This is great. Obama is the Messiah and is a Jew Hater


DTG


"He also gave a sermon in December comparing Obama to Jesus, promoting his candidacy and playing down Clinton."

and of course it's Israel at fault.


"We have supported state terrorism against the Palestinians and black South Africans, and now we are indignant because the stuff we have done overseas is now brought right back to our own front yards"


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Obama denounces pastor's 9/11 comments

By NEDRA PICKLER, Associated Press Writer

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080314/ap_on_el_pr/obama_pastor



Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama on Friday denounced inflammatory remarks from his pastor, who has railed against the United States and accused its leaders of bringing on the Sept. 11 attacks by spreading terrorism.

As video of the Rev. Jeremiah Wright has widely aired on television and the Internet, Obama responded by posting a blog about his relationship with Wright and his church, Chicago's Trinity United Church of Christ, on the Huffington Post.

Obama wrote that he's looked to Wright for spiritual advice, not political guidance, and he's been pained and angered to learn of some of his pastor's comments for which he had not been present. Obama's statement did not say whether Wright would remain on his African American Religious Leadership Committee, and campaign officials wouldn't say either.

"I categorically denounce any statement that disparages our great country or serves to divide us from our allies," Obama said. "I also believe that words that degrade individuals have no place in our public dialogue, whether it's on the campaign stump or in the pulpit. In sum, I reject outright the statements by Reverend Wright that are at issue."

In a sermon on the Sunday after the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, Wright suggested the United States brought on the attacks.

"We bombed Hiroshima, we bombed Nagasaki, and we nuked far more than the thousands in New York and the Pentagon, and we never batted an eye," Wright said. "We have supported state terrorism against the Palestinians and black South Africans, and now we are indignant because the stuff we have done overseas is now brought right back to our own front yards. America's chickens are coming home to roost."

In a 2003 sermon, he said blacks should condemn the United States.

"The government gives them the drugs, builds bigger prisons, passes a three-strike law and then wants us to sing 'God Bless America.' No, no, no, God damn America, that's in the Bible for killing innocent people. God damn America for treating our citizens as less than human. God damn America for as long as she acts like she is God and she is supreme."

He also gave a sermon in December comparing Obama to Jesus, promoting his candidacy and playing down Clinton.

Questions about Obama's religious beliefs have dogged him throughout his candidacy. He's had to fight against false Internet rumors suggesting he's really a Muslim intent on destroying the United States, and now his pastor's words uttered nearly seven years ago have become an issue.

Obama wrote on the Huffington Post that he never heard Wright say any of the statements that are "so contrary to my own life and beliefs," but they have raised legitimate questions about the nature of his relationship with the pastor and the church.

He explained that he joined Wright's church, Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago, nearly 20 years ago. He said he knew Wright as a former Marine and respected biblical scholar who lectured at seminaries across the country.

"Reverend Wright preached the gospel of Jesus, a gospel on which I base my life," he wrote. "... And the sermons I heard him preach always related to our obligation to love God and one another, to work on behalf of the poor, and to seek justice at every turn."

He said Wright's controversial statements first came to his attention at the beginning of his presidential campaign last year, and he condemned them. Because of his ties to the 6,000-member congregation church ? he and his wife were married there and their daughters baptized ? Obama decided not to leave the church.

Obama also has credited Wright with delivering a sermon that he adopted as the title of his book, "The Audacity of Hope."

"With Reverend Wright's retirement and the ascension of my new pastor, Rev. Otis Moss, III, Michelle and I look forward to continuing a relationship with a church that has done so much good," he wrote.

Also Friday, the United Church of Christ issued a 1,400-word statement defending Wright and his "flagship" congregation. John H. Thomas, United Church of Christ's president, lauded Wright's church for its community service and work to nurture youth. Other church leaders praised Wright for speaking out against homophobia and sexism in the black community.

"It's time for all of us to say no to these attacks and to declare that we will not allow anyone to undermine or destroy the ministries of any of our congregations in order to serve their own narrow political or ideological ends," Thomas said in the statement.

Obama tries to allay Jewish concerns

By PHILIP ELLIOTT, Associated Press Writer





Barack Obama has a solid Senate record in support of Israel.

He sings the praises, too, of Jewish civil rights workers who fought for blacks' rights in the U.S. And he says he wants to patch up "a historically powerful bond between the African-American and Jewish communities."

Yet there is unease among some Jewish voters about the Illinois senator and Democratic presidential contender.

Why?

Part of it is a division between blacks and Jews that's been growing for years, a split that Obama has challenged fellow blacks to confront.

Another element is the praise Obama has received from Black Muslim leader Louis Farrakhan, whose disparaging comments about Judaism are toxic to many voters. Obama's own pastor has a history of supporting Palestinian causes.

And there are questions about Obama advisers who some U.S. Jews see as less than ardent advocates of Israel.

Finally, there are rumors and outright lies about the candidate that have gained an audience through repetition in e-mails and on Web sites.

Obama is working hard to win over this vocal, powerful and reliably Democratic voting bloc.

Jews have accounted for about 4 percent of Democratic primary voters so far this year, and Clinton has held a 52-46 percent edge over Obama among them, according to exit polls.

On the day of the Mississippi primary this week, Obama took time to call Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni to express condolences over the deadly terrorist attack on a rabbinical seminary in Jerusalem. He also reaffirmed his support for Israel's right to defend itself and for its commitment to negotiations with Palestinians and underscored the need to stop Iran from supporting terrorism or getting nuclear weapons.

The effort by the candidate and his advisers to calm disquiet among Jewish voters began more than a year ago.

"The Jewish community cannot be taken for granted," said Rep. Robert Wexler of Florida, one of Obama's chief surrogates before Jewish audiences. Wexler sent an e-mail last March to supporters urging them not to be swayed by rumors, a message he repeated during a recent forum in Cleveland.

Obama used a speech in January at Martin Luther King Jr.'s church in Atlanta to chastise blacks for latent anti-Semitism. And during a recent debate, Obama alluded to James Chaney, Andrew Goodman and Michael Schwerner, one black and two Jewish civil rights workers murdered in Mississippi in 1964 as they worked together on a campaign to register black voters.

