Going To The Library

Steve Diamond of Global Labor has been leading the charge on the Obama/Ayers connection to the Chicago Annenberg Challenge.  Today he has lots of questions about the role being played by the library where the Chicago Annenberg Challenge archives were housed. 

Conservative critic Stanley Kurtz had contacted the University of Illinois at Chicago library requesting permission to review the archives.  For some reason, this set off alarm bells at the library.  Mr. Diamond writes:

An earlier statement by a UIC spokesperson stated that UIC contacted the donor of the CAC records and that it was then discovered that an "ownership agreement" had not been prepared for the CAC records. This is most likely not accurate.  No such agreement is likely in this situation. A gift of corporate records, such as those of the CAC, is valid without a written instrument.

...

But more fundamentally there would be no reason for anyone in the Special Collections Library to even question the validity of the gift of the CAC documents! 

And a donor would never be allowed to know who or when someone is asking to review a validly granted gift of documents. That violates the confidentiality of library users. It reminds me of the concerns that civil libertarians have properly raised about the Patriot Act.

That leaves only one possible conclusion:  Someone inside the UIC Library clearly was concerned that a critic of Barack Obama might be attempting to examine these public records. That led to an unprecedented and, in my view, highly inappropriate notice to the donor of the CAC documents that a potential political critic of Obama was interested in the documents.

They told Glenn Reynolds that if Bush were re-elected no library user would have any privacy.  And they were right!

Comments

[MayBee]

Obama to the Library Association in 2005:

I know that some of you here have been subject to FBI or other law enforcement orders asking for reading records. And so I hope we can pass a provision like the House of Representatives did that would require federal agents to get these kinds of search warrants from a real judge in a real court, just like everyone else does. In the Senate, the bipartisan bill that we're working on, known as the SAFE Act, will prevent the federal government from freely rifling through emails and library records without first obtaining such a warrant.

Suddenly I'm imagining he was picturing the FBI one day going after his CAC records.
Heh. "Hey Librarians, fight the release of my records. For Freedom!"

[Chris]

Projection-it's what's (always) for dinner. Leftists continually attribute their worst tendencies onto their political opponents. What would they do with all the powers of government (Patriot Act, etc)? Of course they'd use them to spy, browbeat, malign and otherwise marginalize opponents. Every criticism of Ashcroft et. al from the left should be read as an admission of intent on their part.

[kim]

You said a mouthful there, Chris.
====================

[JM Hanes]

TM:

You and Steve Diamond should be going to the library with Kurtz.

[JM Hanes]

MayBee:

You make me think that would be very interesting to know precisely when those records were donated, as well as the donor's name, wouldn't it? Obama's paper trail has been scrupulously scrubbed, but perhaps a decision was made (in Obama PassiveSpeak) to hide records which could not credibly be destroyed and avoid all mention of Obama's CAC connection in the hope that nobody would notice. He didn't know he was up against TM!

Indeed, if "finalizing" the paperwork with UI was not entirely a ruse, it suggests that the donation may have been timed to Obama's relatively recent rise. If nothing else, I can certainly believe that the donor's concern about "names and confidential salary information" was very real!

[hrtshpdbox]

Completely OT, but it looks like a FOX newsman might've got pummeled by angry (and inarticulate, except for the abusive outbursts) pre-convention marchers.

[centralcal]

This may seem at first glance to be off topic. But I think it ties directly to the CAC issue possible getting more media traction.

Newsbusters has a clip of THIS WEEK with Stephanopolous where you can actually watch liberal heads explode over this lead in by Mark Halperin:

"What Stephanopoulos may not have expected was Time's Mark Halperin claiming that "this is going to end up being one of the worst moments in the entire campaign for one of the candidates, but it's Barack Obama."

Adding delicious insult to injury, much to Democrat strategist Donna Brazile's dismay, Halperin saw the Obama campaign's attack on McCain not knowing how many houses he owns as opening the door for the Arizona senator to bring up the Illinois senator's connections to Tony Rezko, Reverend Wright, and William Ayers..."

