Table Tennis anyone? How Obama helped deliver $320,000 in state grants in exchange for ???

[Iceburg]

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-ki...

WASHINGTON -- After an unsuccessful campaign for Congress in 2000, Illinois state Sen. Barack Obama faced serious financial pressure: numerous debts, limited cash and a law practice he had neglected for a year. Help arrived in early 2001 from a significant new legal client -- a longtime political supporter.

Chicago entrepreneur Robert Blackwell Jr. paid Obama an $8,000-a-month retainer to give legal advice to his growing technology firm, Electronic Knowledge Interchange. It allowed Obama to supplement his $58,000 part-time state Senate salary for over a year with regular payments from Blackwell's firm that eventually totaled $112,000.

A few months after receiving his final payment from EKI, Obama sent a request on state Senate letterhead urging Illinois officials to provide a $50,000 tourism promotion grant to another Blackwell company, Killerspin.

Killerspin specializes in table tennis, running tournaments nationwide and selling its own line of equipment and apparel and DVD recordings of the competitions. With support from Obama, other state officials and an Obama aide who went to work part time for Killerspin, the company eventually obtained $320,000 in state grants between 2002 and 2004 to subsidize its tournaments.
...

Killerspin's owner, Blackwell, was a political supporter and friend as well. Both men lived on Chicago's South Side. Blackwell, a savvy and successful entrepreneur, was one of the first donors to Obama's early campaigns, including the state senator's failed bid for a congressional seat in 2000. In the presidential race he is credited on Obama's website with committing to raise $100,000 to $200,000 for Obama's campaign.
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http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-ki...

[yourguide]

1. PING-PONG-GATE!! Alert teh intrawebs!!!1!1! This is HUGH!!!11!1!

Not.


Fail.

[ruggerson]

2. What's the point of that picture?

are you using it a sig line to show what a foul human being you are?

[yourguide]

7. Have already explained it a million times.

When Hillary runs a fair and decent campaign that photo comes down, either that or when there is a nominee.

Until then it stands.

You can say I am a foul human being, I would say the same about the way she and her staff has run her campaign.

[ruggerson]

10. by all means express your opinion about her

but the picture only conveys a vile republican attitude about looks, age and gender.

If that's who you are, keep it in your sig line.

[yourguide]

12. That photo is representative of how ugly she's made the campaign.

Sorry, you lose on that one.

When she cleans up her act the photo comes down.

Too bad. If you're so proud of your queen then you should have zero problem with this image. Actual AP photo, no enhancements.

[ruggerson]

13. no the only thing it's representative of

is you. Because YOU choose to make fun of a sixty year old woman by exploiting a bad photo of her.

And the "queen" crap further reveals your character.

[yourguide]

14. Sorry my friend, she brought it down to the gutter...

I am just showing her the same love she's shown the state of NY.

Promised 300,000 jobs to Buffalo, loss of 49,000.

A bullshit attempt to connect Obama to Farrakhan and Hamas in the last debate.

Her campaign pushing out that turban photo to feed into the ridiculously inaccurate rumor that he is some friggin muslim terrorist.

No my friend, I have lowered my standards to mirror hers. You don't like it? Write the campaign and tell her to clean up her act.

[ruggerson]

15. Keep trying to justify it, Drudge

because that's all you are. Matt Drudge.

[yourguide]

16. Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight.

I voted for Kucinich.

Unlike you, I understand the harm this woman has done and is continuing to do this party.

You support her garbage? It's you who are mirroring Matt Drudge.

[ruggerson]

18. Drudge has used the same photo you're using to mock her

in the exact same fashion you are.

You also bought into the lie of his "muslim garb" photo. Which he has never proved came from anyone in the Clinton campaign, despite being challenged to prove that it did.

If the shoe fits, Mattguide...

[yourguide]

19. Hahahahaha...

Whatever you say ruggerson, perhaps you'd prefer this photo of your queen. She has done and IS doing harm to this party. I think her attempting to link Obama to Hamas and Farrakhan at the last debate should set bells off in your head...but apparently no. She had to fire a member of her staff for circulating the muslim email...no bells yet? Fine. Garbage...all garbage and until she cleans up her act this photo stays. But here you go, you can think of her this way.

[ruggerson]

21. the turban photo and the muslim email were two separate incidents

please provide proof that someone from Hillary's campaign sent the "somali garb" photo to Drudge. You claimed she was responsible for it, so give us the goods.

[yourguide]

28. Care to defend the muslim email...

or her vote sending us into iraq?

what about her bullshit trying to link obama to hamas and farrakhan in the ABC debate.

