HELLO ! Pia.
Been stopped blogging by unknown force last several days.
FBI came to my home investigating terrorism ----- true.
I figured that it was ; because, I oppose Tom Daschle and now realize that Barack Obama is only putting in his administration ------ Clinton Clones.
I voted for Obama and against the wicked witch Hillary; now, i hear every day about another one getting in Obama Administration.
Wheres the HOPE and CHANGE ?
Like all those others from Illinois political mob-------- So comes Barack.
Sad day for my vote for change.
These Illinois politicians are intertwined like a can of earth worms.
Barack is doing an internal investigation to see who said what to Illinois Governor Blagojevich --------- Funny !
Mob guy will check with other mob guys to make sure their clean ------- Bull S--t.
What a world !
Rahm Emanuel -----mute.
Jesse Jackson Jr.----- mute.
Blagojevich is in serious trouble.
I hope he makes a deal; before, its too late.
LIVING POLITICS
Howard Fineman
What Jesse Jr. Wants
Surfing Blagojevich's wake on Chicago's South Side.
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What I know about the South Side of Chicago I know not from Barack Obama, but from Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. In the summer of 1997, I spent two days with him there. He was in his second term representing the area. He was fond of it, but the real message I got from him was: I want to be in the Loop, literally.
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The son of the civil-rights leader had attended St. Albans School in Washington and gone on to earn a law degree. He of course knew the history of the movement, and revered it. He admired his dad, whom he called "The Rev." But it was clear that Junior hungered for proximity to established money and power.
He told me about the time that friends in the business world had taken him downtown for a tour of the Federal Reserve's branch on LaSalle Street. He had been ushered into the inner sanctum and shown the real stuff: bundled stacks of Benjamins.
Jackson laughed at the memory, but clearly was impressed. That was real clout, he said. Thatwas the way the world really worked.
I thought of Junior's trip to the bank when I read U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald's charges against Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich. And I thought of Junior when I noted the suggestion, made by ABC News, that Junior was "candidate no. 5" in Fitzgerald's criminal complaint. On that candidate's behalf, prosecutors claim, "emissaries" allegedly offered to raise major cash for Blagojevich. In exchange, the prosecutors say, Blago was willing to name that candidate to fill Obama's suddenly vacant U.S. Senate seat.
Jackson has denied that anyone had been authorized to make payments or promises to the governor on his behalf. "It is impossible for someone on my behalf to have a conversation that would suggest any type of quid pro quo or any payments or offers," he told ABC. (On Thursday, Jackson's lawyer acknowledged that he is in fact candidate no. 5.)
Among Obama's many gifts are luck—and a knack for not staying long enough in any one place to be corrupted by the local culture. Luckily for him, the world economy is falling apart, which meant that he was too busy learning about credit default swaps to worry about who he wanted to replace him in his U.S. Senate seat from Illinois.
More important, Obama managed to be allied with, but not really captured by, a host of Chicago and Illinois factions. There are virtues in having a relatively short career, especially if you have to spend it in the gamey Land of Lincoln.
When Obama did choose sides, he chose early and wisely, thanks, serendipitously, to his wife's ties. He joined the Daley Family team—Mayor Richie and Brother Bill. And he kept a certain distance from Blagojevich, who by all accounts had become the worst of the worst—trading his early reformist label for harsh pay-to-play tactics, and a lunatic disregard for what the Feds were up to. (Blagojevich's office issued a general statement saying his arrest would have "no impact" on the people of Illinois, and that all business would continue.)
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