LUN

[Ranger]

Indeed, if "finalizing" the paperwork with UI was not entirely a ruse, it suggests that the donation may have been timed to Obama's relatively recent rise. If nothing else, I can certainly believe that the donor's concern about "names and confidential salary information" was very real!

Posted by: JM Hanes | August 24, 2008 at 02:08 PM

I think that theory is also backed up by what was sealed when the controbution was made. Given that the reviews of the CAC specificly identified the initial discussion and the funding choises that came from them as the core of why the project failed, the fact that those discussions and the internal audits were made particularly hard to access means the people who doneted them didn't want people looking at the root causes of CAC's failure. A strange decision if the purpose of the donation was to allow people to research and learn from CAC's mistakes.

[centralcal]

I saw that too, hrtshpdbox. They were particularly fluent in bird-flipping, but not much else.

[bad]

Iposted this on another thread as well because it contained a link to Clarice's great article.

I have more questions about the money involved in the CAC. Steve Diamond at Global labor has some of the tax returns posted for the CAC but not all of them.

The amount of money in and out is not going to add up anywhere near $110 million unless the missing years are the bulk of donations in and grants back out to the "education" community.

Someone please take a look and make an assessment. The tax returns can be found Linked Under Name.

[JM Hanes]

Clarice:

Yours is a most astute suggestion for framing the CAC story as a compelling election issue with a persuasive precedent:

Will the voters conclude that the old- professor- in- the- neighborhood story was so disingenuous that Obama was lying to hide from them facts they deserved to know — indeed, facts every bit as relevant as Hillary’s failure at health care reform about which they were informed in the primaries?

Per this construction, the issue is not confined to Obama's questionable associations, it speaks directly to his performance at the helm of the only major initiative he has undertaken -- in an area of claimed concern & expertise, to boot. Contra his vague, inflated, "accomplishments" as a "community organizer," the results under his leadership at CAC were a notable, indisputable, net loss of serious dimensions. Unless he's prepared to argue that he was derelict in his duties, I don't see how he can place responsibility for those losses on someone else's shoulders. Your approach condenses a very complex story to manageable proportions which can work in a soundbyte or a narrative as needed.

Hillary failed at health care reform, and even if you don't doubt his intentions, Obama clearly failed at education reform. He failed in one of our largest cities, despite occupying a prominent position in the political hierarchy (as did his wife) which decidedly augured for success, and despite his putative skills as a uniter, not a divider. Indeed, he appears to have left the education community more divided than he found it. That, in itself, would be reason enough to bury the documentary evidence. Compounded with Ayers and fiduciary corruption, it could be a killer.

For the issue to gain traction, it must ultimately preempt dismissal as a dis-traction (guilt-by-association) to be entertained as a legitimate target (education policy) for criticism, which it logically represents. Did Obama ever bring up Hillary's misadventure in the primaries? If so, he opened this door himself!

What is begging for similarly pointed condensation is the particular relevance of CAC when it has, in fact, been writ large by Obama into the proposed Dem Platform.

Partnership with Civic Institutions: Social entrepreneurs and leading nonprofit organizations are assisting schools, lifting families out of poverty, filling health care gaps and inspiring others to lead change in their own communities. To support these results-oriented innovators, we will create a Social Investment Fund Network that invests in ideas that work, tests their impact and expands the most successful programs. We will create an office to coordinate government and non-profit efforts.

This sounds suspiciously familiar, does it not? Do we really want to take the CAC fiasco to a whole new level?

[sbw]

[ot] As much as I have issues with the Associated Press, the idea that a groundswell of 15,000 letters and contacts with newspapers should sway a journalist is unAmerican. It is one thing to disagree on how to accomplish reasonable goals, and quite another to misapply power as these people would do.

