Felsenthal Files

07/11/12

Rev. Jeremiah Wright Preaches from a Pulpit—in D.C.

We haven’t heard much from the Reverend Jeremiah Wright, the man who married the Obamas and baptized his children. Rev. Wright preached last Sunday morning, not from the pulpit here at Trinity United Church of Christ, where he is pastor emeritus—he retired on May 31, 2008—but from the pulpit of Washington’s historic Florida Avenue Baptist Church...

Posted at 10:23 AM in Felsenthal Files | Permalink | Comments (3)

07/05/12

U. of C. Prof. Charles Lipson on the Obama Library

As soon as I saw the Sun-Times’s headline last week, “U. of C. prof wants to shelve Obama library idea,” I knew the story was about Charles Lipson. In the article, by Abdon Pallasch, the political science professor objects to housing the Obama complex because...

Posted at 02:12 PM in Felsenthal Files | Permalink | Comments (4)

06/29/12

The Definitive Rahm Dead Fish Tale, 'Barry Obama,' and More

Chris Sautter, who describes himself as Obama’s “first media consultant,” was in town this week. Our meeting came after Sautter’s name recently surfaced in one of the juicier parts of a new book I wrote about earlier this month...

Posted at 03:15 PM in Felsenthal Files | Permalink | Comments (0)

06/27/12

Is Jesse Jackson Jr. Resting at Ron Burkle's Home in Beverly Hills?

Monday’s news that Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr., the subject of a congressional ethics investigation related to the Blago corruption case and the alleged sale of President Obama’s senate seat, is suffering from “exhaustion” and resting at an undisclosed location, caught political reporters by surprise...

Posted at 11:21 AM in Felsenthal Files | Permalink | Comments (0)

06/14/12

Chicago's Heartland Institute, the Group Behind the Unabomber Billboard

In early May, Chicagoans driving the inbound Eisenhower Expressway saw a digital billboard comparing people who believe in manmade global warming to Ted Kaczynski. Next to a photo of the Unabomber, the sign reads: “I still believe in global warming. Do you?” Bannering the bottom of the ad is the Heartland Institute’s website address. The billboard was paid for and created by the 28-year-old Chicago-based nonprofit...

Posted at 11:40 AM in Felsenthal Files | Permalink | Comments (2)

06/07/12

Rahm's Role on Obama's National Security Team—Who Knew?

In a new book that offers dramatic details on Rahm’s time as Barack Obama’s chief of staff, our mayor comes off as more of a heavyweight on national security issues than I ever imagined. So much so that one could credit him with a key role in killing Osama bin Laden, not to mention in promoting the drone strikes that have been eliminating top al-Qaeda’s terrorists at a steady clip...

Posted at 02:47 PM in Felsenthal Files | Permalink | Comments (2)

06/05/12

Linda Hirshman, Author of 'Victory: The Triumphant Gay Revolution,' on Obama, Hillary, and the Lawsuit Against Cook County

The issue of gay marriage has made local and national headlines for the past few weeks, with President Obama declaring his support last month, and with two gay rights groups filing a lawsuit against the clerk of Cook County last week. Good timing for a new work by former Chicagoan Linda Hirshman, whose third book, Victory: The Triumphant Gay...

Posted at 11:11 AM in Felsenthal Files | Permalink | Comments (2)

05/25/12

Obama's Former Doc on the President, Health Care, and Ed Klein's New Book

Barack Obama’s physician of 22 years, who in the new anti-Obama book, The Amateur, described his former patient as “distant” and “lacking passion and feeling,” is sorry he agreed to talk to the author, Ed Klein. In an interview Thursday at his Hyde Park office, 73-year-old Chicago physician David Scheiner told me that he feels “betrayed” by Klein, who uses the doc as...

Posted at 02:42 PM in Felsenthal Files | Permalink | Comments (1)

05/22/12

Where Was Rahm During NATO Weekend?

Until late yesterday afternoon, when he summed up the success of the NATO summit in a press conference at the Office of Emergency Management, Rahm Emanuel was mostly missing from headlines. Instead, it was his Ravenswood house in the spotlight—after demonstrators protested outside the apparently unoccupied residence on Saturday, and news spread of a plot to firebomb it with a Molotov cocktail...

Posted at 12:42 PM in Felsenthal Files | Permalink | Comments (2)

05/17/12

Joe Ricketts, His Children, and Their Political Ties

Good thing President Obama is a White Sox fan. This morning’s New York Times carries a front-page story about Omaha billionaire and TD Ameritrade founder Joe Ricketts, whose money bought his family the Cubs in 2009, allegedly funding a new advertising campaign aimed at defeating Obama...

Posted at 03:13 PM in Felsenthal Files | Permalink | Comments (5)