Racially Motivated Blacks Assault White Student

So, who here still thinks that blacks cannot be racist?

From the St. Louis Post-Dispatch

A Belleville (Illinois) West High School student was beaten aboard a bus on the way to school Monday, and a police spokesman said the beating could be racially motivated. The 17-year-old victim was white and the teen assailants were black. Police released a video of the beating, which shows the victim being punched repeatedly while other students on the bus gather to watch, some cheering. It doesn’t appear that the victim did anything to provoke an attack and tried only to defend himself. Police said it all unfolded in a five-minute span. The victim was trying to find a seat and was told by two students he could not sit next to them, police said. When he did sit down, one teen tried to push him out of his seat then began grabbing the victim’s neck and punching him in the face. The victim eventually returned to his seat, but another student began taunting him a few minutes later. The victim was then struck in the face. … “In my estimation, it’s racially motivated,” said Capt. Don Sax of the Belleville Police Department. He said one reason he had formed this opinion was that many of the students, most of whom were black, yelled their support for the beating. “There was absolutely no justification for the beating either time,” Sax said.

Of course, Big Media will not report this because it was a white victim with black attackers rather than a black victim with white attackers. But this is one of the reasons why we have an Internet and a blogosphere.

You can see a video of the attack on-line here:

Video Of Blacks Beating A White Student

And you can access the complete story on-line here:

Tape Shows Beating On Bus Of Belleville West Student
Leah Thorsen
St. Louis Post-Dispatch via St. Louis Today
September 15, 2009

Excellent On-Line Essay: Blue-State Bailout Blues

By Jay Henderson over at American Sentinel.

So, which states are the first in line to ask for federal bailouts? Those states with the largest entitlement spending programs. They are New York, California, Massachusetts, New Jersey and Illinois.

From Jay’s on-line essay:

There is a dangerous tipping point in politics. When 50.1% of the voters pay no taxes but expect and rely on “entitlements” from the government, then they will tax to infinity the remaining 49.9% of the polity. The Blue States now begging for bailouts give us a good look at what happens as that tipping point approaches. The rush for Federal bailout bucks began in November, led by California and New York. In early January, Democratic governors from Wisconsin, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York and Ohio pitched their case to the Obama transition team, proposing a $1 trillion bailout of state governments. The needy Blue States of Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, Illinois and California provided 134 Obama electoral votes last November – – more than half of his total. Other states on the bailout list include Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin, 47 more Democratic electoral votes. The political pressure on the Obama administration is obvious.

Your tax dollars, money you need to take care of your own family, are going to go for paying off political allies and propping up socialist entitlement programs that are destined to bankrupt those who fund them, no matter how many ways they are taxed.

But of interesting note here is that those states are also among the wealthiest in terms of per capita income:

Ironically, the governors travelling to Washington with begging bowls represent some of the wealthiest states in the U.S. Measured in terms of per capita income, they include New Jersey (ranked number 2), Massachusetts (ranked number 3), New York (number 4), California (number 7), and Illinois (number 16), as of 2007 statistics. Per Capita Personal Income By State. How can this be? Well, these same states are at the forefront of “entitlement” spending and social engineering projects.

Finally:

While Red State America, sustained by blue collar, working class, and small business taxpayers, is called upon to bail out the wealthy but profligate Blues – – the Congressional Democrats and the Obama Administration are planning to expand or adopt the same kinds of “entitlement” spending programs and social engineering projects that are breaking the backs of Blue State taxpayers. Because they work so well, right? This is a chilling insight into our national future – – if we don’t derail the Obamacrat train.

So, who is going to bailout the small businesses, blue-collar workers and the working class when the U.S. government bankrupts itself by wasting trillions of dollars on the same foolish programs that bankrupted the states that are looking for bailout dollars?

You can access the complete article on-line here:

Blue-State Bailout Blues
Jay Henderson
American Sentinel
February 4, 2009

Other links here:

Next Federal Bailout May Go To States; Democratic Governors Seek $1 Trillion
FoxNews.com
January 3, 2009

Facing Shortfalls, States Seek Emergency Aid From Washington
Keith B. Richburg and Ashley Surdin
Washington Post
November 16, 2008

Local Zeroes: Cities And States Are Facing Big Budget Deficits
The Economist
November 13, 2008

John Fund: Obama Was Mute On Illinois Corruption; Who Is The “Specifically Named Individual?”

I am not sure if Patrick Fitzgerald meant for it to happen, but as more people research the criminal complaint against Rod Blagojevich, more tidbits of information come out, many of which were unexpected and quite possibly deeply embarrassing to those who would like to appear as if they weren’t involved in anything.

