|
|
Post by beatlies on Dec 5, 2008 15:42:03 GMT -5
Revealed: Britain's torture of Obama's grandfather Hussein Onyango Obama, a British soldier in the second world war, was locked up as a Mau Mau rebel in KenyaComments (89) The past usually finds a way of catching up with us. Could Britain's colonial sins pose a risk to our relationship with the soon-to-be most powerful person on Earth? According to the Times, Barack Obama's grandfather was imprisoned and tortured by the British during Kenya's Mau Mau uprising. The claim is spread across three pages of the newspaper and illustrated with black and white photographs of detention camps operated by British soldiers in the 1950s. Hussein Onyango Obama, the president-elect's paternal grandfather, had served with the British army in Burma during the second world war and later found work back in Kenya as a military cook. Like many army veterans, he returned to Africa hoping to win greater freedoms. But his aspirations soon turned to resentment of the occupying British. He became involved in the Mau Mau independence movement and was arrested as early as 1949, probably on charges of membership of a banned organisation. During two years' detention he was subjected to horrific violence, according to the story's authors, Ben Macintyre and Paul Orengoh. Tortures inflicted on Kenyan prisoners sometimes involved such barbaric implements as "castration pliers". "The African warders were instructed by the white soldiers to whip him every morning and evening till he confessed," Sarah Onyango, 87, tells the Times. The behaviour of British soldiers is the subject of continuing legal action in the UK courts from victims seeking reparations for torture and mistreatment suffered more than 50 years ago. The Kenyan Human Rights Commission is still gathering evidence. The alleged torture of Onyango reportedly left him permanently scarred and bitterly anti-British. Barack Obama's memoirs, the paper observes, show that he too is no admirer of British colonialism. Obama's family connection to the Mau Mau was already known – some US commentators have even used the label to smear him as a "Mau Mau insurgent". Obama, with more pressing contemporary problems on his plate, is unlikely to be fixated on extracting revenge from the UK. But he may draw the broader historical conclusion that the imposition of torture and repressive violence has a habit of undermining the political legitimacy of world-class powers. He has already signalled his determination to close the Guantanamo Bay detention centre and speed up withdrawal from Iraq. We will have to wait and see whether his grandfather's experience has a bearing on his policies on Afghanistan and international terrorism. www.guardian.co.uk/world/deadlineusa/2008/dec/03/obama-grandfather-maumau-torture3 comments Only comments Article and comments Comments per page 10 50 100 All Mau Mau by svoboda on 04.12.2008 [16:22 ] led by Jomo Kenyata was an independence movement. Those who fought with Jomo are highly regarded as freedom fighters Not necessarily Mau Mau by atheo on 04.12.2008 [18:19 ] The fact that it is said he was "involved with Mau Mau" is meaningless since the colonial regime identified all Kikuyu as such upon incarceration in the mass "screening" (subjugation) camps. if i was obama..., by truth-be-told on 05.12.2008 [01:08 ] i'd nuke every city in england, and hit australia too! |
|
|
|
Post by lucy on Dec 6, 2008 14:12:25 GMT -5
I'm hearing so many strange and wild ideas on Obama's "origins"...even to the extent that he is a "nephilim" born from a "star" father...thus not having a "birth certificate" or place of origin on earth.... Just what we need in the White House...an alien "baby".... Which causes me to be reminded of the bizarre predictions of "aliens" landing on the White House lawn....perhaps "relatives" of Obama's coming to visit?  ?? We are living in strange times folks.... |
|
|
|
Post by hotman637 on Dec 6, 2008 15:16:45 GMT -5
Obama is an "International Man of Mystery". Who is that? James Bond!! I think he is CIA or MI6. I guess we will see what that means. He is WAY to good to be true that is for sure.
|
|
|
|
Post by lucy on Dec 10, 2008 22:20:18 GMT -5
Now when CLinton was in office, there were scandals by the dozens in Arkansas. During Bush's presidency, tons of strange things happened in Texas. Now with Obama hailing from Illinois, and now the gov of that state is in a scandal???
When will this end?
|
|
|
|
Post by lucy on Dec 17, 2008 21:58:56 GMT -5
Things like this fuels the fires of why Obama's birth certificate is not public domain. If it would be shown who the real father was, if it was someone such as Malcolm X...would not look good for a president's history. |
|
|
|
Post by faulconandsnowjob on Feb 13, 2009 1:48:42 GMT -5
Notice hand sign :-o  |
|
|
|
Post by J Gimmysum Truth on Mar 4, 2009 11:37:03 GMT -5
Hussein Onyango "Obama" was probably spying for the British. This smells like a cover story. Barry's bio-babydaddy was Frank Marshall Davis, anyway... the Barack Sr thing was another cover story in its own right. Revealed: Britain's torture of Obama's grandfather Hussein Onyango Obama, a British soldier in the second world war, was locked up as a Mau Mau rebel in KenyaComments (89) The past usually finds a way of catching up with us. Could Britain's colonial sins pose a risk to our relationship with the soon-to-be most powerful person on Earth? According to the Times, Barack Obama's grandfather was imprisoned and tortured by the British during Kenya's Mau Mau uprising. The claim is spread across three pages of the newspaper and illustrated with black and white photographs of detention camps operated by British soldiers in the 1950s. Hussein Onyango Obama, the president-elect's paternal grandfather, had served with the British army in Burma during the second world war and later found work back in Kenya as a military cook. Like many army veterans, he returned to Africa hoping to win greater freedoms. But his aspirations soon turned to resentment of the occupying British. He became involved in the Mau Mau independence movement and was arrested as early as 1949, probably on charges of membership of a banned organisation. During two years' detention he was subjected to horrific violence, according to the story's authors, Ben Macintyre and Paul Orengoh. Tortures inflicted on Kenyan prisoners sometimes involved such barbaric implements as "castration pliers". "The African warders were instructed by the white soldiers to whip him every morning and evening till he confessed," Sarah Onyango, 87, tells the Times. The behaviour of British soldiers is the subject of continuing legal action in the UK courts from victims seeking reparations for torture and mistreatment suffered more than 50 years ago. The Kenyan Human Rights Commission is still gathering evidence. The alleged torture of Onyango reportedly left him permanently scarred and bitterly anti-British. Barack Obama's memoirs, the paper observes, show that he too is no admirer of British colonialism. Obama's family connection to the Mau Mau was already known – some US commentators have even used the label to smear him as a "Mau Mau insurgent". Obama, with more pressing contemporary problems on his plate, is unlikely to be fixated on extracting revenge from the UK. But he may draw the broader historical conclusion that the imposition of torture and repressive violence has a habit of undermining the political legitimacy of world-class powers. He has already signalled his determination to close the Guantanamo Bay detention centre and speed up withdrawal from Iraq. We will have to wait and see whether his grandfather's experience has a bearing on his policies on Afghanistan and international terrorism. www.guardian.co.uk/world/deadlineusa/2008/dec/03/obama-grandfather-maumau-torture3 comments Only comments Article and comments Comments per page 10 50 100 All Mau Mau by svoboda on 04.12.2008 [16:22 ] led by Jomo Kenyata was an independence movement. Those who fought with Jomo are highly regarded as freedom fighters Not necessarily Mau Mau by atheo on 04.12.2008 [18:19 ] The fact that it is said he was "involved with Mau Mau" is meaningless since the colonial regime identified all Kikuyu as such upon incarceration in the mass "screening" (subjugation) camps. if i was obama..., by truth-be-told on 05.12.2008 [01:08 ] i'd nuke every city in england, and hit australia too! |
|
|
|
Post by guivre on Apr 1, 2009 18:50:09 GMT -5
Right, there is no reason to go out there inventing relationships when Frank Davis was someone the family actually already knew.
