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Obama and the Woods Fund

As a board member, Obama helped scratch a lot of backs with grants to politically connected groups.

September 13, 2008 - by Jennifer Rubin

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Also serving on the Woods Fund at the time was Palestinian activist and now professor at Columbia University Rashid Khalidi, whose wife headed AAAN. The Woods Fund granted AAAN $40,000 in 2001 and $70,000 in 2002. As Salon magazine wrote, this was “nepotism, Chicago style.”

Khalidi, a former spokesman for Yasser Arafat, held a fundraiser for Obama in 2000 during his unsuccessful bid for Congress. In 2003, during a dinner honoring Khalidi for becoming the Edward Said Professor of Arab Studies at Columbia, Obama warmly praised his friend, reminiscing about the many meals cooked for him by Khalidi’s wife Mona and of the discussions he and Khalidi held that were “consistent reminders to me of my own blind spots and my own biases. … It’s for that reason that I’m hoping that, for many years to come, we continue that conversation — a conversation that is necessary not just around Mona and Rashid’s dinner table,” but around “this entire world.”

The pattern of funneling money to political allies and their allies is evident throughout Obama’s tenure at the Woods Fund. Tens and tens of thousands of dollars were granted to organizations including the Brighton Park Neighborhood Council, Business and Professional People for the Public Interest (BPPPI), the Center for Neighborhood Technology, Centers for New Horizons, the Chicago Jobs Council, the Chicago Education Fund, the Chicago Institute on Urban Poverty, the Chicago Urban League, The Gamaliel Foundation. Dozens of the board members and officials from these organizations in turn would donate money, in many instances up to the legal limit, for Obama’s Senate and Presidential races between 2004 and 2008.

For example the Woods Fund between 1999 and 2002 granted $60,000 to BPPPI. Board member and executives donated at least $16,950 to Obama’s political campaigns. The Woods Fund granted the Center of Neighborhood Technology $150,000 between 1999 and 2002. Obama received over $24,000 in campaign donations from its officials. And in turn Obama made sure to seek earmarks on their behalf once he reached the U.S. Senate.

A similar pattern of mutual financial help existed with regard to many of these organizations. While there is no evidence of an explicit quid pro quo, what is apparent is that the seeds of long term relationships and a network of financial support were sewn while Obama was a Woods board member.

Obama’s tenure with the Woods Fund is perhaps most noteworthy for his association with former terrorist Bill Ayers. Ayers served on the Woods board for three years of Obama’s tenure and remained on the board after Obama departed. Hillary Clinton raised this issue earlier this year at the Philadelphia debate when Obama, as he has done throughout the campaign, tried to minimize his relationship with Ayers.

That exchange was set off with a question asking Obama to explain his relationship with Ayers:

OBAMA: This is a guy who lives in my neighborhood, who’s a professor of English in Chicago who I know and who I have not received some official endorsement from. He’s not somebody who I exchange ideas from on a regular basis.

And the notion that somehow as a consequence of me knowing somebody who engaged in detestable acts 40 years ago, when I was 8 years old, somehow reflects on me and my values doesn’t make much sense, George.

The fact is that I’m also friendly with Tom Coburn, one of the most conservative Republicans in the United States Senate, who, during his campaign, once said that it might be appropriate to apply the death penalty to those who carried out abortions.

Do I need to apologize for Mr. Coburn’s statements? Because I certainly don’t agree with those, either.

So this kind of game in which anybody who I know, regardless of how flimsy the relationship is, that somehow their ideas could be attributed to me, I think the American people are smarter than that. They’re not going to suggest somehow that that is reflective of my views, because it obviously isn’t.

CLINTON: Well, I think that is a fair general statement, but I also believe that Senator Obama served on a board with Mr. Ayers for a period of time, the Woods Foundation, which was a paid directorship position.

And, if I’m not mistaken, that relationship with Mr. Ayers on this board continued after 9/11 and after his reported comments, which were deeply hurtful to people in New York and, I would hope, to every American, because they were published on 9/11, and he said that he was just sorry they hadn’t done more.

And what they did was set bombs. And in some instances, people died. So it is — I think it is, again, an issue that people will be asking about.

And I have no doubt — I know Senator Obama’s a good man and I respect him greatly, but I think that this is an issue that certainly the Republicans will be raising.

Clinton was right, of course. Ayers also headed the Chicago Annenberg Challenge, an educational foundation dedicated to school reform that was funded by an initial $49 million grant from the Annenberg family foundation. (Annenberg recently was in the news when the University of Chicago first sealed the records and then agreed to open them to National Review’s Stanley Kurtz and other reporters seeking to explore that organization’s records.)

The Woods Fund in 1999 granted $50,000 to the Annenberg Challenge — that is one organization on which Obama and Ayers served giving funds to another headed by Ayers and on which Obama also served as chairman for three years beginning in 1995 and then as a board member until 2001.

The Annenberg Challenge has since come under scrutiny — and Obama’s involvement therewith as well — because of criticism that the Annenberg Challenge failed to improve student achievement. The Los Angeles Times termed it a “bust.” A USA Today column in 1998 noted, “Expectations, in fact, may prove to be the biggest stumbling block to the legacy of the Annenberg gift. In some circles, conservatives see snail’s pace-progress among schools benefiting from Annenberg’s largesse and use it as a public school parable: Give big money to public schools and it will be absorbed into the bureaucracy with little benefit.” As Education Week put it, “It was ultimately unsuccessful in raising student achievement, according to evaluations of the project.”

Another recipient of the Woods Fund largesse was the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN), an organization infamous for its left wing agenda. Stanley Kurtz who has researched ACORN’s far-left agenda described its “in your face tactics”:

Just think of Code Pink’s well-known operations (threatening to occupy congressional offices, interrupting the testimony of General David Petraeus) and you’ll get the idea. Acorn protesters have disrupted Federal Reserve hearings, but mostly deploy their aggressive tactics locally. Chicago is home to one of its strongest chapters, and Acorn has burst into a closed city council meeting there. Acorn protestors in Baltimore disrupted a bankers’ dinner and sent four busloads of profanity-screaming protestors against the mayor’s home, terrifying his wife and kids. Even a Baltimore city council member who generally supports Acorn said their intimidation tactics had crossed the line.

