Independent Voters’ Concerns About Barack Obama

   As a non-profit, independent web site concerned with the many issues and difficulties of our time, it is understandable that we have thus been inundated with the worries expressed by considerable numbers of uncommitted voters and others concerned with the 2008 Presidential Election.

   Their primary interest has been in one particular candidate who is very much an unknown quantity that seems to have come out of nowhere.  Our response has been to investigate the expressed suspicions and worries and to report the findings as accurately as possible.

  This report is the result.  It is the product of not only your many expressed concerns, it is also the response of a truly exhaustive investigation.  We researched the public records, the more responsible internet information, many publications, a number of transcripts and other documentation.  We also examined other responsible reports that have been produced and conducted independent inquiries of our own.

  The result of all of this is this report.  We had to keep it fairly brief because this document needed to be kept to a size that might actually be read.  We also found it necessary to leave out a great deal of material that we were unable to substantiate to our satisfaction.  However, it still remains quite extensive and, to make it easier to understand, you will notice that we have divided the information into a number of classifications.

  We trust that you will find this presentation to be meaningful and helpful to you in your efforts to get behind all of the hyperbolic, empty pleasantries and the many promises without details.  So here, without apologies, is the real Barack Obama, as best we could uncover him and show him as he really seems to be.

  THE POLITICAL RECORD.  Curiosity and concern was expressed about Barack Obama’s "community organizer" activity in the Chicago area.  We find that much of his work was in association with an organization known as "The Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now" (ACORN).

  Upon investigating this organization, we found that it seemed to be using taxpayer dollars to fund partisan political activity and that this group was deeply involved in voter fraud charges and other questionable activity all over the country.  The public records substantiate these allegations.  Check this out for yourself.

  As time moved along, so did Obama.  His first stop was as an Illinois State Senator and then on to the federal Senate in Washington.  Many have wondered what his rather short record might really have been in these areas.  We find that his Illinois voting record runs quite far to the left of his own party.  We also discovered that, on the federal level he is sometimes referred to as an international socialist.  His voting records do seem to support this contention.

  It should also be noted that his claims, in the political arena quite often don’t seem to agree with the actual available facts on such issues. By way of example, Obama has stated that, "Without me, there would be no ethics bill."  However, the actual record shows that he never wrote such a bill and was given prepared materials that others were responsible for creating in the Illinois Senate.  It is something that would have gone forward with or without him.

  The question of his political funding also came up. Some examples of what was discovered include George Soros, a very far-left financier and a questionable insider-trader, contributing financially to the Obama campaign and it should also be noted that hundreds of thousands of dollars were contributed from dozens of law firm partners that regularly lobbied Congress this last year.  This was in spite of Obama’s claim of refusing donations from federal lobbyists.  Again, please do check the public records for yourself.

  In another area, even the New York Times columnist, David Brooks was having a hard time swallowing Obama’s claim of taking on the special interests.  He pointed to the examples of a bloated special interest farm bill and a special interest oil and gas industry energy bill that Obama was found to have given his full support to.

  And in another area, David Ignatius of The Washington Post wrote that in spite of his claims to the contrary, Obama most definitely does not show bipartisan cooperation in his record.  These are all dealings that independent voters have expressed concern about.

  THE MEDIA PROBLEM.  Even with little tidbits of honesty shown once in a while by a very few in the American media (as noted above), the vast majority of the reporting is very heavily weighted in favor of just one candidate — Barack Obama.  This is becoming more and more obvious to the independent American voters who are not at all happy about such blatant dishonesty.

  A very shameful example of this, in the eyes of many independents, would be when The New York Times was so quick to accept an op-ed piece by Obama and then turned down such an article then submitted by McCain.  It is an endlessly repeating pattern of censorship and bias as seen by growing numbers of disappointed readers, and a Rasmussen Survey shows that a majority polled around the nation have clearly come to that conclusion.