Actually, check out the cover of this month's O (prah) magazine to see her praying pose, while looking at Michelle Obama, also.
|
|
|
|
Post by beatlies on Apr 2, 2009 21:51:01 GMT -5
Web Video Results 1 - 10 of about 39,500,000 for no records of obama. (0.20 seconds) Search ResultsObama documentation - no records (Al Franken, Putin, legal, drugs ...Obama has lived for 48 years without leaving any footprints — none! There is no Obama documentation — no records — no paper trail . www.city-data.com/forum/politics-other-controversies/504725-obama-documentation-no-records.html - 131k - Cached - Similar pages THE ASTUTE BLOGGERS: OBAMA: NO CHARACTER, NO JUDGMENT, NO RECORDThe fact is, Obama has no record to speak of. Were it not for the way he is portrayed in the press by the starry eyed hypnotized, his accomplishments as a ... astuteblogger.blogspot.com/2008/06/no-character-no-judgment-no-record.html - 68k - Cached - Similar pages firstamendmentcenter.org: newsObama says he has no records from Ill. state Senate By The Associated Press 11.16.07. RALEIGH, N.C. — Barack Obama, who’s been scolding Hillary Rodham ... www.firstamendmentcenter.org/news.aspx?id=19331 - 24k - Cached - Similar pages Hospitals in Hawaii to Obama: You Were Not Born Here! : EarthFrisk ...Hospital after hospital in Honolulu all have NO RECORD of Obama or mother ever being there. Is this some state secret? Are we to believe that even the ... www.earthfrisk.com/blog/?p=135 - 271k - Cached - Similar pages Obama says he has no Illinois records : News : KHQASenator Barack Obama has been scolding Hillary Rodham Clinton for not hastening the release of records from her time as first lady, but he says he can't ... www.connecttristates.com/news/news_story.aspx?id=65981 - 55k - Cached - Similar pages The Betrayal » Obama birth certificate, Hawaii hospitals, No ...There is no record of Obama’s birth at any Hawaii hospital and no ... Hospital after Hospital - all Have No Record of Obama being born or ... www.oilforimmigration.org/facts/?p=422 - 75k - Cached - Similar pages Obama: No Vetting the Vetters - The Caucus Blog - NYTimes.comIt’s that brand of weak leadership and hypocrisy that shows why Barack Obama has no record of taking courageous stands or making change in ... thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/06/10/obama-no-vetting-the-vetters/ - 78k - Cached - Similar pages Stop-Obama » No Records of MarriageOn top of being a bigamist - it appears Obama's Kenyan father never even bothered marrying his |
|
|
|
Post by beatlies on Apr 14, 2009 16:21:46 GMT -5
The Barack H. Obama inauguration period of January contained a remarkable number of front page newspaper and otehr media (even comic books) descriptions of Obama as a having a double/imposter, such as a NYC paper front page hdealine "FAUXBAMA" adn a bizarre, eerie above-fold front page with center photo of two Obama child daughter "doubles" (so-described) sitting in a cluster of empty chairs in the inaguration ceremonyset-up.
From a blog "white light black magic":
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Fred Astaire in the White House, by Michael Brownstein
"You can never awaken using the same system that put you to sleep in the first place."
--Gurdjieff
This is an appeal, an open letter, a cry in the night: no matter how cranky it may make us to brush the stardust from our eyes, no matter how many friends we think we'll lose by looking long and hard at what's going on around us, let's try to stay awake. Let's not lose touch with what we really want for ourselves. Let's not forget what we know about the nature of consumer capitalism: it is unsustainable and unworkable because it depends on infinite expansion in a finite world. It can only survive by a violent takeover of what belongs to others. Let's not settle for halfway measures.
And let's not wait for deliverance from on high.
Because the president we elected -- out of so much hope for a definitive break with what came before -- is not who he seems. It's true that unlike the previous inhabitant of the White House (remember him?), Barack Obama is sane, intelligent, and mature. He's responsive to what others think. He hopes to institute real change in education, health care, the environment.
But even with his great charisma and silver tongue, he's a proper soldier for the system which is ravishing the planet. As he said in his inauguration speech in January, already aware of the huge financial mess he was inheriting, "We will not apologize for our way of life."
What do these words mean? They mean that the mall-i-zation of the planet will continue. They mean that the commercialization of all of life will not stop. They mean that our massive so-called footprint will never be substantially downsized.
And they mean that the force which has erased indigenous cultures and plant and animal species, which has sullied our air and soil and water, will essentially not be called into question, no matter how many of its most glaring excesses may be curbed.
"We will not apologize for our way of life..." Let's not forget who else used very similar words when insisting that America's energy policy would remain unchanged, no matter how much devastation it might cause: Dick Cheney, soon after taking office in 2000.
Without the active support of those who are running this toxic show into the ground, Barack Obama would not have been nominated in the first place, much less elected. There is no more sure sign of this than the fact that his supposed nemesis, Hillary Clinton, became his Secretary of State.
Forgetting for a moment the eight schizoid years under George W. Bush, Obama's appointees and the policies they represent form an unbroken line back through the Clinton era and beyond. Those in control of our society have always been in control. Decade after decade their names and identities change, but their outlook, their mindset, remains the same. Since infancy they've been raised to aggrandize, to capitalize on their advantage over others-whether "others" is defined as business competitors, indigenous people, foreign nations, or the fruits of the earth itself. This is the culture we have exported to the whole world. And once they get a taste of it, it seems that everybody wants more.
The distinction between Democrats and Republicans -- again, except for the neocons let loose by George Jr. -- has always been more negligible than we've cared to admit. The main difference is that Democrats, when in power, usually have shown concern for the less fortunate in our society. They've advanced social programs rather than contracting them. But the basic story line remains the same: in order to keep turning a perpetual profit, someone or something must be ripped off. The clubhouse filled with those who run things has never changed its size or location. It can be found within the high walls of the ruling class.