During Obama’s time on the Woods Funds ACORN received grants of $45,000 (2000), $30,000 (2001), $45,000 (2001), $30,000 (2002), and $40,000 (2002) from the Woods Fund. (Obama in the early 1990’s helped train ACORN organizers and later served as counsel in 1995 for ACORN in a “motor voter” registration lawsuit.) And ACORN certainly appreciated whatever assistance Obama afforded the radical organization over the years.

Founder Toni Foulkes enthusiastically backed Obama’s U.S. Senate run in 2004, declaring: “ACORN is active in experimenting with methods of increasing voter participation in our low and moderate income communities to virtually every election. But in some elections we get to have our cake and eat it too: work on nonpartisan voter registration and GOTV, which also turns out to benefit the candidate we hold dear [Obama].”

In short, no less than six years ago Obama served along side Ayers as a board member on an organization happy to pass out funds to radical left wing and anti-Israel groups. Moreover, the monies doled out through the Woods Fund to these groups, including Ayers own Annenberg Challenge, helped cement Obama’s political relationships and bond with key players in Chicago. None of this matches his current self-portrait of a politically moderate reformer. But like so much of Obama, that was then and this is now.

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Jennifer Rubin is PJM's Washington, DC, editor. She also blogs at Commentary’s Contentions.

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90 Comments

1. David:

This should be a run away victory for the Democratic party this year, problem is they have put a very flawed candidate as their standard bearer.

Sep 13, 2008 - 4:42 am 2. RE:

These revelations are the perfect response to Obama’s ‘Change you can beleive in’ fraud.

Woods Fund, Annenberg Foundation, Ayers, Wright, Rezko …. There’s nothing positive in Obama’s past. Nothing.

It’s unfortunate that today’s youth cannot recognize the fraud. Obama is just the front man for some sort of neo-Bolshevism, changing his tune now to get elected, but sure to revert to old form should he come to power.

Sep 13, 2008 - 5:21 am 3. ex-democrat:

And when can we expect to see ABC’s Charlie Gibson grill Obama on all this??
Oh, right – that would be friendly fire.

Sep 13, 2008 - 5:25 am 4. BAMMER:

DISNEY- “MAKING THE DREAMS OF FAMILIES AND CHILDREN A REALITY”

(A) ABC AND THE MAIN STREAM MEDIA WILL FIGHT TO THE DEATH TO DEFEND ABORTION, SAME SEX MARRIAGE, WELFARE, SOCIALIZED MEDICINE, TRADE BARRIERS, HEAVY UNIONIZATION, SEXIST, AND HOMOSEXUAL RIGHTS.

(B) ABC AND THE MAIN STREAM MEDIA TEND TO BELITTLE CITIZENS WITH CHURCH GOING FAMILIES, THAT WORK VERY HARD TO KEEP WHAT THEY EARN, THAT INVEST IN GOOD PARENTING, THAT ARE PRO-LIFE, AND HAVE CONSERVATIVE VALUES, AND THAT HAVE DIFFICULTY RECONCILING ABORTION AND SAME SEX MARRIAGE WITH THEIR KIDS.

(C) WHY DOES DISNEY OWN ABC? WHICH SIDE DOES DISNEY TAKE? THE APPROACH DESCRIBED IN PARAGRAPH (A) OR THAT OF PARAGRAPH (B). BY HAVING OWNERSHIP AND OVERSIGHT OF ABCNEWS AS A LIBERAL ELITE MEDIA OPERATION, IT APPEARS DISNEY TAKES PARAGRAPH (A), EVEN THOUGH YOUR CORPORATE IMAGE WITH THEME PARKS, STUDIOS, AND OTHER OPERATIONS PLAY IN THE IMAGES OF PARAGRAPH (B).

(D) FOR DISNEY/ABC, THIS IS A CLOUDED, CONFUSED CORPORATE IMAGE AT BEST, AND HYPOCRISY AT WORST. AS A MAJOR MEDIA COMPANY, YOUR IMAGE AND YOUR ABILITY TO BE TRUSTED IS MAGICAL AND GOLDEN.

(E) WITH ANY MAJOR MEDIA COMPANY, YOU SHOULD BE JUDGED BY SOMETHING SIMILAR TO THE FOLLOWING:

“WHAT MAKES YOU WORTHY OF TELLING US WHAT YOU THINK?”

CHARLES GIBSON, ADVERTISES HIMSELF AS “YOUR TRUSTED SOURCE”.

(F) DISNEY, ABCNEWS, AND CHARLIE HAVE AN OBLIGATION IN SHOWING US WHAT MAKES YOU WORTHY OF TELLING US WHAT YOU THINK, IF YOU CHOOSE TO TELL US WHAT YOU THINK, INSTEAD OF JUST REPORTING THE STORY OBJECTIVELY.

Sep 13, 2008 - 6:06 am 5. Doug:

Jennifer, glad you’re looking at this in more depth.

In March, I tracked back some of the Woods Fund contributions, which you may have interest in exploring as well.

http://directorblue.blogspot.com/2008/03/obamas-problematic-directorship-woods.html

Sep 13, 2008 - 6:41 am 6. Babe in the Woods:

[...] Even a blind squirrel sometimes funds nuts: Another recipient of the Woods Fund largesse was the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN), an organization infamous for its left wing agenda. Stanley Kurtz who has researched ACORN’s far-left agenda described its “in your face tactics”: Just think of Code Pink’s well-known operations (threatening to occupy congressional offices, interrupting the testimony of General David Petraeus) and you’ll get the idea. Acorn protesters have disrupted Federal Reserve hearings, but mostly deploy their aggressive tactics locally. Chicago is home to one of its strongest chapters, and Acorn has burst into a closed city council meeting there. Acorn protestors in Baltimore disrupted a bankers’ dinner and sent four busloads of profanity-screaming protestors against the mayor’s home, terrifying his wife and kids. Even a Baltimore city council member who generally supports Acorn said their intimidation tactics had crossed the line. [...]

Sep 13, 2008 - 6:55 am 7. Doc99:

David:

“This should be a run away victory for the Democratic party this year, problem is they have put a very flawed candidate as their standard bearer.”

