Jackson Five Reunite in 2009

Article from the Hollywood Reporter:

By Pip Bulbeck

SYDNEY -- The Jackson 5 are to reunite, eldest brother Jermaine Jackson confirmed Wednesday (October 29) at a TV industry function here.

Jackson is in Australia to help launch a new "greatest hits" TV channel for paynet Foxtel and confirmed the rumors at the event."This has been a long time coming for the Jackson family to get back together,'' he told the Australian Associated Press."It is just the timing, so what we've been doing is working on the music and all the logistics. It is going to be more like a family affair, Janet's going to open and, of course, the original Jackson 5 ... Michael, Randy and the whole family ... we're in the studio, we're planning on being out there next year.''

Jennifer Hudson identifies body of her 7-year old nephew Julian King

Story below from the Chicago Sun-Times
http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/1244017,jennfier-hudson-case-body-child-found-102708.article

October 28, 2008

By ANNIE SWEENEY, KARA SPAK AND MAUREEN O'DONNELL Staff Reporters
Holding on to each other, overcome by emotion, Oscar-winning actress Jennifer Hudson and six relatives viewed a closed-circuit TV screen at the morgue Monday afternoon and identified a small boy as Hudson’s 7-year-old nephew Julian King.

The identification came from Hudson. “She said, ‘Yes, that is him,’ according to Sean Howard, a spokesman for the Cook County medical examiner’s office. “Jennifer Hudson was incredbly strong for her family, she was leader in that group and kept her composure.

“She felt like the Lord and saviour Jesus Christ was going to get her through that,” Howard added. “Those were her words.”

Julian’s mother was not there, he said.

The boy had been missing since Hudson's mother and brother were found shot to death Friday in their Englewood home. Monday morning, a howling dog alerted neighbors in the 1300 block of South Kolin to a white Chevrolet Suburban, where police found Julian’s body on the floor of the back seat.

He had been shot at least once in the head, and he was wearing basketball shorts and a white T shirt, sources said. Police believe the boy was shot to death inside the Suburban.

The Suburban was taken to the Area 5 police headquarters, which has a garage where vehicles used in a major crime can be minutely inspected, sources said. A team of FBI forensics specialists were called to Area 5 for assistance, one source said.

Julian was missing when the bodies of Darnell Donerson and Jason Hudson were found shot to death in their home in the 7000 block of South Yale Avenue. Jennifer Hudson had identified their bodies Saturday morning.

The boy's stepfather, William Balfour, remains the primary suspect in the murders, police sources say. He is the estranged husband of Julia Hudson, who lived in the home with her brother Jason, 29, and mother, Darnell Donerson, 57. Julia Hudson is Julian's mother and the sister of Jennifer Hudson.

Balfour was taken into custody at a girlfriend's home hours after the bodies were found. Sources say the girlfriend contradicted his alibi. Police say they’ve also caught him in at least one other lie. Police were able to track his whereabouts Friday through cell phone records, sources said.

A neighbor on the block where Balfour was arrested remembers seeing a man he believes to be Balfour drive up in a white SUV and park on the block around noon — at least three hours after the slaying.

The resident said the driver first reached into the glove compartment, and then got out of the car carrying what appeared to be a bottle of liquor. He saw the man walk into the home where Balfour was arrested later in the day.

The driver was wearing a white hooded sweatshirt and was looking over his shoulder as he walked down the block. The driver spent about 10 minutes inside the house. “He was acting suspicious.. . He (the boy) had to be in the car. I figure he had to be. I wished I had known.”
The Suburban pulled up on the block hours before the bodies were discovered, said the man, who has lived on the block 30 years.

Residents of the house where Balfour was arrested said officers rushed the house Friday evening, and Balfour was arrested in the backyard.

Balfour and Julia Hudson had been at the Yale home much earlier Friday and may have argued, police have been told. A family friend said Balfour had made threats against the family and Julian. Balfour’s mother has denied Balfour was at the home that day.

Balfour is being held for violating his parole on a 1999 conviction for attempted murder and vehicular hijacking, authorities said. He served nearly seven years in prison.

Balfour, 27, is considered a parole violator for being named a person of interest in the murders, said Januari Smith of the Illinois Department of Corrections. Parole for Balfour — whose friends call him "Flex'' — was to end in May 2009.

Sources said police were hoping to find the body before charging him. Some officers searched for the boy on their own time over the weekend.

Jennifer Hudson and her family had offered $100,000 for the boy's safe return, and her MySpace page had appealed for clues in the double-murder. Amber Alert signs blazed on Chicago highways asking people to watch for the boy.

After an intensive weekend search, police were called around 7 a.m. Monday after a couple’s dog kept barking near the Suburban at 1313 S. Kolin Ave.

The couple who reported the car, John and Lynette Louden said they were watching news on television Monday morning and Lynette wrote down the license plate of the SUV. The couple first noticed the white Suburban on Saturday morning.

John Louden was taking their chihuahua, Lil’ Man, out for a walk when the dog started barking unusually at the vehicle. “He has a very keen nose,’’ John Louden said.

He compared the license plate number to the one he had scribbed down from the news.
"When he came back in, he said, ‘It’s a match.’ I said, ‘Oh, God. I hope that child is not in there,'" Lynette Louden said.

“I came back in the house and told my wife to call 911,’’ John Louden said. Lynette Louden said police arrived in “two minutes.’’

Both are fans of Jennifer Hudson. Lynette Louden saw Hudson’s latest film, “The Secret Life of Bees,’’ on Friday night and expressed sympathy to Hudson’s family.

Meanwhile, a makeshift shrine to the boy was quicly erected on an apartment building near where the SUV was found. That shrine included balloons, newspaper pictures of child, and messages, including “RIP Julian” and “May God bless you and your family.’’

Jennifer Hudson flew to Chicago to help identify the bodies and was in seclusion over the weekend.

A standout singer at church and Dunbar Vocational High School, Hudson triumphed over rejection on "American Idol" and won an Academy Award for her role as Effie in the movie "Dreamgirls."

Los Angeles Times cancels American Jazz; keeps European Classical reviews

October 27, 2008

Commentary by Don Heckman - Jazz reviewer for the L.A. Times for over 20 years

When I attended the Thelonious Monk Jazz Competition events this past weekend, I ran into many friends from the jazz community. Since the Competition is an international event, there were folks from L.A. , as well as many other parts of the coutnry and the world.

Every one asked me about the diminishing presence of jazz coverage in the Los Angeles Times. Knowing that I have been covering jazz, and other musics, at the paper for more than twenty years — as the principal jazz critic and jazz writer since Leonard Feather died in 1994 — they all expressed concern about whether they would continue to read my commentaries in the LAT.

Today I’ve received a flurry of emails, as well as copies of letters sent to the Times expressing concern over the cutback in jazz coverage. Some have distorted or misunderstood the situation, as I discussed it with my friends and colleagues at the Monk gathering. So I thought it would be useful to simply explain what I know about it.

The reduction in jazz coverage at the Times actually began 7 or 8 years ago when jazz was moved into the Pop Music area. Prior to that I frequently did three or four reviews a week, as well as a Sunday record review column and a Friday Jazz column. Under Pop Music, the coverage was reduced to two reviews a week, the Sundy jazz record review section to once a month, and the Friday column was discontinued.

Several months ago, a new editor took over the reins of the pop music department from the acting editor. I was told, almost immediately, by her that jazz reviews would be reduced in number, and would essentially have to be pitched to her for approval That represented an immediate and significant change, since — as one who is deeply aware of developments in jazz, here and elsewhere — I had generally done my own scheduling of reviews, with oversight from the acting editor. In addition, the Sunday jazz record review spotlight disappeared.

In scheduling my reviews — of both live concerts and recordings — I tried to balance the major name programs with as much coverage as possible for the Southland’s huge array of world class jazz talent. That approach became virtually impossible when the reviews were cut back to one a week. Within a month or two, they were cut to one every ten days. After that it became a matter of submitting events I thought were important, and hoping that coverage would be permitted. It usually wasn’t.

About two or more months ago, I was advised by that the free lance budget for Pop had run out for the year, and that I should contact my editor in late December to consider what could be covered when the new budget came into effect in January. Basically that meant that I could do no reviews for the last 3 1/2 months of the year.

Let me add a little background here. Despite my 22 years and over 5,000 bylined reviews, articles and stories in the LA Times, I am still nominally a free-lancer, since I’ve always refused offers to go on staff. What this means, of course, is that — if there is no free-lance budget — a staff writer could be assigned to cover jazz reviews, despite the fact that there is no one on the staff who is qualified to do so.

Starting about a month ago, I began emailing my editor, pointing out that — if there if only one jazz event could be covered before the end of the year, it should be the Monk Competition event at the Kodak this past weekend. My request was refused several times. I informed the Monk folks of the situation, and they began to contact my editor to urge coverage. Eventually, she apparently agreed to do so, assigning a staff writer to do the review. It will appear in the paper tomorrow.

