Following The Money, The Money, The Money...

So this is a bit unnerving. The "Non-Partisan" site FactCheck.org is controlled by the Annenberg Foundation, which has a branch called the Chicago Annenberg Challenge. That branch had a "key founder" by the name of Bill Ayers, and a board member by the name of Barack Obama.

Although the Mission Statement of the Political Fact Check says;

The Annenberg Political Fact Check is a project of the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania. The APPC was established by publisher and philanthropist Walter Annenberg in 1994 to create a community of scholars within the University of Pennsylvania that would address public policy issues at the local, state and federal levels.
The APPC accepts NO funding from business corporations, labor unions, political parties, lobbying organizations or individuals. It is funded primarily by the Annenberg Foundation.

They have to get money from somewhere. That somewhere comes from earmarks. And who put the earmark in for Annenberg?

Obama Requested $3.5 Million For The USC Annenberg Research Network. In 2005, Obama requested $3.5 million for the USC Annenberg Research Network on International Communication, in partnership with the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, to support the deployment of pervasive broadband for education and economic development.Funding was for the construction of a large-scale broadband wireless systems in two communities—one in South Los Angeles and the other in small-town Illinois. In each community, broadband network coverage will be provided over a minimum of about a half-square mile area, utilizing leading edge wireless technologies. In Los Angeles, this will include the five schools in USC’s immediate neighborhood, with about 8,000 K-12 students. USC also will provide wireless equipment and access to every family with a student entering the first grade of a new Science Center School, and in Illinois, a similar group of students will be selected to receive wireless equipment and access within the coverage area. The impact of these technologies on the students and their families will be tracked.

Although the money link is vague, it is still there, and it shows that on top of the fact that he was a member of the board from 1995 to 2002, he was still connected to them financially 3 years later in 2005.

The money trail isn't as big to me as the fact that he was a board member of on of the Foundation's Branches.

I do believe a "conflict of interest" would be the proper term?

H/T: Death by 1000 Papercuts via Mr. Right

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