Caroline Kennedy: 9/11, Obama Led Me to Serve | ||
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Caroline Kennedy emerged from weeks of near-silence Friday about her bid for a Senate seat by saying that after a lifetime of closely guarded privacy, she felt compelled to answer the call to service issued by her father a generation ago. She said two events shaped her decision to ask Gov. David Paterson 11 days ago to consider her for the position if Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton is confirmed as secretary of state: the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and her work for Barack Obama's presidential campaign. In her first sit-down interview since she emerged as a Senate hopeful, the 51-year-old daughter of President John F. Kennedy cited her father's legacy in explaining her decision to seek to serve alongside her uncle Massachusetts Sen. Edward Kennedy. "Many people remember that spirit that President Kennedy summoned forth," she said. "Many people look to me as somebody who embodies that sense of possibility. I'm not saying that I am anything like him, I'm just saying there's a spirit that I think I've grown up with that is something that means a tremendous amount to me." She also credited her mother, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, with giving her the courage to seek the job. "I think my mother ... made it clear that you have to live life by your own terms and you have to not worry about what other people think and you have to have the courage to do the unexpected," she said. Since Kennedy expressed interest in the job, she has faced sometimes sharp criticism that she cut in line ahead of politicians with more experience and has acted as if she were entitled to it because of her political lineage. More than a half-dozen elected officials are vying for the seat, including New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo and several members of Congress. Kennedy said that she had long been encouraged to seek public office and that Clinton's expected departure from the Senate offered the perfect opportunity to follow in the footsteps of her father, two uncles and cousins. "Going into politics is something people have asked me about forever," a relaxed Kennedy said as she ate a grilled cheese and bacon sandwich and sipped coffee at a diner in Manhattan. "When this opportunity came along, which was sort of unexpected, I thought, `Well, maybe now. How about now?'" She said she realizes she will have to prove herself and "work twice as hard as anybody else." She acknowledged, "I am an unconventional choice," but added: "We're starting to see there are many ways into public life and public service." Since Kennedy's name first surfaced as a possible replacement for Clinton, her advisers have shielded her from the media, with the exception of a few brief interviews on a swing through upstate New York and a visit to Harlem with the Rev. Al Sharpton. Some commentators likened her to Sarah Palin in the way her dealings with the media were being carefully managed. She agreed to sit down for interviews Friday with The Associated Press and NY1 television. Kennedy acknowledged that her recent time in the limelight — after a relatively private life as a wife, mother of three, best-selling author and fundraiser in New York City — had not gone entirely smoothly. But she said she had turned down interview requests and tried not to appear to be campaigning for the job because she knew that the choice rested solely with the Democratic governor. "I was trying to respect the process. It is not a campaign," she said. "It was misinterpreted. If I were to be selected, I understand public servants have to be accessible." Asked about criticism from other politicians and members of the public that she seems to regard herself as entitled to the job as a member of America's most storied political dynasty, she said: "Everybody that knows me knows I haven't really lived that way. ... Nobody's entitled to anything, certainly not me." Kennedy chuckled when she was asked if her brother, the late John F. Kennedy Jr., had ever suggested she run for public office some day. "He usually thought about himself," she said. "He would be laughing his head off at seeing what's going on right now." She also was asked to explain why she failed to vote in a number of elections since registering in New York City in 1988, including in 1994 when Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan was up for re-election for the seat she hopes to take over. "I was really surprised and dismayed by my voting record," she said. "I'm glad it's been brought to my attention." Former New York Rep. Geraldine Ferraro, who urged Paterson last weekend to consider experienced members of Congress for the job, said she was glad to hear Kennedy was willing to "work twice as hard as others." "I think it's great she understands she will have a tougher time," Ferraro said. "I don't know if she can work twice as hard because having been a member of Congress I know they work 24-7. They already work hard." | ||
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December 2008
December 27, 2008
Political Disgrace !!!
Hiram Monster Rat: Bottle-wielding, woman-beating City Council brute must go
Friday, December 19th 2008, 10:52 PM
Warga/News
Hiram Monserrate
City Councilman and state Sen.-elect Hiram Monserrate forfeited his right to represent the people of New York when he hit his girlfriend in the face with a glass. Allegedly.
