Andy Martin: The Cold War is back in vogue

Andy Martin says that Russian spy rings, coded messages, Mata Hari agents, lavish living and “non-official cover” herald a return to the glory days of the Cold War. “Anna Chapman” will be 33 years old by the time she hits the streets; will we trade “our” Russkie prisoners for some of theirs? Will the Reds grab someone to use as trading bait? Are “Law and Order” actors standing by to make the movie, on location in New York? Stay tuned.

Internet powerhouse Andy Martin remembers growing up during the Cold War

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Andy Martin says the arrest of a “Russian spy ring” in New York does not mean we are heading back into a new Cold War

But Andy reminisces on what a fascinating era the Cold War really was

(NEW YORK)(June 30, 2010) Going from my sophomore to my junior year in college I had a problem. How could I tell my ROTC officers I had no interest in being a pilot? One officer, Major J. D. Faulk, had been a Korean War fighter pilot. He wanted to see me in the cockpit. I was rated “1-P” for potential pilot training.

But I had grown up in a family where he clandestine operations were the rule, not the uniformed services. I had studied the day-to-day progress of the French Indochina War. I was heartbroken when Dien Bien Phu fell. At a time when a lot of my contemporaries were practicing their batting stance for Little League, I was studying the mysterious “CIA.”

When my family moved to London and then Oxford, I learned about the Hungarian Revolution, from those who had escaped.

I met my first Russian spies over forty years ago. In Vientiane, Laos. Although the CIA operated a “secret army” in Laos, the military operations were no secret to the Russkies (as we then called them). Vientiane was possibly the “Casablanca” of the Viet-Nam era. Everyone was there. And even the U. S. ambassador to Laos, William Sullivan, was a spymaster. There was even a very low key American “village” in Vientiane, Kilometer 6, where more than a few spooks kicked back at cocktail hour.

The Cold War indeed was “something else.” The fear of war, the prospect of war, the preparation for war overshadowed everything. And then there was Viet-Nam. Viet-Nam was the realization of all of our fears. And the creation of new ones. It’s hard to believe now, but over 200 Americans were dying a week during the fiercest fighting.

One of the most interesting operations of the Viet-Nam war was the effort to spy on North and South Vietnamese spies who had infiltrated the local media. How to find them? Use a pigeon.

Many of my contemporaries had focused on Europe and the threat from the “east.” They ended up in Germany.

I was fascinated by China and eventually studied Chinese. When I landed in Hong Kong I fell in love with the place. My apartment was a short walk from the Hong Kong Hilton (since demolished), where everyone on the island met at some point during the week. The “Suzie Wong” area of Hong Kong (Wanchai) was still seedy and dangerous. Today it’s another version of “restaurant row.”

The Communist Chinese (or “Chicoms”), of course, were “inscrutable,” while the Russkies were merely bullies, maybe even thugs.

During the Cold War there really were “secrets.” Spy satellites had not yet been invented. And the U-2 had not yet been shot down. People actually had to go in, mooch about and look-see. And get out alive.

I was only a second generation cold warrior. It was our World War II parents who were “present at the creation” of the Cold War. Security concerns were everywhere. My mother worked with someone who was distantly related to the “atom spy” Rosenbergs. There was no “clearance” for anyone however remotely related to the R’bergs. “Keep an eye on her.”

The way it was explained to me, spying and special operations was almost a family business. My father had been in special ops; his father had been a spy. My mother’s grandfather was a double agent. My mother had worked for an intelligence agency. After listening to stories about spies and clandestine operations, who wanted to sit in a cockpit?

Spying and intelligence operations are among the most dangerous national security activities. A solider, sailor or airman always knows when he (she) is in uniform, that uniform and a team will protect him. A CIA “case officer” is usually attached to a diplomatic mission under a title such as “State Department—agricultural research liaison” or something like that. They enjoy diplomatic immunity. Risky business, but not too risky.

And then there are the people who are “out there.” Officially, they are called working under “non-official cover” or “NOC.” In reality, if someone working NOC gets caught, they’re caught. Or worse. One of the reasons the Valerie Plame controversy became such a serious issue in the run-up to the 2003 Iraq invasion was that Plame had worked NOC. Exposing who Plame was also exposed everyone she had ever stopped to have a cup of coffee with. When Plame was “outed,” others were automatically endangered.

And now we come to this week’s “New York Russian spy ring.” Since the nation of Russia is unofficially led by a former KGB spy, Vladimir Putin, and Putin in turn has saturated his government with a platoon of retired “spooks,” what do you expect? Once a spook, always a spook. If anyone believes in spies, Putin does. And, of course, he immediately denied that there were any Russian spies in New York. Who? Me? Spies? Who are they? “Comrade, we have no spies in America.”

The Russian spy ring (we can’t call them a “Soviet” spy ring because the Soviet Union no longer exists) is an example of both classic “burrowing” and NOC. The spies lived openly, although at least one of them apparently had a stolen identify from a deceased Canadian. At least the Russkies were smarter than the Israelis, who recently committed a murder in Dubai and used “secret” agents who were using stolen identities of living people. Not too smart.

The New York spies seem to have been burrowing. You “burrow” when you slowly blend in to the background, when you become part of your surroundings, when there is nothing to do but do nothing. Maybe watch the grass grow. And wait for the day when you are activated. Great Britain’s MI6 used to be the master of burrowing. British spies always blended into the background. 6’ers would also be NOC. MI6 spied on the Nazis, in New York, before World War II.

The bottom line: governments will always spy on each other, sometimes in the open, sometimes clandestinely. Friends spy on friends. We spy on the Israelis, and they spy on us. Sometimes we catch them. Jonathan Pollard has spent 30 years in jail because he was bribed by Israel to spy against the United States. Why would we not expect the Russians to plant a spy or two under NOC? We put spies in our embassies. And of course we put spies out on the street. Alone. NOC.

Spymasters have learned through bitter experience that when you don’t spy, you end up in a jam. The Shah of Iran did not allow the CIA to operate in Iran. Foolishly, in large part we obeyed his demand. When Iran fell, there was no clandestine operation to activate. There was nothing. We had to start from scratch.

The only good thing about the Russian spy ring in New York? The movie can be filmed on location. “Law and Order” actors are standing by. And “Anna Chapman” is a pretty attractive “Natasha.” It’s enough to make you want to be compromised. Martinis anyone?

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ABOUT ANDY: Andy Martin is the legendary New York and Chicago-based muckraker, author, Internet columnist, radio talk show host, broadcaster and media critic. He has over forty years of broadcasting background in radio and television and is the dean of Illinois media and communications. He is currently promoting his best-selling book, “Obama: The Man Behind The Mask” and his Internet movie “Obama: The Hawai’i years.” Martin has been a leading corruption fighter in Illinois for over forty years. He is currently sponsoring www.AmericaisReadyforReform.com

Andy is the Executive Editor and publisher of the “Internet Powerhouse,” www.ContrarianCommentary.com. He comments on regional, national and world events with more than four decades of investigative and overseas experience. He holds a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Illinois College of Law and is a former adjunct professor of law at the City University of New York (LaGuardia CC, Bronx CC).

UPDATES:
www.twitter.com/AndyMartinUSA
www.facebook.com/AndyMartin

Andy’s columns are also posted at ContrarianCommentary.blogspot.com; contrariancommentary.wordpress.com.
contrariancommentary.typepad.com
[NOTE: We try to correct any typographical errors in this story on our blogs; find our latest edition there.]

MEDIA CONTACT: (866) 706-2639 or CELL (917) 664-9329
E-MAIL: AndyMart20@aol.com
© Copyright by Andy Martin 2010

Andy Martin: Hillary Clinton is the big winner in General McChrystal shakeup

Foreign policy and Afghanistan expert Andy Martin says that President Obama’s decision to remove General McChrystal is understandable, if unwise. But the net effect is to saddle Obama with full responsibility for an unwinnable war that is going to drive the Democratic Party into Hillary Clinton’s hands in 2012. Martin’s “McChrystal ball” predicts that Obama’s political decline, and Clinton’s corresponding rise, can be measured from today.

