Ron Paul, Mathematics and a Super 8 Motel

Super 8, Council Bluff, IA:
Ron Paul spent here

February 4, 2012 - Paulbot Math - Some of Ron Paul's followers are touting an article by Samantha Wagner as proof that their candidate is thrifty. By extension, they would have you believe that Paul is better with money than the other Republican candidates.

But the "evidence" that they offer, what's written in Wagner's article, is not only flimsy but also contrary to what they claim.

I've seen Paulbots quote this passage from the Wagner article: "When Republican presidential rival Rick Perry stayed in Council Bluffs, Iowa, his campaign racked up a $1,204 tab at the Hilton Gardens Inn. When Paul visited Council Bluffs, he spent $64.38 at a Super 8 motel."

Super 8, Council Bluff, IA

However, what they fail to point out is that this article says actually shows that Rick Perry spent LESS than Paul did in the fourth quarter of 2011. That's the period that Wagner looked at in making her candidate spending comparison.

To wit: "Overall, Paul spent $15,085,426.39 in the fourth quarter," the article says, "the second most of any Republican candidate. Mitt Romney topped him at $19,019,342.53 and Perry was a close third at $14,226,095.17."

Let's do the math: Subtract Perry's fourth quarter total spending from Paul's, $15,085,426.39 minus $14,226,095.17. Rick Perry, then, stretched 15 million dollars better than Paul did, by a whopping $859,331.22.

Despite these simple mathematical facts, Wagner makes the absurd statement that Ron Paul's "disclosure statements prove that he practices what he preaches." But, no they don't. As Wagner herself laid out, they prove the opposite. It's especially weird that Ron Paul spent close to a million dollars more than Perry did even though, as Wagner points out, Paul eats at McDonalds and Subway and shops at places such as the Salvation Army. If Paul is saving there, how did he blow nearly a million dollars more in the last three months of 2011 than rival Rick Perry did?

Neither the Paulbots nor the article reveal the reasons why Perry spent more at the Hilton than Paul spent at the Super 8: Could it be that Perry picked up the tab for his staff, while cheapskate Paul made his people pay their own way? Why did Paul only spend $64.38 at a Super 8? Was he there alone? If staff traveled with him, did they pay for their own rooms?

Please, small chunks only

No big chunks, please

Wagner ends her piece with a weird statement: " Paul spends the money the way he raises it — in small chunks. Overall, 62 percent of Paul’s disbursements were for under $100. Just 5 percent of Perry’s expenditures were less than $100."

Really? Ron Paul raises money "in small chunks?" If that's so, then why do Ron Paul and his followers constantly remind us that he has had hugely successful mega-bucks money bombs? Why, then, do they love to claim that Paul gets big money from members of the armed forces? (Ron Paul's support among the US armed forces is less than 5 percent, much lower than they would have you believe.)

Small change only, please

Why did the Ron Paul mouthpiece, "The Daily Paul," brag that he "raised at least $4.5 million in the second quarter, putting him in second place behind Romney?" Granted, Paul gets more small individual donations than the other candidates, who get more big checks from wealthier donors.

It is misleading to hype the "small chunks" aspect of Paul's campaign donations because it falsely (and intentionally) gives the impression that poor Ron Paul is struggling with few donations. Ron Paul's supporters talk out of both sides of their mouth on this subject.

Ms. Wagner's bio says that she "is a reporter for the Hearst Newspapers Washington Bureau. She is a recent graduate of the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign, where she earned a degree in News-Editorial Journalism." I'm wondering how the hell she got that degree.

Related articles

• Ron Paul's Support Among Military? 4.4% ... At Best. (canadafreepress.com)
• Team Ron Paul Unveils The Ron Paul Action Figure (patdollard.com)
• Study: Communist CBS News In The Tank For Ron Paul To Help Derail GOP (patdollard.com)
• Ron Paul campaign denies white supremacist ties alleged by Anonymous (dailycaller.com)

Marathon Pundit's Take on Obama & Sunset Equities

CHICAGO - Marathon Pundit (a.k.a. John Ruberry) is following the connection between Barack Obama and the recent, catastrophic demise of Sunrise Equities. At least 150 mostly-Muslim investors have been financially ruined by Sunrise's CEO Salman Ibrahim and other officers, and the connections between them and Obama are intriguing if not disturbing. Sincere thanks to John for picking up the ball and running with it. His report: Sunrise Equities and Obama - Just a few miles south of where I live is a thriving Pakistani and Indo-American community centered around Devon Avenue on Chicago's North Side. Dozens of family owned businesses rake in lots of cash--Mrs. Marathon Pundit bought some things on Devon--and some of that money ended up in the hands of Sunrise Equities CEO Salman Ibrahim. MORE...

