I hate to admit this, but I like Joe Biden. He has a compelling story. He seems like a nice guy.
But how soon we forget. He is to me, everything that is wrong with America these days.
In 1988 Joe Biden ran for President.
He gave an impassioned speech one day on the stump, and people noticed something funny.
Now, this was long before the internet was a font of instant information.
Woops, Biden had plagiarized the speech from a well known British politician.
OK, I thought, no problem. It is certainly understandable that someone would hear a speech, be so taken by it that they would copy it subconsciously.
Look, everyone has imitated the "no new taxes", the "it's the economy stupid" and other well known phrases. Hell, if I hear one more scandal called "...gate" I think I'll scream.
But a funny thing happened on the way to the honesty school with plagiarist Joe.
People started checking the old fashioned way. With hard copies.
And woops again, what happened? Well, it wasn't only his stump speech that was plagiarized, it was the supposedly off the cuff stories he told, and comments he made!!!
Now, it was getting sticky. So Joe, humiliated, dropped out.
What was the worst part about it? Biden is bright. And a good speaker. So why do it? Because it was just easier.
But that wasn't enough. Soon after, in a shocking development that got no press because he had already dropped out of the Presidential race, it was discovered that his instinct for stealing others' work extended all the way back to law school. He had plagiarized law school exams!!!
Worse, to me, was the fact that this was all barely mentioned when he ran again this year, and not at all when he was chosen by Obama.
I'm sure many of you will respond "so what". And that is JUST my point.
As Daniel Patrick Moynihan, one of my liberal heroes once said, it is the creeping destruction of lowered expectations.
Now, as to McCain's pick. My first reaction is simply this. I don't get it.
Not for the reason you all might think. I don't know enough about Governor Palin to make an adequate judge of her yet. What I mean is this.
The idea of "energizing your base" is another hackneyed phrase that I am fed up with.
How about energizing the other guys base? How about really reaching across the aisle?
You know, like Bill did?
And incredibly enough (I still can't figure out how this moron did it) but like Reagan did (easily the stupidest President of my life).
But worse, as I have often said to my female friends, and one of the truism's of politics, is that women don't vote for women.
Now, I don't want you all telling me that YOU will vote for a woman.
That is not the point. Every poll ever taken reflects the fact that women do not vote for women. Certainly not in outsized proportions.
So, the idea that McCain will pick off Hillary supporters is wrong at it's base. And wrong in fact.
More on this when I "vet" Governor Palin.
Update: Upon initial review, Palin seems to me a nightmare, at best.
The term "abuse of power" may well have been invented to describe her.
Saturday, August 30, 2008
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Weekly Jihad Report
44
Dead Bodies:
370
Critically Injured:
413
Latest Offerings from the Religion of Peace
"He who fights that Islam should be superior fights in Allah's cause"
8/28/2008 (Xinjiang, China) - Knife-wielding Muslims set upon a group of police, stabbing at least two to death.
8/28/2008 (Bannu, Pakistan) - Islamic bombers target a bus carrying prisoners, leaving at least ten dead.
8/28/2008 (Sejoud, Lebanon) - Hezbollah gunmen fire on a helicoptor, killing a Lebanese officer.
8/27/2008 (Pattani, Thailand) - A young man and woman are shot to death in separate attacks by radical Islamists.
8/27/2008 (Narathiwat, Thailand) - Muslim gunmen murder a government social worker.
8/27/2008 (Jammu, India) - Lashkar-e-Toiba shoot six civilians to death, including a cab driver and his passengers.
The memories come back...
OK, I admit it. I was a fan of Bill's. His centrist period was as close as I have come in my lifetime to someone who represents what I believe in.
An activist foreign policy (i.e. the bombing of Kosovo, the pursuit of Osama - although marred by Mogodishu and Rwanda), and a low interest rate, low deficit domestic agenda.
And there he was last night reminding me why I wanted to eliminate term limits!!
An activist foreign policy (i.e. the bombing of Kosovo, the pursuit of Osama - although marred by Mogodishu and Rwanda), and a low interest rate, low deficit domestic agenda.
And there he was last night reminding me why I wanted to eliminate term limits!!
The Good, the Bad, and..... the Better
*****BEWARE, HIGHLY PERSONAL POST TO FOLLOW*****
My great aunt died last week. That's the bad.
Calling her my great aunt doesn't do her, or her memory justice, unless you use the term as an adjective of character, rather than to explain her relation to me.
She was my grandmother's younger sister. But here's the rub. I never knew my grandmother (or for that matter my grandfather, on my father's side).
My grandmother died when my dad was 12. It was a difficult time for all. My grandparents had a unique relationship. They were first cousins. By family history, when my grandfather fought his way across Europe, got into steerage and came to this country, around 1908, he saw his cousin in Brooklyn, and instantly, and apocalyptically, fell in love. He was determined to win her, despite all family, and social protestations to the contrary.
And win her he did. It was these stories that my aunt would tell me. Her face glowing as she would talk about her sister, and the love of her life, my grandfather.
But Elsie, my grandmother, suffered from horrible atherosclerosis. Something so easily treatable today, but fatal in the early 20th century.
It was her death that made my father determined to become a doctor. Nobody would die again, if he could prevent it.
So, my aunt Claire was a link to that side of the family. A font of family history because both her sister, and and her brother were both long gone.
But it was more than that. So much more. It took years to see just how extraordinary this woman was.
When I was young, she was just the towering woman - all the women on dad's side of the family are close to, or over, 6' - who baked better than any bakery.
In fact, she was constantly recruited by every manner of person to open a bakery, or to cater affairs, and she was frustrated that the customers were not willing to pay for the best ingredients. So she made herself happy by just doing it herself and giving it away.
Her rugelach - a Jewish pastry - is legendary, as was her chocolate layer cake, which somehow seemed to get better every day as it aged, although it rarely made it past the first moment she put it on the table!
When she was young, Claire took the civil service exam. She scored so high, that she was sent to any job she wanted to pursue. She wanted to work for the FBI. Unfortunately, when she got there, she was told by the NY Director that he could not hire Jews, despite her score.
But he was so impressed by her, her sent her to see his friend, Nelson Rockefeller, and she became his aide, until her marriage.
When my grandmother died, she insisted on moving in with my grandfather to help care for my dad, who, as you can imagine, was lost.
Claire had three children. Her oldest, while 10-15 years younger than my parents, was viewed by my dad as the sister he never had (actually he had two, who died young. 2 additional reasons for his dedication to medicine). But more importantly, she was perhaps the only family member he ever had true intellectual respect for.
When he spoke of her, it was the only time I ever saw him glow...
The middle sister, Eloise, was the emotional one. Always running away from home, she would show up on our doorstep, and dad would take her in and convince her to go home.
The youngest, Jeffrey, was the jokester. I can't remember a single moment in my life when he wasn't smiling.
All three of Claire's kids became my (and my sister's) babysitters. And Eloise was my piano teacher.
But over the years, they dispersed. Rosa moved to Columbus Ohio, to run the arts center and the opera. Eloise, after a troubled first marriage, to Southern Jersey and then Florida, and Jeffrey married and moved to Massachussetts, near Boston.
My intermittent contact with them really relied on my mom. But after dad's death, contact with his side of the family became rare.
And just when I would have begun to do it myself, I married the horror that is my ex wife. She systematically cut me off from my family. So as a result, I had not seen Claire and her kids for many years.
So, the better. It took her death to get me in my car and drive to Massachusetts this past week to visit. A funeral, last week and then what we call in Judaism, a shiva call this weekend.
It was shocking to see Jeff's kids, who, it seemed to me (but not them!)I related to better, but there were my cousins, who now looked to me, just as I remembered their parents. But the hugs, and the kisses were real. In a way that they can't be with friends or lovers. They spoke of genuine love, and caring in a way that only family can express.
And they brought me back. Back to memories, and back to my family.
My great aunt died last week. That's the bad.