Internet powerhouse Andy Martin with his surprising political analysis of the McChrystal shakeup

Andy Martin’s “McChrystal ball” says Hillary Clinton wins big as the general loses his command
ContrarianCommentary.com
“The Internet Powerhouse”
Andy Martin
Executive Editor

“Factually Correct, Not Politically Correct”

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Andy Martin says “Today is the start of the Hillary Clinton for President campaign”

Martin says Obama has now assumed complete ownership of a failed military strategy, and that the real beneficiary of his decision to remove Stanley McChrystal will be Secretary of State Hillary Clinton

(NEW YORK)(June 23, 2010) I first went to Afghanistan exactly thirty years ago, in 1980, to link up with the anti-Soviet Mujahideen. One of my closest associates, an Afghan native, was later killed by the Northern Alliance. Afghanistan has been on my stove, sometimes on a front burner, sometimes on a back one, for over three decades.

Earlier today I posted a column that suggested President Obama should not fire General McChrystal. Getting rid of McChrystal was the easy way out. But the easy out today will doom Obama’s presidency in 2011-2012.

While the cable TV bobbleheads, most of whom have never been to Asia, cackle on about Obama and “civilian control of the military,” which was never even remotely a concern with General McChrystal, I am going to provide you with the type of insight that formed the core of my bestselling book, “Obama: the Man Behind the Mask.”

The big winner today: Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

I will write later in greater detail about why our strategy in Afghanistan is a failed approach. But anyone reading today’s papers and watching today’s “analysis” knows “Obama’s War” is doomed. As I said earlier today, while I supported General McChrystal as a loyal officer, I believe Vice President Joe Biden was right on the policy.

Can General David Petraeus now save Obama’s flawed policy? That is doubtful. Petraeus may also take a hit as a result of today’s shift in command. Petraeus came out of Iraq as a hero, and he has been supervising our Central Command since then. He is a competent officer. But even a military genius can’t rescue a failed strategy. My guess is that Petraeus’ star will also be tarnished. I would not be surprised to see Petraeus retire in January. He may hang on, but he may decide to hit the silk and get out before July, 2011.

So why is Clinton a winner? No one has mentioned her in any of the news analysis today. Why am I out there alone?

Most “analysts” on cable TV are not analysts at all. They are parrots who are told to respond to the immediate issue. They have never engaged in long-term strategic thinking and political analysis.

Clinton was the only member of Obama’s team that was not criticized in the Rolling Stone article. She has been an outstanding team member because she follows orders and does what she is told. And she obviously knows better than to have a reporter join her entourage.

The July, 2011 withdrawal date which was agreed on as Obama’s “policy” last year was a compromise between the “McChrystal Plan” and the “Biden Plan.” Biden lost the strategic debate, and he was rewarded with the consolation prize of a withdrawal date that is illusory.

McChrystal may have been the one who got fired today, but the more interesting battle took place last weekend when Secretary of Defense Robert Gates said the July, 2011 date was flexible. The result: there will be a rigid “withdrawal” in July, 2011, but the army will be retreating, not leaving after a victorious campaign. Gates contradicted Biden. Both of them are civilians:

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0610/38779.html

Where does this leave Obama? The left is restive. Obama is drifting. Congress will be in the hands of the Republicans. Normally dropping a president after one term would be disastrous for a political party. Hillary Clinton is the only person with the stature to replace Obama as a presidential candidate without causing a Democratic Party meltdown. Clinton may not be able to win the White House, but she will be the only Democrat who can revive a party tainted by Obama’s incompetence and hubris.

When this columns ends up on Hillary Clinton’s desk, as inevitably it will, her reaction? “Dang,” she’s going to say. “Andy again. He almost perfectly timed my resurgence during the 2008 campaign. How does he do it?” In 2008, Clinton started to fight back against the Kenyan pipsqueak, but it was too late. This time around, the McChrystal decision makes it clear that it is too late to save Barack Obama.

Hillary Clinton will be the Democratic Party’s nominee in 2012.

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ABOUT ANDY: Andy Martin is the legendary New York and Chicago-based muckraker, author, Internet columnist, radio talk show host, broadcaster and media critic. He has over forty years of broadcasting background in radio and television and is the dean of Illinois media and communications. He is currently promoting his best-selling book, “Obama: The Man Behind The Mask” and his Internet movie “Obama: The Hawai’i years.” Martin has been a leading corruption fighter in Illinois for over forty years. He is currently sponsoring www.AmericaisReadyforReform.com

Andy is the Executive Editor and publisher of the “Internet Powerhouse,” www.ContrarianCommentary.com. He comments on regional, national and world events with more than four decades of investigative experience. He holds a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Illinois College of Law and is a former adjunct professor of law at the City University of New York (LaGuardia CC, Bronx CC).

UPDATES:
www.twitter.com/AndyMartinUSA
www.facebook.com/AndyMartin

Andy’s columns are also posted at ContrarianCommentary.blogspot.com; contrariancommentary.wordpress.com.
contrariancommentary.typepad.com
[NOTE: We try to correct any typographical errors in this story on our blogs; find our latest edition there.]

MEDIA CONTACT: (866) 706-2639 or CELL (917) 664-9329
E-MAIL: AndyMart20@aol.com
© Copyright by Andy Martin 2010

Andy Martin on “Shattered McChrystal:” The saga of Barack Obama and Stanley McChrystal

Andy Martin says Barack Obama’s management approach failed in Afghanistan. Martin says Obama should meet privately with McChrystal, and find out why a man he relies on is not loyal. But firing McChrystal would do serious damage to Obama. Martin, who is usually a critic of Obama, offers the president a way out of the White House-created morass.

Internet powerhouse Andy Martin tells President Obama how to survive “shattered McChrystal”
ContrarianCommentary.com
“The Internet Powerhouse”
Andy Martin
Executive Editor

“Factually Correct, Not Politically Correct”

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Andy Martin says this is a time when Obama really must be a “no drama” leader

Martin says the Obama-McChrystal meeting is a time for a beer, not a baseball bat.

(NEW YORK)(June 23, 2010) I was Obama’s first critic, way back in 2004. And, of course, I literally “wrote the book” on Obama. My book, “Obama: The Man Behind The Mask,” begins with a psychological profile of then-Senator Obama. Looking back at something written in 2007 surprises me at how current and how correctly we analyzed the future president. It’s still a book worth reading. Buy it before they sell out. So, yes, I am a strong critic of Barack Obama.

It is not often I give Obama advice on how to “man up” as a leader, but this is one of those rare times. The prevailing wisdom is that General Stanley McChrystal will be fired Wednesday. One TV bobblehead said Obama has to “look strong” and firing McChrystal give Obama a chance to look presidential. Allusions to President Truman’s firing of General Douglas Macarthur are also being raised. This is all typical cable TV nonsense.

First, some practical advice for the president. You don’t know soldiers. It’s about time you learned something about our men and women in uniform. To Obama, our military has been a set of chess pieces, to be moved around on a “policy” board. Has Obama ever had a beer with McChrystal? Doubtful. Other soldiers? Also doubtful. Obama was more of a fugitive than a commander when he recently visited Afghanistan, in and out in a few hours. That kind of slam “bam” visit to a war zone does nothing to encourage the troops despite the artificial photo ops that are always generated by the media.

So, advice number one to BHO: to use your own phrase, use the McChrystal controversy as a teaching and learning moment, and learn what you don’t know about our men and women in uniform.

Second, who loves his boss? So McChrystal & Co. bitched about the senior management of Obama’s team. In my opinion, too much has already been made of this incident. Obama has been poorly advised.

Yes, Stanley was stupid. But he will be harder on himself than anyone else can be. Soldiers are like that. He let his men down. That’s a heavy burden for a real commander to bear.

Third, there was no “insubordination” by McChrystal. Stupidity and bad manners in not necessarily insubordination. “Crazy Keith” Olbermann was reading from the Uniform Code of Military Justice. What “order” did McChrystal disobey? The UCMJ clearly has overbroad restrictions on free speech by military personnel. It is one thing to disobey an order. It is quite another to bitch, bitch, bitch.

Soldiers have been bitching since the dawn of organized forces. Willie and Joe would have landed Bill Mauldin in jail during World War II if we applied the McChrystal test being applied by cable TV’s “warriors.”

Fourth, Barack Obama has never been a man’s man. Yes, he played poker with the boys down in Springfield, but that was politics and play acting by the then-state senator. When McChrystal said Obama looked intimidated when the two met at the Pentagon, he was probably telling the truth. Barry Obama is not a man who feels at ease around soldiers. He has to admit that to himself. To take a line from the old song, “President Obama, you’re in the Army now.”