OBAMA CONNECTED TO SUNRISE EQUITIES, PART ONE

OBAMA'S OCTOBER SUNRISE SURPRISE - PART ONE

Sunrise Equities donated office space to Obama in 2004 when
he was running for U.S. Senate. Salman Ibrahim was there.

Also See: Obama's Connections to Sunrise Equities, Part Two 

EXCLUSIVE: PART ONE - Background of the 2008 Sunrise Equities Scandal

CHICAGO - Barack Obama has strong ties to a Chicago investment company that ripped off investors for a total of approximately $80 million. Sunrise Equities shut down in August when its CEO, Salman Ibrahim, and other top officers vanished. The money seems to have gone with them. Now, the Illinois Secretary of State and the FBI are investigating the scandal.

About 150 investors, mostly Muslim, learned in August that they had lost all of their savings to the Sunrise Equities fraud. Sunrise Equities, a shariah-compliant investment firm, targeted investors who were mostly Pakistani Muslim immigrants. Many the victims took out home-equity loans to make ends meet.

The Muslim Media Network (MMN) reported this on Sept. 11:

"According to latest reports coming from Chicago the management of Sunrise Equities and the affiliated Sunrise Constructions have disappeared after closing their offices. Sunrise CEO Salman Ibrahim, Vice President Amjed Mahmood, and Vice President (Community Relations) Mohammad Akbar Zahid are untraceable."

As financial scandals go, this one pales next to the implosions of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. However, to the hundreds of investors in Chicago who have been ruined by Sunrise Equities, the Fannie-Freddie mess might as well be in another galaxy. Salman Ibrahim and Sunrise Equities have ruined people here just as profoundly as any bank closing in the country has hurt others. Salman Ibrahim gained the trust of investors with the help of religious Muslim leaders, who approved of and even recommended investing with Sunrise Equities because it followed shariah rules, or Islamic law.

The Illinois Secretary of State and the FBI are investigating the scandal. Will Homeland Security be investigating this? After all, Ibrahim is a foreign national. Furthermore, he is rumored by many along the “Devon Corridor” of West Ridge to be a Taliban sympathizer.

The tragedy of Sunrise Equities has ripples throughout Chicago: A March 10, 2006 press release from Sunrise Equities bragged about a transaction in the nearby Uptown neighborhood:

"Sunrise Equities is pleased to announce the purchase of 4 parcels near the corner of Leland and Marine Drive. A yet unnamed project is under development and will be the largest project under the Sun Rise umbrella. The mixed use development plan will call for up to 150 condos and townhomes as well as community retail."

More press releases are available on the Sunrise Equities web site, which also lists major projects in which they were involved.

The Chicago Tribune reported on September 24, 2008:

The Shariah Board of America's approval of investing in Sunrise Equities led dozens of other Chicago-area Muslims—mostly Indians and some Pakistanis—to invest and lose hundreds of thousands of dollars with the company, which says it developed multiunit residential buildings in Chicago, the investors said.

Investors said they don't know if the company suffered losses because of the declining real estate market or for other reasons. Salman Azam, an attorney hired by several investors, said Sunrise's Chief Executive Officer Salman Ibrahim has not been seen since August. Sunrise's offices off Devon Avenue are closed. At his home, mail spills out of his mailbox.

Neither Ibrahim nor his attorneys could be reached for comment Monday and Tuesday. Another principal in Sunrise, Amjed Mahmood, declined to comment, saying he had been a vice president in the company and the "corporation had gone down." He said he lost $500,000 and was now driving a taxi.

For years, Ibrahim and his associates have been heavily involved in Democrat Party political affairs. Ibrahim donated to Barack Obama and to Joe Biden, Local Democrats, such as 49th Ward Alderman Joe Moore and 50th Ward Alderman Bernie Stone, benefited as well.

There are questions, then, that must be asked. Where did the missing $80 million go? Did any of that money go to terrorist entities? Inasmuch as Ibrahim is suspected by some in his now-former neighborhood to be sympathetic to radical Islamic groups, the authorities must be wondering where the money went. Was it transferred to accounts overseas? Will Ibrahim, Mahmood and Zahid keep the money for personal benefit? Was any of it transferred to enemies of the United States, such as alQaeda?

According the most recent US Treasury Terrorist Assets Report (TAR), more than $20.7 million was blocked in 2007 that might otherwise have gone to international terrorist organizations and individuals. That's a big increase from the $16.4 million block in 2006. Al-Qaeda's share in 2007 is estimated to have been more than $11.3 million, which is 46 percent more than in 2006.