Barry Soetoro aka Obama is Karl Rove’s parting gift to the Republican Party.

Sep 13, 2008 - 7:11 am 8. Pee Wee Herman, Community Organizer:

How dare you question the altruism of community organizers! You’re bad!

Sep 13, 2008 - 7:15 am 9. Self-hating boomer:

Spammer (I mean Bammer), do you realize that your keyboard has a caplock key? And it’s stuck on?

Sep 13, 2008 - 7:16 am 10. Chris in Toronto:

Bammer, please don’t yell.
Thanks.

Sep 13, 2008 - 7:29 am 11. hanoi paris hilton:

The Annenberg Challenge files double secret probation jitsu wasn’t at the U. of Chicago, a private institution which has slender legal obligations to release to the public anything in its records and holdings. But rather it was at the U. of Illinois, Chicago; a campus of the University of Illinois system which is a completely public institution fully so obligated.

The MP3 of Stanley Kurtz’s interview on Milt Rosenberg’s radio show (WGN) is worth listening to in full (ca. 1.5 hrs), rich in Obamazombie call-ins scripted verbatim by The One’s national HQ in Chicago. Rosenberg, a senior prof at U, Chicago, was astonished and embarrassed, and rightly so. Here’s the URL:

Sep 13, 2008 - 8:11 am 12. Marina:

DANGEROUS DEMOCRATIC PARTY

ABC has edited Sarah’s interview, horribly. Even dangerously. Because Russia really could conclude the next war is coming. But the full version shows that Sarah said exactly the opposite. The dems are ready to provoke an international conflict rather than to loose the elections. What a party.

THE FULL INTERVIEW WITH SARAH, WITH EDITED OUT PARTS, Pt. 1:

http://marklevinshow.com/gibson-interview

Sep 13, 2008 - 8:27 am 13. dvd:

In matters of Acorn, obama never voted Present.

In matters of public record where anyone might get wind of his cultivated motivations, he mastered the art of voting Present.

The media has completely given all these old relationships a pass, doing no Due Diligence preferring always to vote ” Present”.

A system is only as good as its own sensory organs……..

Sep 13, 2008 - 8:51 am 14. Obama and the Woods Fund « Count Us Out:

[...] Pages: 12Next [...]

Sep 13, 2008 - 8:56 am 15. Frank Logan:

This relationship apparently began before Obama went to law school and is more extensive than Obama admits. It certainly raises questions. Many people think that Obama decided to attend Harvard Law at the urging of Tom and Bill Ayers.
Note Obama served on Three boards with William Ayers’ connections including the less well known, anti-gun Joyce Foundation.

Shortcut to: http://globallabor.blogspot.com/2008/04/who-sent-obama.html

Obama Timeline

1975-1979 Attended Highschool – Hawaii Mentored by Frank Marshall Davis, an avowed communist http://www.postchronicle.com/cgi-bin/artman/exec/view.cgi?archive=58&num=132576
1979-1981 Attended Occidental College-Calif.
1981-1983 attended Columbia Univ.-NYC Graduated 1983
1983-1985 Worked in NYC part of time for Group founded by Ralph Nader
1985-1988 Director of DCP- Group sponsored 1st by Woods Fund where he met met William Ayers
1988 Entered Harvard Law School
1989 Summer interned at Chicago Law firm(Sidley & Austin) where Michelle, his future wife, and Bernedine Dohrn, wife of William Ayers, worked. Firm had close ties to Tom Ayers, CEO of Commonwealth Edison, and William’s Father.
1990 President Harvard Law Review
1991 Graduated Harvard Law
1992 Directed Illinois Project Vote & co founded PUBLIC ALLIES
1993-1996 Worked as assoc. atty Davis, Miner (Worked summers 1996-2002) Judson Miner an associate of Tom Ayers
1993-2002 Board of Directors -Woods Fund (William Ayers also on board) Woods Fund made $40,000 grant to Arab American Action Network(AAAN) headed by Rashid Khalid in 2001, $35,000 in 2002
1994-2002 Board of Directors -The Joyce Foundation (anti gun grants)(William Ayers wrote two grants)
1995-2002 Board of Directors -The Chicago Annenberg Challenge with William Ayers who appointed Obama.
1996-2004 Illinois State Senate
2004-2008 US senate

One can draw the conclusion that Obama’s relationship with William Ayers is much more extensive than many think

Sep 13, 2008 - 9:04 am 16. Marina:

@ DOUG:

Thank you very, very much for the link. You’ve got a great site. Still cannot understand why nobody makes a story out of it, not even the FoxNews guys (those of them who are pro-Reps).

One of the most shocking sub-links on your site was the one with the pictures of OBAMA’S ACTIVITY AS A COMMUNITY ORGANIZER. Wow. We’ve seen that and … what should one say? It’s not the same when you just read it. OMG, that’s all, and many many f-words. If you allow, I’d like to post this link from your site too. Thanks again.

http://directorblue.blogspot.com/2008/07/photo-gallery-results-of-obamas.html

Sep 13, 2008 - 9:32 am 17. uburoi:

Obama is the type of politician who, on his way up, justifies his shady and dishonest dealings with the local political machine as a necessary evil in order to get high above it, and then reform it from the top down. Trouble is, that rarely happens. Usually, the politician gets captured by a higher level of graft and political manipulation at the federal level of politics just like he did on the way up. Anyone think Huey Long was going to be clean and honest if he ever landed in the White House? The only politician I can think of who came up through a corrupt machine to govern as an honest man was Harry Truman.

Sep 13, 2008 - 9:35 am 18. Therese:

Thank you for this well-researched article about Obama’s dangerous relationships and affiliations. He is looking more and more like a “Manchurian Candidate.”

The fact that MSM doesn’t touch the subject is quite disturbing and makes me wonder how much the media is controlled by people with the same views and connections as Obama.

Sep 13, 2008 - 9:46 am 19. The link between Obama, ACORN, the Woods Fund, Earmarks and the mortgage crisis | ...gettingpaidtowatch:

[...] Jennifer Rubin reports today that During Obama’s tenure on the board of the charitable Chicago Woods Fund, he helped channel funds to the notorious socialist activist group, ACORN: [...]

