Sunday, January 6, 2008

Obama, Articulate But Not Squeeky Clean

Yeah, it's been too long since an update or any activity. I fully apologise for that.

Now, down to business.

I've heard reports from various people about how clean and honest Barack Hussein Obama is. I call it a bunch of baloney. Someone somewhere is trying to sell a bridge, and a really big one somewhere. We know all about the Clinton Body Count, and how slick Edwards is (I'll stick to the Democrats as this is their primary), but there seems to be little nationwide knowledge about Antoin "Tony" Rezko and Obama's dealings with him. Obama also seems to avoid questions about why he wants to be president as well. Let's shine a light on a few things, shall we.

Obama closed on a house the day before Rezko purchased a vacant lot next to Obama's house. Let's let the Chicago Tribune tell some more:

In normal circumstances, the two real estate transactions probably wouldn't have raised an eyebrow. There is, after all, nothing illegal or untoward about an aggressive developer buying hot property next door to a rising political star.

Exactly, but there is more to the story. The transactions were anything but normal.

"I told them if you can spare another 5 or 10 feet, I'd be happy to purchase it from you," Obama said. "They came back and said they could sell us up to 10 feet."

Using a standard formula, Obama's appraiser estimated the 1,500-square-foot portion at a market value of $40,500.

But Obama felt it would be fair to pay the Rezkos $104,500, or a sixth of their original $625,000 purchase price, because he was acquiring a sixth of their land. The sale closed in January 2006.

But why did Obama feel the need to pay far more than the land was worth. About $60,000 more?

Let's delve a bit deeper. It turns out that Obama's ex-boss is one of Rezko's partners. This is from the Chicago Sun-Times:

When Barack Obama took a job at a small Chicago law firm in 1993, the first name on the door of the firm was Allison S. Davis.

Five years later, having left his Davis Miner Barnhill & Galland firm, Davis invested in Antoin "Tony'' Rezko's final government-subsidized, low-income housing project, state records show, in a deal handled by Davis' former law firm.

Davis and Rezko also went into business together, building upscale homes in the booming Kenwood neighborhood where Davis lives. The legal work on those deals was also done by Davis' former law firm, where Obama was working.

And Obama was working at Davis's law firm at the time, and knew very well who Rezko was. And there's another connection to the Illinois Politicial Mafia (maybe that's derogatory toward the mafia):

Four years ago, Blagojevich appointed Davis to the Illinois State Board of Investment, which controls state pension funds -- one of a series of appointments the governor made at Rezko's request.

Wait a minute, appointments made by Blago at Rezko's request? Hold the phone! Blago's already suspected to be "Official A" for his own corruption in the state.

A court document filed by federal prosecutors just before Christmas claims Blagojevich boasted to a key government witness about awarding contracts and other work to boost campaign fundraising.

The document was filed in the criminal case of Antoin “Tony” Rezko, one Blagojevich’s top fundraisers, who is scheduled to go on trial in February. Rezko is charged in a fraud scheme that included shaking down companies that wanted state business.

Blagojevich isn’t named in the document, which refers to “Public Official A.” Attorneys who have asked not to be quoted by name due to grand jury secrecy have said Blagojevich was Public Official A.

-Bloomington Normal Pantagraph

Patrick Fitgerald has been very careful in his attempts to corner the Blago administration and indict the guilty. The guilty, which I feel, extends to the governor, Mayor Daley, Alexi Giannoulias(state tresurer), and many more. Rezko was one of Blago's top fundrasiers, as well as involved in dealings with Obama. So, how well did Obama know Rezko? Newsmax.com gives us a hint of it:

Sixteen years ago, Chicago businessman Antoin "Tony" Rezko tried to hire bright young Harvard law student Barack Obama to work in his real estate development company.

Obama said no, but it was the start of a political friendship.

Rezko contributed thousands of dollars and raised thousands more as Obama ran for the Illinois legislature, the U.S. House and the U.S. Senate. He was even involved in Obama's purchase of a family home.

So did Obama keep his distance from Rezko?

While Obama turned down Rezko's offer of a job back in 1991, he ended up in a group of real estate deals involving the developer anyway.

The answer is a resounding no.

In Illinois, nothing seems to happen without being connected to something else. To be honest, Blago, Daley, Todd Stroger, William Beavers, and Obama are all Chicago Democrats. Being as such, they come from the same politicial machine, that famous Chicago Democratic Machine. They practice typical Machine politics as well, with all the bells, whistles, and corruption that goes with it. So why would the Machine decide they want a candidate for president? After all, they have their own fiefdom in Cook County and now across the state of Illinois. Why the presidency as well?

The answer does not lie in what they can do for America or even the White House. It lies in what they can get rid of in Illinois. Patrick Fitzgerald, the US Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois and the Federal Bureau of Investigations are hot on the trail of the Chicago Machine and its corruption. They have sent former Illinois governor George Ryan to prison for his own kickback scheme, Licenses for Bribes. And they have indicted people involved in the Daley admninstration in Operation Silver Shovel. Patrick Fitzgerald was appointed US Attorney by President George Bush at the suggestion of former Senator Peter Fitzgerald (no relation). The same Peter Fitzgerald who was pushed out by the Republican Party in Illinois.

So what can Obama do as president to Fitzgerald and the FBI? He can fire Fitzgerald as the US Attorney and put a stop to the investigation by the FBI. Removing Fitzgerald from the equation removes a major thorn in the side of the Machine. With Fitzgerald and the FBI gone, they would be free to continue their corruption and free to manipulate the vote in Illinois. They could also cover their tracks better and make the trail of corruption harder for the next prosecutors to follow.

That is why Obama is running for president. It's not the fame, it's not the foreign policy, it's not even for change as he so proudly exclaims. It's all for his politicial buddies and allies in the Chicago Democratic Machine and taking the federal heat off them.