It may well be that the letters that are being sent to the LAT, expressing concern about the reduction of jazz coverage, will be responded to with some minimal coverage of jazz by staff writers with little knowledge of the music. And tomorrow’s review of the Monk event will no doubt be cited as evidence of the paper’s continuing interest in jazz. This, despite the fact that it will be the first jazz review in the paper since August 1.

But I can only wonder why the Music department seems to have a budget to employ a free-lance reviewer one or two times a week to write about European classical music, while similar funds cannot be allocated to the Pop department to allow me to continue the coverage — however modest in numbers it may have to be — that jazz needs and deserves.

I have no inside source of information at the paper, although it’s apparent to everyone that the problems seem to be multiplying rather than diminishing. My real concern is for the knowledgable representation of the music that is America ’s greatest cultural achievement.

Body of child found on Chicago's West Side may be Julian King

Article from the Chicago Sun-Times:

October 27, 2008
BY ANNIE SWEENEY AND ROSE SOBOL Staff Reporters

A howling dog alerted neighbors this morning to a white Chevrolet Suburban where police found the body of a young boy who may be the 7-year-old nephew of Oscar-winning actress Jennifer Hudson.

The boy was found on the floor in the back seat of the SUV, which had been missing since Hudson's mother and brother were found shot to death Friday. He was shot twice in the head, and was wearing basketball shorts and a white T shirt, sources said. Police believe the boy was shot to death inside the Suburban.

The medical examiner’s office was trying to determine if the body was Hudson’s nephew, Julian King, but an Amber Alert for the boy and the Suburban has been cancelled.

The Suburban was taken to the Area 5 police headquarters, which has a garage where vehicles used in a major crime can be minutely inspected, sources said. A team of FBI forensics specialists were called to Area 5 for assistance, one source said.

Julian was missing when the bodies of Hudson's mother and brother — Darnell Donerson and Jason Hudson — were found shot to death in their home in the 7000 block of South Yale
Avenue.

The boy's stepfather, William Balfour, remains the primary suspect in the murders, police sources say. He is the estranged husband of Julia Hudson, who lived in the home with her brother Jason, 29, and mother, Darnell Donerson, 57. Julia Hudson is Julian's mother and the sister of Jennifer Hudson.

Balfour was taken into custody at a girlfriend's home hours after the bodies were found. Sources say the girlfriend contradicted his alibi. Police say they’ve also caught him in at least one other lie. Police were able to track his whereabouts Friday through cell phone records, sources said.
A neighbor on the block where Balfour was arrested remembers seeing a man he believes to be Balfour drive up in a white SUV and park on the block around noon — at least three hours after the slaying.

The resident said the driver first reached into the glove compartment, and then got out of the car carrying what appeared to be a bottle of liquor. He saw the man walk into the home where Balfour was arrested later in the day.

The driver was wearing a white hooded sweatshirt and was looking over his shoulder as he walked down the block. The driver spent about 10 minutes inside the house. “He was acting suspicious.. . He (the boy) had to be in the car. I figure he had to be. I wished I had known.”
The Suburban pulled up on the block hours before the bodies were discovered, said the man, who has lived on the block 30 years.

Residents of the house where Balfour was arrested said officers rushed the house Friday evening, and Balfour was arrested in the backyard.

Balfour and Julia Hudson had been at the Yale home much earlier Friday and may have argued, police have been told. A family friend said Balfour had made threats against the family and Julian. Balfour’s mother has denied Balfour was at the home that day.

Balfour is being held for violating his parole on a 1999 conviction for attempted murder and vehicular hijacking, authorities said. He served nearly seven years in prison.

Balfour, 27, is considered a parole violator for being named a person of interest in the murders, said Januari Smith of the Illinois Department of Corrections. Parole for Balfour — whose friends call him "Flex'' — was to end in May 2009.

Sources said police were hoping to find the body before charging him. Some officers searched for the boy on their own time over the weekend.

Jennifer Hudson and her family had offered $100,000 for the boy's safe return, and her MySpace page had appealed for clues in the double-murder. Amber Alert signs blazed on Chicago highways asking people to watch for the boy.

After an intensive weekend search, police were called around 7 a.m. today after a couple’s dog kept barking near the Suburban at 1313 S. Kolin Ave.

The couple who reported the car, John and Lynette Louden said they were watching news on television this morning and Lynette wrote down the license plate of the SUV. The couple first noticed the white Suburban on Saturday morning.

John Louden was taking their chihuahua, Lil’ Man, out for a walk when the dog started barking unusually at the vehicle. “He has a very keen nose,’’ John Louden said.

He compared the license plate number to the one he had scribbed down from the news.

“When he came back in, he said, ‘It’s a match.’ I said, ‘Oh, God. I hope that child is not in there,’ ’’ Lynette Louden said.

“I came back in the house and told my wife to call 911,’’ John Louden said. Lynette Louden said police arrived in “two minutes.’’

Both are fans of Jennifer Hudson. Lynette Louden saw Hudson’s latest film, “The Secret of Bees,’’ on Friday night and expressed sympathy to Hudson’s family.

Meanwhile, a makeshift shrine to the boy was quicly erected on an apartment building near where the SUV was found. That shrine included balloons, newspaper pictures of child, and messages, including “RIP Julian” and “May God bless you and your family.’’

Jennifer Hudson flew to Chicago to help identify the bodies and was in seclusion over the weekend.

A standout singer at church and Dunbar Vocational High School, Hudson triumphed over rejection on "American Idol" and won an Academy Award for her role as Effie in the movie "Dreamgirls."

Pray for singer Jennifer Hudson and nephew Julian King

Chicago Sun-Times article:



Suspect in slaying of Hudson's relatives in custody



October 25, 2008


BY ANNIE SWEENEY, STEFANO ESPOSITO, MARY WISNIEWSKIAND MONIFA THOMAS
The family of Chicago-born, Oscar-winning actress Jennifer Hudson is pleading for the safe return of her 7-year-old nephew, who has been missing since Hudson’s mother and brother were found dead in their Englewood home.


“All we’re doing is praying for the return of the little boy,” said John Buckner, 53, a first cousin of Darnell Donerson, the actress’ mother who was found slain in the 7000 block of South Yale Avenue Friday afternoon.



“That’s our prayer right now, that no harm comes his way.”


The man labeled a suspect by police in the slayings — the estranged husband of Jennifer Hudson’s sister — was in custody Saturday. No charges had been filed against William Balfour. His mother, Michele Davis Balfour, said he had nothing to do with the double homicide.


William Balfour’s stepson, Julian King, 7, has not been seen since the slayings. Chicago Police called in the help of the FBI in the search for the boy, Police Supt. Jody Weis said Saturday.


Enough time has passed that it’s a possibility the boy was taken across state lines, Weis said.


“When a certain amount of time passes, that’s why we would reach out to the FBI,” Weis said. “We’re going to use any resource we can to solve it.”


Autopsies on Donerson, 57, and Jason Hudson, 29, revealed they died from multiple gunshot wounds. At least one of the victims suffered defensive wounds.


Jennifer Hudson, a top-selling singer and accomplished actor who got her break on “American Idol,” flew from Florida to Chicago Friday night. She was taken to the Cook County morgue, where she identified the bodies of her mother and brother.


“Our prayers go out to her,” Mayor Daley said at a Northwest Side anti-violence march Saturday morning. “Jody Weis and the police department [are] working to make sure they get the offender.”


Buckner, a civilian employee with the Chicago Police Department, said his first cousin, Darnell, was a joy.


“She was a wonderful person,” he said. “A very sweet person. She’d open up her door to anyone, just about. That could have been a problem.”


Balfour has been married to another Donerson daughter, Julia Hudson, for about two years. They had lived together in the Yale Avenue home. But the couple has been having problems, were separated and were planning to divorce, family members said.


Julian is Julia Hudson's son. Balfour is his step-father. The boy was not with Balfour when police arrested him Friday night, leading to the continued search.


“He’s a happy-go-lucky kid, a spoiled little kid,” Buckner said with a laugh about Julian, explaining that because he’s Donerson’s only grandson, the entire family doted on him. “That’s why I’m so worried about him. He’s a little hard-headed in a way.”


Weis said police collected a large amount of forensic evidence from the Yale Avenue crime scene, and the evidence was being processed.


Still missing is a white SUV that police believe Balfour could have driven from the Hudson family home, several sources told the Chicago Sun-Times.


Chicago Police issued an alert identifying Balfour as a suspect hours after the slayings.


The alert said Balfour might be driving a white 1994 Chevrolet Suburban SUV with Illinois license plate X584859. The alert had said Julian could be with Balfour — but the boy remained missing after Balfour’s arrest.


Balfour was arrested late Friday after police tracked his whereabouts around the city, law enforcement sources told the Sun-Times.


“I’m not going to let them put my son down,” Balfour’s mother told reporters at the police station where her son was being questioned Friday night.


“My son had nothing to do with this . . . and I’m very upset with the police because they are refusing to let me see my son.”


Michele Davis Balfour also made a public plea to reporters at the Area 1 police station for the return of Julian.


“Please, I’m begging you to return [him],” she said.


