From Eric Dondero:

The Obama administration is preparing to dole out a major chunk of change to Illinois Democrat Senate candidate Alexi Giannoulias and his family in an effort to bail out his failing bank.

From Chicago Business, March 8 "Giannoulias family could walk away from Broadway Bank collapse with $15 million tax refund":

The family of Democratic U.S. Senate nominee Alexi Giannoulias stands to collect more than $10 million in federal tax refunds even if its Broadway Bank fails, which Mr. Giannoulias said last week is likely.

A $75-million loss at the struggling lender last year generated tax benefits potentially worth between $12 million and $15 million to Mr. Giannoulias, his two brothers and his mother.

According to MSNBC Giannoulias was with Obama at the "White House for [the] Greek Independence Day celebration," last Tuesday.

No word on what was discussed, or if the two held meetings with Chicago campaign operative and chief Obama advisor in the White House David Axlerod. But he did single out Giannoulias for praise.

Obama announced to the crowd (from The Scoop):

Alexi, stand up -- from the state of Illinois. (Applause.) We've got in fact, in addition to Alexi, we've got a lot of Greek American friends here...

Giannoulias is being challenged for the Obama seat, currently held by Sen. Roland Burris, by Republican Rep. Mark Kirk of the northern Lakes area, near Chicago.

Loans to convicted criminals, much subsidized by US Taxpayers, of up to $52 million

Now, this morning, in an interview with the Chicago Sun-Times, Kirk is criticizing Giannoulias for his questionable ties.

From the Sun-Times:

U.S. Rep Mark Kirk said today that Thursday's arrest of a Giannoulias Family friend and bank customer brings the amount of money Broadway Bank has loaned to criminals to $52 million.

State Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias, Kirk's Democratic opponent for U.S. Senate, has said that as chief loan officer of his family's bank from 2002 to 2006, he did not check loan applicants’ arrest records.

Kirk calls that "reckless."

Giannoulis allegedly approved a loan to Nick Giannis, owner of the Chicago hotspot Boston Blackies.

Giannoulias buddy Giannis, under charges, busted trying to sneak across the Canadian border

Just days ago, close friend of Giannoulias, Nick Giannis was arrested by Canadian authorities trying to leave the United States.

Continuing from the Sun-Times:

Nick Giannis was arrested at the U.S.-Canadian border with his Greek passport Thursday, apparently trying to flee the country as he was being indicted in a check-kiting scheme in Cook County.

The Giannoulias and Giannis families reportedly were friends and Giannis had contributed about $120,000 to Giannoulias’ political campaigns. Giannoulias plans to donate $120,000 from his campaign to charity.

He was charged with felony possession of a firearm.

On Jan. 1, 1996, Nick Giannis was stopped for speeding and driving under the influence as he was driving northbound on 1-294, according to court records.

When officers searched his vehicle, they found a bag with a gun inside in the back seat of the car.

Additionally, according to various sources, it is alleged that Boston Blackies, a popular hang-out and event fundraiser location for Chicago pols, served as headquarters for a criminal operation.

Photos of Boston Blackies:(Above) shows Giannoulias campaign sign upper left, and (bottom) of inside the bar with mural of famous Chicago mobsters. Note - the bar itself is named after a legendary 1880s jewel thief and safe cracker from dimestore novels.

Chris Giannis, anxious to trade cold bologna sandwiches from jail cell, for a burger and a beer

Meanwhile, this breaking news... the co-owner of Boston Blackies just bonded out of jail.

From Chicago Breaking News center:

A co-owner of the Boston Blackie's restaurants bonded out of Cook County Jail today after he, his co-owner father and a restaurant manager were charged in connection with what prosecutors called a nearly $1.9 million check-kiting scheme.

As he left the jail, Chris Giannis made a brief statement, saying "I still don't know what I'm charged with."

He then said after suffering through jail meals, he was looking forward to a cheeseburger at Boston Blackie's.

Further background:

Chris Giannis, 38, Nick Giannis, 62, and restaurant manager Andy Bakopoulos, 38, were charged with defrauding Charter One and Washington Mutual banks. Chris Giannis also was charged with two counts of being an organizer of a continuing financial crimes enterprise.

In an impromptu press conference outside the jail, Giannis state, "I don't know why everyone is talking politics," in regards to his family ties to Giannoulias.

(See video of the younger Giannis leaving jail here.)

Giannoulias is denying any responsibility for loans being made from his bank to the Giannis family. He is similarly denying any responsibility for loans being made to other suspected individuals with alleged mob ties, including most famously convicted Chicago land deal fraudster Tony Rezko (photo above), and convicted sports betting bookmaker Michael "Jaws" Giorango.

