So isn't it interesting that we keep hearing about Sarah Palin's peccadilloes--most lately, that she used her private email account to conduct government business--while the major media continues to ignore the George Obama scandal? Here is a guy living in Third World destitution and his half-brother is the leading candidate to become the next president of the United States! How can we be blind to this national disgrace? Are the networks and major newspapers so exhilarated at the prospect of an African American president that they have become cheerleaders and cover-up specialists for the Obama campaign?
My modest campaign to help out George Obama has been coming nicely. Sean Hannity mentioned it on his show on the Fox News Channel, and I appeared on a handful of radio shows to talk about the idea. Interestingly the George Obama Compassion Fund was reported on by Kenya's leading newspaper "The Nation." So far I have received more than $1,000 in small contributions. With my kickoff contribution of $1,000, that's upwards of $2,000 for George Obama.
This is not a huge sum, but I specifically asked people to send gifts of $5, $10 and $25. The reason is that even a relatively modest sum by American standards is a considerable sum by Kenyan standards. George Obama has said that he is living on a dollar a month. This seems an impossibly small sum to survive on, so I checked the poverty line in Kenya. That is around $100 a year. By this measure, our little fund has provided for George for 20 years. Alternatively, George can move out of his 6 foot-by-10-foot hut and into a more comfortable dwelling. He can also get the training he needs to become a mechanic.
The reporter for "The Nation" thought he had me cornered when he asked, "Are you doing this to embarrass Barack Obama?" To which I answered, "Absolutely. He deserves to be embarrassed." The reporter went on to ask me since when I had developed this great interest in African poverty. I responded that I had only a slight and distant interest in African poverty. I happen to come from a very poor country, India, and my philanthropic work is directed there. In fact,I I only took up the George Obama cause when I heard what a jerk and a hypocrite Barack Obama is being about his sibling. One Obamoron emailed me to say, "Why don't you use your money to help your own impoverished relatives in India?" The answer is that my relatives don't live in huts!
The George Obama Compassion Fund elicited some interesting comments from donors, which I'll be forwarding to George along with the funds. "This is for the poor brother long forgotten." "A brother is a terrible thing to waste." "I wish I had a brother, or even a step-brother. George is not my relative and not my race or religion but I still want to contribute to his welfare." "When Obama said that not taking care of the least of our brothers is our greatest moral failure, who knew that he was talking literally about the least of his brothers?" "I never thought I'd be writing a check to anyone named Obama, but I do want to be a true Christian and help this man in this shameful situation." "I'd send more, but I make $9.10 per hour." "I'm unemployed, but I can spare $5 for the Obama Compassion Fund."
Not one of the atheists who regularly appears on this blog contributed a penny. (This is very much in line with sociologist Arthur Brooks' data showing that the most secular people are much less generous both with money and time than their religious counterparts.) As Brooks might have predicted, most of my donations came from self-identified Christians, some of them in difficult circumstances themselves. Thanks to this generosity, Barack Obama's half-brother can look forward to the prospect of a better life. George Obama, start packing!
Reader Comments ( Page 7 of 19)
91. Rock on, Dinesh!! I'm reading "Letters to a Young Conservative" and it's a great read. I'm 17 years old and voting for the first time in the fall (for McCain) so your book really means a lot to me. Thank you for publishing an outstanding book!
And to the haters, keep it coming. Conservatives know how to deal with your ignorance...I'm sure Dinesh is only enjoying all your negativity.
Matt at 11:31AM on Sep 22nd 2008
92. Dinesh D'Souza, you state that “George Obama has said that he is living on a dollar a month." This seems an impossibly small sum to survive on.
By this measure, your fund has provided for George for 20 years. I bet he's happy for the handout.
Clearly you have time for muckraking. And time to pass judgement in the same breath. I don’t want to attack your views. Rather, I want to point out that what you say is rooted in personal bias and fiction, as opposed to good judgement and fact.
Lets start here: According to the Worldbank.org web site on poverty in India, “the number of people living below a dollar a day is down from 296 million in 1981 to 267 million people in 2005. However, the number of poor below $1.25 a day has increased from 421 million in 1981 to 456 million in 2005.” Let's wait for the calculation of India’s most recent Census to give the world community more up to date statistics.
So...statistically it seems that you’re right. Your relatives do survive on more $ than Obama’s brother. According to the World Bank, India has a higher standard of living than Obama’s Kenyan relatives or rather, all Kenyan's in general.
You talk about the poverty Obama's brother lives in, mentioning that he resides in a "oww" hut. You use the word ‘hut’ as if it’s dirty & nasty word-a bad thing to live in. Directly you insult traditional housing found around the continent of Africa. Let me clarify for you, there are African people proud of their heritage and proud to live in huts, even if, as you imply, Obama’s brother is not. More importantly, you discuss this ‘deplorable housing’, yet you forget to point out the shantytowns existing in your own country. India has, in fact, some of the worst housing in the world, and some of the largest shanty towns (because of your huge population, second to China), right up there with S. Africa, Zimbabwe & Kenya.