Police think William Balfour was at the Donerson family home around 9 a.m. Friday, the time neighbors reported hearing gunshots, a source said. Police were then able to track him to the Near Southwest Side, where he was arrested, the source said.


According to his MySpace page, Balfour says he is married to Julia Hudson. Michele Davis Balfour said her son and Julia Hudson had been married about two years, but had problems as recently as two weeks ago.


He had not lived at the Yale Avenue address since May, his mother said.


On the Web site, Balfour also talks of having a stepson and wanting to “experience everything.’’


“I don’t tolerate bull- - - -,’’ he wrote. “So don’t come to me with it.’’


Balfour, 27, was paroled in 2006 after convictions for attempted murder, vehicular hijacking and receiving stolen property, state records show.


Donerson and Jason Hudson were found at about 3 p.m. in their home, police said. Donerson was on the living room floor. Jason Hudson was found in a bedroom.


The door to the house was unlocked, and there were no immediate signs of a robbery, police said.


Jennifer Hudson’s publicist said that the actress would not make any statement Friday. “The family has asked that their privacy be respected at this difficult time.’’


Jason Hudson had been living at the family home after being shot about two years ago during a home invasion at a suburban home, Buckner said. Jason Hudson was shot in the leg, and had been recovering.


“He was more or less a happy individual, trying to get his life straitened out,” Buckner said. “We nearly lost him a couple years ago.”


The news of the double slaying shocked the close-knit family, said their pastor.


“These are such difficult times,’’ said the Rev. Willie R. Davis, of the Progressive Baptist Church. “To lose a mother and a brother at one time — and then to lose them under these circumstances would be difficult for anyone. We just have to wait until the opportunity permits that we can sit down with them and have prayer. Jennifer is a very strong lady. She is deep-rooted in her faith. We know that through it all, she will get through.”


Cook County property records show the home where they were found is owned by Donerson.


Friends and neighbors said Jason Hudson was a fun-loving person who liked to barbecue, play dominoes and always had the latest video games.


Donerson was more soft-spoken. But she “always made you feel like family,” said Joseph Sardin, a childhood friend of Jason Hudson.


The tragedy comes as Jennifer Hudson continues to reach new heights in her career. Her song ‘‘Spotlight’’ is No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot R&B/Hip-Hop charts and her recently released, self-tiled debut album has been a top seller. She was featured in this year’s blockbuster ‘‘Sex and the City’’ movie and is also starring in the hit film ‘‘The Secret Life of Bees.’’


She won an Academy Award for best supporting actress in 2007 for her role in ‘‘Dreamgirls.’’ In an interview last year with Vogue, Hudson credited her mother with encouraging her to audition for ‘‘American Idol,’’ which launched her career.


The singer, whose father died when she was a teenager, described herself as very close to her family. In a recent AP interview she said her family, which includes older siblings Julia and Jason, helped keep her grounded.


‘‘My faith in God and my family, they’re very realistic and very normal, they’re not into the whole limelight kind of thing, so when I go home to Chicago that’s just another place that’s home,’’ she said. ‘‘I stand in line with everybody else, or, when I go home to my mom I’m just Jennifer, [so she says], ‘You get up and you take care of your own stuff.’ And I love that; I don’t like when people tell you everything you want to hear, I want to hear the truth, you know what I mean.’’


Hudson recently announced her engagement to David Otunga, best known for his stint on VH1’s reality show ‘‘I Love New York.’’


Contributing: Frank Main, AP

Sen. John McCain violates Campaign Finance Laws

For Immediate Release

October 25, 2008
Contact: Karen Finney - 202-863-8148

DNC Files FEC Complaint Over McCain Campaign's Missing, Excessive and Anonymous Donors

Complaint Cites McCain Campaign's History of Serious Violations of Campaign Finance Laws

Washington, DC - The Democratic National Committee today announced that it will file a complaint with the Federal Election Commission on Monday morning to request a thorough investigation of the McCain campaign's most recent attempt to skirt campaign finance laws. According to the complaint, an analysis of the information provided by the McCain Campaign on its website shows that the campaign received 6,653 contributions that were at least $1,000 in excess of legal limit of $2,300--including one donor who contributed $56,047. The McCain Campaign website also lists 23 anonymous contributions in excess of fifty dollars, despite the legal requirement to maintain the name and address of each contributor any amount in excess of $50, and dozens of additional donors who provided incomplete information.

The complaint also cites the McCain campaign's pattern of ignoring federal election laws including violating the Presidential Matching Payment Account Act, the campaign's refund of approximately $50,000 in donations solicited by a foreign national, its continuing pattern of soliciting foreign nationals including the Russian Ambassador to the U.N and the FEC's September 30 request for additional information on numerous excessive contributions.

"The McCain campaign's lack of disclosure and disregard for the law he helped write raises serious questions about John McCain's commitment to the openness and transparency the voters expect from their leaders," said DNC General Counsel Joe Sandler. "In view of the McCain campaign's clear history of violating campaign finance laws, it is imperative that the Commission promptly conduct a thorough investigation of these violations; and a full audit of all of the McCain Campaign's contributions."

The full complaint and exhibits can be download below:
http://s3.amazonaws.com/apache.3cdn.net/bf828234af9698c95d_j6m6vge2a.pdf

Senator Barack Obama selects Chicago's Grant Park for Election Night

CBS2chicago.com report....



Election Night In Grant Park: Construction Begins. City Vows To Bill Obama Campaign For Estimated $2 Million In Costs Associated With Outdoor Bash



http://cbs2chicago.com/local/obama.event.grant.2.846677.html



CHICAGO (CBS) ― Election Day is less than two weeks away, and Chicago could be home to the biggest political party in the country. Construction is underway for a massive stage in Grant Park where Barack Obama could declare victory on election night.



As CBS 2's Joanie Lum and Political Editor Mike Flannery report, tens of thousands are expected to gather before the stage on election night. One way or another, that huge crowd will witness history.



The city announced Thursday that the total estimated costs for securing Grant Park, surrounding buildings, streets and manhole covers and adding extra security on buses will be $2 million. The Obama campaign will be billed in full for the costs.



When asked whether he considered rejecting the outdoor rally, Mayor Daley said, "Could you see me saying no to Sen. Obama? Give me a break. I'm not that dumb."



The Obama campaign earlier promised that Chicago taxpayers will not have to foot the bill for police, fire and medical services that will be required for election night. Nov. 5, 1996, was actually the last election night when both major party candidates spoke publicly. In the close elections of 2000 and 2004, that did not happen. But this year, that may change, and preparations to accommodate a big crowd in Grant Park are already underway.



A lot of work remains on platforms for speakers, risers for cameras and security barricades. Earlier Wednesday, construction crews at the south end of Grant Park were assembling what they said would hold a giant video screen for the election night gathering.



No one really knows how many people will come to the lakefront's Grant Park on Nov. 4. Weather will likely play a role. It was warm and sunny a few days ago in St. Louis when Barack Obama drew an estimated 100,000 to the banks of the Mississippi River.



Chicago's mass transit system is one key to moving massive numbers in and out of the lakefront park. Grant Park is used to giant gatherings from the annual Lollapalooza music festival and the Taste of Chicago to rallies for Michael Jordan's old Chicago Bulls in the 1990s. What may have been the largest crowd in the city's history -- at least 350,000 -- gathered in the park to watch Pope John Paul II celebrate a Catholic mass in October 1979.



Deputies to Mayor Richard M. Daley have been planning for the potentially huge event for more than a month. "



That's what we're talking about…it's all about safety," Mayor Daley said.



The mayor said only that on Wednesday.



Others said he's concerned about security and about not sticking taxpayers for what may be millions of dollars in extra costs.



Daley's press secretary Jacqueline Heard told CBS 2 News the Office of Emergency Management has been meeting with the Obama campaign.



"We are demanding payment guarantees from the Obama campaign up front," Heard said. "Taxpayers cannot be asked to pay for a political party. We will bill the Obama campaign for city services needed. We may apply for Homeland Security money to pay for police and fire costs."



Officials said the senator from the Hyde Park neighborhood has already agreed to pay substantial, but so far undisclosed, amounts for security, emergency medical services and for cleaning up after the election.



Security would include perimeter fences, street closures and metal detectors, as have been seen at Grant Park in the past. But because Obama has requested more security, Secret Service agents would also be present, and snipers would be posted on buildings nearby.



Obama is also charging hefty fees for TV stations to get the better camera spots. But they maintain they won't make any profit by the event, hoping just to break even.



"There'll be a vast grassy area where the public and the news media can watch Barack Obama for free," said Obama spokesman Justin DeJong.



Again, that is assuming that Obama has anything to say publicly. The outdoor nomination ceremony at the Democratic Convention in Denver was produced by filmmaker Steven Spielberg. There is no word on who is going to create the Grant Park stage.



CBS 2 Political Editor Mike Flannery and Joanie Lum contributed to this report.