Sep 13, 2008 - 10:01 am 20. Marina:

Just imagine, all the MSM know about this stuff. Larry King and the like know about all BHO’s corruption in Chicago. They all know but push him up anyway, trying to sell him as an agent of “change”. They know!!!!!!! Creepy. Really creepy.

Sep 13, 2008 - 10:19 am 21. dvd:

Therese, good observation.

The math of the electorate is routinely lied about by the msm. 51% of potential voters dont vote historically. Sara/McCain are reformers, and the only kind of politician whose worth voting for..

The ticket needs 15% boost from the Non Voting Majority………focus on friends who never vote, everyone knows them because they are surrounding the party faithful, angry that the party faithful continues its hubris despite feedback from their own approval ratings.

let them know that thier freedom, is at stake, because the largesse of a socialist state will destroy everyone. the insiders dreams for our beautiful country are not the same dreams of the rest of us.

Sep 13, 2008 - 10:22 am 22. Ed Wallis:

RE: Frank Logan’s post

Ther is also a good “Obama Timeline” in Frddoso’s book, “The Case Against Barack Obama.”

Sep 13, 2008 - 12:43 pm 23. Ed Lasky:

Great article but it is the University of Illinois-Chicago that has the Annenberg records.

Sep 13, 2008 - 12:44 pm 24. Marina:

Geraldine Ferraro has recently said on the FoxNews that actually WE SHOULDN’T BE SURPRISED WHEN OBAMA WINS THE ELECTION (the video was still available today on
http://www.foxnews.com/video/index.html – it was in the section “Politics” under the name “Working Girl”)

Ferraro said: “At 1984 we had crowds, we had people running, we had sc…, we had all kinds of excitement. And then the election came, we’ve been 16 points behind, we’ve ended up with 15 or 16 points behind on the election day. You know where the women went? The majority of women who used to be at all my ralleys, who were all excited, the majority of women voted for Ronald Reagan”. Then she said that women vote for the issues, not for inspiring persons (or something like that).

First of all, some strange points in the statement itself:
1. Ferraro really believes (?) those women who “used to be at all /her/ ralleys” are the majority of American women.
2. She was surpirsed (?) by the difference between the results and what? The POLLS? Made by the dems to manipulate the “sheeple”, and they didn’t work?
3. I’ve seen the old videos of Ferraro as a VP-candidate: she is far, far away from Sarah, even more far than Hillary is. I’ll never believe the whole female America could identify herself with Ferraro, even 1984.
4. And who could imagine her as a Commander in Chief, during the Cold War? C’mon!
5. Ferraro seems to forget that Sarah has inspired men! not only women! Even sexist men, like Rush Limbaugh e.g.
Her “surprise” is, sorry, absurd and artificial.

The question is, why does she say all this sh…? Is it a new tactic from the Obama campaign? They cannot manipulate with polls so easily anymore. What are they gonna do now? If we see the dark records of Obama and his friends in Chicago, and all what they try to do with Sarah now, wow, these people won’t stop at anything at all. Will they be desperate enough to try to manipulate the results of the election? (Obama’s ACORN is known for electorial frauds) Or voting machines? (Has anyone heard from Diebold after they’ve said: yes, our voting machines are easy to manipulate? It was a couple of months ago. In August?)

But Sarah is too popular, nobody will believe in Obama’s victory anymore. Unless someone very respected by the Reps will say: oh, btw, it already has happened before. And here comes Geraldine Ferraro: I’m so fascinated by Sarah, I even cannot decide whom I’ll elect this year, BUT: don’t get suspicious when Obama wins! Great, Geraldine, good job! Uncle Barry will give you a lollipop.

Sep 13, 2008 - 12:51 pm 25. geokstr:

Regarding ACORN, the close relationship remains to the current day. The Obama campaign for POTUS paid an offshoot of ACORN more than $800,000, which was initially mislabelled on federal election reports as “Staging, Sound, Lighting” and “Advance Work”.

http://michellemalkin.com/2008/08/22/acorn-watch-pt-ii-obama-hid-800000-payment-to-acorn-through-citizen-services-inc/

Chapters of ACORN are also under investigation in many cities for fraudulent voter registration. Voter registrations were made up by their employees out of whole cloth, dead voters were registered, registration cards were submitted for voters who were already registered, fake social security numbers and drivers license numbers were used, etc, ad nauseum. Of course, in every case, ACORN blamed this on “rogue” employees.

http://michellemalkin.com/category/acorn-watch/

Sep 13, 2008 - 12:58 pm 26. dvd:

FBI needs to keepits eyes on voter machine frud, its what worked for chavez.

vote fraud mechanics
http://www.bradblog.com/?p=6369

Sep 13, 2008 - 1:40 pm 27. Pee Wee Herman, Community Organizer:

Marina, don’t worry. We community organizers know what we’re doing:

http://iowahawk.typepad.com/iowahawk/2008/09/why-do-they-alw.html

Sep 13, 2008 - 2:55 pm 28. Rubicon:

I am not so sure Americans expect a “clean” candidate. In politics, everyone gets roughed up occasionally. However, they do expect a candidate who vets their own associations & backgrounds as fully as possible.
Obama has not done this & based on his connections & funds he helped channel to contributors, he does not want anyone to discuss his relationships.
Obama may not be Muslim, but he has shown a significant desire to apologize for Islamist acts that are nothing less than terrorism or the sponsorship of it or the wink & nod approval of it, when it comes to Israel & perhaps even America, since according to Obama, we are broken & need fixed according to “HIS” prescriptions!

Sep 13, 2008 - 2:58 pm 29. Rod:

Absolutely EXCELLENT piece. Top notch research and journalism. Kudos. It is really sad teh MSM is failing
the public so blatantly.

Should be posted on RCP.

Sep 13, 2008 - 3:14 pm 30. Ed Wallis:

Rgarding “the Woods fund,” as well as other less-than-fully-examined/vetted elements of the Democratic Party’s candidate, there is a fair amount of good source material/references in Corsi’s book “Obama Nation.”

Sep 13, 2008 - 3:37 pm 31. arnod:

This article is up for a VOTE at RCP : please go vote so that RCP puts it up.
http://readerarticles.realclearpolitics.com/?period=all
Log in a search for Obama and the Woods Fund.