Any man who raises a hand to a companion, significant other, spouse, lover, neighbor or stranger - let alone who puts a woman in the hospital in need of stitches - is disqualified from public office.
For Monserrate to set foot in the Senate come next month, or to cast even one more vote at City Hall, would be a travesty.
He has to muster what's left of his honor and resign, or fellow lawmakers must expel him.
Mr. Monster Rat must go.
His brutishness could have huge consequences. The Democrats were counting on Monserrate's vote to secure their first Senate majority in four decades. Now, if they stick together, the Dems have 32 votes, the absolute minimum needed for control.
Without Monserrate, they lack the votes to elect a leader or pass legislation. They also will come that much closer to surrendering control to the Republicans.
No matter. The Senate cannot allow such a thug to darken its doors. Nor can the City Council.
A former Marine and cop who was elected to the Council in 2001, the Queens Democrat was arrested after showing up at the emergency room of Long Island Jewish Hospital at 4:30 a.m. with seriously injured girlfriend Karla Giraldo.
Police say Monserrate had struck her with a broken glass, opening gashes near her left eye. They charged him with first-degree assault, a class B felony about a thousand times worse than the call-girl canoodling that drove Eliot Spitzer from office.
Monserrate will have his day in court, but there's no denying the wounds on Giraldo's face.
Only two years ago, he touted himself as the scourge of domestic violence in the immigrant community, announcing a $100,000 grant to benefit victims. Which adds rank hypocrisy to his rap sheet.
City Hall and the state Capitol have seen more than their share of criminal behavior. Pols have patronized prostitutes, solicited bribes and embezzled. Albany, in particular, has been the scene of a crime wave, with at least 11 elected officials arrested or indicted over the past six years.
But by hitting a woman in the face with a glass, and drawing blood, Monserrate has set a new low.
He must go.
December 17, 2008
Is Obama Lying?
Illinois Scandal's Weight Grows on Obama | ||
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CHICAGO – The scandal surrounding the arrest of the corruption-tainted governor of Illinois continued to weigh on president-elect Barack Obama Tuesday as he faced questions over the degree of contact his staff had with Rod Blagojevich. Obama has said he is "absolutely certain" that his team had no "inappropriate" dealings with the Democratic governor, who is accused of trying to auction off Obama's vacated senate seat to the highest bidder. However, reports that FBI wiretaps recorded the president-elect's incoming chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, discussing the seat with the Blagojevich administration in 21 different conversations undermined Obama's earlier assertions that his team would not get involved in selecting his replacement. Obama interrupted a reporter asking him about the reports at a press conference announcing his pick for education secretary Tuesday with a warning not to "waste your question." Obama said it would be "inappropriate for me to comment" on the reports because prosecutors asked him not to release any details of an internal review of all staff contacts with the governor's office until next week. "I don't want to get into the details at this point," Obama said. "The facts are going to be released next week." Obama and his team have not been accused of any wrongdoing and transcripts of FBI wiretaps released by federal prosecutors showed Obama's staff were offering nothing more than "appreciation" to Blagojevich -- much to the foul-mouthed frustration of the governor, who wanted a cabinet post at the very least. That has not stopped critics from questioning Obama's involvement and the Republican Party was quick to launch an advertisement declaring that "questions remain" over Obama's links to the disgraced Democratic governor. The scandal shows no sign of fading away from national headlines as Obama prepares to take office on January 20. Blagojevich has refused to resign after his arrest December 9 in an FBI investigation that accuses him of a staggering pattern of corruption, including refusing to free up funds for a children's hospital until he received a 50,000-dollar campaign contribution. Instead, he hired a prominent criminal defense attorney to argue his case in federal court and at a legislative impeachment inquiry. Ed Genson, who represented R&B singer R. Kelly and media mogul Conrad Black in recent high-profile cases, appeared ready for a lengthy and heated battle. "The case that I've seen so far is significantly exaggerated. It's just, it's not what people think it is," he told an ABC news crew. "It's going to be a fight." Prosecutors have not yet concluded their investigation and have signaled it could be spring before they seek an indictment. The impeachment inquiry also showed signs of being a lengthy process as Illinois legislators spent their first day of hearings on Tuesday discussing rules. Should they determine there are grounds for impeachment that process could also take weeks or even