Obama requested $1 million earmark for his wife's employer.

[Danny White]

One of Obama's Earmark Requests Was for the Hospital That Employs Michelle Obama

Dan Riehl notes, via Amanda Carpenter, that in the list of earmarks [Obama] requested, $1 million was requested for the construction of a new hospital pavilion at the University Of Chicago. The request was put in in 2006.

You know who works for the University of Chicago Hospital?

Michelle Obama. She's vice president of community affairs.

As Byron noted, "In 2006, the Chicago Tribune reported that Mrs. Obama’s compensation at the University of Chicago Hospital, where she is a vice president for community affairs, jumped from $121,910 in 2004, just before her husband was elected to the Senate, to $316,962 in 2005, just after he took office."

Looks like that raise was worth it.


http://campaignspot.nationalreview.com/post/?q=OGRiMWFhNWY4MTgzMjI3NjEzNGQwMWFiMTlhYmRhN2Y=

[theogt]

I'm sure it's a beautiful pavilion.

[vta]

Chu-chu-chu-chu-changes...
Yeah right; change the face of the crook stealing the money?

[zrinkill]

That is very disheartening. Even though I do not agree with his politics I was hoping that Obama was a man of character.

This looks much worse than whatever stupid crap his racist hate mongering preacher said.

[REDVOLUTION]

That is very disheartening. Even though I do not agree with his politics I was hoping that Obama was a man of character.

This looks much worse than whatever stupid crap his racist hate mongering preacher said.


People are people. Politicians are politicians. Its not all our faults.

Its the system. The system is broken. The game has unfair rules. Expect more of the same until the base of the problems are fixed.

[BrAinPaiNt]

People are people. Politicians are politicians. Its not all our faults.

Its the system. The system is broken. The game has unfair rules. Expect more of the same until the base of the problems are fixed.

Yep...people don't get that far in politics without doing some funny business in the majority of cases.

[iceberg]

troubling, but i'll wait till more is known. a tidbit isn't worth much alone.

[Danny White]

Duke Cunningham was tossed out of Congress and tossed into jail for steering money and contracts to groups in exchange for financial benefit... jus sayin.

I don't know if there's any direct quid pro quo here, but it sure stinks to high heaven.

And seriously, if you think Obama hasn't benefitted from dirty money in the past, you should look at the whole Tony Rezko thing a little more closely.

Lucky for him, he's running against "Madame Whitewater" and "Mister Keating 5."

But yeah, so much for him being "Mr. Change."

[BrAinPaiNt]

Duke Cunningham was tossed out of Congress and tossed into jail for steering money and contracts to groups in exchange for financial benefit... jus sayin.

I don't know if there's any direct quid pro quo here, but it sure stinks to high heaven.

And seriously, if you think Obama hasn't benefitted from dirty money in the past, you should look at the whole Tony Rezko thing a little more closely.

Lucky for him, he's running against "Madame Whitewater" and "Mister Keating 5."

But yeah, so much for him being "Mr. Change."

:laugh2: @ Madame Whitewater. Funny thing is that is probably one of the nicest monikers she has gained over the years.

[Sasquatch]

Change initiated from the top progresses incrementally. If you want real change, you must look to the people. :D

http://celebritydeath.files.wordpress.com/2007/10/che-guevara.jpg

[Doomsday101]

Change initiated from the top progresses incrementally. If you want real change, you must look to the people. :D

http://celebritydeath.files.wordpress.com/2007/10/che-guevara.jpg

Argentinian Marxist revolutionary who later joined Fidel Castro's revolutionary. Yeah he is a real hero of the people. :laugh2:

[Sasquatch]

Yeah he is a real hero of the people. :laugh2:

The Cubans are rather fond of him.

[Doomsday101]

The Cubans are rather fond of him.

The ones in Miami or the ones getting in broken down boats to get the hell out of there to come to Miami? :lmao2:

[Sasquatch]

The ones in Miami or the ones getting in broken down boats to get the hell out of there to come to Miami? :lmao2:

Why don't you go to Cuba and ask what they think of him?

Oh wait, our government won't let you.

