Tuesday, October 30, 2007

Is Senator Barack Obama using Andy Martin as a scapegoat for Obama's sinking campaign?

NEWS FROM:
ANDY MARTIN
“He works for
the People of Illinois”
Republican for U. S. Senator
Suite 4406
30 E. Huron Street
Chicago, IL 60611-4723
(312) 440-4124

ATTENTION: ASSIGNMENT/DAYBOOK EDITORS

ANNOUNCEMENT OF NEWS CONFERENCE: October 30th, 2007

U. S. SENATE CANDIDATE ANDY MARTIN CHARGES OBAMA CAMPAIGN WITH TRYING TO SCAPEGOAT MARTIN FOR OBAMA’S CAMPAIGN COLLAPSE

MARTIN RETORTS “I ACCEPT FULL RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE COLLAPSE OF THE OBAMA CAMPAIGN”

(CHICAGO)(November 1, 2007) Republican U. S. Senate candidate Andy Martin will hold a Chicago news conference Tuesday, October 30th at 1:00 P.M. to accuse the Senator Barack Obama’s campaign of trying to scapegoat Martin for Obama’s campaign collapse. Martin will plead guilty to torpedoing Obama’s prospects for the White House.

Martin filed nominating petitions for the U. S. Senate in Springfield, Illinois on October 29th.

Beginning in August, 2004 Martin, one of the Internet’s most influential independent opinion journalists, began exposing Obama’s secret life and hidden childhood as well as his invented family history, http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1189687/posts; see also http://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/1/21/14036/4115.

During 2007 Martin has chronicled Obama’s unfitness to serve as president, see ContrarianCommentary.com. Now Martin’s criticism of Obama is being confirmed, as Obama raises more and more money and seems handcuffed by his fear of political combat with Team Clinton. “The tougher he talks the wussier he gets,” Martin says.

“Not surprisingly, Obama’s staff is looking for a scapegoat for his poor performance. And, not surprisingly, the Obama staff is now trying to scapegoat my writing as the reason for Obama’s downfall. Obama’s staff, sobbing about the unfairness of my criticisms, was an admitted source for The Nation article.

“The Nation, America’s oldest left-wing journal, suggested I am the mastermind of a ‘New Right-Wing Smear Machine’ that may have inflicted a fatal blow on Obama’s chances for the presidency. I have never written anything but factually correct articles, as well as prescient opinions on Obama’s unfitness as a national candidate.

“In the warped lexicon of the left, ‘truth telling’ is now a ‘smear.’ Nonsense. Finger pointing at me will not salvage Obama’s desiccated campaign.

“On the other hand, if Obama wants to blame me for the collapse of his campaign, I know what Rush Limbaugh would be telling me to do: take full responsibility, Andy. OK, Rush, I am proud to do so. After all, I was the first and most persistent observer to document Obama’s evasions and evasiveness.

“I plead guilty to puncturing Obama’s balloon. And because I am pleading guilty to The Nation’s conclusions, though not to their factual insinuations, I can’t sue them for defamation. Truth is their defense. Andy took down Obama. Yup.

“My own senate campaign has been subjected to bombardment from The Nation and other liberal media, for telling the truth about Obama. This week, when I was scheduled to file in Springfield, they unloaded with their latest ‘smear machine’ attack on me. The timing was not a coincidence.

“But in reality there is no ‘right-wing smear machine.’
There is only me, a plain-talking, truth-telling writer commenting on a senator who is not even remotely fit to be president and who has been refracted into a dazzling aurora by liberal news media and left-wing campaign contributors.

“The Nation engages in its own left-wing smear when it admits it has no evidence linking me to anonymous e-mails attacking the senator, and then slyly suggests I really am the source. As a journalist, I do not believe in anonymous attacks, and I have never made any against Obama. Period.

“What is surprising is the powerful impact my research and writing has had on the national psyche. The Nation admits my commentary has been devastating for Obama. Indeed, I just might be responsible for his downfall. People keep reading what I have to say, and they keep falling away from Barry O. He started the year closing the gap with Team Clinton, and he has been widening the gap since he announced. He is running a ‘campaign in reverse.’ His balloon is deflating. Hisssss.

