Racists. Terrorists. Crooked businessmen. Those are the folks that Barack Obama counts among his friends. This one will be looking for a pardon if Obama wins the election.

Tony Rezko — the high-flying developer and fast-food magnate who was once a major campaign fund-raiser for Gov. Blagojevich and Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama and one of the governor’s closest advisers — is now a convicted felon.

A federal jury in Chicago convicted Rezko this afternoon on 16 of 24 charges he faced in a political corruption trial that cast a harsh light on the Blagojevich administration.

Now remember -- this is the one who made a sweetheart deal with the Obamas to enable them to buy a property adjoining their residence that they otherwise couldn't have afforded. This is a guy who was a big fundraiser for Obama until he got indicted. I guess the day after he becomes Mr. Inevitable, Barack Obama has to now explain away a fishy relationship with a convicted felon. This should be fun.

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Welcome Michelle Malkin readers.

In New York today, an art exhibit was shut down.

This morning, a Boston-born performance artist, Yazmany Arboleda, tried to set up a provocative art exhibition in a vacant storefront on West 40th Street in Midtown Manhattan with the title, “The Assassination of Hillary Clinton/The Assassination of Barack Obama,” in neatly stenciled letters on the plate glass windows at street level.

By 9:30 a.m., New York City police detectives and Secret Service agents had shut down the exhibition, and building workers quickly covered over the inflammatory title with large sheets of brown paper and blue masking tape. The gallery is across the street from the southern entrance to The New York Times building.

The police officers declined to answer any questions, and at first would not permit reporters to speak with Mr. Arboleda, who was wearing a black T-shirt and making cellphone calls from inside the makeshift gallery.

Later, Mr. Arboleda, who is 27, said in an interview: “It’s art. It’s not supposed to be harmful. It’s about character assassination — about how Obama and Hillary have been portrayed by the media.” He added, “It’s about the media.”

Mr. Arboleda said the exhibition was to open on Thursday and run all day.

Now let's say it -- the title of the exhibit was overly provocative. There was, however, no need to shut the exhibit down or require the promotional sign to be covered.

Why not? How about because of this from 2006.

The Republican Party in Texas has said it is "shocking" and "disturbing" that a TV drama is to depict the assassination of US President Bush.

Death of a President uses archive footage, actors and computer effects to portray the president being shot dead.

UK broadcaster Channel 4, who made the mock documentary, said it explored the effects of the War on Terror on the US.

But Gretchen Essell, a spokeswoman for the Republican Party of Texas, called for it not to be screened.

"I cannot support a video that would dramatise the assassination of our president, real or imagined," she told the Press Association news agency.

"The greater reality is that terrorism still exists in our world. It is obvious that the war on terror is not over.

"I find this shocking, I find it disturbing. I don't know if there are many people in America who would want to watch something like that."

How disturbing are the images? I'll let you decide, with this YouTube clip that you can view right now.

An American company will be releasing the film in this country on January 20, 2009. I somehow doubt we will see any effort by the Secret Service or local law enforcement to prevent the release of the film, the showing of the film in a theater, or any of the film's advertising. After all, you've just seen the depiction of the murder of a sitting president hosted on YouTube!

Not to mention threats by Air America Radio.

Why are Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton treated any different, especially when it is clear that the exhibit in question is a critique of the media coverage of the just-concluded race for the Democrat presidential nomination? Could it be that Assassination Chic is only cool if the target is a Republican?

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That's my take on this move by Chicago's Francis Cardinal George.

The priest whose mocking of Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton stirred more racially tinged controversy in the presidential campaign was effectively placed on leave from his pastoral work Tuesday at the Roman Catholic parish he has led since 1983.

The archbishop of Chicago, Cardinal Francis George, called on the priest, the Rev. Michael Pfleger, to “step back from his obligations” at St. Sabina and “take leave for a couple of weeks.”

* * *

He could not be reached for comment late Tuesday, but Cardinal George made it clear that Father Pfleger had disagreed with the decision that he take a brief leave.

“Father Pfleger does not believe this to be the right step at this time,” Cardinal George said in a statement released by the archdiocese. “While respecting his disagreement, I have nevertheless asked him to use this opportunity to reflect on his recent statements and actions in the light of the church’s regulations for all Catholic priests. I hope that this period will also be a time away from the public spotlight and for rest and attention to family concerns.”

His parishioners exhibited their cult-like devotion to him at a special service on Tuesday night.

Hundreds of parishioners crowded a service at St. Sabina on Tuesday evening, asking Cardinal George to reinstate Father Pfleger and requesting a meeting with the cardinal, the Associated Press reported.Father Pfleger has had a regular place at the forefront of activism here, participating in protests against violence and police corruption and at times defying the church leadership.

My guess is that this will lead to one of a several of possible outcomes.

Yeah, I know that there are still things that could happen between now and the Democrat convention in August, but it would appear that Barack Obama will be the least qualified Democrat standard bearer since. . . well, ever.