[AbeBeta]

U of Chicago Medical Center isn't so podunk hospital -- it is the best and most prestigious hospital in the state and among the Nation's finest.

Candidates make 100s of earmark requests -- usually to fund successful institutions like this. Earmark requests often top 10 million dollars. And frankly, one million to U of C is likely a tiny tiny contribution toward a major construction project. One million may seem like a lot of money but the 1 mill isn't going to buy much influence with the hospital -- I would imagine that 1 million was the minimum for the state to be recognized among the top level of contributors to the project (i.e., the state's earmark bought them a prominent place on a donor plaque).

[Doomsday101]

Why don't you go to Cuba and ask what they think of him?

Oh wait, our government won't let you.

As I said no need to go there just ask the cubans as they get off the boat in the messed up USA. I know you think the US is trash but then what does that say about Cuba when people are being held in their own country from leaving that they have to risk their lives to come here? Great thing about the US if you don't want to live here you are free to go even to Cuba, no one is forcing anyone to stay in the US

[Sasquatch]

know you think the US is trash

You get that from me commenting on travel restrictions to Cuba? Please.

[theogt]

Why don't you go to Cuba and ask what they think of him?

Oh wait, our government won't let you.Why don't you ask Cubans in the American what they think of him? They think he's a murderer.

[Doomsday101]

You get that from me commenting on travel restrictions to Cuba? Please.

No by many of your other comments of how bad the US is. Isn't great to live in the US, you can talk down about her as much as you want it is your right. Not all have that right in their perfect countries.

[Sasquatch]

Why don't you ask Cubans in the American what they think of him? They think he's a murderer.

I wonder what loyalists who fled to Canada had to say about the revolutionaries or Confederates about the Union or the King's cavaliers about the Puritan roundheads?

I posted the image of Che because it's an iconic image of revolution, nothing more.

I suppose in the back of my mind I knew that someone would come along and gasp "a socialist revolutionary, oh my!"

[Sasquatch]

No by many of your other comments of how bad the US is. Isn't great to live in the US, you can talk down about her as much as you want it is your right. Not all have that right in their perfect countries.

Funny how the anti-political correctness crowd on this board is nowhere to be found when this particularly virulent strand of it rears its ugly head.

[Doomsday101]

Funny how the anti-political correctness crowd on this board is nowhere to be found when this particularly virulent strand of it rears its ugly head.

I am anti Political correctness. I'm not telling you that you should not say what you do, that is your right regardless of how I may feel. I don't think you should be silenced in your views nor should I be silenced in mine. You make a comment about a man who fought along side Castro and talk about how the people feel about him yet many people in Cuba are trying to escape Cuba. Heck everytime their baseball team would come to the US they had to worry about people defecting. I don't recall too many Americans defecting. For those who truely do not like it here there is nothing preventing them from leaving those who wish to stay and complain that too is their right.

[theogt]

I wonder what loyalists who fled to Canada had to say about the revolutionaries or Confederates about the Union or the King's cavaliers about the Puritan roundheads?Did this sound like a worthwhile response in your head before you typed it?

"Fleeing communism must be similar to fleeing the American Revolution. I must post that."

[Sasquatch]

Did this sound like a worthwhile response in your head before you typed it?

It's perfectly apt since we are talking about political dissidents who fled the country.

[speedkilz88]

I wonder what loyalists who fled to Canada had to say about the revolutionaries or Confederates about the Union or the King's cavaliers about the Puritan roundheads?

I posted the image of Che because it's an iconic image of revolution, nothing more.

I suppose in the back of my mind I knew that someone would come along and gasp "a socialist revolutionary, oh my!"In socialist circles maybe, I think others feel the same about the image as they would if you would have used an image of Hitler.

[theogt]

It's perfectly apt since we are talking about political dissidents who fled the country.The only thing that they have in common is that they fled. By that rational, we should not take Jews' opinion of the Third Reich, if they fled. And that rational is remarkably stupid. You don't want to be remarkably stupid do you?

[Sasquatch]

In socialist circles maybe, I think others feel the same about the image as they would if you would have used an image of Hitler.

You either don't get out much, live in the rural hinterland, don't have children, or are blind.