ContrarianCommentary.com is very proud to be credited as the ‘giant killer’ of Obama’s flatulent campaign for the presidency. We take full responsibility. Obama just doesn’t have the ‘right stuff’ to be president. Period.

“The left may scapegoat me, but ultimately they are fooling themselves if they blame ContrarianCommentary.com for Obama’s collapse. To paraphrase Shakespeare, ‘The fault, dear Obama, likes not in my columns, but in yourself,’” Martin will state.

NEWS CONFERENCE DETAILS:

WHO: U. S. Senate candidate/Internet
journalist/editor/critic Andy Martin

WHERE: Southeast corner of Huron and Wabash Streets, Chicago
(St. James cathedral)

WHEN: Tuesday, October 30th, 1:00 P. M.

MEDIA
CONTACT: (312) 440-4124

WEBSITE: AndyforUSSenator.com

E-MAIL: AndyforUSSenator@aol.com

-----
[An edited version of The Nation story follows]
The New Right-Wing Smear Machine
by CHRISTOPHER HAYES
[edited from the November 12, 2007 issue]
The most notorious smear forward of this cycle is the Obama/madrassa canard, which represents the cutting edge of electronic rumor. At least two weeks before the Obama/madrassa smear appeared in the online magazine Insight, on January 17, it had been circulating widely in an e-mail forward that laid out the basics of Obama's bio in a flat, reportorial tone before concluding thus: Let us all remain alert concerning Obama's expected presidential candidacy.
But even if the identity of the e-mail's author was unrecoverable, it was still possible to trace back the roots of its content.
On August 10, 2004, just two weeks after Obama had given his much-heralded keynote speech at the DNC in Boston, Andy Martin issued a press release. In it, he announced a press conference in which he would expose Obama for having "lied to the American people" and "misrepresent[ed] his own heritage."
Martin raised all kinds of strange allegations about Obama but focused on him attempting to hide his Muslim past. "It may well be that his concealment is meant to endanger Israel," read Martin's statement. "His Muslim religion would obviously raise serious questions in many Jewish circles where Obama now enjoys support."
When I asked Martin for the source of his allegations about Obama's past, he told me they came from "people in London, among other places." Why London, I asked? "I started talking to them about Kenyan law. Every little morsel led me a little farther along."
Within a few days of Martin's press conference, the conservative site Free Republic had picked it up, attracting a long comment thread, but after that small blip the specious "questions" about Obama's background disappeared. Then, in the fall of 2006, as word got out that Obama was considering a presidential run, murmurs on the Internet resumed. In October a conservative blog called Infidel Bloggers Alliance reposted the Andy Martin press release under the title "Is Barack Obama Lying About His Life Story?" A few days later the online RumorMillNews also reposted the Andy Martin press release in response to a reader's inquiry about whether Obama was a Muslim.
One Obama organizer told me recently that every day, while calling prospective voters, he gets at least one or two people who tell him they won't be voting for Obama because he's a Muslim. According to Google, "Barack Obama Muslim" is the third most-searched term for the Illinois senator. And an August CBS poll found that when voters were asked to give Obama's religion, as many said Muslim as correctly answered Protestant.
Oh yeah. And the e-mail continues to circulate.
"Everybody started calling me" when the e-mail first made the rounds, Andy Martin told me. "They said, 'Hey, did you write this?' My answer was 'they are all my children.' "
------------------------------------------------------------
Chicago-based Internet journalist, broadcaster and media critic Andy Martin is the Executive Editor and publisher of ContrarianCommentary.com. © Copyright by Andy Martin 2007. Martin covers regional, national and world events with forty years of personal experience. He holds a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Illinois College of Law. Columns also posted at ContrarianCommentary.blogspot.com; contrariancommentary.wordpress.com. Comments? E-mail: AndyMart20@aol.com. Media contact: (866) 706-2639. Web sites: ContrarianCommentary.com.

Monday, October 29, 2007

Andy Martin news conference: "Masterminding a right-wing smear machine?"