Your philanthropic efforts are furthermore insulting. I challenge you to raise every single blood relative you have, immediate relatives, a half brother, 3/4 cousin, 2/5 uncle, etc. out of poverty. Make it your personal crusade to save everyone in your family. After all, who better than one of theirs to know their needs.
Acknowledge this: You don’t know anything about Obama’s family. You don’t know anything about the relationships, what the family history is, what each individual's needs are, what agendas people hold regarding their siblings, personal motivation & desire, etc. Why? Because you are not family.
Consider this last point. I dare say a muckraker like you would: if George Obama was a business man riding around Nairobi in a Mercedes Benz, living in a mansion, & visiting America (and saw his brother Obama, gasp!) you would in the same breath scream foul and write a blog about implied “Corruption!” Saying, most likely, that Obama he has "currupt ties to the Kenyan government!”
But you don’t have that. So…you write about what you believe is his lack of handouts to his suffering brother. Good job Dinesh D'Souza. Bravo for raising awareness!
Miss. W., from Sierra Leone at 2:35AM on Sep 22nd 2008
93. Obama has the pastor that preaches hate and discontent of his fellow man ...
Does it surprize you to find his brother in a shack... lost to Obamas memory because as here the fathers are too soon gone from the family , and left to the Gov. to support..
Obama has lip locked the programs that have been sucked on for generations ..Taught the next generation to do the same...With Acorn, Naacp, and many other strong arm political groups that keep the lips locked on to the gov. tit's ...
Time to pry the lips loose.. we can't support this any more..
Dorothy at 3:41AM on Sep 22nd 2008
94. People, please don't help this hypocrite d'souza by arguing with him (its tantamount to arguing with Sarah Palin that birth control ought to be taught to teenagers along with abstinence). Remember, he comes from a "caste" system where some of the people are so low on the totem pole that they're treated like lepers.
d'souza nor his ideas are very bright. he's about as much a thinker as sean hannity is a journalist
bill at 8:02AM on Sep 22nd 2008
95. This is humorous. First off I did not see anywhere in your article as to why Obama is not supporting his HALF-brother not that by any law he has too. Most Americans don't support their siblings. Do you? Even furthermore if he had been the only thing that people like you would say is that he is supporting some muslim in Africa so therefore he can't be trusted and is probably involved in terrorist acts... sounds like a catch 22 to me. Also even if your relatives aren't living in huts cause maybe huts aren't the thing in your country doesn't mean that you can throw in the fact that you come from a proverty striken country which I dont see you sending money to cause you'd rather help a complete stranger...? Right. By the way what do your relatives live in? Just cause you come from a poor country doesn't mean you or your family is poor. They obviously had enough money to send you to the US and educate you. Don't think the Obamas of Kenya had that same luxury but if comparing your apparent struggles to George's in the most general sense possible makes you sleep better after your check clears by all means be my guest
Hopen4betterAmerica at 7:00AM on Sep 22nd 2008
96. Barack Obama (B.O.) deserves this type of exposure after his many hypocritical comments, while striking a "Christian" pose, like we have failed to take care of the least of our brothers.
B.O. loves to falsely re-focus Bible teachings away from the sins of homosexuality and abortion, (Barak Abortion is another fitting nickname for the most pro-abortion Democrat in the Senate), while justifying those same sins, falsely, using the Bible.
But, to be fair, though true, Bible-believing Christians are more than willing to give to the poor, that is not the true incentive for giving to this particular George Obama Compassion Fund.
Dinesh is correct that B.O. deserves to be exposed for his hypocrisy on the topic of ignoring his blood-brother's poverty in a third-world country. We are supporting Dinesh's fund to bring attention to B.O.'s hypocrisy, not because we are good Christians anonymously giving to the poor.
It is also a sin to bear false witness. B.O. bears false witness about Bible teachings, let's not join him by bearing false witness over the George Obama Compassion Fund.
Rev 3:16 at 7:38AM on Sep 22nd 2008
97. here's an idea.
if dinesh and others really want to do something to help people in africa, instead of using this b.s. fundraiser for a political stunt, dinesh should donate the money to an organization that puts up bed nets in african homes to help save people from malaria.
bed nets only cost $10 per net, so with the $2,000 dinesh has raised 200 bed nets could be distributed to families in africa.
maybe we should ask george obama where the money should go. would he rather take it or have it donated to help combat malaria in his country and the other countries of africa?
for anyone who wants more information on this or would like to donate to a cause that actually HELPS people in africa visit this site:
http://www.nothingbutnets.net/
Richelle at 8:46AM on Sep 22nd 2008
98. If Dinesh was really a christian we wouldn't have this blog.
Dinesh has relatives he does not support and muslim relatives as well.