John Fund doesn’t directly say this, but his column in the Wall Street Journal sets up the scenario for just such a story. From his column:

This week Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich was arrested on charges that he conspired to sell Barack Obama’s U.S. Senate seat, among other misdeeds. At first the president-elect tried to distance himself from the issue: “It is a sad day for Illinois. Beyond that, I don’t think it’s appropriate for me to comment.” But it quickly became clear that Mr. Obama would have to say more, and yesterday he called for Mr. Blagojevich to resign and for a special election to fill the vacant Senate seat. What remains to be seen is whether this episode will put an end to what Chicago Tribune political columnist John Kass calls the national media’s “almost willful” fantasy that Mr. Obama and Chicago’s political culture have little to do with each other. Mr. Kass notes that the media devoted a lot more time and energy to investigating the inner workings of Sarah Palin’s Wasilla, Alaska, than it has looking at Mr. Obama’s Chicago connections.

We all knew that the leftist-leaning media was in the tank for Obama. What the media didn’t know was how badly it would all explode on them if something like the Blagojevich scandal came up. Now, the media looks at least as silly as Blagojevich does since they can no longer claim to be the “watchdogs of government.” If I had watchdogs who were so incompetent as to miss this, I’d have them put down and get new watchdogs. If the media had done their job during the 2008 campaign, we’d have known about the corruption in Illinois long before any of this happened.

More:

Mr. Obama has an ambiguous reputation among those trying to clean up Illinois politics. “We have a sick political culture, and that’s the environment Barack Obama came from,” Jay Stewart, executive director of the Chicago Better Government Association, told ABC News months ago. Though Mr. Obama did support ethics reforms as a state senator, Mr. Stewart noted that he’s “been noticeably silent on the issue of corruption here in his home state including, at this point, mostly Democratic politicians.”

Yes, it is that Democratic Culture of Corruption that the Democrats refuse to clean up. The hypocrisy of the Dem party is staggering.

But this also sets up a new story that comes from the criminal complaint filed by the FBI against Rod Blagojevich. Section 101 of the complaint states:

b. ROD BLAGOJEVICH asked what he can get from the President-elect for the Senate seat. ROD BLAGOJEVICH stated that Governor General Counsel believes the President-elect can get ROD BLAGOJEVICH’s wife on paid corporate boards in exchange for naming the President-elect’s pick to the Senate. Governor General Counsel asked, “can [the President-elect] help in the private sector. . . where it wouldn’t be tied to him? . . . I mean, so it wouldn’t necessarily look like one for the other.” ROD BLAGOJEVICH’s wife suggested during the call that she is qualified to sit on corporate boards and has a background in real estate and appraisals. ROD BLAGOJEVICH asked whether there is something that could be done with his wife’s “series 7″ license in terms of working out a deal for the Senate seat. ROD BLAGOJEVICH stated that he is “struggling” financially and does “not want to be Governor for the next two years.” c. ROD BLAGOJEVICH said that the consultants (Advisor B and another consultant are believed to be on the call at that time) are telling him that he has to “suck it up” for two years and do nothing and give this “motherf*cker [the President-elect] his senator. F*ck him. For nothing? F*ck him.” ROD BLAGOJEVICH states that he will put “[Senate Candidate 4]” in the Senate “before I just give f*cking [Senate Candidate 1] a f*cking Senate seat and I don’t get anything.” (Senate Candidate 4 is a Deputy Governor of the State of Illinois). ROD BLAGOJEVICH stated that he needs to find a way to take the “financial stress” off of his family and that his wife is as qualified or more qualified than another specifically named individual to sit on corporate boards. According to ROD BLAGOJEVICH, “the immediate challenge [is] how do we take some of the financial pressure off of our family.” Later in the phone call, ROD BLAGOJEVICH stated that absent getting something back, ROD BLAGOJEVICH will not pick Senate Candidate 1. HARRIS re-stated ROD BLAGOJEVICH’s thoughts that they should ask the President-elect for something for ROD BLAGOJEVICH’s financial security as well as maintain his political viability. HARRIS said they could work out a three-way deal with SEIU and the President-elect where SEIU could help the President-elect with ROD BLAGOJEVICH’s appointment of Senate Candidate 1 to the vacant Senate seat, ROD BLAGOJEVICH would obtain a position as the National Director of the Change to Win campaign, and SEIU would get something favorable from the President-elect in the future.

Well, who are these people?

Senate Candidate #1 is Valerie Jarrett, an Obama advisor who also served as Daley’s Chief of Staff. Jarrett is very close to the Obamas.

Senate Candidate #4 is either Dean Martinez, Bob Greenlee or Louanner Peters, all of whom are Deputy Governors of Illinois.