Southern African-Americans dominate early voting

AP picture - Charlotte, North Carolina

Why Vote? View Powerpoint presentation linked directly below:

C:\Documents and Settings\ktanter\My Documents\ktanter\Vote Powerpoint

AP Story

Black turnout is strong in early voting in South
By MIKE BAKER Associated Press Writer

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) -- Blacks are already surging to the polls in parts of the South, according to initial figures from states that encourage early voting - a striking though still preliminary sign of how strongly they will turn out nationwide for Barack Obama in his campaign to become the first African-American president.

There have been predictions all year of a record black turnout for Obama. The first actual figures suggest that wasn't just talk:
- In North Carolina, blacks make up 31 percent of early voters so far, even though they're just 21 percent of the population and made up only 19 percent of state's overall 2004 vote.
- Roughly 36 percent of the early voters are black in Georgia, outpacing their 30 percent proportion of the state's population and their 25 percent share of the 2004 vote.

No one but the voters can be sure how they voted. And John McCain's campaign officials note that the Obama camp has put much more effort than they have into early voting. But the numbers are still notable.

Democrats are outvoting the GOP by a margin of 2.5-to-1 in North Carolina, where early voting has been under way for a week. That's roughly double the margin from 2004.

More than 210,000 blacks who are registered as Democrats have cast early ballots in the Tar Heel State - compared with roughly 174,000 registered Republicans overall. Four years ago, the number of GOP early and absentee voters was more than double that of black Democrats.

"It's a sign about how energized African-Americans are about this election," says David Bositis, who tracks black voting trends at the Washington-based Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies.

In Louisiana, more than 31 percent of the early voters are black, and Democrats are topping Republicans nearly 2-to-1. In the crucial battleground state of Florida, nearly 55 percent of early voters are registered Democrats - well above their 41 percent share of the electorate in the Sunshine State.

Virginia, another Southern state that usually votes Republican - but where Obama is doing well in opinion polls - does not track voter registrations by race or party. But some of the largest increases in registrations this year were in Democratic-leaning cities with large minority populations.

Absentee voting - as the name suggests - was originally designed for people who couldn't make it to the polls on Election Day. But this year, more than 30 states allow any registered voter to cast an early ballot, and many election officials are encouraging voters to do so to ease the strain on Nov. 4. About a third of voters nationwide are expected to cast their ballots before Election Day
Obama's campaign has focused heavily on turning out those voters, using advertising and campaign events. That's the message the Illinois senator brought to North Carolina during his last stop, when he addressed a predominantly black crowd in Fayetteville.

"We want to get as many votes in as possible as early as possible," he said.

Louise Boyd, a 61-year-old Charlotte retiree, voted early this year and then returned to wait in line two days later with her sister, Nyata Frazier. Boyd, who is black, said she expected a very large turnout from watching rallies and noting the historic nature of voting for a black presidential candidate.

"I had a little more pride," she said. "It shows how vastly the U.S. has changed."

The surge in black voters follows a similar trend this year in voter registration. In the five states that track voter registration by race, blacks signed up to vote at twice the rate of whites in the six months through September.

The question then was would those newly registered voters turn out to vote, and now there are signs that they will. In Georgia, 230,000 more people have cast early ballots than voted absentee in 2004.

Many of those early voters have come from metro Atlanta counties, including heavily Democratic Fulton and DeKalb.

In Marietta, just north of Atlanta, poll workers were warning arriving voters of waits up to four hours on Thursday. Many were not deterred.

"Take off work, get in line and just expect a long wait," said Kristy White, 30. "Bring a book if you have to."

Georgia election officials expect 1.4 million people to vote early this year - more than double the total from four years ago.

It's the same in North Carolina, where State Board of Elections Director Gary Bartlett said two months ago he told senior staff members that mail-in and in-person early voting could reach 2 million ballots. Bartlett said his colleagues thought he was a little crazy.

But based on results so far - more than 735,000 people had voted early as of early Thursday - "it looks like that we're going to be pretty close to that."

"We're seeing historic numbers with a historic election year," Bartlett said. "I'm very proud to be a part of that historical process."

The Voting Rights Act of 1965 requires several Southern states to report racial breakdowns among voters, an effort designed to prevent discrimination. But North Carolina, Georgia and Louisiana are the only ones reporting that information as early voting is proceeding.
"We believe in transparency," Bartlett said.

North Carolina has long had more registered Democrats than Republicans but hasn't voted for a Democratic presidential candidate since 1976. President Bush won the state by 12 percentage points four years ago. Bush beat John Kerry by 17 points in Georgia, a state that last voted Democratic in 1992.

This year's trends are daunting for McCain, the Republican nominee. Polls out this week favor Obama in both North Carolina and Florida.

Last year, Obama said his place on the Democratic ticket would boost African-American turnout by 30 percent - potentially opening up Southern states that his party hadn't won in more than a generation. But Obama campaign officials now play down the prospect that his place as the first black to top a major party ticket would sway enough voters to win the presidency.

"I don't think we should talk only about race. There are so many other factors - age, geography," said spokeswoman Carolina Adelman. "This campaign's not about race, it's about bringing people together."

Republicans also caution it would be a mistake to read too much into the early totals. McCain spokesman Mario Diaz said the GOP will benefit from high turnout on Election Day, and he noted the party has focused less on early voting than Obama.

"We anticipate the support to only intensify by Election Day," he said.

Senator John McCain's African-American relatives speak out

Pictured above: Lillie McCain, Joe McCain, and Lillie's husband Jack Vickers during 2008 Family Reunion

SOME OF MCCAIN'S BLACK RELATIVES SUPPORT OBAMA

BY ELGIN JONES/SOUTH FLORIDA TIMES (Story in the 10-24-2008 issue)

In the rural Teoc community of Carroll County, Miss., where the ancestors of Sen. John McCain owned enslaved Africans on a plantation, black, white and mixed-race family members unite every two years for their Coming Home Reunion, on the land where the plantation operated.
Some of McCain’s black family members say they are not sure exactly where they fall on the family tree, but they do know this: They are either descendants of the McCain family slaves, or of children the McCains fathered with their slaves.

White and black members of the McCain family have met on the plantation several times over the last 15 years, but one invited guest has been conspicuously absent: Sen. John Sidney McCain.
“Why he hasn’t come is anybody’s guess,” said Charles McCain Jr., 60, a distant cousin of John McCain, who is black. “I think the best I can come up with, is that he doesn’t have time, or he has just distanced himself, or it doesn’t mean that much to him.”

Other relatives are not as generous.

Lillie McCain, 56, another distant cousin of John McCain who is black, said the Republican presidential nominee is trying to hide his past, and refuses to accept the family’s history.
“After hearing him in 2000 claim his family never owned slaves, I sent him an email,” she recalled. “I told him no matter how much he denies it, it will not make it untrue, and he should accept this and embrace it.”

She said the senator never responded to her email.

Although Charles is uncertain who will get his vote for president, several of John McCain’s black and white relatives are supporting his Democratic rival, Sen. Barack Obama. “I am absolutely supporting Obama, and it’s not because he’s black. It’s because he is the best person at this time in our history,” said Lillie McCain, a professor of psychology at Mott Community College in Flint, Michigan.

“We simply need to look at the economy, and McCain’s campaign does not take us there,” said Joyce McCain, Lillie’s sister, a retired engineering manager with General Motors who lives in Grand Blanc, Michigan. “He is my cousin, but we are in dire times right now and people are hurting. Sen. Obama is clearly the best choice to be president.’’

Charles McCain and his wife, Theresa, who still live in Teoc, started the reunions over a decade ago. Charles is the deacon of Mitchell Springs Baptist Church, the only black house of worship in the area.

When Theresa McCain started the family reunions in the late 1980s or early ‘90s (neither he nor his wife is sure of the exact starting date), only black family members attended. But as word spread about the gatherings, white members of the McCain family got involved. Today, the reunion has expanded to the point where it is becoming a community event.

The reunion’s website, teocfamilyreunion.ning.com, has pictures, postings and other information about the family gatherings. While Sen. McCain’s brother, Joe, and many of his other white relatives attend the reunions, family members say Sen. McCain has never acknowledged them, or even responded to their invitations.

“Well, a lot of the people who had moved away and were living up north, would send money to help us maintain the church,” said Theresa McCain, 62. “Myself and others began inviting them back home for picnics, just to show our appreciation.”

The McCain campaign did not respond to repeated questions about John McCain’s black relatives, or about his relatives of both races who support Obama. Pablo Carrillo, a media liaison with the McCain campaign, said the senator was aware of his African-American relatives, but asked the reporter to put his questions into writing, and that someone would get back to him.
After the reporter sent questions in writing, and made repeated follow-up phone calls, neither Sen. McCain nor anyone else from the campaign responded.

Based on information obtained by the South Florida Times, the senator has numerous black and mixed-raced relatives who were born on, or in, the area of the McCain plantation. The mixed races in the family can be traced back to the rural Teoc community of Carroll County, Miss., where his family owned slaves.

Sen. John McCain’s great, great grandfather, William Alexander McCain (1812-1863), fought for the Confederacy and owned a 2,000-acre plantation named Waverly in Teoc. The family dealt in the slave trade, and, according to official records, held at least 52 slaves on the family’s plantation. The enslaved Africans were likely used as servants, for labor, and for breeding more slaves.

