The High Road

2 months, 1 week ago strawman said

I could feel the passion today at the injured workers group meeting today in Fargo. Hopefully someone are somebody will contact the feds to report the abuses at the North Dakota WSI Bureau under the RICCO Act. Moreover, It took awhile but the Federal Government got involved with HIV, Hep B & C adventure in Las Vegas.  “RICCO Act–”When three or more parties conspire to carry on an on going criminal enterprise, it can fall under the “RICCO Act.” The Doctors that have been part of this scam have at least six clinics that have ripping off the government.  They have been able to pay off the states where they operate but somehow, over $30 million dollars later, the Feds caught on.  I think quite of few of the Doctors are going to lose there luxurious way of living and spend some glorious time in a Federal Recreation Facility.  I wonder if there is a hold on the bank accounts?  Oh well they go to jail and the patients get sick and some die–doesn’t make much sense, but stay healthy and maybe there will be no need to deal with this kind of crap.  Give enough campaign $ and you to can sit on any board you choose in Nevada, yeah greed!!!

2 months, 1 week ago strawman said

Something Stinks to high heaven in Denmark could be said for North Dakota’s WSI or Where’s Elliot Ness when you need him? Back in the 60’s, 70’s, and 80’s there were men like Frank Serpico out there combating organized crime who used the RICCO Act as a tool to combat government corruption such as waste, misappropriations of funds, and abuse of powers etc… Today there’s a fear in North Dakota also know as WSI an organization that not only takes your hard earned money by trickery and deception, which is egregious in and of itself, but also has the audacity to leave their victims (ND injured workers) feeling lost and confused. How can WSI get away with treating good, honest, and hard- working North Dakotans as if they are criminals just because they had the misfortune of having a work related illness or injury? In addition, why does WSI use Gestapo tactics that would make the most willful of us cringe? Employees former and present have or have had severe threats directed at them in retaliation for justifiable whistle- blowing, which has exposed numerous acts of corruption perpetrated by WSI. These types are used by WSI on a regular basis to intimidate any and all forms of resistance against the beast know as WSI. The Robber Barons with their reptilian mind-set could care less about the injured workers of North Dakota. I have seen them set there many times with their arrogances and blank stars lying to the good, honest, and hard- working people of North Dakota who deserve justice not theft of their benefits. Hitler and Stalin would be proud of the machine that WSI (who is backed by the State Legislature, The State Labor Department, and The State Medical Association), has created. Oh and by the way the employers receive a 60% kick back from the funds which are stolen from the paychecks from the good, honest, and hardworking people of North Dakota. It’s like someone putting a gun to your head and telling you to give them all of your money. Well folks the Bush plan has worked right in step with the WSI plan, and the only way to rid us from the beast (WSI) is to vote out most of the legislatures in the house of North Dakota (Satins Tabernacle). Moreover, It will be a good day when the workers of North Dakota unite. A strong union could end the false assumptions of hope from what North Dakota calls a right to work state or do they really mean a right to go ______ yourself state? North Dakota must remember how the downtrodden and outcast of Rome rouse up and united together from all over the world under the leadership of Attila the Hun to conquer Rome. Does this sound familiar? With all of the outcries coming from the workers, the press, and even the employees of WSI in and of itself; one can see why WSI doesn’t have to many allies right now, but they have a $1.6 billion dollars of stolen trust from the good, honest, and hardworking people of North Dakota. As of today, as we have heard many times before in the past, WSI is wondering how they can restore the trust? Well for starters they can give back the money that they have stolen from the good, honest, and hard working people of North Dakota. Next, WSI should just disperse and give the injured and disabled workers a chance to rebuild their lives, by letting the workers rebuild and run the WSI program from the ground up with the $1.6 billion dollars that WSI has stolen from them.  Just think most of the injured and disabled workers could be employed again. Republicans speak of accountability time and time again, well for crying out loud, why in the heck don’t WSI and the North Dakota leadership face accountability for their actions? I say Hypocrites have you forgot your Hippocratic oath: Do no harm? These cowardly bullies (WSI)- Do they have no shame?  These cowardly bullies (WSI)- have they forgotten that North Dakota’s workers compensation fund was set up, as a public trust for injured workers under the non-profit laws. Today WSI (the beast) has changed the laws that now make WSI a private for profit Insurance Corporation, which in effect completely destroys the notion of a workers compensation fund for North Dakota workers. Where’s all of the money going you might ask? It’s padding the pockets of a few, and it’s financing a few of their personal and private pet projects. It’s certainly not going for it’s original and intended purpose of protecting injured workers. In conclusion, Remember workers your money will be taken away from you even if we only had one work related illness or injury in North Dakota each year from hear on out. Moreover, WSI’S number one argument is prevention: that is that they want to have less injuries from workers in North Dakota, which is fine, however, what are they doing with all of the left over money? They’re taken your money either way. Might as well have a union ran by and for injured and disabled workers, so that all of that money will be used for it’s intended purpose, which is relief for injured workers. Moreover, by doing so think of all of the jobs that will be created for injured workers and the disabled.

