toadie800's Blog

The mainstream media thought that the membership of Todd Palin, who is not a candidate for any office, in the Alaska Independence Party important enough to report in such outlets as the Los Angeles Times, MSNBC, and the New York Times, among others.

So now that Barack Obama's membership in the far left New Party has been unearthed, will they report his membership in that Socialist organization?

Proof of Obama's membership in the New Party was discovered by the Politically Drunk On Power blog: http://politicallydrunk.blogspot.com/2008/10/web-archi
ves-confirm-barack-obama-was.html

In June sources released information that during his campaign for the State Senate in Illinois, Barack Obama was endorsed by an organization known as the Chicago "New Party". The 'New Party' was a political party established by the Democratic Socialists of America (the DSA) to push forth the socialist principles of the DSA by focusing on winnable elections at a local level and spreading the Socialist movement upwards. The admittedly Socialist Organization experienced a moderate rise in numbers between 1995 and 1999. By 1999, however, the Socialist 'New Party' was essentially defunct after losing a supreme court challenge that ruled the organizations "fusion" reform platform as unconstitutional.   After allegations surfaced in early summer over the 'New Party's' endorsement of Obama, the Obama campaign along with the remnants of the New Party and Democratic Socialists of America claimed that Obama was never a member of either organization. The DSA and 'New Party' then systematically attempted to cover up any ties between Obama and the Socialist Organizations. However, it now appears that Barack Obama was indeed a certified and acknowledged member of the DSA's New Party.

 

On Tuesday, I discovered a web page that had been scrubbed from the New Party's website. The web page which was published in October 1996, was an internet newsletter update on that years congressional races. Although the web page was deleted from the New Party's website, the non-profit Internet Archive Organization had archived the page.

  From the October 1996 Update of the DSA 'New Party':
"New Party members are busy knocking on doors, hammering down lawn signs, and phoning voters to support NP candidates this fall. Here are some of our key races...

 

Illinois: Three NP-members won Democratic primaries last Spring and face off against Republican opponents on election day: Danny Davis (U.S. House), Barack Obama (State Senate) and Patricia Martin (Cook County Judiciary)."

 

You can find the above quote from the scubbed New Party web page at this Internet Archive Organization link. More confirmation of Obama's membership in the New Party can be found at an article in the November 1996 Progressive Populist magazine: New Party members and supported candidates won 16 of 23 races, including an at-large race for the Little Rock, Ark., City Council, a seat on the county board for Little Rock and the school board for Prince George's County, Md. Chicago is sending the first New Party member to Congress, as Danny Davis, who ran as a Democrat, won an overwhelming 85% victory. New Party member Barack Obama was uncontested for a State Senate seat from Chicago. 

 

The Democratic Socialist Party of America also reported on Obama's New Party membership in its July/August 1996 edition:

The Chicago New Party is increasely becoming a viable political organization that can make a different in Chicago politics. It is crucial for a political organization to have a solid infrastructure and visible results in its political program. The New Party has continued to solidify this base.

First, in relation to its infrastructure, the NP's membership has increased since January '95 from 225 to 440. National membership has increased from 5700 in December '95 to 7000. Currently the NP's fiscal balance is $7,000 and receives an average of $450/month is sustainer donations.

Secondly, the NP's '96 Political Program has been enormously successful with 3 of 4 endorsed candidates winning electoral primaries. All four candidates attended the NP membership meeting on April 11th to express their gratitude. Danny Davis, winner in the 7th Congressional District, invited NPers to join his Campaign Steering Committee. Patricia Martin, who won the race for Judge in 7th Subcircuit Court, explained that due to the NP she was able to network and get experienced advice from progressives like Davis. Barack Obama, victor in the 13th State Senate District, encouraged NPers to join in his task forces on Voter Education and Voter Registration. The lone loser was Willie Delgado, in the 3rd Illinois House District. Although Delgado received 45% of the vote, he lost by only 800 votes. Delgado commented that it was due to the NP volunteers that he carried the 32nd Ward. Delgado emphasized that he will remain a visible community activist in Humbolt Park. He will conduct four Immigration workshops and encouraged NP activists to get involved.

 

Kudos to Politically Drunk On Power for digging up this information about Obama's membership in the socialist New Party. The question now is if the MSM will deem his party membership important enough to report on. They sure didn't hesitate to report on Todd Palin's membership in the Alaska Independence Party. 