"You know, I would not be sitting here were it not for a whole host of Jewish-Americans who supported the civil rights movement and helped to ensure that justice was served in the South," Obama said. "And that coalition has frayed over time around a whole host of issues, and part of my task in this process is making sure that those lines of communication and understanding are reopened."

Still, there remains some "nervousness over Senator Obama" among Jewish voters, said Rabbi Joshua Skoff, who attended a private meeting with Obama in Cleveland last month. "The rumors still have some legs."

At the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, President Howard Friedman said Obama's Senate record on Israel has given his critics no reason to doubt him.

But that record is thin. Just a little over three years ago, Obama was a state legislator in Illinois.

"Right now, Obama's big problem with the Jewish community is similar to his problem with other communities: He's just not clearly defined among any voter groups," said Kenneth Wald, director of Center for Jewish Studies at the University of Florida-Gainesville. "The fact he has a name that sounds Muslim and has a Muslim father underlines questions about what we do and what we do not know about him."

Some critics on the Internet have gone far beyond raising questions.

Contrary to some e-mails, Obama is a Christian, not a Muslim. He took his oath of office on the family Bible, not a Quran.

"There has been a concerted effort, largely out of the conservative Web sites and anonymous e-mails," says Ira Forman, executive director of the National Jewish Democratic Council, which set up a Stop The Smears Web site to correct the rumors.

"I don't think it moves tons and tons of votes, but at the fringes, if left unchecked, it could move a few," he said.

In the private meeting in Cleveland with 100 Jewish leaders last month, Obama talked about his 2005 trip to Israel, his views on a Palestinian state and regional Middle East security. He was quickly questioned about his own pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, and an award his church magazine gave last year that said Farrakhan "truly epitomized greatness."

Farrakhan is intolerable to Jewish voters because of a history of anti-Semitic remarks, like calling Judaism a "gutter religion."

Obama, who has rejected support from Farrakhan, assured voters his Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago does not endorse such messages.

"I have never heard an anti-Semitic (remark) made inside of our church. I have never heard anything that would suggest anti-Semitism on the part of the pastor," Obama said in a transcript of his remarks released later. "He (Wright) is like an old uncle who sometimes will say things that I don't agree with. And I suspect there are some of the people in this room who have heard relatives say some things that they don't agree with ? including, on occasion, directed at African-Americans."

Obama took the title of his 2006 book "The Audacity of Hope" from a Wright sermon. But last year, he asked Wright not to offer a prayer at his campaign's kickoff in Springfield, Ill.

The questioners in Cleveland also raised Obama's use of foreign policy advisers the doubters say are foes of Israel, including former President Carter's national security adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski.

Obama replied that Brzezinski is an informal, not a key, adviser, and "I do not share his views with respect to Israel."

He said he has other foreign policy advisers from the Clinton administration who share his belief that Israel has to remain a Jewish state with special ties to the U.S. and that the Palestinians have been irresponsible. And he said critics' e-mails never mention Lester Crown, a member of his national finance committee who is "considered about as hawkish and tough when it comes to Israel as anybody in the country."

"This is where I get to be honest, and I hope I'm not out of school here," Obama told Jewish leaders at the private meeting. "I think there is a strain within the pro-Israel community that says unless you adopt an unwavering, pro-Likud approach to Israel that you're anti-Israel, and that can't be the measure of our friendship with Israel."

Reformer: Trial Will Reveal 'Cesspool' of Obama's Allies

Trial for Indicted Fundraiser Tony Rezko Set for Monday

By BRIAN ROSS, RHONDA SCHWARTZ and AVNI PATEL

Feb. 29, 2008?



With the corruption trial of one of Sen. Barack Obama's longtime friends and supporters set to begin Monday in Chicago, Ill., reform watchdogs say it will reveal the "cesspool" of Illinois politics in which Obama came of age and has said little about in his campaign for president.

"We have a sick political culture," said Jay Stewart, the executive director of the Chicago Better Government Association, "and that's the environment that Barack Obama came from."

Stewart says he does not understand why Obama has lectured others about corruption in Washington and Kenya but "been noticeably silent on the issue of corruption here in his home state, including at this point, mostly Democratic politicians."

There was no immediate comment from the Obama campaign.

The trial Monday involves federal charges of bribery and extortion against Tony Rezko, a real estate developer who became known in Illinois politics as a behind-the-scenes operator and fixer.

While Obama is not considered a target of the Rezko investigation, Stewart says it will shed light on a man who was pivotal to Obama's political career.

"This wasn't just some guy who wrote a check once for Barack Obama, it's someone who was an early supporter and had a personal relationship with Sen. Obama for quite some time," Stewart said.

Indeed, even after he was elected to the United States Senate, Obama involved Rezko in a land deal that enabled the senator to buy his current home on Chicago's South Side.

Obama has since called his decision to involve Rezko "a bone-headed mistake."

"Tony Rezko is all that is wrong with the old kind of politics or any kind of politics," said the Better Government Association's Stewart.

The Rezko trial will focus on Rezko's alleged role in steering Illinois state contracts in exchange for kickbacks and political contributions to Rezko friends.

The most damning examples cited by prosecutors involve Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, but several of the contributions were directed to Obama's 2004 Senate campaign.

A motion filed by federal prosecutors identifies two instances when Rezko directed contributions to an unnamed "political candidate" who has since been identified by Chicago newspapers as Obama.

The Obama campaign says it has donated to charity some $160,000 that can be traced to Rezko or others involved in the corruption investigation.

In his campaign for president, Obama has railed against people like Rezko.

"If you are ready for change, then we can go ahead and tell the lobbyists and the fat cats that their days are over," he said in a speech last month in Akron, Ohio.

The Better Government Association's Stewart says Illinois politics is the opposite of the sentiments Obama now praises.

"That's a noble version he is describing. He is not talking about Illinois when he does that," said Stewart, who acknowledges Obama was "a cut above" most state legislators and reliably supported ethics legislation.

"I don't begrudge him for speaking out on it (corruption) in Washington or Kenya. If it's appropriate, you should say it. To say it's appropriate in Illinois is a huge understatement," Stewart said.

Rezko In Debt $50 Million; How Did He Afford Obama Lot?

Court Transcript Says Rezko Depends on Family Handouts of $7,500 a Month

ABC News
By BRIAN ROSS and RHONDA SCHWARTZ
March 5, 2008?