Fifth, McChrystal has spent his life in special ops. The “snake eaters” are even more macho and occasionally goofy than ordinary troops. And, yes, the men bitch. Bitching is part of Army life. There is no law that says you have to love your commander-in-chief. The law only requires you to obey and follow orders. I have no doubt that if Obama was in danger on Wednesday (today) McChrystal would risk his liFe to protect the president. He is that loyal. Loyalty is not the issue in this Gilbert and Sullivan operetta.

McChrystal has faithfully obeyed Obama’s orders and, moreover, he has interpreted them in a way that has given Obama “cover” for politically incorrect decisions, such as the policy of restraining air strikes and artillery to avoid civilian casualties. The Obama/McChrystal policy is costing American lives while it saves Afghan lives. That’s a tough call. That’s real leadership. Where is Obama going to find a generally so totally devoted to following Obama’s directives?

McChrystal has been a loyal soldier. Firing McChrystal will devastate Obama’s strategy in Afghanistan. Firing McChrystal might make the anti-military pasty-faced weenies in the White House feel good for a few hours. But in doing so Obama would have shot down his best hope of a deal in Afghanistan. Truth be told, Obama needs McChrystal more than McChrystal needs Obama.

So how does a boss deal with unruly employees that pick up a few brewskis and start bitching? Fire them? I don’t think so.

Basic management would tell you that when middle management (the general in the field and his combat team) are unhappy, something is wrong. There was a management failure in allowing the Afghan operation to become alienated from the policy wonks in Washington. The management failure is Obama’s, not McChrystal’s. When did Obama ever sit down with all of his feuding barons and get them to work things out? That’s what Obama’s “pay grade” is supposed to do. He failed. There is dissension in the ranks.

Much as I disliked George Bush’s Iraq invasion, Bush had the good sense and management skill to sit down with Paul Bremer. Alone. Turns out Bush may have been a better manager than Obama.

If the team doesn’t assemble and meet informally from time to time, the team is going to grouse, bitch, and engage in sniping and cattiness. Jesus’ disciples used to argue about who was the greatest among them. So what’s new? Has Obama ever played football? Baseball? What does he think players do off the field or the mound? Sing love songs to management?

My management prescription: It’s time for a beer. The real solution to Obama’s “shattered McChrystal” is the counterintuitive one. Obama needs to do something he is usually accused of doing too much of already, he needs to apologize. (In private.) Only this time he really has to mean it.

Obama needs to clear out the room, and bring in some beer and chips. Then he needs to be a man, among men, and have a heart-to-heart with Stanley. Obama’s “apology” is not an apologetic act. Rather, it is an affirmation of the fact that he remains estranged from another man on whose shoulders so much of the Obama foreign policy rests. If I had a man who was carrying the burden of making me a success, I would come close to that person and create loyalty, not enmity. That’s basic leadership.

The White House, moreover, is a bad place to fire a general. McChrystal would start to leave the grounds, stiff upper lip, and say he was fired or relieved or whatever. Not good for anyone, and not good for the United States. As much as I want to see Obama out of office, I still love my flag and my men and women in uniform more. I do not want to see the office of president crushed by a lack of familiarity with the military ethos. Or with basic Management 101.

Think of the difference in perception if Obama and McChrystal meet alone, without aides, and they have a genuine, honest and open discussion of why McChrystal’s team feels alienated from so many of the Obama team.

Think of the real victory Obama could win if he and McChrystal come out smiling, and Obama says “General McChrystal and I understand each other. We share the same values and are committed to the same policy. And I told the general, the next time he wants to complain, he should pick up the phone. While I was disappointed in the statements attributed to the general and his leadership team, I also realize that blowing off steam is not a basis to end a military career.” End of story.

Obviously I could write at greater length, but you get the picture. TV loves smiling pictures, not scowling faces and stiff upper lips. Americans want to see a positive message, not retaliation against some officers for getting drunk and blowing off steam with ridiculous remarks to a writer.

The irony is, of course, that I was an early opponent of the Afghan surge, and I do not support Obama’s policy. But the decision was made to surge. As a recent book by Jonathan Alter makes clear, Obama erred. He brokered harmony over his Afghanistan policy by appeasing Joe Biden with a rigid timetable for withdrawal.

General McChrystal and anyone who has ever been in a combat zone (excluding Field Marshal Mark Kirk) knows a pre-announced, rigid withdrawal schedule is impractical and unrealistic.

We have a strange situation when we have Hamid Karzai backing McChrystal, and Senator John Kerry sounding like a serious statesman. As for me, I favor Joe Biden’s policy approach, but Obama rejected that pathway. I love and respect McChrystal as a warrior and patriot, and I believe he should continue in Afghanistan. But on the policy merits I think Joe Biden was right. The bottom line: we have a very complex situation, with honorable people taking different views of how to solve the same problem. That’s precisely the kind of situation in which managers blow off steam by bitching.

For me, Barack Obama will show me that he’s more of a man if he has a beer with McChrystal, instead of beating him with a baseball bat. As for our policy in Afghanistan, that’s a topic for another column. For General Stanley McChrystal and President Barack Obama my recommendation is “bottoms up,” not a baseball bat beating. America will be the better for it.

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ABOUT ANDY: Andy Martin is the legendary New York and Chicago-based muckraker, author, Internet columnist, radio talk show host, broadcaster and media critic. He has over forty years of broadcasting background in radio and television and is the dean of Illinois media and communications. He is currently promoting his best-selling book, “Obama: The Man Behind The Mask” and his Internet movie “Obama: The Hawai’i years.” Martin has been a leading corruption fighter in Illinois for over forty years. He is currently sponsoring www.AmericaisReadyforReform.com

Andy is the Executive Editor and publisher of the “Internet Powerhouse,” www.ContrarianCommentary.com. He comments on regional, national and world events with more than four decades of investigative experience. He holds a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Illinois College of Law and is a former adjunct professor of law at the City University of New York (LaGuardia CC, Bronx CC).

UPDATES:
www.twitter.com/AndyMartinUSA
www.facebook.com/AndyMartin

Andy’s columns are also posted at ContrarianCommentary.blogspot.com; contrariancommentary.wordpress.com.
contrariancommentary.typepad.com
[NOTE: We try to correct any typographical errors in this story on our blogs; find our latest edition there.]

MEDIA CONTACT: (866) 706-2639 or CELL (917) 664-9329
E-MAIL: AndyMart20@aol.com
© Copyright by Andy Martin 2010

Andy Martin issues an open letter to BP executives and directors

Andy Martin’s “Open letter to BP executives and directors” asks the company to “stand up to Barack Obama.” Martin says Obama’s demand for billions in “crony cash” for Democratic Party interest groups to distribute is nothing more than a step towards dictatorial government and the end of private enterprise. Martin says Obama’s demand for billions in cash is merely an appeasement to trial lawyers and other special interests. Obama wants to destroy BP. BP executives must stand firm and reject BHO’s demands.

Martin says Obama is anti-American and anti-British. Martin compares Obama to African leaders who govern as “big men,” not constitutional executives.

Finally, Martin says BP has to rebuild and restore public confidence, but it should do so without resort to Obama’s extrajudicial demands.

Andy Martin tells BP executives they face a historic moment in government/corporate relations

Martin says BP executives must reject Barack Obama’s demand for a multi-billion dollar slush fund

ContrarianCommentary.com
“The Internet Powerhouse”

Andy Martin
Executive Editor

“Factually Correct, Not
Politically Correct”

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Andy Martin issues an “Open Letter to BP executives and directors”

Martin says BP must reject Obama’s demands for “crony cash” to pass out to Democratic Party special interest groups such as trial lawyers

Martin says Obama is an African-style leader, not an Anglo-American constitutional chief executive

(CHICAGO)(June 16, 2010) Dear Executives and Directors of BP:

I implore you to reject Barack Obama’s dictatorial demand for billions of dollars in cash that Obama in turn would distribute to his political cronies and Democratic Party interest groups. There is no precedent for a private company to turn over billions in cash to a non-government entity when the government issuing that demand is acting without statutory authority and totally outside the judicial process.

If you surrender to Obama’s demands you will soon find yourself besieged by similar demands around and across the globe.

Normally, large companies and their executives operate “out of sight.” Officers and directors are not thrown to the lions in public spectacles orchestrated by presidents or prime ministers. But the terrible disaster in the Gulf now calls on you to defend our common law judicial and governmental institutions.

