After all, he’ll apparently hold an Astroturf rally for you to create the appearance of a grassroots movement – if you are willing to cough up $20K for him.

ThatÂ’s one of the details exposed in the billing dispute between local Democrat hack lawyer Lloyd Kelley and former clients Erik and Sean Ibarra over KelleyÂ’s bill. One of the things that he wants the Ibarras to pay for is this little expense.

Kelley said he had $300,000 in expenses, but a judge approved only a reimbursement of $51,000. The remainder of the expenses, according to the contract signed by the brothers and Kelley, says the brothers must pay the expenses.

* * *

A supplemental page of expenses filed by Kelley show $95,000 paid to attorney Tammy Tran for jury consulting and $20,000 to community activist Quanell X for organizing a rally in front of the courthouse, Sorrels said.

In other words, the rally intended to represent the “outraged community” was actually nothing but a bit of political theater bought and paid for by the plaintiffs’ lawyer from a “community activist” who will prostitute himself and his followers out if the price is right.

In other words, the name of the game for Quannell X is “show me the money!”

UPDATE -- 10/17/2008, 7:30 PM: Looks like the issue may be fraud by Kelley, with Quannell X being a pawn in this whole thing:

Longtime Houston activist Quanell X wants you to know that he did not get $20,000 for organizing a demonstration last June in support of the Ibarra brothers during the lawsuit in which they won $1.7 million for mistreatment by Harris County deputies.

The brothers had been roughed up and falsely arrested for taking photographs from their own property of a drug raid on the house next door. Quanell X led a demonstration march as the jury was hearing testimony. But he insists he was not paid for the expression of outrage.

"That is absolutely not the case," Quanell X said Thursday. "Nobody has ever paid me for a demonstration."

Randy Sorrels is the attorney for the Ibarras in a lawsuit over that and other expenses flamboyant lawyer Lloyd Kelley is charging them for work on their wildly successful suit against the county.

Sorrels says Kelley told the brothers the payment to Quanell X was for organizing a demonstration march.

Not so, says Quanell X. He says he even turned down an offer from the Ibarra brothers to help pay the expenses.

"I told them I didn't want anybody saying you paid for the march."

Quannell X was, however brought in as a jury consultant, for which he was paid. That would make it appear that the officemate of the Democrat candidate for DA is trying to rip off his former clients just days before the election, and using fraudulent documents in the process.

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You know, rather than merely have the state pay reparations, go after the organization that was really responsible for the event.

Marchers took to the street this week, calling for the state to make reparations for the 1898 Wilmington riots.

About a dozen people marched to the courthouse in Durham on Sunday. It was one of 13 such marches held across the state leading up to the 65th annual conference of the state NAACP, which starts Thursday.

The marchers are asking state legislators to make payments to the descendants of those harmed in an insurrection that led to the deaths of at least 14 black people and perhaps many more.

The riots were brought to the forefront when the 1898 Wilmington Race Riot Commission report was released in 2006 after six years of study by a state-appointed panel.

The panel found that the riots that led to a government overthrow in Wilmington were started by white supremacist leaders in a conspiracy to strip political power from black people and their allies.

State legislators have apologized for the conspiracy, but the state NAACP and other groups in a statewide coalition are calling for the state to make reparations to the families of those who died or lost their livelihoods as a result of the riots.

"You want to apologize, but you don't want to share the wealth with these people," said Fred Foster, head of the Durham branch of the state NAACP. "The only way to bring closure is to set things right."

Yes, set things right indeed. The state’s Democrat Party was one of the two primary instigators, perpetrators, and beneficiaries of the coup conducted against the elected GOP government of Wilmington. Make the Democrats pay for their crimes – indeed, liquidate the Democrat Party in North Carolina and distribute the assets as reparations to the families of those who died and/or lost their livelihoods as a result of the murderous rampage by Democrats to create a Democrat-led government in the city – and also distribute a share of those assets to the state Republican Party, which was every bit a victim of the coup as the individuals. You know, bring some closure to this incident by setting things right.