months as Blagojevich essentially undergoes a trial by the state senate. Illinois's attorney general has also asked the state supreme court to temporarily remove Blagojevich from office or strip him of the bulk of his powers but lawmakers said that would not prevent the impeachment inquiry from continuing. A battle was also brewing over the appointment of Obama's replacement. Obama, elected to represent Illinois in the US Senate in 2004, resigned his seat after winning the November 4 presidential election, and his replacement would normally be appointed by the governor. Top Democrats had initially called for a special election to fill the seat in the wake Blagojevich's arrest, but state legislators rejected the proposal at a hastily called special session Monday. The House also held back from stripping Blagojevich's power to appoint Obama's successor -- a move that angry Republicans said was aimed at protecting Democratic dominance over Illinois politics. But Democrats said the budget-strapped state could not afford to spend upwards of 50 million dollars on the election and that the best solution would be for the lieutenant governor to appoint a replacement after taking over from Blagojevich. As it stands, the Democrats will control 58 seats in the new US Senate assembling in January, two short of a "super-majority" capable of defeating Republican blocking tactics in the 100-seat chamber. | ||
December 13, 2008
OBAMA knew or Didn't know?
By NEDRA PICKLER
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WASHINGTON (AP) - President-elect Barack Obama is refusing to answer any questions about the internal review he has ordered into Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich's alleged efforts to sell his former Senate seat, saying he will do so when the examination is finished.
Obama's staff has declined to respond to even basic questions, like who is conducting the probe, how long it will take, what issues are being explored and whether they are working with federal investigators. Obama has promised transparency throughout his service and to divulge contacts his staff has had with Blagojevich's office in the coming days. But his staff has locked down on inquiries in the meantime.
The Obama transition team's refusal to talk has contributed to a maelstrom around Obama's incoming White House chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, a Chicago congressman likely to have been in contact with the governor, who was arrested this week in a corruption scandal. But Emanuel is not a target of the probe, according to people who have been briefed on the investigation.
The two people spoke on a condition of anonymity because the criminal investigation is ongoing. One is a person close to Emanuel, who said he has been told by investigators that he's not a subject of their probe.
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There are no suggestions that Obama or his aides were involved in the alleged sale of his seat. U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald said prosecutors were making no allegations that Obama was aware of any scheming. And Blagojevich himself, in taped conversations cited by prosecutors, suggested that Obama wouldn't be helpful to him and called him a vulgar term. Even if the governor was to appoint a candidate favored by the Obama team, Blagojevich said, "they're not willing to give me anything except appreciation."
Obama told reporters Thursday that he never personally spoke to Blagojevich about who would fill the seat he resigned to take over the presidency next month.
"What I want to do is to gather all the facts about any staff contacts that may have taken place between the transition office and the governor's office," Obama said. "And we'll have those in the next few days, and we'll present them. But what I'm absolutely certain about is that our office had no involvement in any dealmaking around my Senate seat. That I'm absolutely certain of."
Another question that Obama's staff didn't answer is how he knows that his office had no involvement if he had yet to gather all the facts about conversations they had with Blagojevich's office. Speaking on the condition of anonymity, transition officials said they do not want to release any information on the internal review until it is completed.
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"While it is encouraging that the president-elect has stated his office will disclose contacts with the scandal-ridden governor, it remains disappointing that his actions are in response to political pressure," Republican National Committee Chairman Robert M. "Mike" Duncan said. "Americans expect the highest degree of transparency from their elected leaders, rather than promises of openness on the campaign trail."
The normally press-friendly Emanuel has shut down reporters who've been trailing his every move trying to confirm if he's the "president-elect adviser" referred to in the criminal complaint against Blagojevich. Emanuel grew testy with a Chicago Sun Times reporter who approached him at his children's recital and an ABC News cameraman who had been staking out the Emanuel home for hours and was allowed to come in and use the bathroom.
