Barack Obama Recruits Jay-Z & Kanye West

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Jay Z Kanye West, Barack Obama, Pictures: Barack Obama Recruits Jay-Z & Kanye West
See More... Presidential hopeful Senator Barack Obama is planning to use rappers including Jay-Z and Kanye West to help educate the American public if he ends up moving into The White House.

Democrat candidate Obama is keen to use established hip-hop superstars to help spread his message of positive social change.

Speaking on TV show What’s In It For Us, he said, “I’ve met with Jay-Z. I’ve met with Kanye. And I’ve talked to other artists about how potentially to bridge that gap.”

anonymous 100 Showbiz_Chika Published 1/10/08   Message Add to Friends
 

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Comments (15)

  • awesome! go barack!
    lachica43 70 lachica43 1/10/08   Message Add to Friends Reply
     
  • hes unstoppable!
    gr8songz 55 gr8songz 1/10/08   Message Add to Friends Reply
     
  • wow! bringing out the big guns. literally. hahah
    ihearttigger2 65 ihearttigger2 1/10/08   Message Add to Friends Reply
     
  • what about MOMMA O!!
    lexybeanie 130 lexybeanie 1/10/08   Message Add to Friends Reply
     
  • he will be the people's president! no man deserves to break this barrier more than him!
    hanahbeanz 35 hanahbeanz 1/10/08   Message Add to Friends Reply
     
  • I believe in Fairytales....and now it looks like Obama is getting some street cred...
    HollywoodGossip 145 HollywoodGossip 1/10/08   Message Add to Friends Reply
     
  • No thanks, Barack.

    I've read some pretty scary facts about this man and he is definitely not someone I would want to lead our country.

    For instance, Barack Hussein Obama will NOT recite the Pledge of Allegience nor will he show any reverence for our flag. While others place their hands over their hearts, Obama turns his back to the flag and slouches.

    The Muslims have said they plan on destroying the US from the inside
    out, what better way to start than at the highest level?

    Let me remind you, Barack is a black muslim.
    jrockaz 35 jrockaz 1/10/08   Message Add to Friends Reply
     
  • And those frankly that scares the hell out of me.
    jrockaz 35 jrockaz 1/10/08   Message Add to Friends Reply
     
  • Wow "jrockaz". You sound like you're straight out of Clinton's camp with that!! LOL
    anonymous anonymous 1/13/08 Reply
     
  • Wow #7 or #8 17,Jrockazzz U go American dude! see he got B**s that's why I know he's all American. You put your name down and even showed your face.Hey people take a listen... N you know the only thing the president was able to turn his back on and get away with it are the brothers. Will the Brothers finally be reconized if Barack become president? Tyra Banks planin' parties up in there already, in Lincoln's bedroom. BarbQue! We're all Americans if we can accept all of this other $#!+ that we're allowin' to come in this country no questions asked, then we SHOULDN'T take non of our words we say so Seriously. One word or statement makes you a Racsist. We should stop that $#!+. Jrockaz you have a racsist name. "see My opinion" and All of the women above are gettin' politics mixed up with a crush You girls know how much trouble P.Clinton got in for reacting to crushes, I've had my dreams,We do and say big time crazy things and then later say " oh well, he wht. he's cool now we're over it. Anything that happens we get very angry at first, then we say"It's fine we're cool." A big war is happenin' now we're all in it like it's a fad, with our big flags and rallys and things so we're used to it now because they not blowin' nothing up,although two or more buildings were blown up, but we got over it.You know this whole Country must have ADD but we godda love us because without any Appologies...We are the Greatest Country in the World! If America got wiped out, after a few years who's ever left if they got what they need. They'll just say "oh well." I'm afraid for Barack if he becomes president because we can get crazy when a discion is made.But "Oh Well" I'm a true American so if I have offended any of you soft Americans with any of my opinions...Oh well this just All American I was born here and I have rights. Isn't that great? Whatever You may say Back @ me Oh Well...
    anonymous anonymous 1/25/08 Reply
     
  • I highly doubt that. Where did you find this information? It's likely that they support him. But Barack has never "recurited" them for anything unless it's advertisement maybe. He's not using them to "educate the American public". People need to be educated by teachers, not people in the entertainment field.
    anonymous anonymous 1/31/08 Reply
     
  • jrockaz, after all that has been confirmed in the news, that was simply an ignorant comment.

