(1) Antonio Gramsci (1891 - 1937) helped found the Italian Communist Party.
Why is Gramsci relevant?
Because his "The Prison Notebooks", contain a strategy that promises to win the world to Marxism voluntarily. Gramsci said that strong Western democracies [think USA] can only be taken by infiltration of the organs of their culture:
- churches
- education systems
- newspapers, magazines, media,
- works of serious literature produced in those democracies.
Gramsci was disillusioned by the brute force of Russian Marxism [as was Saul Alinsky], but he still embraced Marxism as the correct system to be pushed on the world.
Gramsci said that a Marxist system that was imposed by force would eventually fail (think USSR), BUT a system that was sold to the people through their existing institutions would eventually be embraced and spread as if it were naturally a people's own.
Who studied Gramsci and his strategies? Saul Alinsky.
(2) Saul Alinsky (1909 - 1972) a radical leftist, anti-capitalist, who favored Marxist ideas over all others, (but had differences with the Russian communist govt & Official Communist party b/c they wouldn't oppose Hitler), founded modern Community Organizing in America, with a focus on Chicago, IL. Author of 2 books, including "Rules for Radicals."
Community Organizing is essentially organizing people to boycott, protest and threaten in unique ways in order to get the economically and politically powerful ("the haves") to give them ("the have-nots") what they want.
What is the Gramsci-Alinsky Connection?
- both believed in Marxism, a.k.a. "redistribute/spread the wealth"
- both were anti-capitalist
- both sought to infiltrate/organize the "organs of culture" to create a marxist revolution (churches, schools, media)
- Alinsky applied Gramsci's methods for marxist revolution to 20th c. USA
What is the Alinsky-Obama Connection?
For 3 years (1985 - 1988) between graduating from Columbia University (NYC) and attending Harvard Law, Obama worked as a Community Organizer in Chicago (with an entity called, "Developing Communities Project" - "DCP", a subsidiary of Gamaliel). He was trained, indoctrinated in, and then eventually trained others (including ACORN and Gamaliel) in the Saul Alinsky methods of Community Organizing.
In fact, he went to law school not to become a lawyer, but to learn the politics of power.
In 1988, Obama wrote an essay that became Chapter 4 in the book "After Alinsky." Here's an excerpt:
This means bringing together churches, block clubs, parent groups and any other institutions in a given community to pay dues, hire organizers, conduct research, develop leadership, hold rallies and education campaigns, and begin drawing up plans on a whole range of issues — jobs, education, crime, etc. Once such a vehicle is formed, it holds the power to make politicians, agencies and corporations more responsive to community needs.
Do you see the same Gramsci/Alinsky language in Obama's essay?
In case you still doubt Obama's dedication/indoctrination in the radical/marxist Saul Alinsky method of Community Organizing (aka agitation), read what Saul's son [L. David Alinsky] wrote in his Boston Globe editorial on August 31, 2008 about the 2008 DNC:
Barack Obama's training in Chicago by the great community organizers is showing its effectiveness. It is an amazingly powerful format, and the method of my late father [Saul Alinsky] always works to get the message out and get the supporters on board. When executed meticulously and thoughtfully, it is a powerful strategy for initiating change and making it really happen. Obama learned his lesson well.
[By the way, ACORN you must know of by now. Do you know about Gamaliel? Here's their identity: "Segregation and racism are primary and driving forces inside American politics, culture and society. Racism fuels the current injustice and the current political reality we experience every day. We have a vision for our country that is based on radical hope, inclusive community, and shared abundance for all." Hmmm, does it sound like any radical Chicago pastor that you've heard of, say, Rev. Jeremiah Wright?]
(3) Bill Ayers (born 1944) a radical leftist terrorist (starting with his bombing of Chicago police station in 1969 to his 1975 bombing of the Kennecott Corporation); 1981 - said "Guilty as hell, free as a bird. America is a great country." 2001 - said "I don't regret setting the bombs. I feel we didn't do enough." His current college office door is currently plastered with pictures of Malcolm X and police assassin Abu-Jamal.
From about 1982 to 1987 (while Obama was @ Columbia/NYC), Ayers was going to Bank Street (Teacher's) College (just down the street from Columbia) to get his M.Ed., & his M.Ed. and Ed.D. at Columbia.
QUERY: Could Obama's interest in the radical left have began during his time at Columbia University and his 2 years that he stayed in NYC after that (1981 - 1985), during which time the radical, unrepentant terrorist, Bill Ayers, was at Columbia (and Bank Street College just down the road) getting 3 advanced teaching degrees? I would love to have someone ask Obama if he met Ayers while at Columbia/NYC.
Remember too that Obama has refused to allow Columbia and Harvard to release any information of his applications or records.