Who is the “specifically named individual?” That answer comes from Truthteller at No Quarter Blog.

It is Michelle Obama, the soon-to-be First Lady of the United States of America.

No Quarter notes that Michelle “was appointed to to the Board of TreeHouse Foods, a WAL-MART vendor, on June 25, 2005, even though she did not have experience in the private sector previous to the appointment.” A link to that news story is here:

Michelle Obama’s Ties To Wal-Mart Cut
Lynn Sweet
Chicago Sun-Times
May 23, 2007

Those ties were cut in 1987 due to Wal-Mart’s ongoing conflict with organized labor and the Obama campaign didn’t want the conflict of interest. But even so, Michelle got quite a bit of cash out of the deal. According to the above article, compensation was “$51,200 from TreeHouse in 2006. She leaves the board with an option to buy 2,266 TreeHouse shares at a strike price of $29.65. Shares closed at $28.10 Tuesday.”

So, why is this relevent? No Quarter quotes Section 87 of the criminal complaint:

87. By law, after the President-elect’s resignation of his position as a U.S. Senator, which was effective on November 16, 2008, ROD BLAGOJEVICH has sole authority to appoint his replacement for the two years remaining of the President-elect’s Senate term. See 10 ILCS 5/25-8. During the course of this investigation, agents have intercepted a series of communications regarding the efforts of ROD BLAGOJEVICH, JOHN HARRIS, and others to misuse this power to obtain personal gain, including financial gain, for ROD BLAGOJEVICH and his family. In particular, ROD BLAGOJEVICH has been intercepted conspiring to trade the senate seat for particular positions that the President-elect has the power to appoint (e.g. the Secretary of Health and Human Services). ROD BLAGOJEVICH has also been intercepted conspiring to sell the Senate seat in exchange for his wife’s placement on paid corporate boards or ROD BLAGOJEVICH’s placement at a private foundation in a significant position with a substantial salary. ROD BLAGOJEVICH has also been intercepted conspiring to sell the Senate seat in exchange for millions of dollars in funding for a non-profit organization that he would start and that would employ him at a substantial salary after he left the governorship.

No Quarter goes on to say:

Blagojevich, in other words, assumed Obama would appoint his wife to a Board for the political favor of selecting Valerie Jarrett for the Senate seat. Blagojevich is not a stupid man. Indeed, he only assumed Obama would participate in this “pay to play” scheme, for he knows Obama is acutely aware how the game is played in Illinois and in Chicago. This explains why Blagojevich mentions Michelle Obama and her lack of qualifications to serve on the Board of TreeHouse Foods when he discusses how Obama could appoint Mrs. Blagojevich to a Board for the political favor of appointing Jarrett to the US Senate seat. Michelle, after all, was appointed to sit on the Board of TreeHouse foods AFTER Obama was elected to the US Senate. Moreover, Michelle Obama’s salary at The University of Chicago nearly TRIPLED after her husband gained the power to submit earmark requests on her employer’s behalf. Just appoint the spouse to a Board and increase his or her salary if you need a political favor from an Illinois politician. That is how the “play to pay” game is played.

Now, this in no way says that Michelle Obama is involved in the Blagojevich scandal. But it does show how scandals like this can bring certain facts and information to light that the people involved do not necessarily want brought out. Michelle Obama’s high-paid employment at jobs for which she had no experience is a prime example of such information.

I am sure that Barack Obama would have preferred that this remain covered and hence his desire to remain “mute,” because now it puts his wife and her business affairs into a spotlight that cannot be turned off. If something comes up from Michelle’s past to haunt them, it is not something that either one of them can claim they had no knowledge of.

You can access the two articles on-line here:

John Fund: Obama Was Mute On Illinois Corruption
John Fund
The Wall Street Journal
December 11, 2008

Michelle Obama Is The “Specifically Named Individual” On Page 64 Of The Affidavit Submitted By FBI
No Quarter Blog
December 9, 2008

Obama Met With Blagojevich On November 5th And Senate Candidate #5 Is Jesse Jackson Jr.

God I love the Internet! How quickly and easily information comes out about the hot topics of the day! Here we are, just one day after Rod Blagojevich got arrested for his Chicago-style corruption, we’ve got an ID on one of the players.

We also have information that Barack Obama was indeed “in contact” with Blagojevich about who would take the vacated Senate seat.

According to a November 5th story by Carol Sowers of KHQA Channel 7:

Now that Barack Obama will be moving to the White House, his seat in the U.S. Senate representing Illinois will have to be filled. That’s one of Obama’s first priorities today. He’s meeting with Governor Rod Blagojevich this afternoon in Chicago to discuss it. Illinois law states that the governor chooses that replacement. There’s already been speculation about his selection…from Congressman Jesse Jackson, Jr. of Chicago’s south side who co-chaired Obama’s presidential campaign, to recently-retired state senate president Emil Jones, to the governor himself.