    Myths, rumors, lies and narrow mindedness- why does ignorance run so rampant? Please people - I implore you to do some fact checking before you spread rumors (even if you said "I heard a rumor that..." - GUESS WHAT? You're spreading a rumor!). What candidate would run for the leader of the US and show UN-AMERICAN characteristics?! C'MON - WAKE UP PEOPLE!! Aside from the fact that you CANNOT judge a person by their given name or how they were brought up as a child (does the child have any control over that?), Obama had spent his younger years in Indonesia - a prominently Muslim country. Fact of the matter - he is a Christian. His church is in a predominantly African-American community on the South Side of Chicago (tucc.org). The church is pro-African-American, which means it supports the African-American community to where it exists. I assure you - any Caucasian, Hispanic, Asian or otherwise that decided to visit would be welcomed with open arms. Don't fear or misinterpret a "pro-Black" church, ladies and gentleman. Moving on, while Obama is African-American (in the literal sense), HE IS NOT BLACK - he's MULTIRACIAL (African/Caucasian or White/Black - however you wish to call it).

    Here's something I found:

    The following link from Snopes will crush many of the claims written in the e-mail:

    http://www.snopes.com/politics/obama/muslim.asp

    In regard to Barack Obama being educated in a "Wahabi school in Jakarta". Insight Magazine and Fox News went crazy with this story in January 2007 and attributed it to an unnamed source in the Clinton campaign. In reality, the school that Obama attended while living in Indonesia was not a radical Muslim school, but secular school. CNN disproved these allegations and reported on them:

    http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/01/22/obama.madrassa/

    A CNN video on the report is available here:

    http://thinkprogress.org/2007/01/22/cnn-obama-debunk/

    In regard to Obama taking his oath of office on a Koran, this is also false. This page from the St. Petersburg Times' PolitiFact looks into those claims:

    http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/238/

    Minnesota Democratic Congressman Keith Ellison took his oath of office on a Koran when he assumed office in January 2007. This Koran had belonged to Thomas Jefferson.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keith_Ellison_%28politician%29Quran_Oath_Controversy_of_the_110th_United_States_Congress

    There is no requirement that a president or any other office seeker place his/her hand on the Bible. Theodore Roosevelt did not place his hand on anything when he took his oath. John Quincy Adams placed his land on a book of laws.

    In regard to Obama not showing reverence to the flag by refusing to place his hand over his heart, slouching, and turning his back. I believe this is largely attributed to a picture that appeared in Time Magazine and was widely circulated via e-mail

    http://www.time.com/time/photogallery/0,29307,1662530_1446035,00.html

    To top it off here's a YouTube video from when the above picture was taken:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kxfvxKBXRM4

    Obama may not have his hand over his heart, but I don't see slouching, a back turned, or blatant disrespect.

    In regard to Obama not reciting the Pledge of Allegiance, I provide you with a YouTube video in which he does so in the Senate Chamber:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iC9veEouqqQ

    Some have accused Obama of not being a patriot because he fails to wear an American flag on his lapel. Obama in his own words on the subject:

    "Somebody noticed I wasn't wearing a flag lapel pin and I told folks, well you know what? I haven't probably worn that pin in a very long time. I wore it right after 9/11. But after a while, you start noticing people wearing a lapel pin, but not acting very patriotic. Not voting to provide veterans with resources that they need. Not voting to make sure that disability payments were coming out on time.

    "My attitude is that I'm less concerned about what you're wearing on your lapel than what's in your heart. And you show your patriotism by how you treat your fellow Americans, especially those who served. You show your patriotism by being true to our values and our ideals and that's what we have to lead with is our values and our ideals."

    Source:?http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/10/04/obamas-lapels/

    For everyone who actually read through this e-mail. I apologize for my ranting, but I can't stand these types of things from EITHER side of the political spectrum. It doesn't matter if someone is Muslim, Jewish, Catholic, Mormon, or even atheist. The Constitution specifically prohibits any type of religious litmus test. Article VI of the Constitution states, "No religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States."

