I cannot speak for Cliff Kincaid, Tidwell, or others. What I am interested in is the history of your father and how it relates to “facts” or “suppositions” or “allegations” about his life.

I am still interested in the relationship of your father to Paul Robeson and Harry Bridges re working in Hawaii for the Honolulu Record, the ILWU or any of its component parts, etc.

I understand that you were not born or were very young when a lot of the events I’m concerned with took place, and that you might not have any knowledge about them. That’s reality and I have to accept that.

I will forward your comments to Cliff Kincaid and let him respond if he desires. I cannot speak for him, or the other writers cited above. Re Tidwell – I disagree with a lot of his conclusions but that is for another day.

Also, I will compare your comments with what Kincaid wrote in the AIM publication so that I can see both sides of the issue.

Thank you for your courtesty in replying here.

Max Friedman

In our previous discussion (http://www.city-data.com/forum/elections/285236-meet-stanley-obamas-mum-8.html), I believe you indicated that you were willing to examine Kincaid’s reporting on this relationship, including his associate Bill Steigerwald’s assertion that my father was a “lifelong member of the CPUSA” (see http://my.barackobama.com/page/community/post/Kaleokualoha/gGxyg3). Steigerwald has continuously stonewalled requests to substantiate his claim. Hopefully, they will be more willing to answer inquiries from friendly voices.

It is indeed regrettable that so many honest people have been hoodwinked by a skillful disinformation campaign led by Kincaid’s ironically named “Accuracy In Media” (AIM). Fraudulent memes, unwittingly propagated by well-intentioned bloggers, have spread throughout the blogosphere, which proves the effective of viral disinformation campaigns. Even the title of Kincaid’s initial attack, “Obama’s Communist Mentor,” is itself a masterful deception. Through the “fallacy of equivocation,” it implies three enduring falsehoods:

– That Davis was an avowed or known communist who advocated collectivist principles. The evidence, however, indicates that Davis never advocated communism.
– That Davis had a continuing mentorship with teenage Obama, “almost like a son.” The evidence, however indicates that Davis was an occasionally visited family friend whom Obama did not even see for three years before college.
– That Davis taught communism to young Obama. The evidence, however, indicates that although Davis offered advice on racial issues, Obama did not even trust that advice.

(The “fallacy of equivocation” is the misleading use of a term with more than one meaning or sense, by glossing over which meaning is intended at a particular time. It occurs when an equivocal word or phrase makes an unsound argument appear sound.)

Through innuendo, half-truths and outright fabrication, Obama’s opponents have deliberately misrepresented a casual family friendship as sordid political indoctrination sessions or worse. In their fervor to malign Obama, they sought to transform the legacy of a relatively obscure leftist poet into a “Stalinist agent” who corrupted Obama’s values. Slander and libel were their tools of the trade, because truth was no obstacle. Destroying Davis’s reputation was collateral damage.

For example, another card in AIM’s web of lies is their claim “Obama’s Red Mentor Praised Red Army” (see http://www.aim.org/aim-column/obamas-red-mentor-praised-red-army/), which is a half-truth built on the falsehood of mentorship. Cliff Kincaid neglects to mention that during WWII many Americans, including the President of the United States, praised the Red Army because the Soviet Union was our ALLY (see http://books.google.com/books?id=kjDwCkg1HB8C&pg=PA120&lpg=PA120&dq=fdr+praise+red+army&source=bl&ots=ooSzuhMGDr&sig=1v2SJsWam4pjFWNqC0BuGduOIAY&hl=en&ei=ilksSpvUN5ayMJ2_5dsJ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=6).

University of Kansas Professor Edgar Tidwell, whom AIM’s Cliff Kincaid cites as “an expert on the life and writings of Davis,” dismisses misrepresentation of Davis’s influence in one simple paragraph:

“Although my research indicates that Davis joined the CPUSA as a “closet member” during World War II, there is no evidence that he was a Stalinist, or even a Party member before WWII. Further, to those attempting to make the specious stand for the concrete, there is no evidence that he instructed Barack Obama in communist ideology. Frank Marshall Davis did NOT believe in overthrowing the USA. He was committed to what the nation professed to be. For him, communism was primarily an intellectual vehicle to achieve a political end-a possible tool for gaining the constitutional freedoms of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness for ALL Americans” (see http://my.barackobama.com/page/community/blog/Kaleokualoha ).