William McCain’s son, and Sen. John McCain’s great grandfather, John Sidney McCain (1851-1934), eventually assumed the duty of running the family’s plantation.

W.A. “Bill” McCain IV, a white McCain cousin, and his wife Edwina, are the current owners of the land. Both told the South Florida Times that they attend the reunions. They also said the McCain campaign had asked them not to speak to the media about the reunions, or about why the senator has never acknowledged the family gatherings.

In addition to distancing himself from his black family members, John McCain has taken several positions on issues that have put him at odds with members of the larger black community.
While running for the Republican Party nomination in 2000, he sided with protesters who were calling for the rebel battle flag to be removed from the South Carolina statehouse, only to alter that position later.

"Some view it as a symbol of slavery. Others view it as a symbol of heritage,” John McCain said of the flag. "Personally, I see the battle flag as a symbol of heritage. I have ancestors who have fought for the Confederacy, none of whom owned slaves. I believe they fought honorably.’’
Novelist Elizabeth Spencer, another white cousin of John McCain, noted the slaves the family owned in the family’s memoirs, Landscapes of the Heart. Sen. McCain has acknowledged reading the book, but claims to have only glossed over entries about their slaves.

“That’s crazy,” said Spencer, who also attends the reunions in Teoc. “No one had to tell us, because we all knew about the slaves. I may not vote, because I don’t want anyone to think that I have an issue with John, but I don’t want to see him become president because I think Obama is entirely adequate, and it’s time for a Democrat.’’

Spencer acknowledged donating money to the Obama campaign and to what she called “Democratic causes.”

Sen. John McCain was born in 1936 at the Coco Solo Naval Air Station, a segregated military installation in the Panama Canal, where his father was stationed in the U.S. Navy. His family returned to the states shortly after his birth; where he went on to attend segregated schools in the Teoc community and elsewhere around the country.

He served in the Navy, where he was a prisoner of war during Vietnam, before being released and eventually running for Congress.

After he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1982, McCain voted against the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. national holiday in 1983. When he arrived in the U.S. Senate in 1986, he joined North Carolina Sen. Jesse Helms in opposing the holiday again, and voted in 1994 to cut funding to the commission that marketed it.

John McCain also aligned himself with former Arizona Gov. Evan Mecham. Mecham was the governor in McCain’s home state of Arizona from January 1987 to April 1988, when he was impeached and removed from office for campaign finance violations. As a state senator and governor, Mecham publicly used racial slurs against black people and other minorities. He was also a member of the John Birch Society, which opposes civil rights legislation. In 1986, Mecham campaigned for governor on a promise to rescind the state’s recognition of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, which he did in 1987.

Earlier this year, during the 40th anniversary recognition of King’s assassination, McCain, by this time a presidential candidate, said he was wrong for opposing the national King holiday.
Politics in America has long been steeped in the dynamics of the country’s myriad cultures, diverse ethnicities, and varying religious beliefs. Several of Sen. McCain’s black relatives say Obama’s candidacy represents progress.“He is denying his black and white relatives in Teoc,” said Joyce McCain, 54,. “I think he may not want the country to know his family’s full history, but times have changed and we need to move on, and that’s why I’m supporting Obama.”

Powell endorses Senator Obama for President

General Colin Powell
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/27265490#27265490

Picture, article, and video link are from NBC's Meet the Press -- 10-19-2008 --

HOST OF NBC's MEET THE PRESS TOM BROKAW: General Colin Powell, welcome back to Meet the Press.

FORMER SECRETARY OF STATE GENERAL COLIN POWELL: Thank, thank you, Tom.

MR. BROKAW: There is a lot of anticipation and speculation about your take on this presidential campaign. We'll get to that in a moment. But in your old business we might call this a tour of the horizon. Whoever's elected president of the United States, that first day in the Oval Office on January 21st will face this: an American economy that's in a near paralytic state at this time; we're at war in two different countries, Afghanistan and Iraq; we have an energy crisis; we have big decisions to make about health care and about global climate change. The president of the United States and the Congress of the United States now have the highest disapproval ratings that we have seen in many years. In all your years of public service, have you ever seen an incoming president face such daunting challenges?

GEN. POWELL: No. I have seen more difficult times in our history. I think about the early '70s when we were going through Watergate, Spiro Agnew, Nixon period, that was not a good time. But right now we're also facing a very daunting period. And I think the number one issue the president's going to have to deal with is the economy. That's what the American people are worried about. And, frankly, it's not just an American problem, it's an international problem. We can see how all of these economies are now linked in this globalized system. And I think that'll be number one. The president will also have to make decisions quickly as to how to deal with Iraq and Afghanistan. And also I think the president has to reach out to the world and show that there is a new president, a new administration that is looking forward to working with our friends and allies. And in my judgment, also willing to talk to people who we have not been willing to talk to before. Because this is a time for outreach.

MR. BROKAW: Given the state of the American economy, can we continue our military commitments around the world at the level that they now exist?

GEN. POWELL: We can. I think we have to look as to whether they have to be at that level. But we have the wealth, we have the wherewithal to do that. (Clears throat) Excuse me, Tom. We have the ability to do that. And so, first and foremost, we have to review those commitments, see what they are, see what else is needed, and make sure we give our troops what they need to get the job done as we have defined the job. We have that ability.

MR. BROKAW: If you were called into the Oval Office on January 21st by the new president, whoever it happens to be, and he said to you, "General Powell, I need from you your recommendation on where I begin. What should be my priorities?" Where would you start?

GEN. POWELL: I would start with talking to the American people and talking to the world, and conveying a new image of American leadership, a new image of America's role in the world.
The problems will always be there, and there's going to be a crisis come along in the 21st or 22nd of January that we don't even know about right now. And so I think what the president has to do is to start using the power of the Oval Office and the power of his personality to convince the American people and to convince the world that America is solid, America is going to move forward, and we're going to fix our economic problems, we're going to meet our overseas obligations. But restoring a sense of purpose, a sense of confidence in the American people and, in the international community, in America.

MR. BROKAW: What's not on the screen right now that concerns you that should be more prominent in the minds of the American people and the people running for president?

GEN. POWELL: I think the American people and the gentlemen running for president will have to, early on, focus on education more than we have seen in the campaign so far. America has a terrible educational problem in the sense that we have too many youngsters not finishing school. A third of our kids don't finish high school, 50 percent of minorities don't finish high school. We've got to work on this, and my, my wife and I are leading a campaign with this purpose.
Also, I think, the new president has to realize that the world looks to America for leadership, and so we have to show leadership on some issues that the world is expecting us to, whether it's energy, global warming and the environment. And I think we have to do a lot more with respect to poverty alleviation and helping the needy people of the world. We need to increase the amount of resources we put into our development programs to help the rest of the world. Because when you help the poorest in the world, you start to move them up an economic and social ladder, and they're not going to be moving toward violence or terrorism of the kind that we worry about.

MR. BROKAW: Well, let's move to the American presidential campaign now, if we can. We saw at the beginning of this broadcast a short tease of what you had to say just a month ago. Let's share with our viewers now a little more of Colin Powell on these two candidates and your position.
(Videotape, September 20, 2008)

GEN. POWELL: I'm an American, first and foremost, and I'm very proud--I said, I've said, I've said to my beloved friend and colleague John McCain, a friend of 25 years, "John, I love you, but I'm not just going to vote for you on the basis of our affection or friendship." And I've said to Barack Obama, "I admire you. I'll give you all the advice I can. But I'm not going to vote for you just because you're black." We, we have to move beyond this.

MR. BROKAW: General Powell, actually you gave a campaign contribution to Senator McCain. You have met twice at least with Barack Obama. Are you prepared to make a public declaration of which of these two candidates that you're prepared to support?

GEN. POWELL: Yes, but let me lead into it this way. I know both of these individuals very well now. I've known John for 25 years as your setup said. And I've gotten to know Mr. Obama quite well over the past two years. Both of them are distinguished Americans who are patriotic, who are dedicated to the welfare of our country. Either one of them, I think, would be a good president. I have said to Mr. McCain that I admire all he has done. I have some concerns about the direction that the party has taken in recent years. It has moved more to the right than I would like to see it, but that's a choice the party makes. And I've said to Mr. Obama, "You have to pass a test of do you have enough experience, and do you bring the judgment to the table that would give us confidence that you would be a good president."

And I've watched him over the past two years, frankly, and I've had this conversation with him. I have especially watched over the last six of seven weeks as both of them have really taken a final exam with respect to this economic crisis that we are in and coming out of the conventions. And I must say that I've gotten a good measure of both. In the case of Mr. McCain, I found that he was a little unsure as to deal with the economic problems that we were having and almost every day there was a different approach to the problem. And that concerned me, sensing that he didn't have a complete grasp of the economic problems that we had. And I was also concerned at the selection of Governor Palin. She's a very distinguished woman, and she's to be admired; but at the same time, now that we have had a chance to watch her for some seven weeks, I don't believe she's ready to be president of the United States, which is the job of the vice president. And so that raised some question in my mind as to the judgment that Senator McCain made.