    In many ways I believe Barack Obama represents what is amazing about America. His father was a man from Kenya and was a goat herder at one point in his life. His mother was a white woman from Kansas. He's a former law professor, U.S. senator, and a rising star in U.S. politics.
    anonymous anonymous 2/4/08 Reply
     
  • jrockaz jackas% or whatever your name is
    can't you see no one give a sh%t about what you have to say about barack obama?
    an that's because they all see that your just another white racist pig lmao ha ha lol aw mayne.
    the guy is unstoppable, so why don't you just envy it. i'm sure he'd accept the friendly quit ha ha

    you mentioning that you don't barack obama to run AMERICA because he is black proves you to be the racist i said you were. you're just a shame on white people because not white people are like you(with people like you, some tyhings well never change). like he lexybeanie said "will be the people's president! no man deserves to break this barrier more than him!" others say he's unstoppable.

    i appreciated your honnest thought.
    i will never vote for a person base on their skin coulour. i will vote for a president because he or she is the right person to run our country which i would expect y'all to do the same.

    But hey everyone is free to like or dislike Obama as they see fit, but I hope that they will do so based on his politics not on his skin color.
    anonymous anonymous 3/28/08 Reply
     
  • jrockaz jackas% or whatever your name is
    can't you see no one give a sh%t about what you have to say about barack obama?
    an that's because they all see that your just another white racist pig lmao ha ha lol aw mayne.
    the guy is unstoppable, so why don't you just envy it. i'm sure he'd accept the friendly quit ha ha

    you mentioning that you don't want barack obama to run AMERICA because he is black proves you to be a racist . you're just a shame on white people because not all white people are like you(with people like you, some things well never change). like he lexy beanie said "Barack Obama will be the people's president! no man deserves to break this barrier more than him!" others say he's unstoppable.

    i will never vote for a person base on their skin coulour. i will vote for a president because he or she is the right person to run our country and i would expect y'all to do the same.

    But hey everyone is free to like or dislike Obama as they see fit, but I hope that they will do so based on his politics not on his skin color.
    anonymous anonymous 3/28/08 Reply
     
  • January 2008: Unlike the DCCA of Hawaii, who I supplied documentation to, the Department of Health and Human Services "Region 10", without documentation, finds that Dr. Au did violate the privacy act by charging me too much for copies of my records.
    But, Region 10 tells me they cannot proceed on the 6 other allegations


    1. Along with saying I did not see as well with the new glasses, I said
    that the prescription that I was given was weaker than the one I had the

    previous 7, count them, seven years. Your office nor the DCCA responded
    to this charge.

    2.The reason I asked Dr. Au to change the prescription was because the
    NEW one, I repeat, was weaker in one eye. This was the only alternative
    Dr. Au gave me other than accepting the weaker prescription.

    3. The "Vision Certificate" Dr. Au provide, had no licsense number
    where it should have been and she did not sign it where it should have
    been signed.

    4. Dr Au refused to give me photocopies of my records and did not give
    me a reason, per her offices policy, when I asked for them in her
    office.

    5.Dr charged me 2.00 dollars per page, totaling 20.00 dollars, which I
    believe is exorbitant.

    6.There are conflicting numbers on my records, that I would like
    explained. This, no one has addressed. And I doubt that my records were
    reviewed by an impartial optometrist, as any reasonable person would
    assume to be a part on what your office calls an investigation.

    7. I was trespassed from Dr. Au's office for no other reason than
    asking for copies of my files, and in her response to the DCCA she says
    I was escorted out of her offices by mall security, which is a lie by a
    optometrist that pracitces deceit.



    Nov, 2007 I receive a response from the FDIC, in Kansas City, saying my concerns are contractual, although I point out two misrepresentations by the bank's compliance counsel, Judith A. Villarreal.

    Coincidentally, there are counsels and others at the FDIC named Villarreal: Jesse O. Villarreal, Jr, Lisa M. Villarreal, Victor Villarreal.
    March 2007: My complaint to the Dept. Of Ed is refused on the grounds that they do not fund any programs or activities at the Hawaii State Public Library System, and therefore do not have jurisdiction.


    If the situation is threatening enough to cause a change in levels moment to moment, it stands to my reason, it would remain at a certain level until there is a sufficient enough change or stabilization to bring it to a lesser level. But that's just me.

    On the 17th of Oct. 2006, I submit a complaint to the Police Commission relaying concerns about the treatment I experienced at the security checkpoint at HPD District 1 the previous day. An investigator tells me it is the policiman's job to "interpret the law".

    Returning to the station to locate a article I left, I am told by Officer Kahele, in the presence of one officer Hung, and another, that it is mandatory that I produce ID, and that I remove everything from my pockets, and take off my belt before passing through the metal detector.

