Religious Resignation

[kandrathe]

If you wanted to call him a thief, I'd ask what he stole. If you wanted to call him a murderer, I'd ask who he killed. You want to call him an anti-Semite. I'm asking you to prove that he is one, not that it would be plausible.

For physical crimes you can ask for physical evidence. But, what is the difference between a crime and a hate crime.

If you go into court with only circumstantial evidence, you usually lose. It's weak, it tends to be open to interpretation, and it runs afoul of "innocent until proven guilty." It's not that it means nothing, but without any direct evidence, it's not worth a lot.

Many times in trials the jury must also assess intent, which is that based on evidence (physical and circumstantial) they will try to determine what was in that persons heart when they committed the crime. So, you ask me to prove things that are judgment calls based on evidence that is both physical and circumstantial. In this case, no we don't have any direct evidence that Wright has uttered slurs against Jews. He runs in a circle of people who do.

I thought Six Degrees of Separation was a game you played with Kevin Bacon, not an argument. Rezko is involved in fund raising for all sorts of people, he is a die-hard political junkie and influence peddler. He is connected to almost everyone, so of course if you start playing "he's with X, who's with Y, who's with Z", you end up at all sorts of crazy places. Maybe someone should ask Oliver Stone if he wants the movie rights.

Not 6. One, and at most two with Aiham Alsammarae (a close friend of Rezko). link

Maybe your suspicions are correct. Maybe there is a great frozen continent of antisemitism under all this. Or maybe people are trolling over Obama's connections in agonizing detail to derail his political chances, hoping that people will "read between the lines" long enough to cost him the election, and then let the subject rot in oblivion once its political function has been served.

I also had suspicions about Mr. Clinton when the Jennifer Flowers incident unfolded, in which Bill was supposed to have used the Arkansas Highway Patrol to bring him hot chicks. It was the one reason I did not vote for him. I was afraid of what a person who has already abused his power, and had a history of sexual harrassment would do with more power. So, I'd say with any candidate, let them wriggle under the burning lens of public scrutiny now. It's much better to expose all the skeletons in the closet now, than to have to derail the nation and it's business for a year going through impeachment trials once again.