White Like Me: Thoughts on Young Obama's Prom Photos

TIME published pictures from Barack Obama's prom night in 1979. For me, these photos are more evidence of something I have thought for a long time - young Obama seemed like a white guy.

Greg Orme, Kelli Allman, Barack Obama and
Megan Hughes at Allman’s parents’ house in Honolulu.

Despite the Obama mythology, these new photos show that the young Obama was dating a white girl named Megan Hughes and hanging out with other white people including his basketball teammate Greg Orme and fellow student Kellie Allman. It was Kelli Allman (née McCormack) who provided these new photos to Time. She is pictured second from the left.

One of the most puzzling things to me about contemporary politics is the way so many people seem to think that Barack Obama is a black man. As one of the folks who got to know him while he was at Occidental College, I can report that I thought of Obama as an average white guy in terms of his IQ and his cultural inheritance. This, of course, should not be so surprising since Obama was raised by his white mother and his white grandparents nearly his entire life.

The young Obama that I knew was mainly interested in hanging out with white guys and white girls (like me and my radical girlfriend) or with his radical Muslim friends. I interacted with young Obama on various occasions between 1980-1981 and I can report that I never saw him hanging out with black students. Never.

Obama, of course, has done a lot of work to create a politically and socially advantageous black image for himself. In his autobiography, for example, I have called attention to how Obama converted my white college era girlfriend into a big black woman.

This ruse needs to end. The young Obama I knew was nothing like the young black people I knew at Occidental College. He did not come from an underprivileged background. He did not have any of the hostility to white people that I sometimes saw among blacks at Occidental College. All the reports we have so far indicate that young Obama was dating white women, hanging out with his white roommate - Phil Boerner - at Columbia, and generally living a white lifestyle imbued with radical, socialist ideology.

I remain amazed that a guy as white as me managed to game the affirmative action system all the way into the White House. I expect future generations, however, will see through this ruse and render judgments that reflect the actual evidence of Obama's life including these new photos.

John C. Drew, Ph.D. is an award-winning political scientist.

Looking Forward to My Audit: Dr. Drew Jokes About Strapping Young Muslim Socialist Obama

Thank you, Conan. That was a great intro. Let’s give him a hand. (Applause.) You have come a long way for a guy with no eyebrows.

As an Armenian-American, I know a great deal about roasting things. Oddly enough, I am also half Scottish. This means that I like to cook shish kabobs on a golf stick. By the way, I do not want to hear anything from the press about my being overweight. If you ever need to hold a hot air balloon to the ground, then you will be grateful for my assistance.

Now that the campaign is over, I want to correct some of my earlier comments regarding the young Obama. First, I should never have said your roommate, Hassan Chandoo, was a Muslim. I should have said he was differently Christian.

David Maraniss verified that you and the wealthy Chandoo were in the San Francisco area exactly when I said I first debated you over Christmas break 1980. I should have reported that what I really did that evening was discuss the topic that was closest to my heart – hoops. My radical girlfriend and I were obsessed with basketball. We could not stop talking about it. I do not remember anything you said about hoops, but I am sure we were obsessed about it.

NOT.

In truth, I beat you up intellectually so bad that night that by the time I was done you were like my puppy. You were agreeing with me that there would be no communist revolution in the U.S. You reversed your thinking faster than Bill Ayers fleeing a bomb scene. You fled faster than the original Benghazi talking points.

People always ask me for my first impression of you. I cannot help it that they do not like my answer. Rachel Maddow has attacked me for saying I thought you were in a gay relationship with Chandoo. What I really meant to say is that you were so much better looking than Chandoo that I thought you were in a “pay” relationship.

You two looked so gay together that my radical girlfriend said, “THEY ARE NOT GAY.”

I thought you were gay because you and Chandoo were very close to each other physically. I thought your behavior was unusual because when I am out walking with one of my male friends - I keep a good neighborly distance.

As a young man you were a committed Marxist-Leninist. I have three things to say about that 1) you would have fit in well with an all out Communist like Frank Marshall Davis, 2) you would have been right at home with a socialist politician like Alice Palmer, and 3) a real moderate would share his conversion story with the rest of us.

Now I have made some jokes about Obama, I will repeat what Conan said: “I'm looking forward to my audit.”

John C. Drew, Ph.D. is an award-winning political scientist.

Americans Too Slow to Grasp the Source of Islamic Terrorism: Random Thoughts on the Koran and the Boston Marathon Bombing

I find it deeply disturbing to see how slow our nation has been to recognize the threat of Islamic terrorism. My mother's family fled Armenia. For this and other reasons, I am highly sensitive to the way Muslim adherents murdered my Christian ancestors in one of the most horrible examples of genocide in history. In my mind, it is as if those murders occurred minutes ago.