Accused Illinois fixer Antoin "Tony" Rezko is in debt by $50 million and relies on "family" handouts of $7,500 a month to pay monthly costs, according to a previously sealed court transcript reviewed by ABC News.

Rezko's bleak financial picture raises the question of how the Rezkos were able to buy a vacant lot adjoining the home of Sen. Barack Obama in 2005, at a time Rezko says he was already in deep debt.

Rezko also reveals in the testimony, before Judge Amy St. Eve on Jan. 16, 2007, that he already knew he was under federal investigation at the time of the land purchase and had hired a criminal defense attorney to deal with the "feds."

Obama says he sought Rezko's help because the house he wanted to buy in Chicago's Hyde Park came with an adjoining lot the seller wanted to sell at the same time.

Unable to afford it himself, Obama says Mrs. Rezko bought it for $625,000, and then later sold a strip of the lot back to Obama so he would have a larger yard. Obama says he paid Mrs. Rezko a fair market price.

According to the court transcript, Mrs. Rezko makes $37,500 a year.


Obama has defended Rezko's role as legal but says it was "a bone-headed mistake" to involve him in the deal.

According to the transcript, Mrs. Rezko sold the vacant lot a few weeks before the hearing, with all proceeds going to pay previous debts.

Asked how he was able to pay his lawyer, Joseph Duffy, Rezko said family and some unnamed "friends" were paying his legal bills.

Duffy told the judge, "Mr. Rezko has not provided us any money since his indictment."

Rezko told the judge he had no current source of income, saying his last business deal involving a proposed power plant in Iraq had been cancelled.

He said he had an ongoing relationship with Nadhmi Auchi, a London-based Iraqi billionaire convicted on French fraud charges, who Rezko described as a close friend and business associate.

Auchi came under investigation with the U.N. oil-for-food scandal, but no charges were brought, and he denied any wrongdoing.

Obama pushes away from indicted donor

By TOM RAUM, Associated Press Writer



Democratic presidential contender Sen. Barack Obama on Monday reiterated the steps he has taken to separate himself from longtime donor Antoin "Tony" Rezko, as jury selection began in the Chicago businessman's political corruption trial.

The Illinois senator was pressed by reporters at a news conference about his relations with the 52-year-old real estate developer and fast-food magnate. Rezko is charged with buying political influence with campaign money and using it to launch a multimillion-dollar shakedown scheme aimed at companies hoping to build hospitals or invest state pension money.

Obama has not been accused of any wrongdoing in the case brought by federal prosecutors.

Questions about the relationship dogged Obama as he wound up campaigning on the eve of crucial primary votes in Texas and Ohio in his hard-fought contest with Hillary Rodham Clinton. Obama campaigned exclusively in Texas on Monday, a state polls suggested he was more likely to carry than Ohio.

Pressed, Obama said, "Tony Rezko was a friend and supporter of mine for many years. These charges are completely unrelated to me, and nobody disputes that."

"There's no dispute that he raised money for us, and there's no dispute that we've tried to get rid of it," he added.

Obama did allegedly receive a $10,000 contribution made by a Rezko associate that is mentioned in the indictment. But Obama's campaign has long since sent the money to charity.

So far, Obama has sent $150,000 in Rezko-related contributions to charity. The contributions were to Obama's Senate campaign and his earlier campaigns for the U.S. House and state Senate.

Obama also was questioned about a 2006 real estate deal in which he became involved with Rezko.

"I have been very open about what I called a boneheaded move," Obama replied.

In June 2006, the Obama family purchased a home for $1.65 million near the University of Chicago where Obama has taught law and his wife, Michelle, is a vice president at the university's medical center. The same day, Rezko's wife, Rita, bought a lot next door from the same sellers for $625,000. Obama later told the Chicago Sun-Times the sellers had required that both lots be sold simultaneously.

The Rezkos later sold the lot, but not before selling the Obamas a 10-foot-wide strip of land from the property for $104,500.

"It was a mistake to have been engaged with him at all in this or any other personal business dealing that would allow him, or anyone else, to believe that he had done me a favor," Obama said in a written statement earlier.

Rezko's chief defense counsel, Joseph J. Duffy, on Monday scoffed at any speculation he might call Obama as a defense witness.

Courting the large military presence in Texas, Obama pledged at a veterans center in San Antonio to work for "a seamless transition from active duty to civilian life" for veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, including expansion of the Veterans Administration system.

Later, he spoke to students at a town-hall meeting near Dallas and planned to wrap up his Texas campaign with a late-night rally in Houston.

In San Antonio, Obama told reporters he was optimistic about Tuesday's primaries in Texas, Ohio, Rhode Island and Vermont, but wasn't counting Clinton out.

"Senator Clinton is running a tenacious campaign. She is a hardworking candidate who brings to bear enormous resources. (Former) President Clinton is working hard on her behalf. We know this has been an extraordinary election. It continues to be.

"We're working as hard as we can to try to do well," Obama said.

Obama campaign manager David Plouffe called Tuesday "the last big window of opportunity" for Clinton, noting that "enormous leads" she enjoyed as recently as two weeks ago had dwindled or evaporated.

It's a new place so the service was a bit slow.


The food was fine but they need to turn the heat on in the place!!


DTG

Would calling him Candidate Hussein be inappropriate?? DTG

I wish the judge would have given him 25 years but asking for the Death Penalty on this one is a bit silly.



The questions still remain:

How did Kevin Freibott get on the JC Police Dept. without a background check ?

Did Healy use any influence to get this piece of garbage (HIS COUSIN ) on to the Department ?

DTG

IRS investigates Obama's denomination

By RACHEL ZOLL, AP Religion Writer

Tue Feb 26, 8:58 PM ET



The IRS is investigating the United Church of Christ over a speech Sen. Barack Obama gave at its national meeting last year after he became a candidate for president, the denomination said Tuesday.

Obama, an Illinois Democrat, belongs to the 1.2 million-member Protestant group through his Chicago congregation.

In a letter the denomination received Monday, the IRS said "reasonable belief exists" that the circumstances surrounding the speech violated restrictions on political activity for tax-exempt organizations. The denomination has denied any wrongdoing.

Obama, a member of Trinity United Church of Christ, spoke about faith and public life at the denomination's June 2007 General Synod in Hartford, Conn.