    I point out this information is not on the signs, and officer Kahele says there will be no furthering of my purpose if I do not comply. After complying, I am told by officer Kahele that I must sit down, or she will not take my report. Previous to this occasion , when at the HPD headquarters, I was never asked to remove everything from my pockets and, or to remove my belt, or that I had to produce ID to enter. Officer Lau, the sergeant for this post, tells me the same.

    I am told by a detective that it is not mandatory to produce ID, "We don't care who you are. Anyone has the right to come in here". Sergeant Lau, who I am told is the officer in charge of the post says depending on the threat level, procedures may change day to day. He says one may be required to remove everything from ones pockets etc., or be required to submit to different procedures. I inform him that on the same day, when I was there previously, I was not required to do so. He inform me that the security level may change from moment to moment.

    On Oct. 16, 2006 I submit a complaint to HPD Internal Affairs relaying concerns about not being asked to identify the driver of the vehicle that hit me on the 8th of Sept., and the fact that the person who stood as Chris Pa at the arraignment was not the driver of the car.

    Oct. 6, 2006, I go to the arraignment of A Mr. Chris Pa. I am surprised to see that this Mr. Pa is not the driver I saw, while laying on the hood of the car and peering through the windshield, and definitely not the man I looked in the face and spoke to through an opened window. This may be due to the fact that I was not asked to identify the person located, arrested, or cited, on the night of the incident or at any subsequent time, until I see him at the arraignment. I am directed by the presiding judge to inform the prosecutors office, which I do.

    Oct. 2, 2006: I am told at traffic court there is no court date set, but have found online there is one on Oct. 6, in room 4B, and I am not included as the victim. I still get correspondence from the insurer's agents telling me of medical coverage available, although I told the driver, the responding officer, and previously the insurer's agent, I am OK.


    Sept.21, 2006: I go to City Hall to get a voters registration card and am told it will cost .50 cents.

    I am surprised to get a "Certificate", ala Lens Crafters, and ask is this it? I am told yes by the clerk. Today, on "The Bus" I see a man who says he works at the polls, who tells me there is still a little yellow card that comes in the mail and is surprised to see the "Certificate".

    Sept. 8, 2006: I am hit by a car bearing license plate JST 203, that was stopped at a crosswalk. The driver is looking at me when he accelerates. The driver doesn't wait for police to arrive. They find him at his home. The police report reads Crime Code 550, which I am told means, a collision with damage of more than 3000 dollars. I am told the responding police officer decides if there will be an investigation. More Honolulu HOKUM.

    This is the place where, those who would complain about wrongdoing are persecuted, harassed, smeared and railroaded. Where the perpetrators are bribed to keep quiet, or go along with the cover-up, promoted, and transferred.

    Sept. 7, 2006: A security guard, Solomona Savea, badge number - 90187, at the Hawaii State Library, calls me a "nigger" twice" in the library foyer, in a loud voice.

    Aug. 10, 2006: I have been told by Sen. Barack Obama's office, where I sent this same correspondence, that someone from Sen. Akaka's office would contact me, because Sen. Obama's office forwarded the correspondence to them. I have yet to hear from Sen. Akaka's office. Is there some assistance your office can give me?



    July 23, 2006: An Optometrist, Kim Agena at a Lens Crafters gives me a prescription that is weaker than the one I had for the previous 7 years. Doctor Au, a co-owner corrects this, but when I ask for photocopies of my records the doctor refuses and gives me a hand written " Vision Certificate" instead, that is not signed and does not contain a license number where applicable. I have made a formal request in writing. They have told me it will be at a cost of 20 dollars for 10 pages, which seems exorbitant and requested that I not seek services at any Optometrists in Lens Crafters. The doctor, Au, is the co - owner along with Dr. Lau, of all the Optometrist offices in Lens Crafters, in Honolulu. In other words, I cannot get an eye exam at Lens Crafters. Is it considered rude or threatening, to ask for one's records?

    The advice I get here is nothing but a pack of lies.

    The local ACLU has written me 3 differing and separate excuses why they cannot or will not get involved, but never the conflict I found below.


    April 2006: I have had two librarians and a circulation clerk tell me there is no report possible for stolen books. They must be lost. This would have caused fees to be incurred by me. I had to take the police report to the State Librarian's Office to settle the matter and have the fines removed from my account. This all could have been done at the State Library.