By order and decree of all things Holly it is here by ordered today that the order will be watching.

2 months, 1 week ago strawman said

Many people have been asking me about Senator. Barack Obama, they have been saying, “ Well if I only new more about him, then I might vote for him.” Here what Barack would like you to know about him:
The man begind the campaign
By Obama for president - Apr 28th, 2008 at 2:35 pm EDT
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Barack Obama

Barack Hussein Obama, Jr. (born August 4, 1961) is the junior United States Senator from Illinois and a candidate for the Democratic Party’s nomination in the 2008 U.S. presidential election. He married in 1992 and has two daughters. Obama has written two books: a memoir of his youth titled Dreams from My Father, and a personal commentary on U.S. politics titled The Audacity of Hope.

Born to a Kenyan father and an American mother, he passed most of his childhood and adolescent years in Honolulu, Hawaii. At age six, he moved to Jakarta where he lived with his mother and Indonesian stepfather for four years. A graduate of Columbia University and Harvard Law School, Obama worked as a community organizer, university lecturer, and lawyer before serving in the Illinois Senate from 1997 to 2004.

Following an unsuccessful bid for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives in 2000, he announced his campaign for U.S. Senate in early 2003. The next year, while still an Illinois state legislator, Obama delivered the keynote address at the Democratic National Convention. He was elected to the U.S. Senate in November 2004 with 70% of the vote.

As a member of the Democratic minority in the 109th Congress, he cosponsored legislation to control conventional weapons and to promote greater public accountability in the use of federal funds. He also made official trips to Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. In the current 110th Congress, he has sponsored legislation regarding lobbying and electoral fraud, climate change, nuclear terrorism, and care for returned U.S. military personnel. Since announcing his presidential campaign in February 2007, Obama has emphasized ending the war in Iraq, increasing energy independence, and providing universal health care as top national priorities.
Early life and career

Obama was born on August 4, 1961, in Honolulu, Hawaii, to Barack Obama, Sr., of Nyangoma-Kogelo, Siaya District, Kenya, and Ann Dunham, of Wichita, Kansas.[1] His parents met while both were attending the University of Hawaii at Manoa, where his father was enrolled as a foreign student.[2] They separated when he was two years old and later divorced.[3] After her divorce, Dunham married Lolo Soetoro, and the family moved to Soetoro’s home country of Indonesia in 1967, where Obama attended local schools in Jakarta until he was ten years old.[1] He then returned to Honolulu to live with his mother’s family while attending Punahou School from the fifth grade until his graduation in 1979.[4] Following high school, Obama moved to Los Angeles, where he studied at Occidental College for two years.[5] He then transferred to Columbia University in New York City, where he majored in political science with a specialization in international relations.[6]

Obama graduated with a B.A. from Columbia in 1983, then worked at Business International Corporation and New York Public Interest Research Group before moving to Chicago in 1985 to take a job as a community organizer.[7][8] He entered Harvard Law School in 1988.[9] In 1990, The New York Times reported his election as the first black president of the Harvard Law Review.[10] Obama graduated with a J.D. magna cum laude from Harvard in 1991, then returned to Chicago where he headed a voter registration drive and began writing his first book, Dreams from My Father, a memoir published in 1995.[11]

Obama taught constitutional law part-time at the University of Chicago Law School from 1993 until his election to the U.S. Senate in 2004.[12]

Obama worked as an associate attorney with Davis, Miner, Barnhill & Galland from 1993 to 2002. After 1996, he worked at the firm only during the summer, when the Illinois Senate was not in session.[13] Obama worked on cases where the firm represented community organizers, pursued discrimination claims, and on voting rights cases. He also spent time on real estate transactions, filing incorporation papers and defending clients against minor lawsuits.[14] Mostly he drew up briefs, contracts, and other legal documents as a junior associate on legal teams.[14] Obama also did some work on taxpayer-supported building rehabilitation loans for Rezmar Corp.,[15] half-owned by Tony Rezko, who later raised approximately $250,000 for Obama’s various political campaigns.[16] In October 2006, Rezko was indicted for political corruption charges and the case was brought to trial in March 2008.[17] Obama has not been implicated in any wrongdoing.[18]

