http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/05/17/obamas-aunt-is-granted-asylum/
And awaiting for the Right wingers/Teabaggers/Birthers, etc to start bitching/moaning/complaining in 10, 9, 8…
Why? Looks like she did it the legal way.
She is no longer an illegal alien. She is welcome to visit AZ anytime, I will buy her a coffee.
Case example of illegal immigration:
-Lived in public housing
-Medical care provided for free
-Ignored deportation order
*Your tax dollars at work
Honestly I understand it. If I was the judge, I would of done the same thing especially as thin skinned and vindictive this current administration is.
Obama getting elected President was kind of like winning the lottery for her, but what can you do? It happened, and therefore it’s fairly hard to argue with her claim that she faces a high likelihood of persecution should she return.
Does his extended family who are in Kenya face persecution? If so, is the persecution related to his position as POTUS or because of clan rivalries in Kenya that lead to violence in their last election?
Uh… no need to project the Bush Administration’s pettiness onto the current Administration, which is run by grownups.
Empirically, I don’t know. My guess would be that she argued both those points. I do know that the woman didn’t appear to be having much success in the courts prior to Obama’s election, and I do know that the linked article indicated that her claims were at least partially based on danger as a result of being a known relative of a prominent U.S. politician.
[quote=“redandy”][quote]
Does his extended family who are in Kenya face persecution? If so, is the persecution related to his position as POTUS or because of clan rivalries in Kenya that lead to violence in their last election?
[/quote]
Empirically, I don’t know. My guess would be that she argued both those points. I do know that the woman didn’t appear to be having much success in the courts prior to Obama’s election, and I do know that the linked article indicated that her claims were at least partially based on danger as a result of being a known relative of a prominent U.S. politician.[/quote]
But wouldn’t his family in Kenya be facing the same? I’m certain that members of his family are well-known in whatever area they live in…
I doubt his family in Kenya is facing persecution. A lot of attention, yeah. Kenyans were celebrating on the streets when he was elected, as were people in other African countries.
Did Obama or anyone in his administration do anything to subvert the law to assist her in staying? apparently not as this came up during the presidential election. He as I recall did not even know that she was in the country. My view: she is just another illegal immigrant. This has nothing to do with Obama if he does not make it so. He has not so… why single her out?
Quite possibly, but not everyone who faces persecution comes to the U.S. requesting asylum.
Right.
Who cares? This is just another endless media “closure” story…written in the hope of stirring up the next scandal.
Uh… no need to project the Bush Administration’s pettiness onto the current Administration, which is run by grownups.[/quote]
The White House press corp is projecting? Why reporters are down on Obama
[quote]
Some reporters say the pushback is so aggressive that it undermines the credibility of Obama’s aides. “The willingness to argue that credible information is untrue is at its core dishonest and unfortunately calls into question everything else the press office says,” one White House reporter said
While some reporters note improvements since the Bush era, like more informed deputy press secretaries and assistants, others complain of a rigid image control pervading the government. “The access is much poorer than in the Bush administration,” one national newspaper reporter who regularly covers the White House said. “This is wider than just the White House. I feel like the political appointees in a variety of agencies are more difficult to get to. There are people … you could reach in the Bush administration that now say, ‘That position does not speak to the press. We do not give background. We do not give anything.’’’ [/quote]
Thanks for posting that article Ibksig. Very interesting.
Given the 24/7 new cycle, I could see why Obama and his team would want to put a bit of distance between him and the endless reporting cycle. No news there.
Wow, who hacked Fred’s account? 
No news?
Yeah, that’s what Obama needs, LESS news about what he’s doing…in health care, banking reform, immigration, North Korea, Iran… 
[quote]
You may recall that on Monday President Obama refused take any questions from the press (irony alert!) immediately after signing the “Press Freedom Act” in the Oval Office. The president, who hasn’t held a prime time press conference since last July, said this was not a press conference and he would have something later in the week.
He was presumably referring to today’s scheduled “Joint Press Conference” with Mexican President Calderon in the Rose Garden. But so-called “press conferences” with foreign leaders usually allow for only two questions from the White House press corps and two from foreign reporters.
But today he said there was time for only one from each side. And in what I suspect was a White House effort to assure that the questioning was limited to immigration and other issues of U.S.-Mexico concern, he called on the Univision reporter from the U.S. side.
So if his goal was to avoid answering any tough questions about yesterday’s elections, or the oil spill in the Gulf, or financial regulation, or Iran, or Afghanistan – he succeeded.
As he and President Calderon turned to walk back toward the Oval Office I asked, loudly enough for him to hear, if he had any comment on the elections. No response.
I then shouted "
Do you have any plans for a REAL press conference
?" No response, not that I expected one. [/quote]
Maybe he’s worried he won’t be quick enough to dodge the shoes.
I did not like the press stunts when Bush was president, why would I like them under Obama?
Obama has not pressured any officials to allow his aunt to remain or prove otherwise.
Why should we care? to help sell more newspapers? Boring.
[quote=“fred smith”]I did not like the press stunts when Bush was president, why would I like them under Obama?
[/quote]
Press stunts about wining the war…I agree. They were BS…although “We’re gonna smoke 'em out” was great.
However, Obie One not giving a press conference in nearly a YEAR…who does he think he is… REAGAN???
Christ, during the campaign you couldn’t pay him to keep his trap shut.
But then again, “Spread the wealth around…”
and “Boston cops bad.”
“AZ law misguided”
Maybe it is better for him to keep it on the down low…before people find out what we learned in Game Change…ie, that he’s pretty much a dickhead.
I never fell for his rhetoric anyway. :raspberry:
Sorry but if Obama were looking at the nonsense about the press and Bush, maybe he just wised up. If so, too bad for the press. I support Obama on this one. Until someone comes out with evidence that he pressured officials to allow his aunt to stay, then sorry, but it is more of the same nonsensical press pontifications… and I don’t care…