    Jan. 2006: I have had two bank accounts effected. One because a deposit I made to cover my use of overdraft protection was not credited, they rescinded the "overdraft" and CLOSED my account. The bank says it had to be held in the account for a day, to be credited. Nowhere in the terms and conditions is this stated. The depletion of the other account, I have been given no reason for. July 2006, I have written to the Clint Arnoldus Denis Isono and Susan Tachino asking them to explain, and have received no response.

    Recently, I have made another complaint, in addition to the previous five, to the USPS - OIG, about mail I am to receive or have sent. I sent a certified letter to Richard E. Fairfax, Directorate of Enforcement Programs - OSHA, in Washington D.C., on the 2nd of December. The certification number is 7005 2570 0000 6898 2586. I look at the track and confirm feature at USPS.COM and there is no record of it having been delivered yet.

    My case was dismissed May 24, 2006. How often does this occur? A case is dismissed with two days difference between the dismissal date and the termination date, (May 26, 2004) of the individual filing suit. I will never understand how the three judges that made decisions in this case could not see that it is too complex for anyone who would consider themselves a pro se litigant, which I do not.

    This has been an uphill battle against an opponent whose underwriters include a Fortune 500 company, FNF.

    john.goemans@gmail.com wrote :
    Dear Vernon---- Your letter is alarming. I have over time,recieved calls
    from persons very distressed by the Hawaii you know.In fact I've been out of
    Hawaii for many months one reason being the hostile and dysfunctional
    nature of things.I've even been jailed on a charge it took the Judge when I
    finally got before one 2 minutes to throw out.That all being said have no
    ability to be of help to you other than to give you encouragement from this
    distance.
    Sincerely John Goemans
    -----Original Message-----
    From: Eric Grant grant@eric-grant.com
    To: yinsay@aol.com
    Sent: Fri, 11 Nov 2005 01:06:41 -0500
    Subject: RE: Still attempting to contact Mr. Goemans
    Mr. Balmer, Mr. Goemans' address is john.goemans@gmail.com
    Cordially,
    EricGrant
    Attorney at Law
    8001 Folsom Boulevard, Suite 100
    Sacramento, California 95826
    Telephone: (916) 388-0833
    Facsimile: (916) 691-3261
    http://www.eric-grant.com
    From: yinsay@aol.com [mailto: yinsay@aol.com]
    Sent: Wednesday, November 09, 2005 7:47 PM
    To: grant@eric-grant.com
    Subject: Still attempting to contact Mr. Goemans. If he has one, and you know Mr. Goeman's e-mail address kindly forward this to it, please.



    Dear Sir or Madam,


    I have resided here in Honolulu , Hawaii for almost 4 years now. I had intended to stay here when I made the decision to come, and was happy to have found employment relatively soon. I found a job working with a temporary agency for 4 months. I was hired by the client as a regular employee, Sept. 2002. On my first day of regular hire, I was shocked to hear, "you know why they hired him, don't you", from one of my co-workers. But, needing to work for a living and being in a strange place, I thought it best to ignore this, after all, I was hired.

    At the beginning of my time with the client, Title Guaranty, I was told by the on site supervisor, that if I was to take a particular bus and call her first, "there would be more work". The day after this I handed her my time card, ready to seek another assignment, when she acted as though she didn't know why I would be doing this. When I explained, she countered with some nebulous words and said I could work as long as the company needed me.

    Subsequently, the same supervisor would tell me that I had to give her a key or the combination to the lock on my locker, "in case of an emergency". I thought this to be a strange request, as I could not imagine an emergency in my locker that would require her or anyone else to open it without me. I didn't respond to her request, and not hearing anything further, I gathered that it was not company policy at all.

    Having a co-worker refer to me as "boy" and another ask me 3 times - after giving an answer twice - "why do black people use the N word?", did not make me feel very gregarious among them. I was also told by a co-worker, "all Hawaii is a gang brah.", and by another, "it's all connected", the supervisor speaking about a former supervisor said, "we made him quit because he thought he was smarter than us, cause he was from the east coast".

    We were housed in a basement of what is now a former Costco building, with an air-conditioner as the only ventilation. When I noticed mold growing in a hole, in the wall beneath the air-conditioner, adjacent to the room where I sometimes, but mostly my co-workers would eat lunch, I asked them about it and was told that management was made aware of it and did nothing. I decided to inform management myself, considering the untruths I had previously heard from some. I was thanked by the assistant to the woman in accounting who handled the repairs for the building.