My opinion of Jane Hamsher was forged from Plame experience. It can get no lower. I'll not link to firedoglake, simply to keep down her link count. Small minds in a small pool infatuated with themselves.[/ot]

[clarice]

Thank you jmh..from you that is considerable praise.

I am angry with myself because I had that last bit, meant to add it to the piece and then, because I'd already slightly exceeded the space limits, left it off.

Maybe it leaves way for a second installment--using CAC as a template for blowing thru money and harming kids and schools on a federal level.

[Rick Ballard]

"using CAC as a template for blowing thru money and harming kids and schools on a federal level."

Clarice,

It's a very good point. Writing it as "using CAC as a template for stealing money from children to strengthen the Communist Democrat party on a federal level" might be more advantageous.

[Ann]

That was excellent Clarice. I just printed it off for the eighth grade debate. Even a liberal teacher for Obama will choke on your great line:

"Will voters who consider education an important issue — and surely that includes many important voter groups for Obama — take kindly to a man who took $110 million of charitable funds which were earmarked for improving public education and squandered it on salaries for men like Weatherman Ayers and Michael Klonsky, the Maoist leader of the Revolutionary Youth Movement which worked with the Weather Underground and who at the time of CAC’s lavish grants to him worked as a cab driver?"

Love it! Thanks

[bad]

To support these results-oriented innovators, we will create a Social Investment Fund Network that invests in ideas that work, tests their impact...

The CAC tax returns are a source of how expensive these "tests of impact" are.

1998 Tax Return: Evaluations $732,969
1999 Tax Return: Evaluations $826,080
2001 Tax Return: Evaluations $686,451

Keep in mind that these evaluation fees do not include charges for consultants. Tax Returns for 1995, 1996, 1997, and 2000 are not available yet at Global Labor.

Tax Returns LUN

[Porchlight]

And a donor would never be allowed to know who or when someone is asking to review a validly granted gift of documents.

This was my immediate thought as well. My experience as a university librarian is that it would be a total violation of confidentiality for a library or archives staffer to alert a donor (or anyone else for that matter) about a research request.

What I would love is if someone else would come forward to say that they'd accessed these records in the past. We know that the finding aid was posted on the UIC site as late as August 9 2008. Surely someone else must have looked at these at some time? If so, then UIC's claim about the legality of the gift would be dismantled.

I am heartened to hear that this story made it to Stephanopoulos' show. Keep on plugging, TM (and Stanley Kurtz and Steve Diamond).

[Ranger]

1998 Tax Return: Evaluations $732,969
1999 Tax Return: Evaluations $826,080
2001 Tax Return: Evaluations $686,451

Hmmm... that's over $2M funneled to Ayers' favorite graduate students to help fund their educations. It would be very interesting to see which specific grad students were payed to do the evaluations and what their focuses of study were.

[bad]

Ranger

I wasn't able to find specifics from the tax return but hopefully that info will be available to Mr. Kurtz.

[sbw]

[OT] I don't want to register at Fire Dog Lake, but if anyone who was registered there wanted to comment on her trashing of AP, I wouldn't mind them saying:

I'm amused at your misrepresentation of ideal journalism as simply He said/She said. Ron Fournier's AP analysis was labeled analysis -- which means adding perspective to simple facts that without explanation might not otherwise accurately represent the lay of the land. Analysis helps improve the accuracy of people's understanding of the world around them.

Jane, you are upset because you see the world differently than Mr. Fournier. I hate to break it to you, but you are not correct simply because you think you are.

And I'm doubly amused that you think storming the AP is a rational answer. It's an absurd notion to think that repeating a bad idea 15,000 times somehow makes it better.

[clarice]

Thank you Ann and Rick.

that's the way the grant business is ,Bad. And Ayres gets more and more power with each $ of grant money he brings in. So that other professors in his dept who are not on the Obama red gravy train are at a major power disadvantage at Illinois.
Ditto Ranger--suck up to Ayres and your bills are paid and you get a nice recommendation for your next position after graduation.
This is how the "soft" depts in our universities were bought.