I'm not subscribing to a conspiracy theory here. Conspiracy theories are unprovable distractions, like the belief in UFOs. I'll leave it to others to insist darkly that our new president is a member of the Illuminati, the invisible cabal which for centuries has supposedly been running the planet. I don't think the greedy subset of humans drawn to naked, unlimited power are capable of trusting one another long enough to keep such plots afloat, so I won't bother taking seriously, for example, the claim that Michelle Obama is flashing the secret gesture of Illuminati membership on the cover of Vogue magazine's March issue.
Absurd? Of course. But how much more absurd than the program we humans are carrying around inside our heads of institutionalized scarcity and hardball competition? How much more irrational than the obscene military budgets the citizens of all nations pay for, year after year?
It's become fashionable to call what the banks and other financial institutions did to this country a Ponzi scheme, but the same is true not only of capitalism but of Western civilization itself. It's built on absence: the absence of all the indigenous people killed. It's built on ballooning expenditures and the continual depletion of resources with-like the monetary structure on which it depends-nothing supporting it underneath. Nothing at all. And when mindless trust gives way to nameless fear...well, we're now beginning to experience the consequences.
In order to understand how we may still be sleeping, let's remember that we live in a relative universe. Everything exists in relation to something else. After eight years of subzero temperatures, of trying not to lose heart while locked in the deep freeze, when it's suddenly 38 degrees and we've been let outside we feel expansive, liberated, optimistic. But defined in terms of what we actually need-a workable, fair, humane way of life-it's nowhere near summer sunshine out there.
In fact, if we're honest with ourselves regarding some of the moves Obama's administration has made around the economy, the military, commerce, and agriculture, we'll see that replacing Nero with Fred Astaire isn't enough. Stands on issues like state secrets and the rights of detainees are too close for comfort to what came before. The soft shoe may be reassuring, but we deserve more.
The president addressing the marines at Camp LeJeune: "We will not let the pursuit of the perfect stand in the way of achievable goals." But why not? Sure, this sounds level-headed and realistic, except that once these achievable goals go through the legislative wringer of compromise and payback, less than ever will remain.
And two years from now, if (as is certainly possible) the country's still in trouble because of halting economic measures and the Republicans regain control of Congress, where will those goals be then?
Let's not forget what we've always known about politicians: their primary motivation is to get elected and, once elected, to stay in power. These two things are often in conflict. That's why, for example, there's disappointment around the gap between what candidate Obama said in Ohio and Michigan regarding NAFTA and the signals he's sent since taking office. There's disappointment about his hesitation to really hold accountable the very banks and financial institutions which have brought the country to the brink.
And there's disappointment about his determination to extend the war in Afghanistan. Which looks to include Pakistan as well.
Fear of terrrorism is being used in the same way fear of communism was used in previous generations. For decades we've established more and more military bases around the world, allowing us to grab any source of raw material we deem necessary. The fact that other nation-states are playing the same game is no excuse for our behavior. The only way to change is to change, pure and simple. Because all human predators are enemies of the gods, enemies of creation.
Real change can only mean a change of consciouness. On the social level, it means things like a new way of educating our children, alternative forms of exchange and energy, local agriculture. On the macro level, it means adopting an entirely new system, such as Herman Daly's Steady State Economy. This will only come about if we risk what seems impossible. But maybe it isn't impossible.
Let's not forget that many of the changes happening in our lives now are taking place outside the political structure. We need that structure with its cynical baggage and tunnel vision much less than we think.
We're not interested in dragging solutions from the past into the future. If they didn't work then, why should they work now? We're not interested in lifelong defensive postures. We have no more patience for indulging our fear and paranoia simply because that's what our so-called enemies are doing. Let's either go for broke or "fade away into our own parade."
In fact, we have no choice. Systemic breakdown awaits us otherwise. We can no longer maintain American hegemony, even the reasonable, personable, happy-face version. We can no longer maintain rampant materialism, even of the green variety.
Remember Obama's campaign slogan? "Yes we can."
Yes we can what? Stand the robot of monoculture up on its wheels again? Our challenge goes beyond universal health insurance or fixing the economy or saving the environment. In fact, it's no less than pulling the plug on 8000 years of Empire. We need to rid ourselves of what has made us a consuming, semi-psychotic collective.
And that means we have no further use for nationalism, either. Flushing down the tubes that pattern of knee-jerk reaction to the Other constitutes the most important change of all. Let's take a cue from the Internet, all lit up around the globe with communication among people having no more identity than their names.
"We are one" is the only acceptable slogan. What's happening to the Bushmen in Botswana is also happening to us. What's happening to the Amazon rainforest is also happening to us.
Obama's narrative that everything went wrong only eight years ago disregards the history of this country and the policies which for decades have set us on a collision course with reality. George W. Bush did not invent military hegemony. He did not magically create uncontrolled greed or global warming. He did not loose on the world mortgage-backed securities and other forms of "toxic waste." (What about the toxic waste in landfills that reach to the sky? Can't we show the kids in our schools how the two are related?)
Naomi Klein reminds us in a recent interview (http://www.thestar.com/) that it was Bill Clinton who periodically bombed Iraq and tightened economic sanctions which killed one million Iraqis. It was Bill Clinton who axed Depression-era restrictions preventing investment banks from also being commercial banks. It was he and Alan Greenspan who resisted regulating the huge derivatives industry.
As we've seen, these policies were in place long before Bush and Cheney took them to new levels. Let's not forget that the United States didn't recover from the Depression until the Second World War amped the economy up to speed, and that this lesson was not lost after the war. Ever since then, the internal contradictions of a system which depends on limitless growth have been dealt with by a ballooning military industry. They've been dealt with by a post-modern colonialism which, now called economic globalization, nevertheless fulfills the same function: eviscerating less developed cultures around the world for profit.
If we succumb to amnesia about this, then, as Naomi Klein says, "you do exactly what Obama is doing. You resurrect the Clinton economic and foreign policy apparatus, and you appoint Larry Summers, the key architect of the economic policy that has imploded at this moment. The amount of money that's at stake in the bailout, if you include everything -- the deposit guarantees, the loans, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, AIG -- is now up to $9 trillion. The American GDP is only $14 trillion. So they've put more than half of the American economy on the line to try and fix a mess that actually cannot be fixed in this way."
In our desire to be reassured, let's not lose track of the fact that Obama's bailout plan refuses to admit the obvious: the banks are zombies, they're the walking dead, and as such they should be allowed to go under or else be nationalized. And the people responsible for this state of affairs need to be held responsible. Otherwise the freefall of foreclosures, unemployment, and frozen credit may go on for longer than we care to imagine.
