Patterico's Pontifications

10/29/2008

Obama’s Boston Family

Filed under: 2008 Election — DRJ @ 7:55 pm



[Guest post by DRJ]

In his best-selling memoir Dreams from My Father, Barack Obama described his Kenyan Aunt Zeituni Onyango and Uncle Omar Onyango, the half-sister and half-brother to Obama’s father. It turns out both have lived in Boston at various times in the past 20-odd years, often in hardship:

“Zeituni Onyango, the aunt so affectionately described in Mr Obama’s best-selling memoir Dreams from My Father, lives in a disabled-access flat on a rundown public housing estate in South Boston.

A second relative believed to be the long-lost “Uncle Omar” described in the book was beaten [in 1994] by armed robbers with a “sawed-off rifle” while working in a corner shop in the Dorchester area of the city. He was later [in 2000] evicted from his one-bedroom flat for failing to pay $2,324.20 (£1,488) arrears, according to the Boston Housing Court.”

Obama’s aunt supports his candidacy but won’t answer questions about him until after the election:

“In his book Mr Obama writes that “Uncle Omar” had gone missing after moving to Boston in the 1960s – a quarter-century before Mr Obama first visited his family in Kenya. Aunt Zeituni is now also living in Boston, and recently made a $260 campaign contribution to her nephew’s presidential bid from a work address in the city.

Speaking outside her home in Flaherty Way, South Boston, on Tuesday, Ms Onyango, 56, confirmed she was the “Auntie Zeituni” in Mr Obama’s memoir. She declined to answer most other questions about her relationship with the presidential contender until after the November 4 election. “I can’t talk about it, I just pray for him, that’s all,” she said, adding: “After the 4th, I can talk to anyone.”

Zeituni’s contribution to Obama’s campaign suggests she is an American citizen but the article states there is no indication she is either a citizen or registered to vote.

CNN found and published about Obama’s brother living in a Nairobi slum but it’s interesting it took a British newspaper to track this Boston story down.

UPDATE: Gateway Pundit also noticed that the foreign media seem to have done more to investigate Obama, and he adds more examples.

— DRJ

46 Responses to “Obama’s Boston Family”

  1. Charity does not start at home for Baracky. Even though he claims to be his brother’s keeper, do not judge him on his actions.

    Don’t judge Obama by his words
    Don’t judge Obama by his actions
    Don’t judge Obama by his associations

    Judge him by the myth of Obama!

    Charity starts with the government for Comrade Obama.

    daleyrocks (60704b)

  2. Daley,

    You want to use the word “alliances” instead of “associations.” Friends might be too close, be he’s walked down the same path for extended periods.

    Al (b624ac)

  3. Racists

    JD (5b4781)

  4. American is such an evil country for not taking care of these people.

    Of course Obama’s hands are clean.

    Alta Bob (408027)

  5. Charity begins at home and Hussein sticks to that principle. He keeps every dollar of his millions at home. How much of the $600M he collected will end up in an offshore bank in the name of Barry and Michelle Smith-Jones, etc? Is there a federal prison painted white? That’s the white house he should be living in.

    Scrapiron (850cda)

  6. Scrapiron – Isn’t some of his dough winging its way to his Banished Bimbo on Martinique?

    daleyrocks (60704b)

  7. Actually,

    I don’t revel in the suffering of others – we need to end this expose of his relatives – both sides

    EricPWJohnson (47b9ab)

  8. Banished Bimbo on Martinique

    How did I miss this?

    Another Drew (d394a6)

  9. If he had done anything to show support for them, you folks would have found something to say against it. “Oh, Obama is sending US money to Kenya. He has a secret plan to turn America to a colony of Kenya..” But then again, what more can you say when you are losing?

    love2008 (0c8c2c)

  10. love2008, that’s as incoherent as we expect from you.

    SPQR (26be8b)

  11. Yes, lovie. We routinely trash people that do silly little things like help out their family.

    JD (5b4781)

  12. “I don’t revel in the suffering of others”

    Eric – I don’t revel in the suffering of others either. Obama is a wealthy man. He claims to be his brother’s keeper. Why doesn’t he toss his family members a few bones. This has got to be both freaking embarrassing for him and make him look like a grade “A” hypocrite.

    daleyrocks (60704b)

  13. I didn’t realize that Obama was single-handedly responsible for the well-being of his relatives all the way from Hawaii to Kenya. Clearly, his failure to provide the American dream for even the most far-flung of relatives is something the American people are disappointed by. Oh, or not:

    http://www.fivethirtyeight.com/2008/10/todays-polls-1029.html

    Xanthippas (3d04fd)

  14. Xanthippas, your namesake would be ashamed that you’ve already forgotten Obama’s own campaign themes about how his family experiences make him the better candidate.