NEWS FROM:
ANDY MARTIN
“He works for
the People of Illinois”
Republican for U. S. Senator
Suite 4406
30 E. Huron Street
Chicago, IL 60611-4723
(312) 440-4124


ATTENTION: ASSIGNMENT/DAYBOOK EDITORS

ANNOUNCEMENT OF NEWS CONFERENCE: October 29, 200 7

U. S. SENATE CANDIDATE ANDY MARTIN IS STILL ILLINOIS’ TOUGHEST CAMPAIGNER: THE ONLY REPUBLICAN CANDIDATE WHO CAN OPPOSE SENATOR DICK DURBIN

“THE NATION” MAGAZINE IMPLIES MARTIN IS MASTERMINDING A “NEW RIGHT-WING SMEAR MACHINE”

(Springfield, IL)(October 29, 2007) Republican U. S. Senate candidate Andy Martin will hold a Springfield, Illinois news conference at the State Capitol Press Room, Monday, October 29th at 11:00 A.M. to announce that he has once again been recognized in the national media as a tough campaigner. Martin will claim that he is the only Republican candidate who can seriously challenge incumbent Senator Dick Durbin.

Thirty years ago (2/25/78) the Chicago Tribune stated that Andy Martin was an “absolutely brilliant campaigner” whose “public relations skills are masterly.” The Tribune stated that “[Martin] makes a point of studying specific issues that are important—for example Governor Thompson’s veto of funds to complete Highway 51—and talking about them knowledgeably…”

Now a national publication has just endorsed the Chicago Tribune’s description of Andy. The Nation, America’s oldest left-wing journal, suggested this week that Martin was the mastermind of a “New Right-Wing Smear Machine” which may have inflicted a fatal blow on Senator Barack Obama’s chances for the presidency.

“Illinois Republicans need a tough campaigner to go up against a tough incumbent, Senator Dick Durbin,” Martin will state. “For thirty years I have been recognized as a tough campaigner, someone who knows how to organize a campaign and someone who knows how to lead an attack on the opposition.

“While The Nation’s suggestion I am masterminding a ‘New Right-Swing Smear machine’ is a gross exaggeration, it is absolutely accurate in describing me as an individual who knows how to land a knockout punch on the opposition.

“The evidence I assembled and presented on Barack Obama has inflicted what could prove to be a mortal wound on his chances for the presidency. Although The Nation erroneously suggests I was behind anonymous attacks, the very power of my campaign against Obama was exactly the opposite: my facts and my evidence were truthful and accurate, and my name was always publicly associated with my accusations.

“Today (10/29) I filed for the U. S. Senate. Bluntly, I am the only Republican who can take down Dick Durbin. So-called Republican leaders supporting my opponents are merely instruments of the ‘combine’ that has corrupted Illinois politics and devastated the Republican Party. My calling card as a candidate is that I know how to get results, and I know how to target the opposition. If you don’t believe me, ask The Nation. Or, better still, ask Barack Obama,” Andy will claim.

“I am the only candidate for the Republican nomination who can seriously challenge Dick Durbin. While my primary opponents struggled for petition signatures, my organization generated over 17,000 signatures, enough for two candidates. That is a real test of organizational ability and focus. The Tribune was right 30 years ago, and the Tribune is still right 30 years later. The Nation article only confirms that I am a lethal opponent.

“And P.S., as the Tribune pointed out 30 years ago, I saved Highway 51. My campaign led to the construction of Interstate 39. No other candidate can point to such a record of ‘concrete’ accomplishment.”

NEWS CONFERENCE DETAILS:

WHO: U. S. Senate candidate Andy Martin

WHERE: State Capitol Press Room, Springfield, Illinois

WHEN: Monday, October 29, 2007 11:00 A.M.