State legislature

In July 1995, Obama announced plans to run for the Illinois Senate from Chicago’s 13th District, representing areas of Chicago’s South Side, including Hyde Park-Kenwood and South Shore.[19] Obama’s campaign raised legal challenges to the nominating petitions of incumbent Alice Palmer and the three other candidates, successfully removing their names from the ballot and allowing him to run unopposed in the primary, virtually handing him victory in the heavily-Democratic district.[20] Once elected, Obama gained bipartisan support for legislation reforming ethics and health care laws.[21] He sponsored a law increasing tax credits for low-income workers, negotiated welfare reform, and promoted increased subsidies for childcare.[22] Obama also led the passage of legislation mandating videotaping of homicide interrogations, and a law to monitor racial profiling by requiring police to record the race of drivers they stopped.[22]

Obama was reelected to the Illinois Senate in 1998, and again in 2002.[23] He lost a Democratic primary run for the U.S. House of Representatives in 2000 to four-term incumbent Bobby Rush (a two-to-one loss for Obama).[24][25]

In January 2003, Obama became chairman of the Illinois Senate’s Health and Human Services Committee when Democrats, after a decade in the minority, regained a majority.[26] During his 2004 general election campaign for U.S. Senate, he won the endorsement of the Illinois Fraternal Order of Police, whose president credited Obama for his active engagement with police organizations in enacting death penalty reforms.[27] He was criticized by rival pro-choice candidates in the Democratic primary and by his Republican pro-life opponent in the general election for a series of “present” or “no” votes on late-term abortion and parental notification issues.[28] Obama resigned from the Illinois Senate in November 2004 following his election to the US Senate.[29]

Senate campaign

In mid-2002, Obama began considering a run for the U.S. Senate, enlisting political strategist David Axelrod that fall and formally announcing his candidacy in January 2003.[30] Decisions by Republican incumbent Peter Fitzgerald and his Democratic predecessor Carol Moseley Braun not to contest the race launched wide-open Democratic and Republican primary contests involving fifteen candidates.[31] In early opinion polls leading up to the Democratic primary, Obama trailed multimillionaire businessman Blair Hull and Illinois Comptroller Daniel Hynes.[32] However, Hull’s popularity declined following reports of his ex-wife’s allegations of domestic abuse.[33] Obama’s candidacy was boosted by Axelrod’s advertising campaign featuring images of the late Chicago Mayor Harold Washington and an endorsement by the daughter of the late Paul Simon, former U.S. Senator for Illinois.[34] He received over 52% of the vote in the March 2004 primary, emerging 29% ahead of his nearest Democratic rival.[35]

Obama’s opponent in the general election was expected to be Republican primary winner Jack Ryan. However, Ryan withdrew from the race in June 2004, following disclosure of divorce records containing politically embarrassing charges by his ex-wife, actress Jeri Ryan.[36] In August 2004, with less than three months to go before election day, Alan Keyes accepted the Illinois Republican Party’s nomination to replace Ryan.[37] A long-time resident of Maryland, Keyes established legal residency in Illinois with the nomination.[38] Through three televised debates, Obama and Keyes expressed opposing views on stem cell research, abortion, gun control, school vouchers, and tax cuts.[39] In the November 2004 general election, Obama received 70% of the vote to Keyes’s 27%, the largest electoral victory in Illinois history.[40]

In July 2004, while still serving as a state legislator, he wrote and delivered the keynote address at the 2004 Democratic National Convention in Boston, Massachusetts.[41] After describing his maternal grandfather’s experiences as a World War II veteran and a beneficiary of the New Deal’s FHA and G.I. Bill programs, Obama spoke about changing the U.S. government’s economic and social priorities. He questioned the Bush administration’s management of the Iraq War and highlighted America’s obligations to its soldiers. Drawing examples from U.S. history, he criticized heavily partisan views of the electorate and asked Americans to find unity in diversity, saying, “There is not a liberal America and a conservative America; there’s the United States of America."[42] Broadcasts of the speech by major news organizations launched Obama’s status as a national political figure and boosted his campaign for U.S. Senate.[43]

Senate career

Obama was sworn in as a senator on January 4, 2005.[44] Though a newcomer to Washington, he recruited a team of established, high-level advisers devoted to broad themes that exceeded the usual requirements of an incoming first-term senator.[45] He hired Pete Rouse, a 30-year veteran of national politics and former chief of staff to Senate Democratic Leader Tom Daschle, as his chief of staff, and economist Karen Kornbluh, former deputy chief of staff to Secretary of the Treasury Robert Rubin, as his policy director.[46] He recruited Samantha Power, author on human rights and genocide, and former Clinton administration officials Anthony Lake and Susan Rice as foreign policy advisers.[47]