And now with enviro carp--it's how the hard sciences are being bought, too.

[GMax]

You want to send logic and reason to poodle lady? Save your breath, it will be wasted on her.

[sbw]

Gmax, fair enough... but I feel better for writing it. ;-)

[bad]

More CAC expenses per tax returns:

1998 travel, conferences, meetings $41,662
1999 " $108,751
2001 " $102,168

Remember returns are unavailable for 1995, 1996,1997,2000

Did CAC pay travel expenses for Obama and Ayers to the same events?

[Porchlight]

To answer my own question, sort of, Alex Russo's book School Reform in Chicago may be worth examining - and it just happens to be at my library.

He seems to be strangely silent on the UIC/CAC records dust-up even though he has written about Obama and the CAC on his blog in the past (plus the Slate articles). Bet you anything he has seen those CAC records.

Well, anyway, it's all moot I guess since UIC has agreed to give Kurtz access. But it might be grist to Kurtz's mill if he knew that the door was not shut in the faces of other researchers.

[JM Hanes]

clarice:

I'm not sure that's such a bad thing. The allotted space may be a pretty good measure of how much a reader will take away from a single sitting. The KISS model springs to mind. Connecting CAC to Ayers' terrorist past in every iteration may actually be counterproductive, because it can (has, and will, I'm sure) be ignored in the protest against a guilt-by-association attack. That's why I've argued against trying to open this whole can of worms with Ayers, instead of education, but I could never manage to come up with a viable, memorable, can opener.

The failure of Hillarycare as a political analogy strikes me as a stroke of genius, even if Obama or some anonymous staffers never cited it directly. He was actually given both the opportunity and the tools, which Hillary was not, to carry out his vision of education policy/reform. Let's look at the results, shall we?

Sad as it may seem, the Ayers connection will never shift the kind of numbers it should, unless the CAC records include a bomb plot. Aside from Democrats who have a vested interest in ignoring it, there's a whole generation+ who look back at the Weathermen era the way we would look back on the 1920's. What we may see as putting the pieces of the puzzle together may well look like a messy kitchen sink to anyone who hasn't been paying attention, meaning almost everyone. Finding a hook for the component parts, and then weaving the larger narrative strikes me as potentially far more effective -- with the added advantage of allowing you to lose a skirmish without losing the war.

[matt]

I think people should join firedoglake just to mock the nincompoops....they really have no sense of humor and it would drive em nuts.

why is that every time I turn around, another democrat is completely compromising not only the ideals of their own party, whether it be civil liberties, freedom of the press, etc., but some of the most fundamental of American values?

another thought for Mccain is to take Joe Biden's comments as the race progresses and then use clips from his 10 best list....on Iraq, on economics, etc....then you could show Obama's complete lack of a record...so do you want Janus and the man without a past or McCain...pretty simple....

The Republicans are bad enough, especially for the past 8-12 years, bu the dems just take it beyond belief.

[kim]

The large political point is in the corruption of public education, but there may not be unequivocal evidence of that in these records. The failure of public education, for whatever and however many reasons, is a long simmering problem in the American polity that has gathered a lot of energy.
===================

[JM Hanes]

bad:

You should be going to Chicago with Kurtz too. He's made no bones about how difficult it's going to be to do a thorough walk through of the documents in the 5 days allotted to him, and a whole lot more to pull what he does (and conceivably does not) find. I think your admirable persistence in following this angle could well end up paying off in a big way, and making sure it stays on the table in successive threads may help that happen. I suspect these boards are not just being read by casual JOM lurkers, so even if you don't see results or get responses directly, I wouldn't be discouraged (not that I'm seeing any signs that you are!).

Porchlight:

Well, anyway, it's all moot I guess since UIC has agreed to give Kurtz access.

On the other hand, a before and after comparison might be revealing. BTW, you were quite right in suggesting that I addressed my sandlot comment to you in error, yesterday, unless that was the day before yesterday.....