WHAT: Andy Martin is Illinois’ toughest campaigner

MEDIA
CONTACT: (312) 440-4124; Cell (917) 664-9329

WEBSITE: AndyforUSSenator.com

E-MAIL: AndyforUSSenator@aol.com

-----
[An edited version of The Nation story follows]

The New Right-Wing Smear Machine
by CHRISTOPHER HAYES
[edited from the November 12, 2007 issue]
The most notorious smear forward of this cycle is the Obama/madrassa canard, which represents the cutting edge of electronic rumor. At least two weeks before the Obama/madrassa smear appeared in the online magazine Insight, on January 17, it had been circulating widely in an e-mail forward that laid out the basics of Obama's bio in a flat, reportorial tone before concluding thus: Let us all remain alert concerning Obama's expected presidential candidacy.
But even if the identity of the e-mail's author was unrecoverable, it was still possible to trace back the roots of its content.
On August 10, 2004, just two weeks after Obama had given his much-heralded keynote speech at the DNC in Boston, Andy Martin issued a press release. In it, he announced a press conference in which he would expose Obama for having "lied to the American people" and "misrepresent[ed] his own heritage."
Martin raised all kinds of strange allegations about Obama but focused on him attempting to hide his Muslim past. "It may well be that his concealment is meant to endanger Israel," read Martin's statement. "His Muslim religion would obviously raise serious questions in many Jewish circles where Obama now enjoys support."
When I asked Martin for the source of his allegations about Obama's past, he told me they came from "people in London, among other places." Why London, I asked? "I started talking to them about Kenyan law. Every little morsel led me a little farther along."
Within a few days of Martin's press conference, the conservative site Free Republic had picked it up, attracting a long comment thread, but after that small blip the specious "questions" about Obama's background disappeared. Then, in the fall of 2006, as word got out that Obama was considering a presidential run, murmurs on the Internet resumed. In October a conservative blog called Infidel Bloggers Alliance reposted the Andy Martin press release under the title "Is Barack Obama Lying About His Life Story?" A few days later the online RumorMillNews also reposted the Andy Martin press release in response to a reader's inquiry about whether Obama was a Muslim.
One Obama organizer told me recently that every day, while calling prospective voters, he gets at least one or two people who tell him they won't be voting for Obama because he's a Muslim. According to Google, "Barack Obama Muslim" is the third most-searched term for the Illinois senator. And an August CBS poll found that when voters were asked to give Obama's religion, as many said Muslim as correctly answered Protestant.
Oh yeah. And the e-mail continues to circulate.
"Everybody started calling me" when the e-mail first made the rounds, Andy Martin told me. "They said, 'Hey, did you write this?' My answer was 'they are all my children.' "

Saturday, October 27, 2007

Andy Martin joins Support Our Troops rally

NEWS FROM:
ANDY MARTIN
“He works for
the People of Illinois”
Republican for U. S. Senator
Suite 4406
30 E. Huron Street
Chicago, IL 60611-4723
(312) 440-4124


ATTENTION: ASSIGNMENT/DAYBOOK EDITORS

ANNOUNCEMENT OF NEWS CONFERENCE

U. S. SENATE CANDIDATE ANDY MARTIN SUPPORTS THE TROOPS IN SATURDAY LOOP RALLY

(CHICAGO)(October 27, 2007) Republican U. S. Senate candidate Andy Martin will hold a sidewalk news conference Saturday, October 27th at 1:15 P.M. to announce that he strongly supports our men and women in uniform.

“The proudest day of my young life was the day I took the oath of enlistment and pledged to support and defend the U. S. Constitution,” Martin will state. “Although I did not go on active duty, I received an Honorable Discharge from the U. S. Air Force Reserve.

“When I lived in Baghdad in 2003 I had the opportunity to travel across Iraq, and to meet our men and women in uniform. They have, with very minor exceptions, performed admirably in a very difficult situation. My experiences during the Viet-Nam War, while I was in Viet-Nam, Laos and Cambodia, were the same.

“I have been an outspoken opponent of the Iraq War, and I continue to be an opponent of that folly. But I have never wavered in my support of our men and women who serve. I have no hesitation to blame the politicians for their mistakes. I have only praise and admiration for the men and women who risk their lives to preserve Iraqi freedom and our freedom. My reports from Baghdad in 2003 warned of bad policies and poor implementation.