So, Obama’s comment about not being in contact with Blagojevich doesn’t seem entirely truthful anymore and it is becoming clear that David Axelrod did not “mis-speak” during an interview with ABC about Obama having talked with Blagojevich.

And we know who Candidate #5 is. Jesse Jackson Jr., one of Obama’s earliest supporters. Candidate #5 does not look good in the criminal complaint filed against Blagojevich by Patrick Fitzgerald.

“In a recorded conversation on October 31, 2008, Rod Blagojevich described an earlier approach by an associate of Senate Candidate Five as follows: ‘We were approached “pay to play.” That, you know, he’d raise me 500 grand. An emissary came. Then the other guy would raise a million, if I made him (Senate Candidate 5) a senator.”

According to the affidavit, it looks like Senate Candidate #5 was willing to pay $1 million for the Senate seat and Blagojevich was seriously considering it.

You can access both complete articles on-line here:

Ill. Governor Meeting With Obama Today (Story has been removed)
Carol Sowers
KHQA
November 5, 2008

Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. Is ‘Senate Candidate 5’ In Blagojevich Criminal Complaint
Chris Fusco, Tim Novak and Natasha Korecki
Chicago Sun-Times
December 10, 2008

UPDATE: Apparently, the Carol Sowers story from connecttristates.com has been removed. However, the story was linked by several other websites inculding the politico.com, Gateway Pundit and others. Here is a screenshot of the webpage before it got removed:

Here is the Press Release from the Illinois Government News Network that confirms the November 5th meeting:

Governor Blagojevich Congratulates President-Elect Obama And Discusses U.S. Senate Seat
IGNN
November 5, 2008

So, Who’s Corrupt Now?

It isn’t just pundits on the right who are asking this question and pointing out the obvious. Even the leftist-leaning MSNBC has now acknowledged that the Blagojevich scandal may have opened up some flood gates that cannot be easily closed.

In a “First thoughts” editorial, Chuck Todd, Mark Murray, Domenico Montanaro, and Carrie Dann look at some major points of the issue:

*** So who’s corrupt now? Since his election last month, Obama and his team have masterfully choreographed every cabinet announcement, press conference, and meeting for maximum effect — until yesterday, that is. On a day when the agenda was a meeting with Al Gore on energy and climate change, all hell broke lose after Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich (D) was arrested for allegedly offering Obama’s Senate seat for some kind of payment in return. It didn’t tell us anything new about Blagojevich (he had been straddling the ethical line for some time), or Illinois politics (Blago could become the state’s fourth governor in 40 years to go to prison), or even Obama (who is in no way implicated in the government’s report). But it does begin to advance a GOP argument that the Democrats — who campaigned against a Republican “culture of corruption” — are no longer so innocent themselves. Are the ethical and legal issues that have recently dogged some Democrats (William Jefferson, Tim Mahoney, Charlie Rangel) beginning to approach what we saw in the last few years from Republicans (Larry Craig, Duke Cunningham, Mark Foley, Bob Ney, Don Sherwood, Ted Stevens, etc.)? And while the term “culture of corruption” gets thrown around a lot, the fact is that a state possibly having four governors go to prison in 40 years is most definitely a culture of corruption. … *** The impact on Obama: As for the scandal’s impact on Obama, no doubt that it will be embarrassing for him and his incoming administration, even though the president-elect isn’t implicated here (in fact, the affidavit makes it crystal clear that Obama and his team weren’t willing to play ball). We’re probably going to see a top Obama aide — Rahm Emanuel, Valerie Jarrett? — on tape with Blagojevich. And that shouldn’t be too surprising (after all, why wouldn’t you return your governor’s phone calls in this post-election period?) But Obama also didn’t help himself with his initial comment yesterday on the matter. Unlike other Illinois Democrats, he didn’t condemn Blagojevich’s actions, if true. Instead, he said he was “saddened and sobered” by the news, adding that it wasn’t appropriate to comment on the issue. But then he later did comment, saying, “I had no contact with the governor or his office and so we were not, I was not aware of what was happening.” Yet that contradicted an interview last month by Obama adviser David Axelrod, who said that Obama had spoken with Blagojevich about the vacancy. Axelrod issued a statement last night saying that he was “mistaken” in that interview. Team Obama’s initial response yesterday to the scandal seemed par for the course: During his two years on the campaign trail, Obama often swung and missed on his initial statement regarding a controversy — Bitter-gate and Jeremiah Wright come immediately to mind — before finding a better response 24 to 48 hours later. … *** Why didn’t Dems do something earlier? Republicans have themselves a talking point they will constantly throw in Obama’s face (and Rahm’s and Axe’s), simply because they are all Chicago pols. This means Obama will always have to look more transparent than usual and, well, less Chicago-y. The one criticism, by the way, that really could stick to the entire Illinois Democratic political establishment: passivity. It was a running joke for years that Blago had a corrupt side, so why didn’t more Democrats step up. Sure, politics is politics, and sometimes you have stand by folks who you THINK are corrupt but you can’t prove it since no one wants to sound like Joe McCarthy. Still, the passivity here is something that will likely tug at many Illinois Democrats. Could they have done something sooner?