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He started out as a “post-racial” candidate, but Obama and his surrogates have found themselves time and again claiming that any criticism of the candidate and his record are racist. Such claims are nonsensical – but taken up by the slavering media supporters of the campaign as if they fell from heaven bound in leather with gold leaf on the edge of the pages.

The latest involves Sarah PalinÂ’s observation that Barack Obama has had an ongoing close relationship with unrepentant terrorist Bill Ayers.

"Our opponent ... is someone who sees America, it seems, as being so imperfect, imperfect enough, that he's palling around with terrorists who would target their own country," Palin told a group of donors in Englewood, Colo. A deliberate attempt to smear Obama, McCain's ticket-mate echoed the line at three separate events Saturday.

"This is not a man who sees America like you and I see America," she said. "We see America as a force of good in this world. We see an America of exceptionalism."

Her reference to Obama's relationship with William Ayers, a member of the Vietnam-era Weather Underground, was exaggerated at best if not outright false. No evidence shows they were "pals" or even close when they worked on community boards years ago and Ayers hosted a political event for Obama early in his career.

Obama, who was a child when the Weathermen were planting bombs, has denounced Ayers' radical views and actions.

Well, I would dispute the characterization that they were not close – especially given that Ayers personally sought out Obama for the Chicago Annenberg Challenge, hosted campaign events, participated in speaking engagements, and otherwise worked closely with the Democrat candidate. While one can argue about the depth of their personal relationship, it was clear that they were close professional associates – and that Obama’s willingness to be so closely associated with an admitted terrorist indicates that he does see the world in a manner that is very different from most Americans. Either that, or he doesn’t give a damn about anything that doesn’t advance Barack Obama personally.

But racist? It the connection to race is so tenuous as to be laughable.

Palin's words avoid repulsing voters with overt racism. But is there another subtext for creating the false image of a black presidential nominee "palling around" with terrorists while assuring a predominantly white audience that he doesn't see their America?

In a post-Sept. 11 America, terrorists are envisioned as dark-skinned radical Muslims, not the homegrown anarchists of Ayers' day 40 years ago. With Obama a relative unknown when he began his campaign, the Internet hummed with false e-mails about ties to radical Islam of a foreign-born candidate.

Whether intended or not by the McCain campaign, portraying Obama as "not like us" is another potential appeal to racism. It suggests that the Hawaiian-born Christian is, at heart, un-American.

So get that – any pointing out that Obama might be different from Americans in his outlook or associations is automatically false and racist.

This marks simply one more goofy “racism” charge. They are cataloged over at Patterico’s Pontifications.

• It&Â’s racist to point out the connection between Barack Obama and a white man — who happens to be a terrorist.

• ItÂ’s racist to point out the similarity between Barack Obama and two white women — who are famous for being celebrities.

• ItÂ’s racist to point out the connection between Barack Obama and a black man — who happens to have run Fannie Mae.

• ItÂ’s racist to point out the connection between Barack Obama and a black woman — who happens to be his wife, and who said she wasnÂ’t really proud of America until her husband was nominated.

And I’ve got to make an observation publicly that I have made privately to friends over the last few months as we have watched Barack Obama deflect criticism by redefining the entire concept of racism – if everything, including clear statements of fact and direct quotations of candidates, their friends, family members, and associates, constitutes racism, then the very notion of racism itself is meaningless. And that has the potential for making all but the most pernicious, outrageous forms of racism legitimate, because racism itself will have been devalued as an actual evil. Do we as a country really wish to see our society go down that path?

H/T Malkin, Hot Air

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Could you imagine the outrage if a newspaper ran a neutral, even slightly approving, story with the following headline?

Whites Forming a Rock-Solid Bloc Behind McCain

We would be treated to even more editorials and columns lamenting the emergence of race and racism in American politics.

Why, then, is this sort of race-based voting not so loudly condemned?

Blacks Forming a Rock-Solid Bloc Behind Obama

We know the answer, of course – racially-motivated behavior on the part of minorities is not seen as malignant by the liberal opinion elite. Only when white folks band together in solidarity with their do they see a problem. Instead, they hold minority groups to a lower standard – and condemn whites who do not support them in such solidarity as racist.

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