“I also have great admiration and respect for the officers who lead the troops. General Eric Shinseki was a brave general who told the unpleasant and unpalatable truth to the Administration and to Congress. No one wanted to listen, and he was compelled to retire. Let’s be clear about the facts: the Army was against the invasion of Iraq.

“Today there is not a single American, Democrat or Republican, who does not want our men and women withdrawn at the earliest practicable point. But we cannot ‘cut and run;’ now even the leading Democratic candidates for president have admitted that reality. So let’s get together to save lives, and protect lives, and protect freedom at home and in the Middle East. America is strongest when we are united. I will not be a hyper-partisan in the Senate. I will work to bring senators together for a sound foreign policy. Following my campaign pledge to see ‘What Would Lincoln Do?’ I am reminded of his use of the classic biblical phrase ‘A house divided against itself cannot stand.’

“I have nothing but disgust and contempt for those senators who have defamed and disparaged our troops and divided us at home. They should be defeated. Period.”

Andy Martin will have his Honorable Discharge with him.

NEWS CONFERENCE DETAILS:

WHO: U. S. Senate candidate Andy Martin

WHERE: Sidewalk news conference, SE Corner of Adams
& Dearborn, (Support the Troops Rally)


WHEN: Saturday, October 27, 2007 1:15 P.M.

WHAT: Andy Martin supports our men and women in uniform

MEDIA
CONTACT: (312) 440-4124

WEBSITE: AndyforUSSenator.com

E-MAIL: AndyforUSSenator@aol.com
------------------------------------------
Chicago-based Internet journalist, broadcaster and media critic Andy Martin is the Executive Editor and publisher of ContrarianCommentary.com. © Copyright by Andy Martin 2007. Martin covers regional, national and world events with forty years of personal experience. He holds a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Illinois College of Law. Columns also posted at ContrarianCommentary.blogspot.com; contrariancommentary.wordpress.com. Comments? E-mail: AndyMart20@aol.com. Media contact: (866) 706-2639. Web sites: ContrarianCommentary.com.

Wednesday, October 17, 2007

Chicago Tribune charged with reporting false news

ANDY MARTIN
“He Works for the People of Illinois”
Republican for U. S. Senator
Suite 4406, 30 E. Huron Street
Chicago, IL 60611-4723
Toll-free tel. (866) 706-2639
Toll-free fax (866) 707-2639
Web site: www.AndyforUSSenator.com
E-mail: mailto:AndyforIllinois@aol.com

October 17, 2007

Hanke Gratteau
Asst. managing Editor

Timothy McNulty
Public Editor

DEFAMATION (FALSE LIGHT) NOTICE
AND REQUEST FOR CORRECTION/RETRACTION


Dear Editors:

It seems that there is no end to which the Tribune and its staff will not go in order to defame and depreciate my campaign for the U. S. Senate.

Yesterday Rick Pearson, who is a defendant in a lawsuit I am prosecuting, posted something on “Clout Street” which somewhat grandiloquently stated that “GOP Brass” had endorsed my opponent.

In point of fact, two individuals had made individual endorsements; no organizational endorsement has been made by any Republican Party organization. The brief report ended with Mr. Pearson’s standard tag line that “perennial candidate” Andy Martin was also in the race.

Pearson’s original story was rewritten for today’s print edition to make a demonstrably false claim: “GOP backs Western Springs doctor…”

The “GOP” has backed no one to oppose Senator Durbin. My name was omitted from the Tribune’s print edition; this was the second time my name appeared online and was then redacted from the print edition.[1]

There is apparently some ban on the use of my name in the print edition.

So far as I am aware no “GOP” entity has backed anyone in the Senate race. Indeed, the Illinois Republican Party has been quite expansive in guarding use of the name “Republican,” even to the extent of triggering lawsuits over the use of the name Republican. For the Tribune to suggest that the “Republican Party” (“GOP”) has endorsed someone in my race is blatantly false and misleading.

I don’t expect the Tribune to be fair or balanced where I am concerned (as my Amended Complaint on file in circuit court makes clear) but you go a step too far when you publish fraudulent headlines making false claims with no foundation in fact.