UPDATE: Yet more proof of Obama's close involvement in the socialist New Party from NewsBusters' Hermano who provided this link to the Chicago Democratic Socialists of American September-October 1995 New Ground 42 edition:

About 50 activists attended the Chicago New Party membership meeting in July. The purpose of the meeting was to update members on local activities and to hear appeals for NP support from four potential political candidates. The NP is being very active in organization building and politics. There are 300 members in Chicago. In order to build an organizational and financial base the NP is sponsoring house parties. Locally it has been successful both fiscally and in building a grassroots base. Nationwide it has resulted in 1000 people committed to monthly contributions. The NP's political strategy is to support progressive candidates in elections only if they have a concrete chance to "win". This has resulted in a winning ratio of 77 of 110 elections. Candidates must be approved via a NP political committee. Once approved, candidates must sign a contract with the NP. The contract mandates that they must have a visible and active relationship with the NP.

The political entourage included Alderman Michael Chandler, William Delgado, chief of staff for State Rep Miguel del Valle, and spokespersons for State Sen. Alice Palmer, Sonya Sanchez, chief of staff for State Sen. Jesse Garcia, who is running for State Rep in Garcia's District; and Barack Obama, chief of staff for State Sen. Alice Palmer. Obama is running for Palmer's vacant seat.

 

So Obama signed a contract with the New Party? Verrrry interesting.

By BILL DRAPER, Associated Press Writer Wed Oct 8, 9:45 PM ET

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Officials in Missouri, a hard-fought jewel in the presidential race, are sifting through possibly hundreds of questionable or duplicate voter-registration forms submitted by an advocacy group that has been accused of election fraud in other states.

Charlene Davis, co-director of the election board in Jackson County, where Kansas City is, said the fraudulent registration forms came from the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, or ACORN. She said they were bogging down work Wednesday, the final day Missourians could register to vote.

"I don't even know the entire scope of it because registrations are coming in so heavy," Davis said. "We have identified about 100 duplicates, and probably 280 addresses that don't exist, people who have driver's license numbers that won't verify or Social Security numbers that won't verify. Some have no address at all."

The nonpartisan group works to recruit low-income voters, who tend to lean Democratic. Most polls show Republican presidential candidate John McCain with an edge in bellwether Missouri, but Democrat Barack Obama continues to put up a strong fight.

Jess Ordower, Midwest director of ACORN, said his group hasn't done any registrations in Kansas City since late August. He said he was told three weeks ago by election officials that there were only about 135 questionable cards — 85 of them duplicates.

"They keep telling different people different things," he said. "They gave us a list of 130, then told someone else it was 1,000."

FBI spokeswoman Bridget Patton said the agency has been in contact with elections officials about potential voter fraud and plans to investigate.

"It's a matter we take very seriously," Patton said. "It is against the law to register someone to vote who does not fall within the parameters to vote, or to put someone on there falsely."

On Tuesday, authorities in Nevada seized records from ACORN after finding fraudulent registration forms that included the starting lineup of the Dallas Cowboys.

In April, eight ACORN workers in St. Louis city and county pleaded guilty to federal election fraud for submitting false registration cards for the 2006 election. U.S. Attorney Catherine Hanaway said they submitted cards with false addresses and names, and forged signatures.

Ordower said Wednesday that ACORN registered about 53,500 people in Missouri this year. He believes his group is being targeted because some politicians don't want that many low-income people having a voice.

"It's par for the course," he said. "When you're doing more registrations than anyone else in the country, some don't want low-income people being empowered to vote. There are pretty targeted attacks on us, but we're proud to be out there doing the patriotic thing getting people registered to vote."

Republicans are among ACORN's loudest critics. At a campaign stop in Bethlehem, Pa., supporters of John McCain interrupted his remarks Wednesday by shouting, "No more ACORN."

Debbie Mesloh, spokeswoman for the Obama campaign in Missouri, said in an e-mailed statement that the campaign supported any investigation of possible fraud.

According to its national Web site, the group has registered 1.3 million people nationwide for the Nov. 4 election. It also has encountered complaints of fraud stemming from registration efforts in Wisconsin, New Mexico, Nevada and battleground states like Michigan, Ohio and North Carolina, where new voter registrations have favored Democrats nearly 4 to 1 since the beginning of this year.

Missouri offers 11 electoral votes; the presidential candidates need at least 270 to win the election.

Texas now requiring proof of legal status before issuing a driver's license

By CLAY ROBISON

AUSTIN — In a clampdown on illegal immigrants, the Texas Department of Public Safety has adopted a new policy requiring noncitizens to prove they are in this country legally before they can obtain or renew a driver's license.