And it's equally important that we come to terms with our recent history instead of being so quick to consign to oblivion the criminal acts of the last eight years. Obama is already making noises for impunity, for not dwelling on the past, for brushing ourselves off, picking ourselves up, and getting on with our lives.
Naomi Klein again: "So much comes down to whether there's going to be any accountability for what happened, whether it's the illegal occupation of Iraq or torture or the economic crimes that led to this disaster."
Is she right? Do we have no choice but waiting around to find out?
Instead, no matter how unfashionable this may sound, we need to protest. Rather than finding clever new ways to beat the cellphone bills that have suddenly become onerous, now's the time for something we Americans seemingly have forgotten how to do, as opposed to the Greeks, the Latvians, the French, even the Chinese. We need to mobilize.
We need to turn off that comforting DVD of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers -- of Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton --dancing across our field of vision, and make our voices heard.
Otherwise, let's just head down to Baja and hang at the beach. After we've had our fill of swimming, we'll turn and watch from afar as the global power game vaporizes, whirling like a dust devil out on the desert floor. Maybe there'll even be some water left to bathe in before we go to sleep under the stars.
|
|
|
|
Post by beatlies on Apr 15, 2009 6:37:57 GMT -5
Obama's Years at Columbia Are a Mystery
He Graduated Without Honors
By ROSS GOLDBERG, Special to the Sun | September 2, 2008
SHARE | PRINT | EMAIL Add to del.icio.us
Add to Digg
Add to Facebook
Add to Newsvine
Senator Obama's life story, from his humble roots, to his rise to Harvard Law School, to his passion as a community organizer in Chicago, has been at the center of his presidential campaign. But one chapter of the tale remains a blank — his education at Columbia College, a place he rarely speaks about and where few people seem to remember him.
Contributing to the mystery is the fact that nobody knows just how well Mr. Obama, unlike Senator McCain and most other major candidates for the past two elections, performed as a student.
The Obama campaign has refused to release his college transcript, despite an academic career that led him to Harvard Law School and, later, to a lecturing position at the University of Chicago. The shroud surrounding his experience at Columbia contrasts with that of other major party nominees since 2000, all whom have eventually released information about their college performance or seen it leaked to the public.
For better or worse, voters have taken an interest in candidates' grades since 1999, when the New Yorker published President Bush's transcript at Yale and disclosed that he was a C student. Mr. Bush had never portrayed himself as a brain, but many were surprised to learn the next year that his opponent, Vice President Gore, did not do much better at Harvard despite his intellectual image. When Senator Kerry's transcript surfaced, reporters found that he actually had a slightly lower average at Yale than Mr. Bush did.
Some political observers cite such disclosures as proof that candidates' intelligence cannot be judged solely by their political careers or the schools they attended. Grades provide a rare measure of intellect that is immune to political spin, proponents say.
"We like to pretend IQ doesn't matter, but it really does with a lot of jobs, including the presidency," a professor at Smith College who studies the effects of human intelligence on the economy, James Miller, said. "We can't trust the information that candidates give us, so it's important to look for objective data that they can't falsify or distort."
Mr. Miller acknowledged that Mr. Obama displayed academic achievement at Harvard, where he graduated magna cum laude and led the Harvard Law Review. Still, Mr. Miller said, he would like to see information about how Mr. Obama performed in various subjects at Columbia.
That view is not shared by other election observers, including some who have themselves indulged the public's interest in candidates' academic records. One of them is Geoffrey Kabaservice, a political historian who in 2000 published Senator Bradley's relatively low score of 485 on the verbal SAT. Mr. Bradley, a Rhodes Scholar who was a star basketball player at Princeton, was running for the Democratic presidential nomination.
"It's awfully hard to correlate anything, really, about a person on the basis of their grades," Mr. Kabaservice said, explaining that he published Mr. Bradley's score to highlight limitations in intelligence testing. He said he doubted that candidates' grades have affected the outcome of any recent presidential elections.
"For people who didn't like George W. Bush, for example, the grade aspect only confirmed what they thought about him," Mr. Kabaservice said. "And for everybody else, it made him more of a regular guy."
The Obama campaign declined to comment for this article and did not offer an explanation for why his transcript has not been released. But observers speculated that one reason might be the racially charged nature of the election. Mr. Obama has acknowledged benefiting from affirmative action in the past, and details about his academic performance might open him up to critics eager to accuse him, probably unfairly, of receiving a free ride, Mr. Kabaservice said.
"Anyone who is a minority and who's come up partially through the meritocracy — getting into good colleges, and subsequently good law schools — is going to come under suspicion that there was some kind of affirmative action boost," he said. "I suspect this is an area of discomfort for Obama."
In contrast with the rest of Mr. Obama's life story, little is known about his college experience. He attended Occidental College in Los Angeles for two years before transferring to Columbia in 1981. The move receives only a mention in Mr. Obama's 1995 memoir, "Dreams from My Father," which instead devotes that chapter to his impressions of race and class struggles in New York.
An article in a Columbia University publication, Columbia College Today, reported that Mr. Obama has portrayed Columbia as a period of buckling down following a troubled adolescence. He did not socialize much, he has said, instead spending a lot of time in the library, "like a monk." He has also stated that he was involved to some extent with the Black Students Organization.
Federal law limits the information that Columbia can release about Mr. Obama's time there. A spokesman for the university, Brian Connolly, confirmed that Mr. Obama spent two years at Columbia College and graduated in 1983 with a major in political science. He did not receive honors, Mr. Connolly said, though specific information on his grades is sealed. A program from the 1983 graduation ceremony lists him as a graduate.[AND THE YEARBOOKS?]
More is known about Mr. McCain's experience at the United States Naval Academy, where he was a self-described troublemaker and graduated in the bottom 1% of his class. The McCain campaign has declined to release his transcript, saying that his performance at the academy can only be viewed in the context of his larger military career.
"His record stands on its own," a McCain spokesman, Peter Feldman, said. "His time spent in college was part of the transformative years that made him who he was."
