Freedom of the Press Chicago style

Jay Levine turning on a fellow journalist seemingly because someone tried to actually question Rahm Emanuel.


Thanks to Theo Spark for the spot.

The twenty-eighth weekly "No shit, Sherlock" award

A slightly different one this week, as I am sure the LA Times knew exactly what they were saying with their headline

"Obama team probe of Obama team finds no Obama team impropriety"

Apparently,

"The Barack Obama presidential transition office today finally released its own report on its own internal investigation of its own contacts with legally challenged Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich. And you'll be comforted to know the Obama folks found no impropriety whatsoever by Obama folks."

"No shit, Sherlock"

"Obama team probe of Obama team finds no Obama team impropriety"

Something tells me that The LA Times are a little cynical about this story...

"The Barack Obama presidential transition office today finally released its own report on its own internal investigation of its own contacts with legally challenged Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich. And you'll be comforted to know the Obama folks found no impropriety whatsoever by Obama folks.

So go back to wrapping holiday presents or pretending you're working at your desk and checking out Obama's important abs. All is well with the coming World of Change.

Speaking of tidy packages, the five-page report was not released in the morning as things are when public attention is desired.

It was released at 4:30 Eastern time to provide minimal exam time before the network news. But that's probably a coincidence. (A complete text of the memo is available on the jump, along with a news video; just click the "Read more" line below.)

According to the report by Greg Craig, an incoming White House attorney, Obama personnel had numerous contacts with the governor's office but no one ever suspected that Blagojevich, who's been under federal investigation for three years now, was doing anything wrong.

Craig said the feds have interviewed Obama's new chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, who inherited Blagojevich's 5th District House seat, and Valerie Jarrett, a newly named White House aide, as part of the governor's investigation. Emanuel did suggest some names but there was never any bargaining.

None of these Obama-Blagojevich contacts is a shock. It would be surprising if an exiting senator's office was not in touch with a nominating governor's office of the same party on his/her successor, although Obama promised immediately after Nov. 4 he would not be involved.

But given the *&#$%# excerpts read aloud two weeks ago by Chicago U.S. Atty. Patrick Fitzgerald apparently showing the governor demanding money for state business, aid and the "golden" revenue opportunity of peddling a Senate nomination, the media world was curious to know what did Obama chief of staff Rahm Emanuel, a longtime political pal of Blagojevich, say on those wiretaps."

Read the whole story and see if you get a whif of good old-fashioned Chicago, Illinois political corruption and a cover-up, of course most of the media couldn't give a flying f*** as they are still worshipping the Obamessiah.

Barack Obama team scandal update

The great Illinois Senate seat sale seems to be getting closer to Barack Obama with the news that:

"THE bullish, foul-mouthed but effective Chicago arm-twister Rahm Emanuel has come under pressure to resign as Barack Obama’s chief of staff after it was revealed that he had been captured on court-approved wire-taps discussing the names of candidates for Obama’s Senate seat.

Emanuel’s presence at the heart of the scandal threatens to roil the president-elect’s administration as a Chicago prosecutor builds his corruption case against Rod Blagojevich, the Illinois governor."

Closer and closer to Barack Obama not that you would know it from the BBC's reporting, or lack of, this story; nothing must beallowed to sully the name of the Obamamessiah.

Gov. Rod Blagojevich and President-elect Barack Oabama

This story seems tricky but Jon Stewart makes sense of it all...

The Daily Show With Jon StewartM - Th 11p / 10c

(D-IL) Weed

Barack Obama Interview
John McCain Interview

Sarah Palin Video
Funny Election Video

"You are more likely to end up in jail if you become the Governor of Illinois than if you become a murderer"

For a more detailed expose including how Barack Obama, Rod Blagojevich, Rahm Emanuel and David Wilhelm are all linked, you might want to take a look at this ABC News piece. Corruption in Illinois, who would have thought it?

How's the BBC coverage of this story? Still very sotto voce...

Obama's army (update)

Further to this post about barack Obama's Orwellian planned private army - the "civilian national security" organisation to be as well funded as the US Army and the Department of Peace and Non-Violence and this post about Barack Obama's plan that

"Obama will call on citizens of all ages to serve America, by developing a plan to require 50 hours of community service in middle school and high school and 100 hours of community service in college every year."

I was intrigued to find this piece of audio of a 2006 interview by Ben Smith of the New York Daily News with Rahm Emanuel (now Barack Obama’s White House chief of staff). Listen as Rahm Emanuel laughs at Ben Smith’s concerns about the plans for mandatory civil service and wonder at what Barack Obama is capable of.