Remember, Obama had absolutely no connection to Chicago up to 1985. Where did he get the idea to go from NYC to Chicago to become a Community Organizer?
(Here's a brief summary of Obama's residences up to 1985 when he went to Chicago: Obama was born in 1961 to a Kenyan father - who was just visiting HI for a college education - and American (hippie) mother, instantly giving Obama a dual citizenship. They divorced when he was age 2. In 1967 she remarried to an Indonesian, and moved Obama to Indonesia, and resided with him there, thus giving him an Indonesian citizenship. 4 years later, in 1971, Obama left his mother to live with his maternal grandmother in HI, and attended public school in HI from 5th grade through his h.s. graduation in 1979. He then went to college in CA for 2 years, then transferred to Columbia and graduated from Columbia in 1983 and continued to live in NYC until 1985. Obama would later travel under his Indonesian passport at age 19/20. Do you see any Illinois or Chicago connection here that would prompt him to go to Chicago in 1985? Although Michelle is from Chicago, he would not meet her until 1989 while a summer intern at a Chicago law firm.)
1991 - Obama graduates from Harvard Law and returns to Chicago
- in 1989 he had met Michelle (raised in Chicago) while a summer intern at a Chicago law firm
- in late 1980's he had started attending Rev. Wright's church
- upon arriving in Chicago in 1991/1992 (and continuing to 2004), he teaches at Univ of Chicago Law School as an "instructor" - during his time there, he taught 3 classes - a favorite of his being "voting rights."
- was a lawyer for only 3 years (1993 - 1996) at a small Chicago law firm (specializing in civil rights litigation and neighborhood economic dev)
- 1992 - Rev. Wright marries Obama & Michelle
- by 1991 (and since 1987) Bill Ayers is back in Chicago, teaching education at the (state) Univ of IL @ Chicago (query: Doesn't it bother the citizens of Illinois that their tax money pays the salary of an American terrorist?)
The Boards of Directors & Money Connections to Bill Ayers
(1) Woods Foundation of Chicago
1993 - 2002 - Obama was on the Board of Directors for the Woods Foundation of Chicago
1999 - present - Bill Ayers was on the Board of Directors for the Woods Foundation of Chicago
Who is the Woods Foundation? It was the first to fund Obama's DCP in 1985.
Okay, what was that again? Yes, Obama runs and teaches for the Alinsky-model-DCP from 1985 - 1988, which was funded by the Woods Foundation, and then 5 years later is hired by the Woods Foundation to be on the Board of Directors, eventually serving with Bill Ayers.
Who got MONEY from Woods while Obama sat on the Board?
You guessed it! Ayers. Ayers' radical school reform orgs, Small Schools Workshop and the Chicago Forum for School Change. (Ayers was their co-founder and co-director.)
How much Money and When?
1995 - $20,000
2001 - $35,000
(2) Chicago Annenburg Challenge ("CAC")
Who is CAC? In 1993/1994, Bill Ayers co-wrote a grant request for apx. $50 million, and submitted it to the Annenburg Foundation. The grant was a request for monies to start an organization that would fund radical education reform non-profit-orgs (npo's) and efforts in Chicago. In January 1995, Bill Ayers got the grant.
Obviously, Ayers became the 1st Chairman of the educational policy arm of CAC (called the "Collaborative"). After-all, he was the "brain-child" and "guiding force" of the CAC; he did ask for the money so that he could promote his anti-establishment, anti-American, radical education reform agenda.
Ayers' radical education reform philosophy includes:- infusing students and their parents with a radical political commitment, & downplayed achievement tests in favor of activism
- teachers should be community organizers dedicated to provoking resistance to American racism and oppression.
- 1995 (i.e. the start of CAC) Ayers' quote: "I'm a radical, Leftist, small 'c' communist,"
CAC was "housed" at Univ of IL @ Chicago, presumably because of Ayers' position/offices there. Univ of IL @ Chicago also "housed" Ayers' 2 radical NPO's, Small Schools Workshop (Ayers was founder/co-director 1992 - 2002) and the Chicago Forum for School Change.
Who did Bill Ayers hire to be the 1st Chairman of the Board & President of CAC (the money part of CAC) in June 1995? Obama.
[At first Obama denied that Ayers recruited him, but recently released CAC records prove that it is true. Ayers was part of a group of five to assemble the initial Board.]
1995 - 1999 - Obama was CAC's Chairman & President, Board member until 2001 (CAC ended in 2001 - giving its assets to another entity, which Obama continued to serve on its Board until 2004, along with Ayer's brother and father)
- 1995 - Ayers was "ex officio" member of the Board of CAC
- 1995 - 2002 - Ayers was co-chair of the Collaborative, the education policy arm of the CAC
- Obama, as Chairman of the Board has "significant consultation" & worked "as a team" with Ayers, co-chair of the Collaborative (educ. policy) arm of CAC
- CAC's records from 1995 says it was a "Founder-Lead Foundation"
- CAC, especially in 1995, faced internal problems with self-dealing, regarding its money awards to orgs of its own board members, e.g. Ayers' radical education organizations, and those of his friends
QUERY: Why doesn't Obama mention his CAC position in his 2 biographies?