Calling her my great aunt doesn't do her, or her memory justice, unless you use the term as an adjective of character, rather than to explain her relation to me.
She was my grandmother's younger sister. But here's the rub. I never knew my grandmother (or for that matter my grandfather, on my father's side).
My grandmother died when my dad was 12. It was a difficult time for all. My grandparents had a unique relationship. They were first cousins. By family history, when my grandfather fought his way across Europe, got into steerage and came to this country, around 1908, he saw his cousin in Brooklyn, and instantly, and apocalyptically, fell in love. He was determined to win her, despite all family, and social protestations to the contrary.
And win her he did. It was these stories that my aunt would tell me. Her face glowing as she would talk about her sister, and the love of her life, my grandfather.
But Elsie, my grandmother, suffered from horrible atherosclerosis. Something so easily treatable today, but fatal in the early 20th century.
It was her death that made my father determined to become a doctor. Nobody would die again, if he could prevent it.
So, my aunt Claire was a link to that side of the family. A font of family history because both her sister, and and her brother were both long gone.
But it was more than that. So much more. It took years to see just how extraordinary this woman was.
When I was young, she was just the towering woman - all the women on dad's side of the family are close to, or over, 6' - who baked better than any bakery.
In fact, she was constantly recruited by every manner of person to open a bakery, or to cater affairs, and she was frustrated that the customers were not willing to pay for the best ingredients. So she made herself happy by just doing it herself and giving it away.
Her rugelach - a Jewish pastry - is legendary, as was her chocolate layer cake, which somehow seemed to get better every day as it aged, although it rarely made it past the first moment she put it on the table!
When she was young, Claire took the civil service exam. She scored so high, that she was sent to any job she wanted to pursue. She wanted to work for the FBI. Unfortunately, when she got there, she was told by the NY Director that he could not hire Jews, despite her score.
But he was so impressed by her, her sent her to see his friend, Nelson Rockefeller, and she became his aide, until her marriage.
When my grandmother died, she insisted on moving in with my grandfather to help care for my dad, who, as you can imagine, was lost.
Claire had three children. Her oldest, while 10-15 years younger than my parents, was viewed by my dad as the sister he never had (actually he had two, who died young. 2 additional reasons for his dedication to medicine). But more importantly, she was perhaps the only family member he ever had true intellectual respect for.
When he spoke of her, it was the only time I ever saw him glow...
The middle sister, Eloise, was the emotional one. Always running away from home, she would show up on our doorstep, and dad would take her in and convince her to go home.
The youngest, Jeffrey, was the jokester. I can't remember a single moment in my life when he wasn't smiling.
All three of Claire's kids became my (and my sister's) babysitters. And Eloise was my piano teacher.
But over the years, they dispersed. Rosa moved to Columbus Ohio, to run the arts center and the opera. Eloise, after a troubled first marriage, to Southern Jersey and then Florida, and Jeffrey married and moved to Massachussetts, near Boston.
My intermittent contact with them really relied on my mom. But after dad's death, contact with his side of the family became rare.
And just when I would have begun to do it myself, I married the horror that is my ex wife. She systematically cut me off from my family. So as a result, I had not seen Claire and her kids for many years.
So, the better. It took her death to get me in my car and drive to Massachusetts this past week to visit. A funeral, last week and then what we call in Judaism, a shiva call this weekend.
It was shocking to see Jeff's kids, who, it seemed to me (but not them!)I related to better, but there were my cousins, who now looked to me, just as I remembered their parents. But the hugs, and the kisses were real. In a way that they can't be with friends or lovers. They spoke of genuine love, and caring in a way that only family can express.
And they brought me back. Back to memories, and back to my family.
Sunday, August 24, 2008
Hillary's McCain problem.
One of the things that I was hoping to see more of a follow up on was the percentage of Hillary supporters who followed her to Barack, and more directly, Democrats who did so.
As a registered independent, I cannot vote for primary candidates, but I supported Hillary.
I was curious about the crossover effect with her supporters for a much simpler reason than might be assumed.
I don't know the total count, but in the last several years prior to this years election cycle I had seen Hillary and McCain on the various Sunday morning political shows at least half a dozen times together, promoting legislation that they cosponsored, or traveling to Iraq together, etc.
Today, NBC news used a poll that said that 21%^ of those that supported Hillary are planning to vote for McCain.
I don't generally believe these polls, as I tend to find that people do, to a larger degree than in other polls, keep their electoral choices a secret.
But I'm less concerned with the numbers as to the total lack of either side to deal with this sticky issue.
As a registered independent, I cannot vote for primary candidates, but I supported Hillary.
I was curious about the crossover effect with her supporters for a much simpler reason than might be assumed.
I don't know the total count, but in the last several years prior to this years election cycle I had seen Hillary and McCain on the various Sunday morning political shows at least half a dozen times together, promoting legislation that they cosponsored, or traveling to Iraq together, etc.
Today, NBC news used a poll that said that 21%^ of those that supported Hillary are planning to vote for McCain.
I don't generally believe these polls, as I tend to find that people do, to a larger degree than in other polls, keep their electoral choices a secret.
But I'm less concerned with the numbers as to the total lack of either side to deal with this sticky issue.
Thursday, August 21, 2008
Who Enforces Federal Campaign Laws
From the FEC (Federal Election Commision).
There are 3 primary enforcement mechanisms. Administrative fines, Alternate Dispute Resolution and for the most serious offenses:
437g ENFORCEMENT MATTERS
As required by 2 U.S.C. § 437g, the FEC’s Office of General Counsel (OGC) reviews and investigates enforcement matters,makes recommendations to the Commission regarding the disposition of matters, and negotiates conciliationagreements requiring the payment of civil penalties.
In FY 2005, OGC negotiated $1,428,300 in civil penalties in matters resolved through the standard enforcement process.
From FY2001 to date OGC has imposed a total of $8,448,688 in civil penalties.
In FY 2005 OGC resolved 87% of standard enforcement matters with substantive action, compared to 46% between FY 1995 and 2000.
OGC continues to focus its enforcement resources on the most serious violations of the Federal Election Campaign Act, including failure to register and report as a political committee, prohibited contributions and expenditures, corporate contributions, contributions in the name of another, and fraudulent misrepresentation of campaign authority.
§ 111.1 Scope (2 U.S.C. 437g).
These regulations provide procedures
for processing possible violations of the
Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971,
as amended (2 U.S.C. 431, et seq.) and
chapters 95 and 96 of the Internal Revenue
Code of 1954 (26 U.S.C. 9001, et seq.
and 9031 et seq.).
§ 111.2 Computation of time.
(a) General rule. In computing any period
of time prescribed or allowed by
this part, the day of the act, event, or
default from which the designated period
of time begins to run shall not be
included. The last day of the period so
computed shall be included, unless it is
a Saturday, a Sunday, or a legal holiday.
As used in this section, the term
legal holiday includes New Year’s Day,
President’s Day, Memorial Day, Independence
Day, Labor Day, Columbus
Day, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving Day,
Christmas Day, and any other day appointed
as a holiday for employees of
the United States by the President or
the Congress of the United States.
(b) Special rule for periods less than
seven days. When the period of time
prescribed or allowed is less than seven
(7) days, intermediate Saturdays, Sundays,
and legal holidays shall be excluded
in the computation.
(c) Special rule for service by mail.
Whenever the Commission or any person
has the right or is required to do
some act within a prescribed period
after the service of any paper by or
upon the Commission or such person
and the paper is served by or upon the
Commission or such person by mail,
three (3) days shall be added to the prescribed
period.
§ 111.3 Initiation of compliance matters
(2 U.S.C. 437g(a)(1), (2)).
(a) Compliance matters may be initiated
by a complaint or on the basis of
information ascertained by the Commission
in the normal course of carrying
out its supervisory responsibilities.