Gov. Rick Perry applauded the change, which went into effect Oct. 1, as a way to strengthen the state's security.

"Texas is a great place to live and work, and while we welcome legally documented individuals to the Lone Star State, we must ensure that this privilege is not abused by those seeking to enter our country illegally," he said.

But Jim Harrington, director of the Texas Civil Rights Project, said the policy change is a bad idea because illegal immigrants are going to drive anyway.

"People have to drive to get to work. You want people to get (auto) insurance. They can't get insurance if they don't have a driver's license," he said.

The immigrant driver's licenses will look different than regular licenses so that they are immediately recognizable to police, Perry said.

The immigrant licenses will have a "temporary visitor" designation and the date the driver's legal U.S. admission expires.

No driver's license will be issued for anyone whose legal entry into the country expires in less than six months.

People with indefinite admission periods will get one-year licenses that will have to be renewed in person with proof that the applicant's lawful status has been extended.

Under the change, people who are not citizens or lawful permanent residents of the United States must present valid governmental documentation that they are in the country legally before they can obtain a driver's license or personal identification card.

The documents must be issued by the Department of Justice, Department of State, Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Natu-ralization Service or Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services.

Border crossing cards won't be accepted.

Lawful permanent residents must present valid immigrant visas or U.S. resident alien cards before getting licenses.

U.S. citizens seeking an initial application for a license have various options for proving citizenship, including a U.S. passport, citizenship certificate or a combination of other documents, including a birth certificate, military records and voter registration card.

State law also requires all applicants for driver's licenses to provide a Social Security number.

But applicants can bypass that requirement by signing an affidavit that they have been deemed ineligible for coverage.

The affidavit doesn't require applicants to state why they have been denied Social Security coverage, DPS spokeswoman Tela Mange said. And, she added, illegal immigrants could have obtained licenses by submitting fake Social Security cards.

She said the Public Safety Commission, the DPS' governing board, imposed the new restrictions for immigrants on its own. Similar changes in policy have been proposed by legislators, but none of those bills has ever become law.

"The commission wanted to make sure the driver's licenses and identification cards were as secure documents as we could make them," she said.

The DPS estimates that as many as 2 million of Texas' 16 million licensed drivers — one in eight — may be immigrants, many in the country illegally, Mange said.

"That's nonsense," Harring-ton said of the estimate. "I don't think anybody has any idea."

Rep. Garnet Coleman, D-Houston, agreed.

"The idea that there's a flood of people (illegal immigrants) going into DPS offices, signing a form saying they're not eligible for a Social Security card and then getting driver's licenses is unbelievable," he said.

Coleman said the crackdown was election year "demagoguery" by Perry.

"It (immigration) is the issue that galvanizes their (Republican) base," he said.

Public Safety Commission Chairman Allan Polunsky, of San Antonio, said he initiated the policy change after learning of a taxi driver in Dallas who had brought undocumented workers into Texas from other states so they could obtain Texas driver's licenses.

Polunsky said he didn't know the taxi driver's motives but found it disconcerting that illegal immigrants could easily obtain driver's licenses in Texas.

He said the new restrictions also bring Texas into closer compliance with the federal REAL ID Act, which requires states to create specially marked licenses for some immigrants.

A study finds that 13% of the visa petitions for U.S. employers to bring in skilled foreign workers are fraudulent

 

by Moira Herbst

A report released Oct. 8 by the U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) reveals that 13% of petitions filed for H-1B visas on behalf of employers are fraudulent. Another 8% contain some sort of technical violations.

The study, released to members of the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, marks the first time the agency, part of the Homeland Security Dept., has documented systematic problems with the controversial program. Technology companies, in particular, have come to rely on the H-1B visa program to bring in skilled foreign workers to fill jobs that employers claim can't be filled with U.S. candidates. Tech companies like Oracle (ORCL), Microsoft (MSFT), and Google (GOOG) have pushed to get more visas, claiming that a shortage of skilled workers is hampering U.S. competitiveness. Microsoft Chairman and co-founder Bill Gates has twice testified in front of Congress on the issue.

Critics say H-1Bs help U.S. companies replace American workers with less costly foreign workers. "The report makes it clear that the H-1B program is rife with abuse and misuse," says Ron Hira, assistant professor of public policy at the Rochester Institute of Technology. "It shows the desperate need for an auditing system." However, both Presidential candidates, Senator Barack Obama (D-Ill.) and Senator John McCain (R-Ariz.), have said they support expanding the program.