On the Obama side, I watched Mr. Obama and I watched him during this seven-week period. And he displayed a steadiness, an intellectual curiosity, a depth of knowledge and an approach to looking at problems like this and picking a vice president that, I think, is ready to be president on day one. And also, in not just jumping in and changing every day, but showing intellectual vigor. I think that he has a, a definitive way of doing business that would serve us well. I also believe that on the Republican side over the last seven weeks, the approach of the Republican Party and Mr. McCain has become narrower and narrower. Mr. Obama, at the same time, has given us a more inclusive, broader reach into the needs and aspirations of our people. He's crossing lines--ethnic lines, racial lines, generational lines. He's thinking about all villages have values, all towns have values, not just small towns have values.

And I've also been disappointed, frankly, by some of the approaches that Senator McCain has taken recently, or his campaign ads, on issues that are not really central to the problems that the American people are worried about. This Bill Ayers situation that's been going on for weeks became something of a central point of the campaign. But Mr. McCain says that he's a washed-out terrorist. Well, then, why do we keep talking about him? And why do we have these robocalls going on around the country trying to suggest that, because of this very, very limited relationship that Senator Obama has had with Mr. Ayers, somehow, Mr. Obama is tainted. What they're trying to connect him to is some kind of terrorist feelings. And I think that's inappropriate.

Now, I understand what politics is all about. I know how you can go after one another, and that's good. But I think this goes too far. And I think it has made the McCain campaign look a little narrow. It's not what the American people are looking for. And I look at these kinds of approaches to the campaign and they trouble me. And the party has moved even further to the right, and Governor Palin has indicated a further rightward shift. I would have difficulty with two more conservative appointments to the Supreme Court, but that's what we'd be looking at in a McCain administration. I'm also troubled by, not what Senator McCain says, but what members of the party say. And it is permitted to be said such things as, "Well, you know that Mr. Obama is a Muslim." Well, the correct answer is, he is not a Muslim, he's a Christian. He's always been a Christian. But the really right answer is, what if he is? Is there something wrong with being a Muslim in this country? The answer's no, that's not America. Is there something wrong with some seven-year-old Muslim-American kid believing that he or she could be president? Yet, I have heard senior members of my own party drop the suggestion, "He's a Muslim and he might be associated terrorists." This is not the way we should be doing it in America.

I feel strongly about this particular point because of a picture I saw in a magazine. It was a photo essay about troops who are serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. And one picture at the tail end of this photo essay was of a mother in Arlington Cemetery, and she had her head on the headstone of her son's grave. And as the picture focused in, you could see the writing on the headstone. And it gave his awards--Purple Heart, Bronze Star--showed that he died in Iraq, gave his date of birth, date of death. He was 20 years old. And then, at the very top of the headstone, it didn't have a Christian cross, it didn't have the Star of David, it had crescent and a star of the Islamic faith. And his name was Kareem Rashad Sultan Khan, and he was an American. He was born in New Jersey. He was 14 years old at the time of 9/11, and he waited until he can go serve his country, and he gave his life. Now, we have got to stop polarizing ourself in this way. And John McCain is as nondiscriminatory as anyone I know. But I'm troubled about the fact that, within the party, we have these kinds of expressions.

So, when I look at all of this and I think back to my Army career, we've got two individuals, either one of them could be a good president. But which is the president that we need now? Which is the individual that serves the needs of the nation for the next period of time? And I come to the conclusion that because of his ability to inspire, because of the inclusive nature of his campaign, because he is reaching out all across America, because of who he is and his rhetorical abilities--and we have to take that into account--as well as his substance--he has both style and substance--he has met the standard of being a successful president, being an exceptional president. I think he is a transformational figure. He is a new generation coming into the world--onto the world stage, onto the American stage, and for that reason I'll be voting for Senator Barack Obama.

MR. BROKAW: Will you be campaigning for him as well?

GEN. POWELL: I don't plan to. Two weeks left, let them go at each other in the finest tradition. But I will be voting for him.

MR. BROKAW: I can already anticipate some of the reaction to this. Let's begin with the charge that John McCain has continued to make against Barack Obama. You sit there, as a man who served in Vietnam, you commanded a battalion of 101st, you were chairman of the Joint Chiefs, you were a national security adviser and secretary of state. There is nothing in Barack Obama's history that nearly paralyze any--parallels any of the experiences that you've had. And while he has performed impressively in the context of the campaign, there's a vast difference between sitting in the Oval Office and making tough decisions and doing well in a campaign.

GEN. POWELL: And he knows that. And I have watched him over the last two years as he has educated himself, as he has become very familiar with these issues. He speaks authoritatively. He speaks with great insight into the challenges we're facing of a military and political and economic nature. And he is surrounding himself, I'm confident, with people who'll be able to give him the expertise that he, at the moment, does not have. And so I have watched an individual who has intellectual vigor and who dives deeply into issues and approaches issues with a very, very steady hand. And so I'm confident that he will be ready to take on these challenges on January 21st.

MR. BROKAW: And you are fully aware that there will be some--how many, no one can say for sure--but there will be some who will say this is an African-American, distinguished American, supporting another African-American because of race.

GEN. POWELL: If I had only had that in mind, I could have done this six, eight, 10 months ago. I really have been going back and forth between somebody I have the highest respect and regard for, John McCain, and somebody I was getting to know, Barack Obama. And it was only in the last couple of months that I settled on this. And I can't deny that it will be a historic event for an African-American to become president. And should that happen, all Americans should be proud--not just African-Americans, but all Americans--that we have reached this point in our national history where such a thing could happen. It will also not only electrify our country, I think it'll electrify the world.

MR. BROKAW: You have some differences with Barack Obama. He has said that once he takes office, he wants to begin removing American troops from Iraq. Here's what you had to say about that: "I have found in my many years of service, to set arbitrary dates that don't coincide with the situation on the ground or what actually is happening tends not to be a useful strategy. ... Arbitrary deadlines that are snatched out of the air and are based on some lunar calculation is not the way to run a military or a strategic operation of this type." That was on February 10th of this year on CNN. Now that you have Barack Obama's ear in a new fashion, will you say to him, "Drop your idea of setting a deadline of some kind to pull the troops out of Iraq"?

GEN. POWELL: First of all, I think that's a great line, and thanks for pulling it up. And I believe that. But as I watch what's happening right now, the United States is negotiating the--an agreement with the Iraqi government that will call for most major combat operations to cease by next June and for American forces to start withdrawing to their bases. And that agreement will also provide for all American troops to be gone by 2011, but conditioned on the situation as it exists at that time. So there already is a timeline that's being developed between the Iraqis and the United States government. So I think whoever becomes the president, whether it's John McCain or whether it's Barack Obama, we're going to see a continued drawdown. And when, you know, which day so many troops come out or what units come out, that'll be determined by the commanders and the new president. But I think we are on a glide path to reducing our presence in Iraq over the next couple of years. Increasingly, this problem's going to be solved by the Iraqis. They're going to make the political decisions, their security forces are going to take over, and they're going to have to create an environment of reconciliation where all the people can come together and make Iraq a much, much better place.

MR. BROKAW: Let me go back to something that you raised just a moment ago, and that's William Ayers, a former member of the Weathermen who's now active in school issues in Illinois. He had some past association with Barack Obama. Wouldn't it have been more helpful for William Ayers to, on his own, to have renounced his own past? Here was a man who was a part of the most radical group that existed in America at a time when you were serving in Vietnam, targeting the Pentagon, the Capitol. He wrote a book about it that came out on 2001, on September 11th that said, "We didn't bomb enough."

GEN. POWELL: It's despicable, and I have no truck for William Ayers. I think what he did was despicable, and to continue to talk about it in 2001 is also despicable. But to suggest that because Mr. Barack Obama had some contacts of a very casual nature--they sat on a educational board--over time is somehow connected to his thinking or his actions, I think, is a, a terrible stretch. It's demagoguery.

MR. BROKAW: I want to ask you about your own role in the decision to go to war in Iraq. Barack Obama has been critical of your appearance before the United Nations at that time. Bob Woodward has a new book out called "The War Within," and here's what he had to say about Colin Powell and his place in the administration: "Powell ... didn't think [Iraq] was a necessary war, and yet he had gone along in a hundred ways, large and small. He had resisted at times but had succumbed to the momentum and his own sense of deference--even obedience--to the president. ... Perhaps more than anyone else in the administration, Powell had been the `closer' for the president's case on war."

And then you were invited to appear before the Iraq Study Group. "`Why did we go into Iraq with so few people?' [former Secretary of State James] Baker asked. ... `Colin just exploded at that point,' [former Secretary of Defense William] Perry recalled later. `He unloaded,' Former White House Chief of Staff] Leon Panetta added. `He was angry. He was mad as hell.' ... Powell left [the Study Group meeting]. Baker turned to Panetta and said solemnly, `He's the one guy who could have perhaps prevented this from happening.'"

What's the lesson in all of that for a former--for a new secretary of state or for a new national security adviser, based on your own experience?