While it is a closer issue, Pearson's other claims also skirt perilously close to the line as well. While Mr. McKenna is “state chairman,” so far as I am aware he is only one vote on a large committee. Indeed, because of the fractured nature of the Illinois GOP, some people would believe that Mr. McKenna’s "support" could be as much of a liability as an asset. It is clear, however, that the State Committee has taken no action.

Moreover, federal law limits the state party from making any large financial commitment in a federal election, so Mr. McKenna’s individual support—apparently not backed by any serious financial support—is mostly hot air.

Likewise, the chairman of the county chairmen’s association has no power and no authority to impose any support other than his own individual action. To take the actions of two discrete individuals and to impute or attribute them to the action of either “top leaders" or the entire “GOP” is grossly misleading and places my campaign in a false light.

The First Amendment protects the Tribune’s choice of a biased reporter to report in my campaigns. The First Amendment does not insulate false reporting or “false light” defamation when deliberately and repeatedly and intentionally engaged in by a Tribune writer as part his continuing pattern of malicious activity. I am attaching to this letter a copy of my pending lawsuit for your information.

I would respectfully request that (i) you publish a retraction, indicating your headline was false and misleading, and that the “GOP” has not “backed” anyone in my race and that (ii) also report I am an active candidate whose campaign to date has engendered much more visible support than my opponent’s, to remove the taint of the prior “false light” claims.

This week my opponent was struggling for signatures to meet the statutory maximum. My campaign had thousands of excess signatures last month. Signature gathering is a good test of a campaign’s effectiveness. On that basis, I am far ahead. Just as a suggestion, you need to assign reporters who can put aside their personal biases and problems, and who can report accurately and fairly on political matters.

The Associated Press and its writers and editors have also aided and abetted the Tribune in disseminating false news. This notice is also being sent to them.

If you wonder why print media are declining in influence, and why readers have lost faith in so-called “mainstream media,” it is because of the biased and inaccurate reporting that is routinely tolerated.

If you will permit me to close with my own personal conspiracy theory, I believe Mr. Pearson and the Tribune are promoting the weakest candidate in the Republican senate primary. The Tribune’s bloated coverage of Dick Durbin, including Durbin’s large picture in a toy store and editorial support for his plan to pack the U. S. Army with illegal immigrants, reflects a complete abdication of impartiality in your paper’s overall political coverage. The Tribune obviously wants Durbin reelected. That’s why Mr. Pearson and your editors are desperately trying to defeat my campaign for the Republican nomination. I am the only serious and the only qualified candidate to stand in opposition to Dick Durbin.

Sincerely yours,

ANDY MARTIN

AM:sp

cc: Hon. Stuart Palmer, Circuit Judge
James Klenk, Esq. via fax (312) 876-7934
David Sanders, Esq. via fax (312) 840-8713
[1] A few days ago Pearson wrote a story about an endorsement; again he used his slug line in mentioning me, and again my name was removed from the print edition.

Tuesday, October 16, 2007

Andy Martin seeks neutral Republican Party leadership

ANDY MARTIN
“He Works for the People of Illinois”
Republican for U. S. Senator
Suite 4406, 30 E. Huron Street
Chicago, IL 60611-4723
Toll-free tel. (866) 706-2639
Toll-free fax (866) 707-2639
Web site: www.AndyforUSSenator.com
E-mail: AndyforUSSenator@aol.com




October 16, 2007



Andy McKenna
Illinois Republican Party
205 W. Randolph
Chicago, IL 60606
Via fax (312) 201-0181


Dear Andy:

I read where you endorsed one of my opponents earlier today. Since you have been prominently identified with supporting him there was no surprise.

Traditionally, the Chairman of the Illinois Republican Party (IRP) has remained neutral in primary contests. I suppose it’s your personal privilege if you want to depart from tradition. I hope that you will not place the imprimatur of the Republican Party behind you, however, because the party structure is separate and apart from the Chairman, who is only one vote.

The Chairman and party, moreover, should be ready to work with the winner of the primary, the candidate chosen by the voters. Voters may have other ideas and you should respect the will of the people even if you disagree with the electorate.

