J's Cafe Nette

Archive for August 28th, 2007

The Wall Street Journal has a piece up today that appears to bring up questions about some of Hillary Clinton’s campaign contributions.

A mailman who makes $49,000 a year, his unemployed wife and their grown children have given a total of $45,000 to Mrs. Clinton since 2005, and a total of $200,000 to Democratic candidates since 2005, but they remortgaged their small home for $270,000.

This appears to track donations from one Norman Hsu who once used their address as his address and is a wealthy businessman in the apparel industry.

When asked about the donations, one of the couple’s children replied by email:

he had sometimes been asked by Mr. Hsu to make contributions, and sometimes he himself had asked family members to donate. But he added: “I have been fortunate in my investments and all of my contributions have been my money.”

Hsu denies asking anyone to make any contributions.

The grown children of the couple in question have jobs that include account manager at a software company to “attendance liaison” at a local public high school. One is listed on campaign records as an executive at a mutual fund.

I wonder why their parents had to remortage their house if their children are so successful?

DALY CITY, Calif. — One of the biggest sources of political donations to Hillary Rodham Clinton is a tiny, lime-green bungalow that lies under the flight path from San Francisco International Airport.

Six members of the Paw family, each listing the house at 41 Shelbourne Ave. as their residence, have donated a combined $45,000 to the Democratic senator from New York since 2005, for her presidential campaign, her Senate re-election last year and her political action committee. In all, the six Paws have donated a total of $200,000 to Democratic candidates since 2005, election records show.

That total ranks the house with residences in Greenwich, Conn., and Manhattan’s Upper East Side among the top addresses to donate to the Democratic presidential front-runner over the past two years, according to an analysis by The Wall Street Journal of donations listed with the Federal Election Commission.

It isn’t obvious how the Paw family is able to afford such political largess. Records show they own a gift shop and live in a 1,280-square-foot house that they recently refinanced for $270,000. William Paw, the 64-year-old head of the household, is a mail carrier with the U.S. Postal Service who earns about $49,000 a year, according to a union representative. Alice Paw, also 64, is a homemaker. The couple’s grown children have jobs ranging from account manager at a software company to “attendance liaison” at a local public high school. One is listed on campaign records as an executive at a mutual fund.

The Paws’ political donations closely track donations made by Norman Hsu, a wealthy New York businessman in the apparel industry who once listed the Paw home as his address, according to public records. Mr. Hsu is one of the top fund-raisers for Mrs. Clinton’s presidential campaign. He has hosted or co-hosted some of her most prominent money-raising events.

The Paw family is just one set of donors whose political donations are similar to Mr. Hsu’s. Several business associates of Mr. Hsu in New York have made donations to the same candidates, on the same dates for similar amounts as Mr. Hsu.
On four separate dates this year, the Paw family, Mr. Hsu and five of his associates gave Mrs. Clinton a total of $47,500. In all, the family, Mr. Hsu and his associates have given Mrs. Clinton $133,000 since 2005 and a total of nearly $720,000 to all Democratic candidates. …

No one in the Paw family had ever given a campaign contribution before the 2004 presidential election, according to campaign-finance reports. Then, in July 2004, five members of the family contributed a total of $3,600 to the presidential campaign of Sen. John Kerry, the Massachusetts Democrat. Five of the checks were dated July 27, 2004. About the same time, Mr. Hsu made his first donations to a political candidate, contributing the maximum amount allowed by law to Mr. Kerry in two separate checks, on July 21, 2004, and on Aug. 6.

From then on, the correlation of campaign donations between Mr. Hsu and the Paw family has continued. The first donations to Mrs. Clinton came Dec. 23, 2004, when Mr. Hsu and one Paw family member donated the then-maximum $4,000 to her Senate campaign in two $2,000 checks, campaign-finance records show. In March 2005, the individuals gave a total of $17,500 to Mrs. Clinton.

Since then, Mr. Hsu, his New York associates and the Paw family have continued to donate to Democratic candidates. This year, Alice Paw and four of the Paw children have donated the maximum $4,600 to Mrs. Clinton’s presidential campaign.

I can’t help but remember the to-do about the Buddhist monks in 1996. Whatever happened to that investigation, anyway? Isn’t that the one Al Gore said there was no controlling legal authority that covered it? Just asking.

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I have sat back now for a long time and watched as too many decent individuals who have done nothing but give up their private lives and incomes to serve this country be treated in a manner unbecoming of those of us who are citizens of this great country. While I agree the Attorney General did nothing to help his own case during the Senate hearings, there still has been no proof that anything illegal was done by this man or anyone in this administration. As has become the nature of our society, beat the drum loud and strong and eventually you will be believed. That is, unless you are an appointee of the President or the President himself.

Politics have ripped this country to its core but when good people are destroyed because of their party affiliation then it is time for a serious evaluation of our direction.