The amount of blocked funds pertaining to international terrorist organizations and individuals, totaled over $20.7 million in 2007, compared to $16.4 million in 2006. Of that, over $11.3 million constituted assets of al-Qaeda, an increase of almost 46 percent over the level blocked as of the end of 2006. The Bench is not saying that Sunrise Equities officers were terrorists or gave money to terrorists. That is an unknown, but that is the point. As noted, people much close to Ibrahim allege that his sympathies lie with the Taliban. The Taliban, as we all know, sympathizes with al-Qaeda.

The US Government needs to quickly and thoroughly investigate the Sunrise Equities scandal, with involves around $80 million. That's almost four times as much as was blocked by the US Treasury in all of 2007.

Barack Obama has long had strong ties to Muslims and to Pakistanis. He also has long and strong ties to Sunrise Equities and Salman Ibrahim.

Obama wanted a satellite fundraising office in the “Devon Corridor,” the largely Indian-Pakistani section of Chicago’s West Ridge neighborhood on the north side. Salman Ibrahim was happy to help. Free office space was given to Obama’s campaign within Sunrise’s general offices at 6355 N. Claremont. Obama has long wooed Muslim voters, and did not have a physical presence in this part of Chicago, so the Sunrise location made logistical sense for Obama. It also made sense for Ibrahim and Sunrise as an effort to curry favor with rising star Barack Obama.

In 2004, Sunrise Investments gave Barack Obama free office space during his run for US Senate. The Bench has photographs of the ribbon-cutting ceremony. Clearly seen in the photos is Barack Obama and Salman Ibrahim.

We're not finished yet. Part Two of this story will examine Obama's connections to Salman Ibrahim and Sunrise Equities. Due to time constraints, The Bench will not detail here Obama's mysterious three weeks in Pakistan or his numerous Muslim associations. These are points that have been well covered already by a myriad of blogs and publications. Rather, The Bench hopes that the information presented here will alert others with more time and resources to the Sunrise Equities story and the Obama Connection. Perhaps they can pick up the ball and run with it.

NEXT: Obama's Connections to Sunrise Equities, Part Two

RELATED: 

• The Failure of Sunrise Equities CNB 
• More on the Sunrise Equities Debacle... CNB 
• LOOKING FOR SALMAN IBRAHIM CNB 
• Sunrise Equities Scandal and Multiculturalism CNB 
• OBAMA: GUILT BY PARTICIPATION CNB 

Obama's Money: Lehman Bros, Bear Stearns, Fannie and Freddie...

Barack Obama wants "change," but he's not interested in small change, no sir. He's been getting the Big Bucks, from many of the big playaz in the current economic crisis. "Native Americans Against Obama" posted the following numbers. It is essential reading for everybody. Unfortunately, the majority of the Big Media are too much in the tank for the Democrats to share this information with you. Senator Obama’s pulling down almost $300,000 a year from Goldman Sachs, Lehman Brothers, Bear Stearns, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, AIG, Countrywide Financial, and Washington Mutual? He has not even completed his fourth year in the Senate and received a total of $1,093,329.00 from these eight companies and their employees. (all data from OpenSecrets.org). John McCain’s numbers, according to OpenSecrets.org for the period 1990-2008 (i.e., 18 years worth of data) only collected $549,584.00. In other words, Barack is receiving $273,582.25 (and 2008 is not over) per year while McCain raised a paltry $30,532.44. More at NativeAmericansAgainstObama Top Obama Contributors Donors over Obama's political career. Source: OpenSecrets.org Goldman Sachs $753,430 University of California $629,086 JPMorgan Chase & Co $501,819 Harvard University $482,469 Citigroup Inc $478,999 University of Chicago $448,939 UBS AG $432,045 Google Inc $426,174 National Amusements Inc $413,190 Skadden, Arps et al $395,635 Lehman Brothers $393,324 Sidley Austin LLP $388,502 Microsoft Corp $380,735 Kirkland & Ellis $380,364 Time Warner $359,527 Moveon.org $347,463 Morgan Stanley $341,320 Wilmerhale Llp $335,398 Exelon Corp $316,563 Latham & Watkins $299,650