The Senate historian lists Obama as the fifth African American Senator in U.S. history, and the third to have been popularly elected.[48] He is the only Senate member of the Congressional Black Caucus.[49] CQ Weekly, a nonpartisan publication, characterized him as a “loyal Democrat” based on Senate votes cast in 2005 through 2007.[50] The National Journal, which uses 99 roll call votes it sees as important and useful in drawing ideological distinctions, identified Obama as “the most liberal senator” in 2007 after ranking him 16th most liberal in 2005 and 10th most liberal in 2004.[51] Asked about the Journal’s characterization of his voting record, Obama expressed doubts about the survey’s methodology and blamed “old politics” categorization of political positions as “conservative” or “liberal” for creating predispositions that prevent problem-solving.[52] Ratings of Obama’s liberalism by the Americans for Democratic Action (ADA), based on 20 ADA-selected votes each year, declined from 100% in 2005 to 95% in 2006 and 75% in 2007.[53][54]

Legislation

Obama took an active role in the Senate’s drive for improved border security and immigration reform. In 2005, he cosponsored the “Secure America and Orderly Immigration Act” introduced by Republican John McCain of Arizona.[55] He later added three amendments to the “Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act”, which passed the Senate in May 2006, but failed to gain majority support in the House of Representatives.[56] In September 2006, Obama supported a related bill, the Secure Fence Act, authorizing construction of fencing and other security improvements along the United States–Mexico border.[57] President Bush signed the Secure Fence Act into law in October 2006, calling it “an important step toward immigration reform."[58]

Partnering with Republican Senators Dick Lugar of Indiana and then Tom Coburn of Oklahoma, Obama successfully introduced two initiatives bearing his name. “Lugar-Obama” expanded the Nunn-Lugar cooperative threat reduction concept to conventional weapons, including shoulder-fired missiles and anti-personnel mines.[60] The “Coburn-Obama Transparency Act” authorized the establishment of USAspending.gov, a web search engine launched in December 2007 and run by the Office of Management and Budget.[61] After Illinois residents complained of waste water contamination by a neighboring nuclear plant, Obama sponsored legislation requiring plant owners to notify state and local authorities of radioactive leaks.[62] A compromise version of the bill was subsequently blocked by partisan disputes and later reintroduced.[63] In December 2006, President Bush signed into law the “Democratic Republic of the Congo Relief, Security, and Democracy Promotion Act,” marking the first federal legislation to be enacted with Obama as its primary sponsor.[64]

In January 2007, Obama worked with Democrat Russ Feingold of Wisconsin to eliminate gifts of travel on corporate jets by lobbyists to members of Congress and require disclosure of bundled campaign contributions under the “Honest Leadership and Open Government Act,” which was signed into law in September 2007.[65] He introduced S. 453, a bill to criminalize deceptive practices in federal elections, including fraudulent flyers and automated phone calls, as witnessed in the 2006 midterm elections.[66] Obama’s energy initiatives scored pluses and minuses with environmentalists, who welcomed his sponsorship with McCain of a climate change bill to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by two-thirds by 2050, but were skeptical of his support for a bill promoting liquefied coal production.[67] Obama also introduced the “Iraq War De-Escalation Act of 2007,” a bill to cap troop levels in Iraq, begin phased redeployment, and remove all combat brigades from Iraq before April 2008.[68]

Later in 2007, Obama sponsored an amendment to the Defense Authorization Act adding safeguards for personality disorder military discharges, and calling for an official review following reports that the procedure had been used inappropriately to reduce government costs.[69] He sponsored the “Iran Sanctions Enabling Act” supporting divestment of state pension funds from Iran’s oil and gas industry, and joined Republican Chuck Hagel of Nebraska in introducing legislation to reduce risks of nuclear terrorism.[70][71] A provision from the Obama-Hagel bill was passed by Congress in December 2007 as an amendment to the State-Foreign Operations appropriations bill.[71] Obama also sponsored a Senate amendment to the State Children’s Health Insurance Program providing one year of job protection for family members caring for soldiers with combat-related injuries.[72] The legislation passed both houses of Congress with bipartisan majorities, but was blocked from becoming law by President Bush in October 2007.[73]