It is a shame that some one with so much hate us allowed to be calling himself a christian.
emanon at 8:56AM on Sep 22nd 2008
99. Friends,
This is it. The time has arrived! At midnight tonight, you can be one of the first people ever to legally download, for FREE, a brand new, feature-length film. It's my new movie, "Slacker Uprising," and I'm giving it to you as a gift of thanks for coming to my films over the 20 years I've been a filmmaker.
It's also one of my contributions to help get out the vote November 4th. That's why I'm giving you my blanket permission to not only download it, but also to email it, burn it, and share it with anyone and everyone (in the U.S. and Canada only). I want you to use "Slacker Uprising" in any way you see fit to help with the election or to do the work that you do in your community. You can show my film in your local theater, your high school classroom, your college auditorium, your church, union hall or community center. You can have your friends and neighbors over to the house for a viewing. You can broadcast it on TV, on cable access, on regular channels or on the web. It's completely free -- I don't want to see a dime from this. And if you want, you can charge admission or ask for a donation if it's to raise money for a candidate, a voter drive, or for any non-profit or educational purpose. In other words -- it's yours!
"Slacker Uprising" chronicles the 62-city tour I did leading up to the 2004 election. It is electrifying to see the tens of thousands of young people who were ready then for the uprising -- and who, this year, are actually making it happen. This is my concert film tribute to the young voters who are going to save this country from four more years of Republican rule.
There are a number of ways, beginning at midnight tonight, that you can download or stream "Slacker Uprising" thanks to our distributor, Brave New Films:
1) Blip.tv will provide standard resolution streaming, free of commercials and advertising.
2) Amazon Video on Demand will provide a high quality version of the above stream.
3) iTunes will make it easy for you to download "Slacker Uprising" on your iTunes, iPod, or Apple TV, and view it there or transmit it to your television. This way, the film can be portable as well as for home viewing.
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I am fortunate to have all these great people bringing you my movie for free. There will be no ads and they have all agreed to supply their services free of charge. All of them wanted to be part of this historic moment when the first major feature-length movie is being released for free on the internet.
(For those of you who don't download, there will be a low-cost DVD available.)
This past Thursday we held the world premiere of "Slacker Uprising" in Ann Arbor (you can read about it here). The response was incredible and I want to encourage you to screen this movie with large groups. I believe it will inspire our get-out-the-vote efforts at a time when we need to get millions registered in the next two weeks.
Thanks again for all your support over the years. I hope you'll like my new film. It's all yours, anytime after midnight tonight. Enjoy!
Yours,
Michael Moore
MMFlint@aol.com
SlackerUprising.com
MichaelMoore.com
P.S. I'll be doing a live chat, tonight at 11:00 PM ET, on Daily Kos, in the hour countdown leading up to the internet release of my film. Hope to see you online!
Join Mike's Mailing List | Join Mike's Facebook Group | Become Mike's MySpace Friend
Steven at 8:59AM on Sep 22nd 2008
100. eric
xxx
Obama's half brother is an adult. He neither wants or needs Barack's aid and as an adult isn't Baracks responsibility. Aren't you the party that teaches self reliance and independence? Oh that's right, independence is a good thing unless you're a multi-national on the brink of collapse ora rival politicians distant relative.
Tim at 9:00AM on Sep 22nd 2008
101. Click here: Crooks and Liars » Colbert Nails Dinesh D’Souza
http://www.crooksandliars.com/2007/01/17/colbert-nails-dinesh-dsouza/
Steven at 9:07AM on Sep 22nd 2008
102. Ha HA!
Who cares about Denish D' Puta or what ever his name is . He is a nobody!
Look at the new Michael Moore Film coming out soon! It's called slacker uprising and it is about Michaels appearance in all the battle ground states were he is attributed with encouraging thousands of young slackers to register and vote Democrat! Bet you don't see that one on the polls!
http://slackeruprising.com/
yoyoyogi1220 at 9:09AM on Sep 22nd 2008
103. Hah. It cracks me up that DD is now funding his strawman arguments! Very funny stuff. His point is pointless and his words are full of the hatred that he always spews.
You know, when DD goes to church, I'll bet my bottom dollar he deducts that money on his income tax. That's a big plus for the religionists.
This strawman don't stand.
Linda at 9:45AM on Sep 22nd 2008
104. [banging head]
Dinesh, why do you have to be so obvious with your ulterior motives!?
Mokele Mbembe at 9:47AM on Sep 22nd 2008
105. Yeah, Moke. DD doesn't know from subtlety. Oh, and Rev?? Remember, the bible says nothing about abortion being wrong. In fact, the OT said that causing a miscarriage (abortion) is punishable to the perpetrator by a fine to the *husband*.
You and all the other god-nazis (sorry, Moke) are only offering your interpretation. Ironically, you are the most bloodthirsty Americans when it comes to living human beings.
Linda at 9:55AM on Sep 22nd 2008