(b) Matters initiated by complaint
are subject to the provisions of 11 CFR
111.4 through 111.7. Matters initiated on
the basis of information ascertained by
the Commission in the normal course
of carrying out its supervisory responsibilities
are subject to the provisions
of 11 CFR 111.8. All compliance matters
are subject to the provisions of 11 CFR
111.2 and 111.9 through 111.23.
§ 111.4 Complaints (2 U.S.C.
437g(a)(1)).
(a) Any person who believes that a
violation of any statute or regulation
over which the Commission has jurisdiction
has occurred or is about to
occur may file a complaint in writing
to the General Counsel, Federal Election
Commission, 999 E Street, NW.,
Washington, DC 20463. If possible, three
(3) copies should be submitted.
(b) A complaint shall comply with
the following:
(1) It shall provide the full name and
address of the complainant; and
(2) The contents of the complaint
shall be sworn to and signed in the
presence of a notary public and shall be
notarized.
(c) All statements made in a complaint
are subject to the statutes governing
perjury and to 18 U.S.C. 1001.
The complaint should differentiate between
statements based upon personal
knowledge and statements based upon
information and belief.
(d) The complaint should conform to
the following provisions:
(1) It should clearly identify as a respondent
each person or entity who is
alleged to have committed a violation;
(2) Statements which are not based
upon personal knowledge should be accompanied
by an identification of the
source of information which gives rise
to the complainants belief in the truth
of such statements;
There are 3 primary enforcement mechanisms. Administrative fines, Alternate Dispute Resolution and for the most serious offenses:
437g ENFORCEMENT MATTERS
As required by 2 U.S.C. § 437g, the FEC’s Office of General Counsel (OGC) reviews and investigates enforcement matters,makes recommendations to the Commission regarding the disposition of matters, and negotiates conciliationagreements requiring the payment of civil penalties.
In FY 2005, OGC negotiated $1,428,300 in civil penalties in matters resolved through the standard enforcement process.
From FY2001 to date OGC has imposed a total of $8,448,688 in civil penalties.
In FY 2005 OGC resolved 87% of standard enforcement matters with substantive action, compared to 46% between FY 1995 and 2000.
OGC continues to focus its enforcement resources on the most serious violations of the Federal Election Campaign Act, including failure to register and report as a political committee, prohibited contributions and expenditures, corporate contributions, contributions in the name of another, and fraudulent misrepresentation of campaign authority.
§ 111.1 Scope (2 U.S.C. 437g).
These regulations provide procedures
for processing possible violations of the
Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971,
as amended (2 U.S.C. 431, et seq.) and
chapters 95 and 96 of the Internal Revenue
Code of 1954 (26 U.S.C. 9001, et seq.
and 9031 et seq.).
§ 111.2 Computation of time.
(a) General rule. In computing any period
of time prescribed or allowed by
this part, the day of the act, event, or
default from which the designated period
of time begins to run shall not be
included. The last day of the period so
computed shall be included, unless it is
a Saturday, a Sunday, or a legal holiday.
As used in this section, the term
legal holiday includes New Year’s Day,
President’s Day, Memorial Day, Independence
Day, Labor Day, Columbus
Day, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving Day,
Christmas Day, and any other day appointed
as a holiday for employees of
the United States by the President or
the Congress of the United States.
(b) Special rule for periods less than
seven days. When the period of time
prescribed or allowed is less than seven
(7) days, intermediate Saturdays, Sundays,
and legal holidays shall be excluded
in the computation.
(c) Special rule for service by mail.
Whenever the Commission or any person
has the right or is required to do
some act within a prescribed period
after the service of any paper by or
upon the Commission or such person
and the paper is served by or upon the
Commission or such person by mail,
three (3) days shall be added to the prescribed
period.
§ 111.3 Initiation of compliance matters
(2 U.S.C. 437g(a)(1), (2)).
(a) Compliance matters may be initiated
by a complaint or on the basis of
information ascertained by the Commission
in the normal course of carrying
out its supervisory responsibilities.
(b) Matters initiated by complaint
are subject to the provisions of 11 CFR
111.4 through 111.7. Matters initiated on
the basis of information ascertained by
the Commission in the normal course
of carrying out its supervisory responsibilities
are subject to the provisions
of 11 CFR 111.8. All compliance matters
are subject to the provisions of 11 CFR
111.2 and 111.9 through 111.23.
§ 111.4 Complaints (2 U.S.C.
437g(a)(1)).
(a) Any person who believes that a
violation of any statute or regulation
over which the Commission has jurisdiction
has occurred or is about to
occur may file a complaint in writing
to the General Counsel, Federal Election
Commission, 999 E Street, NW.,
Washington, DC 20463. If possible, three
(3) copies should be submitted.
(b) A complaint shall comply with
the following:
(1) It shall provide the full name and
address of the complainant; and
(2) The contents of the complaint
shall be sworn to and signed in the
presence of a notary public and shall be
notarized.
(c) All statements made in a complaint
are subject to the statutes governing
perjury and to 18 U.S.C. 1001.
The complaint should differentiate between
statements based upon personal
knowledge and statements based upon
information and belief.
(d) The complaint should conform to
the following provisions:
(1) It should clearly identify as a respondent
each person or entity who is
alleged to have committed a violation;
(2) Statements which are not based
upon personal knowledge should be accompanied
by an identification of the
source of information which gives rise
to the complainants belief in the truth
of such statements;
For the doubters
What follows are the FEC screen shots of Barack Obama's received and not refunded donations from ONE OF THE BROTHERS cited in the previous article from Rafah in "GA" Gazah.
