Free Republic

Before her death, Barack Obama's grandmother in Hawaii gave his campaign $2,300, which is precisely $2,300 more than Obama himself donated to his $639 million, record-breaking war chest. And in this practice, Obama is in good company. Buried in federal election records is a curious fact: Candidates often don't financially support their own campaigns. Records show that John McCain, he of the seven houses, did not donate to his presidential campaign. Neither did Sarah Palin. Joe Biden didn't chip in for his own national run either. Mayor Richard Daley also has a closed wallet when it comes to funding his...

General David Petraeus deployed overwhelming force when he briefed Barack Obama and two other Senators in Baghdad last July. He knew Obama favored a 16-month timetable for the withdrawal of most U.S. troops from Iraq, and he wanted to make the strongest possible case against it. And so, after he had presented an array of maps and charts and PowerPoint slides describing the current situation on the ground in great detail, Petraeus closed with a vigorous plea for "maximum flexibility" going forward.

The increasing use of online financial tools, debit cards and prepaid credit cards to make political contributions has created technological loopholes in federal and public oversight of campaign donations. The result has been a recent spate of news stories raising questions about apparently implausible or suspicious donations to the presidential campaigns. Right-of-center activists also claim that Barack Obama's campaign has collected tens of millions of dollars from suspect overseas donors. Their complaints spurred the Republican National Committee on Oct. 6 to ask the Federal Election Commission for an investigation of the Obama donations. To test the campaigns' practices, this author...

John McCain complained bitterly on "Fox News Sunday" that Barack Obama “broke his word to me and the American people” by rejecting public financing for his campaign. He also questioned the suspicious number of Obama donors who have given the campaign less than $200 and whose names and addresses have never been disclosed by Obama's campaign. McCain specifically mentioned the more than $200 million in unitemized campaign contributions – a story that Newsmax broke in September – that have flowed into Obama's campaign coffers. The Federal Election Commission requires campaigns to disclose the names of donors who have donated more...

I was headed out to the campaign site to check the updated convention schedule and was greeted with this page when I clicked through. Go ahead and click the Take Action Now button. It goes through to: Cause Greater Than Ourselves Way to go McCain!

As a result of yesterday's stunning news about Sarah Palin, the next Vice President of the United States, many Freepers have decided to contribute to the McCain campaign. TODAY is the LAST day that you can contribute to the McCain campaign. Tomorrow, public financing (ugh!) kicks in and they cannot accept donations any more. If you want to participate, do it TODAY.

If I remember correctly, the McCain campaign said they are going to accept the public campaign fund. So, if people want to donate to this excellent ticket, they might not able to accept after certain date (after the Convention?) I'm aware that people can always give money to the RNC... Somebody perhaps can provide information about this?

A US campaign watchdog has accused presumptive Republican president nominee John McCain of violating election laws by accepting campaign contributions from two prominent Londoners. At issue is a fundraising luncheon held in March at London's Spencer House, during McCain's swing through the United Kingdom. An invitation to the event lists Lord Rothschild and Nathaniel Rothschild as hosts, and indicates the event was made possible with their "kind permission". Judicial Watch, a Washington organisation instrumental in the March release of Hillary Clinton's White House schedules, has asked US election monitors to investigate whether the Rothschilds improperly sponsored the fundraiser. US political...

WASHINGTON, May 2, 2008 – When he’s in Cincinnati tomorrow to receive an award from the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, a senior enlisted sailor will meet the girl whose life he saved with a bone marrow donation. Navy Chief Petty Officer Willie H. Corey, a submarine fire control technician, will be recognized for his participation in the National Marrow Donor Program. Corey, a native of Newport News, Va., has been a donor on the NMDP’s registry since fall 2006. "When I found out that the potential recipient was a little girl, it was a no-brainer to donate; I have a...

Cambridge University has been given £8 million by a Saudi Arabian prince to establish an Islamic studies centre. Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal, ranked in the top 20 richest men in the world, with a fortune of about £10 billion, has donated the cash to the university to fund a centre in his name for the study of the role of Islam in the Middle East and globally. The gift has been recommended by the university's general board and is expected to be announced in June. advertisement The grandson of King Ibn Saud and nephew of King Abudllah, the prince counts...

Hedge funds flex political muscle in election Fri Feb 8, 2008 2:19pm EST By Svea Herbst-Bayliss BOSTON (Reuters) - Hedge fund managers Ken Griffin and Dan Loeb are backing Democratic presidential contender Barack Obama, while Thomas Steyer and Marc Lasry are betting on his rival, Hillary Clinton. Prominent New York hedge fund managers Louis and Zack Bacon have put some of their money on Republican front-runner John McCain, the senator from Arizona. As the battle for the White House heats up, the fast-growing $2 trillion hedge fund industry is flexing its political muscle and could play a crucial role in...

