intend this article to be part of a much needed grassroots effort to educate those that only get their news from the Main Stream Media or do not follow politics closely, so feel free to link it, print it, e-mail it, or do whatever you need to do to get the word out (giving proper credit and/or links to Insight Analytical and myself is always appreciated). You can consider it an Obama 101 Picture Book Primer and a serious attempt to save this great nation.

Part 1–THE LINEUP: A Who’s Who of The Associates of Barack Obama

~~By Grail Guardian

EDITOR’S NOTE: Part I has been combined in a double post with the follow-up with more Obama connections in Part 2 HERE.

For months now, we’ve been reading and hearing from the Obama campaign that it’s not experience that matters for Barack Obama (whose paper-thin resume includes being a Community Organizer, Chair of the failed Chicago Annenberg Challenge, and running for public office), but rather the excellent judgment that he displays. In light of the continued media frenzy favoring Obama and shielding him from public scrutiny, I decided that it would be timely to revisit that judgment in the form of the people Obama associates with professionally and personally (both past and present). I personally have been able to find few people that are close to the Illinois Senator that I would want anywhere near the Oval Office, but I’ll let you be the judge. I intend this article to be part of a much needed grassroots effort to educate those that only get their news from the Main Stream Media or do not follow politics closely, so feel free to link it, print it, e-mail it, or do whatever you need to do to get the word out (giving proper credit and/or links to Insight Analytical and myself is always appreciated). You can consider it an Obama 101 Picture Book Primer and a serious attempt to save this great nation.

A Party Held HOSTAGE: Michelle Obama Wasn’t Alone in Her Hostility at the Rainbow/PUSH Conference in 2004–Protests Against Jesse Jackson, Threats Against Democrats/Kerry By Ministers in an Eerie Preview of the Rev. Wright Episode

The Hillbuzz post on the Michelle Obama rant tape gives a brief overview of what was going on at the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition Conference at the Sheraton Hotel in Chicago which was held between June 26th – July 1st 2004 in Chicago.

My research comes up with some more interesting information about what was going on outside the conference…demonstrations by ministers, specifically Rev. Anthony Williams, against Jesse Jackson, who was called “the worst nightmare” for the black community and threats against the Democratic Party and candidate John Kerry by protestors in what seems to be an eerie preview of the Reverend Wright episode this primary season. More on this later…

The entire agenda of the conference is available in a press release issued by Rainbow/Push. The press release was entitled 2004 Annual Conference: Politics, Business, Education, Hip-Hop Take Center Stage.

BILL CLINTON, JOHN KERRY, BILL COSBY, DICK GEPHARDT, HOWARD DEAN, BARACK OBAMA HIGHLIGHT ANNUAL RAINBOW/PUSH & CEF CONFERENCE CHICAGO (June 16, 2004) – Former president and current author Bill Clinton, Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry, entertainer/educator Bill Cosby, former presidential candidate and Vermont Governor Howard Dean, Missouri Congressman Dick Gephardt, Chicago Stock Exchange Chairman Valerie Jarrett; Harvard Law School professor Charles Ogletree, Ohio Congressman Dennis Kucinich, California Congresswoman Barbara Lee, Democratic senatorial candidate Barack Obama and Starbucks Chairman and Chief Global Strategist Howard Schultz are among the dozens of newsmakers scheduled to attend the 33rd Annual Rainbow/PUSH Coalition and Citizenship Education Fund Conference, June 26 – July 1, 2004, at the Sheraton Chicago Hotel & Towers.This year’s conference, 2004: A Year of Critical Choices For Inclusion and Growth, has extra significance as this presidential election year marks the 20th anniversary of Rev. Jesse L. Jackson, Sr.’s historic run for the presidency of the United States. His 1984 campaign was the first serious bid by an African-American for the nation’s highest office.

In celebration of this anniversary, the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition hosts a day of festivities on Saturday, June 26, known as Reunion Day. The event, which will be held at the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition headquarters at 930 E. 50th St., Chicago, will bring together the many politicians, political organizers, campaign workers, ministers, educators, students, factory workers, journalists, Midwestern farmers, Appalachian coal miners and other supporters who worked on the 1984 and 1988 campaigns.

“On this day, we will reach back as far as we can go,” Rev. Jackson said as he and Rainbow/PUSH Coalition officials look forward to seeing some of the old warriors, whom he describes as the “roots” of the movement. “Most of today’s young politicians don’t know these people. Many of them who started with us are aging and they are not here, but their children and their political offspring are active.

“One reason Jesse Jr. won his congressional seat is because his opponents did not know how deep people’s gratitude was for our work. “All of these people, and their children and even their children’s children, voted for him.”

“For all of us,” Rev. Jackson added, “Reunion Day is about tapping the strength of our roots, about looking deep and wide to know who we are. This event is one way of keeping our roots watered.”

Many of the elected officials and people gathering for Reunion Day will remain in Chicago on Sunday, June 27, for the convention’s Leadership Summit Day. Guests scheduled to attend the summit include former presidential candidate and Vermont governor Howard Dean, Senator John Edwards (D-N.C.) Ohio Congressman Dennis Kucinich, California Congresswoman Barbara Lee, Florida Congresswoman Corrine Brown; Congressman Jesse Jackson, Jr., Democratic senatorial candidate Barack Obama, and many current and former lawmakers at state and federal levels.