Kind of tough to miss, huh?
EDWAN, HOSAM
ACCOUNTER/ACCOUNTING RAFAH GA 972 10/30/2007 $1,557 Barack Obama
EDWAN, HOSAM
REDESIGNATION FROM ACCOUNTER/ACCOUNTING RAFAH GA 972 10/26/2007 -$835 Barack Obama
EDWAN, HOSAM
ACCOUNTER/ACCOUNTING RAFAH GA 972 10/26/2007 $1,726 Barack Obama
EDWAN, HOSAM
REDESIGNATION FROM ACCOUNTER/ACCOUNTING RAFAH GA 972 10/26/2007 -$509 Barack Obama
EDWAN, HOSAM
ACCOUNTER/ACCOUNTING RAFAH GA 972 10/26/2007 $835 Barack Obama
EDWAN, HOSAM
REATTRIBUTION/REDESIGNATION REQUESTED ACCOUNTER/ACCOUNTING RAFAH GA 972 10/26/2007 $1,083 Barack Obama
EDWAN, HOSAM
REDESIGNATION FROM ACCOUNTER/ACCOUNTING RAFAH GA 972 10/30/2007 -$957 Barack Obama
EDWAN, HOSAM
REDESIGNATION TO ACCOUNTER/ACCOUNTING RAFAH GA 972 10/26/2007 $509 Barack Obama
EDWAN, HOSAM
REDESIGNATION TO ACCOUNTER/ACCOUNTING RAFAH GA 972 10/30/2007 $957 Barack Obama
EDWAN, HOSAM
REDESIGNATION TO ACCOUNTER/ACCOUNTING RAFAH GA 972 10/26/2007 $835 Barack Obama
EDWAN, MONIR
ACCOUNTER/ACCOUNTING RAFAH GA 972 11/02/2007 $1,389 Barack Obama
EDWAN, MONIR
ACCOUNTER/ACCOUNTING RAFAH GA 972 11/01/2007 $1,389 Barack Obama
EDWAN, MONIR
REDESIGNATION FROM ACCOUNTER/ACCOUNTING RAFAH GA 972 10/30/2007 -$717 Barack Obama
EDWAN, MONIR
ACCOUNTER/ACCOUNTING RAFAH GA 972 10/30/2007 $1,037 Barack Obama
EDWAN, MONIR
REATTRIBUTION/REDESIGNATION REQUESTED ACCOUNTER/ACCOUNTING RAFAH GA 972 10/30/2007 $1,500 Barack Obama
EDWAN, MONIR
ACCOUNTER/ACCOUNTING RAFAH GA 972 11/01/2007 $1,963 Barack Obama
EDWAN, MONIR
ACCOUNTER/ACCOUNTING RAFAH GA 972 11/01/2007 $1,099 Barack Obama
EDWAN, MONIR
ACCOUNTER/ACCOUNTING RAFAH GA 972 10/31/2007 $1,495 Barack Obama
EDWAN, MONIR
REATTRIBUTION/REDESIGNATION REQUESTED ACCOUNTER/ACCOUNTING RAFAH GA 972 10/27/2007 $1,291 Barack Obama
EDWAN, MONIR
ACCOUNTER/ACCOUNTING RAFAH GA 972 11/01/2007 $2,018 Barack Obama
EDWAN, MONIR
ACCOUNTER/ACCOUNTING RAFAH GA 972 11/02/2007 $1,389 Barack Obama
EDWAN, MONIR
REATTRIBUTION/REDESIGNATION REQUESTED ACCOUNTER/ACCOUNTING RAFAH GA 972 11/11/2007 $870 Barack Obama
EDWAN, MONIR
REDESIGNATION TO ACCOUNTER/ACCOUNTING RAFAH GA 972 10/30/2007 $1,583 Barack Obama
EDWAN, MONIR
ACCOUNTER/ACCOUNTING RAFAH GA 972 11/02/2007 $873 Barack Obama
EDWAN, MONIR
ACCOUNTER/ACCOUNTING RAFAH GA 972 10/31/2007 $954 Barack Obama
EDWAN, MONIR
ACCOUNTER/ACCOUNTING RAFAH GA 972 11/02/2007 $873 Barack Obama
EDWAN, MONIR
ACCOUNTER/ACCOUNTING RAFAH GA 972 11/02/2007 $1,282 Barack Obama
EDWAN, MONIR
REDESIGNATION TO ACCOUNTER/ACCOUNTING RAFAH GA 972 10/30/2007 $717 Barack Obama
EDWAN, MONIR
ACCOUNTER/ACCOUNTING RAFAH GA 972 10/30/2007 $1,583 Barack Obama
EDWAN, MONIR
REATTRIBUTION/REDESIGNATION REQUESTED ACCOUNTER/ACCOUNTING RAFAH GA 972 10/30/2007 $1,644 Barack Obama
EDWAN, MONIR
REATTRIBUTION/REDESIGNATION REQUESTED ACCOUNTER/ACCOUNTING RAFAH GA 972 10/30/2007 $1,672 Barack Obama
EDWAN, OSAMA
TRADER/TRADER RAFAH GA 972 11/10/2007 $707 Barack Obama
EDWAN, OSAMA
TRADER/TRADER RAFAH GA 972 11/10/2007 $1,102 Barack Obama
Kind of tough to miss, huh?
EDWAN, HOSAM
ACCOUNTER/ACCOUNTING RAFAH GA 972 10/30/2007 $1,557 Barack Obama
EDWAN, HOSAM
REDESIGNATION FROM ACCOUNTER/ACCOUNTING RAFAH GA 972 10/26/2007 -$835 Barack Obama
EDWAN, HOSAM
ACCOUNTER/ACCOUNTING RAFAH GA 972 10/26/2007 $1,726 Barack Obama
EDWAN, HOSAM
REDESIGNATION FROM ACCOUNTER/ACCOUNTING RAFAH GA 972 10/26/2007 -$509 Barack Obama
EDWAN, HOSAM
ACCOUNTER/ACCOUNTING RAFAH GA 972 10/26/2007 $835 Barack Obama
EDWAN, HOSAM
REATTRIBUTION/REDESIGNATION REQUESTED ACCOUNTER/ACCOUNTING RAFAH GA 972 10/26/2007 $1,083 Barack Obama
EDWAN, HOSAM
REDESIGNATION FROM ACCOUNTER/ACCOUNTING RAFAH GA 972 10/30/2007 -$957 Barack Obama
EDWAN, HOSAM
REDESIGNATION TO ACCOUNTER/ACCOUNTING RAFAH GA 972 10/26/2007 $509 Barack Obama
EDWAN, HOSAM
REDESIGNATION TO ACCOUNTER/ACCOUNTING RAFAH GA 972 10/30/2007 $957 Barack Obama
EDWAN, HOSAM
REDESIGNATION TO ACCOUNTER/ACCOUNTING RAFAH GA 972 10/26/2007 $835 Barack Obama
EDWAN, MONIR
ACCOUNTER/ACCOUNTING RAFAH GA 972 11/02/2007 $1,389 Barack Obama
EDWAN, MONIR
ACCOUNTER/ACCOUNTING RAFAH GA 972 11/01/2007 $1,389 Barack Obama
EDWAN, MONIR
REDESIGNATION FROM ACCOUNTER/ACCOUNTING RAFAH GA 972 10/30/2007 -$717 Barack Obama
EDWAN, MONIR
ACCOUNTER/ACCOUNTING RAFAH GA 972 10/30/2007 $1,037 Barack Obama
EDWAN, MONIR
REATTRIBUTION/REDESIGNATION REQUESTED ACCOUNTER/ACCOUNTING RAFAH GA 972 10/30/2007 $1,500 Barack Obama
EDWAN, MONIR
ACCOUNTER/ACCOUNTING RAFAH GA 972 11/01/2007 $1,963 Barack Obama
EDWAN, MONIR
ACCOUNTER/ACCOUNTING RAFAH GA 972 11/01/2007 $1,099 Barack Obama
EDWAN, MONIR
ACCOUNTER/ACCOUNTING RAFAH GA 972 10/31/2007 $1,495 Barack Obama
EDWAN, MONIR
REATTRIBUTION/REDESIGNATION REQUESTED ACCOUNTER/ACCOUNTING RAFAH GA 972 10/27/2007 $1,291 Barack Obama
EDWAN, MONIR
ACCOUNTER/ACCOUNTING RAFAH GA 972 11/01/2007 $2,018 Barack Obama
EDWAN, MONIR
ACCOUNTER/ACCOUNTING RAFAH GA 972 11/02/2007 $1,389 Barack Obama
EDWAN, MONIR
REATTRIBUTION/REDESIGNATION REQUESTED ACCOUNTER/ACCOUNTING RAFAH GA 972 11/11/2007 $870 Barack Obama
EDWAN, MONIR
REDESIGNATION TO ACCOUNTER/ACCOUNTING RAFAH GA 972 10/30/2007 $1,583 Barack Obama
EDWAN, MONIR
ACCOUNTER/ACCOUNTING RAFAH GA 972 11/02/2007 $873 Barack Obama
EDWAN, MONIR
ACCOUNTER/ACCOUNTING RAFAH GA 972 10/31/2007 $954 Barack Obama
EDWAN, MONIR
ACCOUNTER/ACCOUNTING RAFAH GA 972 11/02/2007 $873 Barack Obama
EDWAN, MONIR
ACCOUNTER/ACCOUNTING RAFAH GA 972 11/02/2007 $1,282 Barack Obama
EDWAN, MONIR
REDESIGNATION TO ACCOUNTER/ACCOUNTING RAFAH GA 972 10/30/2007 $717 Barack Obama
EDWAN, MONIR
ACCOUNTER/ACCOUNTING RAFAH GA 972 10/30/2007 $1,583 Barack Obama
EDWAN, MONIR
REATTRIBUTION/REDESIGNATION REQUESTED ACCOUNTER/ACCOUNTING RAFAH GA 972 10/30/2007 $1,644 Barack Obama
EDWAN, MONIR
REATTRIBUTION/REDESIGNATION REQUESTED ACCOUNTER/ACCOUNTING RAFAH GA 972 10/30/2007 $1,672 Barack Obama
EDWAN, OSAMA
TRADER/TRADER RAFAH GA 972 11/10/2007 $707 Barack Obama
EDWAN, OSAMA
TRADER/TRADER RAFAH GA 972 11/10/2007 $1,102 Barack Obama
Saturday, August 16, 2008
Obama's Foreign Donors: The media averts its eyes
By Pamela Geller
I have been researching, documenting and studying thousands upon thousands of Obama's campaign donations for the past month. Egregious abuse was immediately evident and I published the results of my ongoing investigation. Each subsequent post built a more damning case against Obama's illegal contribution activity.
