For quite a while now, I've been trying to convince people that nearly every time Rod Blagojevich got a pay-off from a businessman who wanted a government contract, Barack Obama "coincidentally" received lucre as well. Both the mainstream media and the so-called progressive blogosphere refuse to acknowledge that fact, even though the evidence is available to anyone who does a little research.
Now, finally, the Washington Post sheds a little light on an (alleged) pay-off scheme. Alas, the target of the investigation is -- you guessed it! -- those awful, awful Clintons. The Left Coaster has the story. I'll simplify it.
For some time now, a fellow named Richard Congel has wanted to build a big, big, BIG mall in New York state, near Syracuse. The project is called Destiny USA. Congel wants to build a major tourist attraction -- the world's largest indoor structure, large enough to include a river for kayaking.
The gimmick, or selling point, is this: The ultra-massive complex is going to be very environmentally friendly -- greener than the Hulk, greener than the Grinch, greener than the bottles that Coke used to come in.
Of course, Congel wanted tax breaks for all of this greenery. In 2000, he got them, in a bill that had bipartisan support. Among the many supporters was Hillary Clinton. The bill benefited all eco-friendly development, not just Destiny.
Four years later, Congel gave $100,000 to Bill Clinton's charitable foundation.
The Washington Post sees this as a prime example of the "appearance of a conflict." In other words, the Post is insinuating a quid pro quo. The same journal sees no quid pro quo involving Obama in the many Chicago corruption scandals, even though a lot of shady Illinois (and Vegas!) businessmen -- whose only "green" interests involved greenbacks -- gave money to Barack Obama.
I don't know if I need to say anything further. Except this: Can you buh-LIEVE this shit?
13 comments:
Kool-aid! Drink the Kool-aid Joe! Everything will be better when you drink the Kool-aid!
Simply stunning to think that someone might donate to a charitable foundation such as this:
Clinton HIV/AIDS Initiative
“While there has been impressive progress in treating HIV/AIDS in adults, children living with HIV, or who have AIDS, have not seen the benefits. The Clinton HIV/AIDS Initiative is a great first step in the right direction, Children should never be last on the list to get this kind of treatment, they should be among the first..."
- Carol Bellamy, UNICEF Executive Director, April 2004
The Clinton HIV/AIDS Initiative (CHAI) works with governments around the world to make quality health care – including affordable HIV/AIDS treatments – more accessible in developing countries. CHAI is helping to turn the tide of this global pandemic by working with its government partners and other NGOs to establish integrated care, treatment and prevention programs.
Over 70 countries have access to medicine and diagnostics at reduced prices through CHAI’s Procurement Consortium program. CHAI has staff on the ground in more than 20 countries, working with host governments to help them scale-up care and treatment. CHAI’s efforts are helping to create and improve overall health systems by lowering the cost of essential tests and treatments, bringing HIV/AIDS care to vulnerable populations, building human resource capacity, and providing targeted assistance where it is needed most.
CHAI's work is made possible, in part, by contributions from the dedicated governments of Australia, Ireland, Norway, and the United Kingdom. These countries provide funding for specific CHAI programs. In addition, the nations supporting UNITAID, an international drug and diagnostic purchasing facility, support CHAI through UNITAID’s contribution of funds used to purchase pediatric and second-line commodities for more than 40 countries. Contributions to UNITAID rely on innovative fundraising mechanisms like the French airline ticket solidarity levy.
1.4 million people living with HIV/AIDS are now on lifesaving treatment.
Since 2006, the number of children on treatment has doubled to 135,000 in the 33 countries with a CHAI pediatric program - representing 2 out of every 3 children living with AIDS and on treatment globally.
In addition, because of CHAI’s efforts, pediatric HIV/AIDS drugs have come down by 89% over the last two years; and overall the program has achieved seven breakthrough price reductions on drugs and diagnostics in four years, reducing their cost by as much as 50%.
Clinton Global Initiative
“President Clinton has helped to create a model for individual responsibility and collective action through the Clinton Global Initiative. CGI brings people together to take on tough, global challenges. In four years, you have made concrete commitments that have affected over 200 million people in 150 countries.. . . We live in a time when our destinies are shared. But our destinies will be written by us, not for us. Now, it falls to us to get to work.”
-President-Elect Barack Obama, September 2008
The Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) provides a platform to bring together global leaders, businesses, and other NGOs to address pressing global challenges including poverty alleviation, climate change, global health, and education. Each year, world leaders from government, business, and NGOs attend the Annual Meeting to continue the dialogue, make new commitments, and report on the progress of past commitments. Each CGI member is asked to make a “Commitment to Action.” Commitments vary in duration and reflect investments of time, expertise, and/or resources in the form of grants, commercial or social investments, program expenditures, and in-kind contributions.
