Free Republic

I'm not entirely sure what exactly Sen. Barack Obama's "new kind of politics" is, other than it doesn't involve cynicism. Besides his well-documented involvement with indicted political insider Tony Rezko, Illinois' junior senator has made a couple of endorsements that counter his claim that he is above politics-as-usual. The first was his surprising backing of political unknown Alexi Giannoulias in the Democratic primary for state treasurer last year. Obama made himself the kingmaker in the contest, the state party endorsed candidate was defeated by Barack's novice. While serving as senior loan officer at his family-owned bank, Giannoulias approved loans to...

On Meet the Press last Sunday, Hillary Clinton proclaimed that new vetting procedures had been been put in place to prevent her from taking money from sleaze merchants like Norman Hsu. If you think you’ve heard that line before, you are right. The spokeswoman for Mrs. Clinton, Ann Lewis, said Mrs. Clinton was not aware of Mr. Burgess’s background when he held fund-raising affairs for her in 2000 and 2003, nor did she know whether other prominent Democrats had rejected contributions. She said that Mrs. Clinton’s vetting procedures have been strengthened since the senator’s appearance at I.P.A. That paragraph appeared...

The Illinois Republican Party is down, but a long way from being out. As our party rebuilds from the ground up, after a string of disappointing election days, now is the time for bloggers and other interested individuals to take part in the growth process. Illinois is the home state of Abraham Lincoln, and the birthplace of Ronald Reagan, two great Republican presidents. And remember, it wasn't so long ago, 1995 to be exact, when the Illinois GOP controlled each statewide office, both chambers of the General Assembly, and the Governor's Mansion. And the governor at the time, Jim Edgar,...

Obama-mania has hit the country as hard with full force. Earlier today, in front of members of a California mega-church, Senator Barack Obama (D-IL), took an AIDS test alongside Sen. Sam Brownback (R-KS). As I pointed out last month, this is believed to be Obama's third AIDS test. Blogger Anna of A Rose By Any Other Name did point out to me that a second AID test with 90 days--Obama's last AIDS test was in Africa three months ago, I still believe--the importance of AIDS testing among the general public notwithstanding--that Obama's AIDS test today borders on being a publicity...

CAIR of course is short for the Council on American Islamic Relations. The groups fashions itself as a sort of NAACP for Muslims, but as I've remarked before, civil rights groups usually don't hound organizations into firing people, as CAIR seems to have done in the Thomas Klocek case. DePaul University, in terms of student enrollment, is the nation's largest Catholic university. The president of the school is Father Dennis Holtschneider, a member of the Vincentian order. From a TC Public Relations press release: Newly released evidence has revealed that the Council for American Islamic Relations (CAIR) worked privately to...

While I was in the Volunteer State a couple of weeks ago, I heard a radio commercial from Tennessee Republican Senate candidate Bob Corker about a $1,000 donation his opponent's campaign fund made to the Dwain Kyles Defense Fund that jogged my memory. Rep. Harold Ford Jr. is the Democratic candidate for the senate seat being vacated by Bill Frist. Who is Dwain Kyles? He was the owner of Chicago's E2 nightclub, where on February 17, 2003, 21 club patrons were killed in a stampede. Kyles was subsequently charged for involuntary manslaughter. The club was greatly overcrowded that night. Kyles...

Please, I don't mean to offend anyone. But the Catholic college and university is not one of the faith's big achievements in America. Look at any one of the ratings charts (there are many) and see how low these institutions fare on the competitive scales and how few of them rate at all. It's true that there are two or three Catholic law schools in the middle range. But that's it. Catholic institutions certainly haven't made a mark in the life or physical sciences, or, for that matter, the social sciences either. Of course, denominational schools have it especially hard...

Catholic League president Bill Donohue issued the following remarks today about an incident involving a DePaul University professor: “Catholics have every right to expect that Catholic colleges and universities are free from bigotry of any kind. Unfortunately, a recent ugly incident by DePaul professor Norman G. Finkelstein has betrayed that trust. To be specific, an online column he wrote at indybay.org suggesting that Alan Dershowitz be assassinated, coupled with an obscene depiction of the Harvard professor, is cause for alarm. (My note: If you go to the Catholic League link, there is a link to the indybay link and the...

Here is some background as well as some related posts on the Klocek case. Neil Steinberg and the Chicago Sun Times: In September, 2004, Professor Klocek read this Steinberg column. What Neil wrote was the intellectual basis of Klocek's ill-fated discussion with the Muslim students at DePaul. That column was based on this op-ed by Abdel Rahman al-Rashed, the general manager of the al-Arabiya television network. This is the opening sentence of that article: It is a certain fact that not all Muslims are terrorists, but it is equally certain, and exceptionally painful, that almost all terrorists are Muslims. March...

Simply because of its location next to the Soviet Union, Latvia was forcibly annexed by the Soviets and brutally occupied for fifty years. But don't call it an "occupation," says former Russian President Boris Yeltsin. Denial is a common symptom for alcoholics, as well as megalomaniacs. Yeltsin, who somehow has manage to dodge the grim reaper, is probably both of those, so what he says shouldn't be taken seriously. Yeltsin visited Latvia last week, and his visit was undoubtedly another reminder to Latvians as to why they should be grateful they're an independent nation again. From Mosnews.com: Latvia should forget...