The media took little notice of what I was substantiating. I went so far as to upload the documents so that anyone could do their own research. I asked readers to download the documents and a number of folks pitched in.
Despite dropping the groundbreaking bombshell story of "Palestinian" brothers from the Rafah refugee camp in Gaza who donated $33,000 to Obama's campaign, no big media picked up the story. Jihadis donating to Obama from Gaza? Could there be a bigger story? Foreign donations are illegal, but this story was all that and so much more. The "Palestinian" brothers were proud and vocal of their "love" for Obama. Their vocal support on behalf of "Palestinians" spoke volumes to Obama's campaign.
And yet still no media.
But Obama pricked up his ears. He smelled trouble and while no media asked, he answered anyway. Sen. Obama's campaign immediately scrambled and contended they had returned the $33,500 in illegal contributions from Palestinians in Hamas-controlled Gaza, despite the fact that records do not show that it was returned and the brothers said they have not received any money. Having gone through all of Obama's refunds redesignations etc, no refund was made to Osama, Hossam, or Edwan Monir in the Rafah refugee camp. And still no media.
One of the Gazan brothers, Monir Edwan (identified here), claimed he bought "Obama for President" T-shirts off Obama's website and then sold the T-shirts in Gaza for a profit. All purchases on the Barack Obama website are considered contributions.
The Palestinians allegedly claimed "they were American citizens", so said Obama's people. They listed their address -- zip code 972 (ironically the area code for Israel) and they input "GA"the state abbreviation for Georgia (screen shot here) They actually lived in a Hamas controlled refugee camp. So if Obama's people thought it was "Georgia" why did they ship the tee shirts to the correct address in Gaza? Shipping overseas to a Gaza refugee camp is vastly different than the state next door.
Still no media.
"Some young men even bought the T-shirts for 60 shekel ($17.29), which is a lot to spend in Gaza on a T-shirt, but that is how much Gazans like Obama," Edwan claimed in a follow up article in the conservative websiet WorldNetDaily. And Hamas has publicly endorsed Obama.
And still no media.
Obama's campaign said the Palestinian brothers in the Middle East made $33,000 in illegal donations to the campaign via the internet.
The donations came in between Sept. 20 and Dec. 6 and virtually all of the money, about $33,500, was returned by December 6. But the refunds weren't reported to the Federal Election Commission due to a technical error, campaign officials said.
If McCain had been involved with something so dark and nefarious, taking money from Islamic jihad, his candidacy would never withstand the media blowback.
But it was the son of hope, the agent of change, the one we have been waiting for , so the media yawned.
The jihad donations were hardly the only bloody red flags. The first in my series of posts ran July 19th. The documents were so unwieldy, readers like John, Doc, and Cathy (who discovered Rafah) were working furiously to cross check our findings at the FEC site and then mine the data.
Obama's overseas (foreign) contributors are making multiple small donations, ostensibly in their own names, over a period of a few days, some under maximum donation allowances, but others are aggregating in excess of the maximums when all added up. The countries and major cities from which contributions have been received France, Virgin Islands, Planegg, Vienna, Hague, Madrid, London, AE, IR, Geneva,Tokyo, Bangkok, Turin, Paris, Munich, Madrid, Roma, Zurich, Netherlands, Moscow, Ireland, Milan, Singapore, Bejing, Switzerland, Toronto, Vancouver, La Creche, Pak Chong, Dublin, Panama, Krabi, Berlin, Geneva, Buenos Aires, Prague, Nagoya, Budapest, Barcelona, Sweden, Taipei, Hong Kong, Rio de Janeiro, Sydney, Zurich, Ragusa, Amsterdam, Hamburg, Uganda, Mumbia, Nagoya, Tunis, Zacatecas, St, Croix, Mississauga, Laval, Nadi, Behchoko, Ragusa, DUBIA, Lima, Copenhagen, Quaama, Jeddah, Kabul, Cairo, Nassau(not the county on Long Island,lol), Luxembourg (Auchi's stomping grounds), etc,etc,etc,
Half a million dollars had been donated from overseas by unidentified people "not employed".
Digging deeper, all sorts of very bizarre activity jumped at us. Dr and JJ continued to break it down and pull data from various sources. We found Rebecca Kurth contributed $3,137.38 to the Obama Campaign in 112 donations, including 34 separate donations recorded in one day,
How about this gibberish donor on the 30th of April in 2008.
A donor named Hbkjb, jkbkj
City: Jkbjnj Works for: Kuman Bank (doesn't exist)
Occupation: Balanon Jalalan Amount: $1,077.23
or the donor Doodad, The # of transactions = 1,044
The $ contributed = $10,780.00
This Doodad character works for FDGFDGF and occupation is DFGFDG
The more questions we answered the more questions we discovered.
Thousands of Obama's foreign donations ended in cents. The "cents" did not make sense. And we compared McCain donation documentss to Obama's. McCain's records are nothing like Obama's. McCain's are so clean. No cents, all even dollar amounts. But Obama's contained thousands of strange, odd amounts -- evidence of foreign contributors, since Americans living overseas would almost uniformly be able to contribute dollars. Still no media.
Julia Gorin told me a funny story two months ago. Her husband's co-worker wanted to see what would happen if he tried giving a contribution to the Obama campaign via a credit card. He used his Macy's card. The system accepted it. He tried the same with McCain's campaign, and the transaction wouldn't go through. Now, obviously, down the line, the Obama transaction would fail as well, but it goes to the point that there is no safety system in place -- it'll just accept any and all money, which helps explain how his campaign raised so much more money than everyone else's.
Despite the evidence of dirty campaign donations, crickets chirped in newsrooms across the country. The moment my Gaza story started to get some chatter on talk radio, the left and their supplicant handmaidens in the media sprang into action and created a McCain illegal campaign contribution "scandal". The Washington Post published an inaccurate allegation and then retracted not a day later, at the risk of looking stupid. They are jeopardizing the little credibility that they have left.
....a Washington Post story detailing some suspicious looking contributions to the McCain campaign bundled by Harry Sargeant III. Shortly after posting, a correction appeared in the original report, as follows:
An earlier version of this story about campaign donations that Florida businessman Harry Sargeant III raised for Sen. John McCain, former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani and Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton incorrectly identified three individuals as being among the donors Sargeant solicited on behalf of McCain. Those donors -- Rite Aid manager Ibrahim Marabeh, and lounge owners Nadia and Shawn Abdalla -- wrote checks to Giuliani and Clinton, not McCain. Also, the first name of Faisal Abdullah, a McCain donor, was misspelled in some versions of the story (noted by Amanda Carpenter).
So here an intrepid blogger finds a keg of dynamite of dirty dollar donations to Obama and what does the media do? They ignore it. And when forced to confront it by the sheer newsworthiness of the story, what happens? They go after McCain. They punish McCain.
And that is meant to be a lesson to all of us, Whatever you find, whatever you discover about the Candidate of Mystery, they will blow it back in your face. And they did. Almost immediately.
The irony and the upshot of all this. John McCain is reviewing contributions. Ain't that a kick in the head. I can tell him he needn't bother. Been there, done that. Nothing to see, keep moving.
Obama's out there raising millions, some in illegal donations and the Washington Post jumps on McCain for a $50k, which hasn't been shown to be illegal, but merely "inappropriate." The left and their handmaidens, the main stream media, were so quick to deflect this hit, it seems we have hit a raw nerve. I intend to keep digging. Stay tuned.,
I have been researching, documenting and studying thousands upon thousands of Obama's campaign donations for the past month. Egregious abuse was immediately evident and I published the results of my ongoing investigation. Each subsequent post built a more damning case against Obama's illegal contribution activity.