And finally this, continuing from the Sun-Times:

Giannoulias signed off on $20 million in loans to reputed father-and-son Russian mobsters Lev and Boris Stratievsky (photo) but Giannoulias said -- and the records back him up -- that when they came in to his bank they had "not even a misdemeanor" charge.

Poll show an extremely tight race. An earlier poll had Kirk up by 4. But a poll last week from Rasmussen showed Giannoulias in the lead 44% to 41%.

by Eric Dondero

Talk about extreme bias. The NY Times put out a hit piece this morning seeking to portray the Tea Party movement as undercover "social conservatives." The piece is titled "Tea Party Avoids Devisive Social Issues."

The biggest blunder, intentional or just from plain ignorance, the reporter Kate Zernike referred to the Sam Adams Alliance as "conservative."

From the NY Times:

For decades, faith and family have been at the center of the conservative movement. But as the Tea Party infuses conservatism with new energy, its leaders deliberately avoid discussion of issues like gay marriage or abortion.

God, life and family get little if any mention in statements or manifestos. The motto of the Tea Party Patriots, a large coalition of groups, is “fiscal responsibility, limited government, and free markets.”

Then later in the piece:

But when the Sam Adams Alliance, a Tea Party-friendly conservative organization in Chicago, surveyed 50 leaders of the movement about the most important direction for the movement, none selected social issues. Most said “budget” or “economy/jobs.”

The Sam Adams Alliance is wholly and entirely libertarian. Of course, Sam Adams members would mention only free market economic issues.

The groups founders and current leaders include, former Libertarian Party National Director Eric O'Keefe, , former Vice-President of the libertarian Macinac Center in Michigan Joe Lehman, (both Sam Adams Board members), former Libertarian National Committee member and 1980 Ed Clark, Libertarian for President campaign staffer Bob Costello and former Libertarian Party National Director and well-known Draft Resistor Paul Jacob.

Although, Sam Adams works with conservatives, and invites conservatives to its functions, the group is firmly identified within the libertarian movement.

The Times was attempting in its piece to portray the Tea Party movement as "avoiding" social issues. Rather, the Tea Party movement itself was founded by Libertarians, including Eric Odom, former Board member of the Libertarian Party of Illinois, and many Ron Paul supporters in various cities, including Denver and Seattle. The very first Tea Party protests recorded were organized by local chapters of the Libertarian Party dating back to 2007.

Not a single mention was made in the piece of the libertarian origins of the Tea Party movement, nor of the current universal libertarian beliefs of Tea Partiers.

Incredibly, the Times even quoted an "expert" that when libertarian Tea Partiers talk of the Constitution, they're really talking about religious extremism.

Some experts, like Lisa McGirr, a professor of history at Harvard and the author of “Suburban Warriors: The Origins of the New American Right,” say that the Tea Party uses a kind of code to talk about social values. For instance, when they emphasize a return to the strict meaning of the Constitution, they interpret that as a return to a Christian foundation.

“When they talk about returning to the values of the Founding Fathers,” she said, “they are talking about life as a social issue.”

It'd be interesting to hear Ms. McGirr's explanation as to why most Tea Partiers support drug legalization, legalized prostitution, gambling, and many even pro-choice.

Photos of Eric O'Keefe and Paul Jacob, photo of Jacob taken at the 2006 Sam Adams conference in Chicago.

Palin supporter brings up Romney's less-than-impressive book sales

The very first shots of campaign 2012 may have just been fired. And it appears that for the moment it's a battle of the book sales.

Supporters of the Palin camp, 16 months before the GOP primary season officially begins, are taking a mild swipe at the former Massachusetts Governor for his alleged artificial inflation of his own book sales.

Ian Lazaran reports over at the hugely popular site Conservatives4Palin, the following:

Mitt Romney's book has debuted at #1 atop the NY Times best-seller list among non-fiction hardcover books. However, the NY Times also provides some additional information that may explain how Romney's book hit the #1 spot.

Whenever the NY Times places a "dagger" symbol next to a book, it signifies that "some bookstores report[ed] receiving bulk orders" for the book.

The NY Times placed not just one, but two, daggers next to Romney's book. You can draw your own conclusion as to who it was that purchased Governor Romney's book in bulk.

By contrast, the NY Times failed to place the "dagger" symbol next to Governor Palin's book in any of the weeks she held the top position on the NY Times best-seller list among non-fiction hardcover books. Despite the left's unsubstantiated theories, bookstores did not report to the NY Times that they received bulk orders for Going Rogue. See week 1, week 2, week 3, week 4, week 5, and week 6. As you can see, in none of these weeks is there a dagger symbol next to her book.