Yesterday Senator Barack Obama (D-Ill.) thrilled residents of Capetown, South Africa by walking from their city onto the Indian Ocean waters to the former prison at Robben Island, where Obama viewed the onetime jail cell of former South African President Nelson Mandela.Did I make that stuff up? Yes. But some people are treating Obama as if he was the Savior. Earlier this month, Illinois Democratic Party Chairman and Speaker of the Illinois State House Michael Madigan ridiculed magazine cover boy Obama as "the Messiah."Here's an AP article about Obama's extended African trip. In the article, there is no mention of...

Craig over at Morse Hell Hole came across Alderman Joe Moore's campaign disclosure statement for the first six months of 2006. The North Side Chicago alderman is the principal sponsor of the "big box living wage" ordinance, an anti-jobs (although Moore denies that) measure that focuses only on Wal-Mart, Target, Lowes, and other major retailers. Moore is a recent recipient of Wal-Mart Watch's (a Service Employee International Union funded group) person of the week award.The supporters of the ordinance will also deny it, but it's Wal-Mart that they have in their sight: They don't like Wal-Mart's philosophy, and they're angry...

The Federal Correctional Institute in Terre Haute, Indiana has a new resident. Robert Creamer of Evanston, Illinois moved in recently. He's the husband of far-left Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky--my representative in Congress. Creamer is the former executive director of the Illinois Public Action Council, a defunct organization that appointed itself as the consumer watchdog for Illinoisans. While running this goo-goo group, Creamer got in the habit of kiting checks, which is illegal for a very good reason: It undermines the most important ingredient of a functioning economic system, trust. Schakowsky was on the board of directors of IPAC while hubby was...

In preparation for our recent trip to Washington, Little Marathon Pundit rode her bike to the local public library, checking out several books about our nation's capital. One of those books was the recently published My Senator and Me, A Dog's Eye View of Washington, written by Senator Edward M. Kennedy. It's a children's book written from the perspective of Kennedy's Portuguese Water Dog, Splash. Yes, the dog's name really is Splash, and pundits have made wisecracks about the name in reference to that 1969 driving incident, but in fairness to Splash, the wet-nosed one was named that before Kennedy...

Thomas Klocek, the fired DePaul professor whose cause I've championed since pretty much the first day of this blog, explains how he was trampled by DePaul's politically-correct hammer in a Quicktime video by Grant Crowell. (It takes a while for the video to download.) Klocek made the mistake of challenging the ossified political beliefs of some Muslim students--who view themselves an a protected class--at a student activities fair in 2004. There's a Ward Churchill tie-in, as the professor asks Ward to speak up for his free speech rights, too. But Pirate Ballerina (the site where I found the video), has...

The SPME petition to reinstate Thomas Klocek, the Roman Catholic faculty member who was fired by DePaul University without due process for challenging Muslim students' assertions of Israeli treatment of Palestinians to the Nazi's treatment of Jews, has already amassed nearly 1000 signatures in three days. The petition, which can be viewed and signed at http://www.spme.net/cgi-bin/display_petitions.cgi?ID=3"> calls for his complete reinstatement without prejudice or penalty. Morry Fiddler, a professor at DePaul University, writes, " If I'm not there for a colleague, then who will be there for me?" Other DePaul professors signing the petition to date are Allan Berele, Gary...

Now that denunciations of Ward Churchill have gained an official status, I'm just wondering: Will the administration of DePaul University issue an apology to the DePaul Conservative Alliance for its shameful conduct in trying to censor group's protest of the F-Troop Indian's paid campus appearance last fall? I know these guys, and they way got kicked around by DePaul was reprehensible. Here is the FIRE report on DePaul's misdeeds that revolved around the Ward Churchill appearance. And besides those outrages, there's also the case where DePaul stomped on the free speech rights of the DCA when they attempted to host...

Well, they might as well call it Anti-Semitism week at the University of California-Irvine. Hat tip once again to Dr. Steven Plaut of the Autonomist Blog. The University of California at Irvine, quickly morphemes into the Islamic Republic of Orange County, is holding an anti-Semitic Nuremberg-type rally this week. It is sponsored by the local Muslim Student Union and is entitled, "Holocaust in the Holy Land." The event will be held at the University of California, Irvine, and hosts a lineup of Jew-hatred that is almost beyond belief. "Holocaust in the Holy Land" features speeches with titles such as "Hamas:...

My congresscritter in Washington, Democrat Jan Schakowsky of Evanston, is holding a town meeting on the Iraq War Sunday at Northwestern University. Here are the details: McCormick Auditorium in the Norris University Center of Northwestern University. Doors open at 2:15pm, the event runs from 2:45pm until 4:00pm. There's a map available on the link. Jan's special guest will be Rep. John Murtha, (D-Penn.), who became the leader of the cut-and-run faction of the Democratic Party last year by calling for the withdrawal of our troops from Iraq. Schakowsky, as I've noted before, is one of the most liberal members of...

Hitler Rose and Hitler Fell! Racist Minutemen go to Hell! Chant from anti-Minute Men protesters last night, courtesy, along with the photo, of Freedom Folks. Yesterday evening there was supposed to have been an immigration forum at the Fourth Congregational Church in Chicago's Logan Square neighborhood. The church's pastor, the Rev. Dan Wood, invited the Illinois Minutemen and Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights. There was no debate. Why? Because the latter group backed out. From their web site: The Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights is withdrawing from a debate with the Illinois Minutemen on the immigration...