GEN. POWELL: Well, let's start at the beginning. I said to the president in 2002, we should try to solve this diplomatically and avoid war. The president accepted that recommendation, we took it to the U.N. But the president, by the end of 2002, believed that the U.N. was not going to solve the problem, and he made a decision that we had to prepare for military action. I fully supported that. And I have never said anything to suggest I did not support going to war. I thought the evidence was there. And it is not just my closing of the whole deal with my U.N. speech. I know the importance of that speech, and I regret a lot of the information that the intelligence community provided us was wrong. But three months before my speech, with a heavy majority, the United States Congress expressed its support to use military force if it was necessary. And so we went in and used military force. My unhappiness was that we didn't do it right. It was easy to get to Baghdad, but then we forgot that there was a lot more that had to be done. And we didn't have enough force to impose our will in the country or to deal with the insurgency when it broke out, and that I regret.

MR. BROKAW: Removing the weapons of mass destruction from the equation...

GEN. POWELL: I also assure you that it was not a correct assessment by anybody that my statements or my leaving the administration would have stopped it.

MR. BROKAW: Removing the weapons of mass destruction from the equation, because we now know that they did not exist, was it then a war of necessity or just a war of choice?

GEN. POWELL: Without the weapons of mass destruction present, as conveyed to us by the intelligence community in the most powerful way, I don't think there would have been a war. It was the reason we took it to the public, it was the reason we took it to the American people to the Congress, who supported it on that basis, and it's the presentation I made to the United Nations. Without those weapons of mass destruction then Iraq did not present to the world the kind of threat that it did if it had weapons of mass destruction.

MR. BROKAW: You do know that there are supporters of Barack Obama who feel very strongly about his candidacy because he was opposed to the war from the beginning, and they're going to say, "Who needs Colin Powell? He was the guy who helped get us into this mess."

GEN. POWELL: I'm not here to get their approval or lack of approval. I am here to express my view as to who I'm going to vote for.

MR. BROKAW: There's a summing up going on now as, as the Bush/Cheney administration winds down. We'd like to share with our audience some of what you had to say about the two men who are at the top of the administration. At the convention in 2000, this is Colin Powell on President Bush and Dick Cheney at that time.

GEN. POWELL: Dick Cheney is one of the most distinguished and dedicated public servants this nation has ever had. He will be a superb vice president.
The Bush/Cheney team will be a great team for America. They will put our nation on a course of hope and optimism for this new century.

MR. BROKAW: Was that prophetic or wrong?

GEN. POWELL: It's what I believed. It reflected the agenda of the new president, compassionate conservatism. And some of it worked out. I think we have advanced our freedom agenda, I think we've done a lot to help people around the world with our programs of development. I think we've done a lot to solve some conflicts such as in Liberia and elsewhere. But, at the same time, we have managed to convey to the world that we are more unilateral than we really are. We have not explained ourself well enough. And we, unfortunately, have left an impression with the world that is not a good one. And the new president is going to have to fix the reputation that we've left with the rest of the world.

Now, let me make a point here. The United States is still seen as the leader at the world that wants to be free. Even though the numbers are down with respect to favorability ratings, at every embassy and consular office tomorrow morning that we have, people will be lined up, and they'll all say the same thing, "We want to go to America." So we're still the leader of the world that wants to be free. We are still the inspiration of the rest of the world. And we can come back. In 2000, it was moment where I believed that the new administration coming in would be able to achieve the agenda that President-elect Bush had set out of compassionate conservatism.

MR. BROKAW: But it failed?

GEN. POWELL: I don't think it was as successful--excuse me (clears throat)--I don't think it was as successful as it might have been. And, as you see from the presidential approval ratings, the American people have found the administration wanting.

MR. BROKAW: Let me as, you a couple of questions--quick questions as we wrap all of this up. I know you're very close to President Bush 41. Are you still in touch with him on a regular basis? And what do you think he'll think about you this morning endorsing Barack Obama?

GEN. POWELL: I will let President Bush 41, speak for himself and let others speak for themselves, just as I have spoken for myself. Let me make one point, Tom, both Senator McCain and Senator Obama will be good presidents. It isn't easy for me to disappoint Senator McCain in the way that I have this morning, and I regret that. But I strongly believe that at this point in America's history, we need a president that will not just continue, even with a new face and with some changes and with some maverick aspects, who will not just continue, basically, the policies that we have been following in recent years. I think we need a transformational figure. I need--think we need a president who is a generational change. And that's why I'm supporting Barack Obama. Not out of any lack of respect or admiration for Senator John McCain.

MR. BROKAW: And finally, how much of a factor do you think race will be when voters go into that booth on November 4th?

GEN. POWELL: I don't know the answer to that question. One may say that it's going to be a big factor, and a lot of people say they will vote for Senator Obama but they won't pull a lever. Others might say that has already happened. People are already finding other reasons to say they're not voting for him. "Well, he's a Muslim," "He's this." So we have already seen the so-called "Bradley factor" in the current--in the current spread between the candidates. And so that remains to be seen. I hope it is not the case. I think we have advanced considerably in this country since the days of Tom Bradley. And I hope that is not the case. It would be very unfortunate if it were the case.

MR. BROKAW: Finally, if Senator Obama is elected president, will there be a place for Colin Powell in that administration? Maybe as the ambassador at large in Africa or to take on the daunting task of resolving the Israeli/Palestinian issue?

GEN. POWELL: I served 40 years in government, and I--I'm not looking forward to a position or an assignment. Of course, I have always said if a president asks you to do something, you have to consider it. But I am in no way interested in returning to government. But I, of course, would sit and talk to any president who wishes to talk to me.

MR. BROKAW: You're not ruling it out?

GEN. POWELL: I would sit and talk to any president who wishes to talk to me, but I'm not anxious to rule it in.

MR. BROKAW: General Colin Powell, thank you very much for being with us this morning. Appreciate it.

GEN. POWELL: Thank you, Tom.

Voter Disenfranchisement Investigated...We Hope!

PRESS RELEASE
October 17, 2008
For Immediate Release

Congresswoman MAXINE Waters URGES JUSTICE DEPARTMENT TO PROTECT RIGHT TO VOTE AS CONCERNS ABOUT DISENFRANCHISEMENT GROW

Washington, DC – Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA) has called on the U.S. Department of Justice to protect the rights of Americans to vote and to investigate thoroughly and immediately complaints about efforts to suppress or interfere with the rights of eligible voters.

Congresswoman Waters expressed her concerns in a letter this week to Attorney General Michael Mukasey:


I am writing to urge you to fully carry out your responsibilities under the Constitution and the laws of the United States to ensure that no eligible American is prevented from exercising his or her right to vote. I am very concerned about the growing number of reports in numerous states indicating that the ability of eligible citizens to exercise their right to vote in the upcoming elections might be at risk. I request that you share with me the status of any investigations that the Department of Justice has undertaken to prevent election crimes or other efforts to suppress or interfere with the right of eligible individuals to vote. Credible complaints must be investigated in a timely and thorough manner by the Department of Justice when these complaints are brought to the Department’s attention and not after the upcoming elections.


As Election Day (November 4th) approaches, and early voting is already underway in many states, there have been troubling reports about impediments to voting. Congresswoman Waters cited “a widely reported scheme in Michigan to use foreclosure lists to challenge voters at their polling places.”


During a September 16th oversight hearing of the House Judiciary Committee, of which she is a member, Congresswoman Waters asked the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation to investigate this matter, noting that the FBI had done commendable work this year to investigate and prosecute some of the institutions and individuals who have been involved in mortgage fraud and other activities that have contributed to the financial crisis that our nation is currently experiencing. On September 18th, she joined Chairman John Conyers (D-MI) and other members of the Judiciary Committee in sending a letter to the Attorney General requesting a prompt investigation of complaints regarding the use of foreclosure lists to challenge voters in Michigan.


In her more recent letter to the Attorney General, Congresswoman Waters – who chairs the Financial Services Subcommittee on Housing and Community Opportunity – explained, “I have been particularly concerned about those who have engaged in predatory lending because this illegal practice disproportionately impacts the most vulnerable in this country, including the elderly, the poor and minorities.” Efforts to disqualify voters on the basis of foreclosures would similarly target members of these groups.


Last month, Congresswoman Waters introduced House Concurrent Resolution 424, which urges the Department of Justice to protect the right to vote of every eligible person in the United States by promptly and thoroughly investigating possible violations of federal law. The Resolution enumerates some of the most serious complaints of problems and possible violations of federal law, including voter caging, deceptive practices, and improper list purges. If unaddressed, they could interfere with the right to vote of citizens in Michigan, Virginia, Mississippi, Maryland, Florida and other states affected by recent hurricanes or natural disasters. This Resolution currently has 61 co-sponsors.


Congresswoman Waters noted that the New York Times published an investigative report on October 9th that describes in detail possible violations of federal law in several states that have resulted in tens of thousands of eligible voters being wrongly removed from the voting rolls or blocked from registering to vote. “It appears that media organizations have conducted more investigations into these allegations than the Department of Justice,” she wrote.