Program Abuses Alleged

A USCIS spokesperson was not immediately available for comment. The report's conclusion states: "Given the significant vulnerability, USCIS is making procedural changes, which will be described in a forthcoming document." A spokeswoman, Beth Pellett Levine, says Senator Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), a longtime critic of the H-1B program, is drafting a letter to USCIS in response to the study.

The H-1B visa program has become increasingly controversial in recent years as groups such as the Programmers Guild and WashTech, which represent U.S. tech workers, allege it is being abused, resulting in mistreatment of foreign workers, wage depression, and the displacement of U.S. workers. The program was originally set up to allow companies in the U.S. to import the best and brightest in technology, engineering, and other fields when such workers are in short supply in America. But data released this year by the federal government show that offshore outsourcing firms, particularly from India, dominated the list of companies that were awarded H-1B visas to employ workers in the U.S. (BusinessWeek, 3/6/08) in 2007. Indian outsourcers such as Infosys (INFY), Wipro (WIT), and Tata (TCS.NS) accounted for nearly 80% of the visa petitions approved last year for the top 10 participants in the program.

There is also evidence that workers on H-1B visas are being mistreated. In a pending case (BusinessWeek, 1/31/08), H-1B workers for State Farm Insurance allege they were underpaid.

Critics say such instances of abuse represent the tip of an iceberg of deeper problems with the visa program. Academics and U.S. tech worker advocates point out the requirement that even employers who abide by the law—for example by paying the required "prevailing wage"—are able to underpay workers .

We shouldn't forget that the major problem with the H-1B program are caused by massive loopholes that allow firms to legally pay below-market wages and force US workers to train foreign replacements," says Hira. "Those wouldn't show up in this investigation because they are entirely legal." Hira says that a bill proposed by Grassley and Senator Dick Durbin's (D-Ill.) bill in 2007, S. 1035, would address both fraud and legal loopholes in the program.

Companies Not Named

The USCIS report, called H-1B Benefit Fraud & Compliance Assessment, is based on a sample of 246 H-1B petitions. It does not name companies involved in the study. The report says that 80% of the fraud or technical violations were uncovered during site visits.

Fraudulent cases include instances in which the visa worker was not working or had never worked at the specified location on the application. Technical violations involved situations in which the worker was paid at or below the prevailing wage, which companies are required by law to pay.

In other cases, the job duties were significantly different from the position listed on the visa petition. This could involve misrepresenting the skill set required or the location of the job. Accounting, human resources, business analyst, sales, and advertising occupations are more likely than other categories to involve fraud, according to the study. Other areas in which violations were found include computer-related occupations, and art and managerial jobs. "Until we make a conscious effort to close the loopholes, we're going to see continued abuse where people coming to this country on H-1B visas are working at Laundromats," said Grassley in a statement. He was referring to situations in which companies misrepresent what type of work the visa holder will do.

In the study, visa workers with only bachelor's degrees were subject to higher fraud or technical violation rates (31%) than those with graduate degrees (13%). Fraud and violations were more common for companies employing 25 or fewer employees and with annual gross income of less than $10 million.

Herbst is a reporter for BusinessWeek.com in New York.

Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre and ILA Executive Director Chris Cox today announced NRA-PVFs endorsement of John McCain and Sarah Palin for U.S. president and vice-president - - the one ticket that will uphold our Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms.

Sen. John McCain has a decades-long record of opposing gun bans, ammunition bans, waiting periods, predatory lawsuits against firearm manufacturers, and restrictions on our hunting heritage. And Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin is an NRA Life member, life-long gun owner, hunter, and staunch Second Amendment supporter.

In this election, we must remember that the historic Heller decision this summer, affirming our individual right to own firearms, was decided by only a 5-4 majority. A one-vote swing could have eliminated our individual right to keep and bear arms. With the next president expected to nominate three or more justices to the U.S. Supreme Court, the stakes could not be higher. While we have disagreed in the past with Sen. McCain on a few specific issues, those differences do not cancel out his long pro-Second Amendment record, and they pale in comparison to what the future would be like for gun owners if an Obama-Biden administration were to control every agency of the federal government.

Barack Obama's radical gun-ban record would make him the most anti-gun president in American history. As you've no doubt followed in the media, the Obama-Biden campaign has tried to deny nearly every aspect of Obama's record of opposition to our Second Amendment freedom and hunting heritage. And Joe Biden has spent 35 years in the U.S. Senate trying to destroy our Second Amendment rights. In fact, there are few others in Congress who have as much experience as Joe Biden opposing our firearms freedom. The facts speak for themselves.