  Obama’s "world tour" was another prime example. More folks than the media would have liked, noticed that when Obama took his "tour," all of the major broadcast news anchors went with him.  It was an unprecedented act in the face of the fact that McCain has taken a number of important trips overseas during recent political times, and these anchors were definitely absent.

  In all fairness it should be noted that a few publications, a number of talk radio stations and some cable news sources have actually been willing to publically admit that this carnage of truth and fairness has really been going on.  But most just dance blithely forward in their one-way world, oblivious of the fact that many folks are not at all happy campers with what is going on.

  OBAMA ASSOCIATIONS.  Everyone seems quite concerned with Obama’s personal and professional connections.  After all, that is a good part of how we get a picture of who a person really is.  And one might start with his personal friend and pastor for over 20 years (in Chicago’s "Trinity Church"), the Rev. Jeremiah Wright.

  Wright’s comments were so outrageous that even the general media was not able to completely ignore his tirades.  A good number of his comments were also caught on video (which this writer watched in detail, in context).  Many around the nation also saw these unsubstantiated rants, thanks to the Fox Cable News Network and a few others.

  We all remember such gems as, "We are African people and remain true to our native land."  And, we remember how he charged that the U.S. government manufactured the AIDS virus to kill black people.  And there is that unforgettable, "It’s not God bless America.  It’s God damn America!"

  Obama not only listened to this man for over 20 years, he only recently distanced himself from the ranting reverend after being put under pressure by his "handlers" and others, who didn’t want this to rub off on their candidate.  But we still remember that even in the last couple of years, Obama has appeared with Wright and openly praised him as a valued counselor and a very dear friend of the family (as actually reported in the Chicago Sun-Times).

  It was also noted by a NewsMax Magazine reporter that Obama was really there during a number of these incendiary presentations.  He was reported as being observed choosing to stay in his seat and nod his head.  It was his choice and it would seem that’s the choice he made.

  Another association that has generated attention would be this candidate’s close relationship to Bill Ayers, who Obama had admitted exchanging ideas with, at least on a somewhat "irregular" basis.  I guess so.  The records show that they were friends, served together on a "board" and that Obama’s political career was actually launched in an important 1995 meeting in Ayers home.  And some of his campaign people have indicated that they still maintain friendly relations.

  And who is this Bill Ayers?  Many have asked this question, in spite of the public revelations.  And the answer is that he was an active member of a domestic terrorist group called the "Weather Underground."  They bombed the Capitol, the Pentagon and other public buildings in the 1970s. And, not so long ago, he was quoted in The New York Times and in The Washington Times and in the Washington Post as having said that, "I don’t regret setting bombs.  I feel we didn’t do enough."  So much for Obama’s dear friend Bill Ayers.

  And then there is Tony Rezko, identified as the "Chicago slum lord" who was convicted of wire and mail fraud, money laundering and aiding and abetting bribery.  He has also been a good friend of Obama’s who helped the Presidential candidate to get himself one sweet real estate set-up, to be sure.  And on and on it goes.

  Other very questionable associations include Jim Johnson, who Obama chose for his VP vetting committee.  This is a man deeply involved in over $2 million in questionable below-market home loans from Countrywide Financial.  He seems to be full of little tricks like that.  Most folks seem relieved that he finally decided to resign from the committee.  It brought him far more attention than he ever wanted.

  Another choice for the VP committee, Eric Holder, was reported as being the key man in making the pardon possible (under Bill Clinton) for "...a fugitive billionaire who renounced his U.S. citizenship and moved to Switzerland to avoid prosecution for racketeering, wire fraud, 51 counts of tax fraud, tax evasion ... and illegal trades with Iran."  as reported by Dick Morris in NewsMax Magazine.

  And then there’s the Rev. James Meeks, another of those extreme preachers and there are those foul-mouth rapper supporters, and the list could go on and on.  After detailed investigation, this writer has had to come to the conclusion that this candidate’s associations represent one of the most unstable and dangerous bunch of characters that anyone might ever be able to come up with.  Many have expressed concern that this is a very bad social and professional environment for just about anyone, let alone a Presidential candidate.