With a split decision in the final two primaries and a flurry of superdelegate endorsements, Sen. Barack Obama sealed the Democratic presidential nomination last night after a grueling and history-making campaign against Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton that will make him the first African American to head a major-party ticket.

I've got mixed emotions about this nomination. On the one hand, I feel that the nomination of Barack Obama will do nothing but boost the GOP ticket in the fall, because it will be composed of two candidates with the qualifications an experience necessary to be president while Obama makes Jimmy Carter and Michael Dukakis look highly qualified. on the other hand, I live in fear that we might actually have to suffer through four years of this accomplishment-free individual in the White House -- something that could damage this country for a generation or more.

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After all, Bob Barr is at least willing to denounce professional racists and refuse to taint his campaign with their money. When racist scum-suckers posted an endorsement of Bob Barr (including an attack on John McCain's adopted daughter) in several locations around the web, here's how Barr's campaign manager responded on his behalf.

The Barr campaign is not going to be a vehicle for every fringe and hate group to promote itself. We do not want and will not accept the support of haters. Anyone with love in their heart for our country and for every resident of our country regardless of race, religion, nationality or sexual orientation is welcome with open arms.

Tell the haters I said don't let the door hit you on the backside on your way out!

Contrast that to Ron Paul's long-time association with bigots and refusal to divest himself of cash from known professional racists.

I won't vote for Bob Barr -- but I at least retain some respect for him.

H/T LGF

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As I noted when his health problems came to light, I don't think that now is the time to attack Ted Kennedy for all the crappy deeds of his past. Human decency and compassion requires that we offer our best wishes for a full recovery.

Today is one of those days, as he undergoes surgery related to the brain tumor that was discovered following his seizures.

Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.) will undergo surgery this morning at Duke University to try and remove a highly lethal tumor that doctors discovered in his brain last month.

In a statement, the 76-year-old Democratic icon said he would fight the grim prognosis he was given in May through a combination of surgery, radiation and chemotherapy. The operation, which is being performed by neurosurgeon Allan H. Friedman of Duke University Medical Center, is scheduled to start at 9 a.m. and last about six hours.

Kennedy said in his statement that he expected to remain at Duke for about a week after the operation, and start radiation and chemotherapy at Massachusetts General Hospital shortly thereafter.

Kennedy was diagnosed in mid-May with a malignant glioma, a highly aggressive type of tumor that doctors say can never be completely destroyed. About half of the 10,000 people found to have such tumors in the United States each year die within 12 months; three-quarters of them are dead within two years.

My prayers are with the Massachusetts senator at this time, and with his family as they wait with a man they love despite his many flaws. At a time like this politics is irrelevant and love of our fellow man should be the rule.

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It has been rumored for weeks, and now appears set to break tomorrow.

And this one is going to sting MUCH WORSE than Wright or Pfleger.

And left-winger Larry Johnson is set to break news about it at 0900 on Monday, June 2.

New and dramatic developments. This is a heads up. IÂ’ll post the news Monday morning by 0900 hours. Now I know why people who have seen the videotape say it is stunning. BarackÂ’s headaches are only starting.

Imagine that -- the day before he is set to clinch the nomination, a bombshell of his wife's racist comments at Trinity UCC (if rumors are correct) is set to break. Johnson wants to blame Rove, but my money is on Hillary Clinton. The GOP would wait until the last week of October or even November 1 to break this story.

Obama's problem? He can throw his grandmother under the bus. He can throw Jeremiah Wright under the bus. he can throw Michael Pfleger under the bus. He can even throw his entire 8000 member church under the bus. But how on earth do you manage to throw your wife, the mother of your children, under the bus?

UPDATE: Valerie Plame's ex-boyfriend seriously under-delivers again.

I learned over the weekend why the Republicans who have seen the tape of Michelle Obama ranting about “whitey” describe it as “STUNNING.” I have not seen it but I have heard from five separate sources who have spoken directly with people who have seen the tape. It features Michelle Obama and Louis Farrakhan. They are sitting on a panel at Jeremiah Wright’s Church when Michelle makes her intemperate remarks. Whoops!! When that image comes out it will enter the politcal ads hall of fame. It will be right up there with the little girl plucking daisy petals in the famous 1964 ad LBJ used against Barry Goldwater.

But he raises some other, much more important issues related to Obama's connection to racists.

Barack may have quit his church but his religious problems are not over. Barack Obama has a Nation of Islam problem that will receive more attention in the coming days. Before Barack came on the scene, THE MAN in his political district was Louis Farrakhan. No one could take Alice Palmer’s seat without Farrakhan’s blessing. No one. I do not fault Barack Obama for seeking out the blessing of Farrakhan, but the story of what was done behind the scenes to get rid of Barack’s predecessor—Alice Palmer—has not been told. A knowledgeable source tells me that Tony Rezko played a direct role in this feat. And Rezko has been tight with Farrakhan.

