VIDEO: Pres. Obama's Kenyan Aunt Breaks Silence

By GottaLaff

It's nice to see her in movin' pictures:



H/t: Hippie_Cyndi

VIDEO: Glenn Beck Mocks Obama's Aunt

By GottaLaff

Fox calls itself a news station. I call them Mother$#%!!@!:

Remember, this is the same Glenn Beck who pretended to cry about nine times in his Fox News Doom Room because he LURVES HIS COUNTRY and just wants everyone to start being the PEOPLE THEY WERE ON SEPTEMBER 12TH! If I had known that everyone was walking around on 9/12/01 making fun of other people's physical infirmities, like a bunch of addlebrained prats, I would have walked up to everyone and told them, "Go...uhm...'surround' yourself!"

Why flatulence-spouting cretins like this are still allowed on national television is beyond my comprehension.

Back story here.

H/t

Judge extends Obama's Aunt Zeituni's stay in United States

By GottaLaff

Last night I posted about President Obama's Aunt Zeituni becoming a symbol in the immigration debate. Not an easy position to be in. But now she gets some good news:

President Barack Obama's Kenyan aunt, who was ordered deported five years ago, can stay in the United States legally until next year when she makes a new asylum bid, an immigration judge ruled on Wednesday. [...]

Zeituni Onyango, 56, whom Obama calls "Auntie Zeituni" in one of his memoirs, has been living in a public housing complex in Boston and is the half-sister of Obama's father.

"The decision as to Ms. Onyango's request to stay permanently in the U.S. will be made during a second hearing," Michael Rogers, a spokesman for Onyango's lawyer, Margaret Wong, said in a statement. [...]

The hearing on Wednesday was closed to the media. The next hearing is set for February 4, 2010. [...]

Obama's campaign said in November he had no knowledge of Onyango's immigration status and that "any and all appropriate laws" should be followed in her case. His aides questioned the timing of the disclosure.

Obama's aunt becomes symbol in immigration debate

By GottaLaff

What if she had a last name that sounded more like, say, Limbaugh, Buchanan, or Palin... or if she were, I dunno, white...?

Barack Obama's Kenyan aunt lost her bid for asylum more than four years ago, and a judge ordered her deported. Instead, Zeituni Onyango stayed, living for years in public housing.

Now, in a case that puts the president in a tough position both personally and politically, Onyango's request is being reconsidered under a little-used provision in U.S. immigration rules that allows denied asylum claims to be reheard if applicants can show that something has changed to make them eligible.

Such as the ascension of her nephew to the presidency of the world's most powerful country.

"If she goes back to Kenya, she is going to be much more in the limelight, and that, in and of itself, could put her at a greater risk. The chances of her going back and keeping a low profile are gone at this point," said Boston immigration attorney Ilana Greenstein.

Onyango, 56, the half-sister of Obama's late father, moved to the United States in 2000. Her first bid for asylum was rejected, and an immigration judge ordered her deported in 2004; she continues to live in public housing in Boston. [...]

Obama has said repeatedly that he didn't know his aunt was living in the United States illegally and believes that laws covering the situation should be followed. If she wins asylum, he could look soft on immigration enforcement. If she loses, he could face criticism from immigrant advocacy groups.

The White House says Obama is staying out of it. [...]

People who seek asylum must show that they face persecution in their homeland on the basis of religion, race, nationality, political opinion or membership in a social group.

Onyango's reasons for seeking asylum have not been made public, and her immigration hearing will be closed at her lawyer's request. [...]

Onyango could improve her chances of winning asylum if she can argue successfully that some in the Kenyan government may perceive — because of her relationship with Obama — "that she may have some level of political power and be able to transfer that power" to her tribe, Kelly said. [...]

Her case is being closely watched by people on all sides of the immigration debate. Some critics say her status has already damaged the president's credibility on immigration issues.[...]

But immigrant advocates say opponents are unfairly using Onyango's case as political fodder.

"Whether it's the president's aunt, my aunt or your aunt — anybody who's seeking asylum is seeking that status for a very important reason," said Ali Noorani, executive director of the National Immigration Forum. "We are always worried that a person whose asylum claims are rejected, that they end up in a situation where they are a victim of violence."

President Obama's aunt remains in US legally for now

Poor woman, just the mention of her is sure to get the loons yipping again. From the comments over at CNN on this- What is wrong with this picture?????? Let's ask her if she was present for his birth in Kenya? Poor sad things.

WASHINGTON (CNN) — President Barack Obama's Kenyan aunt is in the United States legally, at least for the time being, CNN has learned.

Just days before the November election it was reported that Zeituni Onyango, the half-sister of Mr. Obama's late father, was living in Boston despite a deportation order issued four years earlier when her asylum request was denied.