Obama, the Pritzkers and the Subprime Meltdown

In a stunning column titled "Obama in the Tank for Pritzker," writer Edward Sisson examines the dangerous relationship between Penny Pritzker and Barack Obama. The Pritzkers, as many of you know, are one of the wealthiest families of multiple billionaires in the nation. Chicago is their home. The Bench noted Penny Pritzker's involvement with Obama and the subprime loan catastrophe way back on April 9, 2008 in a post titled "Obama's Finance Chair Part of Subprime Debacle," which linked to a UPI story that noted, "Penny Pritzker, national finance chairwoman for Obama, was chairwoman of a Chicago-area bank's board when it began a subprime loan approach in 1993 that many say caused its 2001 collapse." Sisson's column in The American Spectator on Sept. 26 revisits the relationship between the Pritzkers, Obama and the subprime debacle that has heavily contributed to the current financial crisis in the US. Sisson asks an important question: So which man do we want to be talking to us about banking in January 2009? Obviously, we want someone who understands why banks fail, because he'll be able to keep our banks safe. True, of course. Sisson then throws a few punches. Which makes it all the more significant that Barack Obama has posted on his campaign website a naive and ignorant defense* of his campaign finance chair, Penny Pritzker, concerning her key leadership involvement in the largest bank failure in the 18 years between the last great banking crisis (the 1980s S&L debacle) and today's even-more-massive banking crisis. The excuses, misdirections, and spin Senator Obama offers in defense of this billionaire failed bank executive are Pritzker spin from start to finish, and expose Obama's profound inability to understand why banks fail and how to keep banks safe. Remember, too, that Obama has received enormous amounts of campaign donations from Fannie Mae. His top advisors oversaw mismanagement and fraud at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. (See: Obama: Fannie Mae's Candidate) Seldom has the special access of the wealthy into the inner deliberations of a Presidential candidate been more clearly exposed by the candidate himself. Just as the press is "in the tank" for Obama, Obama is in the tank for Pritzker. And a man in the tank for Pritzker cannot keep our banks safe. Barack Obama, the man "in the tank" for the Pritzkers - and other wealthy elitists - wants to be your president. Time to educate yourselves and stop swooning over empty slogans. Remember: "Change" is not always good. RELATED: September Surprise: Fannie Mae & Barack Obama The Real Culprits In This Meltdown Biden and Dodd play hooky while DC burns The Democrats, Obama, and the Fannie Mae scandal Morning Bell: The Left’s Crony Capitalism Exposed $30000 Per Year for Sen. Obama from Fannie and Freddie Obama tapped Fannie Mae CEO Jim Johnson YouTube - Fannie Mae, Jamie Gorelick and The 911 Comission Who’s The Real Reformer Now? Obama's mortgage money machine

BIG FINE FOR STROGER CAMPAIGN

Cook County President Todd Stroger says he's doing a "damn good job." Either he's a moron or he assumes we are. What a joke. Democrat Todd Stroger is the little tyrant who rammed through the July 1 tax increase that gave Cook County the highest sales tax in the nation. The county doesn't even know how many cars it owns, how many are being used by county employees, what the employees do with the cars, or how much this costs Cook County taxpayers. The county's health care system is in a shambles due to unbelieveable mismanagement. The jail system is under federal order to clean up its act and to stop violating prisoners' constitutional rights. For those of you who voted for the midget Todd Stroger, we still await your apology.

Stroger Campaign Fined Thousands - Todd Stroger might be "doing a damn good job" running the county, but he didn't do such a good job managing his own campaign for County Board President.

Peraica To County Board: We Need Tax Relief - Cook County Commissioner and State's Attorney candidate Tony Peraica called on the county board to rescind the one percent sales-tax hike, only to get beat down by Bill "Hog Nuts" Beavers. In a press release,

RELATED:
Cook County Loses Track of County Cars and Who's Driving Them - How many cars does Cook County own, and who's driving them? Not even the county knows for sure.

Democratic Party - 49th Ward: Todd Stroger Turns It On!

John McCain's Stinky Finances

YIKES! I might have to vote for Obama. Can't vote for Hillary. Or could I? Not a good year for choices. I was gonna hold my nose and vote for McCain. But man the stench in here is gettin' worse by the day. This bomb shell from the American Prospect should make anybody feel verrrrr uneasy about McCain (if they weren't already): We now have the exact language of John McCain's "second loan," and it is a legal masterpiece, albeit an ethical travesty. Based on the Washington Post report, I inferred that McCain had not excluded public matching funds from the collateral for his additional loan. But it's much more complex than that. The second loan, for $1 million, was actually a modification of the first, and so it continued to exclude the certification for matching funds from the loan's collateral.... McCain essentially traded away for cash his right to choose whether to participate in the system, and even his right to drop out of the presidential race, allowing the bank to force McCain "to remain an active candidate" in order to reapply for and qualify for funds. He was betting the spread (10 points) on his own primary performance! I don't think it's an exaggeration to say this is a promise to perpetuate a fraud on the American taxpayers: if he no longer intended to seek the presidency, he made a legally-binding promise to pretend to remain in the race just long enough to collect public money to repay the loan. MORE at American Prospect...