MSNBC, an outfit that tried everything in its power to hide vital information about Barack Obama during the campaign, is being forced into reporting the contradictions of people like David Axelrod. Even now they are trying to shield Obama and in this editorial made the claim that “the affidavit makes it crystal clear that Obama and his team weren’t willing to play ball.” That’s not entirely true. There were several references in the affidavit that suggest Obama aids were in some sort of negotiation with Blagojevich. Section 107 notes specifically that an option involving “Change to Win” would not have Obama’s “fingerprints” all over it. If there were no involvement by the Obama team, why would anyone be worrying about “fingerprints” of Obama’s involvement?

Those are the three major points so far. I am sure that as more information comes to light and we learn the names of people like “Advisor A” and so forth, that the major points will change or simply be magnified into larger issues.

But the part about “Obama will always have to look more transparent than usual and, well, less Chicago-y” is absolutely true. He is under a microscope now, moreso than ever.

You can access the complete article on-line here:

First Thoughts: So Who’s Corrupt Now?
Chuck Todd, Mark Murray, Domenico Montanaro, and Carrie Dann
MSNBC.com
December 10, 2008

Obama Claims: “I Had No Contact With Blagojevich Over Vacated Senate Seat”

There was a short news blurb about this. It obviously came from a press release. However, this may turn out to be Obama’s first “untruth” of his administration. Why would I say this? Read the following excerpt from the criminal complaint against Blagojevich:

107. On November 12, 2008, ROD BLAGOJEVICH talked with Advisor B. ROD BLAGOJEVICH discussed with Advisor B his idea for a 501(c)(4) organization. Advisor B stated that he likes the idea, but liked the Change to Win option better because, according to Advisor B, from the President-elect’s perspective, there would be fewer “fingerprints” on the President-elect’s involvement with Change to Win because Change to Win already has an existing stream of revenue and, therefore, “you won’t have stories in four years that they bought you off.” ROD BLAGOJEVICH said that he likes the 501(c)(4) idea because he knows it will be there in two years when he is no longer Governor, whereas Change to Win might not be.

Why would anyone be concerned about the President-elect’s “fingerprints” if there were no involvement to worry about? We need to know who Advisor B is and exactly how much Obama knew about this whole thing.

Further, David Alexrod gave an interview in which he was asked “who the Governor might pick to take Obama’s senate seat.” According to The Hill:

Despite Obama’s insistence that he has had no contact with Blagojevich about who might fill his open Senate seat, ABC News reported Tuesday that in late November, Obama senior adviser David Axelrod said he knew Obama had “talked to the governor and there are a whole range of names, many of which have surfaced, and I think he has a fondness for a lot of them.”

Clearly, Obama was in some sort of contact with Blagojevich. We must know those names and how deeply Obama was involved.

You can access the Fox News blurb on-line here:

Obama: I Had No Contact With Blagojevich Over Vacated Senate Seat
FoxNews.com
December 9, 2008

You can access the story from The Hill on-line here:

RNC: Obama’s statement on Blagojevich ‘insufficient’
Sam Youngman
The Hill
December 9, 2008

And the criminal complaint is available on-line here:

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA vs. ROD R. BLAGOJEVICH, and JOHN HARRIS
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
NORTHERN DISTRICT OF ILLINOIS, EASTERN DIVISION
December 2008

Three Possible Obama Advisors Involved In Illinois Senate Seat Auction Scandal

Now, this is nowhere near enough to end the Obama administration before it even starts, but it is more than enough to warrant a close watch of Obama and his cabinet by everyone. Obama and his aides, as well as other Democrats, should also keep in the back of their minds now that anytime they try to do something in secret, like craft legislation behind closed doors, it will raise even more serious alarm bells among Joe and Jane Average American than usual.

The Patriot Room has done some research and came up with the following passages from the criminal complaint filed against Rod Blagojevich. Read them thoroughly. It’s not enough to end the Obama Presidency, but it is more than enough to make sure that we pay close attention to everything he does over the next four years.