The media is not investigating/reporting this so this article needs exposure.

Sep 13, 2008 - 5:27 pm 32. Marina:

@ Pee Wee Herman, Community Organizer:

Thank you very much for the link, LOL. Illuminating.

Medius Vulgaris & Hockimomus Alaskus – Great!

Thanks again!

Sep 13, 2008 - 5:45 pm 33. cjw:

Sorry–you guys are wrong about Obama. He is an honorable and decent Senator who will make a great President.

Sep 13, 2008 - 7:57 pm 34. Obama's friends?:

Where are Obama’s friends? His family is under lock and key. I don’t even know what his typical white grandmother looks like – haven’t seen enough pictures of her.

Where are his normal friends? Not Oprah, Kennedy or other celebrities, but real people in his life. Who’s his best friend besides Michelle? Even at the Democratic Convention I missed hearing testimony from his friends.

What’s up with that? Is that normal?

Sep 13, 2008 - 10:01 pm 35. Ike Slams Texas, While Obama Slams McCain After Remarking “it is no Longer Appropriate” to Appear on SNL « New Republican Party Blog:

[...] I think I am losing what little respect I had for the man with 119 (and still growing) false statements to his record in this election cycle alone and who has flip-flopped (some say he is a serial flip-flopper) for votes more than any other political candidate I can think of. In other political news, Obama’s modus operandi in the world of Chicago politics: his service on the board of the Woods Fun… [...]

Sep 14, 2008 - 12:33 am 36. Jeff:

People, here are the facts about Barack Obama and William Ayers—

1) When William Ayers was a radical leftist who co-founded the Weatherman, committed heinous terrorist acts against the United States Capitol building and the Pentagon, his radical history was between 1968-1972. Here is his life story in Wikipedia below —

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Ayers

2) Between 1968-1972, Barack Obama was between ages 7-11 years old and did NOT know William Ayers. He was TOO YOUNG. Here is his life story in Wikipedia below —

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barack_Obama

3) Obama did not meet Ayers until 1995, 23 years after Ayers radical history. Obama was introduced to Ayers by Illinois State Senator Alice Palmer, as her chosen successor since she is stepping down from the Illinois state senate and running for Congress. Here is the story of the meeting in the link below —

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0208/8630.html

In closing, all these propagandas are false. Obama did not meet Ayers until 1995, as they ALL want to make people believe. Please do your own research before believing these ole timers. Obama’s proposal of “Change” for the better is a HUGE threat to them. They are all incapable of “Change” or even the slightest chance of accepting it. Think “Ed Wallis” in these posts. So here is my wisdom for everyone –

***Conservatism is the tired old need to hang on to the past while liberalism is a need for change for a brighter future.***

Sep 14, 2008 - 4:37 am 37. Yehudit:

whether Obama was 8 when Ayers did his dirty work is irrelevant. Ayers still maintains that he did the right thing. He has recently given interviews saying so. So Obama knew what Ayers still was and is, the whole time they have worked together. Obamas defensive about being 8 yrs old is more of the sophistry he is so good at.

Sep 14, 2008 - 7:01 am 38. Letalis Maximus, Esq.:

Jeff:

Soooo, if Timothy McVeigh, were he still alive today, had been blessed with a well-connected corporate titan as a father, had then gone on to become a university professor, there would be nothing wrong with associating with him in, say, 2018?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timothy_mcveigh

Just asking.

Sep 14, 2008 - 8:04 am 39. Jack MacKenzie:

The Woods Fund history reads exactly like the tragedy which befell J. Howard Pew.

When you see or hear anything with Pew attached to it, now you know … just as Frank and Nelle Woods had their vision corrupted and turned to the very opposite purposes they intended …

excerpted from Legacy and Betrayal, The Problem of Donor Intent, by Martin Morse Wooster. (Capital Research Center, 1998, 198 pages) …

… Martin Morse Wooster points out in The Great Philanthropists & the Problem of “Donor Intent,” from the creation of the first large charitable foundations early in this century, something very strange occurred: professional bureaucrats gradually took over the foundations and perverted their purposes. Thus the Rockefeller Foundation, set up by the billionaire Baptist businessman, soon became a major source of funds for “progressive” (i.e., anti-business, anti-religious) causes.

This happened even in many cases where the person who created and funded the foundation went to great lengths to see that it focused on promoting free enterprise. Consider the case of J. Howard Pew of Sun Oil. During his lifetime, he was a tireless champion of free markets and individualism. In 1957, he created the J. Howard Pew Freedom Trust, with instructions that it use its funds to “acquaint the American people” with “the evils of bureaucracy,” “the values of the free market,” and “the paralyzing effects of government controls on lives and activities of people,” to “inform our people of the struggle, persecution, hardship, sacrifice and death by which freedom of the individual was won” and to educate them about how “Socialism, Welfare statism [and] Fascism . . . are but devices by which government seizes the ownership or control of the tools of production.” In accordance with those wishes, the Freedom Trust funded mostly libertarian and conservative activities, as long as its board consisted of Pew family members and friends.

…. end quote.

Then, something happened.

Frank Woods and his wife Nelle established the Woods Fund for righteous reasons; doing what they could with their wealth to further civil rights. In 1941, this was courageous, and could hardly be termed a progressive or Marxist tool. So what happened? How did Woods Fund change course so radically that its chartered heading became a hot bed of political Marxist activism?

Answer – the same thing which happened to so many other wealthy funds, trusts and non-profits established with the money earned by responsible men and women in the garden of American Capitalism … it was stolen.

Once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. Three times is enemy action, Sherlock Holmes said. The number of trusts and charitable funds established with goodwill and bedrock American values that later were found to be inhabited by their very opposites, indeed, their enemies … is neither a natural entropy nor curious social drifting. It was a targeted, specific, planned silent takeover of “other people’s money” in order to aid, abet and further the Marxist assault on America’s foundations. It was asymetric guerilla war.