Reader comments on this article
Read all comments ›
Comment By Date
Dear Mr. Goldberg: I have never seen proof that Obama graduated magna cum laude from Harvard Law. It just seems... [MORE]
susan ferris
Sep 2, 2008 09:02
Two things: You don't suggest that with lousy Columbia grades, Obama's admission to Harvard Law appears a product of "affirmative... [MORE]
Paul Matten
Sep 2, 2008 09:22
It appears that we voters are buying a "pig in a poke" with Mr. Obama, questions remain about his actual... [MORE]
jondar2
Sep 2, 2008 09:28
Double standards you bet, this stellar student got c's in high school and still wound up at an Ivy League... [MORE]
Mike Donohue
Sep 2, 2008 09:29
Barack Obama, the first Affirmative Action Democrat nominee for President. All I can say is "No BO--he doesn't pass the... [MORE]
Diana Z
Sep 2, 2008 10:03
Hmm, it might not be fair to comment on Obama's success during that time, but it is okay to comment... [MORE]
Elmer Singer
Sep 2, 2008 13:47
I have never been enamored with Obama's talent, or lack thereof. I have wondered about his academic accomplishments on more... [MORE]
Dennis Lesko
Sep 2, 2008 13:59
Obama needs the same close scrutiny that has been given to Republicans. His birth record is still a question, as... [MORE]
Dart
Sep 2, 2008 18:29
How could this be? With the all-knowing, all-seeing, detail-crazy media that we have? Do you mean to tell me that... [MORE]
Porterhouse
Sep 2, 2008 23:18
I'd like to chime in that Obama's lack of honors at Columbia College does not imply he performed poorly. I'm... [MORE]
Erich
Sep 3, 2008 00:46
Let's see what we know about Barack Obama: 1. His mother is (was) an American citizen. 2. He may have been born... [MORE]
Amos
Sep 3, 2008 01:07
Obama keeps saying the more we know about him, the more we will trust him, the more we will like... [MORE]
Charlie
Sep 3, 2008 10:27
When Obama walks out onto a stage at any of his rallies they play the chorus of a U2 song... [MORE]
Sheryl
Sep 3, 2008 11:22
"In contrast with the rest of Mr. Obama's life story, little is known about his college experience," should read: Much... [MORE]
Chris of Rights
Sep 3, 2008 14:13
Obama HOPE......not! I would really like to see his birth certificate and his credenitials from Harvard myself. [MORE]
Josh
Sep 3, 2008 20:29
It's what he studied, not the grades. Did he study economics? Mathematics? The physical sciences? Or did he just take... [MORE]
CHuck Cardiff
Sep 3, 2008 21:13
I attended Columbia's School of International Studies the same years that Obama did — 1982-83. The star professors of the... [MORE]
Mark Suall
Sep 3, 2008 23:59
I've suspected fraud in this man's college records. I don't trust him and I think someone else took his classes... [MORE]
Jessica s, Naples, FL
Sep 4, 2008 04:46
I thought Kerry wenr to Yale, not Harvard.......I don't think grades necessarily reflect intellect. They might sometimes reflect intellect....if all... [MORE]
karenabcde
Sep 5, 2008 00:36
Did political correctness run amock or did he have a genuine gift for the law? If he was the editor... [MORE]
leo solomon
Sep 5, 2008 07:41
Speaking of cover-ups--did anyone notice the filmclip of Obama's life during the DNC convention? They went from a young child... [MORE]
Lucius B. Gravely, IV
Sep 5, 2008 07:58
Wonder how Obama paid for Harvard? Student Loans? Gifts? [MORE]
fb-tx
Sep 5, 2008 10:01
There was one little blurb that mentioned that Barack Obama had lived for a year with a female while attending... [MORE]
James T. Smith
Sep 5, 2008 12:13
His grades are of interest, but who paid his tuition? I thought that BHO was a poor child from a... [MORE]
Randy
Sep 5, 2008 14:17
McCain's record is far worse: affirmative action to get into the Naval Academy via his father and grandfather (his academic... [MORE]
Michelle Wilkers
Sep 5, 2008 14:29
|
|
|
|
Post by beatlies on May 22, 2009 13:41:58 GMT -5
Open the Camps - Obama Is Said to Consider Preventive Detention Plan RSS Angelseverywhere User ID: 684196 5/21/2009 11:07 AM Report abusive post Open the Camps - Obama Is Said to Consider Preventive Detention Plan Quote WASHINGTON — President Obama told human rights advocates at the White House on Wednesday that he was mulling the need for a “preventive detention” system that would establish a legal basis for the United States to incarcerate terrorism suspects who are deemed a threat to national security but cannot be tried, two participants in the private session said. The discussion, in a 90-minute meeting in the Cabinet Room that included Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. and other top administration officials, came on the eve of a much-anticipated speech Mr. Obama is to give Thursday on a number of thorny national security matters, including his promise to close the detention center at the naval base in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. Human rights advocates are growing deeply uneasy with Mr. Obama’s stance on these issues, especially his recent move to block the release of photographs showing abuse of detainees, and his announcement that he is willing to try terrorism suspects in military commissions — a concept he criticized bitterly as a presidential candidate. The two participants, outsiders who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the session was intended to be off the record, said they left the meeting dismayed. They said Mr. Obama told them he was thinking about “the long game” — how to establish a legal system that would endure for future presidents. He raised the issue of preventive detention himself, but made clear that he had not made a decision on it. Several senior White House officials did not respond to requests for comment on the outsiders’ accounts. “He was almost ruminating over the need for statutory change to the laws so that we can deal with individuals who we can’t charge and detain,” one participant said. “We’ve known this is on the horizon for many years, but we were able to hold it off with George Bush. The idea that we might find ourselves fighting with the Obama administration over these powers is really stunning.” The other participant said Mr. Obama did not seem to be thinking about preventive detention for terrorism suspects now held at Guantánamo Bay, but rather for those captured in the future, in settings other than a legitimate battlefield like Afghanistan. “The issue is,” the participant said, “What are the options left open to a future president?” Mr. Obama did not specify how he intended to deal with Guantánamo detainees who posed a threat and could not be tried, nor did he share the contents of Thursday’s speech, the participants said. He will deliver the speech at a site laden with symbolism — the National Archives, home to the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence. Across town, his biggest Republican critic, former Vice President Dick Cheney, will deliver a speech at the [NOTORIOUS CIA FRONT] American Enterprise Institute. Mr. Cheney and other hawkish critics have sought to portray Mr. Obama as weak on terror, and their argument seems to be catching on with the public. On Tuesday, Senate Democrats, in a clear rebuke to the White House, blocked the $80 million Mr. Obama had requested in financing to close the Guantánamo prison.The lawmakers say they want a detailed plan before releasing the money; there is deep opposition on Capitol Hill to housing terrorism suspects inside the United States. “He needs to convince people that he’s got a game plan that will protect us as well as be fair to the detainees,” said Senator Lindsey Graham, Republican of South Carolina, who agrees with Mr. Obama that the prison should be closed. “If he can do that, then we’re back on track. But if he doesn’t make that case, then we’ve lost control of this debate.” But Mr. Obama will not use the speech to provide the details lawmakers want. “What it’s not going to be is a prescriptive speech,” said David Axelrod, Mr. Obama’s senior adviser. “The president wants to take some time and put this whole issue in perspective to identify what the challenges are and how he will approach dealing with them.”