The campaign's fawning allies in the media have attacked our ad campaign, and the Obama campaign has tried to pressure television and radio networks to reject our advertising. We've swung back hard with documentation of every fact we've put forth and not one station has denied our ads.

The ad campaign is only part of an overall plan that includes voter registration, direct mail, internet ads, phone contacts, our publications, e-mail, our website at www.GunBanObama.com, and field representatives in key areas.

Our message is straight-forward: Defend Freedom. Defeat Obama. If Obama and Biden win, you lose.

Your vote is a remarkable power that you must wield to preserve the Second Amendment. Get your friends, family, and co-workers to vote. And vote for the only ticket that will uphold our Freedom. Vote for the Second Amendment. Vote for the McCain-Palin ticket!

---nra---

For additional candidate grades and endorsements visit www.NRAPVF.org.

Drill Here, Drill Now Timeline: May 12 to October 1



As you watch this video timeline of the "Drill Here, Drill Now, Pay Less" movement, remember that your voice made this possible. The phone calls, letters, and emails to your elected officials have made a difference.

This video is a testament to the power and potential of citizen leaders to create positive change.

While today we celebrate the offshore drilling ban being lifted, remember there is still a lot more work to be done to move America toward energy independence.

Thanks to the 1.5 million Americans who signed the "Drill Here, Drill Now, Pay Less" petition for making this possible.

By: Kenneth R. Timmerman Article Font Size  

A Newsmax investigation of Barack Obama’s presidential campaign finance reports has turned up more than 2,000 cases in which individuals have made donations far above the legal limit of $2,300 per election.

 

Such donations, if not returned within 60 days, violate federal campaign finance laws.

 

Some can be chalked up to common names, such as Michael Brown, William Taylor, or James Smith.

 

But many others cannot.

 

On Aug. 31, for example, the Obama campaign filed a report listing a single donation from a Debra Myers in “Rancho Palos Verde, Calif.,” for $28,500 – more than 10 times the amount the law allows per election. Although Debra Myers is identified as a physician, only two individuals with that last name have a listed phone number in Rancho Palos Verdes (the city’s name actually does have an “s” at the end). Neither is a Debra or a “D” Myers, or a physician.

 

The Obama campaign also identified Woodrow Myers Jr. of Indianapolis, Ind., on Aug. 31 as having given $28,500 to the campaign. Woodrow “Woody” Myers is a former Indiana state health commissioner who spent $2.1 million of his own money in a failed special election to challenge Andre Carson, the grandson of U.S. Rep. Julia Carson, who died in December. The younger Carson won the race this year, with heavy backing from lobbyists, the Democratic Party and related PACs. (Interestingly, Woodrow Myers' wife is identified as Debra, although Newsmax could not confirm whether this is the same Debra Myers the campaign report lists as being from Palos Verdes.)

 

 

In an initial reply to Newsmax questions, the Obama campaign said it had refunded both contributions on Sept. 30, a day after a Newsmax investigation was published that revealed extensive federal election campaign violations by the campaign.

[Read “Secret, Foreign Money Floods Into Obama Campaign” — Go Here Now].

 

The Republican National Committee cited that earlier Newsmax investigation in a formal complaint against the Obama campaign with the Federal Election Commission on Monday.

 

Several hours later, Obama spokesman Ben LaBolt e-mailed Newsmax to say that the contributions had been “reattributed” to the Obama Victory Fund, a joint fundraising committee with the Democratic National Committee, and that the excess had been refunded.

 

That still put both Debra Myers and Woodrow Myers over the federal limits – unless the Obama campaign refunded their entire checks, since Debra gave another $28,500 earlier in the year to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, and Woodrow was way over the $108,2000 overall election cycle limit for individuals.

 

 

Individuals can give $2,300 to a federal candidate in both the primary and the general election, for a total of $4,600 in a single election cycle. They also can give $28,500 to a national party committee, $10,000 to a state or local committee, and $5,000 to other political committees.

 

If a candidate loses the primary, any money counted toward the general election must be refunded, a wrinkle in the federal election laws that can sink losing candidates deep in debt.

 

In exchange for receiving federal funding, the McCain campaign agreed not to take any money from individual donors for the general election, so its donors are limited to $2,300.

 

In addition to Debra Myers and Woodrow Meyers, hundreds of other individual donors have given to the Obama campaign far in excess of the legal limit, a Newsmax analysis of campaign finance records shows.