[JM Hanes]

***pull together what he does (or does not) find***

[bad]

This is posted on another thread.

Another interesting rabbit to chase from the tax returns is the "clarification" list which shows who the payee was for the grant disbursement.

The grant is given to Dixon, Chase and Haines Elementary. But the check for all three schools is payable to "Youth Guidance."

The grant is given to "Alliance for Community Education." But the check is payable to Loyola University of Chicago, Department of Curriculum, Instruction, and Educational Psychology.

It is astonishing how often the CAC grant recipient is different than the entity receiving the check. Maybe its normal in foundation world.

Any wisdom, advice, etc. is greatly appreciated.

[bad]

Thanks JMH!! People on this board are very kind to guide the way.

Mr. Kurtz probably already knows about anything I've questioned.

[Porchlight]

No worries, JMH, I am getting many things mixed up myself these days. Everything is just such a blur since the insanely exciting Biden announcement. ;)

[JM Hanes]

I just hope I'm never asked, under oath, about what I've said and done, where and when. I don't know how many times you can alternate between, "I don't recall" and "to the best of my recollection" before you lose the jury's sympathy or the prosecutor arrests you.

[clarice]

bad--I'm counting on you and Rick and TM to keep a close watch for me on whatever Kurtz finds. I am not good at reading audit reports though from years representing the UMWA reformers against Tony Boyle I'm rather good at smelling out where the fraudulent payments are hidden. (Generally, its in payments for professional services..i.e. awyers and printers etc.)

[Larry]

Posted by: bad | August 24, 2008 at 06:08PM

Been mulling since you posted on the other thread. The grantees occasionally ask for checks to be made out to the people who actually do the work. One of our charities does it that way to avoid the excruciatingly long delay between sending it to higher HQ and HQ sending it back. CAC's may be bent, but they may be perfectly legit.

[MayBee]

Have the words "Annenberg Challenge" ever come out of Obama's mouth?

[Lindak]

Isn't is ironic that most of these failing school districts are run by democrats. Talk about pointing fingers at yourself! Re the CAC: it makes no sense to give more money to the very organizations and people who are responsible for the failure of public education. Thus I can only conclude that these grants are meant to line the pockets of insiders.

[clarice]

Not to my knowledge, MayBee. As TM noted long ago, O tried to fluff this up with vague references to a charity board years earlier which many assumed was the Woods Foundation.

[Larry]

I think JMH is right. The terrorist angle is a distraction from the colossal failure of the Chicago Annenberg Challenge. It still fits as a bullet point though. Even if CAC wasn't dirty (fat chance!), its ruin must be placed where the buck stops, the Chaiman of the Board. O's only executive experience was a bomb.

[kim]

There are at least three issues in ascending order of importance, the terrorist pal, the poor execution, and the perversion of public education.
=====================================

[clarice]

Break terrorist pal into three parts--(a) terrorist pal(s) and (b) utter lies to hide the relationship and (c)media backflips to avoid reporting it.

Ironically, for those media supporting Hillary, ducking the relationship story made them miss the fact that he showed no more executive ability on education than she showed on health care. (In fact, as someone--probably jmh argues persuasively--his performance was probably worse because he had far more control over the outcome of this little program in Chicago than she had of the far more complex national issue.)

[MayBee]

I agree with (or wonder along with) JMH and you that Obama must certainly have thought these records were buttoned up too tight to find.

Old news perhaps, but Porchlight's link brings me to this about the NY Annenberg Grant:

A fourth organization, ACORN (New York Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now), was also able to work its way into the coalition seeking the Annenberg grant. ACORN is a very liberal grassroots organization that has worked on housing, education, and other social issues in low-income communities in New York City. On the education front, ACORN had sponsored a New Visions high school and had agitated against the stringent, examination-based standards for admission to the city's elite high schools (Stuyvesant, Bronx Science, and Brooklyn Tech.)

Interesting.