The excerpts:

By this time, media reports indicated that Senate Candidate 1, an advisor to the President elect, was interested in the Senate seat if it became vacant, and was likely to be supported by the President-elect. During the call, ROD BLAGOJEVICH stated, “unless I get something real good for [Senate Candidate 1], sh*t, I’ll just send myself, you know what I’m saying.” … ROD BLAGOJEVICH asked what he can get from the President-elect for the Senate seat. ROD BLAGOJEVICH stated that Governor General Counsel believes the President-elect can get ROD BLAGOJEVICH’s wife on paid corporate boards in exchange for naming the President-elect’s pick to the Senate. Governor General Counsel asked, “can [the President-elect] help in the private sector. . . where it wouldn’t be tied to him? . . .I mean, so it wouldn’t necessarily look like one for the other.” . . . Thereafter, ROD BLAGOJEVICH discussed whether he could obtain an ambassadorship in exchange for the Senate seat. … ROD BLAGOJEVICH stated that the “trick . . . is how do you conduct indirectly . . . a negotiation” for the Senate seat. Thereafter, ROD BLAGOJEVICH analogized his situation to that of a sports agent shopping a potential free agent to various teams, stating “how much are you offering, [President-elect]? What are you offering, [Senate Candidate 2]? . . . Can always go to. . . [Senate Candidate 3].” Later ROD BLAGOJEVICH stated that he will make a decision on the Senate seat “in good faith . . . but it is not coming for free. . . . It’s got to be good stuff for the people of Illinois and good for me.” ROD BLAGOJEVICH states “[President-elect], you want it? Fine. But, its got to be good or I could always take [the Senate seat].” … Later on November 7, 2008, ROD BLAGOJEVICH discussed the open Senate seat in a three-way call with JOHN HARRIS and Advisor B, a Washington D.C.-based consultant. ROD BLAGOJEVICH indicated in the call that if he was appointed as Secretary of Health and Human Services by the President-elect, then ROD BLAGOJEVICH would appoint Senate Candidate 1 to the open Senate seat. HARRIS stated “we wanted our ask to be reasonable and rather than. . .make it look like some sort of selfish grab for a quid pro quo.” . . . During the call, ROD BLAGOJEVICH, HARRIS, and Advisor B discussed the prospect of working a three-way deal for the open Senate seat. HARRIS noted that ROD BLAGOJEVICH is interested in taking a high-paying position with an organization called “Change to Win,” which is connected to Service Employees International Union (“SEIU”). … Advisor B said that he liked the idea of the three-way deal. ROD BLAGOJEVICH stated that he is interested in making $250,000 to $300,000 and being on some organization boards. Advisor B said they should leverage the President-elect’s desire to have Senate Candidate 1 appointed to the Senate seat in order to get a head position with Change to Win and a salary. Advisor B agreed that the three-way deal would be a better plan than ROD BLAGOJEVICH appointing Senate Candidate 2 to the Senate seat and getting more done as Governor.

While there appears to be no clear evidence as to exactly how involved President-elect Barack Obama is in this whole thing, it is clear that at least three of his advisors are directly involved. The administration is already tainted before anyone even got sworn in. Wasn’t there a requirement to have a clean record in order to work for the Obama administration?

I join the The Patriot Room in demanding to know, by name, who those three advisors are and to know exactly how much the President-elect knew about these proceedings.

You can access the original blog-entry on-line here:

We Need The Names Of These 3 Possible Obama Advisors Who Negotiated With Blagojevich
Bill Dupray
The Patriot Room
December 9, 2008

And you can access the complete criminal complaint on-line here:

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA vs. ROD R. BLAGOJEVICH, and JOHN HARRIS
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
NORTHERN DISTRICT OF ILLINOIS, EASTERN DIVISION
December 2008

Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich: A Surpirse “Fitzmas” Present For The GOP

Over the past year, we’ve been throwing around terms like “Chicago style politics” as they related to Barack Obama and other alumni of the Illinois political machine. Of course, we were referring to people like Tony Rezko, William Ayers and the plethora of people who called into WGN radio to try and shout down any opposition to Obama’s campaign.

Well, we certainly weren’t expecting the nice little “Fitzmas” present we got today. Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich was arrested today for engaging in Chicago style politics. He tried to sell Barack Obama’s vacated U.S. Senate seat for personal gain.

From MSN:

Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich embarked on “political corruption crime spree” and tried to benefit from his ability to appoint President-elect Barack Obama’s replacement in the U.S. Senate, federal officials said Tuesday. At a news conference in Chicago on Tuesday, U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald called it a sad day for the citizens of Illinois and alleged that the governor tried to “auction off” the Senate seat “to the highest bidder”. He said the alleged behavior “would make (Abe) Lincoln roll over in his grave”.