 

Among them:

 

 

James Sievers of Big Sky, Mont., gave a total of $20,700 to the campaign, in five donations between March and June of this year. The campaign has returned close to $7,000 of the money but has kept the rest.

 

 

 

Martin Dies of Austin, Texas, also gave $20,700 to the campaign, in four separate checks, each dated June 30, 2007. The campaign returned $2,300 of it immediately, and another $4,600 in September, but kept $13,800 – three times the legal limit.

 

 

 

Robert Watt of Brooklyn, N.Y., gave close to $17,000 to the campaign starting in February of this year, including a whopping $10,000 check logged by the campaign on Aug. 31. Despite the obvious violation of the campaign limits, FEC records show that the campaign returned just $2,300.

 

 

 

Ryan Finley of Portland, Ore., has given $15,400 to Obama for America, starting with two checks on March 6, 2007, totaling $6,900. The campaign immediately returned $2,300, bringing him within the legal limit. He gave another $8,500 in a lump sum on Aug. 26, 2008.

 

 

 

Ms. Merry T. O’Donnell of Juno Beach, Fla., has given $13,150 to the Obama campaign, starting with three donations in March 2007 that totaled $2,000. In January 2008, she gave two more donations of $1,000 each, as well as donations for $600 and for $2,000. In February, she gave another $4,600. As of the latest filing, the campaign has refunded just $2,300 of the total, leaving her net donations at over two times the legal limit for the two elections.

 

 

 

Jerry Rubin of Whitefish Bay, Wis., has given $12,700 to the Obama campaign in varying amounts since February 2007. Despite the obvious violation, the campaign has refunded just $3,400 of that total, still putting him at double the legal limit.

 

 

These are just a sampling of the 2,087 individuals who have given Obama more than the $4,600 combined total for the primaries and the general election.

 

Donors with common names but who live in different parts of the country are among these 2,087 names. For example, the top individual contributor is Michael Brown, listed as giving $36,706 to the campaign.

 

But a closer look turns up what appear to be 46 different people sharing the same name, each giving addresses in different cities around the United States.

 

Newsmax has screened donors appearing in the FEC database to weed out those with similar names and different addresses.

 

For example, in the examples listed in this article, we have eliminated any donations from individuals with the same name who are listed as having a different address.

 

The FEC regularly sends letters to the Obama campaign, questioning contributions that appear to go over the legal limits. In many cases, the Obama campaign has amended its reports as a result.

 

But the examples cited here have not been amended.

 

“It is illegal to make contributions in excess of the limits, and it is illegal to receive contributions in excess of the limits,” FEC spokesman Bob Biersack told Newsmax.

 

So both the donors and the campaign may have broken the law. “But there are lots of circumstances, and until the four commissioners have agreed to rule, it’s hard to judge,” he said.

 

Obama campaign spokesman Ben LaBolt told Newsmax that the McCain campaign also has caught excess donations and has “refunded $1.2 million in contributions.”

 

Sean Cairncross, the general counsel for the Republican National Committee who filed the complaint with the FEC on Monday, told Newsmax that the McCain campaign has been “completely transparent with respect to its contributions” by making the names of all donors available to the public in a searchable database. The McCain campaign has even disclosed donors of $200 or less, though it is not required to do so. The Obama camp has not disclosed those donors.

 

“The Obama campaign has steadfastly refused to make that information public,” he said.

 

Referring specifically to the huge amount of money that the Obama campaign claims it has raised from small donors, Cairncross said the identity and nationality of those donors could very well remain secret until well after the election unless the Obama campaign makes their names public.

 

“The American people deserve to know where $250 million in contributions — money that could potentially elect a president — is coming from,” he said. “And at this point, we have no way of knowing.”

 

[Read “Secret, Foreign Money Floods Into Obama Campaign” — Go Here Now].

http://www.barackobamatest.com/?fuseaction=home.option
s

CBS) CBS News Investigative Producer Laura Strickler wrote this story for CBSNews.com with additional reporting from Sarah Fitzpatrick and Ariel Bashi.

---

CBS News has learned that two donors to the Obama campaign that gave a total of $7,722 appear to have made their contributions under fake names that look like they were written by a mouse running across a keyboard: Dahsudhu Hdusahfd of Df, Hawaii with the following employer CZXVC/ZXVZXV and Uadhshgu Hduadh listed as living in Dhff, Florida listed their employer as DASADA/SAFASF.

CBS News did not find any records of these last names, towns or employers anywhere else. Newsweek reported two questionable Obama donors over the weekend named “Doodad Pro” and “Good Will”.