Junior executives at BP appear to have acted wrongly in supervising BP’s drilling program in the Gulf. I believe that you should pay full compensation for any damages, as well as a reasonable penalty if one is imposed through due process of law. And I urge you to set up your own expedited reimbursement processes.

I would urge you to proactively create a compensation plan after rejecting Obama’s obscene demands.

But in the White House Wednesday you must stand up for the hundreds of years of Anglo-American history governing the relationship between government and private enterprise/free markets. Our Anglo-American economic system is not perfect. Far from it. But it has evolved through the centuries with rules, and due process of law to adjudicate liability. From Blackstone’s Commentaries to the U. S. Supreme Court, legal precedents and institutions govern issues of liability and proximate cause.

There is no precedent in the common law for a government demand to private enterprise to turn over a mountain of cash which will then be distributed at the whim and caprice of an unidentified individual without any statutory or judicial constraints. Obama is trying to politicize your liability instead of seeking to lawfully adjudicate your financial responsibility.

Obama clearly does not believe in American law. His veneer as a “law professor” is merely a veneer. Obama lionizes the tribal justice of his late Luo father. But America is not Kenya. President Obama’s father was anti-British and anti-American. It increasingly appears that Obama is basing his own administration on tribal, not democratic institutions. The accusation that Obama is a “socialist” statist appears to be informing his unprecedented demand that you turn over billions in cash without accountability or judicial supervision. Where else but in Africa or another Third World nation would you find such an extraordinary demand?

Africa has weak to nonexistent government entities. Africa relies on the “big man” theory of leadership. Obama sees himself as a “big man,” not as a democratic leader constrained by a Constitution and Due Process of Law. Obama’s political culture is an antithesis to Anglo-American society. Laminated to Obama’s “African” attitudes is the legendary culture of corruption in Chicago where Obama rose to political prominence.

Obama’s outrageous demand to BP is the reason why history calls upon you to strike a blow for democracy and private enterprise. You must stand up to Obama and reject his obscene demands. You have fiduciary duties to your own employees, shareholders and even the people of the Gulf to do so.

You must do justice, promptly, to the people of the Gulf. But you cannot do justice to President Barack Obama.

Godspeed.

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Andy Martin is the legendary New York and Chicago-based muckraker, author, Internet columnist, radio talk show host, broadcaster and media critic. He has over forty years of broadcasting background in radio and television and is the dean of Illinois media and communications. He is currently promoting his best-selling book, “Obama: The Man Behind The Mask” and his Internet movie “Obama: The Hawai’i years.” Andy is the Executive Editor and publisher of www.ContrarianCommentary.com.

Martin comments on regional, national and world events with more than four decades of investigative experience. He holds a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Illinois College of Law and is a former adjunct professor of law at the City University of New York (LaGuardia CC, Bronx CC).

UPDATES:
www.twitter.com/AndyMartinUSA
www.facebook.com/AndyMartin

Andy’s columns are also posted at ContrarianCommentary.blogspot.com; contrariancommentary.wordpress.com.
contrariancommentary.typepad.com
[NOTE: We try to correct any typographical errors in this story on our blogs; find our latest edition there.]

MEDIA CONTACT: (866) 706-2639 or CELL (917) 664-9329
E-MAIL: AndyMart20@aol.com
© Copyright by Andy Martin 2010
—————————-

Andy Martin scoops the mainstream media with Sunderland family scam story

Andy Martin’s ContrarianCommentary.com was the first to expose the Sunderland family as “reality TV” scammers. Other media are now following Andy’s lead and reporting how the crass Sunderland family adults have used (and abused) their children as pawns in their financial shenanigans. “We were first,” Andy says. “Blogger Nation wins another race against the bloated, incompetent and totally misleading mainstream media. I am more convinced than ever that Abby Sunderland’s ‘rescue’ was nothing more than a stunt to hype their financial promotions, after the original ‘story’ elicited little public or media response. So they staged a rescue. Crass, Criminal. People are getting tired of whacko families that let their kids risk their lives for fame.”

Martin calls the Sunderland family the new “Munsters” of reality TV

Andy Martin’s ContrarianCommentary.com is the first to expose the Sunderland family’s scams

The “Internet Powerhouse” scores another investigative first as Contrarian Commentary scoops all of the nation’s media

Martin says Abby Sunderland’s “rescue” appears to have been a staged reality TV scam

The Sunderlands appear to be the latest in a long line of reality TV scammers

ContrarianCommentary.com
“The Internet Powerhouse”

Andy Martin
Executive Editor

“Factually Correct, Not
Politically Correct”

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Andy Martin says the “rescue” of Abby Sunderland may have been staged to promote her reality TV series: “We have “Balloon Boy II,” Martin says

Martin was the first to expose that the Sunderlands were engaged in a reality TV scam

Andy Martin says the mainstream media are feeding the reality TV scammers by treating them as legitimate news events instead of commercial exploitationists and fraud artists

(NEW YORK)(June 14, 2010) Andy Martin, Executive Editor of ContrarianCommentary.com, who is called the “Internet Powerhouse” for exposing Barack Obama’s personal lies and Congressman Mark Kirk’s fabricated military record, and well as other “firsts” and “exclusives,” was the first to blow the whistle on Abby Sunderland and her Sunderland family reality TV scams.

“I am convinced that the ‘rescue’ was staged to obtain media publicity,” Martin says. “We were the first to expose the ‘Sunderland shenanigans’ on Friday and again on Sunday morning.

“By Monday morning (today) the New York Post had followed our lead and jumped on the story. The Sunderlands are creeps that are abusing their children and should be prosecuted by California authorities.

“Once again the ‘Internet Powerhouse’ has scooped—and embarrassed-the mainstream media by exposing a reality TV scam long before ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC wisened up. That’s why people turn to Blogger Nation and ContrarianCommentary.com for the first facts and first analysis. The mainstream media follow us.

“We are proud to have been the first media source to expose the Sunderlands as scam artists. We believe closer examination of this family and an interrogation of Abby Sunderland will show her parents sent her into harm’s way as part of a reality TV promotion. The ‘rescue’ was staged to gain media attention after initial attempts to attract interest were unsuccessful.”

Martin suggests that California law enforcement and child protection authorities seize the tapes/films of the Sunderlands and open a criminal investigation.

“I renew what I said last Friday: these parents belong in jail, and the children belong under state supervision,” Martin says.

“The timing of our stories (Vienna time) are marked by our Internet postings:

http://www.pr-inside.com/andy-martin-abby-sunderland-and-her-r1944384.htm

http://www.pr-inside.com/is-abby-sunderland-just-another-reality-r1945647.htm

Jay Leno and David Letterman, are you paying attention?
————————————

Andy Martin is the legendary New York and Chicago-based muckraker, author, Internet columnist, radio talk show host, broadcaster and media critic. He has over forty years of broadcasting background in radio and television and is the dean of Illinois media and communications. He is currently promoting his best-selling book, “Obama: The Man Behind The Mask” and his Internet movie “Obama: The Hawai’i years.” Andy is the Executive Editor and publisher of www.ContrarianCommentary.com.

Martin comments on regional, national and world events with more than four decades of investigative experience. He holds a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Illinois College of Law and is a former adjunct professor of law at the City University of New York (LaGuardia CC, Bronx CC).

UPDATES:
www.twitter.com/AndyMartinUSA
www.facebook.com/AndyMartin

Andy’s columns are also posted at ContrarianCommentary.blogspot.com; contrariancommentary.wordpress.com.
contrariancommentary.typepad.com
[NOTE: We try to correct any typographical errors in this story on our blogs; find our latest edition there.]

MEDIA CONTACT: (866) 706-2639 or CELL (917) 664-9329
E-MAIL: AndyMart20@aol.com
© Copyright by Andy Martin 2010
—————————-

Is Abby Sunderland just another reality TV scammer?

There is increasing evidence that the Sunderland family will take its place along side other recent scammers such as “balloon boy” and the Salafis (White House crashers). Andy Martin says reality TV producers are creating these strange people and deranged family ventures.