It is not because angels are holier than men or devils that makes them angels, but because they do not expect holiness from one another, but from God alone. ~William Blake
An integral being knows without knowing, sees without looking, and accomplishes without doing. ~Lao-Tzu
Angelseverywhere
User ID: 684196
5/21/2009 11:11 AM
Re: Open the Camps - Obama Is Said to Consider Preventive Detention Plan Quote
WASHINGTON — President Obama told human rights advocates at the White House on Wednesday that he was mulling the need for a “preventive detention” system that would establish a legal basis for the United States to incarcerate terrorism suspects who are deemed a threat to national security but cannot be tried, two participants in the private session said.
“He was almost ruminating over the need for statutory change to the laws so that we can deal with individuals who we can’t charge and detain,” one participant said. “We’ve known this is on the horizon for many years, but we were able to hold it off with George Bush.
I can't believe how bold they are to put this out in the open like this!
It is not because angels are holier than men or devils that makes them angels, but because they do not expect holiness from one another, but from God alone. ~William Blake
An integral being knows without knowing, sees without looking, and accomplishes without doing. ~Lao-Tzu
Anonymous Coward
User ID: 684103
5/21/2009 11:15 AM Re: Open the Camps - Obama Is Said to Consider Preventive Detention Plan Quote
Looks like we won after all!
Anonymous Coward
User ID: 679502
5/21/2009 11:16 AM Re: Open the Camps - Obama Is Said to Consider Preventive Detention Plan Quote
Don't you guys get how serious this is?
Anonymous Coward
User ID: 679502
5/21/2009 11:17 AM Re: Open the Camps - Obama Is Said to Consider Preventive Detention Plan Quote
Hardly anyone seems to even notice...
Anonymous Coward
User ID: 682014
5/21/2009 11:17 AM Re: Open the Camps - Obama Is Said to Consider Preventive Detention Plan Quote
CHANGE WE CAN
^hawk-0^
User ID: 297515
5/21/2009 11:18 AM
Re: Open the Camps - Obama Is Said to Consider Preventive Detention Plan Quote
why is this crap pinned!??
Evil Twin
Senior Forum Moderator
5/21/2009 11:18 AM
Re: Open the Camps - Obama Is Said to Consider Preventive Detention Plan Quote
Pre-crime.
Welcome to bizarro world.
Just take everything Obama says, spin it 180 degrees, and that's what he'll be saying in 6 months.
Government's view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it.
-- Ronald Reagan
Angelseverywhere
User ID: 684196
5/21/2009 11:19 AM
Re: Open the Camps - Obama Is Said to Consider Preventive Detention Plan Quote
Hardly anyone seems to even notice...
Quoting: Anonymous Coward 679502
I know guys....very serious. People need to PAY ATTENTION right now!
It is not because angels are holier than men or devils that makes them angels, but because they do not expect holiness from one another, but from God alone. ~William Blake
An integral being knows without knowing, sees without looking, and accomplishes without doing. ~Lao-Tzu
Anonymous Coward
User ID: 683733
5/21/2009 11:19 AM Re: Open the Camps - Obama Is Said to Consider Preventive Detention Plan Quote
f**k me.
PRECRIME!
This is just stupid now.
Anonymous Coward
User ID: 389464
5/21/2009 11:20 AM Re: Open the Camps - Obama Is Said to Consider Preventive Detention Plan Quote
why is this crap pinned!??
Quoting: ^hawk-0^
shill
Angelseverywhere
User ID: 684196
5/21/2009 11:20 AM
Re: Open the Camps - Obama Is Said to Consider Preventive Detention Plan Quote
why is this crap pinned!??
Quoting: ^hawk-0^
Awww honey why are you so mean?? lol
That's okay I missed your smart ass comments anyway.
It is not because angels are holier than men or devils that makes them angels, but because they do not expect holiness from one another, but from God alone. ~William Blake
An integral being knows without knowing, sees without looking, and accomplishes without doing. ~Lao-Tzu
^hawk-0^
User ID: 297515
5/21/2009 11:22 AM
Re: Open the Camps - Obama Is Said to Consider Preventive Detention Plan Quote
why is this crap pinned!??
shill
Quoting: Anonymous Coward 389464
Hey I gave the post 5 stars, but there should be at least one American Idol winner thread pinned and this stuff hogs up all the room.
JJack108
User ID: 667270
5/21/2009 11:23 AM
Re: Open the Camps - Obama Is Said to Consider Preventive Detention Plan Quote
Thought Crime...It's Day has Arrived...Look's like we'll be losing a lot of GLP'ers soon...
Last Edited by JJack108 on 5/21/2009 at 11:24 AM
Rebirth is possible in life, no matter how many tries it takes!!!
I have an opinion, you just might not like it!!!
Anonymous Coward
User ID: 550090
5/21/2009 11:24 AM Re: Open the Camps - Obama Is Said to Consider Preventive Detention Plan Quote
why is this crap pinned!??
Quoting: ^hawk-0^
because it is FEMA CAMPS coming to life. Did you even read what they are saying.
Angelseverywhere
User ID: 684196
5/21/2009 11:25 AM
Re: Open the Camps - Obama Is Said to Consider Preventive Detention Plan Quote
Thought Crime...It's Day has Arrived...Look's like we'll be losing a lot of GLP'ers soon...
Quoting: JJack108
Oh no please don't say that!
It is not because angels are holier than men or devils that makes them angels, but because they do not expect holiness from one another, but from God alone. ~William Blake
An integral being knows without knowing, sees without looking, and accomplishes without doing. ~Lao-Tzu
SARGENT
User ID: 663523
5/21/2009 11:27 AM Re: Open the Camps - Obama Is Said to Consider Preventive Detention Plan Quote
Any person who asks why this is important or why it needs to be pinned obviously doesnt know what they are saying. Its about the FEMA camps finally coming to life and bein gused for people who dont agree with Big brother and his policies...Im going to miss all of you, maybe we can finally meet face to face in our new prison...
Anonymous Coward
User ID: 496282
5/21/2009 11:29 AM Re: Open the Camps - Obama Is Said to Consider Preventive Detention Plan Quote
How many Bank CEO's can they hold ? Start there and move to the Stock Market - seems those are of greater national security than anyone - afterall they have just about destroyed the world already
Anonymous Coward
User ID: 670454
5/21/2009 11:29 AM Re: Open the Camps - Obama Is Said to Consider Preventive Detention Plan Quote
Looks like we won after all!
Quoting: Anonymous Coward 684103
Hey, Dickie, you thought you hadn't? We just experienced your most recent bait-and-switch in January...at the inaugural.
Rethuglicans and Democraps are just two sides of the same coin.
Coins? Damn, the banksters have taken our real coin.
Okay, I'll amend my statement to reflect that the former two-party system uses wooden nickels.
What a mess!
Anonymous Coward
User ID: 679196
5/21/2009 11:30 AM Re: Open the Camps - Obama Is Said to Consider Preventive Detention Plan Quote
Obama runs America now whitey. Stop your racial abuse and just let him be the president
Angelseverywhere
User ID: 684196
5/21/2009 11:31 AM
Re: Open the Camps - Obama Is Said to Consider Preventive Detention Plan Quote
Obama runs America now whitey. Stop your racial abuse and just let him be the president
Quoting: Anonymous Coward 679196
Racial abuse?