  ON THE MORE PERSONAL SIDE.  Most of such information is covered under other categories but it was felt that, since so much has been withheld throughout most of the media, at least a few bits of additional information would be appropriate.  So, here it is.

  Obama has gone on record as having stated that his father was a goat herder in Kenya, Africa.  The records show that his father was far more privileged than that.  He was well educated and worked with the Kenyan government.  Of course, in his later years we understand that alcohol seemed to have dominated his life.  So much for privilege.

  Obama made a speech on March 4, 2007, in which he is reported to have stated that, "Selma got me born."  The records show that Obama was born in 1961 and the Selma, Alabama incident was not until 1965.  Obama was also reported to have stated that an "Ebony" magazine article inspired him to run for office and a "Life" magazine article changed his outlook on life.  It should also be reported that neither of the magazines can find the articles in question in their publications.

  It was also reported that Obama stated more than once that he was a Professor of Law and a Constitutional lawyer.  After an investigation, it has been revealed that his actual title was that of a senior lecturer on leave.

  Obama likes to have us believe that he would like us all to be as generous as he claims to be.  However, by way of example, tax returns obtained for 2000 through 2004 show that Obama and his wife donated less than 1 percent of their $1.2 million income to charity.  As Grover Norquist put it, "It’s about them forcing you to be generous with your money for their causes."

  And now, although a millionaire, Mr. Obama has given no assistance that we know of to his 26-year-old half brother, George Husein Onyango Obama, according to reliable information we have received.  He lives in a hut in the slums of Nairobi, Kenya and reportedly lives on less than a dollar a month.  So much for Barack Obama’s liberal generosity.

  THE ISLAM CONNECTION.  Obama tries to point out that his last name is African Swahili.  There has been a degree of avoidance concerning the name "Barack" and "Hussein" which are both Arabic in origin.  He also has stated that his grandmother has always been a Christian.  However, in interviews, his grandmother has said that she does daily Muslim Salat prayers.

  Obama has claimed that his family, on his father’s side, has strong ties to the African freedom movement.  The records we are aware of show that his cousin Raila Odinga participated in mass violence in efforts to overturn a legitimate election in Kenya in 2007.  It seems that Odinga wants to establish and enforce Muslim Sharia law in that country.  It has also been claimed that Odinga’s followers burned Christian homes and burned men, women and children in a Christian church.  (This last part has some conflicting reports that make it less than totally reliable at this time.)  However, you can depend on Obama’s declaration of support for Odinga, as he expressed it just before this Presidential election process began.

  And yes, Obama was trained for two years in a Muslim school in Indonesia.  Of course he also had a couple of years in a Catholic school and in a variety of other educational institutions since then.  And yes, Obama’s good friend, Ali Abunimah, has gone on record as supporting the destruction of Israel.  And yes, Obama saw to it that Ingrid Mattson got a special roll at the Democratic Convention.  Mattson is the president of the Islamic Society of North America, "...an organization identified by the Justice Department as a ‘Muslim Brotherhood’ front organization, and an unindicted co-conspirator in a terrorism financing conspiracy," as reported by Frank J. Gaffney, Jr. in The Washington Times.

  To conclude this little segment, let me share an endorsement of Obama with you from Ahmed Yousef. This man is a high ranking leader of the Islamist terror group known as "Hamas."  In a "WABC" radio interview (4/13/08) he clearly stated that, "We like Mr. Obama.  We hope he will win the election."  For obvious reasons the Obama camp is doing all it can to distance itself from this particular endorsement.

  THE MARXIST CONNECTION.  Jeremiah Wright’s other "bible" seems to be the words of James Cone, according to what we can determine.  He is also considered to have had an influence on Obama as well.

  One example quote from Mr. Cone:  "Together, black religion and Marxist philosophy may show us the way to build a completely new society.  To be black is to be committed to destroying everything this country loves and adores."  I certainly hope that what Cone feels is that what white America loves and adores is to be on top and in charge and that it means no more than that.

