The Truth about Bill Ayers
Chicago Sun Times:
April 18, 2008
BY CHRIS FUSCO AND ABDON M. PALLASCH Staff Reporters
Bill Ayers went underground again Thursday.
But this time, it was to avoid a political maelstrom, not the FBI.
» Click to enlarge image
John H. White/Sun-Times)
Ayers, 63, spent 10 years as a fugitive in the 1970s when he was part of the "Weather Underground," an anti-Vietnam War group that protested U.S. policies by bombing the Pentagon, U.S. Capitol and a string of other government buildings. Nobody was hurt in the attacks by the defunct organization, which the FBI labeled a "domestic terrorist group."
Today, Ayers and his wife -- fellow former Weather Underground fugitive Bernardine Dohrn -- live in Hyde Park, where they moved after surrendering in 1980. Federal charges against the two were dropped because of improper surveillance, so they avoided prison.
Ayers and Dohrn have raised two sons of their own and adopted a third boy whose parents were Weather Underground members who went to prison. They've built stellar reputations as professors: Dohrn at Northwestern's law school, Ayers as an education professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago.
Along the way, they met a rising political star named Barack Obama, who lived in their neighborhood.
The Ayers-Obama relationship became a hot topic in Wednesday's Democratic presidential debate. It is "an issue certainly Republicans will be raising" should Obama be the Democratic nominee for president, Obama rival Hillary Clinton said.
In the mid-1990s, Ayers and Dohrn hosted a meet-and-greet at their house to introduce Obama to their neighbors during his first run for the Illinois Senate. In 2001, Ayers contributed $200 to Obama's campaign. Ayers also served alongside Obama between December 1999 and December 2002 on the board of the not-for-profit Woods Fund of Chicago. That board met four times a year, and members would see each other at occasional dinners the group hosted.
Reached by the Sun-Times on her cell phone, Dohrn declined to comment. Ayers, who was traveling, did not return messages.
But friends like Chicago political strategist Marilyn Katz said Ayers should not be a campaign issue.
Katz met Ayers when he was 17 and they were members of Students for a Democratic Society, a peaceful group from which the Weather Underground splintered. She noted Ayers' work with Mayor Daley to overhaul the Chicago Public Schools and likened him to Black Panther-turned-U.S. Rep. Bobby Rush.
"What Bill Ayers and Bobby Rush ... did 40 years ago has nothing to do with" the presidential campaign, Katz said. Ayers "has a national reputation. He lectures at Harvard and Vassar. He writes the textbooks that are the standard for innovative approaches to reaching inner-city youth."
Ayers, a Glen Ellyn native who became active in SDS while attending the University of Michigan, is the son of late Commonwealth Edison CEO Thomas G. Ayers. Ayers has praised his dad for standing by him while he was on the lam.
A book Ayers penned about those years, Fugitive Days, landed him in hot water on Sept. 11, 2001. That morning, the New York Times ran a story about the book in which Ayers said, "I don't regret setting bombs. I feel we didn't do enough." Ayers' statement was made before the World Trade Center attacks, but its timing led some to believe it was in response. "My book is in fact a condemnation of terrorism in all its forms -- individual, group and official," Ayers later said in a letter to the Chicago Tribune.
Ayers has a Web site, billayers.org, in which he blogs about politics and other subjects. He lets friends and foes post comments.
April 18, 2008
BY CHRIS FUSCO AND ABDON M. PALLASCH Staff Reporters
Bill Ayers went underground again Thursday.
But this time, it was to avoid a political maelstrom, not the FBI.
» Click to enlarge image
John H. White/Sun-Times)
Ayers, 63, spent 10 years as a fugitive in the 1970s when he was part of the "Weather Underground," an anti-Vietnam War group that protested U.S. policies by bombing the Pentagon, U.S. Capitol and a string of other government buildings. Nobody was hurt in the attacks by the defunct organization, which the FBI labeled a "domestic terrorist group."