Lazaran cautions "Don't shoot the messenger... I'm just reporting what I found... don't shoot the messenger."

Sidenote - former Senator Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania spoke before the Iowa Christian Alliance last Tuesday, in what many deemed a 2012 campaign trip. Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty has already visited the State once, and is planning on making an additional appearance at a Tax Rally in Des Moines on April 15. The Iowa Straw Poll (held traditionally at the IA State Fair), is just 16 months away.

From Eric Dondero:

The David Kernell email hacking of Sarah Palin story is back in the news. Gov. Palin has been called to be a star witness in the case before U.S. District Judge Clifford Shirley. The trial begins in two weeks, and Palin will be called to testify sometime next month.

According to Scripps News service:

Kernell, the son of longtime Democratic Memphis state Rep. Mike Kernell, faces a four-count indictment accusing him of stealing Palin's identity, improperly accessing her personal e-mail account, allowing at least one other person to access it and trying to wipe from his laptop evidence of his alleged crimes. He is alleged to have committed the crimes while attending the University of Tennessee.

You may recall, Libertarian Republican blog was the political website that broke this story wide open in September of 2008. Two Techie blogs first reported on the hacking, and two hours later we picked up the story, and reported on Kernell's political motivations. We were also the very first to alert the Memphis Daily and the (Nashville) Tennessean to the story, where eventually the larger national stories emenated from. Days later, we were successful in linkin Kernell to his father, State Rep. Mike Kernell, and directly to the Tenneseans for Obama campaign.

Needless to say, we had a lot of help. We were assisted by a number of other on-line sleuths on the Right most notable HotAir.com regular commenter "Canadian Cowboy," Tennessee radio talk show host Terry Frank, and David Kittely of Abilene, Texas.

Now that the story is back in the news, a great many websites are once again crediting Libertarian Republican. As one of the stories below mentions, we were able to capture (with the great assistance of David Kittely!), the screen shot of Kernell's link directly to a top official in the Obama campaign, literally hours before the page was scrubbed by Democrat operatives. (Note - the image is forever in LR archives, and cannot be eliminated.)

We've been recently credited by The Cypress Times, A Time for Choosing, and Palin Tribe.

From Palin Twibe:

Terry Frank was all over this at the time and managed to get a lot of screen shots from the G.Gordon Liddy wannabe’s Facebook page. You can read more here

As you read, you will notice commenter after commenter start referencing young David’s Technorati page and the fact that there appears to be more than a tenuous connection between David and Barack Obama’s campaign manager, David Plouffe.

In fact, a quick look though multiple sources will find references to this, and include a link:

http://www.technorati.com/search/%22david+kernell%22?authority=a4&language=en

Unfortunately, either Kernell or Technorati have scrubbed the website, and nothing on our master spy can be found. But, as luck would have it, the folks over at Libertarian Republican captured a screen shot:

Eric Dondero writes this for the website:

In another bizarre twist to the Sarah Palin email hacking story, the prime suspect in the FBI investigation David Kernell of Tennessee, had a video produced by Barack Obama for President Campaign Manager David Plouffe on his Technorati Search Page.

Libertarian Republican blog interviewed Computer Applications Specialist Dave Kittley of Abilene, Texas this evening. Kittley discovered the video link late yesterday, and captured it in a screen shot. (The black pen markings on the screenshot are from Kittley).

Kittley asserts that it is a very strange coincidence that the Plouffe video would show up right on Kernell's Technorati page. One possible explanation according to Kittley: Kernell's name might be in the credits for the production of the Plouffe video.

Plouffe is known to be a big advocate of NetRoots, a gathering of Leftwing Bloggers, formerly known as Yearly Kos, who often engage in on-line mischief against political opponents. Obama produced a personal video to the NetRoots convention which was held in Austin, Texas the weekend of July 16. Kittley told LR that is entirely possible that Kernell might be a member of the NetRoots community.

Kittlery also pointed out to LR that the video, which encourages volunteers to become the "cavalry" of the Obama campaign, has since dissappeared from Kernell's Technorati page. He has the screen shot in his possession, and has graciously made the screenshot from yesterday available to LR and to a limited number of websites covering the Palin email hacking story.

Although there was a lot of effort to scrub things, thanks to the folks at Free Republic, we found the INCREDIBLY boring video of Plouffe rallying the troops. The one referenced on Kernell’s Technorati page...

Of course, we plan to give full coverage to the Kernell trial. Additionally, it goes without saying we stand ready to assist all law enforcement, and investigator's on the case.