Oversite Committee - One More Congressional Joke On Us - Obama Shadow Testified

Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Hearings – A Major Joke

Monday (10-06-08) Representative Henry A. Waxman graveled the committee to order to hear testimony in regards the recent bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers. The Committee On Oversight and Government Reform appeared, by watching the event on the cable television C-Span channel, that about 1/3 of the total committee members where there. Maybe due to campaigns was the reason for so many being absent. Of seventeen Republicans committee members, only two or three appeared to be there.

The person who testified that drew my interest was Nell Minow, Chairman of the Board and Editor, The Corporate Library. She blasted corporate America and government every chance she could. While The Corporate Library website indicates the company serves a noble purpose of providing services/information to small stockholders within corporate America she hardly came across as such.

Well that started the old brain a spinning. So off to the Internet I went. First stop was OpenSecrets.org to check on any contributions to the elected officials. Well, slap me silly as Minow had made two contributions to the presidential race. Mr. Barack Obama was provided with $500 on March 12, 2007 and $500 more on February 10, 2008.

For some reason her last name struck a nerve so I searched “Minow Chicago” and up came 100's of places to look. I learned her father was Attorney Newton (Norman) Minow and worked at the law firm called Sidney-Austin. That she has two sisters by the names of Martha Minow and Mary Minow. Her mother’s name is Josephine.

Back to OpenSecrets.org I go. Josephine Minow, of Chicago, sent Barack Obama $2,300 on February 23, 2007. Then she followed up with $2,300 more on August 16, 2007 (This would be a violation of federal law and one of the payments should be returned).

Next we have Martha Minow of Cambridge, Mass. She donated $2,300 to Obama on February 23, 2007. Then she followed that up with $2,300 more on March 28, 2007. Then she contributed a final $2,300 more on July 14, 2008. (This would be a violation of federal law and two of the payments should be returned).

Last but least his her other sister, Mary. She contributed $283 to Obama coffers on August 27, 2008. She lives in Cupertino, California.

So the four member Minow crew has pumped in $11,783 into Obama coffers. OpenSecrets.org has shown Obama’s campaign has returned $4,600 to family members, but that is not included in the above numbers and dates.

Martha’s is employed as a professor at Harvard Law School and that drew my interest. Obama graduated from Harvard Law School. Sure enough, she was a teacher there when Obama attended law school.

Let us jump back to their father Norman Minow. He was a partner in the law firm of Sidney-Austin in Chicago. That rings a bell in researching Bill Aryes, the domestic terrorist, a couple weeks ago. It also rang a bell that is the law firm where Michelle worked and met Barack. Now we are talking a small small world.

The question that I always wondered about is when Barack had just completed his first year of law school he was obtained an internship with a Chicago law firm. Internships for lawyers is hardly ever done, and if so, they are only offered to students before their final year of all school.

The reason law firms do not take interns is because the legal industry has learned that interns often end up with other firms after graduation and client lists from the first company often goes with them.

Still I was puzzled how this all worked? We had Obama at Harvard, Martha Minow was one of his law professors, and Martha’s father was a partner the law firm Sidney-Austin.

Then I stumbled across the fact Bernardine Dohrn worked at the law firm Sidney-Austin. This is the wife of Bill Ayres and who served a long federal sentence for her terrorist actions also worked in the office. Dohrn, who was graduated from law school, can not be licensed as an attorney, because of her felony record.

There are no records, no one will talk, and there is no paper trail of the relationship of all these people during that summer. That only thing talked about is Michelle’s first date with Obama. Other then that, everyone’s lips are sealed. Stange!

What did surface that on May 11, 2008 Nell Minow sent an email to a blog by the name of Global Labor and Politics. The gentleman, who wrote a column on Obama, wondered about how Obama got connected to the law firm of Sidney-Austin. Well, Nell explained in her email that her sister, the professor, talked to her dad about hiring him for the summer.

So now we know how Nell (testified today before congress) Minow, her sister Martha, her mom Josephine, he dad Norman, Bill Ayres, Bernardine Dohrn, and Michelle Obama all know each other. What a small world we live in.

To me, it also explains Nell’s comments in the hearing today. It was like Obama had one of his paid talking heads to testify before the committee…. Oh, why I am no longer surprised.

Here is some other triva-

Nell Minow went to University of Chicago
Dr. Luigi Zingales, who also testified today, teaches at the University of Chicago
Bill Ayres teaches at University of Chicago

Nell Minow contributed to Obama campaign
Robert Prescott, who also testified today, donated to Obama’s campaign

Michelle Obama worked in Mayor Daley's admin. and was promoted, but she has never talked about that part of her career.