The IRS said in the letter that it was concerned about articles posted on the church's Web site and on other sites stating that Obama had addressed nearly 10,000 people at the event. The agency also said Obama volunteers had staffed campaign tables "outside the center to promote his campaign."

The Rev. J. Bennett Guess, a spokesman for the Cleveland-based denomination, said a group of Obama volunteers was outside the Hartford Civic Center, where the event took place, but that they were told they could not enter the meeting.

The UCC had invited Obama to speak a year before he announced he was running for president because of his involvement in the denomination, Guess said.

Church leaders consulted with lawyers before the event on following IRS rules. Before Obama spoke, a top church official told the crowd that the senator's talk was not a campaign-related event and that no leaflets or other signs of political support would be allowed.

Nonprofits are barred from endorsing candidates or providing support for campaigns, although groups are allowed to invite candidates to address them and many do so. Guess said no other presidential candidates were invited because Obama was the only one active in the UCC.

The Rev. John H. Thomas, president of the denomination, called the inquiry "disturbing."

"When the invitation to an elected public official to speak to the national meeting of his own church family is called into question, it has a chilling effect on every religious community," Thomas said in a statement.

Amy Brundage, an Obama spokeswoman, insisted the speech was not a campaign event. In the address, Obama spoke about his personal spiritual journey and had said that faith had been misused in the past to divide Americans, partly because of the Christian right.

The IRS has stepped up its monitoring of the political activity of nonprofit groups during the 2008 election. It is more common for individual congregations to be targeted, not entire denominations, but very large ministries have been investigated in the past.

The inquiries can take years. Punishments can range from a financial penalty to loss of tax-exempt status ? an outcome that church attorneys call the "death penalty" for nonprofits.

The IRS does not comment on investigations because tax information is confidential.

J. Brent Walker, executive director of the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty, which defends religious groups against government interference, called the timing of the investigation "peculiar." But he said he generally has found the IRS to be nonpartisan.

"They have not gone after the left or the right or one party over another," Walker said. "Both sides have accused the service of doing that, but my impression is that they've done a pretty good job being nonpartisan."

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I am in before someone call you racist !!!

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Obama and Gun Control:


His record isn't likely to win back the rural "pro-gun" voters who've fled to the Republicans in recent years, likely costing Gore the election in 2000. From the Chicago Defender, Dec. 13, 1999:

Sweeping federal gun control legislation proposed by Sen. Barack Obama (D-13th) would increase the penalties on gun runners who are flooding Chicago's streets with illegal weapons.

At an anti-gun rally held at the Park Manor Christian Church, 600 E. 73rd St., headed by the Rev. James Demus, Obama also said he's backing a resolution being introduced into the City Council by Alds. Toni Preckwinkle (4th), Ted Thomas (15th), Leslie Hairston (5th) to call for a "shot-free" millennium celebration.

Obama outlined his anti-gun plan that includes increased penalties for the interstate transportation of firearms. The maximum penalty now for bringing a gun across the border is 10 years in prison. Obama is proposing to make it a felony for a gun owner whose firearm was stolen from his residence which causes harm to another person if that weapon was not securely stored in that home. [!!!]

He's proposing restricting gun purchases to one weapon a month and banning the sale of firearms at gun shows except for "antique" weapons. Obama is also proposing increasing the licensing fee to obtain a federal firearms license.

He's also seeking a ban on police agencies from reselling their used weapons even if those funds are used to buy more state-of-the-art weapons for their agencies. Obama wants only those over 21 who've passed a basic course to be able to buy or own a firearm.

He's proposing that all federally licensed gun dealers sell firearms in a storefront and not from their homes while banning their business from being within five miles of a school or a park. He's also banning the sale of 'junk" handguns like the popular Saturday Night Specials.

Obama is requiring that all people working at a gun dealer undergo a criminal background check. He's also asking that gun manufacturers be required to develop safety measures that permit only the original owner of the firearm to operate the weapon purchased.

Additionally, he wants an increase of the funds for schools to teach anger management skills for youth between the ages of 5-13. Obama is also seeking to increase the federal taxes by 500 percent on the sale of firearm, ammunition [sic] -- weapons he says are most commonly used in firearm deaths.

Saint Obama pulls a "Joe Biden" and steals Gov. Deval Patrick's speech



Obama says borrowed lines not a big deal

By NEDRA PICKLER, Associated Press Writer




Sen. Barack Obama said Monday that he doesn't think it's a big deal that he borrowed lines from his friend Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick, although he probably should have given him credit.

Patrick said during his gubernatorial campaign a year and a half ago that words matter, like "I have a dream" and "all men are created equal."

Obama used the same lines Saturday night in Wisconsin. Obama said that Patrick suggested he use the lines to respond to Hillary Rodham Clinton's suggestion that Obama is more of a talker than a doer.

Clinton spokesman Howard Wolfson accused Obama of plagiarizing Patrick, and that's particularly troubling since Obama's appeal is based in large part on his rhetorical skills.

"It raises questions about the premise of his candidacy," Wolfson told reporters in a conference call.

Obama, D-Ill., says that's going too far.

"Now hold on a second. Let's see ? I've written two books, wrote most of my speeches," Obama told reporters at a news conference after touring a titanium plant.

"I'm happy to give Deval credit, as I give credit to a lot people for spurring all kinds of ideas," he said. "But I think that it is fair to say that everything that we've been doing in generating excitement and the interest that people have in the election is based on the core belief in me that we need change in America."

Asked whether he wished he would have given him credit given the criticism he's facing, Obama responded: "I was on the stump, and he had suggested that we use these lines. I thought they were good lines. I'm sure I should have ? didn't this time."

"I really don't think this is too big of a deal," he said. He said he's noticed Clinton using his phrases sometimes, like "it's time to turn the page" and "fired up, ready to go."

Obama focused on the economy during his trip to this economically depressed manufacturing region of Ohio. He promised he would end tax breaks for companies which move jobs overseas and use the money to give tax breaks to companies who invest in the United States.

At his news conference, Obama also said he didn't expect any immediate endorsement from John Edwards after his secret meeting with his former rival yesterday. "I think he's still mulling things over," Obama said.

The New Space Race: China vs. the U.S.

