Free Republic

Searching old newspapers is one of my favorite pastimes, and I have tried to use them many times to shed light on current events - or to inform readers about how the past is prologue to our very interesting present-day quandaries. Recently, I came across a syndicated column from November 1979 that seemed to point 30 years into the future toward an obscure campaign issue that arose briefly in the 2008 presidential campaign. Though by no means definitive, it provides an interesting insight, at least, into how Chicago politics intersected with the black power movement and Middle Eastern money at...

Nobody knows how Barack Obama managed to pay for the higher education he received. Obama's decision to keep his education records a secret is considered unworthy of attention by the media. [A] syndicated column written by a Chicago Tribune columnist in 1979 provides a fascinating light on the cabal that seems to have formed around Obama. The kicker is that the column was written by Vernon Jarrett, longtime influential Chicago black leftist, close friend of Frank Marshall Davis, and father-in-law of Valerie Jarrett, the closest aide to President Obama, and a major figure in his rise within the Chicago political...

Searching old newspapers is one of my favorite pastimes, and I have tried to use them many times to shed light on current events — or to inform readers about how the past is prologue to our very interesting present-day quandaries. Recently, I came across a syndicated column from November 1979 that seemed to point 30 years into the future toward an obscure campaign issue that arose briefly in the 2008 presidential campaign.

If you are among those who are seriously considering casting your vote for Barack Obama either in an upcoming primary or, should the occasion arise, in the general election in November, it's a good idea to do a little homework first. Questionable Connections Rightly or wrongly, people are often judged by the company they keep, but the media has been strangely quiet on a few of Obama's connections, both personal and political. One of Obama's self-professed mentors is Frank Marshall Davis, a known former member of the Communist Party USA, a party that not only had tens of thousands of...