Isn’t it interesting that in 2004, Jackson’s 1984 run was described as the first “serious” run for the Presidency by a black candidate? And yet, in 2008, we’re hearing that Bill Clinton is a racist for citing Jackson’s campaigns and Obama is being referred to as the first “serious” black candidate? But, a story from the Chicago Tribune reporting on the conference’s Reunion Day includes the following background. (Jackson, Fans Reflect on Legacy of ’84, ’88 bids. Note: Original story in fee archives, excerpt from copy of the story found at FreeRepublic [shudder!])

Asked last week if he ever thought he’d win, Jackson answered: “I was running to register people, running to enlighten people and running to learn.”

At that he succeeded, he said.

The 1984 campaign alone registered 1 million new voters, according to Rainbow/PUSH. In 1988, the campaign registered 2 million new voters…

As for enlightening people, Jackson said, his bid stretched voters’ notion of the electable.

“When I ran in ’84, it was like an absurd idea. It was just crazy. Scholars were writing articles,” he said. Jackson won 3.5 million votes in 1984 and did better in 1988, emerging from the Democratic primaries and caucuses with 7 million votes.

That sounds like a pretty “real” candidate to me…

***

Now, what else happened at the conference?

According to the agenda provided in the press release, there was what seems to have been a “Women’s Luncheon” which was held on Monday, June 28, 2004 from noon to 2 pm. Jesse Jackson was the keynote speaker at the event. I cannot find any other event specifically for women on the agenda. And there is no specific mention of Louis Farrakhan being in attendance at this event.

Just before this luncheon, however, there was a meeting from 8 am to 10 am focusing on the “religious community.”

Monday, June 28

Focus: The Church and the Marketplace
Sessions on finance, health, issues in the religious community and related topics will be held throughout the day. Rev. Major Jemison, president of the Progressive National Baptist Convention, gives the keynote address. Rev. Stephen J. Thurston, president of the National Baptist Convention of America, presides. 8:00 a.m. – 10:00 a.m.

I cannot identify which event Michelle Obama or Farrakhan attended…did they attend the main meeting, the luncheon, or both? Or was there another event which they attended other then the ones I’ve mentioned?

***

Bill Clinton and Bill Cosby participated on the last day of the event:

After four days of specialized meetings and events, the conference concludes on Thursday, July 1, with a stellar lineup of participants, including former President and current author Bill Clinton, Bill Cosby, Charles Ogletree and celebrity judge Greg Mathis, who will discuss critical issues in education.

***

The protest against Jackson coincided with John Kerry’s speech on Tuesday, June 29th in a session attended by many from the labor movement. As reported by Cyber News Service. (NOTE: Rev. Anthony Williams, a member of the Libertarian party as described in the “Why Anthony” section, announced in 2006 that he planned to run against Jesse Jackson, Jr. om 2008–his website from 2006 is here, with a full biography. He makes a special appeal to young voters in the “Issues” section and the section “Republican Party” provides information for donating to his campaign.Williams actually ran in 2006, but lost to Jackson. He was part of a group of Conservative black leaders who, in 2005, who condemned “Democrats for what they view as an “act of racism” for illegally obtaining the credit report of Maryland Lt. Gov. Michael S. Steele, a black Republican believed to be ready to launch a campaign for the U.S. Senate.)

Protestors Call Jesse Jackson ‘Worst Nightmare’ for Black Community
By Marc Morano
CNSNews.com Senior Staff Writer
June 30, 2004

Chicago (CNSNews.com) – As Democrat John F. Kerry addressed Jesse Jackson’s 33rd annual Rainbow/PUSH Coalition Conference on Tuesday, about 100 African-American religious and community leaders gathered on a sidewalk outside the conference to protest Jackson for being the black community’s “worst nightmare.”

“Jesse is an immoral person. He has a history of being on the wrong side of history,” said Pastor Anthony Williams of Chicago’s St. Stephens Lutheran Church.

“The media — the American media — has invented our worst nightmare in the black community. He has never done anything beneficial for our people,” Williams told CNSNews.com.

“We are letting the Democratic Party know — from a state, county and federal level — that the black vote is not for sale. I will vote for Mickey Mouse before I vote for John Kerry,” Williams added.

The protestors chanted and carried signs that read “Jesse does not speak for black people” and “America’s number-one pimp selling the black vote.”

Williams does not believe that black voters’ overwhelming support for the Democratic Party has proven beneficial to minorities.

“The African American community has historically got nothing (from supporting the Democratic Party) — a precious few has gotten something like these old civil rights organizations and people like Jesse,” Williams said.

“We have been taken for granted because of people like Jesse. His day is over with,” he added.

(snip)

The protestors said Jackson does not represent black America.

“We want the Democratic Party to know that we will no longer be taken for granted, we will no longer just give our vote to them. We will no longer allow Jesse to pigeonhole the black community into a vote for them,” Davis said.

(snip)

But protestor Williams was not persuaded that blacks have no other option except to vote for the Democratic Party.

I say, ‘Guess what? We can go fishing on Election Day, and let’s see what is going to happen to Mr. Kerry then,” Williams said. “I will just encourage my congregation of 3000 people to go fishing.”

Harold Davis said he was willing to give Bush and the GOP a chance to compete for his vote.

“Let’s see what the Republican Party has to say about pulling yourself up by your own boot straps. Let’s give them the opportunity to come to the talk,” Davis said.

Wow. Doesn’t a lot of this sound real familiar?? Seems like the Democratic Party has been sitting on this volcano since 2004. And Williams’ was calling Democrats racists in 2005. Doesn’t all this this sound like the Democratic Party has been held HOSTAGE and that 2008 is all about appeasement?? (With just window-dressing with “image” and no real action on real concerns?) Is this what is at the top of the agenda for Democrats??

***

Also, link to full coverage of the conference in JET magazine, July 26, 2004