    SPQR (26be8b)

  15. 12

    This is the point where it is best that you stop talking

    We have NO idea about the family NOR is it any of our business

    Plenty of reasons to not vote for Barrack

    Making a spectacle about poor people does’t lend credibility to our side

    EricPWJohnson (47b9ab)

  16. I didn’t realize that Obama was single-handedly responsible for the well-being of his relatives all the way from Hawaii to Kenya.

    Xanthippas – If a wealthy man can’t help care for the welfare of his empoverishered relatives, how can he aspire to be the leader of most powerful nation in the world?

    Get with the program dood! He also claims to be a Christian, but people are really starting to see through that as well.

    Thanks for dropping by.

    KTHXBY

    daleyrocks (60704b)

  17. This is the point where it is best that you stop talking

    Eric – If Patterico asks me to stop talking I will, but not dickheads like yourself. I have no idea if we are on the “same side.” From comments of yours I have seen, I doubt we share a lot of the same values.

    Thanks for the advice.

    daleyrocks (60704b)

  18. Charity starts at home, with someone else’s money, preferably some rich SOB’s money.

    JD (5b4781)

  19. Family responsibility….
    I vaguely recall reading something about it being a family/tribal tradition in some parts of Africa, that when one member succeeds, he has a moral duty to support those that have been less successful.
    We need the opinion of an anthropologist here, I guess.

    Another Drew (d394a6)

  20. Daleyrocks

    Again – this is the point where from a more legal sense – its best you stop talking

    You can disagree with me all you want – calling school yard names – go ahead – but you set a dangerous precedent –

    to me it just shows everyone here that you cannot formulate an argument and I could care less –

    but when the name calling starts in earnest (and invariably enjoins others) – so do the lawsuits –

    But the host and contributors of this website do not have money nor the time to answer lawsuits and buy insurance etc to cover them – and the goodwill they have with other blogs recently noted generally evaporates when this type of discourse is allowed

    Late at night when everyone is asleep is not the time to start walking the edge in the comments

    Not everyone is as even handed as I the next person you call a name might not be as understanding.

    EricPWJohnson (47b9ab)

  21. Where did this BS threat of lawsuits come from?

    JD (5b4781)

  22. I mean, really?! Good Allah. Someone is kind of full of themsevles tonite.

    JD (5b4781)

  23. JD

    No one’s suing

    Just reminding someone that the rules are there so we can participate – not to cause these volunteers to spend time and money fixing what some people start

    Like I said – The guy who runs this blog has some major league eneimies out there – last thing you need is a commentator starting stuff with people

    EricPWJohnson (47b9ab)

  24. I take it that you are not threatening a lawsuit, EricPWJohnson.

    Anyone who does gets banned the second that threat happens.

    I read your comment as saying that other people’s comments might involve a lawsuit.

    But why don’t we just leave all talk of lawsuits out of the comments?

    Patterico (cc3b34)

  25. I am going to ask one question, and then I swear I will drop it. How can …

    “this is the point where from a more legal sense – its best you stop talking”

    and

    “but when the name calling starts in earnest (and invariably enjoins others) – so do the lawsuits”

    and

    “But the host and contributors of this website do not have money nor the time to answer lawsuits and buy insurance etc to cover them – and the goodwill they have with other blogs recently noted generally evaporates when this type of discourse is allowed”

    be construed as anything but threats of lawsuits?

    There, my quesion has been asked. I am done. Sorry.

    JD (5b4781)

  26. I think he is saying other people might want to take that action that I have asked people not to discuss.

    Patterico (cc3b34)

  27. I will no longer ask questions about, or even dream of discussing that which has been requested to not be discussed.

    I blame Bush.

    And Halliburton.

    And Kyoto.

    But not Baracky.

    Racists.

    JD (5b4781)

  28. 26

    Thats exactly my point – and I understand and abide by your rules

    EricPWJohnson (47b9ab)

  29. FWIW Eric, and I am most certainly not talking about that which we have been asked to not talk about, your reaction to the comments by daleyrocks were way over the top.