Today, Ayers and his wife -- fellow former Weather Underground fugitive Bernardine Dohrn -- live in Hyde Park, where they moved after surrendering in 1980. Federal charges against the two were dropped because of improper surveillance, so they avoided prison.
Ayers and Dohrn have raised two sons of their own and adopted a third boy whose parents were Weather Underground members who went to prison. They've built stellar reputations as professors: Dohrn at Northwestern's law school, Ayers as an education professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago.
Along the way, they met a rising political star named Barack Obama, who lived in their neighborhood.
The Ayers-Obama relationship became a hot topic in Wednesday's Democratic presidential debate. It is "an issue certainly Republicans will be raising" should Obama be the Democratic nominee for president, Obama rival Hillary Clinton said.
In the mid-1990s, Ayers and Dohrn hosted a meet-and-greet at their house to introduce Obama to their neighbors during his first run for the Illinois Senate. In 2001, Ayers contributed $200 to Obama's campaign. Ayers also served alongside Obama between December 1999 and December 2002 on the board of the not-for-profit Woods Fund of Chicago. That board met four times a year, and members would see each other at occasional dinners the group hosted.
Reached by the Sun-Times on her cell phone, Dohrn declined to comment. Ayers, who was traveling, did not return messages.
But friends like Chicago political strategist Marilyn Katz said Ayers should not be a campaign issue.
Katz met Ayers when he was 17 and they were members of Students for a Democratic Society, a peaceful group from which the Weather Underground splintered. She noted Ayers' work with Mayor Daley to overhaul the Chicago Public Schools and likened him to Black Panther-turned-U.S. Rep. Bobby Rush.
"What Bill Ayers and Bobby Rush ... did 40 years ago has nothing to do with" the presidential campaign, Katz said. Ayers "has a national reputation. He lectures at Harvard and Vassar. He writes the textbooks that are the standard for innovative approaches to reaching inner-city youth."
Ayers, a Glen Ellyn native who became active in SDS while attending the University of Michigan, is the son of late Commonwealth Edison CEO Thomas G. Ayers. Ayers has praised his dad for standing by him while he was on the lam.
A book Ayers penned about those years, Fugitive Days, landed him in hot water on Sept. 11, 2001. That morning, the New York Times ran a story about the book in which Ayers said, "I don't regret setting bombs. I feel we didn't do enough." Ayers' statement was made before the World Trade Center attacks, but its timing led some to believe it was in response. "My book is in fact a condemnation of terrorism in all its forms -- individual, group and official," Ayers later said in a letter to the Chicago Tribune.
Ayers has a Web site, billayers.org, in which he blogs about politics and other subjects. He lets friends and foes post comments.
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raves posted Oct 06, 2008 11:59PM GMT
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raves +1 posted Oct 06, 2008 05:28PM GMTWell, I see the repubs are jumping on this one...........making something out of nothing, while their candidate can do no wrong, no matter all the bad things he HAS done.
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raves +1 -1 posted Oct 06, 2008 09:09AM GMTAyers is now a university professor. He and Obama live in the same Chicago neighborhood and served together on the board of the Chicago Annenberg Challenge, a charity group. Ayers also held a meet-the-candidate event at his home for Obama when Obama first ran for office in the mid-1990s.
The UIC records show that Obama and Ayers attended board meetings, retreats and at least one news conference together as the education program got under way. The two continued to attend meetings together during the 1995-2001 operation of the program, records show.
At a Democratic debate this year when the association between Obama and Ayers was raised, Obama said: “This is a guy who lives in my neighborhood. . . . He’s not somebody who I exchange ideas from on a regular basis.” Obama called Ayers’ past radical acts detestable.
The UIC records showed that Ayers was instrumental in securing the $50 million education grant to reform Chicago Public Schools, part of a national initiative funded by the late Ambassador Walter Annenberg. . After Chicago was awarded the money, Obama served as president of the Challenge’s board of directors, the fiscal arm that disbursed the grants to schools and raised private matching funds. Ayers participated in a second entity known as the Chicago School Reform Collaborative, the operational arm that worked with the grant recipients.