All Princeton faculty members who have given to 2008 presidential candidates so far have donated to Democrats, according to federal records of donations to presidential campaigns from Princeton University employees. Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) is the runaway favorite candidate among those donors, having received $12,050 from Princeton employees. Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) drew the second-highest total contributions from Princeton faculty and staff with $5,600. Other donations have gone to candidates including former Sen. John Edwards (D-N.C.), Gov. Bill Richardson (D-N.M.) and Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.). In total, donors who listed the University as their employer have given $23,700 to presidential...

Green Ivies by: Don Irvine, January 24, 2008 According to a study of federal donation records 2008 presidential candidates by the Daily Princetonian faculty members at Princeton have overwhelmingly supported Democrats. The total number of donations in the current election cycle who listed the University as their employer was $23,700 with $21,900 (92.4%) going to Democratic candidates. The remaining $1,800 went to Republican Ron Paul who is closer to a Libertarian than a Republican. And of the donations to Paul, one was from a graduate student and the other a Public Safety Officer. Princeton employee’s support for the Democrats even...

BROWN’S ‘UNDECLARED’ £30,000 GIFT TO LABOUR GORDON Brown faced fresh embarrassment over party funding last night after it emerged that his own £30,000 donation to Labour has not been declared. The cash was raised from trade unions and wealthy backers during his uncontested campaign to succeed Tony Blair last summer. It was later paid into Labour party coffers by his campaign team. The money has still not been registered on Electoral Commission records, six months after Mr Brown moved into No 10. Labour sources claimed the matter was “a timing issue” and insisted the gift will be officially declared next...

<p>Republican presidential hopeful Ron Paul has received a $500 campaign donation from a white supremacist, and the Texas congressman doesn't plan to return it, an aide said Wednesday.</p> <p>Don Black, of West Palm Beach, recently made the donation, according to campaign filings. He runs a Web site called Stormfront with the motto, "White Pride World Wide." The site welcomes postings to the "Stormfront White Nationalist Community."</p>

Politically Correct Donations Only by: Don Irvine, November 06, 2007 The Washington Post reported Saturday that the Smithsonian Institution has put on hold a $5 million donation from the American Petroleum Institute over objections from two of the museum complex's Board of Regents including U.S. Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT) about accepting money from the oil industry for a project on the world's oceans. The main objection came from the regents' longtime executive committee chairman Roger Sant who ironically made his fortune as the founder of power company AES which is a member of the American Petroleum Institute. Since that time...

WASHINGTON, Sept. 7, 2007 – The Defense Department is changing its military blood-donation regulations to allow for a wider spectrum of civilian donors. Current department rules only permit blood donations from servicemembers, Defense Department civilians, retirees and their family members, Navy Cmdr. Michael C. Libby, director of the Armed Services Blood Program Office, told American Forces Press Service and Pentagon Channel reporters. The new policy will enable non-Defense Department affiliated civilians to donate blood through the Armed Services Blood Program at collection points located on department or federal property, Libby explained. The policy change, slated to become effective later...

Sir Tom Hunter makes record £1bn donation By Chris Hope, Whitehall Editor Last Updated: 2:13am BST 18/07/2007 Sir Tom Hunter is set to become Britain's most prolific philanthropist after committing himself to giving £1 billion of his company's money to charity. Sir Tom Hunter was awarded his knighthood in 2005 The 46-year-old billionaire businessman is part of an increasing trend among Britain's richest people to hark back to their Victorian forebears and give much of their fortunes away before they die. The Scot, who, when aged 37, made £260 million after selling his Sports Division chain of shops, said the...

I hate raising money selling anything, but the very thought of door-to-door candy sales gives me the willies. Wouldn't it just be easier to donate when your kid comes home with some dumb candy bar to sell for the band, the team, ...? Otherwise someone might get the idea to ship you a box of candybars to sell. (High sales gets a free bike to patrol the Mexican Border!) The Simple Salesman: A minister concluded that his church was getting into serious financial troubles. Coincidentally, while checking the church storeroom, he discovered several cartons of new bibles. So at his...

Good Grief, how many days into the cycle now, and we still ain't kicked in enough to pay the light bill? I thought I was the poorest Redneck around, but some of you must really be hungry! What are you going to do if this forum folds up? Where else do you have a voice, where anyone cares what you think?