    JD (5b4781)

  30. JD

    Fair enough but we can disgree yes? Last I checked the entire world did not totally agree with me

    but I’m working on it

    EricPWJohnson (47b9ab)

  31. Nobody has suggested that we cannot disagree. In fact, disagreement is good. It makes things interesting.

    JD (5b4781)

  32. Comment by EricPWJohnson — 10/29/2008 @ 10:46 pm

    Good luck with Peter, phil, and love.

    Another Drew (d394a6)

  33. “the half-sister and half-brother to Obama’s father.”

    Seems mucking around is a rather normal lifestyle for the blessed one and his family eh?

    I suppose iffin you put together enough half’s, you might get the One! 🙂

    Ya know, many persons that turned out to become some of the brightest and strongest leaders in the world came from humble roots. But they are proud of their roots and very much unafraid of sharing them with us, unlike Barry/Barake Hussein Obama, who could never share his half and half sources with the community that actually shaped him. That particular community does not seem to cotton to some mixes. So Barry threw his mother and grandparents under the bus many many years ago and continues to do so today!

    For sure there is one thing you will not hear from his lips, and that would be anything related to Mom and Apple Pie!

    TC (0b9ca4)

  34. Newsmax

    While Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama “has tried to push his origins into the background, his ‘Islamic roots’ have won him a place in many Arabs’ hearts.”
    That’s the observation of Iranian-born commentator Amir Taheri, whose column in Tuesday’s New York Post notes that many Arabs and other Muslims see Obama as “one of them.”

    They see that Obama has Arabic-Islamic first and middle names: Barack means “blessed” and Hussein means “beautiful.” His last name is Swahili, an East African language based on Arabic, Taheri writes. His sister is named Oumah, Arabic for “the community of the faithful;” his daughter Malia bears the name of a daughter of the noted Caliph Othman; and his father and stepfather were both Muslims.
    Although Taheri did not note it, Obama was raised partially as a Muslim when he lived in Indonesia with his mother and stepfather. While there, he studied at two schools and was registered at both as a Muslim student.
    As such he received Islamic religious instruction, studied the Koran, and prayed with other students. He did attend mosque, albeit infrequently, with his stepfather.
    Obama’s religious upbringing after Indonesia is somewhat of a mystery until his late 20s. At that point, Obama says he converted to Christianity after meeting the Rev. Jeremiah Wright in Chicago.
    Still, Obama has maintained strong support from American Muslims, including Louis Farrakhan’s Nation of Islam movement. Farrakhan has endorsed Obama and has called him the “messiah.”
    These factors have made Obama a big hit in the Arab world, where he has received wide praise, including:
    The Syrian regime has indicated its preference for Obama. Buthaina Shaaban, an adviser to President Bashar al-Assad, has written: “The change suggested by Obama is essential not only for the U.S. but for the entire human family.”

    Libyan leader Muammar al-Qaddafi called Obama “a Muslim” and said: “All the people in the Arab and Muslim world and in Africa applauded this man. They welcome him and prayed for his success,” although Qaddafi also expressed criticism of Obama’s comments on the future of Jerusalem.

    Hamas political adviser Ahmed Yousef said this year: “We like Mr. Obama and we hope that he will win the election.”

    Hezbollah’s second in command, Sheik Naim al-Kassim, urged Americans to vote for Obama as a step toward peace with Islam, and pro-Hezbollah columnist Amal Saad-Ghorayeb said there is “no doubt Arabs should welcome an Obama presidency,” according to Taheri.

    In Saudi Arabia, commentator Hussein Shobokshi wrote that an Obama presidency “would mark an important moral transformation in the superpower and is a healthy indicator of the long-awaited improvement in the international arena.”
    Some columnists also have noted Obama’s close ties to several Palestinian radicals, including Columbia University Prof. Rashid Khalidi — former communications director for the Palestinian Liberation Organization — and another Palestinian political activist, the late Edward Said.
    The “Arab street” also favors Obama. Recent surveys found that he is the preferred candidate in Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, Algeria, Syria, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.

    TC (0b9ca4)

  35. Why do you think this is relevant?

    jpe (5320bf)

  36. boston primer-when u say dorchester u may say ‘dot’
    as in-i used to live on dorchester ave-u may say ‘dot ave’
    and of course-the dot day parade-not as big as the st. pats southie one-but still not bad[as far as parades go]
    the eire pubs got a nice pic of reagan on the wall when he visited
    just saying

    pdbuttons (359493)

  37. jpe, Glenn quoted someone as to why this is relevant.