It also should come as no surprise that Barack hired two members of the Nation of Islam to work on his staff—Jennifer Mason and Cynthia K. Miller. (And no, I am not merely recycling info initially reported by Debbie Schlussel. I have two independent Chicago sources for this info.) If Jeremiah Wright and Michael Pfleger had kept their yaps buttoned none of this would mean much. But the fact that both men have been—until scrubbed from the website in recent weeks—listed as spiritual advisors to Barack Obama and also are very close to Louis Farrakhan, forces the question about Barack’s faith and beliefs.

In probing those matters we begin to understand that the Nation of Islam has been a critical component of Barack ObamaÂ’s base of support. And, I am told, Louis Farrakhan has been careful to use Tony Rezko as the intermediary in his relationship with Barack. This is not guilt by association, this is guilt because of actual relationship. Farrakhan, Wright, and Pfleger are each on tape in various settings spewing the most vile racists garbage in the guise of preaching. Barack Obama, up to this point, has tried to pretend he had no idea that these men had these thoughts or said these things.

I've got trouble with Johnson's use of anonymous sources here -- but these matters have all been in the public domain in some form or fashion over the last several months, only to be overlooked by the MSM as they fawn over Barack Obama.

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Even though the hate monger claims that I and many like me do.

The Rev. Michael Pfleger, who helped reignite Barack Obama's pastor problems by mocking Hillary Clinton, said this evening he's received "thousands of hate threats" since his videotaped pulpit rant.

"They want to kill me," Pfleger told parishioners during a service in a St. Sabina Church chapel on Chicago's South Side this evening. "It's been very ugly."

Not as ugly as your words at Trinity, Mikey. You are just reaping what you have sown.

But seriously, i don't want you dead.

You are much more useful alive -- because you will be unable to keep your mouth shut for long, and you will violate your promise to Cardinal George just like you violated your promise of obedience when you refused his directive to change parishes at the end of your third term as pastor of St. Sabina six years ago.

Just like Jeremiah Wright, i expect you to be a gift that keeps on giving -- and your death would prevent that.

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But in a way which I believe is utterly insufficient to defuse the controversy that has dogged him for some three months. Indeed, his stated reasons for quitting make it clear that, his disassociation is less about any fundamental disagreement with what goes on at Trinity than it is about the cost of him membership there to his campaign and the behavior of the media in covering the racist church.

"We don't want to have to answer for everything that's stated in the church," the Democratic front-runner said. "We also don't want the church subjected to the scrutiny that a presidential campaign legitimately undergoes."

Sorry, Barry -- you stayed a part of Trinity UCC for two decades and praised it in both of your books, even though the very things that you claim constitute “a cultural and a stylistic gap” have been a part of what goes on at Trinity for that entire time.

How timid is Obama in the break from the extremist theology and rhetoric of Trinity UCC? Consider this.

"I'm not denouncing the church and I'm not interested in people who want me to denounce the church," he said, adding that the new pastor at Trinity and "the church have been suffering from the attention my campaign has focused on them."

Got that? If you are concerned about what you heard from Wright, Pfleger, and Otis Moss, Barack Obama isn't interested in you (though he believes you ought to vote for him -- otherwise you no doubt are a racist). And given that it is Otis Moss, the new pastor at Trinity who was so effusive in his praise for Michael Pfleger in the video we've all seen (and who invited him to preach), I'd have to argue that the new pastor is every bit as guilty of the sins of the past as Jeremiah Wright -- and that he merits equal scrutiny. And given the response of the congregation to Pfleger's sermon (watch the background and listen to the crowd response), I'd argue that the whole congregation does merit serious scrutiny.

And let's be honest -- among the scrutiny deserved by Trinity UCC is an investigation by the IRS for violation of restrictions on political activity by a tax exempt organization AND under the standard enunciated by the Supreme Court in Bob Jones University v. United States, namely that an organization that practices racism is ineligible for a tax exemption as a charity even if it meets all other requirements.

Obama indicated he won't be making a choice of a new church until after November. Anyone want to bet that it will be a church just like Trinity UCC -- if not Trinity UCC itself, should he lose the election this fall? After all, the folks he claims to be the bad actors in all this (Wright & Pfleger) won't be there, and neither Moss nor the institution itself have done anything wrong in his eyes -- and as a failed candidate for president, will his choice of church really merit any scrutiny at all?

Here's the whole press conference in which Obama discusses the decision.

He ight be able to get away with that limp-wristed position except for the fact that less than a year ago he was more than willing to denounce a different group of religious believers for what the believe and say.

"Somewhere along the way faith stopped being used to bring us together and started being used to drive us apart... Faith got hijacked partly because of the so-called leaders of the Christian Right, whoÂ’ve been all too eager to exploit what divides us.

So let's get this straight -- those who support traditional values and traditional Christian theology merit denunciation by Obama, but the race-baiters and their followers at Trinity UCC (ant Pfleger's St. Sabina Catholic Church) do not. After all, haven't they "stopped [using] faith to bring us together and started [using] it to drive us apart"? Given that double standard, I guess he wasn't lying when he said yesterday that he isn't people who disagree with him, is he?

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