The media took little notice of what I was substantiating. I went so far as to upload the documents so that anyone could do their own research. I asked readers to download the documents and a number of folks pitched in.
Despite dropping the groundbreaking bombshell story of "Palestinian" brothers from the Rafah refugee camp in Gaza who donated $33,000 to Obama's campaign, no big media picked up the story. Jihadis donating to Obama from Gaza? Could there be a bigger story? Foreign donations are illegal, but this story was all that and so much more. The "Palestinian" brothers were proud and vocal of their "love" for Obama. Their vocal support on behalf of "Palestinians" spoke volumes to Obama's campaign.
And yet still no media.
But Obama pricked up his ears. He smelled trouble and while no media asked, he answered anyway. Sen. Obama's campaign immediately scrambled and contended they had returned the $33,500 in illegal contributions from Palestinians in Hamas-controlled Gaza, despite the fact that records do not show that it was returned and the brothers said they have not received any money. Having gone through all of Obama's refunds redesignations etc, no refund was made to Osama, Hossam, or Edwan Monir in the Rafah refugee camp. And still no media.
One of the Gazan brothers, Monir Edwan (identified here), claimed he bought "Obama for President" T-shirts off Obama's website and then sold the T-shirts in Gaza for a profit. All purchases on the Barack Obama website are considered contributions.
The Palestinians allegedly claimed "they were American citizens", so said Obama's people. They listed their address -- zip code 972 (ironically the area code for Israel) and they input "GA"the state abbreviation for Georgia (screen shot here) They actually lived in a Hamas controlled refugee camp. So if Obama's people thought it was "Georgia" why did they ship the tee shirts to the correct address in Gaza? Shipping overseas to a Gaza refugee camp is vastly different than the state next door.
Still no media.
"Some young men even bought the T-shirts for 60 shekel ($17.29), which is a lot to spend in Gaza on a T-shirt, but that is how much Gazans like Obama," Edwan claimed in a follow up article in the conservative websiet WorldNetDaily. And Hamas has publicly endorsed Obama.
And still no media.
Obama's campaign said the Palestinian brothers in the Middle East made $33,000 in illegal donations to the campaign via the internet.
The donations came in between Sept. 20 and Dec. 6 and virtually all of the money, about $33,500, was returned by December 6. But the refunds weren't reported to the Federal Election Commission due to a technical error, campaign officials said.
If McCain had been involved with something so dark and nefarious, taking money from Islamic jihad, his candidacy would never withstand the media blowback.
But it was the son of hope, the agent of change, the one we have been waiting for , so the media yawned.
The jihad donations were hardly the only bloody red flags. The first in my series of posts ran July 19th. The documents were so unwieldy, readers like John, Doc, and Cathy (who discovered Rafah) were working furiously to cross check our findings at the FEC site and then mine the data.
Obama's overseas (foreign) contributors are making multiple small donations, ostensibly in their own names, over a period of a few days, some under maximum donation allowances, but others are aggregating in excess of the maximums when all added up. The countries and major cities from which contributions have been received France, Virgin Islands, Planegg, Vienna, Hague, Madrid, London, AE, IR, Geneva,Tokyo, Bangkok, Turin, Paris, Munich, Madrid, Roma, Zurich, Netherlands, Moscow, Ireland, Milan, Singapore, Bejing, Switzerland, Toronto, Vancouver, La Creche, Pak Chong, Dublin, Panama, Krabi, Berlin, Geneva, Buenos Aires, Prague, Nagoya, Budapest, Barcelona, Sweden, Taipei, Hong Kong, Rio de Janeiro, Sydney, Zurich, Ragusa, Amsterdam, Hamburg, Uganda, Mumbia, Nagoya, Tunis, Zacatecas, St, Croix, Mississauga, Laval, Nadi, Behchoko, Ragusa, DUBIA, Lima, Copenhagen, Quaama, Jeddah, Kabul, Cairo, Nassau(not the county on Long Island,lol), Luxembourg (Auchi's stomping grounds), etc,etc,etc,
Half a million dollars had been donated from overseas by unidentified people "not employed".
Digging deeper, all sorts of very bizarre activity jumped at us. Dr and JJ continued to break it down and pull data from various sources. We found Rebecca Kurth contributed $3,137.38 to the Obama Campaign in 112 donations, including 34 separate donations recorded in one day,
How about this gibberish donor on the 30th of April in 2008.
A donor named Hbkjb, jkbkj
City: Jkbjnj Works for: Kuman Bank (doesn't exist)
Occupation: Balanon Jalalan Amount: $1,077.23
or the donor Doodad, The # of transactions = 1,044
The $ contributed = $10,780.00
This Doodad character works for FDGFDGF and occupation is DFGFDG
The more questions we answered the more questions we discovered.
Thousands of Obama's foreign donations ended in cents. The "cents" did not make sense. And we compared McCain donation documentss to Obama's. McCain's records are nothing like Obama's. McCain's are so clean. No cents, all even dollar amounts. But Obama's contained thousands of strange, odd amounts -- evidence of foreign contributors, since Americans living overseas would almost uniformly be able to contribute dollars. Still no media.
Julia Gorin told me a funny story two months ago. Her husband's co-worker wanted to see what would happen if he tried giving a contribution to the Obama campaign via a credit card. He used his Macy's card. The system accepted it. He tried the same with McCain's campaign, and the transaction wouldn't go through. Now, obviously, down the line, the Obama transaction would fail as well, but it goes to the point that there is no safety system in place -- it'll just accept any and all money, which helps explain how his campaign raised so much more money than everyone else's.
Despite the evidence of dirty campaign donations, crickets chirped in newsrooms across the country. The moment my Gaza story started to get some chatter on talk radio, the left and their supplicant handmaidens in the media sprang into action and created a McCain illegal campaign contribution "scandal". The Washington Post published an inaccurate allegation and then retracted not a day later, at the risk of looking stupid. They are jeopardizing the little credibility that they have left.
....a Washington Post story detailing some suspicious looking contributions to the McCain campaign bundled by Harry Sargeant III. Shortly after posting, a correction appeared in the original report, as follows:
An earlier version of this story about campaign donations that Florida businessman Harry Sargeant III raised for Sen. John McCain, former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani and Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton incorrectly identified three individuals as being among the donors Sargeant solicited on behalf of McCain. Those donors -- Rite Aid manager Ibrahim Marabeh, and lounge owners Nadia and Shawn Abdalla -- wrote checks to Giuliani and Clinton, not McCain. Also, the first name of Faisal Abdullah, a McCain donor, was misspelled in some versions of the story (noted by Amanda Carpenter).
So here an intrepid blogger finds a keg of dynamite of dirty dollar donations to Obama and what does the media do? They ignore it. And when forced to confront it by the sheer newsworthiness of the story, what happens? They go after McCain. They punish McCain.
And that is meant to be a lesson to all of us, Whatever you find, whatever you discover about the Candidate of Mystery, they will blow it back in your face. And they did. Almost immediately.
The irony and the upshot of all this. John McCain is reviewing contributions. Ain't that a kick in the head. I can tell him he needn't bother. Been there, done that. Nothing to see, keep moving.
Obama's out there raising millions, some in illegal donations and the Washington Post jumps on McCain for a $50k, which hasn't been shown to be illegal, but merely "inappropriate." The left and their handmaidens, the main stream media, were so quick to deflect this hit, it seems we have hit a raw nerve. I intend to keep digging. Stay tuned.,
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Field of Dreams.... and tears
Often, when I'm asked my favorite movie people are surprised at my list. Manhattan, Woody Allen's epic of love and innocence lost, Claire's Knee, Eric Rohmer's homage to man's pursuit of the perfect woman, and Field of Dreams.
It's always been hard to quantify to female friends and relatives just how deep this movie cuts.
