By The Company We Keep

"So maye much be spyed also, by the company and pastyme that a body useth.  For a man is for the moost parte condicioned even lyke unto them that he kepeth company wythe all."
1541 M. Coverdale tr. H. Bullinger's Christian State of Matrimony

This is the earliest version of the adage  "We are known by the company we keep" that I could find. I don't know if it's the original, but 1541 is pretty far back. Actually this version says a lot more than the condensed version it's been whittled down to. We can see much about a body by their associations and actions; and it's true that we are conditioned to be like all those we "keep company with". 

When it came to light that Obama's pastor in Chicago was America-hating Reverend Jeremiah "God &@#^ America" Wright, Obama said that although he sat in a pew in Wright's church for 20 years, was married by Wright, and his daughters were baptized by Wright, he never heard any of the hate-filled vitriolic rhetoric that was customarily spewed by Wright. When it came to light that Obama associated closely with William Ayers, the "unrepentent terrorist" (Ayers says he wished he'd done more bombings and described himself as "guilty as hell, free as a bird") who helped found the Weather Underground and was wanted by the F.B.I. for his involvement in several bombings in the United States, and went into hiding for 20 years, Obama said he was just somebody who lived in the same neighborhood in Chicago. In truth, Obama and Ayers served on the board of the Woods Fund together in Chicago and may have known each other prior to that during their college days in New York. Obama and Ayers were guests in each others homes, yet Obama described him as an acquaintance and a "respected scholar". Ayers hosted a fundraiser for Obama in his home when Obama first went into politics and ran for the Illinois State Senate.

When Obama was asked about his relationship with Palestinian radical Rashid Khalidi, Obama said during a campaign stop in Florida (American Thinker 5/23/08) that he knew Khalidi because he was a teacher at the University of Chicago and their kids went to the same school. He said to "pluck out one person he knew that he'd had a conversation with was a problematic stand to take". Another professor who knew Obama for a dozen years said Obama and Khalidi were friends, they lived in faculty residences, they dined out together a number of times, and the Obama's babysat for the Khalidi's. Khalidi, a former PLO operative, started the Arab American Action Network (AAAN). In 2001, Obama gave AAAN $40,000 thru the Woods Fund. In 2003, the Woods Fund gave AAAN another $35,000. In 2003 Khalidi stepped aside as director of AAAN and Obama was an honored guest at his farewell dinner, caught on video giving a toast and praising Khalidi. Yet Obama described him as an acquaintance and a "respected scholar". Khalidi hosted a fundraiser for Obama when he made a failed bid in 2000 for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives.

When Rashid Khalidi passed on the directorship of AAAN in 2003, the man who took over was Hatem Abudayyeh, who had been with the group since 1999. A couple of weeks ago, the F.B.I. raided the homes of Abudayyeh in Minneapolis and Chicago, looking for funding links between him and Hamas and FARC, the military wing of the Columbian Communist Party (Big Government 9/30/10). Here's some background on Abudayyeh from Debbie Schlussel's blog: He's Palestinian; his parents started the first muslim-dominated community center in Chicago (kind of like the planned Ground Zero community center) and are very supportive of Islamic terrorist groups. Abudayyeh has protested many times against Israel, and filmed a documentary in the West Bank denouncing America. And the anti-Israel pro-muslim activity is a family affair. His mother-in-law uses a name that translates to "mother of the jihad fighter" because one of her sons "martyred" himself while in prison for terrorist acts against Israel and the other son is a leader in the Palestinian youth terrorist movement. Debbie Schlussel, working with the F.B.I., assisted in an investigation that proved that Abudayyeh and AAAN were using tax-payer funds to bring muslim women to America so they could have babies (paid for by us) and get birthright citizenship. She called his agency, pretended to be a pregnant illegal alien muslim woman, and was assured they could arrange free medical care and a phony Social Security card. And the activity isn't restricted just to pregnant muslim women; they help all sorts of muslims infiltrate the U.S. illegally. Any terrorists, I wonder?

When asked about his association with Abudayyeh, and he's bound to be, I wonder if Obama will say he's just an acquaintance. To what extent they are involved with each other, I don't know; at the moment it's just speculation. But Abudayyeh has been involved with AAAN since 1999, Obama was a director of the Woods Fund from 1994 thru 2001, during which time Obama was an "associate" of Rashid Khalidi and thru the Woods Fund, gave AAAN $75,000. Obama was an honored guest at the banquet in 2003 where Khalidi passed the baton of AAAN leadership over to Abudayyeh. So, it's safe to say they've at least met. Now the F.B.I. is looking for a funding link between Abudayyeh and AAAN, and Hamas, and FARC. During the time Abudayyeh has been with AAAN, it has received almost a half million in our tax payers dollars ($457,000), part of it while Abudayyeh was under investigation by a federal grand jury. Abudayyeh's explanation is that it was intended for an after-school program for high-risk students to study English as a second language. Yeah, right. It should be interesting what the F.B.I. raid discovers, if we're ever allowed to know; if it's not covered up. Abudayyeh still has links to our government; he was at a briefing at the White House for Arab leaders just this past April. Links to the White House, links to Hamas, links to FARC. Hmmmmm.