Andy Martin asks whether the entire Sunderland family is a reality TV scam

Martin says Abby Sunderland’s “rescue” may have been orchestrated by her father

The Sunderland appear to be the latest in a long line of reality TV scammers

ContrarianCommentary.com
Andy Martin
Executive Editor

“Factually Correct, Not
Politically Correct”

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Andy Martin says the mainstream media are feeding the reality TV scammers by treating them as legitimate news events instead of commercial exploitationists

(NEW YORK)(June 13, 2010) The Sunderland family, led by “Octomom” Marianne and her loopy father, appears to be just another reality TV scam. Someone has suggested that Octomom Sunderland, who has four teenage children, is pregnant again. All the better to provide quality time for her commercial brood.

I was alerted to the commercialization of this 16 year-old by a reader, who furnished me with a link to Magnetic Entertainment, which is shopping reality TV shows about the Sunderlands:

http://www.magneticent.com/html/projects.htm

A little more digging let me to a sponsorship page, with a price list of sponsorships for the 16 year-old, also linked to Magnetic Entertainment:

http://abbysunderland.com/images/sponsors/abby_sponsorship.pdf

First we had the balloon boy scam floating into space. Then we had the Salafis crashing the White House. Now the Sunderlands look as creepy as any of these whackos. When and where does it end?

Why is there no critical analysis from the mainstream media. The “rescue” of Abby Sunderland is treated as a legitimate news event. It appears to have been a crass commercial exploitation. The Sunderlands even advertised that their daughter was sailing into the “fearsome rigors of the southern seas.” What kind of a parent would expose a child to that kind of danger, alone, for months? Only a deranged parent. Only a sicko.

After Abby’s initial masthead problems her father, who claims to be an experienced mariner, had to have known that she was in increasing danger. But he egged her on. It sounds like an increasingly staged and artificial “rescue.”

After being rescued, Abby’s snide remarks about her age and the dangers of the high seas have a Hollywood-like veneer to them.

And, by the way, why is Abby not in school? What kind of a scam did the Sunderlands pull to get their daughter out of school for a year, sailing alone? Is she “home schooling” herself? Hello, California officials?

The Sunderlands smell. But then the entire reality TV universe stinks as well.

Jay Leno and David Letterman, are you paying attention?
————————————

Andy Martin is a legendary Chicago muckraker, author, Internet columnist, radio talk show host, broadcaster and media critic. He has over forty years of broadcasting background in radio and television and is the dean of Illinois media and communications. He is currently promoting his best-selling book, Obama: The Man Behind The Mask and his Internet movie “Obama: The Hawai’i years.” Andy is the Executive Editor and publisher of www.ContrarianCommentary.com.

Martin comments on regional, national and world events with more than four decades of experience. He holds a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Illinois College of Law and is a former adjunct professor of law at the City University of New York (LaGuardia CC, Bronx CC).

UPDATES:
www.twitter.com/AndyMartinUSA
www.facebook.com/AndyMartin

Andy’s columns are also posted at ContrarianCommentary.blogspot.com; contrariancommentary.wordpress.com.
contrariancommentary.typepad.com
[NOTE: We try to correct any typographical errors in this story on our blogs; find our latest edition there.]

MEDIA CONTACT: (866) 706-2639 or CELL (917) 664-9329
E-MAIL: AndyMart20@aol.com
© Copyright by Andy Martin 2010
—————————-

Tea Party “Terminator” Andy Martin: Nevada and Kentucky primary results pose a challenge to the Republican Party

Political columnist Andy Martin finds reasons for confidence, and reasons for doubt, about the prospects for Republican victory in 2010 U. S. Senate elections in Nevada and Kentucky. Martin questions whether absolutist Tea Party views can sustain statewide victories. Martin is a Tea Party sympathizer who has attacked the corrupt Illinois Republican Party establishment. But in his latest column he takes a wider look at the effect of Tea Party activism on Republicans nationally.

Tea Party “Terminator” Andy Martin says the Tea Party movement may be undermining the Republican Party

Martin says Tea Party-backed candidates Rand Paul and Sharron Angle could face defeat in November

ContrarianCommentary.com
Andy Martin
Executive Editor

“Factually Correct, Not
Politically Correct”

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Andy Martin says that conservative “Tea Party” ideologues may be undermining chances for a Republican victory in November.

Martin says Tea Party-backed U. S. Senate candidates in Nevada and Kentucky could lower Republican chances of winning control of the Senate

(CHICAGO)(June 9, 2010) Fox News pundit Dick Morris was an early prognosticator that the Republican Party would gain control of the U. S. Senate in November. I fully agreed with Morris when he initially made his prediction. Now I’m not so sure. I still think Republicans can and will win control of the Senate. But there are clouds on the horizon.

Many Republican leaders initially welcomed the energy of “Tea Party” activists in Republican primaries. I am a strong believer in Tea Party energy, enthusiasm and activism. But some Republicans may be having second thoughts after Tuesday’s primaries.

I watched Rand Paul win his Kentucky primary in May. He seemed like an amiable, electable candidate to the U. S. Senate. Then Paul shot himself in the foot by suggesting the Civil Rights Acts of the 1960’s denied people the freedom to be racial bigots. Paul clearly expressed support for Jim Crow-style racial discrimination as a constitutional option.

After a storm of criticism, Paul backtracked and said he would have voted for the 1960’s statutes that put America on the path to ending racial discrimination. But Paul’s support for racial equality was grudging and belated. And disappointing.

Paul had grievously damaged himself by seemingly seeking to reopen the bitter battles of the 1960’s.

I was stunned. I am a strong supporter of civil rights laws and ending racial discrimination. More Republicans than Democrats voted for the 1960’s civil rights laws. Rand Paul was needlessly squandering a grand legacy.

I was stunned again when Paul started criticizing anti-smoking statutes and ordinances. I am not a smoker, and I do not want to be subjected to anyone else’s second-hand smoke. I find smokers who deposit their buts on sidewalks and everywhere else contemptible human beings. They think the world is their ashtray.

I am a conservative who favors clean air.

What next “big” issue is Rand Paul going to tackle?

Paul increasingly looks like a theoretical absolutist who is marginalizing himself before the Democrats even start firing their ammunition. He may still win, but he will probably do so just barely. And the chances that Democrats could win that “Republican leaning” seat are stronger today than they were before the Kentucky primary. The Tea Party is clearly taking Kentucky Republicans backwards.

Tuesday night (June 8th) Sharron Angle won the Nevada Republican primary to run against Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid. I am uncertain Angle’s views can sustain a statewide campaign. Nevertheless, personally I find Angle an appealing candidate. I have sincere concerns about her, but not strong ones.

The cloud: Reid’s supporters financially supported Angle’s campaign to win the nomination. When you have Democrats backing a Republican to run against a Democrat, the red warning light is lit. I am concerned about the actions of Reid’s supporters. Strongly.

Don’t get me wrong. I have no love for the Republican Party’s national leadership. And Republicans needed a Tea Party shot to wake up sclerotic state Republican parties. But we may be seeing a political example of the old saying that “Too much of a good thing is no good.”

The “Politics of Purity” may prove toxic to Republican hopes of recapturing the Senate.

Neither the Democratic “base” nor the Republican “base” is capable of winning a statewide election in most states. Senator Blanche Lincoln proved that point when she was accosted by the left-wing base of the Democratic Party in Arkansas and narrowly managed to escape defeat on June 8th.

Winning candidates need to broaden their appeal. Can Tea Party loyalists do so? We will have to wait and see.

There is one “x” factor that may elect even unelectable Republicans in November. If the hapless presidential pretender in the White House continues to do a pathetic job of being a national leader, a role for which he has no prior experience and for which he has never manifested any qualifications or aptitude, even marginal candidates such as Paul and Angle will win.

But if Republicans are counting simply on voter anger to win a majority, what does that say about the candidates and issues they are offering to voters?

I am comfortable being a conservative. And America is a center-right nation. Wild swings to the left such as 1964 and 2008 only happen under extreme circumstances. 2010 will not be an extreme year. It will be a rebuilding year. For America and for loyal Americans who love their Constitution.

But is Paul’s pro-smoking agenda really a vote grabber in 2010? Do we really want to debate in 2010 the need to vanquish segregation in the 1960’s? Can Angle broaden her appeal?

Clearly, the “Tea Party” has become a mixed blessing for the Republican Party. I am a Tea Party sympathizer and, on balance, will give the movement more time and more opportunity to prove itself. But based on the “early returns,” the Tea Party may be sending as many Republicans down to defeat in November as it is sending to Washington.