Commitments to Action are funded and implemented directly by commitment makers, and while these monies do not come to or through the Foundation, CGI staff provides support and monitoring to ensure progress is made.
Since its inception in 2005, CGI members have made over 1,200 “Commitments to Action” valued at $46 billion, impacting more than 200 million lives in 150 countries. CGI is funded by conference sponsorship and attendance fees. In addition to the annual meeting, CGI hosts a college and university conference.
In 2007, CGI launched MyCommitment.org, an online network that offers everyone the opportunity to make a commitment. Since the launch, people from 181 countries have collectively pledged to volunteer more than 92,000 hours and donate more than 40,000 items to improve the world.
The inaugural meeting of the Clinton Global Initiative University brought more than 600 students from nearly every state and 14 countries to Tulane University in New Orleans to formulate ways to take action on campuses, in communities, and across continents.
Clinton Economic Opportunity Initiative
“Sixteen years ago, Rich Dennis was selling shea butter on the streets of Harlem. Today, owing in part to CEO's Entrepreneur Mentoring Program, he has three national brands of organic health and beauty products and six retail stores.”
- Inc., The Daily Resource For Entrepreneurs, September 2007
The Clinton Economic Opportunity Initiative (CE0) works to enhance the financial health of the nation by helping families and individuals in the United States achieve financial stability by supporting the growth of businesses in some of America’s most underserved communities. The initiative began in 2002 with the Harlem Small Business program, which provided local businesses with pro bono consulting services. CEO is funded through core Foundation operating funds.
This effort later grew to support community-based programs to help eligible working people access the Earned Income Tax Credit.
Today, CEO is focused on helping people access mainstream financial services and facilitating business-to-business public service through entrepreneur mentoring programs.
Alliance For A Healthier Generation
The Alliance for a Healthier Generation, a partnership with the American Heart Association, works to combat childhood obesity in the United States and inspire all young Americans to develop lifelong healthy habits. The Alliance applies a comprehensive approach through its Healthy Schools Program, Kids’ Movement initiative, Industry initiative, and Health Care initiative to reach children in their schools, communities, homes, and doctor's offices to stop childhood obesity before it starts. The Alliance is funded by the Clinton Foundation, American Heart Association and 16 foundation and individual donors. Notably, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation has granted the Alliance $28 million over four years to support its Healthy Schools Program.
The Alliance is active in all 50 states, reaching over 4,000 schools and more than 2.4 million students.
The program provides in-person support to 1,989 schools, and over 2,000 additional schools receive online support to create environments which promote physical activity and healthy eating.
Through the Alliance, more than one million young people have pledged to “Go Healthy,” committing to healthy eating and active lifestyles.
A recent report released by the American Beverage Association showed a 58% decrease in calories in the beverage products being shipped to schools across the United States, thanks to the Alliance’s efforts to engage the industry in the fight against obesity.
Clinton Climate Initiative
Launched in 2006, the Clinton Climate Initiative (CCI) is committed to making practical, measurable, and significant contributions to the battle against global warming. CCI is working with 40 of the world's largest cities to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through a variety of programs, including energy efficient improvements in buildings, transportation, and waste management. CCI’s Energy Efficiency Building Retrofit Program is working with major cities, U.S. colleges and universities, and private businesses to retrofit hundreds of million of square feet of public and private buildings. CCI is funded by private individuals, foundations, and the Australian government.
In addition, CCI has brought together many of the world’s largest energy service companies, financial institutions, and building owners to make energy-saving improvements to more than 250 buildings that cover more than 500 million square feet in 30 cities around the world.
CCI has also created a purchasing alliance, allowing more than 1,100 cities to have access to affordable energy-efficient products, and has developed, along with other partners, emission tracking tools to track progress and share best practices.
Clinton Giustra Sustainable Growth Initiative
Recently launched in 2007, The Clinton Giustra Sustainable Growth Initiative (CGSGI) works with governments, communities, and other non-governmental organizations to enable sustainable growth, and to develop programs to strengthen child nutrition, expand access to health care, and strengthen entrepreneurship in developing countries in Latin America. CGSGI is funded primarily by significant commitments from such philanthropic business leaders as Frank Giustra, Carlos Slim, and Lukas Lundin.
In November 2008, CGSGI and the Antamina Mining Company launched a collaborative expansion of the Poverty Reduction and Alleviation Program in Peru that will reach 1,500 new agricultural producers and small-holder farmers. The expansion is designed to achieve the program’s goals through better monitoring and evaluation, and to expand its reach by bringing services to two additional Peruvian communities in the ancash region.
In Colombia, CGSGI is partnering with the NGO Angelitos de Luz (Angels of Light) to support medical missions that deliver much-needed health services to people in rural areas who lack regular access to health care. The medical missions conduct minor surgeries and provide other essential medical procedures and diagnoses in remote regions. Teams of 10-14 doctors and nurses, as well as equipment and supplies, are flown to these regions for 3-4 days, and treat an average of 2,000 people per mission. CGSGI is funding 30 such missions, eleven of which were been completed between June and December 2008, reaching approximately 25,500 beneficiaries.