“Barack Obama is friends with Ayers, defending him as, quote, ‘Respectable’ and ‘Mainstream,’” the ad states. “Obama’s political career was launched in Ayers’ home. And the two served together on a left-wing board. Why would Barack Obama be friends with someone who bombed the Capitol and is proud of it? Do you know enough to elect Barack Obama?”
Obama can wrap himself in the flag and attempt to gag his critics, but his false portrayal of Ayers as just a guy in the neighborhood is not going to fly. Obama’s friend is America’s enemy.
And America deserves to know.
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raves Oct 06, 2008 11:56PM GMTNope not at his home and not for Obama............. try to get at least a small % of truth... please!
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raves +1 -1 posted Oct 06, 2008 07:07AM GMTAn unrepentent bomber endorses someone for potus and we're supposed to be ok with that? Study the past of Barak Obama and flags go up all over the place. He needs to go live in a country that he really cares about, at least from there he could attack America with some honesty.
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raves +1 posted Oct 06, 2008 07:06AM GMTWhy is Barack Obama trying to silence this ad?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?...
Obama seeks to silence ad tying him to 60s radical..... Freedom of Speech???
" Barack Obama is striking back fiercely and swiftly to stamp out an ad that links him to a 1960s radical, eager to demonstrate a far more aggressive response to attacks than John Kerry did when faced with the 2004 "Swift Boat" campaign.
Obama not only aired a response ad to the spot linking him to William Ayers, but he sought to block stations the commercial by warning station managers and asking the Justice Department to intervene. The campaign also planned to compel advertisers to pressure stations that continue to air the anti-Obama commercial." -
raves +1 posted Oct 06, 2008 06:58AM GMT (edited)Nobody was hurt in the attacks by the defunct organization, which the FBI labeled a "domestic terrorist group."
ARE YOU KIDDING.......????????????????
16 February 1970 – Bombing of Golden Gate Park branch of the San Francisco Police Department, killing one officer and injuring a number of other policemen.
October 20, 1981 - Brinks robbery in which several members of the Weather Underground stole over $1 million from a Brinks armored car near Nyack, New York. The robbers murdered 2 police officers and 1 Brinks guard. Several others were wounded. -
raves +4 posted Oct 06, 2008 06:57AM GMTtypical repub tactic to make something out of nothing.
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raves +1 -1 Oct 06, 2008 07:02AM GMTCanadian Free Press
http://canadafreepress.com/in...
Weather Underground are cop-killers
Resume of a Terrorist: Obama’s Buddy Ayers
By Jim Kouri Sunday, August 31, 2008
While the likes of the New York Times, Washington Post, ABC, NBC, CBS, CNN and other news organizations have their reporters digging for dirt on Alaskan Gov. Sarah Palin, John McCain’s choice for vice president, their savior-in-waiting Barack Obama is getting a free ride at the expense of truth.
It’s no secret that the denizens of America’s newsrooms want Obama sitting in the Oval Office, but Americans are being purposely duped by the Democrat National Committee’s volunteer publicists, formerly known as the mainstream news media.
If it weren’t for talk radio and the blogosphere, even what is known about Obama and his friend, former Weather Underground domestic terrorist and leader William Ayers, would only be a paragraph or two in the backpages of most newspapers, or a sentence or two on most TV and radio news programs.
On Friday night, one of America’s top talk show hosts—who happens to be an attorney and worked in the Reagan Justice Department as chief of staff—recited a list of terrorist acts that would elicit envy from Osama bin Laden. Mark Levin had his listeners glued to their radios or PCs as he read the resume of a man who should be serving life in prison instead of enjoying a tenured professorship at a major university and entertaining a possible US President in his home.
Because of so-called “prosecutorial misconduct” Ayers escaped what could have been a life-sentence.