I previously raised the issue with you of the IRP allowing candidates to use IRP facilities and resources, since that clearly qualifies as an in-kind contribution that has to be reported to federal authorities.

In any event, to the extent that the IRP as an institution maintains the appearance of impartiality I am going to make every effort to cooperate with you and to work with you on a cordial basis during the primary.

Good luck and best wishes on your choice of candidate.


Sincerely yours,




ANDY MARTIN
AM:sp

Andy Martin pursues Chicago Tribune, Associated Press

NEWS FROM:
ANDY MARTIN
“He works for
the People of Illinois”
Republican for U. S. Senator
Suite 4406
30 E. Huron Street
Chicago, IL 60611-4723
(312) 440-4124

COOK COUNTY JUDGE SETS HEARING IN ANDY MARTIN LAWSUIT AGAINST RICK PEARSON, CHICAGO TRIBUNE, ASSOCIATED PRESS

(CHICAGO)(October 16, 2007) A Cook County Circuit Judge set Wednesday, December 5th to decide where a lawsuit filed by U. S. Senate candidate Andy Martin against Rick Pearson, the Chicago Tribune and Associated Press should proceed. Chancery Division Judge Stuart Palmer said he might retain the case or he might transfer the matter to the Law Division.

The litigation was originally filed in 2006 in Lake County and challenged the Chicago Tribune’s use of a questionable polling firm. Martin has now expanded his legal claims to present a detailed picture of the character assassination directed at him by Rick Pearson, the Chicago Tribune and Associated Press.

"I told Judge Palmer today, my Amended Complaint was drafted by the Tribune’s lawyers and the Associated Press’ lawyers,” Martin stated. “These highly paid attorneys have been trashing me and earning a fortune in legal fees for 18 months. Now I have called their bluff and filed a verified complaint challenging all of outright lies and distortions published by Rick Pearson as part of his warped agenda.

“Pearson writes that I am an insignificant candidate, but he unleashed three (3) Tribune reporters to investigate my prior voting records, and to visit radio stations where I had advertised. It doesn’t sound like ‘insignificant’ treatment to me. My lawsuit points out that while Pearson was ignoring my court victories in 2006 he was researching decades-old court files. Today the Tribune is paying lawyers hundreds of dollars an hour to monitor my litigation. They sure don’t treat me as though I am insignificant.

“The Tribune appears to be getting scared. At the start of the case they were sending a junior attorney. Later they sent a junior partner. Today in court a senior partner appeared for the failing newspaper chain.

“I think my lawsuit, which accompanies this release as an attachment, speaks for itself. I have been the victim of a monstrous injustice by the Tribune and a breach of ethics by AP editors and reporters to their subscribing media in Illinois. AP is not presenting a fair and balanced picture of my campaigning to their subscribers.

“The truth is slowly coming out. December 5th is the next court date.

“The Tribune is desperate to defeat me because that newspaper has become the ‘Dick Durbin Tribune.’ Last week they had a huge picture of Durbin looking stupid in a toy store. Later they plugged his plan to pack the U. S. Army with illegal immigrants. There is no question the Tribune is supporting Durbin for reelection and they are trying to trash the strongest Republican in the race. Well, I have given them a fight they didn’t expect, and it is costing them a fortune.

“The fact that the Tribune now feels sufficiently endangered to send its senior lawyers into court is a compliment to my own litigation skills,” Martin said.

“My lawsuit alleges that the AP has banned me from their daily Daybook, to retaliate for my criticism of their biased reporting. The AP is abusing the trust of its subscribers in acting in such a petty manner.”
------------------------------------------------------------
Chicago-based Internet journalist, broadcaster and media critic Andy Martin is the Executive Editor and publisher of ContrarianCommentary.com. © Copyright by Andy Martin 2007. Martin covers local, regional, national and world events with forty years of experience. He holds a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Illinois College of Law. Columns also posted at ContrarianCommentary.blogspot.com; contrariancommentary.wordpress.com. Comments? E-mail: AndyMart20@aol.com. Media contact: (866) 706-2639.