His image is displayed on t-shirts, purses, backpacks, wallets, stickers, posters and a whole host of other products. It's quite popular among hipster teens and college students.

The beauty of capitalism is that it even manages to commodify and make money off the image of one of its staunchest opponents.

[speedkilz88]

You either don't get out much, live in the rural hinterland, don't have children, or are blind.

His image is displayed on t-shirts, purses, backpacks, wallets, stickers, posters and a whole host of other products. It's quite popular among hipster teens and college students.

The beauty of capitalism is that it even manages to commodify and make money off the image of one of its staunchest opponents.So socialist don't buy things? Ignorant people don't buy things? Gotcha.

[Sasquatch]

The only thing that they have in common is that they fled. By that rational, we should not take Jews' opinion of the Third Reich, if they fled. And that rational is remarkably stupid. You don't want to be remarkably stupid do you?

Being called stupid in some cases could be quite the compliment.

The Jews were not involved in a civil war. All the examples I provided were on the losing side of internal political disputes that escalated into outright combat.

[Cajuncowboy]

I've seen it all now. The left arguing in support of a murderer.

Here's your next cause.....


http://www.whale.to/b/mansonAP3108_468x705.jpg

[speedkilz88]

I've seen it all now. The left arguing in support of a murderer.

Here's your next cause.....


http://www.whale.to/b/mansonAP3108_468x705.jpg
In Charlie's defense, he isn't responsible for nearly as many lives as the "revolutionary".

[Danny White]

U of Chicago Medical Center isn't so podunk hospital -- it is the best and most prestigious hospital in the state and among the Nation's finest.

Candidates make 100s of earmark requests -- usually to fund successful institutions like this. Earmark requests often top 10 million dollars. And frankly, one million to U of C is likely a tiny tiny contribution toward a major construction project. One million may seem like a lot of money but the 1 mill isn't going to buy much influence with the hospital -- I would imagine that 1 million was the minimum for the state to be recognized among the top level of contributors to the project (i.e., the state's earmark bought them a prominent place on a donor plaque).

What you say is fair. Like I said from the get-go, I don't know if there is any direct quid pro quo here. Although that is a pretty well-timed and hefty raise.

Regardless, in a political campaign, this does not look good at all. Especially since McCain has been such a crusader against Earmarks, and since Obama has recently come over to being anti-earmarks as well.

If people start scrutinizing his earmarks during this campaign, something like this doesn't look great.

[Danny White]

Change initiated from the top progresses incrementally. If you want real change, you must look to the people. :D

http://celebritydeath.files.wordpress.com/2007/10/che-guevara.jpg

I like this one better: :D

http://marketplace.yaf.org/images/products/detail/cHEgUEVARA.jpg

http://marketplace.yaf.org/cheguevera.aspx

[BrAinPaiNt]

"As revolutionary instruments (when nothing but revolution will cure the evils of the State) [secret societies] are necessary and indispensable, and the right to use them is inalienable by the people." --Thomas Jefferson to William Duane, 1803

“If by the mere force of numbers a majority should deprive a minority of any clearly written constitutional right, it might, in a moral point of view, justify revolution” - Abraham Lincoln

“The seed of revolution is repression.” - Woodrow Wilson

[theogt]

Being called stupid in some cases could be quite the compliment.

The Jews were not involved in a civil war. All the examples I provided were on the losing side of internal political disputes that escalated into outright combat.Seriously, this is pretty ' dumb. The only reason the Jews weren't involved in a "civil war" is because they didn't have the military to fight back. In all honestly, you're being an idiot.

[AbeBeta]

What you say is fair. Like I said from the get-go, I don't know if there is any direct quid pro quo here. Although that is a pretty well-timed and hefty raise.

Regardless, in a political campaign, this does not look good at all. Especially since McCain has been such a crusader against Earmarks, and since Obama has recently come over to being anti-earmarks as well.

If people start scrutinizing his earmarks during this campaign, something like this doesn't look great.

