A Lazy Breeze
Right wing fails to learn some bitter truths
© Bryan Zepp Jamieson
http://www.zeppscommentaries.com/Election2008/lazybreeze.htm
04/16/08

The Scots have a benign sounding term for what is actually a rather
nasty thing. “A lazy breeze.” A lazy breeze is a wind so cold and
bitter that it goes through you, rather than around you.

About now Republicans, CEOs, and Hillary Clinton must be shivering and
cursing the way the wind is blowing.

For the second time in three weeks, right wingers exalted that
something had happened in the Barack Obama campaign that would destroy
his run for the Presidency. The first was the Reverend Wright and his
incendiary remarks about relations between America and her black
population. The second was Obama’s “bitter” remark last week.

Faux and right wing talk radio tried pile-driving it, of course, but
not many people outside of their little circle of friends pay much
attention to what they have to say these days, and that means about 2%%
of all Americans.

source: http://www.adnkronos.com/AKI/English/Religion/?id=1.0.2075294012

Tehran, 15 April (AKI) - Seven ancient synagogues in the Iranian
capital, Tehran, have been destroyed by local authorities.

The synagogues were in the Oudlajan suburb of Tehran, where many
Iranian Jews used to live.

"These buildings, which were part of our cultural, artistic and
architectural heritage were burnt to the ground," said Ahmad Mohit
Tabatabaii, the director of the International Council of
Museums' (ICOM) office in Tehran.

"With the excuse of renovating this ancient quarter, they are erasing
a part of our history," said Tabatabaii.

He called for the government to intervene to stop the work
commissioned by the local authorities.

A group of residents of Oudjalan have also sent a letter to the mayor
of Tehran asking him to suspend the renovation work being carried out
in the suburb.
_______________________

The Obama Connection
Recently the London Times reported that Auchi had been a business
partner of Rezko since 2003 and between April 2005 and 2007 loaned
Rezko at least $18 million.
On February 1 the London Times reports uncovering, "state documents in
Illinois recording that Fintrade Services, a Panamanian company, lent
money to (an) Obama fundraiser in May 2005. Fintrade's directors
include Ibtisam Auchi, the name of Mr. Auchi's wife."

"A company related to Mr. Auchi, who has a conviction for corruption
in France, registered the loan to Mr. Obama's bagman Antoin 'Tony'
Rezko on May, 23 2005. Mr. Auchi says the loan, through the Panamanian
company Fintrade Services SA, was for $3.5 million.

I suggest Ken Star.

Auchi gave at least $10.5 million to Obama fundraiser Antoin "Tony"
Rezko, including a payment of $3.5 million that coincided with Mr.
Obama's purchase in 2005 of a $1.65 million Chicago house, the London
Times reported Tuesday. The newspaper said the timing of the payment
and the house purchase, along with the purchase of land next door by
Mr. Rezko's wife Rita from the same seller, raise questions about
whether Auchi helped buy the house.

Obamagate grows each day.

Obamagate gets hotter by the day.

John McCain's dealings with lobbyists have properly come under a
microscope; why not Mr. Obama's? Partly, says Chicago Tribune
columnist John Kass, because the national media establishment has
decided that Chicago's grubby politics interferes with the story line
of hope they've set out for Mr. Obama. Former Washington Post reporter
Tom Edsall, who now teaches journalism at Columbia University, told
Canada's Globe & Mail that "reporters have sometimes allowed
themselves to get too much caught up in [Obama] excitement." Then
there are Chicago Republicans, loath to encourage the national party
to pounce because some of their own leaders are caught in the Rezko
mess.

For its part, the Democratic Party may once again nominate a first-
time candidate they haven't fully vetted politically. Democrats
flocked to Michael Dukakis in 1988, ignoring Al Gore's warnings about
Willie Horton; later they were blindsided by revelations about Bill
Clinton after he was elected president.

Democratic presidential contender Barack Obama's name came up again at
the Antoin "Tony" Rezko corruption trial and in a way that earlier
filings in the case did not telegraph.

Stuart Levine, the prosecution's star witness, said he and Obama were
at a party Rezko threw at his Wilmette mansion on April 3, 2004, for
Nadhmi Auchi, a controversial Iraqi-born billionaire who Rezko was
trying to get to invest in a South Loop real-estate development.

Auchi, now a citizen of the United Kingdom, has faced criminal charges
in Europe. He also figured in the revocation of Rezko's bond early
this year after attempting to wire him more than $3 million. Upon
learning of that attempt, U.S. District Judge Amy St. Eve declared
Rezko a flight risk and ordered him held in a federal jail in the
Loop.

The Rezko party in 2004 was designed to induce Auchi to pour money
into the South Loop investment. Obama's presence at the party was not
previously known. At the time, Obama was fresh off a surprise win in
the Illinois Democratic primary for U.S. Senate and was riding a crest
of national publicity.

...

'D.C. Madam' Deborah Jeane Palfrey Found Guilty

Atlanta, GA 4/15/2008

Deborah Jeane Palfrey was convicted Tuesday in federal court for running a
prostitution ring catering to Washington's political elite. Palfrey ran
Pamela Martin and Associates escort service from 1193-2006, and described
her business as a high-end erotic fantasy service. She denied having been
involved in prostitution.

Palfrey, 52, was convicted in U.S. District Court for the District of
Columbia on all counts she faced: money laundering, using the mail for
illegal purposes and racketeering. The guilty verdict carries a maximum
55-year prison sentence.

Three of Palfrey's clients and 13 former employees from her escort service
testified during the weeklong trial. Clients explained how they found the
escort service, how often they called, what they were hoping for and whether
they got it during their visits.

"When a man agrees to pay $250 for 90 minutes with a woman, what do most men
expect in that time?" prosecutor Daniel Butler asked during closing
arguments Monday. "In that context, it's pretty clear. Most men want sex."

http://rawstory.com/news/2008/Rep._Broun_reminds_CSPAN_viewers_how_0415.html

Georgia Republican instructs House on proper Pledge of Allegiance
technique

No pause between 'one nation under god,' lawmaker reminds

A freshman Georgia Republican wanted to stress the importance of
divine oversight of the US as he saw it portrayed in the Pledge of
Allegiance.

Leading the pledge on the House floor Monday, Rep. Paul Broun lectured
others in the chamber about the "correct way" of saying the pledge.

"There should not be a comma between 'one nation' and 'under God,'"
Broun told his colleagues before beginning his rendition of a
pause-free pledge.

It may seem a minor issue, but some have argued that saying the pledge
as Broun prefers -- and as it was written when "under God" was
inserted in 1954 -- implies a fealty to religion that is inappropriate
in the US.

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/sports/AP-BBN-Lasorda-Pope.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

[Zeppnote: can the pope help a team with weak hitting in the middle of
the line-up?]

Hall of Fame manager Tommy Lasorda to greet Pope

Article Tools Sponsored By
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: April 15, 2008

Filed at 8:59 p.m. ET

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Tommy Lasorda, meet the pope.

The Hall of Fame manager flew to Washington on Tuesday after accepting
an invitation from President Bush to attend Wednesday morning's
arrival ceremony for Pope Benedict XVI.

The former Los Angeles Dodgers manager, currently a special adviser to
Dodgers chairman Frank McCourt, will join diplomats, elected
representatives, government officials and other invited guests on the
South Lawn of the White House before attending a private dinner hosted
by the President and Mrs. Bush.