By PETER RITTER

Wed Feb 13, 2008
Time


Both the U.S. and China have announced intentions of returning humans to the moon by 2020 at the earliest. But right now, the two countries are already in the early stages of a new space race that appears to have some of the heat and skullduggery of the one between Washington and Moscow during the Cold War, when space was a proxy battleground for geopolitical dominance.


On Monday, the U.S. Department of Justice announced the indictment of a former Boeing engineer for passing sensitive information about the U.S. space program to the Chinese government. According to the indictment, Dongfan Chung, a 72-year-old California man who worked for Boeing until September 2006, gave China documents relating to military aircraft and rocket technology, as well as technical information about the U.S. Space Shuttle.


U.S. officials say the Chung case is part of a pattern of escalating espionage by China. "We're seeing this on all fronts," says Dean Boyd, a spokesman for the Justice Department's National Security Division. Since October 2006, the Justice Department has prosecuted more than a dozen high-profile cases involving China, including industrial espionage and the illegal export of military technology. In an unrelated case also announced Monday, a Defense Department employee was arrested in Virginia for passing classified information about the sale of U.S. military technology to Taiwan to alleged Chinese agents.


The scale of Chung's alleged espionage is startling. According to the Justice Department, Chung may have been providing trade secrets to Chinese aerospace companies and government agents since 1979, when he was an engineer at Rockwell International, a company acquired by Boeing in 1996. He worked for Boeing until his retirement in March 2003, and continued to work as a contractor for the company until September 2006. The indictment alleges that Chung gave China documents relating to the B-1 bomber and the Delta IV rocket, which is used to lift heavy payloads into space, as well as information on an advanced antenna array intended for the Space Shuttle.


According to the indictment, Chinese officials gave Chung a shopping list of information to acquire for them. In one instance, Chung said that he would send documents through an official in China's San Francisco consulate. In another, a Chinese contact suggested he route information through a man named Chi Mak, a naturalized U.S. citizen who also worked as an engineer in California and who was convicted last year of attempting to provide China with information on an advanced naval propulsion system.


The indictment charges that Chung was a willing participant. "Having been a Chinese compatriot for over thirty years and being proud of the achievements by the people's efforts for the motherland, I am regretful for not contributing anything," Chung allegedly wrote in an undated letter to one of his mainland contacts.


China's manned space program, codenamed Project 921, is indeed a matter of considerable national pride for a country that sees space exploration as confirmation of superpower status. China is pouring substantial resources into space research, according to Dean Cheng, an Asian affairs specialist at the U.S.-based Center for Naval Analysis. With a budget estimated at up to $2 billion a year, China's space program is roughly comparable to Japan's. Later this year, China plans to launch its third manned space mission - a prelude to a possible lunar foray by 2024. With U.S. President George W. Bush vowing to return American astronauts to the moon by 2020, some competition is perhaps inevitable.


China's space program lags far behind that of the U.S., of course. "They're basically recreating the Apollo missions 50 years on," says Joan Johnson-Freese, chair of the National Security Studies Department at the U.S. Naval War College and an expert on China's space development. "It's a tortoise and hare race. They're happy plodding along slowly and creating this perception of a space race."


But there may be more at stake than national honor. Some analysts say that China's attempts to access American space technology are less about boosting its space program than upgrading its military. China is already focusing on space as a potential battlefield. A recent Pentagon estimate of China's military capabilities said that China is investing heavily in anti-satellite weaponry. In January 2007, China demonstrated that it was able to destroy orbiting satellites when it brought down one its own weather satellites with a missile.


China clearly recognizes the significance of this capability. In 2005, a Chinese military officer wrote in the book "Joint Space War Campaigns", put out by the National Defense University, that a "shock and awe strike" on satellites "will shake the structure of the opponent's operations system of organization and will create huge psychological impact on the opponent's policymakers." Such a strike could hypothetically allow China to counterbalance technologically superior U.S. forces, which rely heavily on satellites for battlefield data. China is still decades away from challenging the U.S. in space. But U.S. officials worry espionage may be bringing China a little closer to doing so here on Earth.

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Excellent comment !!!

DTG

Excellent Post

DTG



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Steve Lonegan arrested protesting Corzine's toll increase.


Wednesday, January 23, 2008

BY DEBORAH HOWLETT AND JOSH MARGOLIN

Star-Ledger Staff

Gov. Jon Corzine insisted yesterday his office had nothing to do with the arrest of conservative activist Steve Lonegan at a town hall meeting in Cape May County, even though the mayor of Middle Township said local police acted at the direction of the governor's staff.

"All I know is they were doing what they were told to do," Mayor F. Nathan Doughty, a Democrat, said. Asked who had told them what to do, he said, "The governor's people."

Corzine was adamant in rejecting Doughty's claim about Saturday's arrest at Middle Township High School. Lonegan was arrested moments before the start of the town meeting at which the governor was to explain his plan to increase tolls on the state's major highways.

"That's just nonsense. It's nonsense," Corzine said. "I'm not going to be embarrassed by it. I can't find anybody that was around that said anything like that happened. Most of the staff was with me."

Doughty referred further questions about the arrest to Middle Township police, whose chief, Joe Evangelista, backed up Corzine's account.

Doughty was inside the school at the time of the arrest and might not have had first-hand knowledge of what transpired outside, Evangelista said. The lieutenant in charge of the scene consulted only with school district officials before arresting Lo negan on a charge of defiant trespass.

"The governor and his staff and even his security detail had nothing to do with this," Evangelista said. "They were not under their direction. That's why (police officers) went to the superintendent and business administrator. This is their property. It was their call."

Schools Superintendent Michael Kopakowski did not return phone calls seeking comment.

The tumult over Lonegan's ar rest distracted from the ongoing debate of the governor's "financial restructuring" proposal at a time when Corzine's sales pitch is about to reach full boil.

Corzine held a news conference yesterday to introduce a diverse, 17-member "steering committee," headed by former U.S. Rep. Bob Franks, a Republican, that will advocate for his plan to use steep toll hikes to reduce the state's debt by half. The group represents "the highest echelons of some of the most important as pects of our society," Corzine said.

The committee includes Den nis Bone, president of Verizon NJ; Fred Hassan, chairman of Scher ing Plough; the Rev. Reginald Jackson of the Black Ministers Council; Shirley Tilghman, president of Princeton University; Gil Medina, former commerce commissioner in the Whitman administration; and former state Supreme Court Chief Justice James Zazzali.