And, Mr. Fitzgerald had to censor quite a bit about the dialogue used during the sales process:

The affidavit quotes Blagojevich telling an adviser later that day that a Senate seat “is a [expletive] valuable thing, you just don’t give it away for nothing.” In a conversation with Harris on November 4, the day of the election, Blagojevich is alleged to have compared his situation to that of a sports agent shopping a potential free agent to the highest bidder. On November 5, Blagojevich allegedly told an adviser, “I’ve got this thing and it’s [expletive] golden, and, uh, uh, I’m just not giving it up for [expletive] nothing. I’m not gonna do it.”

And from ABC News:

On Monday, Gov. Blagojevich spoke about reports that federal investigators had recorded him as part of their corruption probe. Blagojevich said his conversations were “always lawful.” His confidant, John Wyma, reportedly cooperated with the federal agents. “I should say if anybody wants to tape my conversations, go right ahead, feel free to do it,” said Blagojevich on Monday. “I appreciate anybody who wants to tape me openly and notoriously, and those who feel like they want to sneakily, and wear taping devices, I would remind them that it kind of smells like Nixon and Watergate.” Blagojevich fundraiser Tony Rezko awaits sentencing on a federal corruption conviction in which he was charged with shaking down businesses wanting to do state work for campaign contributions. The governor has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing.

This is a huge story that will be talked about for a long time. Some well known players are being mentioned quite frequently including Tony Rezko and President-elect Barack Obama. I’m sure Obama appreciates this kind of attention at the start of his administration.

You can access the complete stories on-line here:

Feds: Ill. Gov Tried To ‘Auction’ Obama’s Seat
MSNBC News
NBC News’ Pete Williams, The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report
December 9, 2008

US Atty: Blagojevich Arrest A “Truly New Low”
WLS-TV/DT
December 9, 2008

More On The Video Of A Planned Parenthood Nurse Caught Covering Up A Case Of Statutory Rape

To recap, you can access the video on-line here:

Planned Parenthood Conceals Abuse Of 13-Year-Old
Mone Lisa Project
Eyeblast.tv
December 3, 2008

Writing for the Washington Times, Victor Morton has some more information about the video, how it was produced and what the various responses have been:

Planned Parenthood of Indiana has suspended a nurse after the release of an undercover videotape showing her coaching a supposed 13-year-old on how to duck Indiana’s laws about parental consent on abortion and the reporting of child sex abuse. The videotape shows Lila Rose, the president of a university pro-life group and a brunette, posing as a blond 13-year-old girl named “Brianna” and telling the Planned Parenthood nurse at the clinic in Bloomington, Ind., that she is pregnant by a 31-year-old man. … The nurse, who is referred to on the video as “Diana” but whose face has been blurred, knew neither that the session was being taped nor that “Brianna” really was Miss Rose, a 20-year-old pro-life activist at the University of California at Los Angeles. Miss Rose told The Washington Times on Thursday that this footage is only part of an ongoing project with many examples of such conduct. Her group and other student pro-lifers have released tapes of similar counseling. Indiana is not one of 12 states that restricts or prohibits surreptitious taping.

Lila Rose is certainly one courageous and resourceful young lady. Her efforts at exposing Planned Parenthood for what it really is are among the most admirable journalistic endeavors I have seen in a long, long time.

More:

Planned Parenthood of Indiana quickly suspended “Diana” without pay on Wednesday and vowed an investigation. “We are deeply concerned about the content of the video. … The apparent actions of the employee would be in violation of our strict policies and procedures,” Betty Cockrum, the state chapter’s president, said in a statement. “A thorough internal investigation of this matter has begun. … Further disciplinary action will be taken if warranted by the investigation.”

I, for one, find it very hard to believe that Planned Parenthood didn’t already know this was happening. I mean, this is the same organization that is selling gift certificates so that women can celebrate Christmas by killing their unborn children.

This response is a little more disturbing:

Indiana law requires health care providers and others to report a sexual act between an adult and a person younger than 14 to law enforcement or the Department of Child Protective Services. Not reporting such an act is a misdemeanor punishable under state law by a maximum of 180 days in jail and a $1,000 fine. A city spokesman said Thursday that the Bloomington City Police is not investigating the clinic or the nurse for suspicions of violating the statutory-rape notification law, but is beefing up security around the facility to protect it from any backlash. “There’s no investigation taking place, but they have stepped up patrols around the area,” said Danny Lopez, communications director for the city of Bloomington. Patrols have been stepped up in case anybody has a strong reaction to the situation, but he said there have been no problems.