Guerilla warfare strategizes using an enemy’s strengths against him. Use the target’s resources, use his ideas, and most especially turn his institutions against him. It’s all very quiet, very social, and very hard to guard against. And our enemy has been supremely successful in getting control of billions and billions of dollars in 501(c)3 wealth with different rules and different oversight in disclosure, transparency, and right intent. Of note, not just that anytime you see Pew mentioned you know now that you’re watching the output of a corrupt organization that purloined J Howard Pews fortune to viciously assault the very thing his money was supposed to defend … you can also see the context now of how effective Lyndon Johnson was in one master stroke eliminating America’s churches from the political battlefield by establishing those clauses in Title 26, the IRS Code, which threaten a church if they speak out politically. Silence the pulpit, steal all the money. Very effective.

None of this is by accident.

Silence your critics.

Get control of their money and use it against them.

It didn’t “just happen”. It was strategic, and tactical and Americans just couldn’t believe there were people amongst us so vile they could do such things. Yet, here we are. And I’m sure it tickles Obama to know he rode Frank Woods’ hard earned money to the prominence he enjoys now, not having earned one nickel of any of the wealth that brought him glory and fame.

J Howard Pew is spinning in his grave.

Sep 14, 2008 - 8:05 am 40. Fresh Air:

Ayers hosted Obama’s coming-out party as a politician. He’s not just some guy from the neighborhood. They are PALS! As far as I’m concerned, that disqualifies him from public office right there. And yeah, Daley too.

Sep 14, 2008 - 8:19 am 41. Elroy Jetson:

I’m still waiting to hear about an Obama accomplishment. Something tangible you can point to and say, “Obama was instrumental.”
Between CAC and Woods, hundreds of millions of dollars was distributed. The only thing that improved was Obama’s political career. What a horrible waste.

Sep 14, 2008 - 8:54 am 42. Ed Wallis:

“Jeff” 4:37am –

You are a fraud, in that speaking “half” (and I’m being GENEROUS here, child) the truth is as evil as a lie.

WOW. 5 minutes over at “wikipedia.com” from mommy’s basement…you are SUCH a “researcher”! /sarc

You OMIT Zerobama’s yearlong involvement SINCE 1995 with unrepentant domestic terrorist AYERS who, to today, says “I don’t regret setting bombs. I feel we didn’t do enough.”

TRY SEARCHING CORSI’s book, “Obama Nation” for F A C T S on this awful candidate’s past behavior.

Taking responsibility for your own efforts is a sign of maturity. You could learn from that too, “Jeff.”

_______________

…but I have reason to doubt it.. Over at the “Charlie Gibson” thread; “Jeff” (1:34pm) writes:

“Charlie Gibson is a liberal elitist fool.
His condescending arrogance during his interview with VP nominee, Sarah Palin, was palpable.
The liberal, mainstream media are in a tizzy over Sarah Palin. They have no idea of how to deal with such a woman – a woman of substance and integrity.
This media will continue to attack and try to trap the VP nominee. I believe that she handled Charlie Gibson’s obnoxious demeanor quite well.
I have all of the confidence in the world in Governor Palin.
It is my hope and prayer that she and John McCain win the election on 11/4.”

“Jeff” is – to use a younger person’s jargon – a “tool.”

Sep 14, 2008 - 12:45 pm 43. Ed Wallis:

Jeff,

I apologize for my stupidity as an old man. I can sometimes be alittle condescending. I know my stupidity knows no bounds and I am truly sorry.

Sep 14, 2008 - 2:12 pm 44. Believer:

No, Jeff.

Obama met Ayers years earlier. It was Ayers’ dad who got Obama his job with the lawfirm where he met his belle, Michelle. You see, Michelle and Barry go way back with Ayers and Dohrn. Dohrn worked at the lawfirm along with Barry and his belle.

There’s so much more you need to know, Jeff.

Sep 14, 2008 - 3:09 pm 45. Ed Wallis:

A video on the topic of this thread:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D-45A6I-N5I

Sep 14, 2008 - 3:37 pm 46. Ravalli County News » Blog Archive » Barack Obama, Rashid Khalidi, and the Arab American Action Network:

[...] from Obama and the Woods Fund: Obama joined the board of the Woods Fund in 1993 and remained until [...]

Sep 14, 2008 - 5:50 pm 47. tanstaafl:

Why is this all so convoluted ?

Radical Islamists have vowed to wipe all of us Unbelievers from the Earth.

“the Woods Fund” and similar human endeavors have made barely a whit of difference in the human condition.

You don’t help people through “agencies” when people aren’t willing to help themselves on their own behalf.

Yasser Arafat was a self serving megalomaniac. And, truth be told, likely a pervert when it came to a penchant for young boys.

Are we there yet ?

Sep 14, 2008 - 6:39 pm 48. Insufficiently Sensitive:

On September 14, the San Francisco Chronicle ran a piece on Senator Obama which made omissions here and there. Despite a laudatory tone, his abilities for walking on water didn’t make it onto the page. But in a great gaping black hole of omission, nothing whatever was said of his tenure as Chair of the Chicago Annenberg Challenge, nor was the wastage of the entire $150,000,000 disbursement mentioned. It was supposed to improve the performance of school children in Chicage – it entirely failed to do so. More likely it went to ACORN-style groups.

But the San Francisco Chronicle’s goal is to praise Caesar Obama, not to bury him in embarrassing facts. So those facts are cleverly edited out.

Sep 14, 2008 - 9:23 pm 49. Ruth:

On May 8, 2008 Rashid Khalidi wrote, “The ‘Palestine Question’..has become a running sore.” Four days later on May 12 Jeffrey Goldberg asked Obama if “Israel is a drag on America’s reputation..? Obama answered, “I think…this constant sore, does infect all of our foreign policy.”

Sep 14, 2008 - 10:41 pm 50. Pajamas Media » Into the Obama Tank For the Final Push:

[...] Any pretense of fairness by the mainstream media is gone. The MSNBC duo of anchor buffoons have been downgraded but not fired. The Washington Post runs dueling front page articles — one a recycled tabloid-like piece (apologies to our tabloid friends who generally don’t recycle old material) about Cindy McCain’s past drug problems and one, made up out of whole cloth, that Sarah Palin’s allegedly believes and told departing troops that Iraq was behind 9-11. Caught concocting the latter story, the Post tried a hasty edit on the piece (in the middle of the night, no less) — a maneuver which bloggers quickly spotted. We saw the oozing condescension of normally mild-mannered Charlie Gibson in his Palin interview. Assuring Palin he was using a direct quote (he was not) to accuse her of believing her son was on “task form God” and laying a gotcha trap on the Bush Doctrine (which has no single meaning), Gibson seemed himself to have a “task” — to trip up a figure held in contempt by most of his colleagues. And of course we are treated to lengthy “investigative” pieces on Palin — which lack any factual support for their scandal-suggestive headlines. But still there is nary an investigative piece in any major newspaper on Barack Obama’s ties to the Chicago machine of Bill Daley, the mismanaged Annenberg Challenge, his relationship with Bill Ayers or the problematic donations from the Woods Fund. [...]