By the end of the news conference, however, Corzine was fending off questions about the arrest Lonegan, the gadfly former mayor of Bogota who lost a bid for governor in the 2005 Republican primary.

"I had nothing to do with that," Corzine said of the arrest.

Lonegan, an outspoken oppo nent of much of the governor's agenda, said he was handing out fliers on the school lawn before the town meeting when school officials approached him and told him all protests were confined to a corner across the street.

When Lonegan didn't leave, a police officer approached and insisted he move.

"This guy was not going to tell me I can't hand out fliers at a public meeting," Lonegan said. "I said, 'Look, the only way you are going to stop me is to arrest me.' It took six cops to bring me in -- more than it took to get John Dil linger."

Lonegan was handcuffed, frisked and taken to police headquarters, where he was photographed and fingerprinted. He received a written summons for de fiant trespass and was released. He is scheduled to appear in Middle Township Municipal Court Jan. 30.

Lonegan insisted the governor's staff was behind his arrest. "Who else would give these guys the directive to do this?" he said.

Aides to Corzine insisted the governor had nothing to gain by having Lonegan arrested. Corzine also pointed out that Seth Grossman, another protester arrested with Lonegan, returned to the high school in time to take part in the town hall meeting.

Lonegan has been at every town hall meeting the governor has held on his toll plan and was among those who questioned Corzine at the first meeting in Livingston.

"I've got no objection to passing out leaflets, standing on your head, running with placards," Corzine said. "But if that's against the law, then it's against the law."

The arrest raised questions about whether Lonegan actually broke the law.

Evangelista, the Middle Township police chief, could not cite a specific town ordinance against protests on the high school campus, but said school district administrators made it clear they did not want protesters on school property.

"We gave him a warning, he refused to comply, so we arrested him on trespassing," Evangelista said.

Lonegan's arrest appears to be "bogus," said Deborah Jacobs, executive director of the New Jersey chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union.

"From what it sounds like, he was engaged in political speech activities, which are the most protected kind of speech," she said.

State Sen. Gerald Cardinale (R-Bergen) said he was "deeply disturbed" by Lonegan's arrest and called on U.S. Attorney Christopher Christie to investigate.

News accounts and video "seem to indicate that Corzine's people conspired with the local police to shut down the peaceful protest outside of the high school," Cardinale said. "Who does he think he is, Joe Stalin?"

The Senate budget committee is scheduled to hold its first hearing on Corzine's plan this afternoon in Trenton.

That $25G donation had 'nothing to do' with fire promotions

Friday, January 18, 2008

Earl Morgan , Jersey Journal

R umors began circulating early in December that Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah Healy's administration was planning to promote a bunch of firefighters to the rank of captain. Just before Christmas, the grapevine began buzzing about a bash that was thrown to celebrate promotions in the Fire Department, promotions that had not yet been announced.

Then, late Wednesday, The Jersey Journal received a call from Jersey City Fire Director Armando Roman announcing a ceremony today to promote 26 firefighters to the rank of captain. The event will be held in the Margaret Williams Auditorium at New Jersey City University at 11 a.m.

Roman confirmed he organized and hosted the pre-holiday affair, dubbed "Firefighters and Friends of Jerramiah Healy," with tickets priced at $150 and $500. He also acknowledged presenting Healy with a $25,000 campaign donation during the affair, but emphatically denied that the fund-raiser had anything to do with the promotions.

"I would never do that," Roman said when asked about the juxtaposition of the fund-raiser and the promotions.

"Believe me, if it was about promotions the ticket prices would have been much higher. The mayor is planning to hold a fund-raiser in February. If the donation was tied to the promotions, (February) would have been a better time to do it."

Currently there are 600 firefighters in the Jersey City Fire Department. Of that number, 130 are captains, another 28 are battalion chiefs and 11 hold the rank of deputy chief. So, including Roman and Chief William Sinnott, 171 of the 600 members of the department are ranking officers. That's 28.5 percent.

As far as what these promotions will cost taxpayers - well, firefighters start with a base salary of $41,000 a year and, under the current labor contract, receive annual increases for seven years, topping out at $83,666 a year. A new captain begins with an annual salary of $98,474 a year and receives increases to a maximum of $110,000 a year. These are base figures and don't include longevity increases or overtime pay.

Jersey City officials are struggling, as we speak, to hold down municipal spending in an effort to forestall a property tax increase. Promoting 26 firefighters to captains seems to be a strange way to accomplish that goal.

On the other hand, as Jennifer Morrill, a spokeswoman for Healy, said in a statement issued from the Mayor's Office: "The decision to promote the new captains was triggered by the need to curtail overtime, fill vacancies in the rank resulting from retirements and staff the newly created high-rise unit. Our firefighters deserve the full protection we can give them."

There is no argument that Jersey City's Bravest should have the manpower and equipment needed to do their job. Like Roman, Morrill declared the promotions had nothing to do with the $25,000 donation. But Morrill did add that the mayor was concerned about the public perception of the timing of the two events.

Of course, to allay any suspicion or cynical reaction, the mayor could have declined to take the money.




? 2008 The Jersey Journal
? 2008 NJ.com All Rights Reserved.

Quote:



Here is my question :

Since it appears that ?Red States ? have a higher reproductive rate than ?Blue States? will this have an impact on American Politics ?

Less population = Less members in The House of Representatives

DTG

Against the trend, U.S. births way up


1-15-08

By MIKE STOBBE, AP Medical Writer





Bucking the trend in many other wealthy industrialized nations, the United States seems to be experiencing a baby boomlet, reporting the largest number of children born in 45 years.

The nearly 4.3 million births in 2006 were mostly due to a bigger population, especially a growing number of Hispanics. That group accounted for nearly one-quarter of all U.S. births. But non-Hispanic white women and other racial and ethnic groups were having more babies, too.

An Associated Press review of birth numbers dating to 1909 found the total number of U.S. births was the highest since 1961, near the end of the baby boom. An examination of global data also shows that the United States has a higher fertility rate than every country in continental Europe, as well as Australia, Canada and Japan. Fertility levels in those countries have been lower than the U.S. rate for several years, although some are on the rise, most notably in France.