From a purely artistic perspective, it is almost the perfect film. The acting is beautifully understated, from Burt Lancaster's last role, to James Earl Jones' scruffy Terrance Mann, to Amy Madigan's understated Annie (no coincidence that her name was Annie, as Costner's film a year earlier revealed the mystery of the "baseball Annie" in Bull Durham).
But perhaps most surprising was Costner himself, who managed to control his performance so we felt that his befuddled Ray Kinsella was fully believable.
A man's quest to resolve his relationship with his father though, is the real theme of the film, and Costner undertakes this journey with the perfect combination of naivete and eagerness.
But it is that aspect that has made this film a celebrated classic.
But to me, it is even more personal and always leaves me a blubbering fool.
You see, growing up, my father instilled a love of baseball in me. He was a true "fan". And yet, despite having a son with talent (which he never seemed to recognize) he refused to encourage that talent.
My father was as far from an athlete as could be. He was all about academics. Driving me to scholastic accomplishments, but more to the point, from his #1 ranking in medical school, to his international reputation, it was the intellect that he pursued.
When I was young, all I would want to do was play "catch".
It is so hard to describe the bond that develops between a child and his father from this simple act of throwing and catching a ball.
I could stand endlessly for hours with friends doing this, no speaking, just tossing back and forth.
But my dad wanted no part of it. Despite giving me his "Pete Reiser" signature model glove from his childhood, I would have to beg, plead, and cajole him into coming outside.
And he would say to me "OK, 10 throws but that's it". And every time I conned myself into believing that no father, no red blooded American dad, could ever really NOT want to play catch with his son. Would ever REALLY stop throwing at ten.
But every time, we would go outside, the count would start. 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 ... and inside he would go. Back to Walter Cronkite, or the MacNeil/Lehrer report. Or his medical journals.
And I would be left there, a bundle of youthful energy, subtly, but clearly, being told I just wasn't worth it. Wasn't worth the few minutes of what should have been joyous father son time.
In Field of Dreams, it is the Costner character, the son, who refuses to play catch with his dad, when he is 14. His journey is to realize how foolish this was. What he missed by not sharing his life with his dad.
The film ends this way: Ray has not called John Kinsella, his father, "dad" the whole scene, simply calling him John, for fear of revealing to this young "ghost" his true identity...
He's introduced him to his wife and daughter as "John", not wanting to break the magic of the heaven he has created to bring back all of the characters in the movie.
As the scene clears of every other character, we are left with just Ray and his father, as a young man, younger even than Ray is now, discussing the Field, and "heaven". Finally, as John gets set to join the other ballplayers by disappearing into the corn,...
Ray (choking back tears): "Dad, you wanna have a catch?"
John (Ray's father as young man): "I'd like that"
Cut to Ray and John throwing the ball back and forth as the sun sets...
And cut to my tears, flowing again.
Dad, would you like to have a catch....?
It's always been hard to quantify to female friends and relatives just how deep this movie cuts.
From a purely artistic perspective, it is almost the perfect film. The acting is beautifully understated, from Burt Lancaster's last role, to James Earl Jones' scruffy Terrance Mann, to Amy Madigan's understated Annie (no coincidence that her name was Annie, as Costner's film a year earlier revealed the mystery of the "baseball Annie" in Bull Durham).
But perhaps most surprising was Costner himself, who managed to control his performance so we felt that his befuddled Ray Kinsella was fully believable.
A man's quest to resolve his relationship with his father though, is the real theme of the film, and Costner undertakes this journey with the perfect combination of naivete and eagerness.
But it is that aspect that has made this film a celebrated classic.
But to me, it is even more personal and always leaves me a blubbering fool.
You see, growing up, my father instilled a love of baseball in me. He was a true "fan". And yet, despite having a son with talent (which he never seemed to recognize) he refused to encourage that talent.
My father was as far from an athlete as could be. He was all about academics. Driving me to scholastic accomplishments, but more to the point, from his #1 ranking in medical school, to his international reputation, it was the intellect that he pursued.
When I was young, all I would want to do was play "catch".
It is so hard to describe the bond that develops between a child and his father from this simple act of throwing and catching a ball.
I could stand endlessly for hours with friends doing this, no speaking, just tossing back and forth.
But my dad wanted no part of it. Despite giving me his "Pete Reiser" signature model glove from his childhood, I would have to beg, plead, and cajole him into coming outside.
And he would say to me "OK, 10 throws but that's it". And every time I conned myself into believing that no father, no red blooded American dad, could ever really NOT want to play catch with his son. Would ever REALLY stop throwing at ten.
But every time, we would go outside, the count would start. 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 ... and inside he would go. Back to Walter Cronkite, or the MacNeil/Lehrer report. Or his medical journals.
And I would be left there, a bundle of youthful energy, subtly, but clearly, being told I just wasn't worth it. Wasn't worth the few minutes of what should have been joyous father son time.
In Field of Dreams, it is the Costner character, the son, who refuses to play catch with his dad, when he is 14. His journey is to realize how foolish this was. What he missed by not sharing his life with his dad.
The film ends this way: Ray has not called John Kinsella, his father, "dad" the whole scene, simply calling him John, for fear of revealing to this young "ghost" his true identity...
He's introduced him to his wife and daughter as "John", not wanting to break the magic of the heaven he has created to bring back all of the characters in the movie.
As the scene clears of every other character, we are left with just Ray and his father, as a young man, younger even than Ray is now, discussing the Field, and "heaven". Finally, as John gets set to join the other ballplayers by disappearing into the corn,...
Ray (choking back tears): "Dad, you wanna have a catch?"
John (Ray's father as young man): "I'd like that"
Cut to Ray and John throwing the ball back and forth as the sun sets...
And cut to my tears, flowing again.
Dad, would you like to have a catch....?
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Georgia on my mind.... or the Dark Knight....
In August 1924, the small nation of Georgia, occupied by Soviet Russia since 1921, rose up against Soviet rule. On Sept. 16, 1924, The Times of London reported on an appeal by the president of the Georgian Republic to the League of Nations. While "sympathetic reference to his country's efforts was made" in the Assembly, the Times said,,"it is realized that the League is incapable of rendering material aid, and that the moral influence which may be a powerful force with civilized countries is unlikely to make any impression upon Soviet Russia."(my emphasis)
"Unlikely" was an understatement. Georgians did not enjoy freedom again until 1991.
Today, the Vladimir Putins and Hu Jintaos and Mahmoud Ahmadinejads of the world - to say nothing of their junior counterparts in places like Sudan, Zimbabwe, Burma and North Korea - are no more likely than were Soviet leaders in 1924 to be swayed by "moral influence." Dictators aren't moved by the claims of justice unarmed; aggressors aren't intimidated by diplomacy absent the credible threat of force; fanatics aren't deterred by the disapproval of men of moderation or refinement.(my emphasis)
The good news is that today we don't face threats of the magnitude of Nazi Germany or the Soviet Union. Each of those regimes combined ruthless internal control, a willingness to engage in external aggression, and fervent adherence to an extreme ideology. Today these elements don't coexist in one place. Russia is aggressive, China despotic and Iran messianic - but none is as dangerous as the 20th-century totalitarian states.
The further good news is that 2008 has been, in one respect, an auspicious year for freedom and democracy. In Iraq, we and our Iraqi allies are on the verge of a strategic victory over the jihadists in what they have called the central front of their struggle. This joint victory has the potential to weaken the jihadist impulse throughout the Middle East.
On the other hand, the ability of Syria, Hezbollah and Hamas to get away with murder (literally), and above all the ability of Iran to pursue its nuclear ambitions effectively unchecked, are setbacks for hopes of peace and progress.
And there is no evidence that China's hosting of the Olympics has led to moderation of its authoritarianism. Meanwhile, Russia has sent troops and tanks across an international border, and now seems to be widening its war against Georgia more than its original - and in any case illegitimate - casus belli would justify.