Obama held assignments on the Senate Committees for Foreign Relations, Environment and Public Works and Veterans’ Affairs through December 2006.[75] In January 2007, he left the Environment and Public Works committee and took additional assignments with Health, Education, Labor and Pensions and Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.[76] He also became Chairman of the Senate’s subcommittee on European Affairs.[77]

As a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Obama has made official trips to Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. In August 2005, he traveled to Russia, Ukraine, and Azerbaijan. The trip focused on strategies to control the world’s supply of conventional weapons, biological weapons, and weapons of mass destruction as a first defense against terrorist attacks.[78] Following meetings with U.S. military in Kuwait and Iraq in January 2006, he visited Jordan, Israel, and the Palestinian territories. At a meeting with Palestinian students two weeks before Hamas won the legislative election, Obama warned that “the U.S. will never recognize winning Hamas candidates unless the group renounces its fundamental mission to eliminate Israel."[79] He left for his third official trip in August 2006, traveling to South Africa, Kenya, Djibouti, Ethiopia and Chad. In a speech at the University of Nairobi, he spoke about political corruption and ethnic rivalries.[80] The speech touched off controversy among Kenyan leaders, some formally challenging Obama’s remarks as unfair and improper, others defending his positions.[81]
In February 2007, standing before the Old State Capitol building in Springfield, Illinois, Obama announced his candidacy for President of the United States in the 2008 U.S. presidential election.[83] Describing his working life in Illinois, and symbolically linking his presidential campaign to Abraham Lincoln’s 1858 House Divided speech, Obama said: “That is why, in the shadow of the Old State Capitol, where Lincoln once called on a house divided to stand together, where common hopes and common dreams still live, I stand before you today to announce my candidacy for President of the United States of America."[84] Speaking at a Democratic National Committee (DNC) meeting one week before the February announcement, Obama called for putting an end to negative campaigning.[85] Since announcing his presidential campaign Obama has emphasized ending the Iraq War, increasing energy independence, and providing universal health care as his top three priorities.[86]

Obama’s campaign raised US$58 million during the first half of 2007, topping all other candidates and exceeding previous records for the first six months of any year before an election year.[87] Small donors, those contributing in increments of less than $200, accounted for $16.4 million of Obama’s record-breaking total, more than any other Democratic candidate.[88] In the first month of 2008, his campaign brought in $36.8 million, the most ever raised in one month by a presidential candidate in the Democratic primaries.[89] Amidst concerns for his safety as the first black candidate seen as having a viable chance of being elected president, the U.S. government assigned Secret Service protection to Obama 18 months before the general election.[90]

With two months remaining before the first electoral contests in Iowa and New Hampshire, and national opinion polls showing him trailing Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, Obama began directly charging his top rival with failing to clearly state her political positions.[91] Campaigning in Iowa, he told The Washington Post that as the Democratic nominee he would draw more support than Clinton from independent and Republican voters in the general election.[92] Among the first four DNC-sanctioned state contests, Obama won more delegates than Clinton in Iowa, Nevada and South Carolina while winning an equal number in New Hampshire; Clinton, however, won the popular vote in Nevada and New Hampshire.[93] His win in Iowa was boosted by majority support from a record turnout of voters under 30 years old, most of them first-time caucus goers, while blacks turned away from Clinton after perceived attempts by Clinton to label Obama as a racial candidate.[94] Trailing Clinton nationally by 20% heading into the February Super Tuesday, he eliminated that lead and emerged with another 20 more delegates than Clinton.[95] He broke fundraising records in the first two months of 2008, raising more than $90 million for his primary campaign while Clinton raised $45 million in the same period.[96] After Super Tuesday, Obama won the eleven remaining February primaries and caucuses.[97] He then won the Vermont primary and the caucus portion of Texas primary and caucuses, but lost the Ohio, Rhode Island, and Texas primary elections to Clinton.[98]

In March 2008, a controversy broke out concerning Obama’s 23-year relationship to his former pastor Jeremiah Wright.[99] ABC News found and excerpted racially and politically charged clips from sermons by Rev. Wright, including his assertion that the United States brought on the 9/11 attacks with its own “state terrorism” and his assertion that “[t]he government lied about inventing the HIV virus as a means of genocide against people of color."[99][100] Some of Wright’s statements were widely criticized as anti-American.[101][102] Following negative media coverage and a drop in the polls,[103] Obama responded by condemning Wright’s remarks, ending his relationship with the campaign,[104] and delivering a speech entitled “A More Perfect Union” at the Constitution Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.[105] In the speech, Obama rejected some of Wright’s comments, but refused to disown the man himself, noting his lifelong ministry to the poor and past service as a US Marine.[106] The speech, which sought to place Wright’s anger in a larger historical context, was well-received by many liberals and some conservatives,[106][107][108] but others, including various supporters of Hillary Clinton continued to question the implications of Obama’s long relationship with Wright.[107][109]