  There is absolutely no doubt that Obama’s childhood mentor, Frank Marshall Davis, was a self-proclaimed Communist.  It is also known that at one point, Obama campaign workers got some unwanted attention for displaying a flag featuring the Communist, Che Guevara.  It is also known that Obama received the endorcement of the Chicago branch of the Democratic Socialists of America, when he ran for a seat in the Illinois State Senate.  It is also known that Obama had campaigned for the declared socialist Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont.  All of these things are a part of the record.  Such things have also been expressed as concerns of quite a number of independent voters.

  ON THE ISSUE OF PATRIOTISM.  We all know about the flap that was generated over Obama’s refusal to wear an American flag lapel pin.  And then some of his "handlers" thought it would be better if he wore one.  He has resisted the idea most of the time.  He spoke of the pin as something that, "...became a substitute for, I think, true patriotism, which is speaking out on issues that are of importance to our national security.  I decided I won’t wear that pin on my chest."  Many independents have suggested that for most, who have no available soap box, the pin serves as an eloquent and very visible silent statement.

  There was also some generation of concern over the report that Obama would also not put his right hand over his heart during the playing of the National Anthem nor during the Pledge of Allegiance, which we understand he also would not recite.  Handlers did their best to correct that situation as well, most often with not a great deal of success.

  Some of his supporters insist that he takes the position and says the pledge most of the time and others say he has never abstained.  I have an unaltered photograph showing him on a speakers’ platform with Gov. Bill Richardson, Sen. Hillary Clinton and Ruth Harkin.  All are standing and all of them, except Obama, have their right hands over their hearts.

  An excerpt from a column by Linda Chavez has been sent to me by a number of folks from all over our nation.  It expresses their view, as opposed to the view they perceive as that of Barack and Michelle Obama.  The excerpt is as follows:  "Patriotism is a lot like the unconditional love of a parent for a child.  A parent doesn’t demand a child be perfect in order to love him.  Nor does that love mean that a parent does not recognize a child’s faults.  Conservatives seem to understand this almost intuitively, but liberals seem to struggle with it.  Liberals’ patriotism often seem grudging — as if they believe it’s the country’s duty to win their love rather than their duty to love their country."

  And yes, there was that comment to a Milwaukee crowd by Michelle Obama that,  "For the first time in my adult lifetime, I’m really proud of my country."  Not only whites, but a number of blacks considered that to be a genuinely offensive comment.  And then there was Barack Obama’s comment in San Francisco when he spoke about how small town voters "cling to guns and religion" because they are bitter about their perceived circumstances.  It would seem they haven’t been very happy about hardly any of us very often.

  OBAMANOMICS.  Independent American voters have expressed great concern over the promises being made by Obama and his advisors in the realm of economics.  We enumerate some of these concerns herein.

  Austan Goolsbee is identified as the senior economic advisor to Barack Obama at this time.  Here is a list of some of his promises. He would enact, "...a comprehensive plan to help bring an end to the foreclosure crisis," which would involve such extremely expensive additions as, "...a new Federal Housing Administration housing security program to provide significant incentives and guarantees for lenders," and, "...a direct interest-rate subsidy for low and middle-income borrowers..."

  Goolsbee and Obama also want to, "...extend unemployment benefits..." and "...give a substantial permanent tax relief to seniors and working people..." and make substantial funds available for an, "...infrastructure plan to fund our desperate need for such investment..." and finance "...a job skills program to improve our country’s work force."  They also plan "...increasing people’s savings so they have something to fall back on..." and "...give every worker in America a portable pension savings account."

  In addition to all of that, we notice that Obama wants to put a universal health plan in place but offers almost no specifics, except perhaps that there seems to be some sort of mandatory coverage for children but not for adults.  About the only thing that seems to be clear about this plan is that it will end up being phenomenally expensive.

  Other amounts being discussed would include well over $60 billion, over a ten-year period, for a National Infrastructure Reinvestment Bank, and a $4,000 refundable tax credit for college tuition, and a refundable 10 percent mortgage-interest tax credit for folks who are married, and a refundable $500 tax credit to add to a $1,000 savings account deposited by families with earnings up to as much as $75,000.

