Posted on 04/01/2002 6:20:23 PM PST by WaterDragon
He could never have done it without the enthusiastic support of the mainstream media. Other black leaders have noted that he is in fact, a creation of the media. Jesse Jackson was a nonentity in the early sixties. He hungered for notoriety. He wanted to be rich. His skills were those of the master con artist, and he had no shame, there was nothing he wouldn't stoop to for money and power.
"Shakedown! Exposing the Real Jesse Jackson" by Kenneth R. Timmerman is shocking because the truths exposed in the book were never deep, dark secrets to anyone except to the American public. The information presented, meticulously backed up by documents and interviews, was always available to journalists and columnists w3ho made the effort to find it and had the integrity to write about it. But the few who dared were viciously attacked by the liberal media, and at times by Jesse's close friends, the Black P Stone Rangers, a violent Chicago street gang.
Even as the national media was increasingly drawn to Jesse's theatricality and bombastic racist statements serving to promote his non-profit organizations, Jesse used the muscle of the street gang to shake-down Chicago businesses for 'contributions'. His non-profits, Operation Breadbasket and PUSH, were merely vehicles for providing Jesse with a power base and were the illegal source of his personal income.
After tapping out Chicago businesses, Jesse moved on, during the Carter administration, to bilking the American taxpayers out of billions of dollars in federal minority set-aside contracts (those awarded to Jesse's family and friends were usually subcontracted to white businesses) and federal grants to non-profits. This money was never adequately accounted for, money that Jesse considered his own (illegal) private purse for his fabulously luxurious lifestyle. Several of those in the Carter administration who worked at the Commerce Department and the Labor Department, shoveling those grants and contracts to Jesse, went to work for him after Carter left office.
To the dismay of many black leaders, the mainstream media crowned Jesse Jackson as the primary civil rights leader and spokesman for America's black community. His non-profits were supposed to provide services to America's black poor and inner-city children. No one in the media seemed to notice or care that few benefits ever accrued to those for whom the set-asides and grants were legally intended, though Jesse got richer and more famous, and his relatives and a few well-to-do black business friends made out like bandits. (Until President Reagan cut off funds to questionable organizations like Jesse's) But Jesse just moved on, to mau-mauing (Timmerman's term) big American corporations.
The mainstream media was Jesse's leverage when he put the arm on the corporations. No longer did he need to call on his half-brother Noah Robinson (whom Jesse had introduced into the Black P Stone Rangers and who is now serving a life sentence for murder) to provide gang members to intimidate Chicago businessmen or to bulk up demonstrations and boycotts. Jesse now had available much more powerful "muscle' to enforce his demands. (snip)
What do you think about what he did in Africa?
In my opinion anyone who knowingly finances organizations like ALF/ELF is guilty of terrorism!
Too many people see them as heros and still are looking for KKKers and White Racists to blame the ills of society on. 60% of the ALF/ELF eco terrorism has happened in Oregon. The current enviral hand maiden governor, Katznslobber had made sure that the OSP has not investigated these dangerous eco terrorists for crimes that they have commited.
A large % of Oregonians view the beseiged farmers/ranchers in the Klamath Basin as evil and the ALAS/ELFS/PETAS/ANARCHISTS as the good guys or folk heroes.
Only when the liberal media refuse to review or even acknowledge the existence of this book. I hear it's #3 on the NYT Best seller list. The author does radio interviews, I heard one today on a small local station. If interested, I'm sure he can be contacted.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.