As an Armenian-American, I understand, better than most, the severe costs of overestimating how safe it is for Christians to have Islamic neighbors. Frankly, it would take generations of new, non-violent behavior by Islamic adherents before I would ever suggest it was safe to have Islamic adherents as neighbors.

I am also an independent sort of person. I have a reputation for speaking my mind so, in a sense, I am not surprised I should be among the first to sound the alarm and to argue that Muslims have not yet proven to the world that they are safe neighbors. As such, I am livid at the coverage provided by the mainstreamm media. After watching MSNBC and the White House's response to this latest act of terrorism in Boston, I am offended that we are not doing more to link Islam to a bombing that wounded more than 170 people and left three dead.

All in all, I am startled about how squeemish and politically correct the media gets as we face down the threats posed by Islamic ideology. For a great look at Al Qaeda ideology, I recommend Dore Gold's book, Hatred's Kingdom.

The fearful ideology that apparently motivated the Boston Marathon bombers has been a violent threat to its neighbors in Saudi Arabia for years.

The depth of the challenge should be obvious to anyone who reads through the Koran. In a recent article in American Thinker, Victor Sharpe provides a great list of passages from the Koran which should be read and understood by every American. As he reports, the Koran instructs people as follows:

"Kill the unbelievers wherever you find them." Koran 2:191

"Make war on the infidels living in your neighborhood." Koran 9:123

"When opportunity arises, kill the infidels wherever you catch them." Koran 9:5

"Any religion other than Islam is not acceptable." Koran 3:85

"The Jews and the Christians are perverts; fight them."... Koran 9:30

"Maim and crucify the infidels if they criticize Islam" Koran 5:33

"Punish the unbelievers with garments of fire, hooked iron rods, boiling water; melt their skin and bellies." Koran 22:19

"The unbelievers are stupid; urge the Muslims to fight them." Koran 8:65

"Muslims must not take the infidels as friends." Koran 3:28

"Terrorize and behead those who believe in scriptures other than the Qur'an." Koran 8:12

"Muslims must muster all weapons to terrorize the infidels." Koran 8:60

When I read these passages in the Koran myself, I was shocked at the way this supposed holy text propogates and justifies violence against, and oppression of, Jews and Christians. It is disturbing to me that otherwise capable mainstream analysts would seek to minimize the extent to which the Koran is not really a religious book at all, but actually a political ideology of fascist-style domination.

I have also seen Islamic contempt for Christians face-to-face. I taught my grant writing workshop at the Bible Society of Egypt in 2008 and got to see how persecuted Christians lived under an Islamic regime. It was not pretty. The Christians we met were reduced to living in and worshipping in a cave above a garbage dump.

I am deeply afraid that we are going to be too slow in catching the next wave of violent Islamic terrorists out of fear of offending Islamic adherents. Frankly, the more I read up on Islam, the worse and more dangerous it looks to me. I expect the bombing in Boston will renew a fresh, courageous conversation regarding Islamic terrorism and the root causes of Islamic violence - the words of the Koran.

John C. Drew, Ph.D. is an award-winning political scientist.

Dr. Drew Takes a Look at MiCORE Solutions as an Example of a Successful Consulting Practice

As a consultant to non-profit organizations, I am intrigued by the success stories of other consultants - particularly those who provide services to the corporate or government spheres. One of the most surprising things I learned - just this year - is that business consultants will be the fastest growing job category where I live, here, in Orange County, CA.

I just stumbled over an incredible success story regarding MiCORE Solutions. They are a leading Oracle database support and services, specializing in architecting, optimizing, and managing complex Oracle environments. Part of their success appears to be their location in Reston, Virginia, just outside Washington D.C.  This location, I imagine, helps them provide Oracle government solutions.


CEO Blair Tolbard leads
MiCORE’s executive team.

According to the information in their website, they help enterprises solve complex business problems, and strive to enable clients to maximize the value received from their IT investments. One of the most exciting things about MiCORE's is that they are building on their experience in Oracle consulting and adding their experience in applying cloud technologies from Google and Amazon. This enables them, as they say, "...to create a blueprint for tomorrow, leveraging the latest technologies of today."

I was also interested to learn that they have built philanthropy into their business model. They are big supporters of some of my favorite charities including the Wounded Warrior Project.  I was pleased to learn that MiCORE has raised over $15,000 of direct financial support and contributed in excess of $50,000 of ‘in kind’ support for this wonderful charity.

