Abramoff was wearing the Mafia attire because....

[goclark]

IMO, he was sending a message to Amerika that he was in need of a bullet proof vest to be protected from the hit men on his trail.


Am I way off base?

[SteppingRazor]

1. I would say yes. Yes you are...

I think the most simple explanation is that he's a strict Orthodox Jew and that's how they dress -- all black, and head has to be covered at all times.

[goclark]

2. But wasn't that a bullet proof vest taking up all that room? nt

[Journeyman]

3. Yes. But what wiggle room do you leave for the paranoids. . .

when you post rational, intelligent explanations?

[goclark]

9. I am not paranoid and I wanted

an explanation.

To the untrained eye, it looked like a vest to me.

I got a logical explanation in the first reply and I am willing to go with that explanation. He is dressed like that for religious reasons. Makes plenty of sense to me.

[Journeyman]

30. You asked if you were off base.

I gave my affirmative vote.

[goclark]

34. Thanks for your assessment and input :)

[TomInTib]

4. Close. I think he was playing to the Orthodox. In Florida his pleading

cover was a tan baseball cap.

Phony, phaking phu*ker

[RagingInMiami]

6. I always thought that strict Orthodox Jews

Were required to follow several hundred commandments under Jewish law.

[Faux pas]

32. Me too. Guess he figures covering his head

would cover his ass and make his sins null and void.

[txindy]

15. Then he must've been seriously lapsed when they took these, then

[sandnsea]

17. No kidding

Thanks for posting them. I've never seen the man in a hat or head covering before. I can't figure out where this orthodox jew story came from, but it's a knee-slapper.

[txindy]

19. Well, he actually has spent years claiming to be one

And there are past accounts that speak of his attire over the years, but it seems to change a lot. Maybe he's only Orthodox on the weekends or something these days. :eyes: Or when he wants to find sympathy from religious folks. However, if the 'mafia' outfit was truly related to his religion, my guess is that he would not have changed into the outfit in the pic below while in Miami the very next day. People in Florida would've been more receptive to his black outfit if it was truly related - which, evidence suggests most strongly - it ain't.

http://www.smh.com.au/ffximage/2006/01/06/abramoff7106_wideweb__470x338,0.jpg



And, surprise, surprise, not even a yarmulke in this one:

He's not Orthodox. Not by a long shot.

[applegrove]

5. I thought we discussed this and said that because he "practices"

Orthodox Judaism - he needs his head covered.

[RagingInMiami]

7. He is a bullshitter

[meow2u3]

8. Some Jew he is

If Abramoff were a real Jew, he wouldn't have been bilking the tribes out of their money just to kick back the gelt to the GOP in exchange for anti-American laws.

[applegrove]

24. That's the point. He is following tradition. Focus on his actions. They

speak for themselves.

[txindy]

26. The actions of a pseudo-orthodox person, I'm guessing. No tradition here.

No yarmulke, no headcovering. :shrug:

But at least the sunglasses are black!

[applegrove]

27. So he dressed up to go to court. And took his "gods" with him. MAKE

FUN of the suit!!!

[txindy]

28. Okay. Will do.

Not that I needed much encouragement. ;) :rofl:


Adding: I believe Jack was channelling his inner Truman Capote.



:rofl:

:rofl:

[goclark]

10. I don't recall seeing another thread

I was more concerned about the size of his chest under the coat.

Since I have no idea how much he weighs, it seemed odd to me.

[Catherine Vincent]

11. He is a bit chunky,

All that money made him fat.

[goclark]

14. That's what I wanted to know

Thanks for giving me a clue about his size.

I bet that was a money belt under there... LOL

[applegrove]

23. Was two days ago. There was a link to someone explaining to Maureen Dowd

& others, why the hats.

[HR_Pufnstuf]

12. It's the Poway Mafia.

http://www.powaymafia.com

Registered by "Wilkes Corporation" (Brent Wilkes)
http://www.whois.sc/powaymafia.com

Related Article at KOS:
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2005/12/10/114820/90

Google "poway mafia"
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=%22poway+mafia%22&btnG=Google+Search

[goclark]

16. Must admit, my first impression was

the 20006 version of the Godfather.

[applegrove]

25. Mine too. Then I remembered his religeon. And thought - well mocking

a religeous tradition is not my intent. So I shared.

[sleipnir]

13. No, he's sending a signal that he's guilty and many others are too.

That's the message. He knows the jig is up and probably what he did was wrong on some level. But, he's not trying to hide his guilt. Rather, he might actually be trying to atone for his sins by scaring the shit out of everyone else so that all the guilty parties will come clean, give back the money and go to jail.

[goclark]

Self Delete - double post

sorry.

[goclark]

18. There may not be a jail big enough for all the

Crooks that he will be dragging on his coat tails.

I hope they all go to Jail ,straight to JAIL.

[staticstopper]

20. Damage Control?

"Look see, if you play the heavy mobbed-up bad guy and this thing does not do any real harm to the group, we'll make sure things are comfortable for you."

Or it could just be his penchant for pin-striped double breasted, not so understated garb. And yes his need for a protective vest too.

[misanthrope]

21. How 'bout...

...he's just a bad dresser?

[Crunchy Frog]

22. I don't know.

He looks so innocent in this picture from Time Magazine though.

[txindy]

29. He looks like a guy who has seen the end of life as he knows it.

And I suspect he's right. Oh, well. :rofl:

Doesn't look like a guy who would fund sniper schools in Israel, does he? The evil twit.

[goclark]

39. Did he really fund sniper schools or are you kidding me?

Not Mr. Nice Guy, friend of the Indian Tribes!
He would never to anything that would harm another person.:sarcasm:

[BuyingThyme]

31. Somebody should tell him that real mobsters don't buy their

overcoats at K-Mart.

[zbdent]

33. Maybe he was sending the message

"You mess with me, you'll get the same treatment as you would expect from crossing the Mafia" . . .

[goclark]

35. Based on the photos in this thread that

clearly show him in other colors and attire, he seems to be able to quickly switch gears.

He looked like a CAUGHT CROOK to me.

And, there is still a piece of his personality that seems to be sending a message to somebody.

If it was a religious message, why would he be in Miami the next day in TAN and a baseball cap?

[Faux pas]

38. LOL he is a crook that got caught, that's probably

why he looks like one.

[kenny blankenship]

36. read the salon article by Stephen Hirsch

Jan. 6, 2006 | "The picture of Jack Abramoff walking out of a federal courthouse on Tuesday wearing a distinctive fedora is by now iconic. And chances are, like Howard Fineman and Maureen Dowd, you thought he looked like a gangster. But that wasn't my reaction. What struck me was that Abramoff was wearing my hat, a Borsalino, the ne plus ultra of Yeshiva boy caps. Tucked tight on his head, pinched even, perfectly symmetrical (if a little deep for my taste), it was immaculate."

(The rest of the article, and it isn't much more than this, lies behind Salon's subscription/ad BS, and the no more than 4 paragraphs quotation rule BS.)

Basically, Abramoff is posturing and presenting himself as a devout observant Jew. He may be outwardly observant of Orthodox codes of appearance, but it should go without saying that outward appearances can be misleading and those who keep outward their appearance in strictest order with regard to one area of the law, can be rank criminals in other areas of conduct.

He wore the Borsalino that day, and probably had someone go down to the Big & Tall store to get a black overcoat that would fit over the ballistic vest he has to wear when in public now.

[goclark]

37. We were on the same page about the vest nt