Obama, FactCheck.org, Ayers, and the Annenburg Foundation
October 6th, 2008 at 03:14pm KMorrison
There is a disturbing link between Barack Obama, FactCheck.org, and William Ayers. National Review reports that William Ayers and Barack Obama both served as co-chairs of the Chicago Annenburg Challenge. Obama called for an $3.5 million dollar earmark for the Annenburg Foundation that sponsors FactCheck.org. Several FactCheck articles have been viewed as promoting the Obama campaign line instead of truly acting as a fact checkers. Controlling the ‘facts’ is a hallmark of a totalitarian regime, and this is a truly unsettling connection.
Mission statement from FactCheck.org.
The Annenberg Political Fact Check is a project of the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania. The APPC was established by publisher and philanthropist Walter Annenberg in 1994 to create a community of scholars within the University of Pennsylvania that would address public policy issues at the local, state and federal levels.
The APPC accepts NO funding from business corporations, labor unions, political parties, lobbying organizations or individuals. It is funded primarily by the Annenberg Foundation.
Requested Anneberg Earmark from Barack Obama - Citation from Answers.BarackObama.com
Obama Requested $3.5 Million For The USC Annenberg Research Network. In 2005, Obama requested $3.5 million for the USC Annenberg Research Network on International Communication, in partnership with the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, to support the deployment of pervasive broadband for education and economic development.Funding was for the construction of a large-scale broadband wireless systems in two communities—one in South Los Angeles and the other in small-town Illinois. In each community, broadband network coverage will be provided over a minimum of about a half-square mile area, utilizing leading edge wireless technologies. In Los Angeles, this will include the five schools in USC’s immediate neighborhood, with about 8,000 K-12 students. USC also will provide wireless equipment and access to every family with a student entering the first grade of a new Science Center School, and in Illinois, a similar group of students will be selected to receive wireless equipment and access within the coverage area. The impact of these technologies on the students and their families will be tracked. [Obama Request Letter to the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, HHS, Education, 6/7/05]
Obama’s Challenge from the National Review
Let’s first review CAC’s [Chicago Annenburg Challenge] initial setup. In the first year, 1995, Obama headed the board, which made fiscal decisions, and Ayers co-chaired the Collaborative, which set education policy. During that first year, Obama’s formal responsibilities mandated close cooperation and coordination with the Collaborative. As board chair and president of the CAC corporation, Obama was authorized to “delegate to the Collaborative the development of collaborative projects and programs . . . to obtain assistance of the Collaborative in the development of requests for proposals . . . and to seek advice from the Collaborative regarding the programmatic aspects of grant proposals.” All this clearly involves significant consultation between the board, headed by Obama, and the Collaborative, co-chaired by Ayers.
Hat Tip to Death by 1000 Papercuts for first reporting this in their article Obama, Bill Ayers, and FactCheck.Org: All Have Ties To Annenberg Foundation
Clarification: The connection between Obama and Ayers is through
the Chicago Annenberg Challenge that received money from the Annenburg
Foundation, but the Chicago Annenburg Challenge Challenge and the
Annenburg Foundation are not directly connected philosophically. The
earmark Senator Obama requested was for the Annenburg Foundation, which
funded the Chicago Annenburg Challenge and also funds FactCheck.org.
Obama is tied to both groups one via earmark, the other via direct
participation, however, Ayers is not directly connected to
FactCheck.org.
Obama Controlling the Facts
Entry Filed under: Barack Obama



6 Comments Add your own
1. Joe | October 6th, 2008 at 3:57 pm
Financial meltdown - McCain didn’t know what else to do but a gimmick of suspending his campaign.
Foreclosures continue to rise - McCain has no plan. Let’s dergulate some more!
Oil/Gas prices still killing the average American - McCain, let’s drill drill drill and hope that in 10 years the price will drop by one half of one percent. Meanwhile, he votes down alternative energy subsidies.
Healthcare - millions without healthcare. McCain says let’s privatize it. As if less regulation worked so freaking well for the mortgage market. Let’s tax people’s company sponsored healthcare while I give the wealthy another unneeded tax cut.
Iraq - Let’s stay there until we “win”. Look… we’ve already “won”, now we need to get out and let Iraq govern themselves for better or for worse. We also need to stop blowing $12 billion a month.
Iran - bomb bomb bomb…. NO! Talk talk talk.
Those are issues. It would be nice if this 72 year old clown would actually TALK ABOUT THEM. I understand his VP choice can’t talk about them as she doesn’t quite understand them, but the guy at the top of the ticket should be able to speak intelligently on them.
McCain/Palin - no ideas. Let’s swiftboat and win by tearing the opposition down.
That straight talk express is heading over the cliff and the American people see it.
You folks keep posting this stuff yet you don’t defend any of it. Why?
2. Joe | October 6th, 2008 at 4:00 pm
By the way… have you ever actually READ factcheck.org???
It says exactly when Obama isn’t telling the truth and exactly when McCain isn’t.
They can’t help it if McCain just happens to lie more often.
3. Joe | October 7th, 2008 at 8:56 am
I HATE gutter-politics. But since McCain/Palin want to accuse Obama of “palling around with terrorists”…
Can we now get back to issues that affect the average person? Oh… that’s right……. McCain has no ideas on issues that affect the average person.
4. Joe | October 7th, 2008 at 12:04 pm
I know, I know… this is just an “opinion piece”, but it lays things out so perfectly.
McCain has sufficiently thrown his own integrity under his “stratight-talk express” bus. If this is about judgement, McCain’s has proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that he seriously lacks the good kind.
—
I hope the lack of defending the smears and the deafening silence from KM, Geoff and Matt is a sign that they will go thru the motions of posting the smears, but they too have lost complete faith in John McCain and realize how awful a McCain/Palin Administration would be to this country.
5. Michael | October 9th, 2008 at 11:15 pm
“If Congress does not act American taxpayers will continue to be exposed to the enormous risk that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac pose to the housing market, the overall financial system and the economy as a whole.” Sen. John McCain 2005
6. bozo | October 17th, 2008 at 5:52 pm
So Reagan’s pal Annenberg chums around with terrorists…
Doesn’t seem likely, but if you say so.
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