On April 22, 2008 Obama lost the Pennsylvania primary to Hillary Clinton.[110] However, he continued to lead Clinton in the count of pledged delegates (1,488 to 1,333, according to an April 23 count by the Associated Press).[111] Clinton maintained a lead in superdelegates (259 to Obama’s 235), resulting in an overall Obama delegate lead of 1,723 to 1,592.[111] Both candidates remained well short of the 2,025 delegates needed to win the nomination.[111]

Political positions

On the role of government in economic affairs, Obama has written: “We should be asking ourselves what mix of policies will lead to a dynamic free market and widespread economic security, entrepreneurial innovation and upward mobility [...] we should be guided by what works."[112] Speaking before the National Press Club in April 2005, he defended the New Deal social welfare policies of Franklin D. Roosevelt, associating Republican proposals to establish private accounts for Social Security with social Darwinism.[113] In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, Obama spoke out against government indifference to growing economic class divisions, calling on both political parties to take action to restore the social safety net for the poor.[114] Shortly before announcing his presidential campaign, Obama told the health care advocacy group Families USA that he supports universal healthcare in the United States.[115]

Campaigning in New Hampshire, Obama announced an $18 billion plan for investments in early childhood education, math and science education, and expanded summer learning opportunities.[117] Obama’s campaign distinguished his proposals to reward teachers for performance from traditional merit pay systems, assuring unions that changes would be pursued through the collective bargaining process.[118]

At the Tax Policy Center in September 2007, he blamed special interests for distorting the U.S. tax code.[119] His plan would eliminate taxes for senior citizens with incomes of less than $50,000 a year, repeal income tax cuts for those making over $250,000 as well as the capital gains and dividends tax cut,[120] close corporate tax loopholes, lift the $102,000 cap on Social Security taxes, restrict offshore tax havens, and simplify filing of income tax returns by pre-filling wage and bank information already collected by the IRS.[121] Announcing his presidential campaign’s energy plan in October 2007, Obama proposed a cap and trade auction system to restrict carbon emissions and a 10 year program of investments in new energy sources to reduce U.S. dependence on imported oil.[122] Obama proposed that all pollution credits must be auctioned, with no grandfathering of credits for oil and gas companies, and the spending of the revenue obtained on energy development and economic transition costs.[123]

Obama was an early opponent of the Bush administration’s policies on Iraq.[124] On October 2, 2002, the day Bush and Congress agreed on the joint resolution authorizing the Iraq War,[125] Obama addressed the first high-profile Chicago anti-Iraq War rally in Federal Plaza,[126] speaking out against it.[127]

On March 16, 2003, the day President Bush issued his 48-hour ultimatum to Saddam Hussein to leave Iraq before the U.S. invasion of Iraq,[128] Obama addressed the largest Chicago anti-Iraq War rally to date in Daley Plaza and told the crowd “It’s not too late” to stop the war.[129]

Obama sought to make his early public opposition to the Iraq War before it started a major issue in his 2004 U.S. Senate campaign to distinguish himself from his Democratic primary rivals who supported the resolution authorizing the Iraq War,[130] and in his 2008 U.S. Presidential campaign, to distinguish himself from four Democratic primary rivals who voted for the resolution authorizing the war (Senators Clinton, Edwards, Biden, and Dodd).[131]

in November 2006, Obama called for a “phased redeployment of U.S. troops from Iraq” and an opening of diplomatic dialogue with Syria and Iran.[133] In a March 2007 speech to AIPAC, a pro-Israel lobby, he said that the primary way to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons is through talks and diplomacy, although not ruling out military action.[134] Detailing his strategy for fighting global terrorism in August 2007, Obama said “it was a terrible mistake to fail to act” against a 2005 meeting of al-Qaeda leaders that U.S. intelligence had confirmed to be taking place in Pakistan’s Federally Administered Tribal Areas. He said that as president he would not miss a similar opportunity, even without the support of the Pakistani government.[135]

In a December 2005 Washington Post opinion column, and at the Save Darfur rally in April 2006, Obama called for more assertive action to oppose genocide in the Darfur region of Sudan.[136] He has divested $180,000 in personal holdings of Sudan-related stock, and has urged divestment from companies doing business in Iran.[137] In the July–August 2007 issue of Foreign Affairs, Obama called for an outward looking post-Iraq War foreign policy and the renewal of American military, diplomatic, and moral leadership in the world. Saying “we can neither retreat from the world nor try to bully it into submission,” he called on Americans to “lead the world, by deed and by example."[138]