(snip)

"While she is in proceedings she can stay in the country," says Margaret Wong, the attorney representing Onyango. Wong said her client had not received any special treatment in the immigration system.

Katie Couric, Auntie Zeituni, and Obama's final answer

By GottaLaff

Can we put this to rest now? Via Ambinder:

From the CBS Evening News with Katie Couric...tonight and tomorrow.

Couric: YOU HAVE AN AUNT WHO'S BEEN LIVING IN THIS COUNTRY APPARENTLY ILLEGALLY, AND YOUR CAMPAIGN SAYS ANY AND ALL APPROPRIATE LAWS SHOULD BE FOLLOWED. SO WOULD YOU SUPPORT HER BEING DEPORTED TO KENYA?

Sen. Obama: If she is violating laws those laws have to be obeyed. We're a nation of laws. Obviously that doesn't lessen my concern for her, I haven't been able to be in touch with her. But I'm a strong believer you have to obey the law.

Say good night, Katie. Good night, Katie.

Obama's Aunt Subject Of Robocall

By GottaLaff

Via Ambinder:

A reader writes:

I live in Arlington, Virginia and I just received a robocall attacking Obama because his aunt is an illegal alien. At the end of the call, it said it was paid for by something that sounded like "the America Connect PAC."

CNN is currently and gleefully saying that Pennsylvania is "tightening". There goes my mood. I should go back to this post and wish away the negativity.

The Politics Of Auntie Zeituni: The plot sickens

By GottaLaff

Background here. Timing is everything. Via TPM:

The real story, though, is down in the third paragraph of the AP story ...

Information about the deportation case was disclosed and confirmed by two separate sources, one of them a federal law enforcement official. The information they made available is known to officials in the federal government, but the AP could not establish whether anyone at a political level in the Bush administration or in the McCain campaign had been involved in its release.

That's about as transparent a red flag as an outfit like the AP is usually willing to give. And there you have it. Quite likely working in concert with the McCain campaign, a Bush administration official is leaking details on an immigration case to try to help McCain three days before the election. It's shades of Bush I's riffling through Bill Clinton's passport files just before the 1992 election in a desperate last minute gambit as they were swirling down the drain.

Late Update: Note too that the story first got leaked to the Times of London, a Murdoch paper with a history of taking planted stories from Republicans for siphoning back into the US media.

Next:

Dear Mr. Chertoff:

I was startled to read in today's Associated Press that a "federal law enforcement official" has leaked information about an immigration case involving a relative of Senator Obama. Even more troubling, the AP reports that it could not "could not establish whether anyone at a political level in the Bush administration or in the McCain campaign had been involved," a very disturbing suggesting indeed. This leak is deplorable and I urge you to take immediate action to investigate and discipline those responsible.

I note that this is not the first leak of law enforcement information apparently designed to influence the coming Presidential election -- in recent weeks law enforcement sources leaked information about an alleged investigation of a community services organization, a leak that the Department of Justice informs me is now under investigation by the Department's Office of the Inspector General and Professional Responsibility.

Such leaks are deeply harmful to the political process, and the American people expect and deserve better from their government and its law enforcement agencies.

Sincerely,

John Conyers, Jr.

See labels.

The Politics Of Auntie Zeituni

By GottaLaff

Another story is a-brewin', one designed to negatively affect Obama. But think again. Ambinder nails it:

Barack Obama's long-lost aunt, who is living in poverty, might be deported for being in the country illegally...and this is supposed to make people not want to vote for Barack Obama?

Republicans think anti-immigrant forces are going to be rallied by attacking a middle aged woman in her fifties? This is what's going to swing independents back to McCain? Reminding people (a) of an actual human face on the receiving end of anti-immigration policies and (b) that the Democratic candidate is personally affected by a complicated issue facing many American families?

And assuming voters _are_ motivated by the connection, they're going to turn to McCain as their anti-immigrant savior?

Give it up, Gramm-pa. ZietuniGate won't fly.

The AP is just now reporting, per MSNBC, that the Obama campaign will return any donations given to them by Auntie Zeituni. I'm sure it's going to break them. It must be thousands and thousands. What a loss.*

*It was $265.

UPDATE: On MSNBC, they said they wondered why this news was just coming out now, and that the only people who would know her status would be "the government". Then they wondered out loud if this was the "October Surprise in November." They also said this was "not good news for Obama, at this late date", because people tend to vote against a candidate rather than for one.

Now they're asking if he has a "big enough cushion to overcome" any bad news (David Shuster and Bob Franken), and warning that Obama supporters shouldn't be overconfident.

The liberal media strikes again.