    “He has used these people — his grandmother, his aunt and uncle, and so forth — as props in his political narrative. He wants us to measure him in part by his relationship to these Kenyans, but — and here is the harsh part — only as that relationship is described by him. What if his characterization of that relationship is misleading? What if it turns out that while he is delighted to cite these people as evidence of his humble beginnings — that is what I mean by using them as props — he is not so delighted to consider them as part of his family? Is that not at least a potentially useful insight into the character of this man about whom we know so little?”

    Why is it that Obama cultists ignore these stories, jpe?

    SPQR (26be8b)

  38. Why is it that Obama cultists ignore these stories, jpe?

    Comment by SPQR — 10/30/2008 @ 6:28 am

    They have to collect manna for Obam-Ra.

    CW Desiato (614aa7)

  39. Fair enough but we can disgree yes? Last I checked the entire world did not totally agree with me

    Good Lord, Eric – have you actually spent any time at all on this site? We’ve been routinely called racists, homoerotic hatemongers, liars, Rethuglicans and just about every other kind of nasty expression you can think of at this point. Seriously, before you can begin to ask folks here to abide by your own personal Marquis of Queensbury rules, you need to understand the history first.

    Dmac (e30284)

  40. Dmac – But aren’t you a homoerotic racist hatemonger?

    JD (5b4781)

  41. Perhaps – but as I’ve always said, “abortions for some, American flags for others!”

    Dmac (e30284)

  42. DMAC & JD – EricPW is just a sensitive guy. Remember the other night when he jumped all over DRJ for her post on building a new hospital in Texas. His comments included all sorts of unrelated diatribes about Texas Hospitality or something and the low cost of Mexican built houses in the U.S.

    I think he’s more than a little unhinged. Bringing up lawsuits out of nowhere, a la Cyrus the Virus, strongly reinforces that view.

    daleyrocks (60704b)

  43. Better Half still wants to know where we can get new home construction at $60 per square foot.

    JD (5b4781)

  44. Obama’s rhetoric makes him sound so socially responsible, but clearly he does not put his money where his mouth is. And Joe Biden is riding Barack Obama’s wave of false compassion. Check out the records:

    From 2000 through 2004, the Obama and his wife never gave more than $3,500 a year in charitable donations — about 1 percent of their annual earnings. In 2005, however, that total jumped to $77,315 (4.7 percent of annual earnings), and to $60,307 in 2006 (6.1 percent). More than $27,000 total was given to Obama’s church, Trinity United Church of Christ, whose former pastor Jeremiah Wright has dominated recent news coverage.

    The Bidens reported giving $995 in charitable donations last year — about 0.3% of their income and the highest amount in the past decade. The low was $120 in 1999, about 0.1% of yearly income.

    In 2006, Sarah and Todd Palin donated $4,250 to charity in cash/check donations and $630 in non-cash/check donations, for a total of $4,880. This is 3.3% of their adjusted gross income. In 2007, Sarah and Todd Palin donated $2,500 to charity in cash/check donations and $825 in non-cash/check donations, for a total of $3,325. This is 1.5% of their adjusted gross income.

    Senator McCain donates his royalties from his books to charitable organizations. This sum has totaled over $1,800,000 since 1998 when he signed his first book deal. Senator McCain’s book income of $256,898 for 2006 and 2007 is comprised of earnings for Faith of My Fathers, Worth the Fighting For, Why Courage Matters, Character is Destiny, and Hard Call. In 2006, Senator and Mrs. McCain donated $129,390 from community assets to charity, of which Senator McCain’s one-half allocation was $64,695. This is 19% of his adjusted gross income.In 2007, Senator and Mrs. McCain donated $210,933 from community assets to charity, of which Senator McCain’s one-half allocation is $105,467. This is 27.2% of his adjusted gross income for the year. Most of Senator McCain’s contributions were made to the John and Cindy McCain Family Foundation, which makes direct contributions to charities.

    Barack Obama and Joe Biden are both hypocrites!

    ILoveJoeThePlumber (575cde)

  45. Baracky’s impoverished relatives won’t have to be hurting for long. Michelle is eating lobster and caviar snacks at the Waldorf Astoria for $447 a pop while Obama continues to brainwash his leftist illuminati followers.

    Jeff (7ff0a7)

  46. While I don’t think he’s obligated to support these people, will Obama be the first president who has family living in public housing? Ewww.

    Kate (312b1e)


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