I am not typically this partisan but I have absolutely had it with this President and his administration being vilified daily in the press and by partisan politicians. It has been said over and over again that this President lied. About what? Just because the press or members of the opposing party say so I must believe it? Sorry, I prefer to think for myself. Some find it acceptable to refer to this president at Hitler. I actually feel sorry for these people as it shows their lack of a grasp of history yet it infuriates me on the other hand that we have in this country been reduced to such hateful drivel.

And headlines, well they are worth nothing anymore. Read the meat of the article and you will find more often than not that the bold print at the top is contradicted by the writer themselves. Unidentified sources, writer opinion and downright repeated lies have reduced a once respected profession to nothing more than a sorry excuse for daily news. Liberal bias spewed in the morning papers is then regurgitated by evening newscasters without any substance for the words spoken with some air of authority which many seem to believe as gospel.

What ever happened to the respect for our nation, the Office of the Presidency, our elected leaders and yes even for ourselves? We have become all to quick to condemn anyone who does not agree with our viewpoint, many times handing out labels which could never apply to each person of any political, ethnic or religious persuasion. What’s next, do we tell our children that our neighbor who may be different in their thinking than us is not to be tolerated?

This is not a rant, it is how I truly feel. Every administration in the history of this country has had those who have served the President and have made mistakes or errors in judgment. Show me one who has not. This President has a capacity for being tolerant of those who hate him. My limit however, has been reached. Call it what you wish, I do not enjoy seeing anyone destroyed just for someone else to score political points and this has happened far too often to this administration.

Much of this hatred and vile comes from those who do not approve of the war on terror..(Yes I can call it that because Iraq is not our only battleground). You may not like war, neither do I, but I understand when it is necessary and so do the majority of the troops. If we go beyond what is force fed to us daily and read the words of the actual soldiers and commanders we find progress is being made. Perhaps it is time we give credit to those doing the heavy lifting and leave our partisanship on the doorstep.

I have never considered myself a person who felt they had to agree with another in order for us to be civil in our dealings. I refuse to always agree with one political party on all points as there is no perfection in this world. Am I a republican by affiliation, yes, but have never been adverse to the ideas of others.

Unfortunately, watching the attitudes and events of the last six years and the treatment of this President has pushed me further away from some independent thinking. It breaks my heart that some believe this is the route which will allow this country to flourish for generations to come. When the tide turns, will I be like so many who have worked to destroy those who have accepted responsibilities many of us could never imagine or handle? I hope not.

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Newly elected French President Nicolas Sarkozy has said if diplomacy doesn’t work in getting Iran to give up their nuclear capabilities the only other option would be Iran bombing someone or someone bombing Iran.

Sarkozy said a nuclear-armed Iran would be unacceptable and that major powers should continue their policy of incrementally increasing sanctions against Tehran while being open to talks if Iran suspended nuclear activities.

“This initiative is the only one that can enable us to escape an alternative that I say is catastrophic: the Iranian bomb or the bombing of Iran,” he said, adding that it was the worst crisis currently facing the world.

Tehran says it only wants to generate electricity but it has yet to convince the world’s most powerful countries that it is not secretly pursuing nuclear weapons.

Sarkozy criticized Russia for its dealings on the international stage. “Russia is imposing its return on the world scene by using its assets, notably oil and gas, with a certain brutality,” he said.

“When one is a great power, one should not be brutal.”

Energy disputes between Russia and neighbors such as Belarus and Ukraine have raised doubts in Europe about Moscow’s reliability as a gas exporter. It supplies Europe, via its neighbors, with around a quarter of its gas demands.

Sarkozy had warm words for the United States, saying friendship between the two countries was important. But he said he felt free to disagree with American policies, highlighting what he called a lack of leadership on the environment.

Of course, diplomacy would be the preferred method of solving this crisis.

On another note, it seems nice to finally have a French president who has good feeling about America, even though he may disagree with us on some issues.

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Michael Yon has posted part two of “The Ghosts of Anbar.”

Another interesting read for those keeping up with the series. Great facts about conditions on the ground and terrific pictures again.

Just a snippet which I found to be very revealing.

Dealing with the press is just a reality, like the weather. We would never put a commander in the field who refused to make plans for fighting in the cold or heat. Although it’s just a reality, cold weather, for example, could destroy a unit overnight if they had not prepared for it. As with the weather, the press also influences the enemy. Cold weather freezes everyone’s toes; bad press stalls progress. In either instance, he who is better-suited and more adaptable has a supreme advantage. There was a time when many of our enemies in Iraq were beating us in the press, both their press and ours, but now that is changing.

“the press also influences the enemy.” Gee who would have known that all the negativity spewed here at home was helpful to those who want to kill us? I hope Michael is right and that things are changing..for now I will continue to read and listen to those in theatre.

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