As I write this “resume of a terrorist,” I find it difficult to understand how a man who is running for president of the United States would even know someone as anti-American and destructive as William Ayers. Plus, Ayers, his wife and their comrades at the Weather Underground are cop-killers. And Obama doesn’t just know him personally—he’s a close friend with Ayers.
Here is the “resume” of an American terrorist:
7 October 1969 – Bombing of Haymarket Police Statue in Chicago, apparently as a “kickoff” for the “Days of Rage” riots in the city October 8-11, 1969. The Weathermen later claimed credit for the bombing in their book, “Prairie Fire.”
8-11 October 1969 – The “Days of Rage” riots occur in Chicago in which 287 Weatherman members from throughout the country were arrested and a large amount of property damage was done.
6 December 1969 – Bombing of several Chicago Police cars parked in a precinct parking lot at 3600 North Halsted Street, Chicago. The WUO stated in their book “Prairie Fire” that they had did the explosion.
27-31 December 1969 – Weathermen hold a “War Council” meeting in Flint, MI, where they finalize their plans to submerge into an underground status from which they plan to commit strategic acts of sabotage against the government. Thereafter they are called the “Weather Underground Organization” (WUO).
13 February 1970 - Bombing of several police vehicles of the Berkeley, California, Police Department .
16 February 1970 – Bombing of Golden Gate Park branch of the San Francisco Police Department, killing one officer and injuring a number of other policemen.
6 March 1970 – Bombing in the 13th Police District of the Detroit, Michigan. 34 sticks of dynamite are discovered. During February and early March, 1970, members of the WUO, led by Bill Ayers, are reported to be in Detroit, during that period, for the purpose of bombing a police facility.
6 March 1970 – “bomb factory” located in New York’s Greenwich Village accidentally explodes. WUO members die . The bomb was intended to be planted at a non-commissioned officer’s dance at Fort Dix, New Jersey. The bomb was packed with nails TO INFILICT MAXIMUM CASUALTIES UPON DETONATION.
30 March 1970 – Chicago Police discover a WUO “bomb factory” on Chicago’s north side. A subsequent discovery of a WUO “weapons cache” in a south side Chicago apartment several days later ends WUO activity in the city.
10 May 1970 – Bombing of The National Guard Association building in Washington, D.C..
21 May 1970 – The WUO under Bernardine Dohrn’s (Ayers’ current wife) name releases its “Declaration of a State of War” communique.
6 June 1970 – The WUO sends a letter claiming credit for bombing of the San Francisco Hall of Justice; however, no explosion actually took place. Months later, workmen in this building located an unexploded device which had apparently been dormant for some time.
9 June 1970 - Bombing of The New York City Police Headquarters.
27 July 1970 - Bombing of The Presidio army base in San Francisco. [NYT, 7/27/70]
12 September 1970 – The WUO helps Dr. Timothy Leary, break out and escape from the California Men’s Colony prison.
8 October 1970 - Bombing of Marin County courthouse. [NYT, 8/10/70]
10 October 1970 - Bombing of Queens traffic-court building . [NYT, 10/10/70, p. 12]
14 October 1970 - Bombing of The Harvard Center for International Affairs [NYT, 10/14/70, p. 30]
1 March 1971 - Bombing of The United States Capitol . “ [NYT, 3/2/71]
April, 1971 – abandoned WUO “bomb factory” discovered in San Francisco, California.