Stay tuned. We will have many more opportunities to revisit this question. Guess what? America is still a work in progress. 2010 will be a “real” change election. We need a Republican congress to restrain Barack Obama. How we get there is still an open question. Will we get there is also an increasing challenge.

Cigarette, anyone?

————————————

Andy Martin is a legendary Chicago muckraker, author, Internet columnist, radio talk show host, broadcaster and media critic. He has over forty years of broadcasting background in radio and television and is the dean of Illinois media and communications. He is currently promoting his best-selling book, Obama: The Man Behind The Mask and his Internet movie “Obama: The Hawai’i years.” Andy is the Executive Editor and publisher of www.ContrarianCommentary.com.

Martin comments on regional, national and world events with more than four decades of experience. He holds a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Illinois College of Law and is a former adjunct professor of law at the City University of New York.

UPDATES:
www.twitter.com/AndyMartinUSA
www.facebook.com/AndyMartin

Andy’s columns are also posted at ContrarianCommentary.blogspot.com; contrariancommentary.wordpress.com.
contrariancommentary.typepad.com
[NOTE: We try to correct any typographical errors in this story on our blogs; find our latest edition there.]

MEDIA CONTACT: (866) 706-2639 or CELL (917) 664-9329
E-MAIL: AndyMart20@aol.com
© Copyright by Andy Martin 2010
—————————-

Tea Party “Terminator” Andy Martin: Jack Roeser is giving dementia a bad name

Illinois conservative cash machine Jack Roeser is increasingly acting as a confused old man who is not up to the rigors of Illinois’ smashmouth political playing field. Andy Martin says Jack Roeser’s strong opposition to Congressman Mark Kirk, followed by support for Kirk, has confused pro-family conservatives and left Roeser stranded alone in the movement he has been funding for over a decade.

Tea Party “Terminator” Andy Martin says “Jack Roeser is giving dementia a bad name”

Andy Martin chides “conservative” Jack Roeser for backing a series of hopeless losers in the Republican Party

Martin says Roeser’s cash has actually retarded the growth and strength of family values in the Republican Party

NEWS FROM:
ANDY MARTIN /2010
“The Name You Can Trust”
Republican for U. S. Senator
30 E. Huron Street, Suite 4406
Chicago, IL 60611-4723
(866) 706-2639
www.AndyforUSSenator.com
www.AndyforUSSenator.blogspot.com
www.AndyforUSSenator.wordpress.com

www.MarkKirk.us
www.IllinoisHighSpeedTrains.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Andy Martin says that Illinois conservative “Daddy Warbucks” Jack Roeser has actually damaged the conservative movement he claims to be supporting.

Martin says Roeser’s opposition then support for Mark Kirk is reflective of Roeser’s seemingly diminished capacity.

Roeser was “right” on Kirk before he was wrong on Kirk

(CHICAGO)(June 9, 2010) Wealthy Carpentersville businessman Jack Roeser can’t win for losing in the Republican Party. Roeser’s recent machinations are giving dementia a bad name.

First, a little history. Roeser ran for Illinois Governor in the 90’s as a “family values” candidate. He is a very successful businessman whose company is apparently well managed and throws off extra cash. Roeser decided to “invest” some of his surplus cash in a series of “conservative” organizations. The result has been a disaster for Roeser and conservatives. Here’s why.

First, the good stuff.

A year ago Roeser cast around for a candidate to support for U. S. Senator. He settled on Patrick Hughes, a failed attorney who had seldom voted and had no record of political involvement. Roeser decided to back Hughes financially. Bad move. Hughes was the “Mark Kirk” of 2009. Hughes inflated his endorsements and wandered around the state spreading cash to bribe people into supporting him. Hughes became a laughingstock even among his own supporters.

Last November Roeser did a radio show on WIND-AM with one of his political slugs, Ray True. Roeser and True trashed one of Hughes’ opponents, Congressman Mark Kirk. Roeser said there was a “solid rumor” Kirk was homosexual and True suggested Kirk was surrounded by a Praetorian Guard of gays (“special orientation”). Roeser said homosexuals were “clubbing up” in the Republican Party. Roeser archives his radio shows on the Internet so you can still listen for yourself to what he and True actually said. Go to Segment Two:

http://www.championnews.net/article.php?sid=2165

I was planning to air attack ads against Kirk, and I used Roeser’s radio slashes at Kirk as a source of my claims. My ads never said Kirk was a homosexual. They said Roeser had stated there were strong rumors Kirk was homosexual.

After listening to Roeser’s attacks on Kirk you can listen to my ads and judge for yourself if I quoted and paraphrased Roeser and True fairly:

http://www.andyforussenator.com/andys_ads.htm

Obviously, Roeser and True were quoted and paraphrased accurately. Amazingly, Roeser’s archived program is still on the Internet (see above link).

As soon as my anti-Kirk ads began to run on December 28th, 2009 Roeser denied he had ever made his claims, even though they were there to be heard on the Internet and still are seven months later!

Along with Roeser, his friend True also tried to weasel out and denied he had made his remarks. Roeser and True told the media I “hadn’t spoken” with them, although there was no need to speak with them when their own broadcast was archived on the Internet.

Why Roeser would deny facts that he had put on the Internet always amazed me. Obviously, Roeser had no idea what he was saying (and denying). There was a whiff of dementia around Roeser’s and True’s malicious and unfounded attacks on me.

The cash Roeser deposited in Hughes’ campaign did nothing to make a serious candidate out of Hughes. Hughes fumbled and failed miserably. Hughes was no match for Kirk. Despite spending a fortune on his campaign, Hughes ignored my evidence that Kirk was a military fraud and never developed any “opposition research” the way Democrat Alexi Giannoulias later did using my Kirk material as source code.

Shortly after Mark Kirk won the 2010 primary, Illinois Republican State Chairman Pat Brady went to Roeser and asked Roeser to give the Republican Party $50,000. Brady promised to make Roeser a member of Brady’s “Finance Committee.” Roeser wrote a check to his old adversaries after suggesting the “bad guys were gone” from the party’s leadership circle. In reality, the bad guys were still at the table. They had merely changed chairs and masks. Once again, Roeser was fooled.

Roeser’s joinder with the Illinois Republican Party’s apparatchiks now compelled Roeser to support Mark Kirk, the candidate Roeser had only a few weeks earlier excoriated and exposed as a homosexual and reprobate.

The rest, as they say, is history. No sooner did Roeser join the bad guys in the Illinois Republican Party, homosexual activists “outed” Kirk as a homosexual and national media exposed Kirk as a massive military fraud. I have called Kirk the greatest military imposter in Republican Party history.

Roeser ended up looking like a complete jerk for backing Kirk after being against him. After being “right” about Kirk, Roeser jumped ship, reversed direction and endorsed Kirk for office just in time to catch the backlash from Kirk’s exposure and political meltdown. Bad timing.

Roeser also scrubbed his own ChampionNews.net web site of any anti-Kirk materials. Roeser fired Doug Ibendahl, a particularly effective anti-Kirk advocate on Roeser’s payroll. ChampionNews.net today is a pale shadow of what it once was.

Bottom line, Roeser was right on Kirk in 2009, and then wrong on Kirk in 2010. He started supporting Kirk just before Kirk imploded. Obviously, Roeser looks like a hopelessly confused senior citizen who doesn’t really understand what he was once saying, and what he is now doing.

More background.

Starting in the 1990’s Roeser passed out cash to “conservative” groups. But these groups never really flourished because Roeser’s cash came with tight purse strings. Roeser imposed iron control over his beneficiaries, all of whom were terrified of offending their Daddy Warbucks.

Thus, instead of using his money to help conservative views flourish and grow with a spirit of independence, Roeser’s cash became an iron collar around “his” conservative movement. Instead of helping conservatives and family values expand, Roeser retarded the growth of these movements. And, now that Roeser has joined the “liberal,” pro-corruption wing of the Republican Party, led by Chairman Pat Brady, Roeser is once again on the outside. With everyone. And he’s out the $50,000 that Brady bamboozled out of Roeser.

Roeser may be competent to manage his business even in his late 80’s. But there is a serious question whether Roeser is competent and capable of engaging in big time, smashmouth Republican Party politics. As a writer on the Washington Post’s web site said of Helen Thomas, Roeser’s contradictory actions and denials represent “the thinking of an aged mind no longer up to the task of interpreting complex events in the contemporary world.”