Clinton Hunter Development Initiative
"This collaboration will help put well-trained, motivated teachers into the rural schools that need them most. This is Malawi's number one priority in the education sector. Having partners - both government and private sector - working effectively together to make a difference is something we hope to see more of."
-Olive Masanza, Deputy Minister of Education in Malawi, June 2008
Funded by Sir Tom Hunter, a Scottish entrepreneur, the Clinton Hunter Development Initiative (CHDI) works at the invitation of governments in Rwanda and Malawi to strengthen farming, water, sanitation, health care, and overall economic development. CHDI is committed to investing $100 million over ten years to promote sustainable economic development in these nations.
In Malawi, the Clinton Foundation collaborated with PIH to build the 120-bed Neno District Hospital, which is expected to open formally in January, 2009.
In the 2007-2008 seasons, CHDI assisted 120 cotton farmers in Malawi to organize as a legal entity and to procure fertilizer, pesticides and improved seed. With these changes, the CHDI project farmers achieved a significant improvement in yields and more than 95% of their cotton was identified as Grade A.
I suppose it might be a worthy effort, except that it has the name CLINTON, so it must be bad.
I think in general corruption among African-American politicians is treated differently (likely to avoid accusations of racism in response to aggressive journalistic probing) than corruption elsewhere. We had the Jefferson scandal down in Louisiana, the mayor of Detroit has had to resign under a cloud, and a few other cases, there's the Rangel controversy, but in general these rarely become major national stories. I think Obama has been only the most prominent beneficiary of the benefit of doubt given to African-American politicians who are rare enough to begin with.
It's infuriating but what can we do? Someone in the mainstream media needs to be brave enough to start their own investigations on Obama's Chicago deals. Not only that, the brave journalist also needs an open-minded and courageous editor willing to publish their work. I don't know when it will happen.
If Bill cured cancer, he'd be accused of doing so just to get more potential donors for his foundation.
If Hillary cured cancer, Jesse Jackson Jr. would call her a racist for not curing sickle-cell anemia first.
Sergei Rostov
Touche,Joe.
I am convinced that Fitz picked the sale of the senate seat to arrest Blago on because it was the only one "post-Obama" - or so he thought - crime. Now that Blago came up with some proof, suddenly they need more time to indict. Not easy getting proof on Blago that doesn't sink Obama too - and a poll showed that only 11% believe Obama had nothing whatsoever to do with Blago
Edge, Fitz did not charge Blago with selling the Senate seat. I kid you not. Read the last bit of the Complaint.
Of course, Cannon, if you had discovered that Obama took a ride to an airport in this guys limousine you would have screeched to high heaven, bellowed, clawed your eyes,bared your chest, stamped your feet (as the adolescent you are) and ran down Main street shouting "He is here He is here the Antichrist is here!"
You are still a pathetic, unpaid volunteer for El Destructo, Ol Slew foot, Sulfur Sam,Lucifer, and in full collaboration against all the forces of change and civility in our nation and apparently you are still in the dark about it.
Light a candle Joseph and say, "Our Father which art in heaven, hallowed be they name, thy Kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
You give us this day our daily bread, You forgive us our trespasses, (as we forgive those that trespass against us),You deliver us from evil, for thine is the Kingdom and the power and the Glory forever and ever Amen.
Thjen you can be assured that you are on the right foot instead of the Slew Foot.
You Suck Mops!
The mentally ill person who sent the above message is a daily (sometimes hourly) correspondent. I THINK it is the same guy, because the same crazed admixture of fundamentalist religiosity, Obama-worship, and puerile insult marks each note.
For a long time, I've thought that these were messages from a former acquaintance in northern California. However, my stat serve tells me that the only activity on this page at that time (approximately) came from a reader in Reston, Virginia, using an AOL account (64.12.116.12).
At any rate, I thought I would give some indication of the kind of nuttiness that some of my lovely readers sink into. If not for two or three whack-jobs, this blog would do without comment moderation. As it is, I can usually sense the arrival of a nut after reading the first five or so words, and I hit delete. Alas, I have probably deleted a few "real" comments this way.
You Suck Mops!
I believe that is the ultimate insult used by members of the Janitors Union.
I think we need a "Palin Rules" adjunct.
A friend of mine was doing a "nudge-nudge, wink-wink" about Sarah Palin and how she's not REALLY squeaky-clean because of some per-diem "scandal".
I looked at him and said, "Have you heard of a guy named Rod Blagojevich?"
That shut him up.
By the way, he is a political science professor.
(Head banging on wall)
Sergei Rostov's post sums up the entire primary, campaign, and Clinton media coverage of the past ten years.
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