Will the United States put real pressure on Russia to stop? In a news analysis on Sunday, the New York Times reporter Helene Cooper accurately captured what I gather is the prevailing view in our State Department: "While America considers Georgia its strongest ally in the bloc of former Soviet countries, Washington needs Russia too much on big issues like Iran to risk it all to defend Georgia."
But Georgia, a nation of about 4.6 million, has had the third-largest military presence - about 2,000 troops - fighting along with U.S. soldiers and marines in Iraq. For this reason alone, we owe Georgia a serious effort to defend its sovereignty. Surely we cannot simply stand by as an autocratic aggressor gobbles up part of - and perhaps destabilizes all of - a friendly democratic nation that we were sponsoring for NATO membership a few months ago.
For that matter, consider the implications of our turning away from Georgia for other aspiring pro-Western governments in the neighborhood, like Ukraine's. Shouldn't we therefore now insist that normal relations with Russia are impossible as long as the aggression continues, strongly reiterate our commitment to the territorial integrity of Georgia and Ukraine, and offer emergency military aid to Georgia?
Incidentally, has Russia really been helping much on Iran? It has gone along with - while delaying - three United Nations Security Council resolutions that have imposed mild sanctions on Iran. But it has also supplied material for Iran's nuclear program, and is now selling Iran antiaircraft systems to protect military and nuclear installations.
It's striking that dictatorial and aggressive and fanatical regimes - whatever their differences - seem happy to work together to weaken the influence of the United States and its democratic allies. So Russia helps Iran. Iran and North Korea help Syria. Russia and China block Security Council sanctions against Zimbabwe. China props up the regimes in Burma and North Korea.
The United States, of course, is not without resources and allies to deal with these problems and threats. But at times we seem oddly timid and uncertain.
When the "civilized world" expostulated with Russia about Georgia in 1924, the Soviet regime was still weak. In Germany, Hitler was in jail. Only 16 years later, Britain stood virtually alone against a Nazi-Soviet axis. Is it not true today, as it was in the 1920s and '30s, that delay and irresolution on the part of the democracies simply invite future threats and graver dangers?
"Unlikely" was an understatement. Georgians did not enjoy freedom again until 1991.
Today, the Vladimir Putins and Hu Jintaos and Mahmoud Ahmadinejads of the world - to say nothing of their junior counterparts in places like Sudan, Zimbabwe, Burma and North Korea - are no more likely than were Soviet leaders in 1924 to be swayed by "moral influence." Dictators aren't moved by the claims of justice unarmed; aggressors aren't intimidated by diplomacy absent the credible threat of force; fanatics aren't deterred by the disapproval of men of moderation or refinement.(my emphasis)
The good news is that today we don't face threats of the magnitude of Nazi Germany or the Soviet Union. Each of those regimes combined ruthless internal control, a willingness to engage in external aggression, and fervent adherence to an extreme ideology. Today these elements don't coexist in one place. Russia is aggressive, China despotic and Iran messianic - but none is as dangerous as the 20th-century totalitarian states.
The further good news is that 2008 has been, in one respect, an auspicious year for freedom and democracy. In Iraq, we and our Iraqi allies are on the verge of a strategic victory over the jihadists in what they have called the central front of their struggle. This joint victory has the potential to weaken the jihadist impulse throughout the Middle East.
On the other hand, the ability of Syria, Hezbollah and Hamas to get away with murder (literally), and above all the ability of Iran to pursue its nuclear ambitions effectively unchecked, are setbacks for hopes of peace and progress.
And there is no evidence that China's hosting of the Olympics has led to moderation of its authoritarianism. Meanwhile, Russia has sent troops and tanks across an international border, and now seems to be widening its war against Georgia more than its original - and in any case illegitimate - casus belli would justify.
Will the United States put real pressure on Russia to stop? In a news analysis on Sunday, the New York Times reporter Helene Cooper accurately captured what I gather is the prevailing view in our State Department: "While America considers Georgia its strongest ally in the bloc of former Soviet countries, Washington needs Russia too much on big issues like Iran to risk it all to defend Georgia."
But Georgia, a nation of about 4.6 million, has had the third-largest military presence - about 2,000 troops - fighting along with U.S. soldiers and marines in Iraq. For this reason alone, we owe Georgia a serious effort to defend its sovereignty. Surely we cannot simply stand by as an autocratic aggressor gobbles up part of - and perhaps destabilizes all of - a friendly democratic nation that we were sponsoring for NATO membership a few months ago.
For that matter, consider the implications of our turning away from Georgia for other aspiring pro-Western governments in the neighborhood, like Ukraine's. Shouldn't we therefore now insist that normal relations with Russia are impossible as long as the aggression continues, strongly reiterate our commitment to the territorial integrity of Georgia and Ukraine, and offer emergency military aid to Georgia?
Incidentally, has Russia really been helping much on Iran? It has gone along with - while delaying - three United Nations Security Council resolutions that have imposed mild sanctions on Iran. But it has also supplied material for Iran's nuclear program, and is now selling Iran antiaircraft systems to protect military and nuclear installations.
It's striking that dictatorial and aggressive and fanatical regimes - whatever their differences - seem happy to work together to weaken the influence of the United States and its democratic allies. So Russia helps Iran. Iran and North Korea help Syria. Russia and China block Security Council sanctions against Zimbabwe. China props up the regimes in Burma and North Korea.
The United States, of course, is not without resources and allies to deal with these problems and threats. But at times we seem oddly timid and uncertain.
When the "civilized world" expostulated with Russia about Georgia in 1924, the Soviet regime was still weak. In Germany, Hitler was in jail. Only 16 years later, Britain stood virtually alone against a Nazi-Soviet axis. Is it not true today, as it was in the 1920s and '30s, that delay and irresolution on the part of the democracies simply invite future threats and graver dangers?
Georgia on my mind...
Watch very carefully over the next few days, weeks and months.
President Saakashvili a graduate of Columbia and George Washington U. here in the states (his LLM and Dr. of Law degrees) had encouraged increasing ties to the US, however, he also unilaterally took back the rogue state of Ossetia.
The Russians unilaterally began issuing Russian passports to the Ossetians recently leading to the current flair up.
The danger is the conventional nature of this war, and what kind of weapons will be unleashed.
As you may know, much of the former Soviet Union's nuclear weapons stock is not accounted for. Some of these weapons were located in Georgia.
In addition, throughout Russian history, long before the Russian Revolution, in other words, the Russian leaders have sought one principle goal - a warm water port. Georgia being one of the former Soviet Union's southern most Republics, was a key to that aspiration.
In addition, the Russian's are also looking for the oil pipelines to the Baltic that are part of Georgia. Of course, Georgia's access to Turkey is another inspiration.
Finally, the most worrisome aspect is Vladimir Putin's personal involvement despite his supposed 'retirement' from the office of Prime Minister.
Cross your fingers and hope for a peaceful resolution.
Although, as with most of Eastern Europe, this areas has been in dispute throughout history.
President Saakashvili a graduate of Columbia and George Washington U. here in the states (his LLM and Dr. of Law degrees) had encouraged increasing ties to the US, however, he also unilaterally took back the rogue state of Ossetia.
The Russians unilaterally began issuing Russian passports to the Ossetians recently leading to the current flair up.
The danger is the conventional nature of this war, and what kind of weapons will be unleashed.
As you may know, much of the former Soviet Union's nuclear weapons stock is not accounted for. Some of these weapons were located in Georgia.
In addition, throughout Russian history, long before the Russian Revolution, in other words, the Russian leaders have sought one principle goal - a warm water port. Georgia being one of the former Soviet Union's southern most Republics, was a key to that aspiration.
In addition, the Russian's are also looking for the oil pipelines to the Baltic that are part of Georgia. Of course, Georgia's access to Turkey is another inspiration.
Finally, the most worrisome aspect is Vladimir Putin's personal involvement despite his supposed 'retirement' from the office of Prime Minister.
Cross your fingers and hope for a peaceful resolution.
Although, as with most of Eastern Europe, this areas has been in dispute throughout history.
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