The implementation of a new “No Match, No Vote” state law in Florida potentially threatens to disenfranchise thousands of voters in that pivotal swing state, which of course was at the center of the controversial presidential election contest between George W. Bush and Al Gore in 2000. Several Members of the Florida Congressional Delegation, who are also cosponsors of H. Con. Res. 424, sent a letter to the Governor of Florida earlier this month expressing concerns.


Because voting rights are fundamental rights within a democracy and because the consequences of this year’s elections are so significant, Congresswoman Waters wants to make sure the rights of all Americans are protected. In concluding her letter, she wrote, “Given the growing number of reports of problems that could result in the disenfranchisement of countless voters in several states, I believe it is imperative for the Department of Justice to accelerate the investigation of these complaints immediately. I am deeply concerned that failure to act could result in the irreversible loss of the exercise of the right to vote in the upcoming election. Investigations after the elections will not cure the damage of a lost vote in what has been described as the most important election in a generation.”

Congressman John Lewis exposes Palin-McCain Camp

Senator and Presidential candidate Barack Obama

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cTIAAZZXyrc&feature=related

Congressman John Lewis of Georgia accused 2008 Presidential Candidate and Senator John McCain and Sarah Palin of bringing back the days of the late former Alabama Governor George Wallace. Mental pictures of police night sticks, German shephard dogs, firemen hoses, homes and churches bombed, horses trampling Alambama's African-Americans, and John Lewis himself carried unconscious from the Edmund Petus Bridge to a local Selma church, are all freshly burned into the minds of us all.

Evil rears its' ugly head in Sarah Palin audiences with screams of 'terrorists', 'kill him', 'Obama's a Muslim', 'traitor', and 'off with his head'. All these comments referring to Senator Barack Obama. Palin continues unabatedly, stirring crowds up with additional Lee Atwater http://www.boogiemanfilm.com/ pre-planned wittisisms. I have heard from African-American broadcast colleagues of mine covering the Presidential campaign, that they refuse to go to a Palin rally though the rally is in the same community of their radio station. See for yourself what folks say at Palin rallies. Here, at is a Palin rally in Ohio, people share their thoughts about Barack Obama in this YouTube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zRqcfqiXCX0

With all of this non-sense going on McCain has nerve to call out Congressman John Lewis at a Nationally televised debate knowing that Lewis is in the State of Georgia where racism still thrives. Seeing and hearing about all of this negative campaigning going on by the Palin-McCain Republican ticket, John Lewis was concerned about his friend and the man he is now supporting for President Senator Barack Obama. John released the following statement.

The John Lewis Statement

The Congressman from Georgia John Lewis said that he was "deeply disturbed by the negative tone of the McCain-Palin campaign" and that the Republican running mates are "playing with fire". Rep. John Lewis stated: "What I am seeing reminds me too much of another destructive period in American history. Sen. McCain and Gov. Palin are sowing the seeds of hatred and division, and there is no need for this hostility in our political discourse," Lewis (pictured left) said in a statement. "During another period, in the not too distant past, there was a governor of the state of Alabama named George Wallace who also became a presidential candidate. George Wallace never threw a bomb. He never fired a gun, but he created the climate and the conditions that encouraged vicious attacks against innocent Americans who were simply trying to exercise their constitutional rights. Because of this atmosphere of hate, four little girls were killed on Sunday morning when a church was bombed in Birmingham, Alabama," wrote the Democrat. McCain said Saturday that Lewis' statement was "shocking and beyond the pale."


"The notion that legitimate criticism of Sen. Obama's record and positions could be compared to Gov. George Wallace, his segregationist policies and the violence he provoked is unacceptable and has no place in this campaign. "I am saddened that John Lewis, a man I've always admired, would make such a brazen and baseless attack on my character and the character of the thousands of hard-working Americans who come to our events to cheer for the kind of reform that will put America on the right track."

While Sen. McCain is perceived as taking the "high road" -- or should I say "opportunity" -- in his response to Congressman John Lewis' comments, by his attempts to make Obama publically repudiate Congressman John Lewis statements. In writing, the Obama campaign publically repudiated Lewis' comments shortly after Lewis made them. Senator Obama should not (nor did not) have to further verbally repudiate Lewis' comment -- in a national Presidential debate forum -- just to satisfy Palin-McCain and their supporters.

The repudiation tactic is nothing new to celebrity African-Americans. Prominent dignitaries and their representative groups have a history of putting successful African-Americans on blast. You saw Hilary and Bill do this to Senator Obama during the Primaries requesting that Obama answer "her" on behalf of "all Americans" with the Rev. Wright scenario. If a prominent African-American makes a seemingly anti-semitic comment then that African-American will surely be asked to cow down and apologize publically.

Senator Obama refusing to repudiate Congressman John Lewis' comments on national television somewhat flustered McCain to the point where McCain could not keep still. McCains' eyelids fluttered uncontrollably like humming birds wings. Frankly Senator Obama -- nor any other successful African-American -- should have to repudiate anything for McCain and his supporters in their chosen forum. Obama mentioned to McCain several times prior to the debate and at the debate that the Obama campaign released a statement of repudiation already. If that is not enough you McCain, or Hilary, or Bill...TOUGH!

It is time for Senator McCain to repudiate the 100% attack advertisements with obvious falsities against Obama. It is time for Sarah Palin to verbally and in writing repudiate her mannerisms at rallies, plus Palins' refusal to demand that audience members stop shouting hateful slurs direct to Senator Obama. It is time for both Bill and Hilary Clinton to finally repudiate verbally and in writing for making racial statements, disrespecting dead African-American leaders' civil rights leaders during the 2008 Democratic Primaries. The only mud that Palin-McCain Republican ticket can sling at Senator Barack Obama are actions of other people. The repudiator-seekers should go to the source and asked them to repudiate.

Senator Obama's refusal to verbally repudiate John Lewis statements in a nationally televised debate is a lesson to both the repudiater and to African-Americans. Successful African-American too often are placed in a defensive position to self-righteous superiors. It is time to stand up against known repudiaters and slap them in the face with pride and dignity. I am sure Obama knew that McCain civil rights record annually is an "F", and that the Arizona Senator did not sign on to the Martin Luther King holiday. But I am most certain that Obama would have been treated quite differently if he ever brought this up, and/or Obama has too much class to be a repudiater.

Unforturnately, McCain's campaign has tainted the political atmosphere nationally with an all-out blitz of character attacks against Obama. McCain's followers have heard the call from the Palin-McCain ticket. We have seen the public disrespect and racial slurs against Obama during these few short weeks, on CNN shouting out their racial and religious epitheds. Right-Wing editorial radio talk shows and journals have joined in on the parade against Senator Barack 'Hussein' Obama.

Blogs, print publications, and posted readers' comments wishfully request a return to the way things were when segregation was legal and Blacks were legally subservient. Oprah Winfrey cannot freely support Senator Obama because of her factual stance not to interview any Political Candidate, including Sarah Palin. The Republican Party and Republican women associates asked Oprah to have Sarah Palin on. Winfrey expressed her rule of not having Politicians running for office on her show. But unfortunately Oprah's rule means nothing and again we see the repudiaters demanding that Oprah do what they tell her to do and bring Palin on the show. Oprah, like Obama, refused to repudiate. The mostly right-wing of the Republican Party refuse to understand nor respect these rules of engagement by Oprah and many have boycotted her show. Oprah now fears for her life. Recently Winfrey did not allow press into a Barack Obama fund-raiser rally while she spoke at the National Women's Leadership Conference at the Sheraton Hotel in Chicago. Joe Biden, Michele Obama, and Oprah Winfrey all spoke at the event.

Republican women associations refuse to allow Oprah freedom to support Obama in any form or fashion. The Chicago Sun-Times wrote an article about Oprah speaking at the NWLC's Obama fund-raiser, and dozens of readers' responses have been deemed waaaay too abusive. The responses have had to be removed http://www.suntimes.com/news/elections/1214803,oprah-101108.article?plckCurrentPage=3&sid=sitelife.suntimes.com.


Endorsements


Despite the challenges that Senator Obama faces, the world's most famous politically based newspaper the Washington Post has endorsed Obama http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/10/16/AR2008101603436.html . For the first time in its' history the Chicago Tribune, a Republican-leaning newspaper endorsed Senator Obama http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/chi-chicago-tribune-endorsement,0,1371034.story. The most popular newspapers of the west, the Los Angeles Times and the San Francisco Chronicle, both endorse Obama. Hundreds of other periodicals have come on board. Polls have give Obama leading in most of the swing States. But none of theses endorsements, nor favorable poll numbers are the actual vote. And I have never been polled, so they ain't talking about me.

It is up to us all to vote, and also inspire others to vote. Do not listen to repudiaters, pollsters, or big time endorsers. We too often have others think for us and even successfully image made-up behaviors and sterotypes. Your vote is cast by you and you alone, and African-American, Asian, Hispanic, and Women voting is a right that was earned with the blood of past generations. https://donate.barackobama.com/page/contribute/promisevideo?match_campaign_id=16&source=20081017_MO_ND_X