Here's the deal. If you can admit what she did was wrong, in the debate, and truly recognize it, and mean it...I will ditch this signature.

The bottom line is I see too many HRC supporters defending this garbage, and it is garbage.

It won't change how I feel about her, but if you can step up and admit it was wrong, WHY it was wrong, I will change my sig.

If you can't or won't then you have zero ground to criticize me for it because we both know what's right.

[The Doctor.]

30. ...

[yourguide]

31. Yup, that is exactly what I thought as well...

When he cant hurl insults and is challenged to acknowledge a mistake or two by his candidate that many Obama supporters find below the belt, he has nothing to say.

It's exactly as I thought.

[ruggerson]

32. some of us do have lives to lead

pardon me for going to the gym for half an hour and feeding the dogs.

Actually, I've criticized Clinton and also alternately defended Obama on a few occasions - on Rezko, on Ayres and the Weatherman recently.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.ph...

So, I'll be more than happy to disagree with her on Ayres - I think it's a non issue. Both sides have stepped over the line at times. I'm happy that she's a fighter, because I want a fighter, but I'm not thrilled when either of them attack the other unfairly.

I think Obama more than likely is going to get the nomination, and I will support him. I haven't degraded him or his supporters with namecalling or derogatory photographs. It's not constructive, imho, as we do all need to keep our eyes on the ultimate prize.

The reason I think your sig line is inappropriate is that all it does is further acrimony and division and alienates Clinton supporters we will ALL need, you and I and everyone else, if Obama is the nominee. Obviously, it's your choice to remove it. If you do, I will respect you for doing the right thing.

[yourguide]

33. Per your respectful...

and fair request it will be removed then. Give me a sec to find a new sig.

However, I must still ask? Her linking Farrakhan and Hamas ever so vaguely to Obama in the debate?

[ruggerson]

34. I'm not a big Farrakhan fan myself

nor am I happy with what Jimmy Carter is doing. But Obama has distanced himself from Carter and it's Wright that has the connection with Farrakhan, not Obama, so I don't think it's a good or appropriate line of attack. Then again, I don't think Obama lining up a conference call with reporters to attack Clinton on "snipergate" is very smart either, especially right after a debate where he claimed his campaign only attacked her on it when reporters asked them to comment about it. Like I said, they both step over the line at times.

on edit: and cheers on your new sig line.

[yourguide]

35. Per your request...

but only because you've been fair. Maybe not balanced LOL but fair,

Thank you.

[WeDidIt]

9. What's wrong with the picture?

[tbyg52]

8. Re the sig - I'm coming to loathe Hillary and Bill, but

I think the fact that she is tired (I would be, too) is beside the point.

[JoFerret]

22. And the poster cares not what you or any decent person thinks

.

[yourguide]

24. I care about a fair campaign.

Plain and simple, I have written to the HRC camp multiple times about it. Have never once gotten a response.

Not once.

[ruggerson]

26. You care about lying apparently

care to back up your assertion that the Clinton campaign sent Drudge the "somali garb" photo?

[yourguide]

27. Care to defend the muslim email...

or her vote sending us into iraq?

what about her bullshit trying to link obama to hamas and farrakhan in the ABC debate.

Here's the deal. If you can admit what she did was wrong, in the debate, and truly recognize it, and mean it...I will ditch this signature.

The bottom line is I see too many HRC supporters defending this garbage, and it is garbage.

It won't change how I feel about her, but if you can step up and admit it was wrong, WHY it was wrong, I will change my sig.

[thunder rising]

3. Where are the hookers? The drugs and murder? Ping Pong that's it?

[Rosa Luxemburg]

4. Boring, let it drop

[JoFerret]

23. Thread kept alive

by an offensive sig pic.

[lapfog_1]

5. Funny how the "payback" went from $50K (previous post) to $320K in this post

And, of course, it was immediately pointed out that spending $112K to get $50K in grants isn't very smart.

Now, how was it again that the Clintons made $100 MILLION in the last 5 or 6 years?

[Botany]

6. This hugh I'm series

[Adelante]

11. Bring on the live boy or the dead girl

and spare us the ping pong balls.

[BlueIdaho]

17. STOP THE PRESSES

There is money in Politics!!!!!!!!!

Now, guess how HRC is going to be able to retire her campaign debt after losing the primary...

[Leftist Agitator]

20. You spelled Iceberg wrong.

Unless you're trying to insinuate that you're an Ice'burg' as in a town with the appellation "ice".

[struggle4progress]

25. Pretty thin gruel

[ChimpersMcSmirkers]

29. Thin indeed...n/t