Contributions from the two donors Hdusahfd and Hduadh were made on the same day starting on July 16, 2008. Federal Election Commission (FEC) records show the campaign began refunding the donations as early as August 6, 2008.

Despite numerous refunds from the Obama campaign, Hdusahfd still has a record of giving a total of $7500 to Obama which is well over the legal limit for the primary and general election of $4600. Hduadh gave $14,200 but the Obama campaign returned all but $222.00.

The Obama campaign says “out of an abundance of caution” all of these donations are in the process of being returned.

Obama spokesperson Bill Burton sent CBS News the following email statement, “We constantly review our donors for any issues and while no organization is completely protected from internet fraud, we will continue to review our fundraising procedures to ensure that we are taking every available step to root-out improper contributions.” Burton pointed to Harry Sargeant, one of McCain’s donors who is now the subject of a Congressional investigation. McCain returned $50,000 to Sargeant in early August.

The Republican National Committee (RNC) has asked the FEC to look into foreign donations to the Obama campaign. The FEC told CBS News they would not comment on the RNC’s complaint.

Other donors who gave over the legal limit to the Obama campaign contacted by CBS News said their money was refunded promptly by the campaign. Of those who spoke to CBS News, it seems their only mistake was that of enthusiasm.

Felicity Nitz, 60, of Brooklyn says she kept on clicking on Obama’s online fundraising appeals, “I just kept punching it when I got the emails,” she said, “I’m an insane supporter.”

Christian Skeem from Chicago says he got a letter back from the campaign with a check, “I couldn’t give them more than the limit because they kept sending it back, it wasn’t like they weren’t on the ball.” The reason he gave so much? “Cause I’m a fan,” he said.

http://newsbusters.org/blogs/mark-finkelstein/2008/10/
07/mitchell-ayers-distraction-gibbs-obama-didnt-know-he
-was-terrorist

Pennsylvania Values - Biden TV Ad MORE On the Second Amendment,
Don’t Believe Obama!On the campaign trail, Senator Obama hides behind carefully chosen words and vague statements of support for sportsmen and gun rights to sidestep and camouflage the truth. But even he can’t hide from the truth forever… his voting record, political associations, and long standing positions make it clear that, if elected, Barack Obama would be the most anti-gun president in American history. The facts speak for themselves. This election day, vote to defend freedom…because if Obama wins, you lose.

 

THE FACTS SPEAK FOR THEMSELVES:

• Obama voted to ban hundreds of rifles and shotguns commonly used for hunting and sport shooting
  Illinois Senate, SB 1195, 3/13/03

   

• Obama endorsed a ban on all handguns
  Independent Voters of Illinois/Independent Precinct Organization general candidate questionnaire, 9/9/96
  Politico, 03/31/08.

   

• Obama voted to allow the prosecution of people who use a firearm for self-defense in their homes
  Illinois Senate, S.B. 2165, vote 20, 3/25/04

   

• Obama supported increasing taxes on firearms and ammunition by 500 percent
  Chicago Defender, 12/13/99

   

• Obama voted to ban almost all rifle ammunition commonly used for hunting and sport shooting
  United States Senate, S. 397, vote 217, 7/29/05

   

• Obama opposes Right-to-Carry laws
  Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, 4/2/08, Chicago Tribune, 9/15/04

 

Minuteman Project Express News  2008

 

World Net Daily Investigative Reporter and Minuteman Project Consultant

Detained By Kenyan Police

 

Obama Critics Jailed?

 

Oct. 7, 2008...Minuteman Project, Inc.

 

Two prominent advisers to the Minuteman Project were swiftly escorted out of a hotel in Nairobi, Kenya by police yesterday as they were about to begin a news conference.

 

Jerome Corsi and Minuteman Project media consultant Timothy Bueler had been conducting research in Kenya about presidential candidate Barack Obama's connection to that African country. 

 

Corsi, 61 and Bueler, 21, whose passports were taken from them by police, are being held at the Nyayo House, the provincial headquarters for Nairobi, according to Kenyan officials.

 

According to a story published by the WorldNetDaily news site, Corsi and Bueler were to expose details of Obama's long history of connections to Kenyan political and Islamic religious figures.  These details may have threatened Obama's chance of being elected U.S. president.

 

Kenyans have a reverence for Obama because of his paternal roots in that country and his expressed interest in bringing the African continent into the international stage, according to a Reuters news dispatch. 

 

Corsi, who co-authored the book "Minutemen" with Minuteman Project founder and president Jim Gilchrist, recently released a No. 1 best-selling book "The Obama Nation", which sharply criticized Barack Obama.