Who got MONEY from Woods while Obama sat on the Board?
You guessed it! Ayers.
Ayers' radical school reform orgs, Small Schools Workshop and the Chicago Forum for School Change. (Ayers was their co-founder & co-director.)
What was that again?
Yes, Ayers hired Obama to run his grant monies, and then Obama turned around & gave the grant monies to Ayers' and his friends radical groups.
QUERY: Can Obama identify conflicts of interest?
Under Obama's direction, CAC gave over $100 million to radical leftist groups:
"Proposals from groups focused on math/science achievement were turned down. Instead CAC disbursed money through various far-left community organizers, such as the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (or Acorn)." (S. Kurtz) (Obama had done giving community organization training to ACORN, and ACORN members had volunteered on his campaign.)
Groups "like the South Shore African Village Collaborative and the Dual Language Exchange [who received CAC funds] focused more on political consciousness, Afrocentricity and bilingualism than traditional education. CAC's in-house evaluators comprehensively studied the effects of its grants on the test scores of Chicago public-school students. They found no evidence of educational improvement." (S. Kurtz)
How much Money did Ayers' groups get and When?
1996 - $175,000
1997 - $260,000
Obama's continued connections to Ayers & continued Conflicts of Interest
(1) In late 1995, Bill Ayers hosted a political gathering for the leftist liberals in Chicago to give then-State Senator Alice Palmer a stage to announce that she would not be running for re-election in 1996, but rather, would be running for the US Congress - AND to announce HER hand-PICKED successor - Obama. An attendee at the event said this on her blog in 2005: "[Ayers & Dohrn] were launching [Obama] - introducing him to the Hyde Park community as the best thing since sliced bread."
What is Alice Palmer's ideology? Well, she went to Moscow in 1986 to attend the 27th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.
Now, for the rest of the story: Palmer lost the primaries for US Congress & came back to Chicago and asked Obama to step aside so she could run for re-election. Not only did Obama refuse, but he had her State Senate re-election race petition signatures disqualified on technicalities. Then, he had the other Democrats in the State Senate race disqualified on the same basis. So, he won the State Senate primary unopposed.
QUERY: What qualifications and connections to IL did Obama really have to run for State Senator in 1996?
- Had run an entity (CAC) for a few months before announcing his campaign.
- Had been on a board of directors (Woods) for a few years.
- Had taught some classes at law school.
- Was a lawyer for a couple years.
- Was a community organizer for three years.
(2) Obama's CAC Board Chairmanship, President term, and board tenure (of CAC and its successor), overlaps his Illinois State Senator term for 8 years - from 1997 to 2004. AND, Obama's Wood's Foundation board membership overlaps his Illinois State Senator term for 6 years - from 1997 to 2002.
So, while Obama is funding radical far-left groups like ACORN and Gamaliel and DCP, he is a sitting State Senator - making decisions for IL.
QUERY: Was the radical far-left community organizing and other groups ideology that he was funding the same ideology that was informing his decision-making as a Senator?
QUERY: If not, how does Obama explain that duality of thinking and belief system?
(3) 2004 - Obama stops his teaching and board memberships when he runs for US Senate.
MY THOUGHTS
(1) It's about a web of ideology - not an association.
It's purely my conjecture, but I believe that ever since Obama's application to the Columbia, the ultra-lib Columbia powers-that-be hand-picked Obama to be a polished political leader with radical liberal ideas for the 21st century that could be packaged into an acceptable form for the unsuspecting majority.
(2) Beyond connections: Obama's "uniting" - aka waffling & equivocating
Obama has a history - and a reputation - for being a "uniter" going back to his election as President of Harvard Law Review, and his work on the CAC Board, as well as his statements as a State Senator, and his Presidential election. But, his uniting usually takes the form of (a) either slightly changing the language of an idea to make it more palatable to his disgruntled audience, and thus, take the stuffing out of the original idea, or (b) changing his position all together while telling prior supporters who like the original position that he'll still "take care of them."
Ackerman, the Hyde Park activist, complained of Obama becoming too "conservative" for his tastes, "But any candidate running for president is going to strive for broader appeal and move more to the center — I don’t believe that Barack has departed from his basic principles.”