It is not because angels are holier than men or devils that makes them angels, but because they do not expect holiness from one another, but from God alone. ~William Blake
An integral being knows without knowing, sees without looking, and accomplishes without doing. ~Lao-Tzu
Anonymous Coward
User ID: 389464
5/21/2009 11:32 AM Re: Open the Camps - Obama Is Said to Consider Preventive Detention Plan Quote
why is this crap pinned!??
shill
Hey I gave the post 5 stars, but there should be at least one American Idol winner thread pinned and this stuff hogs up all the room.
Quoting: ^hawk-0^
lol, okay I see what you did there. My apologies.
locomotion
User ID: 684250
5/21/2009 11:37 AM
Re: Open the Camps - Obama Is Said to Consider Preventive Detention Plan Quote
The other participant said Mr. Obama did not seem to be thinking about preventive detention for terrorism suspects now held at Guantánamo Bay, but rather for those captured in the future, in settings other than a legitimate battlefield like Afghanistan. “The issue is,” the participant said, “What are the options left open to a future president?”
Quoting: Angelseverywhere
Those captured in the future in settings other than a legitimate battlefield.
hmmm, like 'homegrown terrorists'? Like anyone that doesn't play along and do as they're told? Like us maybe?
Do we have Habeas Corpus anymore or not?
And most important, will we get preventive dental care along with preventive detention?
...in those times to come, when these atoms that compose us come together again...we will meet...In that day, may we be put together more cleanly...
~Frederik Pohl
Anonymous Coward
User ID: 674168
5/21/2009 11:40 AM Re: Open the Camps - Obama Is Said to Consider Preventive Detention Plan Quote
Obama runs America now whitey. Stop your racial abuse and just let him be the president
Quoting: Anonymous Coward 679196
From lack of anything intelligent to say?
Angelseverywhere
User ID: 684196
5/21/2009 11:40 AM
Re: Open the Camps - Obama Is Said to Consider Preventive Detention Plan Quote
The other participant said Mr. Obama did not seem to be thinking about preventive detention for terrorism suspects now held at Guantánamo Bay, but rather for those captured in the future, in settings other than a legitimate battlefield like Afghanistan. “The issue is,” the participant said, “What are the options left open to a future president?”
Those captured in the future in settings other than a legitimate battlefield.
hmmm, like 'homegrown terrorists'? Like anyone that doesn't play along and do as they're told? Like us maybe?
Do we have Habeas Corpus anymore or not?
And most important, will we get preventive dental care along with preventive detention?
Quoting: locomotion
Exactly...just look at the recent reports from the DHS...we all know who they consider "terrorists".
It is not because angels are holier than men or devils that makes them angels, but because they do not expect holiness from one another, but from God alone. ~William Blake
An integral being knows without knowing, sees without looking, and accomplishes without doing. ~Lao-Tzu
bed
lie to me
User ID: 646022
5/21/2009 11:41 AM Re: Open the Camps - Obama Is Said to Consider Preventive Detention Plan Quote
The government terrorizes the terrorists.
Anonymous Coward
User ID: 389464
5/21/2009 11:42 AM Re: Open the Camps - Obama Is Said to Consider Preventive Detention Plan Quote
The government terrorizes the terrorists.
Quoting: bed
they terrorize themselves?
Anonymous Coward
User ID: 674760
5/21/2009 11:43 AM Re: Open the Camps - Obama Is Said to Consider Preventive Detention Plan Quote
And don't forget: They torture.
You'll be arrested for thoughtcrime. And tortured. Maybe to death.
bill sh*tters
User ID: 684124
5/21/2009 11:43 AM
Re: Open the Camps - Obama Is Said to Consider Preventive Detention Plan Quote
this might seem the other end of the scale and dismissed but we allowed this to happen by just dismissing the usa and isreals desire to have strike first ask later counter terrorism
now we find its the people that now are the terrorists and teh infrastructure is there to keep a beady little eye on us all
the thread killer
we come in peace shoot to kill
Anonymous Coward
User ID: 684256
5/21/2009 11:46 AM Re: Open the Camps - Obama Is Said to Consider Preventive Detention Plan Quote
why is this crap pinned!??
because it is FEMA CAMPS coming to life. Did you even read what they are saying.
Quoting: Anonymous Coward 550090
Sinanju
User ID: 673892
5/21/2009 11:47 AM Re: Open the Camps - Obama Is Said to Consider Preventive Detention Plan Quote
The other participant said Mr. Obama did not seem to be thinking about preventive detention for terrorism suspects now held at Guantánamo Bay, but rather for those captured in the future, in settings other than a legitimate battlefield like Afghanistan. “The issue is,” the participant said, “What are the options left open to a future president?”
Those captured in the future in settings other than a legitimate battlefield.
hmmm, like 'homegrown terrorists'? Like anyone that doesn't play along and do as they're told? Like us maybe?
Do we have Habeas Corpus anymore or not?
And most important, will we get preventive dental care along with preventive detention?
Quoting: locomotion
>>Yep! Free and administered with a hammer!
Page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
|
|
|
|
Post by beatlies on May 23, 2009 16:42:57 GMT -5
Obama To Name [Pentagon War Criminal and Corporate Contracting Insider]Former Marine General As NASA Chief Posted on: Saturday, 23 May 2009, 16:01 CDT President Obama will name retired Marine General and former astronaut Charles F. Bolden Jr. as NASA administrator, according to a Los Angeles times report citing three congressional sources. If confirmed by the Senate, Bolden, who flew on the shuttle mission that deployed the Hubble Space Telescope, would be the first African American to lead the space agency. Bolden, 62, flew more than 100 combat missions during the Vietnam War before joining NASA for four shuttle flights, two of which he commanded. He would be the second astronaut to lead NASA. The president is also expected to name Lori Garver, his campaign space advisor, as Bolden's deputy, the Times said. Bolden would assume control of NASA during a time in which the agency must redefine its mission, streamline its budget and re-define its sense of purpose. Obama and Bolden met in the White House less than a week ago for an interview that included candid discussions about Bolden's ties to NASA contractors and his opposition to upcoming budget cuts that Obama has implied may be necessary. Bolden was not Obama's first choice for the position. Earlier this year, he favored retired Air Force Gen. J. Scott Gration, one of his campaign supporters. But Gration was ultimately rejected amid opposition on Capitol Hill. Members of Congress, including Senator Bill Nelson (D-FL), also derailed the bid of Steve Isakowitz, an Energy Department official. But Senator Nelson has been among Bolden's biggest supporters, with the two men having flown together during a 1986 shuttle mission. Bolden was described Friday as a strong leader, but some are concerned that he lacks a close relationship with the president. Michael Griffin, NASA's previous administrator, was an outsider to the White House. Since resigning his post in January, Griffin has complained that during his time as NASA administrator he was never able to circumvent the "unnamed staffers" in the Office of Management and Budget who consistently cut the agency's programs. "Clearly, Bolden does not have the relations with the president that Gration has," Roger Launius, a curator at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, told the LA Times. "What Bolden has is a very strong understanding of NASA culture." Some have also voiced concerns about Bolden's connections to NASA contractors, which include short stint as a lobbyist in 2005 for rocket company Alliant Techsystems Inc. and as a board member for Rancho Cordova, Calif.-based GenCorp Inc.These ties could hamper Bolden's ability to lead NASA through its transition from the [occasionally exploding] shuttle – set to retire in 2010 or 2011 -- to Constellation, the agency’s next manned-spaceflight vehicle. Constellation, which consists of the Ares I rocket and Orion capsule, has suffered technical problems and is billions of dollars over budget. It is not expected to fly before 2015. Bolden's previous work on for Constellation contractors could become an issue given the tough ethics rules Obama put in place when he took office. That executive order states that appointees cannot "participate in any particular matter . . . that is directly and substantially related to former employer or former clients, including regulations and contracts."