Regarding the timing of the raise, I expect that U of C wanted to make sure that it kept Mrs. O in the fold b/c she had just become a much higher profile member of their staff -- that is, people knew who she was -- that is vitally important when you are pushing for donors - Obama was clearly winning his senatorial election by a wicked landslide and her popularity would likely leverage 10s of millions of dollars in donations to the community outreach programs she directed. She clearly became more valuable to the hospital and was compensated accordingly.

I think you can crusade against earmarks all you want - but if you are in the Senate, since there are only two of you in your state, if you don't play the earmark game then your state will lose out.

[Jarv]

The ones in Miami or the ones getting in broken down boats to get the hell out of there to come to Miami? :lmao2:

That is one of the funniest things I have read in a while, along with hitting the nail right on the head...lol.

[ScipioCowboy]

Seriously, this is pretty ' dumb. The only reason the Jews weren't involved in a "civil war" is because they didn't have the military to fight back.

...or the access to firearms.

[Danny White]

Regarding the timing of the raise, I expect that U of C wanted to make sure that it kept Mrs. O in the fold b/c she had just become a much higher profile member of their staff -- that is, people knew who she was -- that is vitally important when you are pushing for donors - Obama was clearly winning his senatorial election by a wicked landslide and her popularity would likely leverage 10s of millions of dollars in donations to the community outreach programs she directed. She clearly became more valuable to the hospital and was compensated accordingly.

I think you can crusade against earmarks all you want - but if you are in the Senate, since there are only two of you in your state, if you don't play the earmark game then your state will lose out.

I don't doubt that at all. U of C is perfectly within their rights to try to buy as much influence as they want. Their investment in Ms. Obama was perfectly understandable and wise.

It's the Obamas who perhaps needed to exercise a bit more ethical judgment in this case to avoid any appearance of impropriety.

[iceberg]

Seriously, this is pretty ' dumb. The only reason the Jews weren't involved in a "civil war" is because they didn't have the military to fight back. In all honestly, you're being an idiot.

i'm sorry, i just have to giggle when i see soemone else notice what i got so bulldog about.

giggle.

all done now.

[Sasquatch]

Seriously, this is pretty ' dumb. The only reason the Jews weren't involved in a "civil war" is because they didn't have the military to fight back. In all honestly, you're being an idiot.

It's quite the stretch to argue that racial-ethnic persecution is essentially the same as political differences (that can pit family members against each other) that escalate into armed conflict. They entail two completely different dynamics which is why conventional historical practice designates the one set of events as civil wars and/or revolutions and the other as the Holocaust. I'm sorry that the reality doesn't satisfy your compulsive need to be right on each and every issue but the facts speak for themselves.

[theogt]

It's quite the stretch to argue that racial-ethnic persecution is essentially the same as political differences (that can pit family members against each other) that escalate into armed conflict. They entail two completely different dynamics which is why conventional historical practice designates the one set of events as civil wars and/or revolutions and the other as the Holocaust. I'm sorry that the reality doesn't satisfy your compulsive need to be right on each and every issue but the facts speak for themselves.Your comparison was beyond ignorant and you'll spin whatever story you can come up with to make it sound plausible, but you only look foolish for trying. No one forced colonists out of America to Canada. It's nothing like the mass expulsion that has occurred in Cuba or the mass murder that occurred in Nazi Germany. What a ridiculous statement.

LULZ @ the idea that fleeing a democracy for a monarchy is anything like fleeing communism. Only in your head would that make sense.

[theogt]

http://www.independent.org/newsroom/article.asp?id=1535

Murder. Forced labor camps. Mass executions. Concentration camps.

Yup, nothing at all similar to the Nazis.

[AbeBeta]

It's the Obamas who perhaps needed to exercise a bit more ethical judgment in this case to avoid any appearance of impropriety.

on the other hand, why should a hospital that likely always received that sort of support from the Senate no longer get it?

I think a better question here is whether the earmark deviated from historical earmarks for U of C Hospital -- I would bet it didn't.

[Jon88]

on the other hand, why should a hospital that likely always received that sort of support from the Senate no longer get it?

I think a better question here is whether the earmark deviated from historical earmarks for U of C Hospital -- I would bet it didn't.

I would bet it did knowing the crowd he hangs around and listens to.