In another example of Kincaid’s “Nifong Syndrome,” he picks and chooses incriminating evidence from Professor Tidwell, yet ignores exculpatory evidence from the same source that does not fit his fraudulent “Stalinist” meme. Kincaid also “Nifongs” evidence from “The New Red Negro” in the same manner.

If intellectual engagement and sincere substantive discussions are the goals of this blog, I welcome the opportunity to pursue the truth through cordial debate with you and your readers. Thanks!

“The men the American public admire most extravagantly are the most daring liars; the men they detest most violently are those who try to tell them the truth.”
– H. L. Mencken (1880 – 1956)

MAX FRIEDMAN POSTED: “Okay Kaleo. Tell us about the timeline of the relationship between Obama and your father. When did Obama arrive in Hawaii, at your house, how many nights did he stay there listening to stories, possibly drinking, etc?”

RESPONSE: Unfortunately, I cannot confirm the timing of his visits. Like everyone else, I must examine the available evidence. “Dreams” indicates Obama occasionally visited as a youth with his grandfather. It does not support Kincaid’s contention that the relationship was either mentorship or “almost like a son,” especially since “Dreams” indicates Obama did not visit at all for three years as an older teen. As they say on CSI, “follow the evidence.”

Misrepresenting this relationship was one of the earliest falsehoods in Kincaid’s body of lies. By exaggerating evidence that Davis advised Obama, yet ignoring evidence from the same source that Obama did NOT consider Frank to be a wise and trusted advisor nor visit him for three years, Kincaid is as dishonest as ex-D.A. Mike Nifong. The “Nifong Syndrome” is the stacking of evidence by ignoring evidence that does not fit one’s agenda. By portraying Davis as Obama’s mentor, despite conclusive evidence to the contrary, Cliff Kincaid and others have proven void of journalistic integrity.

MAX FRIEDMAN POSTED: “Since it was a Communist Party member (Geralde Horne) who first brought forth your father’s name, why don’t you have something to say to them about it?”

RESPONSE: Horne accurately identified my father as Frank from “Dreams,” but (unlike Kincaid) Horne did NOT misrepresent Davis as Obama’s mentor. I am seeking to confirm the truth, and refute the lies.

MAX FRIEDMAN POSTED: “What I’m interested in is why did your father stay in CPUSA fronts up to at least 1973 (a Chicago CP front known as the Chicago Committee for Protection of Foreign Born) as well as a few others? That was a long way away from Hawaii and implies that someone got him to sign on to the letterhead of that group in 1973.”

RESPONSE: Because he is not available to answer that question, all we can do is speculate. He probably participated in groups such as the Committee for Protection of the Foreign Born because he was genuinely interested in protecting the foreign born. It is my understanding that a “front” is an organization whose sponsorship is disguised. By definition, participants in front organizations are usually unaware of secret sponsors.

MAX FRIEDMAN POSTED: “What about the issue of the book “Sex Rebel”? I’ve haven’t mentioned this at all that I can remember but it reveals a side of your father that presents some problems in how to characterize him. How much of it was true, and how much was braggadicio? Sorry to raise this issue but you opened the door.”

RESPONSE: How did I open the door? He wrote a pornographic novel under the pseudonym Bob Greene, one chapter of which is devoted to the protagonist and his wife having sex with a thirteen year old girl, according to a British website (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/uselection2008/barackobama/2601914/Frank-Marshall-Davis-alleged-Communist-was-early-influence-on-Barack-Obama.html) on 24 August. Scandalous memoirs have been a literary genre for centuries. According to Wikipedia, such fictional novels are allegedly factual, but are largely invented. The title, alone, qualifies it as a “scandalous memoir.”