  There’s more?  You can bet your last lonely dollar there’s more.  There’s a $150 billion green energy program (but with no details).  There’s a projected health care cost of around $60 billion per year.  There’s a refundable $1,000 tax credit partial offset for Social Security taxes.  And on and on and on it goes.

  And let’s not forget all the "perceived victim" assistance.  Are such claims valid?  By way of example, there is that claim that the free marketplace is deeply sexist.  It is almost never pointed out that the gap in income, between men and women is most often found to disappear with regard to those with the same or similar experience and expertise.

  So, now we finally get to that nagging question about just how all of this is going to be paid for.  There are only two ways that we know of.  One is by just printing more money, which ends up devaluating the buying power of everybody’s money.  The other way is by producing a hefty amount of additional taxes.  The independents who have communicated with us have made it abundantly clear that such solutions are unacceptable and very, very destructive for the entire nation.

  Just one example of the problem is the proposed increase in the capital-gains tax from 15% to as high as 28%.  Almost every well educated, experienced economist will tell you that our government typically collects far more revenue from a much lower capital-gains tax.  That’s the way we have learned things actually function in the real world (with such things as investment incentives, freed-up capital, etc.).

  And it is believed you will find that the other tax burdens being put forward will only add to the further decline and eventual fall of our entire economic system.  Let us hope that this doesn’t end up being proven to you, the hard way.

  ON ENERGY AND THE ENVIRONMENT.  Most unfortunately, there’s not much that can be said here.  Obama makes general promises with almost no detail and seems pretty much unaware of the entire subject area.  His ever-changing positions seem to verify this, exampled by his no-drill statements with his might-drill statements following close behind.

  The independent voters seem quite disappointed with such a total lack of understanding in this extremely vital area.  Only time will tell what is yet to be said and what will actually be done.  Most voters seem to find it very difficult to trust politicians on such issues (or, for that matter, on almost any issue).  We remember Al Gore telling us all to conserve energy wile his own personal lifestyle produces one of the largest individual carbon footprints one could imagine. So much for that.

  THE ILLEGAL ALIEN PROBLEM.  Many independents see Obama’s policy of "changing America" as an accommodation for the millions of invaders from the south.  His positions include a total rejection of the Secure Fence Act.  In fact, he stated that, "I will reverse the policy."

  He has also made it very clear that he will give the illegal break-ins a path to citizenship.  And, before Hispanic audiences, he has told his listeners that America should forget about English only.  They should be teaching their children Spanish.  Enough said.

  ON THE DRUGGING OF AMERICA.  Obama has admitted to using marijuana and cocaine in high school and college.  This worries a lot of folks, especially when he comes out and says that he will deal with street-level drug dealing as a minimum wage affair.

  And, as you might imagine, he has suggested at various times, the possibility of decriminalizing the use of marijuana on the federal level.  This, in spite of the growing medical evidence that clearly shows the notable physical and mental effects that make this drug far more dangerous than anyone has previously realized.

  One more nail in the coffin of Western Civilization.

  ON OBAMA’S RUNNING MATE.  Unfortunately, but not surprisingly, Senator Joseph Biden has a long established reputation for what we can only describe as dishonesty.  This can be exampled by a story he told to University of Iowa students in Dec., 2007.  His comments were as follows:  "Let me tell you a little story. My wife and three kids were Christmas shopping for a Christmas tree.  A tractor trailer, a guy who allegedly, and I never pursued it, drank his lunch instead of eating his lunch, broadsided my family, killed my wife instantly, killed my daughter instantly, and hospitalized my two sons."  He has repeated this charge many times since.

  The official court records tell an entirely different story.  The truck driver was never charged and was completely cleared of any wrong doing.  Mrs. Biden, with a station wagon full of kids and a Christmas tree, swerved directly into the truck’s path.  And no, the truck drive had not been drinking.  Also, the truck driver, Curtis C. Dunn (of Kaolin, PA), was also not speeding and his truck’s brakes checked out just fine.