Time will tell.

[Sasquatch]

No one forced colonists out of America to Canada.

No, in many instances they just had their property confiscated, were executed, imprisoned, subject to public humiliation (tar and feathering), murdered by organized vigilantes, arrested, or, in the case of slaves, forced back into slavery. Although many remained behind, they certainly didn't go around professing allegiance to George III or there would have been repercussions. Essentially, they were forced to renounce their political views or be harmed in one way or another, i.e. accept the regime of the victors or leave. Even though the Treaty of Paris that ended the war stipulated that property seized from loyalists had to be returned it was not always complied with, especially in the South.

Come on, you're too smart to be defending the simplistic right-wing demonization of socialist revolutionaries as Hitleresque, which is not to say that they are not unsavory in their own right. But the plight of Cubans who were on the losing side of a civil war and German Jews during the Holocaust are two totally different historical phenomena, the former having much more in common with various other revolutions/civil wars despite differences between them.

[Danny White]

on the other hand, why should a hospital that likely always received that sort of support from the Senate no longer get it?

I think a better question here is whether the earmark deviated from historical earmarks for U of C Hospital -- I would bet it didn't.

First, I was talking about accepting the raise (which more than doubled her salary) when I was talking about the ethical question... not the earmark.

But now that you mention it, you could also make an argument that the earmark could have been handled better from an ethical point of view. Why not have Durbin submit the earmark request instead of Obama to avoid these questions of buying influence?


What this really comes down to is that it establishes a mini-pattern with Obama that he may have used his office and his new influence to benefit financially. You have this situation with the University, and you have that Rezko land deal where he made out with possibly hundreds of thousands of dollars of value. If those two situations are isolated incidents and can be explained away with reasonable excuses, then fine. But if more similar incidents are exposed then he has a serious problem on his hands.

[ScipioCowboy]

Come on, you're too smart to be defending the simplistic right-wing demonization of socialist revolutionaries as Hitleresque, which is not to say that they are not unsavory in their own right. But the plight of Cubans who were on the losing side of a civil war and German Jews during the Holocaust are two totally different historical phenomena, the former having much more in common with various other revolutions/civil wars despite differences between them.

It depends on your definition of "Hitleresque," I suppose. I associate Hitler with mass murder and political suppression.

And communism has been arguably the bloodiest, most repressive form of government over the past century.

America certainly isn't perfect. We have our warts. But I'm fairly confident that communism surpasses us in the "Hitlereseque" department.

[AbeBeta]

First, I was talking about accepting the raise (which more than doubled her salary) when I was talking about the ethical question... not the earmark.

But now that you mention it, you could also make an argument that the earmark could have been handled better from an ethical point of view. Why not have Durbin submit the earmark request instead of Obama to avoid these questions of buying influence?


What this really comes down to is that it establishes a mini-pattern with Obama that he may have used his office and his new influence to benefit financially. You have this situation with the University, and you have that Rezko land deal where he made out with possibly hundreds of thousands of dollars of value. If those two situations are isolated incidents and can be explained away with reasonable excuses, then fine. But if more similar incidents are exposed then he has a serious problem on his hands.

The personal gain argument is not supportable - 1 million dollars to U of C Hospital in exchange for a 200k raise? That would suggest that the U of C are pretty stupid in that Mrs. O would stand to gain far far more than the hospital . As I noted before the hospital likely gave her a raise because it realized her husband's high profile would help them raise private funds - far far more funds than the 1 mill they got from the Senate.

2nd, if you have any understanding of how large the U of C hospital organization is, you'd recognize that 1 million to build a pavilion is money to a department so far outside Mrs. O's that it might as well be unrelated.

3rd, he likely didn't ask Durbin to give money as Durbin was likely doing the same? Why? Because you allocate funds to institutions like this -- the best hospital in the state and one of the best in the nation gets money from the Senate. It likely gets this sort of scratch all the time.

[Danny White]

The personal gain argument is not supportable - 1 million dollars to U of C Hospital in exchange for a 200k raise? That would suggest that the U of C are pretty stupid in that Mrs. O would stand to gain far far more than the hospital . As I noted before the hospital likely gave her a raise because it realized her husband's high profile would help them raise private funds - far far more funds than the 1 mill they got from the Senate.