    I did not think it was a major undertaking by a very successful company to fix this problem, and was surprised at the length of time it was taking to address the situation, so I informed OSHA, Aug. 2003. This is when things started to go further south. Coincidentally, the day after going to the OSHA offices, the next day at work, my supervisor stated to a co-worker, "Vernon went to OSHA." This information was not given to her or any co-worker, by me.

    When I went to OSHA, the employee did not give me any type of reference number, or write one in the space provided on the complaint form, nor did she inform me at that time that mold is not OSHA'S jurisdiction, which is what I was told when I went to check on the status of the complaint. Neither, did the employee inform me of laws governing discrimination. I was also told - it not being OSHA'S jurisdiction - the complaint was referred to the Department of Health. It was like pulling teeth to get an answer as to what office at the DOH it was referred to. Needless to say I could not inquire about the possible disposition of the complaint, not knowing where to inquire.

    I made a complaint to the EEOC, Jan. 2004, and the Hawaii Civil Rights Commission, Apr 2004, both of which were dismissed without any investigation, each agency sat back and waited for the submission of the company's response. Incidentally, I was contacted by the director of the EEOC, asking me if I wanted to proceed, after I was shown a copy of the company's response, which I don't believe is proper. I now see in the EEOC's and the HCRC's own publications, matters such as mine that were investigated and even adjudicated. During the HCRC's lack of investigation, I only heard from them at the intake and when I received their letter of dismissal.

    I furnished the EEOC and the HCRC with names of co-workers who said they would speak for me. They were not interviewed. I was informed by an investigator at the EEOC that no one visited the site. There was a similar situation here with UPS, where an employee was fired for doing less egregious acts than his co-workers, which I believe is the case here. I saw co-workers break company equipment, cuss freely, ask for sexual favors, and bring children and friends to the work site. Throughout this experience I have been told by these agencies' staff and lawyers, literally or in effect, "there is no smoking gun here". This is only due to there being no investigation. In the least, there is a pattern that should compel any thinking person to ask questions.

    Subsequent to this, my work was sabotaged on more than one occasion, and reports to management only resulted in them twisting the situation in attempts to placate me and set me up for these spurious accusations by my co-workers. Each complaint of mine was a matter of my erroneous "interpretation", as stated by management, while my co-workers complaints were valid descriptions of my "misconduct". As a result of the accusations, I was suspended, without pay, pending an investigation for, I kid you not, a co-worker accusing me of harassing her by clapping my hands and signing "Pink Cadillac", and another saying, I was teasing her when I asked her to say my name and that of the manager, to see if I could distinguish the two.

    I was terminated in May 2004, two weeks after the dismissal of the EEOC complaint that was not investigated, and a day after informing management that I overheard a co-worker saying to the one that accused me of harassing her by singing, "we're going to show him the power of p----. I was denied unemployment insurance, June 2004, with a fact-finding interview done over the telephone that was not reviewed or signed by me, as it should have been before it was made part of the official record and used at my future appeal. The subsequent appeal Aug. 2004 was biased, prejudiced, and contained perjured statements by the witnesses for my former employer. I am now told that the recording of the hearing does not exist because it was transcribed.

    I have initiated a suit in federal court, Jan. 2005 that I can not pursue, due to the lack of time and funds necessary for an undertaking such as this, and the skill I do not have in these matters. I have all but given up searching for representation, believing word has gotten to many legal ears on the island and no one wants to go against the state that has all but coddled and cuddled business here.

    I have contacted the ACLU, and given them much information, but they seem more interested in writing briefs for exotic entertainers, arrested for doing lap dances. First they tell me they cannot help unless the matter involves a government agency, then they tell me they can if a decision is against me, then they tell me they do not have the manpower and time. Each of the criteria, I met at the time I contacted them.

    Coincidentally, I find a lawyer, Roger Fonseca, at the firm representing my former employer, is the national representative for the Hawaii chapter of the ACLU, and their staff also have a few names that are the same as those associated with Hawaii real estate. They cannot help, but they can accept my information.

    I have tried to interest many, many lawyers and firms by email, letters and personal visits, to no avail. I have had a lawyer in San Francisco who participated in a well known case here try to find someone without success. This situation has been surrounded by complicity, cronyism, and bias.