Emanuel told the cameraman he's angry at the networks who have put his home address on national television.
"I'm getting regular death threats," Emanuel said, according to an ABC report. "You've intruded too much."
The Sun-Times reported that Emanuel pushed aside the reporter's recorder and said he wouldn't talk. "I'm not going to say a word to you. I'm going to do this with my children," he said.
The limelight has fallen on Emanuel because conversations secretly recorded by federal investigators suggest Blagojevich wanted to raised large charitable donations in exchange for a favor involving the Illinois 5th District congressional seat that Emanuel plans to vacate to work in the White House.
The complaint says that a week after Obama chose Emanuel as his chief of staff, Blagojevich told an aide that he wanted the unnamed "president-elect advisor" to be told of the governor's interest in creating a nonprofit group, and "can you guys help him . . . raise 10, 15 million"?
Quoting Blagojevich talking about the adviser, it continues: "When 'he asks me for the Fifth CD thing I want it to be in his head.'" The complaint says Blagojevich was trying to determine whether he had the power to appoint an interim replacement until a special election for Emanuel's seat could be held.
But Blagojevich was wrong if he thought he might have that power. By law, House vacancies can be filled only by elections.
The complaint does not say that a conversation with the Obama adviser took place, nor does it suggest that the Obama team took any action regarding Blagojevich's idea for a nonprofit.
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Associated Press writer Lara Jakes Jordan contributed to this report.
December 02, 2008
December 01, 2008
Obama Conspiracy
Obama Birth Certificate Rears Its Head - Again
By Liza Porteus VianaDec 1st 2008 2:44PM
Filed Under:eBarack Obama, 2008 President, Obama Administration
Just when you thought the flap over the genuineness of Barack Obama's birth certificate was all said and done, in comes the We The People Foundation.
The group purchases a full-page ad in The Chicago Tribune - the newspaper of the president-elect's hometown - today and Wednesday, called "Open Letter to Mr. Obama." It's described by the foundation as a "formal Petition for a Redress (Remedy) for the alleged violation of the 'natural born citizen' clause of the Constitution of the United States of America."
Click here to view the ad.
"Mr. Obama is respectfully requested to direct the Hawaiian officials to provide access to his original birth certificate on December 5-7 by our team of forensic scientists, and to provide additional documentary evidence establishing his citizenship status prior to our Washington, D.C. press conference on December 8," the foundation says. PolitiFact has said it has no reason to doubt the authenticity of the document.
Among other complaints, the foundation charges:
-that the Obama campaign posted on the Internet an "unsigned, forged and thoroughly discredited, computer-generated birth form created in 2007"
-the Hawaii Dept of Health won't confirm Obama's assertion that you were born in Hawaii (the director of Hawaii's Department of Health on Oct. 31 personally verified that the health department holds Obama's original birth certificate.)
-there are legal affidavits stating Obama was actually born in Kenya
-Obama's grandmother is recorded on tape saying she attended your birth in Kenya.
-In 1965, Obama's mother legally relinquished whatever Kenyan or U.S. citizenship she and her son had by marrying an Indonesian and becoming a naturalized Indonesian citizen.
We the People is in the process of choosing the forensic scientists who would travel to Hawaii to examine Obama's original birth certificate, if Obama directs Hawaiian officials to provide it. The group estimates costs will be about $20,000 to successfully complete the task, and they need money. Any donors out there?
The birth certificate issue is like this annoying itch that just won't go away. During the campaign, the Obama camp tried to stamp out the rumors by posting information - and the birth certificate - on its Fight the Smears site. But that apparently hasn't stopped the rumor mill.
A Kentucky truck driver last week filed a demand that Obama prove he is a natural-born U.S. citizen. Daniel John Essek, 47, wants the former Illinois senator to provide a copy of his birth certificate to a federal judge in London for verification.
"I may very well be chasing windmills thinking they're monsters," Essek told the Lexington Herald-Leader.