[bad]

TM and Mr. Kurtz have worked hard to get something rolling but its difficult because education speak and charitable foundation finances are another world. No wonder reporters are too intimidated to wade in. Its above their pay grade.

[Jane]

Sorry to interrupt such an interesting discussion but I thought this from Don Surber was great:

US team picks a Georgian to lead them in the closing ceremony. The jocks are showing a better grasp of foreign policy than the junior senator from Illinois.

LUN

[bad]

AWESOME!!! Thanks for sharing that Jane.

[Jane]

And one more off topic:

Edwards' Money Man Also Has Ties to Biden

When newly minted vice presidential pick Joe Biden arrives in Denver, he will be greeted by one of his most generous supporters, trial lawyer Fred Baron.

LUN

[Pagar]

"whole generation+ who look back at the Weathermen era the way we would look back on the 1920's."

Remember a lot of that whole generation have been taught by educators who believe that a unreformed terrorist is just the person they want to lead them.
---------------------------

"Wrong. Sadly, Ayers' radical worldview permeates AERA. I know, because I am a former AERA employee. I worked in AERA's national office in Washington, D.C. from 2002-2004."

"The truth is that Ayers has been a leading light in AERA for years. In fact, radical AERA members specifically requested that Ayers present their objections to AERA's governing council's refusal to oppose the National Council for Accreditation for Teacher Certification's elimination of "social justice" from its list of standards in 2007.

Now in his new perch as a divisional vice president, Ayers can continue his long march through academia further radicalizing our teachers and our students."

LUN

One really has to read the entire article to understand just how much Damage Ayers and the leftists of the teaching profession have done in their quest to destroy America.
The terrorist angle is not a distraction, IMO: the Chicago Annenberg Challenge did exactly what Ayers, Obama and the others wanted it to do--it provided an lot more financial fuel to the educational terrorists of America.

[Sara]

Also OT, but any comments?

RE: Battleground states

THE ELECTORAL MAP TELLS US WHO MCCAIN WILL PICK

SO... WHO HELPS MCCAIN THE MOST IN MOST OF THESE STATES? WHO HELPS HOLD VA & CO? WHO HELPS IN THE BATTLEGROUND STATES? LET'S LOOK AT THEM - AND AT THE POTENTIAL VEEPS WHO HELP THE MOST (IN ORDER):

• Pennsylvania - RIDGE; ROMNEY
• Florida - LIBERMAN ROMNEY
• Michigan - ROMNEY, RIDGE
• Ohio - PORTMAN, ROMNEY, RIDGE
• Wisconsin - PAWLENTY, RIDGE
• Iowa - PAWLENTY, RIDGE
• Nevada - ROMNEY,
• Virginia - RIDGE
• Colorado - ROMNEY
• Alaska - PALIN
• North Dakota - THUNE, RIDGE
• Indiana - PAWLENTY, PORTMAN

IF YOU GIVE 4 POINTS FOR FIRST AND ONE FOR SECOND, AND THEN DOUBLE FOR KEY STATES....

RIDGE GETS 19 POINTS AND ROMNEY GETS 29.

[MayBee]

That's so cool, Jane.

I find it interesting that Porchlight's article's author says:

First and foremost is the notion that Obama "led" the Chicago Annenberg Challenge in any meaningful way. "As a private citizen, he led Chicago’s portion of the Annenberg Challenge school reform initiative financed by the late philanthropist Walter H. Annenberg—an experience that shaped Mr. Obama’s perspective on the critical importance of principals and teachers."

If he did, it's news to me and a lot of folks in Chicago. I wrote a long report about the CAC in 2001 (From Frontline Leader to Rearguard Action PDF) that failed to unearth Obama's name as anyone of any influence -- and never came across his name in an education context in the following six years during which I wrote a book about school reform in Chicago. Obama get

Odd.
No influence, yet he was selected to chair the board. And this guy seems not to have known he was involved at all. His report is from 2001. I was going to say surely they weren't protecting Obama already, but he had already made a run for US Congress by then, right?