    I have written to the DOJ, only to have my information shuffled from one agency to another, including the Department of the Interior, and finally coming full circle to the Hawaii Department of Labor. I do not think this was coincidence. At the HCRC, there is a commission member with the same name as the owners of my former employer's business, one Coral Wong Pietsch.

    Mrs. Pietsch is a general in the U.S. Army Reserve, and an attorney, a very powerful position with ties to D.C., I'm sure. It has long been my suspicion that this may have played a roll in the lack of effort on the part of officials that has attended this matter. Each party's history I research has some relation to another, be it professional, academic, and even familial.

    I now look at web sites for all the organizations I sought help at - e-mail to the Governor and Lieutenant Governor, all representative's and senator's offices, Legal Aid Society, Hawaii Dept. of Labor and the DOL - national, EEOC - Hawaii, district, and national offices, NAACP Hawaii, Hawaii Civil Rights Commission, ACLU of Hawaii, Hawaii - Department of Health, HIOSH and OSHA ( regional and national ), Volunteer Legal Services of Hawaii, the Hawaii Office of Information Practices, the Ombudsman's Office where my letter explaining the situation and their reply stating they could do nothing, are the only correspondence I had during it's investigation, and the Hawaii State Bar Association, where the lawyers who are members of the Real Property and Financial Services Section, are also affiliated with these other organizations, or directly associated with my former employer, or the firm that represents them - Torkildson, Katz. Fonseca, Heatherington, and Moore.

    The Real Property and Financial Services Section includes a lawyer I was assisted by, one Andre Wooten, who at the time told me nothing of his involvement with this organization. He was suggested to me by church members and NAACP officer Alfonso Braggs. I pull up the staff or the particular board of directors of these organizations and there are last names that are the same and have some relationship, mostly with real estate, and more than a few with ties to California.

    Two names in particular are quite suspicious. A Kouchi, at Volunteer Legal Services, which was the last name of the HR assistant at Title Guaranty, Pang which is the name of a front desk worker at the YMCA, who I complained about signing for my mail. and that of a Appeals Officer at Department of Labor - Security Appeals Referees Office. Hirayama the appeal referee, and the owner of the restaurant at the YMCA. And on and on.

    There are too many relationships here to be mere coincidence, and are questionable, at least. My information was passed by one Elain Chao - Department Of Labor, in D.C. to Tin Shing Chao Department of Labor here in Hawaii, who used an erroneous date to nullify my complaint. This was after a layover in California with Ms. Alison Pauly at the regional offices. Whose CASPA investigation stated that I should have made this a written complaint, when Hawaii law states it does not matter, whether written or verbal. Could she be related to the Pauly's who have donated to the University of Hawaii, and have owned land here?

    The complex in Hawaii that houses the Department of Labor, is also where the HIOSH offices and the Hawaii Civil Rights Commission offices are located. This name, Pang, pops up in various places dealing with state government and real estate. I now know these agencies to be straw dogs that do everything but contend with the status quo.

    For the most part, the agencies that pretend to help, most notably the NAACP and ACLU, only collect information and then say they can do nothing; I wonder what happens to the information in a state that treats confidential information as a comodity. Incidentally my former employer's representation is one of the largest contributors to Legal Aid Society. Concerning Volunteer Legal Services of Hawaii, I have recently discovered that one of two lawyers they referred is an attorney at the law firm representing my former employer, and the other is a realtor in Honolulu, and also liscensed to practice in California. And another is the member of a firm with old ties to the Pietsch family. Who were these lawyers going to "help"?

    I mention the YMCA because in 2002, I had complained about what I believed to be prostitution, facilitated by staff there. And when I informed the supervisor at Title Guaranty, her response was to leave well enough alone, after I informed her that I had, in my opinion, angered some people there. My subsequent report to the police department was investigated by. the police calling the YMCA and asking them if my suspicions were true. I think you can see what position this left me in. In my lay opinion, this was a sloppy and dangerous way to initiate and conclude an investigation.

    I have applied for many positions since my termination, and have only worked sporadically in spite of my efforts. I have registered with many staffing agencies - Olympia , Hawaii Staffing, Snelling, and Hawaii Temp, CTA Staffing which is now Bishop & Company, Manpower, Kelly, and POI. I have not worked a complete week and have not been contacted at all by some. I registered at Altres in 2004, and was not called in a years time before I returned. There, I was terminated for " not being pro active". There is no confidentiality law here, and I believe this also has worked against me. It - confidentiality - has been frequently cited by my former employer's agents and state officials, only to protect themselves and facilitate their deceptive practices.