Sep 15, 2008 - 12:34 am 51. Ed Wallis:

A related article (Obama-Ayers connection):

http://texasdarlin.wordpress.com/2008/09/12/obamas-ties-to-ayers-back-to-high-school/

Sep 15, 2008 - 2:43 am 52. Karen:

And here is more evidence that there is a big disconnect between Obama’s claims about his history/experience and actual reality: http://sweetness-light.com/archive/did-obama-turn-down-a-wall-street-career

Sep 15, 2008 - 6:03 am 53. Believer:

Read Ed Wallis’ link to TexasDarlin’ and then read the blog’s post for today. Insight into what BO did on his July world tour.

What. A. Creep.

Anyone who loves America would never vote for BO. Only twisted or feeble minds could justify voting for him.

Sep 15, 2008 - 9:00 am 54. Did Obama try to block troop withdrawal? | The Anchoress:

[...] not like Obama paraphrased a Lincolnian prayer or did not ban books in a local library. As with any story touching negatively on Obama, the press will display a spectacular indifference to this [...]

Sep 15, 2008 - 10:13 am 55. Obama and the Woods Fund:

[...] Read more here… [...]

Sep 15, 2008 - 10:53 am 56. Jeff:

Ed Wallis,

You are a true believer of blog sites. It tells me quite a lot about you. I should write a blog so that you can read it too and take it as fact.

As far as my Charlie Gibson thread comment, I have told your miserable, over-the-hill, one-track minded excuse of a human being that it was not me and a doppelganger Jeff from the Right. I believe that you were posing as me. I have filed a complaint to PJM that you are repeatedly posting this all over PJM to try and debunk me as a flip flopper. You should seriously stop this, or maybe, just maybe, you are becoming senile which will destroy your credibility even more.

Sep 16, 2008 - 2:31 am 57. Ed Wallis:

Here’s another good take on Ayers and Obama:

http://www.americanthinker.com/2008/09/obamas_foul_weather_friends.html

__________

“Jeff” 2:31pm,

I find it a pity that someone misued your “tag” in one post; perhaps you failed to note that my first reaction to this was to ask you for clarification on your seeming 180-degree turn in opinion.

You then responded by posting falsely under my “tag” AND ADMITTING IT.

That is extremely childish behavior and, as you may now know, in error, as I had nothing to do with the first anonymous moron’s act of pretending to be you.

I have better things to do…like thinking and writing.

Grow up…better yet, grow up and buzz off, until you have something of import to say.

Sep 16, 2008 - 4:50 am 58. Joe Buzz:

Jen, as always I appreciate your work but you must know deep down in your journalistic soul that the administration of the Woods Fund is not as news worthy as the fact that the snowbilly purchased and installed a tanning bed. The ability to recognize and report real news is what separates the professionals from bloggers. Nevertheless keep up the good work. ;-/

Sep 16, 2008 - 7:26 am 59. Jeff:

Ed Wallis,

You are the one who needs to buzz off. As I had recalled, it was you who first started to antagonize my post with your own delirium, ole timer.

Sep 16, 2008 - 11:45 am 60. Commentary » Blog Archive » Flotsam and Jetsam:

[...] that great either (.5%–6.1% of salary). Pretty odd for a guy who gave away plenty of other people’s money – even before getting to the U.S. [...]

Sep 21, 2008 - 7:55 am 61. Chicago Dirty « Colbert U R Dead 2 Me:

[...] As a board member, Obama helped scratch a lot of backs with grants to politically connected groups. http://pajamasmedia.com/blog/obama-and-the-woods-fund/ Obama Acorn Ties http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/election/s_584284.html [...]

Oct 5, 2008 - 10:33 pm 62. Commentary » Blog Archive » Bad Habits:

[...] conflicts of interest is nothing new. One only need to look at the history of the Woods Fund. Obama has been doing this for years: According to a November 29, 2007 report from the Chicago Sun-Times, [...]

Oct 6, 2008 - 9:06 am 63. Obama/Ayers Timeline « Nice Deb:

[...] 1993-2002: [...]

Oct 6, 2008 - 10:26 am 64. zygoma:

This is the slogan we should pound into everyone’s head.

Should Barack Obama become our President, HE WILL “CHANGE” and then there will be NO “HOPE” left for America.!!

Oct 6, 2008 - 11:40 am 65. Commentary » Blog Archive » Now That Wasn’t So Hard:

[...] Fund which doled out money to Ayers’ Annenberg Challenge. (Once you start reading up on the Woods Fund, you realize how Obama treats conflicts of interest — he ignores [...]

Oct 7, 2008 - 7:08 am 66. Even CNN says Obama Lying about Ayers:

[...] terrorists doesn’t make his judgment questionable? At the very least, Barack Obama received campaign contributions and power from these groups as a quid pro quo from giving them money. If these are the kind of people [...]

Oct 7, 2008 - 7:35 am 67. Silent Running » Blog Archive » A Trajectory Analysis:

[...] other than – Barack Obama. Likewise, with his membership and work as a directing executive with the Woods Fund, the Joyce Foundation [Updated], and the Chicago Annenberg Challenge, along with the goals and [...]

Oct 8, 2008 - 6:51 am 68. Do Your Associates Hang Out With Hugo Chavez? « Quipster:

[...] http://pajamasmedia.com/blog/obama-and-the-woods-fund/. Obama and the Woods Fund. September 13, 2008. [...]

Oct 9, 2008 - 12:44 pm 69. Commentary » Blog Archive » How Can We Tell?:

[...] is fairly clear. Up through 2002 he sat on the Woods Fund and gave out money to a hodgepodge of left-leaning groups including ACORN and the Arab American Action Network. As a state senator he opposed the Born Alive [...]