2nd, if you have any understanding of how large the U of C hospital organization is, you'd recognize that 1 million to build a pavilion is money to a department so far outside Mrs. O's that it might as well be unrelated.

3rd, he likely didn't ask Durbin to give money as Durbin was likely doing the same? Why? Because you allocate funds to institutions like this -- the best hospital in the state and one of the best in the nation gets money from the Senate. It likely gets this sort of scratch all the time.

No one's saying this is the Thomas Crown Affair... some kind of scam of the century.

It just doesn't look great... perhaps calling the Obamas' ethical judgment into question.

[Sasquatch]

It depends on your definition of "Hitleresque," I suppose. I associate Hitler with mass murder and political suppression.

And communism has been arguably the bloodiest, most repressive form of government over the past century.

America certainly isn't perfect. We have our warts. But I'm fairly confident that communism surpasses us in the "Hitlereseque" department.

The dispute is whether Cuban exiles are more analogous to the vanquished parties in the various civil wars/revolutions that I mentioned or the Jews under Nazi Germany.

There's no comparison, of course. The Jews were targeted as a race, irregardless of individual political beliefs, including women and children. They were systematically eliminated as an ethnic group, not as enemy combatants who took up arms against those in power/those on their way to gaining power.

The Cubans that were persecuted by the revolutionary tribunals, executed by firing squads, and exiled were supporters of a Batista regime, the Catholic Church, and thought to be politically hostile to the regime in one form or another.

That's not to say that the Cuban revolutionaries were justified in their actions, just that the reprisals and excesses that often attend revolutions and civil wars are in no way similar to the extermination of the Jews under Hitler, except in the most tenuous way. They are two very different historical phenomena.

[theogt]

No, in many instances they just had their property confiscated, were executed, imprisoned, subject to public humiliation (tar and feathering), murdered by organized vigilantes, arrested, or, in the case of slaves, forced back into slavery. Although many remained behind, they certainly didn't go around professing allegiance to George III or there would have been repercussions. Essentially, they were forced to renounce their political views or be harmed in one way or another, i.e. accept the regime of the victors or leave. Even though the Treaty of Paris that ended the war stipulated that property seized from loyalists had to be returned it was not always complied with, especially in the South.

Come on, you're too smart to be defending the simplistic right-wing demonization of socialist revolutionaries as Hitleresque, which is not to say that they are not unsavory in their own right. But the plight of Cubans who were on the losing side of a civil war and German Jews during the Holocaust are two totally different historical phenomena, the former having much more in common with various other revolutions/civil wars despite differences between them.And apparently you're not smart enough to realize when to ditch a ridiculous analogy. Give it up. Communism lost.

[Haley94]

If you didn't care what happened to me,
And I didn't care for you,
We would zig zag our way through the boredom and pain
Occasionally glancing up through the rain.
Wondering which of the buggars to blame
And watching for pigs on the wing.


opps this isn't the lyrics post thread.

[Sasquatch]

And apparently you're not smart enough to realize when to ditch a ridiculous analogy.

The only ridiculous analogy here is the one that likens Cuban exiles to the victims of the Holocaust. And repeating it ad nauseam will not make it any less so.

[ScipioCowboy]

The dispute is whether Cuban exiles are more analogous to the vanquished parties in the various civil wars/revolutions that I mentioned or the Jews under Nazi Germany.

That's certainly part of the dispute.

But I was responding to this specific statement from you:

Originally Posted by Sasquatch http://cowboyszone.com/forums/images/buttons/viewpost.gif (http://cowboyszone.com/forums/showthread.php?p=1999898#post1999898)
Come on, you're too smart to be defending the simplistic right-wing demonization of socialist revolutionaries as Hitleresque, which is not to say that they are not unsavory in their own right.
In my opinion, the behavior of the Cuban Revolutionaries was very Hitleresque in the manner that they systematically exterminated their opposition. The scope of Nazism was certainly wider than that of the Cuban Revolutionaries, but their attitudes were remarkably similar.