Roeser thought his “conservative” organizations would follow him into the Republican Party’s fold. None have. The always irascible and often irrational Mr. Roeser is marching alone in his pathetic parade.

Roeser’s up/down behavior and reversals are giving dementia a bad name. Someone ought to tell him. But then Roeser wouldn’t listen anyway. This is not a story with a happy ending.

What is in Roeser’s future plans for Mark Kirk? Stand by for the next event in Roeser’s three-ring circus.
————————————
Martin’s latest anti-Kirk blogs:

www.DefeatMarkKirk.blogspot.com;
www.contrariancommentary.typepad.com/defeatmarkkirk/

————————————

Andy Martin is a legendary Chicago muckraker, author, Internet columnist, radio talk show host, broadcaster and media critic. He has over forty years of broadcasting background in radio and television and is the dean of Illinois media and communications. He is currently promoting his best-selling book, Obama: The Man Behind The Mask and his Internet movie “Obama: The Hawai’i years.” Andy is the Executive Editor and publisher of www.ContrarianCommentary.com.

Martin comments on regional, national and world events with more than four decades of experience. He holds a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Illinois College of Law and is a former adjunct professor of law at the City University of New York.

UPDATES:
www.twitter.com/AndyMartinUSA
www.facebook.com/AndyMartin

Andy’s columns are also posted at ContrarianCommentary.blogspot.com; contrariancommentary.wordpress.com.
contrariancommentary.typepad.com
[NOTE: We try to correct any typographical errors in this story on our blogs; find our latest edition there.]

MEDIA CONTACT: (866) 706-2639 or CELL (917) 664-9329
E-MAIL: AndyMart20@aol.com
© Copyright by Andy Martin 2010
—————————-

Andy Martin criticizes Tonight Show host Jay Leno for glamorizing suicidal behavior by teenagers

Andy Martin: Abby Sunderland and her parents belong in jail
Social critic Martin says it is time to put Abby Sunderland in protective custody until her parents are mature enough to be responsible for a teenager. Martin says Abby Sunderland’s parents should be billed for the cost of airplane search and rescue for their daughter. Martin believes that it is time to assert societal rights against crackpot parents that forfeit parental responsibility for their children.

“Do adults, or children, run the world?” Andy Martin asks

Martin says parents such as the Sunderlands who allow their children to engage in daredevil stunts should be jailed or lose parental rights

ContrarianCommentary.com
Andy Martin
Executive Editor

“Factually Correct, Not
Politically Correct”

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Andy Martin says Abby Sunderland belongs in state custody and her parents should be jailed for allowing a child to engage in suicidal activity

Andy calls for protests to Jay Leno and the Tonight Show for glamorizing wacko children.

(NEW YORK)(June 11, 2010) Why am I not impressed or amazed by the “Sunderland” drama on the high seas, and by the latest “rescue?” It is starting to take on the attributes of another “balloon-boy” fiasco. It is time to tell children that adults, not adolescents, run this world. It is time to put crackpot parents in jail as a deterrent to other whackos such as the parents of Abby Sunderland.

The tip-off that something is amiss is always when you find out the parents and child have a “spokesman,” in this case a moron named Christian Pinkston. Pinkston said Abby was “well-equipped” and “well-trained” to sail through dangerous seas alone.

The public is being inundated with these crackpot parents and their daredevil children. A few days ago it was the 13 year-old with the “dream” of climbing dangerous mountains. Who’s next?

Children by definition have impaired judgment. And even when family circumstances, such as the loss of a parent or family income, compel a child to take on adult responsibilities, their brains are still not ready to process complex environments such as daredevil stunts and suicide missions. That is a medically proven position.

What kind of a parent would allow a child to sail off on a suicide mission? Abby is the latest, but not the first, of these demented teenagers who “dream” of risking their lives in a suicide sailing. If she said she wanted to drag race on a mountain highway, would her parents say “yes?” (The Sunderlands probably would.)

There was controversy in California before Abby Sunderland left. Many people felt as I do that her parents should be chastised for allowing their daughter to engage in this life-threatening stunt. Now we have the “missing” episode, and the supposed “rescue.” This drama is starting to smell.

I know that taxpayers somewhere are being billed tens of thousands of dollars to pay for the “search and rescue” mission for the Sunderland family’s nonsense. The Australians should send the Sunderlands a bill for the costs of rescuing their mentally impaired daughter.

Maybe it is also time for some self-restraint on the part of the media. As long as whacko parents and their immature parents can end up on the Tonight Show or elsewhere as daredevils, the media are willing accomplices in allowing antisocial behavior to be broadcast. Moreover, glamorizing suicidal activity only encourages copycats to engage in the same ridiculous behavior.

Every reader should contact the Tonight Show, Late Show and other late night programs and ask them to boycott the Sunderlands. Do these shows publicize antisocial activity by mental patients? Of course not. But the behavior of the Sunderland family is mental and deserves to be condemned.

Where is the psychiatric profession? It is time to add a DSM classification for “parental daredevil activity syndrome” or some similar psychiatric condition. Society has been much too accepting of these dysfunctional parents and their delusional children. Watching the Sunderlands is almost enough to call for imposition of the burqa on rambunctious teenagers.

In olden days kids used to go off on group activities, with adult supervision, to engage in athletic activity. No one would have proposed sending a single 16 year-old girl into high seas alone in a dangerous dinghy. Today society is afraid to condemn crackpot activity and believes that teenagers should be the masters of their own fate. Rubbish. What part of “no” don’t these families understand?

It is time for society to say “enough, “and to criticize media that glamorize nut cases such as the Sunderlands.

Recently I was visiting my family in Palm Beach, Florida, where a 17 year-old was killed by a stray bullet at a “club.” What was a 17 year-old doing out alone at 1:30 A.M. in a dangerous neighborhood? If we were to “map” the instances of where teenagers get killed, most of the tragic episodes would happen between midnight and 6:00 A.M. Jay Leno makes a joke of the phrase, “Where are the parents?” Maybe it’s time for us to stop laughing.

I know California is bankrupt. But the state is bankrupt financially because the public has begun to act in a manner that is bankrupt socially and societally. Societies that engage in self-destructive behavior will ultimately destroy themselves. The same is true for families and 16 year-old high school girls.

It is time to clamp down. Governor Ahhhnold, enough.

Where are the so-called “family movement” organizations when we really need them?

We can start the process by asking the Australians who were forced to pay for rescue planes to bill the Sunderlands for the costs of their folly. Being slapped with a big bill for rescuing their daughter might bring the Sunderlands back to reality, if only for a day.

And every sentient citizen can condemn Jay Leno and discourage him from glamorizing the Sunderlands on the Tonight Show or similar programs. It is time for a new Television Code of Media Self-Restraint.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/11/us/11sailor.html?hp

http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2010/06/11/news/news-us-girl-sailor.html?hp

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/12/us/12sailor.html?hp=&adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1276268464-/utzq0bGMURM7WF3W8+x5Q

————————————

Andy Martin is a legendary Chicago muckraker, author, Internet columnist, radio talk show host, broadcaster and media critic. He has over forty years of broadcasting background in radio and television and is the dean of Illinois media and communications. He is currently promoting his best-selling book, Obama: The Man Behind The Mask and his Internet movie “Obama: The Hawai’i years.” Andy is the Executive Editor and publisher of www.ContrarianCommentary.com.

Martin comments on regional, national and world events with more than four decades of experience. He holds a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Illinois College of Law and is a former adjunct professor of law at the City University of New York (LaGuardia CC, Bronx CC).

UPDATES:
www.twitter.com/AndyMartinUSA
www.facebook.com/AndyMartin

Andy’s columns are also posted at ContrarianCommentary.blogspot.com; contrariancommentary.wordpress.com.
contrariancommentary.typepad.com
[NOTE: We try to correct any typographical errors in this story on our blogs; find our latest edition there.]

MEDIA CONTACT: (866) 706-2639 or CELL (917) 664-9329
E-MAIL: AndyMart20@aol.com
© Copyright by Andy Martin 2010
—————————-

New York: Andy Martin explains the latest “explosion” in the Mark Kirk military fraud scandal

The Chicago Sun-Times carries a story Thursday about Department of Defense (“DOD”) accusations on December 9, 2009 that Kirk had unlawfully engaged in “partisan political activities.” That accusation was triggered by materials Andy Martin submitted to DOD on August 1, 2009 as part of his Freedom of Information Act filings at DOD. In other words, Martin’s complaints to DOD about Kirk’s unlawful activities triggered an investigation that culminated in the Undersecretary’s accusations against Kirk contained in DOD’s December 9, 2009 letter.