In a curiously-timed same day report citing the British website, “Accuracy In Media” (AIM) reported that Edgar Tidwell, an “expert in the life and writing of Davis” confirms that Frank Marshall Davis wrote “Sex Rebel: Black” as a semi-autobiographical novel. “Semiautobiographical” (according to dictionary.com) means “1. pertaining to or being a fictionalized account of an author’s own life. 2. pertaining to or being a work of fiction strongly influenced by events in an author’s life.” Despite Tidwell’s expert opinion that the novel was SEMI-autobiographical, AIM’s Cliff Kincaid escalated accusations against Davis by first claiming he was a sex pervert (http://www.aim.org/aim-column/obamas-red-mentor-was-a-pervert/) in their 24 August report. (Kincaid falsely attributed the “pervert” claim to the British website.) On 14 October, AIM again escalated the charges by claiming Davis was an “admitted child molester” (http://www.aim.org/aim-column/was-a-communist-obamas-sex-teacher/).

Kincaid’s pornography disinformation (details upon request) against my father, which exploits an inability to distinguish fact from fiction, is just as heinous as his political disinformation. It suggests that those making such false accusations may be projecting their own libidinous psychological disorders onto Davis.

MAX FRIEDMAN POSTED: “There is a lot that needs to be explained and you might be the only one who knows what actually went on when Obama and his grandparents were friends of your father, and came over to his house. If you were away in the service during this time, please say so.”

“As a historian, I am willing to listen to all sides and involved. You opened the door; I just drove a truck thru it. Are you going to dodge it or climb on board for a frank discussion of an important period in Obama’s life?”

RESPONSE: Yes, I was away in the Air Force since 1968. Fortunately, Uncle Sam taught me Deception Analysis techniques that I have used to debunked many of Cliff Kincaid’s falsehoods regarding the Obama-Davis relationship. I am more than willing to discuss the situation to the best of my knowledge. Since I am willing to examine this history in good faith, hopefully you will do the same.

Since it was a Communist Party member (Geralde Horne)who first brought forth your father’s name, why don’t you have something to say to them about it?

What I’m interested in is why did your father stay in CPUSA fronts up to at least 1973 (a Chicago CP front known as the Chicago Committee for Protection of Foreign Born) as well as a few others? That was a long way away from Hawaii and implies that someone got him to sign on to the letterhead of that group in 1973.

What about the issue of the book “Sex Rebel”? I’ve haven’t mentioned this at all that I can remember but it reveals a side of your father that presents some problems in how to characterize him. How much of it was true, and how much was braggadicio? Sorry to raise this issue but you opened the door.

One of the great mysteries about Obama’s time in Hawaii was just who he hung out with, how much narcotics did he use and what kind (I’m not too concerned with Maui weed or whatever Curtis Sliwa calls it), and where did he get it?

Many of us who have researched Obama’s background have not gone into some of the above mentioned areas because they would have opened a can of worms and involved you.

Unfortunately this is not to be now that you have chosen to open up the whole issue of your father and Obama. But what about your father and Obama’s grandparents? What about “Ann”? What about the “parties”?

There is a lot that needs to be explained and you might be the only one who knows what actually went on when Obama and his grandparents were friends of your father, and came over to his house. If you were away in the service during this time, please say so.

Interestingly, the son of a CPUSA member who was a mentor to Obama’s political advisors Don Rose and David Axelrod openly admitted that his father was a longtime communist and registered Soviet agent (for importing Soviet publications and propaganda).

Perhaps there are others out there who are now willing to talk about the past. As long as your full version of what went on between your father, Obama and the Durhams is not told, serious questions will remain.

As a historian, I am willing to listen to all sides and involved. You opened the door; I just drove a truck thru it. Are you going to dodge it or climb on board for a frank discussion of an important period in Obama’s life?

Sincerely,

Max

Although Obama’s book indicates “Frank” offered him advice on racial issues, Obama wrote that Davis “fell short” and his views were “incurable.” Obama did not even visit Davis for three years before going to college. Obama’s book, itself, proves that Obama did not consider Davis to be a “wise and trusted counselor,” which is the definition of “mentor.” But what creative definition can Davis be considered his “mentor”?

There are a handful of writers/thinkers these days who are so refreshing to read because they are not afraid to express a point of view that appears to care not whether it fits into a convenient nitch. The priority is truth-telling, even if it means going against the grain. Ms. Chesler, you are a rare and wonderful voice. I am grateful for your work and always glad to read your perspective, whether I agree with all of it, or not. Usually, I do. When I don’t, you always compel me to rethink things from a new perspective.