    I mostly use the public library to use the Internet, i.e. write letters and do research. Needless to say, this is not the most secure environment to do this type of activity. And I have had problems at this library with the computers and the staff. At the library, I have seen the text change when I am typing, without commands initiated by me. The printer is connected to the computer at the librarians' desk. On one occasion, I was told by a security guard that a librarian had complained about me harassing her because I asked for her name to report her behavior.


    After contacting the librarian's office, there is no record or remembrance of this aspect of the report. This tactic of "bait and switch" has been used on more than one occasion, by different entities. After not being online for 3 days I saw where someone had requested an Army Knowledge Online account in my name, or I should say my screen name. I saw an attorney - John L. Knorek - from the firm representing my former employer enter the philosophy department and ask for a librarian, Kathy, by name.

    Yee is the name of the head librarian at the State Library and the name of a former employee of the United States Attorney's Office and HCRC, did training for the Department of Justice, and worked for the Massachusetts Attorney General. I sent most of this same information to Sen. Ted Kennedy's offices in Massachusetts and was told during a telephone conversation with the office that, being on the Judiciary Committee, Sen. Kennedy could not get involved in judicial matters.

    Since this is the only avenue I have been given, I have asked the district offices of the DOL to investigate by CASPA, Sept. 2005, and have asked for an investigation for discrimination due to the whistle blower aspect of the matter. I believe this will be my only chance at a modicum of justice. But I will always believe that more realistically this situation can be defined by, 18 USC 241, 242 and 245.

    Hawaii, I now entertain, is a state where the dollar is God, and workers are only a necessary evil to facilitate that gain. Where the Director of Labor and Industrial Relations, Nelson Befitel, has unashamedly professed his desire, and that of the state to relieve the department of any obligation to penalize businesses for infractions and, I can see where the natural sequence would be to alleviate any scrutiny that would expose abuse of power by the states employees. It is no wonder; I have experienced what I have. All too often, in the news here, the term "outsider" is given to any entity that would look at what is practiced here. But there is a GOD that sees all and will affect justice for the oppressed.


    Sincerely,

    Vernon Balmer Jr.
    Honolulu, HI

    yinsay@aol.com


    November 7, 2005
    Richard E. Fairfax, Director
    Directorate of Enforcement Programs(DEP)
    U.S . Department of Labor
    200 Constitution Avenue N.W.
    Washington , D.C. 20210
    Dear Sir,


    For the past two years at every step in this long railroad, from my initial complaint filed at the EEOC, and subsequent to that, the HCRC; the United States Commission on Civil Rights; the Department of Justice; and finally through no effort of my own, having it wind up at the Regional OSHA offices in San Francisco, I have steadily maintained that I submitted a written complaint at the state HIOSH offices, here in Honolulu.



    I was told that much of what I sent to the DOJ had been sent to the San Francisco OSHA offices. Evidently this written HIOSH complaint was not among the papers.

    Imagine my surprise when I got this letter from Mr. Traenkner, informing me that I should not have made this a verbal complaint. I retrieved the copy of the written complaint, made for me while at the HIOSH offices, just to convince myself that those in power are the ones mistaken, and now I believe with my whole being, they are in actuality, deceitful and dishonest, practiced at covering up embarrassing incidents, and downright criminal.

    I am making a request to you for a review by your national offices, where hopefully someone unbiased, with integrity, will do the right thing. There was a Ms.Hirai in San Francisco that said she could see the discrimination in this matter. Too bad it was not she that conducted the investigation. I only hope it is coincidence that there is a Hirai here in Honolulu that is a lawyer and involved in the real estate business, and a lawyer formerly in the firm representing my former employer.

    Throughout this situation there have been relationships, I have noticed in my opposition, which include professional, academic and familial. It has long been my suspicion that those ensconced in the cronyism here in Hawaii have at each step facilitated the lack of effort in this matter. I am now sure of what I have long suspected. This cover-up goes much further than what happens here in Hawaii.


    Sincerely,


    Vernon Balmer Jr.
    yinsay@aol.com
    Honolulu, HI
    anonymous anonymous 7/14/08 Reply
     
 
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