Andy Martin continues to be the driving force behind forcing Mark Kirk out of politics. Andy had not previously released his original August 1, 2009 complaints/FOIA demands to DOD which triggered Kirk’s problems with DOD. These letters will be placed on the internet before his June 10th news conference. “I said last week there was more to come about Kirk, and it is still coming,” Martin says. “No one believed me in January. Maybe people are believing now.”

New York [CHICAGO] NEWS CONFERENCE: Thursday, June 10th

Chicago crime fighter Andy Martin blows open the Mark Kirk military fraud scandal with dramatic new disclosures

Tea Party sympathizer Andy Martin explains the context in which the Department of Defense in December, 2009 accused Kirk of “partisan political activities” in military uniform

NEWS FROM:
ANDY MARTIN /2010
“The Name You Can Trust”Republican for U. S. Senator
30 E. Huron Street, Suite 4406
Chicago, IL 60611-4723
(866) 706-2639
www.AndyforUSSenator.com
www.AndyforUSSenator.blogspot.com
www.AndyforUSSenator.wordpress.com

www.MarkKirk.us
www.IllinoisHighSpeedTrains.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

ATTENTION DAYBOOK/ASSIGNMENT EDITORS

ANNOUNCEMENT OF THURSDAY NEWS CONFERENCE IN NEW YORK

Andy Martin explains why the Department of Defense in December, 2009 accused Mark Kirk of unlawful political activity; Martin had been filing charges against Kirk with DOD since August

Martin says the latest DOD documents are the “smoking gun” that will end Kirk’s candidacy and career

(CHICAGO)(June 10, 2010) Chicago crime fighter and anti-corruption crusader Andy Martin will hold a New York news conference today, Thursday, June 10th to place the Chicago Sun-Times story on the Department of Defense’s accusations against Mark Kirk’s “illegal political activities” in uniform in context:

http://www.suntimes.com/news/politics/2376694,mark-kirk-military-deployment-document-061010.article

“The Sun-Times has picked up Department of Defense (“DOD”) documents from the web site www.Nitpicker.blogspot.com,” Martin says. “But no one knew of my clandestine activity behind the scenes until today.

“Why did the Deputy Undersecretary of Defense accuse Mark Kirk of illegal ‘partisan political activities’ while in uniform? It was because of my earlier complaints to DOD, and the accusations I made against Kirk in my FOIA (“Freedom of Information Act”) activity. I will post these documents separately before my New York news conference Thursday.

“I made my initial FOIA request to Secretary of Defense Robert Gates on August 1st. Likewise, I sent Mark Kirk a letter on August 1st asking him to waive his rights under the Privacy Act. He refused. But Kirk knew as early as August 1, 2009 that I was seeking his military records. Between August 1, 2009 and today’s date I have engaged in spirited correspondence with DOD.

“DOD Undersecretary Gail McGinn was obviously aware of my efforts to secure the release of Kirk’s records. I had been tipped off that there was unhappiness within the Pentagon at Kirk’s grandstanding, and was advised to file a FOIA request, which I did.

“Thus, Undersecretary’s McGinn’s accusations of unlawful ‘partisan political activities’ in uniform was triggered by my ongoing comments to DOD

“Mr. Kirk’s statement Wednesday night implicitly acknowledges that within his campaign I am seen as the devil that will not let go. Kirk is obsessed with me. Kirk’s own statement Wednesday evening mentions my radio ads, as he did when he falsely claimed at the Union League Club he had been ‘fighting for [Andy Martin’s] freedom’ in Afghanistan. Kirk knows I have been hounding DOD to tell the truth. I have also filed a DADT complaint against Kirk with the Navy.

“It is unseemly that Kirk now claims his ‘private’ records have been compromised, when he used DOD secrecy to conceal his own criminal activity. Using federal property for political activity is a criminal act. Instead of filing his own FOIA complaint, Kirk should grant the waiver I asked for and direct the release of all of his military records. Kirk has been using federal secrecy laws to cover up his fraudulent activity in uniform.

“The reason the Sun-Times story and the Nitpicker blog entry appear out of context in so far as Undersecretary Gail McGinn’s accusations of unlawful partisan activity by Kirk (all political activity in uniform is unlawful) of December 9, 2009 is because prior to today (June 10th) no one in the media or public knew I had been clandestinely orchestrating DOD investigations against Kirk since August 1, 2009.

“I am usually known as a man who is pretty quick with a news release. But because I was aware of the explosive nature of the DOD allegations against Kirk, I did not issue a news release on August 1st. I planned to use my information about Kirk’s military fraud in campaign advertising. So we kept the FOIA activity embargoed. I held the ‘military imposter’ story until I began running radio ads exposing Kirk as a military fraud in January, 2010. My radio advertisement which exposed Kirk as a military masquerader is still available to be heard on my web site:

http://www.andyforussenator.com/andys_ads.htm

“I ran ads exposing Mark Kirk as a military fraud and I also posted a letter from DOD on my web site www.markKirk.us dated October 28, 2009 [which letter I had also kept under wraps in 2009] disclosing a lack of any DOD records to document Kirk’s imaginary claims about his military service in Afghanistan:

http://www.markkirk.us/images/kirk_letter.pdf

“Mr. Kirk is an evil man who has habitually lied to the people of Illinois about his military service. I repeat what I have previously stated: his decades long exaggerations are clinically significant evidence of a mental disorder. I am delighted to have been the man who started the ball rolling to drum him out of the military service and politics. He is a disgrace to the Republican Party,” Martin will state in New York City.

“The documents were posted on my web sites; the ads were broadcast on radio stations across the State of Illinois. Where were the media? Where were Republican Party leaders? They were too busy attacking and smearing Andy Martin to search for the truth about Mark Kirk. They are all getting what they deserve.

“Ironically, in response to my initial disclosures, WBBM-AM put up its own web site ‘Who is Andy Martin?’ instead of one ‘Who is Mark Kirk?’ Who knew who Kirk was? Except the old Internet Powerhouse; I knew.

“Now that I am releasing my documents from August, 2009 which were sent to Secretary of Defense Gates, the media and people of Illinois can see ‘the rest of the story’ and understand why Undersecretary McGinn attacked Kirk in December, 2009.

“Mark Kirk? R.I.P. Bye, bye Markie. Good riddance to the Kirkster. Maybe he can move in with his butt boy Mark Foley and the two of them can live happily ever after.”

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Martin’s latest anti-Kirk blogs:

www.DefeatMarkKirk.blogspot.com;
www.contrariancommentary.typepad.com/defeatmarkkirk/

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June 10th NEWS CONFERENCE DETAILS:

WHO:

ContrarianCommentary.com Executive Editor Andy Martin

WHAT:

Internet powerhouse Andy Martin explains why the Department of Defense accused Mark Kirk of illegal “partisan political activities” in military uniform

WHERE:

909 Third Avenue, public sidewalk in front of FDR Station, New York (under the “909” canopy in case of rain)

WHEN:

Thursday, June 10, 3:00 P. M.

MEDIA CONTACT:

GENERAL: (866) 706-2639 CELL (917) 664-9329;

WEBSITE: http://www.AndyforUSSenator.com

E-MAIL: AndyforUSSenator@aol.com
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Andy Martin is a legendary Chicago muckraker, author, Internet columnist, radio talk show host, broadcaster and media critic. He has over forty years of broadcasting background in radio and television and is the dean of Illinois media and communications. He is currently promoting his best-selling book, Obama: The Man Behind The Mask and producing the new Internet movie “Obama: The Hawai’i years.” Andy is the Executive Editor and publisher of www.ContrarianCommentary.com.

Martin comments on regional, national and world events with more than four decades of experience. He holds a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Illinois College of Law and is a former adjunct professor of law at the City University of New York.

UPDATES:
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Andy’s columns are also posted at ContrarianCommentary.blogspot.com; contrariancommentary.wordpress.com.
contrariancommentary.typepad.com
[NOTE: We try to correct any typographical errors in this story on our blogs; find our latest edition there.]

MEDIA CONTACT: (866) 706-2639 or CELL (917) 664-9329
E-MAIL: AndyMart20@aol.com
© Copyright by Andy Martin 2010
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