Experts believe there is a mix of reasons: a decline in contraceptive use, a drop in access to abortion, poor education and poverty.

There are cultural reasons as well. Hispanics as a group have higher fertility rates ? about 40 percent higher than the U.S. overall. And experts say Americans, especially those in middle America, view children more favorably than people in many other Westernized countries.

"Americans like children. We are the only people who respond to prosperity by saying, `Let's have another kid,'" said Nan Marie Astone, associate professor of population, family and reproductive health at Johns Hopkins University.

Demographers say it is too soon to know if the sudden increase in births is the start of a trend.

"We have to wait and see. For now, I would call it a noticeable blip," said Brady Hamilton, a statistician with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Demographers often use the word boomlet for a small and brief baby boom.

To many economists and policymakers, the increase in births is good news. The U.S. fertility rate ? the number of children a woman is expected to have in her lifetime ? reached 2.1. That's the "magic number" required for a population to replace itself.

Countries with much lower rates ? such as Japan and Italy, both with a rate of 1.3 ? face future labor shortages and eroding tax bases as they fail to reproduce enough to take care of their aging elders.

But the higher fertility rate isn't all good. Last month, the CDC reported that America's teen birth rate rose for the first time in 15 years.

The same report also showed births becoming more common in nearly every age and racial or ethnic group. Birth rates increased for women in their 20s, 30s and early 40s, not just teens. They rose for whites, blacks, Hispanics, American Indians and Alaska Natives. The rate for Asian women stayed about the same.

Total births jumped 3 percent in 2006, the largest single-year increase since 1989, according to the CDC's preliminary data.

Clearly, U.S. birth rates are not what they were in the 1950s and early 1960s, when they were nearly twice as high and large families were much more common. The recent birth numbers are more a result of many women having a couple of kids each, rather than a smaller number of mothers, each bearing several children, Astone said.

Demographers say there has been at least one boomlet before, around 1990, when annual U.S. births broke 4.1 million for two straight years before dropping to about 3.9 million in the mid-1990s. Adolescent childbearing was up at the time, but so were births among other groups, and experts aren't sure what explained that bump.

The 2006 fertility rate of 2.1 children is the highest level since 1971. To be sure, the fertility rate among Hispanics ? 3 children per woman ? has been a major contributor. That's the highest rate for any group. In 2006, for the first time, Hispanics accounted for more than 1 million births.

The high rate probably reflects cultural attitudes toward childbirth developed in other countries, experts said. Fertility rates average 2.7 in Central America and 2.4 in South America.

Fertility rates often rise among immigrants who leave their homelands for a better life. For example, the rate among Mexican-born women in the U.S. is 3.2, but the overall rate for Mexico is just 2.4, according to the Pew Hispanic Center, a Washington-based research organization.

"They're more optimistic about their future here," said Jeff Passel, a Pew Center demographer.

Some complain that many illegal immigrants come here purposely to have children.

"The child is an automatic American citizen, thus entitled to all benefits of American citizens. This gives a certain financial incentive for people coming from other countries illegally to have children here," said John Vinson, president of the Virginia-based American Immigration Control Foundation.

Fertility rates were also relatively high for other racial and ethnic groups. The rate rose to 2.1 for blacks and nearly 1.9 for non-Hispanic whites in 2006, according to the CDC.

Fertility levels tend to decline as women become better educated and gain career opportunities, and as they postpone childbirth until they are older. Experts say those factors, along with the legalization of abortion and the expansion of contraception options, explain why the U.S. fertility rate dropped to its lowest point ? about 1.7 ? in 1976.

But while fertility declines persisted in many other developed nations, the United States saw the reverse: The fertility rate climbed to 2 in 1989 and has hovered around that mark since then, according to federal birth data.

Kohler and others say the difference has more to do with culture than race. For example, white American women have more children than white European ? even though many nations in Europe have more family-friendly government policies on parental leave and child care.

But such policies are just one factor in creating a society that produces lots of babies, said Duke University's S. Philip Morgan, a leading fertility researcher.

Other factors include recent declines in contraceptive use here; limited access to abortion in some states; and a 24/7 economy that provides opportunities for mothers to return to work, he said.

Also, it is more common for American women to have babies out of wedlock and more common for couples here to go forward with unwanted pregnancies. And, compared with nations like Italy and Japan, it's more common for American husbands to help out with chores and child care.

There are regional variations in the United States. New England's fertility rates are more like Northern Europe's. American women in the Midwest, South and certain mountain states tend to have more children.

The influence of certain religions in those latter regions is an important factor, said Ron Lesthaeghe, a Belgian demographer who is a visiting professor at the University of Michigan. "Evangelical Protestantism and Mormons," he said.

Fading in polls, Clinton vows to fight on
By Ellen Wulfhorst


A teary-eyed Hillary Clinton pushed for support on Monday as polls showed her poised for a huge New Hampshire loss to Democratic rival Barack Obama, but the former front-runner vowed to carry on with her presidential quest even if she loses.


Obama warned supporters against overconfidence as a flood of new polls gave him a double-digit lead over Clinton one day before the state casts the next votes in the race for the White House.

Polls will close in the state at 8 p.m. EST on Tuesday, with results expected to begin rolling in quickly.

At a campaign event in Portsmouth, Clinton choked up and grew uncharacteristically emotional as she talked about her reasons for seeking the presidency in the November election.

"Some of us put ourselves out there and do this," she said, her voice breaking and her eyes glistening with tears, "against some pretty difficult odds and we do it each one of us because we care about our country."

"But some of us are right and some of us are wrong," she said in a hesitant, quaking voice. "Some of us are ready and some of us are not."

The incident resurrected memories of former Maine Sen. Edmund Muskie's tears during the 1972 New Hampshire campaign, credited with helping to bring down his front-running bid.

Clinton, who would be the first woman president, promised to stay in the fight until it was over, possibly on "Super Tuesday" on February 5, when 22 states hold nominating contests in the quest to be the party's nominee in the November election.

"Whatever happens tomorrow, we're going on," she told the CBS "Early Show."

"I've always felt that this is going to be a very tough, hard-fought election, and I'm ready for that," added Clinton, who finished third in the first nominating contest in Iowa last week behind Obama and former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards.

Obama rolled across the state in an effort to turn out supporters, warning there was still plenty of work needed before Tuesday's vote.