  One could not even begin to imagine the distorted mental processes involved in the creation of such a harmfully dishonest story as this.  And this is Obama’s Presidential running mate?

  And then there is the report from Bruce D. Riddle, CPA, of BDR Associates. He is one of those folks who made the mistake of doing financial work for Mr. Biden during his 1988 Presidential campaign.  Mr. Biden refused to pay the bill for these services.  Records show Mr. Biden also refused to pay the money owed for air charter services, and on and on it goes.  This is Obama’s Presidential running mate.

  WHAT OTHER DEMOCRATS HAVE TO SAY.  I’m sure we all remember at least some of the biting and sometimes very bitter comments made by Sen. Hillary Clinton about Barack Obama.  As you might imagine, the comments have ceased and even the Internet attacks have disappeared.  It’s as though it never happened.  And that’s the way they’d like you to see it.

  However, as columnist David Brooks has reported it, "One in five Democrats say they would vote for McCain over Obama."  Even the volatile liberal Democrat, Jesse Jackson had some scathing remarks about Obama.  I’m sure we are all aware of the colorful language he used for his off-the-cuff comments.

  It should be sufficient to say that there seem to be some unhappy campers in the Democratic party at this time.  Whether this can be translated into a vote switch or whether they will march in lock-step, as they are directed — remains to be seen.

  OTHER IRRESPONSIBILITIES.  There are so many Obama comments that are either total fabrications or insensitive irresponsibilities, that one wouldn’t know where to begin.  Out of the many that I have been alerted to (mostly by independent voters), I have chosen a couple as representative examples.  They are as follows.

  There is Obama’s stated claim that,  "More young black men languish in prison than attend colleges and universities."  This statement is contradicted by the actual data showing that more than twice as many back men in the 18 to 14 age range are in college than are in jail.  (Washington Post – 6/22/08)

  In September of 2007, Obama said that,  "We have a system that locks away too many young, first-time nonviolent offenders for the better part of their lives."  This statement is contradicted by Manhattan Institute research which clearly shows that from 1999 to 2004, violent offenders accounted for all of the increase in the prison population.  (Heather MacDonald – Manhattan City Journal)

  What we would like to have the reader understand is that these two comments exampled just now, and all the rest throughout this report, have all been checked out and verified as accurate.  Of course what this means is that we have a candidate here who is evidently having a great deal of difficulty telling the truth.  To some of us, that is a very serious situation.

  AND ON AND ON IT GOES.  There is so much more. There is Obama saying he will take public funds and then he won’t take public funds.  There is Obama’s support of a union drive to eliminate private ballots for workers.  There is the reported $20 million error in a fund-raising message to Obama supporters.  And on and on and on it goes.

  There seems to be no end of this sort of thing and, of course, we have only been able to include a small fraction of it all in this report.  If we were to get much more detailed and add much more material, this report would end up the size of a metropolitan phone book (and, it sometimes seems, with almost as large a cast of characters).  Not many would ever read it if we allowed it to grow to such an extent.

  However, this should show you what so many are concerned with and this should give you a good idea about what’s really going on.  We trust it will be of genuine value to you and that you will share it with others.  It is a sincere and genuine effort to help in the making of a real and responsible difference.

  It was felt that you might like to know at least a little bit of relevant information about the author of this report and the web site it resides on, also the creation of this author.

  This writer is not only a registered independent voter, he has been so for his entire adult life.  Also, this report and the web site it resides on are non-profit efforts and totally independent of any political party, special interest group or any hidden movements.  It is instead, involved with the concerns and wishes shared by a number of Americans to conserve the most basic values and freedoms that mean so much to us all.

  And that’s what it’s all about.

You may reach the parties responsible for this report through the following:

The principal researcher and author of this report.

1666 Garnet Avenue — #203

San Diego, CA 92109

858/488-8222                   Fall – 2008