 

Although Corsi is a strong critic of Obama, there was no obvious indication that the detention of the duo was politically motivated or an attempt to stop free speech.  Kenyan police claim the men were taken into custody because they "did not have a work permit". 

 

However, Kenyan police were silent when asked for an explanation as to why two persons who were allowed a passport/visa into Kenya would need a "work permit" to simply ask questions as part of their research.

 

"I am worried," Minuteman Project president Jim Gilchrist said when he heard the news of the detention of the two men. "I know these gentlemen very well.  They are truly respectable and conscientious minutemen.  We have a very positive history of working together, primarily on the issue of illegal immigration."

 

No information has been forthcoming as to when Corsi and Bueler will be released.  Calls to the U.S. embassy in Kenya regarding their status were unsuccessful.

 

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KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - The son of a Democratic Tennessee state lawmaker pleaded not guilty Wednesday to hacking the e-mail account of Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin.

David Kernell, 20, of Knoxville, Tenn. entered the plea in federal court in Knoxville, the same day prosecutors unsealed an indictment charging him with intentionally accessing Palin's e-mail account without authorization.

Kernell, an economics student at the University of Tennessee, was brought into court wearing handcuffs and shackles on his ankles.

He was released without posting bond, but the court forbade him from owning a computer and limited his Internet use to checking e-mail and doing class work.

Kernell's father is longtime state Rep. Mike Kernell of Memphis, chairman of Tennessee's House Government Operations Committee. The lawmaker has said he had nothing to do with the hacking incident.

David Kernell was indicted Tuesday by a federal grand jury in Knoxville and faces a maximum of five years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release. Trial is set for Dec. 16.

Prosecutors declined to say if anyone else would be charged. U.S. Magistrate Judge C. Clifford Shirley restricted Kernell from discussing the case with any potential witnesses, which include his roommates.

Kernell was also restricted from having any contact directly or indirectly with the Alaska governor or her family.

Shirley warned that if Kernell violated any part of his release conditions, he would be held until the trial.

Kernell's attorney, Wade Davies, accompanied his client in court.

"As soon as we found out about the charges this morning, David voluntarily turned himself in," said Davies, who refused to answer any other questions.

The indictment alleges that on Sept. 16 Kernell reset the password to Palin's personal e-mail account to gain access to it. Authorities say Kernell then read the contents of the account and made screenshots of the e-mail directory, e-mail content and other personal information, later posting some of the information to a public Web site.

Agents target a chicken processing plant in South Carolina, the latest raid in a stepped-up federal enforcement effort. By Richard Fausset, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
October 8, 2008 More than 300 suspected illegal immigrants were arrested Tuesday morning at a chicken processing plant near Greenville, S.C. -- the latest in a stepped-up federal enforcement effort that has resulted in the deportation of thousands of illegal workers in recent months.

Tuesday's raid was led by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials and involved hundreds of agents from numerous agencies. The target was Columbia Farms, a processing plant that had been the subject of a 10-month criminal investigation.

Resident David Wynn witnessed the hubbub from down the street and applauded the news.

"The excuse that they're taking jobs that Americans won't do -- well, that just doesn't hold water anymore," said Wynn, 48, the co-owner of a nearby air-conditioning wholesaler who spoke Tuesday afternoon by phone. "With the economic crisis we've got going on, we've got to put a stop to it."

Workplace raids such as the one at Columbia Farms have become increasingly common as the Bush administration draws near its end, especially since Congress last year failed to pass an overhaul of the nation's immigration laws. Critics decry what they contend is the rough treatment of illegal immigrants, as well as the disruption to families.

On Tuesday, ICE Special Agent Kenneth A. Smith of Atlanta said the Greenville raid and others like it get to the root of the problem.

"ICE targets employers because the promise of employment draws illegal workers across our borders," Smith said in a statement. "By holding employers accountable we are diminishing the magnet and discouraging others from breaking the law."

Federal officials earlier this year arrested 12 supervisors at the plant. Eleven of them, all Mexican men, were illegal immigrants who were charged with aggravated identity theft and making false statements.

Seven have pleaded guilty and are awaiting sentencing.

The twelfth was a human resources manager, Elaine Crump, 48. She was indicted on 20 counts of filing false federal identification forms.

Barbara Gonzalez, an ICE spokeswoman, said Tuesday that the investigation was not complete.

"We collected evidence, and we are going to go where that evidence takes us," she said.

Officials at the poultry company could not be reached for comment.