"Do not take this race for granted. I know we had a nice boost over the last couple of days but elections are funny things," Obama, an Illinois senator vying to become the first black U.S. president, told supporters in Claremont.

In the state's hard-fought Republican race, Sen. John McCain of Arizona held a more narrow lead over former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney in new polls. He scrambled across the state to urge supporters to get out and vote -- and asked them to bring a friend.

'I'M GOING TO WIN'

"I need you to get out the vote tomorrow, this could be a very close election and it will depend on voter turnout," McCain said in Keene. "I'm proud to say I'm going to win tomorrow."

New Hampshire is the next battleground in the state-by-state process of picking Democratic and Republican candidates for November's presidential election to succeed President George W. Bush.

A Reuters/C-SPAN/Zogby poll showed Obama with a 10-point edge on Clinton in the state, 39 percent to 29 percent, as he gained a wave of momentum from his win in Iowa.

McCain was relegated to the political scrap heap last summer after sinking polls and poor fundraising forced him to shake up his staff and recalibrate his campaign, but he now leads Romney by 5 points in New Hampshire.

Clinton and Romney are both under pressure to revive their campaigns after disappointing showings in Iowa, and a second consecutive loss for either could be devastating.

Romney, who at one time led polls in Iowa and New Hampshire, finished second in Iowa to former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee.

A wealthy former venture capitalist who has pumped tens of millions of his own money into the race, Romney said he was buoyed by a Sunday night debate where he tangled with McCain and Huckabee over their records on taxes and immigration.

"Right now it's a neck-and-neck race. But with the debate last night and the support I received from that debate I anticipate winning tomorrow," Romney said in Stratham.

Obama has been drawing huge crowds on the campaign trail and was joined on Monday by former Sen. Bill Bradley, a one-time professional basketball star who ran his own unsuccessful presidential campaign in 2000.

"Starting tomorrow morning, you have a chance to declare a new day, you have a chance to turn a page and write a new chapter in American history," Obama said. "It is very important for us all to be clear that we have not won anything yet -- here in New Hampshire."

Apologizing for a hoarse-sounding voice, he added, "I asked a doctor what he would prescribe and he said 'shut up."'

(Additional reporting by Steve Holland, Jeff Mason, Ellen Wulfhorst, Ed Stoddard, Jason Szep in New Hampshire; Writing by John Whitesides; editing by David Wiessler)

I like this one better: Choose your friends Carefully!!! DTG

Quote:

Br6dR:

You conveniently omitted this piece of information from the same Web Site



A bit of selective editing ??!!!!!!

"More recently, Judicial Watch has also sued the George W. Bush administration for access to minutes of Vice President Cheney's Energy Task Force and has also sued the Secret Service to force the release of logs detailing corrupt lobbyist Jack Abramoff's visits to the White House."

I guess they are non-partisan !!!

DTG


PS- Gee , if they are getting that kind of money they do not need my $25 per month.

This is pretty funny !!

I was not aware we still had ?Front Organizations? and ?Fellow Travelers? from the American Communist Party left after the Cold War.


Any Trotskyites left out there ????



DTG

"We're dealing with an issue that was resolved in blood 150 years go, and New Jersey spilled a lot of blood."- Assemblyman Richard A. Merkt (R., Morris),


I think Mr. Merkt is correct on both counts

Here is a list of the New Jersey Volunteer Units that fought to free the Slaves.

So the question is :

Should their decedents apologize too?


DTG


http://www.civilwararchive.com/unionnj.htm



1st New Jersey Volunteer Infantry Regiment
2nd New Jersey Volunteer Infantry Regiment
3rd New Jersey Volunteer Infantry Regiment
4th New Jersey Volunteer Infantry Regiment
5th New Jersey Volunteer Infantry Regiment
6th New Jersey Volunteer Infantry Regiment
7th New Jersey Volunteer Infantry Regiment
8th New Jersey Volunteer Infantry Regiment
9th New Jersey Volunteer Infantry Regiment
10th New Jersey Volunteer Infantry Regiment
11th New Jersey Volunteer Infantry Regiment
12th New Jersey Volunteer Infantry Regiment
13th New Jersey Volunteer Infantry Regiment
14th New Jersey Volunteer Infantry Regiment
15th New Jersey Volunteer Infantry Regiment
16th New Jersey Volunteer Infantry Regiment
17th New Jersey Volunteer Infantry Regiment
18th New Jersey Volunteer Infantry Regiment
19th New Jersey Volunteer Infantry Regiment
20th New Jersey Volunteer Infantry Regiment
21st New Jersey Volunteer Infantry Regiment
22nd New Jersey Volunteer Infantry Regiment
23rd New Jersey Volunteer Infantry Regiment
24th New Jersey Volunteer Infantry Regiment
25th New Jersey Volunteer Infantry Regiment
26th New Jersey Volunteer Infantry Regiment
27th New Jersey Volunteer Infantry Regiment
28th New Jersey Volunteer Infantry Regiment
29th New Jersey Volunteer Infantry Regiment
30th New Jersey Volunteer Infantry Regiment
31st New Jersey Volunteer Infantry Regiment
32nd New Jersey Volunteer Infantry Regiment
33rd New Jersey Volunteer Infantry Regiment
34th New Jersey Volunteer Infantry Regiment
35th New Jersey Volunteer Infantry Regiment
36th New Jersey Volunteer Infantry Regiment
37th New Jersey Volunteer Infantry Regiment
38th New Jersey Volunteer Infantry Regiment
39th New Jersey Volunteer Infantry Regiment
40th New Jersey Volunteer Infantry Regiment


1st New Jersey Volunteer Cavalry Regiment

2nd New Jersey Volunteer Cavalry Regiment

3rd New Jersey Volunteer Cavalry Regiment

1st Battery "A" New Jersey Volunteer Light Artillery "Hexamer's"

2nd Battery "B" New Jersey Volunteer Light Artillery

3rd Battery "C" New Jersey Volunteer Light Artillery

4th Battery "D" New Jersey Volunteer Light Artillery

5th Battery "E" New Jersey Volunteer Light Artillery

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Anti-Semitism is so pass?!!

Christian bashing; now that?s cool !!!

DTG

Quote:



Finally someone understands!!!


The chickens are coming home to ?????


DTG