29 August, 1971 - Bombing of the Office of California Prisons . [LAT, 8/29/71]
17 September 1971 - Bombing of The New York Department of Corrections in Albany, NY [NYT, 9/18/71]
15 October 1971 - Bombing of William Bundy’s office in the MIT research center. [NYT, 10/16/71]
19 May 1972 - Bombing of The Pentagon . [NYT, 5/19/72]
18 May 1973 - Bombing of the 103rd Police Precinct in New York
28 September 1973 - Bombing of ITT headquarters in New York and Rome, Italy . [NYT, 9/28/73]
6 March 1974 - Bombing of the Department of Health, Education and Welfare offices in San Francisco
31 May 1974 - Bombing of The Office of the California Attorney General.
17 June 1974 - Bombing of Gulf Oil’s Pittsburgh headquarters .
11 September 1974 – Bombing of Anaconda Corporation (part of the Rockefeller Corporation).
29 January 1975 - Bombing of the State Department in (AP. “State Department Rattled by Blast,” The Daily Times-News, January 29 1975, p.1)
16 June 1975 - Bombing of Banco de Ponce (a Puerto Rican bank) in New York .
September, 1975 – Bombing of the Kennecott Corporation .
October 20, 1981 - Brinks robbery in which several members of the Weather Underground stole over $1 million from a Brinks armored car near Nyack, New York. The robbers murdered 2 police officers and 1 Brinks guard. Several others were wounded.
1981 “Guilty as hel*. Free as a bird. America is a great country,” Ayers said when interviewed by David Horowitz.
September 11, 2001 “I don’t regret setting bombs. I feel we didn’t do enough.” Ayers is quoted in a New York Times article.
Message to the News Media: Instead of trying to dig up dirt on Sarah Palin, why don’t you cover indepth stories such as the Obama-Ayers relationship just for starters. If you need more leads for stories regarding Senator Obama and other unsavory characters, contact me at this publication. -
raves +5 Oct 06, 2008 07:11AM GMTWhat Ayers did 40 years ago is not relevant now. People change.
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raves +1 Oct 06, 2008 07:20AM GMTSeptember 11, 2001 “I don’t regret setting bombs. I feel we didn’t do enough.” Ayers is quoted in a New York Times article.
Call this change????????? 2001 Lunacat....... 2001....... Lunacat.........
Do us all a favor.......... research your candidates..... vote for whoever you want but statements like this? WOW........ you are dangerous with a vote.
Too emotional, irrational, and not informed. -
raves +4 Oct 06, 2008 07:27AM GMTI have done my research...just accept that I have made a different choice than you have. You need not insult me.
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raves Oct 07, 2008 03:37AM GMTHe was talking about doing enough to stop the bombing of millions of people in Vietnam. Young, idealistic people get crazy when they think mass injustice is occurring. He wasn't being violent to gain riches, or to kill for revenge - he was trying, in a wrong, illegal and immoral way, to stop murder. The frontal lobes of young people do not fully develop until up to 25 years of age. Frontal lobes give us foresight and self-control. Youthful idealistic violence is wrong and to be discouraged - but it is not the same as adult, covetous criminality.
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raves +1 -1 Oct 06, 2008 07:16AM GMTFear not the truth............. fear the secrets.......... they hide the true character ..... the very one you trust......
the boogie man....... "Would you like a piece of candy, little girl?"
We are being offered candy............ yum....... we all like it......... were you not told to not
talk or trust strangers?
Obama is a stranger....... we do not know who he is............... -
raves +3 Oct 06, 2008 07:19AM GMTlmao....whatever
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raves +1 Oct 06, 2008 09:03AM GMTYOUR PERIOD PRIVILEGES HAVE BEEN REVOKED!
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raves Oct 07, 2008 03:38AM GMTObama has revealed himself in his autobiographies, written by himself, more completely than probably any President we have ever voted for. He is a good man.
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raves +7 -1 posted Oct 06, 2008 06:34AM GMTCompare this to McCain's involvement in the Keating Five. For some reason, republicans think that one is a non issue.
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raves +1 Oct 06, 2008 07:00AM GMT (edited)ANY DAY............... HE WAS CLEARED....... IT WAS PUBLIC..... AND ON TAPE.
McCain is out in the open......... nothing hidden......... all out in the open.
None of this out is in the open.......... notice it was the Canadian Press for the list of bombings? Where are our good guys of reporting? -
raves +3 Oct 06, 2008 07:04AM GMTWas Obama charged with involvement in a terrorist organization?
Let the swift-boaters go float!