Oct 10, 2008 - 5:19 am 70. Records not rhetoric — Obama’s Con:

Oct 10, 2008 - 7:39 am 71. President Houdini:

Oct 10, 2008 - 1:50 pm 72. Fear and Loathing in America « Quuzlfut:

[...] inactive in 2002. 1993 was also the year that Obama was named to the Board of Directors of the Woods Fund, where he coincidentally served alongside the resurgent William Ayers. 1995 was an important year [...]

Oct 12, 2008 - 1:56 pm 73. Obama and the Integrity Gap: The Favor Factory | PoliticsMuch.com:

[...] has also benefitted from the support of those to whom he directed private funds entrusted to him. During his time on the Woods Fund board, he spread cash around to many community organizations, and …: Dozens of the board members and officials from these organizations in turn would donate money, in [...]

Oct 14, 2008 - 9:03 am 74. Obama and the Integrity Gap: ACORN | PoliticsMuch.com:

[...] and the New Party all listed as headquarters the same address in Brooklyn. Obama is, of course, ACORN’s favorite politician: [ACORN] Founder Toni Foulkes enthusiastically backed Obama’s U.S. Senate run in 2004, [...]

Oct 14, 2008 - 10:02 am 75. Obama and the Integrity Gap: The Extremists | PoliticsMuch.com:

[...] wife headed the Arab American Action Network, which received grants from the Woods Fund during Obama’s and Kha…, including $40,000 in 2001 and $70,000 in 2002. (More on AAAN, its vice president Ali Abunimah and [...]

Oct 14, 2008 - 10:14 am 76. Obama and the Integrity Gap: The Extremists | PoliticsMuch.com:

[...] refer to Israel as an “apartheid” state, here: * * * * * * * * * *) And he, too, repaid the favor: “Khalidi, a former spokesman for Yasser Arafat, held a fundraiser for Obama in 2000 during [...]

Oct 14, 2008 - 10:58 am 77. Commentary » Blog Archive » Time For A Brother Jackson Moment?:

[...] If he wants voters to believe the Obama that came before AIPAC ,and not the Obama who funded the Arab American Action Network with Wood Fund largess and who ingratiated himself with Rashid Khalidi, it would seem to be in his [...]

Oct 14, 2008 - 1:29 pm 78. Obama on Ayers: “I thought he was rehabilitated” « The Foxhole:

[...] Like Tony Rezko. And the Arab American Action network, a pro-Palestinian group. And ACORN. And dozens of local ‘community organizations’ who in turn, donated thousands of dollars to Obama’s campaign. Link: http://pajamasmedia.com/blog/obama-and-the-woods-fund/ [...]

Oct 15, 2008 - 11:51 am 79. Obama Lied Shamelessly About Ayers, ACORN, and BAIPA « Nice Deb:

[...] of all, Obama says he served on a board with Ayers, when they served on two, the Woods Fund, and The Chicago Annenberg Challenge, as well as at least a couple of panels. A timeline of their [...]

Oct 16, 2008 - 12:02 pm 80. American Daughter Media Center - Front Page » Blog Archive » Obama Lied Wednesday Night:

[...] however. More likely it was part and parcel of the Chicago Way of getting ahead in politics. As Jennifer Rubin relates: The pattern of funneling money to political allies and their allies is evident throughout [...]

Oct 17, 2008 - 3:42 pm 81. Obama’s Big Lie in the Last Debate « Thoughts Of A Conservative Christian:

Oct 17, 2008 - 9:20 pm 82. Senator Obama’s Lack of integrity « Veer Right Weblog:

Oct 24, 2008 - 10:34 am 83. PRESIDENTIAL PROS AND CONS: BARACK OBAMA — Updated 25 Oct 2008 « Citizen Tom:

[...] Democrats try to brush off the relationship by saying that both merely served on the same board of the same anti-poverty organization, Woods Fund of Chicago. Nonetheless, one wonders what kind of anti-poverty organization would hire an unrepentant terrorist to serve on its board. Moreover, one wonders about the good sense of any organization that would give funds to the now infamous ACORN (see here). [...]

Oct 25, 2008 - 10:49 am 84. Peter Paul:

Oct 26, 2008 - 10:28 am 85. Commentary » Blog Archive » It Should Come As No Surprise:

[...] and Father Pfleger), but the activist organizations he and Bill Ayers supported through the Woods Fund. It is absurd, really, to write off all these associations as an aberration or exaggeration, or to [...]

Oct 27, 2008 - 5:01 am 86. Obama a Marxist? Say it ain’t so, Joe. : Defense Mechanism:

[...] years with admitted Weather Underground terrorist Bill Ayers. They sat together on the board of the Woods Fund, a foundation that provided grant funding to left-wing causes. Obama penned a dust cover [...]

Nov 1, 2008 - 8:31 pm 87. brenda:

those that would vote for obama have a death wish for america and her freedoms. im so saddened by this.

Nov 1, 2008 - 8:38 pm 88. Determining the Intent of the Presidential Determination : South Asia Forum:

[...] FactCheck.org, born of the Annenberg Public Policy Center, chose to focus exclusively on the literal wording of the Presidential Determination rather than “connecting the dots,” a practice that in the governmental sector brought us the result of September 11, 2001. It should be noted that FactCheck.org found it acceptable to continue acting as a non-partisan arbiter of truth during the 2008 presidential election cycle despite the fact that its parent organization was directly affiliated with Barack Obama – and admitted domestic terrorist William Ayers – through its funding for the Woods Fund of Chicago. [...]

Feb 20, 2009 - 10:31 pm 89. Frank Salvato: Determining the Intent of « The Daley Gator:

Feb 22, 2009 - 8:32 am 90. AntiObamaBlog.com » ‘Unearthed! Obama’s twisted ACORN roots’:

[...] Pajamas Media reports that during Obama’s time there, ACORN received grants of $45,000 (2000), $30,000 (2001), $45,000 (2001), $30,000 (2002) and $40,000 (2002) from the Woods Fund. [...]

Sep 26, 2009 - 5:20 pm

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Obama and the Woods Fund

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