Obama has encouraged Democrats to reach out to evangelicals and other religious people.[139] In December 2006, he joined Sen. Sam Brownback (R-KS) at the “Global Summit on AIDS and the Church” organized by church leaders Kay and Rick Warren.[140] Together with Warren and Brownback, Obama took an HIV test, as he had done in Kenya less than four months earlier.[141] He encouraged “others in public life to do the same” and not be ashamed of it.[142] Before the conference, 18 pro-life groups published an open letter stating, in reference to Obama’s support for legal abortion: “In the strongest possible terms, we oppose Rick Warren’s decision to ignore Senator Obama’s clear pro-death stance and invite him to Saddleback Church anyway."[143] Addressing over 8,000 United Church of Christ members in June 2007, Obama challenged “so-called leaders of the Christian Right” for being “all too eager to exploit what divides us."[144]

Personal life

Obama met his future wife, Michelle Robinson, in 1988 when he was employed as a summer associate at the Chicago law firm of Sidley & Austin.[146] Assigned for three months as Obama’s adviser at the firm, Robinson joined him at group social functions, but declined his initial offers to date.[147] They began dating later that summer, became engaged in 1991, and were married in October 1992.[148] The couple’s first daughter, Malia Ann, was born in 1999, followed by a second daughter, Natasha ("Sasha"), in 2001.[149] Applying the proceeds of a $2 million book deal, the family paid off debts in 2005 and moved from a Hyde Park, Chicago condominium to their current $1.6 million house in neighboring Kenwood.[150] The land adjacent to their house was simultaneously sold to the wife of well-connected developer, and Obama supporter Tony Rezko, provoking continued media scrutiny but no official allegations against Obama, even as the political fundraiser was indicted on mostly unrelated charges.[151] In December 2007, Money magazine estimated the Obama family’s net worth at $1.3 million.[152] When Obama released his 2007 tax return in April 2008 it showed a household income of $4.2 million, up from about $1 million in 2006 and $1.6 million in 2005, mostly from the sale of his books.[153]

Obama plays basketball, a sport he participated in as a member of his high school’s varsity team.[154] Before announcing his presidential candidacy, he began a well-publicized effort to quit smoking. “I’ve never been a heavy smoker,” Obama told the Chicago Tribune. “I’ve quit periodically over the last several years. I’ve got an ironclad demand from my wife that in the stresses of the campaign I do not succumb. I’ve been chewing Nicorette strenuously."[155] Replying to an Associated Press survey of 2008 presidential candidates’ personal tastes, he specified “

2 months, 1 week ago strawman said

Read complete books and articles on: Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO)
At Questia, we offer:

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12 of the Best Books and Articles on: Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO)
as selected by Questia librarians

1.
1.

Handbook of Organized Crime in the United States (Chap. 20 “Rico: The Federal Experience (Criminal and Civil) and an Analysis of Attacks Against the Statute") » Read Now

by Robert J. Kelly, Ko-Lin Chin, Rufus Schatzberg. 546 pgs.
Collections: History, Entire Library
Internationally known authorities in criminal justice provide one of the most comprehensive assessments today of the diverse ethnic and racial groups in the criminal underworld and their grave threats to the very fabric of American society. This coherent overview describes Mafia, Chinese, African…
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Internationally known authorities in criminal justice provide one of the most comprehensive assessments today of the diverse ethnic and racial groups in the criminal underworld and their grave threats to the very fabric of American society. This coherent overview describes Mafia, Chinese, African American, Russian, and other criminal activities in different cities currently with historical background, showing the pernicious effects that their illicit operations have had on the economic, social, political, and moral life of the nation. This one-volume reference also assesses law enforcement and crime control programs during the 20th century. This sobering overview should be required reading for specialist and general audiences alike and for broad library use given the serious threats of organized crime to all Americans in the 1990s.
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2.