MiCORE's CEO, Blair Tolbard, is clearly an extraordinary leader. He is a U.S. Navy veteran with nearly 30 years of experience in the information technology sector having held executive leadership positions at companies like IBM and Oracle. His specialties include building and nurturing highly effective teams. Prior to his career in the information technology sector, Blair served in the United States Navy from 1975-1979 as a member of the Atlantic Fleet aboard the guided missile destroyer USS Mitscher.

In 2012, Tolbard and his wife participated in the annual Armed Forces Freedom Ride where more than 1,000 motorcycles roared through the streets to salute the military. This tradition has raised over $100,000 for local veterans' groups over its six year history. “Sharon and I are moved by the number of people that showed up for the ride this year,” said Tolbard, “it was a beautiful day and an amazing way to honor our military heros and their families.”

I think one of the coolest things about being a consultant like Tolbard is it is easier to plan your business and your life to reflect your values, interests, and specific skills. It makes me feel better about America to know that businessmen like Tolbard are growing their practices and making a difference for their clients.

John C. Drew, Ph.D. is an award-winning political scientist.

Feeling Blue About Amber Property Management in Mission Viejo

I guess I had an intuition this year that I needed to get more involved in politics at the local level, the extremely local level. I'm running for one of the worst jobs in America - a spot on my HOA board of directors.

I'm running for a position on my HOA's board of directors, in part, because I got fed up with the way that Amber Property Management was picking on me. They have been driving me nuts with their arrogant attitudes, their barely disguised contempt for me and my neighbors, and a level of sloppiness and careless that I find to be both disconcerting and potentially dangerous. A quick Google search reveals I'm not the only one fed up with their bizarre behavior, and their inadequate attention to procedures and details.

One of the most disturbing mistakes occurred this month when I got a letter dated March 13, 2013 asking me to take out the safety lighting sensor on my building. Since this sensor - which controls the building's outdoor lighting - was near my front door, they concluded that it was some sort of spy camera or other device I had installed without their permission. See their letter below:




Letter from the HOA Board of Directors asking me to remove the
building's safety lighting sensor dated March 13, 2013.

I, of course, immediately fired off an indignant complaint daring them to touch even the tiniest cord in this lighting sensor without my express permission. Even so, it took them a couple of days to figure out their foolishness and to send a follow up letter to letting me know that the safety light sensor was safe.



New letter from Jamie Hackwith of Amber Property Management indicating
that my safety light sensor was now safe from destruction at the hands of the HOA.

Sadly, the list of errors caused by Amber Property Management goes on and on. Just this month, they failed to properly notice the board of directors meeting. They put up a sign that indicated the date of the meeting was in the previous month, not the current month.

In 2016, I caught our Amber Property Management representative, Jamie Hackwith, sending out violation letters that violated our own rules. These rules call for the violation letter to indicate the exact rule broken by the homeowner or their tenant. Instead, the letters coming from Amber Property Management made only vague charges against the homeowner or tenant.

One of the most disgusting things about Amber Property Management is that when I have complained about them to the Better Business Bureau or some other agency, they have routinely sent a letter threatening legal action against me. 

Clearly, their aim is to intimidate me into silence. I talked to two homeowners just this month that cannot stand Jamie Hackwith. One called me in tears to report that Jamie insulted her by saying he understood she had an "angle" when she called to get information. Another homeowner just shared with me that when he speaks to Jamie Hackwith, Hackwith makes him feel like the homeowner is working for Amber Property Management rather than the other way around.

Luckily, there are now many avenues available for complaining about your HOA or property management company. I found, for example, that you can read the complaints of others and add your own at www.yelp.com. In addition, Google+ also gives you an opportunity to tell the truth about your HOA services. In my case, I'm lucky enough to have this blog and about 100,000 thousand followers on Twitter. All of this means that consumers have more power to fight back when they are mistreated or, as in my case, mistakenly blamed for an eyesore that was installed two years earlier by their own HOA.

I should probably add in the end of the story. We had a terrifying brush fire on our Del Prado property on June 29, 2017. Personally, I blamed Jamie Hackwith and the landscaping company, Douglas Landscaping. As far as we know, this fire was caused by a spark coming off the mower used to do a fuel reduction project on our western slope. Ideally, this work should have been scheduled a month earlier when the fire danger would have been lower.

At any rate, on-line court records show that Jamie's wife, Tracey, filed for divorce on July 13, 2017. Tracey is the daughter of the owner of Amber Property Management. We got the news that Jamie would no longer be our property manager at Del Prado through an e-mail from Tracey Hackwith that was dated August 14, 2017.

All in all, this experience reminded me of why it is important to avoid smaller companies that are rife with nepotism. Virtually no one knows how to deal with employees who are family members. In general, they are poor performers and difficult to fire. In fact, in this case, they may have been easier to divorce than to fire.

John C. Drew, Ph.D. is an award-winning political scientist.