You read that right. The police are not investigating Planned Parenthood for violating the law or for attempting to cover-up a case of statutory rape. They are protecting the abortion clinic.

That makes no sense whatsoever. Given the fact that there have been no problems with security at the clinic, why not investigate this clinic and all Planned Parenthood clinics since they have more than enough probable cause to do so and would be acting in good faith? To do otherwise is an admission that they are willing to look the other way whenever a young girl is raped.

But, I really like what the Mona Lisa Project has been doing and all of the corruption they’ve uncovered about pro-abortion groups:

The Mona Lisa Project, she added in a statement, “demonstrates how quickly the abortion industry’s disrespect for unborn children becomes disregard for all humans. Planned Parenthood offers no solutions for the victim of statutory rape – they give her an abortion and a bag of condoms and sent her straight back into the arms of the abuser.” … This incident also is not the first time surreptitious taping by Miss Rose and other pro-life college students has embarrassed Planned Parenthood. • Last month, Students for Life of America released a video taken over the summer of a college student posing as a 15-year-old girl telling staffers at a Charlotte, N.C., clinic about emergency contraception because of unprotected sex with her mother’s 30-something live-in boyfriend. The Planned Parenthood staffers acknowledge this as statutory rape. Students for Life filed a state Public Records Request that showed that Planned Parenthood never reported anything to authorities. • Last year, Live Action Films students posed as racists to tape phone calls in which several Planned Parenthood chapters accept donations on condition that the money be used to abort blacks. In one call, Autumn Kersey, vice president of marketing for Planned Parenthood of Idaho, is told that the caller has been hurt by affirmative action and “we just think, the less black kids out there the better.” Miss Kersey nervously laughs and says “understandable.” The Idaho chapter later called accepting the money “a serious mistake.” • Also in 2007, Miss Rose videotaped a Planned Parenthood staffer in California telling her, while posing as a 15-year-old pregnant by a 23-year-old boyfriend, to lie about her age so the staffer wouldn’t have to report anything under statutory rape laws. “You could say 16,” the worker helpfully suggests. “Just figure out a birth date that works. And I don’t know anything.” Planned Parenthood responded by threatening a lawsuit over the surreptitious taping.

Not only is Planned Parenthood enabling rapists to prey on young girls, they are apparently racists as well. But that makes sense since one of Margaret Sanger’s original intentions for Planned Parenthood was to eliminate the African-American population.

My hat is off to Lila Rose, the Mona Lisa Project, Live Actions Films and the Students for Life of America. They have taken on an issue that Old Media is diliberately ignoring. Further, they are exposing corruption and criminal activity while Old Media has been trying to hide it.

Lila Rose, may God bless you and your friends who have taken up such a noble cause and fought such an honorable fight.

You can access the complete article on-line here:

Video Captures Abortion Coaching; Worker Ducks Indiana Laws
Victor Morton
The Washington Times
December 5, 2008

Planned Parenthood Caught On Video Covering Up The Rape Of A 13-Year-Old

If there was any question about how dishonorable, dishonest and downright evil Planned Parenthood is, all doubts have been erased thanks to a video released by LiveActionFilms.org. The video was taken as part of an undercover investigation of Planned Parenthood in Indiana.

In the video, you will see and hear a Planned Parenthood nurse coach a 13-year-old girl on how to cover-up her own abuse and then give her instructions on how the girl’s 31-year-old “boyfriend” can take her across state lines without parental knowledge or consent to have an abortion done in Illinois.

Old Media has shown no interest in covering stories like this despite the grave concerns such stories would cause any parent.

You may access the video on-line here:

Planned Parenthood Conceals Abuse Of 13-Year-Old
Eyeblast.tv
December 3, 2008

This leads to many questions that I posed in an earlier post. What if that girl had been taken to Illinois by her “boyfriend” without the parent’s knowledge and something had gone wrong with the procedure? Who gets held responsible? Who would the parent’s hold accountable for whatever happens to their daughter?

Think it can’t happen? Check out this video too:

22-Year-Old Dies In Abortion Clinic
Eyeblast.tv
December 6, 2007

Planned Parenthood clearly doesn’t give a damn about the parents or the fact that they are letting a rapist escape justice. The only thing they care about is killing another unborn child and if it can be done without the knowledge or consent of the girl’s parents, then that’s just bonus for them.

These are the reasons why we need to have parental notification laws and why we need to have abortionists give full disclosure to facilitate informed consent of the procedure. As things stand right now, Planned Parenthood can give a rapist a “get out of jail free” card which means more rapes in the future. And abortionists can get away scott free whenever they kill a young woman which means more deaths in the future.