Bolden served on the board of directors for GenCorp until March 2008. The company’s Aerojet subsidiary builds propulsion systems and maneuvering engines for the space shuttle and Constellation's Orion capsule.
Many see Bolden’s nomination as a step to stabilize an agency that has lacked an administrator since January. Senator Barbara Mikulski (D-MD.), who chairs a Senate subcommittee that oversees NASA's budget, referenced Bolden's biography.
"We think that Mr. Bolden has a very hefty background. He has a compelling personal story," the Times quoted her as saying Thursday.
Bolden was born in segregated South Carolina, and attended high school in Columbia before graduating from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1968. He earned several honors as a military aviator, including the Distinguished Flying Cross, and flew on the 1990 shuttle mission that deployed the Hubble Space Telescope.
---
On the Net:
NASA
|
|
|
|
Post by beatlies on May 24, 2009 6:21:09 GMT -5
|
|
|
|
Post by beatlies on May 24, 2009 6:30:50 GMT -5
More Photos:  At Occidental College:   Alumni Corner Barack Obama ’83, My Columbia College Roommate By Phil Boerner ’84 previous January/February 2009 next January/February 2009 Obama and Boerner snapped photos of each other when they were roommates on West 109th Street. Inset: Boerner today. PHOTOS: Obama and boerner in apartment, courtesy Phil Boerner ’84; boerner today: Pern Beckman ’84I was Barack Obama ’83’s roommate at Columbia College in fall 1981. I met him in 1979, when we were freshmen at Occidental College (Oxy) in Los Angeles and our dorm rooms were directly opposite each other. I came to college as a middle-class guy from Bethesda, Md., where I’d lived from fifth grade through high school. At Oxy, we attended some of the same social events and had late-night philosophical discussions related to our college reading or to current affairs. We attended rallies on campus where we were urged to “draft beer, not people,” and discussed the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, apartheid in South Africa, the hostages in Iran and the Contras in Latin America. The crowd we hung out with included men, women, blacks, whites, Hispanics and international students. Barack listened carefully to all points of view and he was funny, smart, thoughtful and well-liked. It was easy to sit down with him and have a fun conversation. We both transferred from Oxy to Columbia in fall 1981. Barack had found an apartment on West 109th Street, between Amsterdam and Columbus, and suggested that I room with him. Our sublet was a third-story walk-up in a so-so neighborhood; the unit next door was burned out and vacant. The doorbell didn’t work; to be let in when I first arrived I had to yell up to Barack from the street. It was a railroad apartment: From the kitchen, you walked into Barack’s room, then my room, and lastly the living room. We didn’t have a television or computers. In that apartment we hosted a number of visitors, mostly friends from Oxy who stayed overnight when they were passing through town. Barack was very generous to these visitors. As a host and roommate, he sometimes did the shopping and cooked the chicken curry. Barack has said that he spent a lot of time in the library while at Columbia and one reason for this was that our apartment had irregular heat, and we didn’t enjoy hanging out there once the weather got cold. The radiators in our apartment were either stone cold, or, less often, blasted out such intense heat that we had to open the windows and let in freezing air just to cool things down. When the heat wasn’t on, we sometimes sat with sleeping bags or blankets wrapped around ourselves and read our school books. We also didn’t have regular hot water and sometimes used the Columbia gym for showers. I remember often eating breakfast with Barack at Tom’s Restaurant on Broadway. Occasionally we went to The West End for beers. We enjoyed exploring museums such as the Guggenheim, the Met and the American Museum of Natural History, and browsing in bookstores such as the Strand and the Barnes & Noble opposite Columbia. We both liked taking long walks down Broadway on a Sunday afternoon, and listening to the silence of Central Park after a big snow. I also remember jogging the loop around Central Park with Barack. One weekend I invited Barack to meet my grandparents, Elizabeth and William Lytton Payne ’46 GSAS, at their summer place in the Catskills, which we called “the farm.” I took Barack to meet some neighbors on the mountain; everyone seemed to like him pretty well, whether they were die-hard supporters of Ronald Reagan or extreme liberals. While at the farm, Barack joined the routines there, which typically included a few morning hours doing chores, such as clearing brush and sawing firewood. After that first semester, we had to move. Barack tried to find an apartment for both of us, but was only able to find a studio for himself. I was able to house-sit in Brooklyn Heights. Barack and other friends came and visited me there a few times; we typically watched pro basketball or football on TV, or went out for dinner at a Chinese restaurant. He was amused by my beginning banjo playing (I’m much better today!). Hanging out, we could get pretty emotional about sports, food and injustice. I remember one time when we were out walking he took the time to ask a homeless guy how he was doing, so even then he was concerned about others. Through different living arrangements in Astoria, Queens; Bay Ridge, Brooklyn; and all over Manhattan, we stayed in touch and remained friends for the rest of our college years. He got to know my girlfriend from Arkansas, who is now my wife. Since I last saw him in 1985, we have exchanged a few letters and photos. He left for Chicago, and I eventually settled in Sacramento. Barack wasn’t thinking about becoming President when he was in college; he wanted to be a writer. Barack is a good man — some might even call him a saint for tolerating my beginning banjo playing. Based on my six years of knowing him in college and the years immediately after, I can vouch that Barack is a man of character, and I trust him to do the right things when he is President. Phil Boerner ’84 was born in Washington, D.C., and lives with his wife and two children in Sacramento, Calif. He is communications and public relations manager at the California Veterinary Medical Association. |
|
??