A Pennsylvania judge threw out a pre-election court challenge to the citizenship issue, saying its arguments were frivolous. Other similar lawsuits have also been filed.
Right Side News on Sunday so graciously pointed out that "Hawaii Revised Statute 338-17.8 allows registration of birth in Hawaii for a child that was born outside of Hawaii to parents who, for a year preceding the childs birth, claimed Hawaii as their place of residence. The parents would be issued a Certification of Live Birth. This is not proof of where the child was born. It only proves that the parents claimed Hawaii as their main place of residence for the prior year."
This Friday, the U.S. Supreme Court judges will conference. It's expected the question of whether Obama is actually eligible to become the next president will come up. If four of the nine justices vote to hear the case, brought by Leo C. Donofrio against the New Jersey secretary of state, oral argument may be scheduled.
You know the Internet is going to be abuzz with activity surrounding Friday's conference. We'll try to sift through the sludge and bring you the facts.
UPDATE: Here's my e-mail Q&A with Bob Schulz of the We The People Foundation:
Q.) Why don't you believe that the Hawaiian authorities have vouched for the authenticity of the birth certificate filed with that state for President-elect Obama? The state's Department of Health director on Oct. 31 released a statement verifying the legitimacy of Obama's birth certificate. DOH Director Dr. Chiyome Fukino and the registrar of vital statistics, Alvin Onaka, have personally verified that the health department holds Obama's original birth certificate.
A.) Yes, Hawaii officials have publicly verified that they possess Obama's original birth certificate, however in their official press release they fail to state it is an original birth certificate from Hawaii.
In fact, under Hawaiian law, a foreign born child can be registered as a naturalized (but not "natural born") U.S. citizen following application of the parents, (See, Hawaiian law provides for registration of out-of-state births under HRS 338-17.8. ). Such persons would be eligible to receive a "Certification of Live Birth" from the state, such as the document Obama has proffered. "Naturalized" citizens, such as the Governor of California, cannot hold the office of President.
This of course, does not resolve the thornier issue as to the content of Obama's birth document. Specifically the stated "place of birth" may not in fact reflect the physical location of Obama's birth (as evidenced by the "original" certificate of Live Birth claimed to be in the possession of Hawaii officials), but rather the local Hawaii residency of the U.S. parent claimed in a birth registration application such as that provided by HRS 338-17.8 (See above). In any event the document is simply a computer-created document based upon the entries in a computer database, which may have been conceivably tampered with at some point.
Hawaii law also provides for "amending" birth certificates. From the official web page: "Amended certificates of birth may be prepared and filed with the Department of Health, as provided by law, for 1) a person born in Hawaii who already has a birth certificate filed with the Department of Health or 2) a person born in a foreign country."
In short, the document proffered by Obama does not contain all the information needed to conclusively verify that he is legally eligible to hold the Office of President.
Additionally, beyond their refusal to minimally confirm that Obama was born in Hawaii, state officials also refuse to comment on the authenticity of Obama's birth document.
All these questions could be resolved by Obama by simply providing access to his original birth certificate.
Q.) What reputable sources have discredited the birth certificate already produced by Obama?
A.) Attorney Phil Berg states in his lawsuit against Obama, "...three (3) independent Document Forensic Experts performed extensive Forensic testing on the Certificate of Live Birth posted on Obama's campaign website."
He has not publicly identified his sources but one of them is reported to be a reputable professional forensics expert going under the pseudonym "Polarik" for his family's protection. His latest comprehensive report concluding Obama's document is a forgery can be found here. He has also posted a short YouTube video.
Q.) How much did you pay for these 2 full-page ads (on Dec. 1 and 3)?
A.) Tens of thousands of dollars. It was a negotiated amount.
Q.) What sort of reaction have you received so far to the ads?
A.) We have experienced significant media interest from primarily talk shows and newspapers, including some well-known media entities. We have hoped that our ads would spur public debate on this topic and hopefully, this may have begun.
In the end, there is no practical reason why Obama refuses to produce his original birth certificate. He is seeking the Office of President and has a duty to provide evidence that he meets the explicit requirements established by the Constitution.
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