Dr. Young (another attendee at the 1995 Ayers/Obama coming out party) said that he was disappointed that Obama is “equivocating” on his support for [Young's pet issue - single-payer health care], after Obama had said in the past that he supported it. But he said Obama’s style — “cautious, deliberate, defensive” — was also familiar from the senator’s Hyde Park days. “It’s part of his stated strategy: He wants to get maximum unity.”
At CAC, when board member Arnold Weber was concerned that parents "organized" by community [organizing] groups might be viewed by school principals "as a political threat," Obama arranged meetings with the Collaborative to smooth out Weber's objections.
QUERY: What does this mean? Did he assure Weber that the schools wouldn't be threatened, which would be a meaningless assurance? Or did he persuade the Collaborative's Director (Ayers) to change the proposed community organizing groups and the proposed radical educational reform policies, which hardly seems plausible? Or, did he say enough cautious, equivocating words, that both Weber and Ayers felt okay?
At Harvard Law Review, Obama won in part by convincing the conservative minority of law students that he would treat them fairly. But, Obama also said, "I personally am interested in pushing a strong minority perspective. I'm fairly opinionated about this." He reportedly ended minor disputes with the words, "Just remember, folks: Nobody reads it."
West - then teaching at another law school - was invited by Obama to fill a Law Review slot and wrote an essay for the Law Review. She said that Obama "clearly agreed with me at the time that a shift in constitutional thinking from a rights-based discourse to one that centered [on] responsibility and duties ... would be a good thing."
QUERY: Does this square with Obama's proposed entitlement and tax programs?
(3) LASTLY CONSIDER THIS QUERY
QUERY: Does Obama have a set of core beliefs, or, an ideology? If so, does anyone really know what it is?
- Is it the marxist community organizing ideology of Alinsky, that he worked so hard for and trained others in?
- Is it the radical small "c" communist reform ideology of Ayers, whose radical groups he gave hundreds of thousands of dollars to?
- Is it the ideology of activist Ackerman, who believes that Obama hasn't "departed from his basic principles," but has just voted a little to the middle to appease a larger audience?
- Is it the ideology of equivocating, as Dr. Young said from his experience with Obama changing his mind about a single-payer-health-care plan?
- Is it the ideology of Ayers' Collaborative's anti-establishment school reform, or the ideology of not wanting to politically threaten school principals?
- Is it the ideology of appeasement by convincing others that no one will notice the distinctions?
- Is it the ideology of West's responsibility-centered-Constitutional interpretation, which she believed (at the time) that Obama agreed with? or
- Is it the ideology of pushing a minority perspective in issues and policies, as he personally specifically stated?
SOURCES
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barack_Obama
http://members.iimetro.com.au/~hubbca/communism.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antonio_Gramsci
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C0CE2DC1631F935A35751C0A966958260
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0608/11257.html
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0208/8630.html
http://www.edwoj.com/Alinsky/AlinskyObamaChapter1990.htm
http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=MTgwZTVmN2QyNzk2MmUxMzA5OTg0ODZlM2Y2OGI0NDM=
http://elections.foxnews.com/2008/08/26/newly-released-documents-highlight-obamas-relationship-with-ayers/
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122212856075765367.html
http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=NDZiMjkwMDczZWI5ODdjOWYxZTIzZGIyNzEyMjE0ODI
http://members.iimetro.com.au/~hubbca/communism.htm
http://www.amazon.com/review/product/0679721134/ref=cm_cr_dp_all_helpful?%5Fencoding=UTF8&coliid=&showViewpoints=1&colid=&sortBy=bySubmissionDateDescending
http://author.nationalreview.com/?q=MjMxNA==
http://backyardconservative.blogspot.com/2008/08/fascist-obama-campaign.html
http://www.theabsurdreport.com/2008/who-is-saul-d-alinsky/
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0608/11257.html
http://cryptome.org/
http://cryptome.org/ayers-vita.doc
http://www.bankstreet.edu/aboutbsc/visiting.html
http://www.chicagomag.com/Chicago-Magazine/August-2001/No-Regrets/
http://globallabor.blogspot.com/2008/05/when-did-barack-obama-meet-bill-ayers.html
http://www.semcosh.org/AlinskyTactics.pdf
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122212856075765367.html
http://michellemalkin.com/2008/10/15/whats-on-bill-ayers-door/
http://www.progress.org/2003/alinsky14.htm
http://canadafreepress.com/index.php/article/4784
http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/editorial_opinion/letters/articles/2008/08/31/son_sees_fathers_handiwork_in_convention/?s_campaign=8315
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122212856075765367.html
http://westernfrontamerica.com/2008/04/23/bill-ayers-resume/
http://www.amazon.com/Let-Them-Call-Me-Rebel/dp/067973418X/ref=cm_cr_pr_sims_t
http://www.amazon.com/Reveille-Radicals-Saul-Alinsky/dp/0679721126/ref=si3_rdr_bb_product
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