Encyclopedia of Organized Crime in the United States: From Capone’s Chicago to the New Urban Underworld (Discussion of RICO begins on p. 258) » Read Now

by Robert J. Kelly. 364 pgs.
Collections: History, Entire Library
Typically, other reference works on organized crime in the United States focus primarily on the Mafia and La Cosa Nostra, and neglect the many new ethnic and racial criminal organizations that permeate American society today. This reference fills those gaps while providing systematic detailed…
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Typically, other reference works on organized crime in the United States focus primarily on the Mafia and La Cosa Nostra, and neglect the many new ethnic and racial criminal organizations that permeate American society today. This reference fills those gaps while providing systematic detailed coverage of traditional crime families, individuals, significant events, and terms. More than 250 entries provide in-depth information on major underworld figures, from Al Capone to John Gotti and Sammy “the Bull” Gravano, and key criminal events and milestones. In addition, Kelly, an expert on organized crime, provides in-depth coverage of African American organized crime, Chinese Triads and Tongs, the Colombian drug cartels’ infiltration of the U.S., Dominican drug trafficking, ecocrime, Russian organized crime, Latin gangs and criminal groups, and Vietnamese American organized crime.
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Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations, in American Criminal Law Review » Read Now

by Artie Jones, John Satory, Tyler Mace. 59 pgs.
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...Congress designed The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act ("RICO"), (1) enacted as...OF JUSTICE MANUAL, RACKETEER INFLUENCED AND CORRUPT ORGANIZATIONS (RICO…
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Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations, in American Criminal Law Review » Read Now

by Daniel Luccaro, Jason Mishelow, Brendan N. Snodgrass. 65 pgs.
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...INTRODUCTION The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act ("RICO"),(1) enacted as Title...OF JUSTICE MANUAL, RACKETEER INFLUENCED AND CORRUPT ORGANIZATIONS (RICO…
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RICO - The Rejection of an Economic Motive Requirement, in Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology » Read Now

by Jennifer G. Randolph. 34 pgs.
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...Court held that the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO), which outlaws certain...Organized Crime Control Act (OCCA).(5) Chapter...1961-68, entitled…
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Defining Extortion: RICO, Hobbs, and Statutory Interpretation in Scheidler V. National Organization for Women, Inc., 123 S. Ct. 1057, in Harvard Journal of Law & Public Policy » Read Now

by Daniel B. Kelly. 18 pgs.
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Corporate Misconduct: The Legal, Societal, and Management Issues ("Racketeering Influenced and Corrupt Organization Act of 1970” begins on p. 87) » Read Now

by Ronald R. Sims, Margaret P. Spencer. 218 pgs.
Collections: Entire Library
An in-depth discussion and analysis of corporate misconduct and its complexities. Volume editors and their contributors explore the legal, societal, and business ramifications; offer a wide range of real-world and theoretical examples and the lessons they teach; and provide practical recommendations…
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An in-depth discussion and analysis of corporate misconduct and its complexities. Volume editors and their contributors explore the legal, societal, and business ramifications; offer a wide range of real-world and theoretical examples and the lessons they teach; and provide practical recommendations to management for countering misconduct in their own organizations. The book is also a valuable resource for teachers and students of business ethics, management, and business-government relations.
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A License to Steal: The Forfeiture of Property » Read Now

by Leonard W. Levy. 272 pgs.
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The laws of forfeiture dictate that the government may confiscate property that has been associated with the commission of a crime. In the 1970’s and 1980’s, law enforcement agencies increasingly used this controversial tactic and, as a result, reaped tremendous financial profit. In A License to…
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The laws of forfeiture dictate that the government may confiscate property that has been associated with the commission of a crime. In the 1970’s and 1980’s, law enforcement agencies increasingly used this controversial tactic and, as a result, reaped tremendous financial profit. In A License to Steal, Leonard W. Levy traces the development and implementation of forfeiture and contends that it is a questionable practice that, because it is so often abused, serves only to undermine civil society.
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Has the Supreme Court Really Turned RICO Upside Down?: An Examination of NOW v. Scheidler, in Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology » Read Now

by Michael Vitiello. 35 pgs.
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...5)Id. RICO is the acronym...Crime Control Act of 1970, entitled “Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations.” 18 U.S...covered by RICO if the purpose...Atkinson, “…
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Should Courts Impose Rico’s Pretrial Restraint Measures on Substitute Assets?, in Michigan Law Review » Read Now

by James M. Rosenthal. 25 pgs.
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...enacted the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) 1 in...Crime Control Act of 1970 (RICO) , Pub. L...Project, “Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt…
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Corporate and White Collar Crime: Simplifying the Ambiguous, in American Criminal Law Review » Read Now

by Ellen S. Podgor. 12 pgs.
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...1987). (4.) This increase in federal power is particularly noticeable in statutes such as the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO), a 1970 act, that…
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Q: Is Janet Reno’s RICO Lawsuit Against Big Tobacco Legally Justified?, in Insight on the News » Read Now

by Richard A. Daynard, Bob Barr. 4 pgs.
Collections: Entire Library
...within the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, or RICO. Under RICO...Recovery Act permits the...party. The RICO claim is...list of 112 racketeering acts…