obama citizenship
Obama citizenship and birth certificate issue: Page 2
Summary (posts follow):
See the summary for this topic on the main Obama citizenship and birth certificate issue page.
Discussed in (click each link for the full post):
Stephanie Condon of CBS confused about basics of knowledge - 04/15/10
Stephanie Condon of CBS News offers 'Poll: "Birther" Myth Persists Among Tea Partiers, All Americans' (link), in which she shows that she has trouble with basic epistemological issues. She writes:
The so-called "birther movement," questioning Mr. Obama's origins, began during his presidential campaign. It has steadily persisted through Mr. Obama's presidency, in spite of overwhelming evidence he was born in the United States -- including his 1961 birth announcement, printed in two Hawaii newspapers... The myth persists among the larger American population, but to a lesser degree, according to...
Taitz uninvited from tea party event; does Seema Mehta know what a "falsehood" is? - 04/14/10
Seema Mehta of the Los Angeles Times brings word (link) that Orly Taitz has been disinvited from a tea parties event in Pleasanton on Thursday. And, that was done after politicians who were to appear at the event complained. Taitz is a piece of work, so it's perfectly understandable why Carly Fiorina and Chuck DeVore wouldn't want to share a stage with her (even if they say they had nothing to do with her being booted from the event).
That said, this bit from Seema Mehta's article jumps out (bolding added):
Taitz is best known for her crusade to prove Obama was born in Kenya and not Hawaii, a...
Cristina Corbin of Fox tries to distance Tea Party from fringe "conspiracy theories", gets facts wrong - 04/12/10
Fox News is apparently realizing that the 99.99% (or more) of those in the tea parties who engage in hyperbole, conspiracy theories, or just general lunacy are making the other 0.01% (to be generous) look bad. So, Cristina Corbin offers "Tea Party Rallies Remain a Cauldron for Conspiracy Theories" (link). In her quest to distance the partiers from fringe ideas, she gets her facts wrong:
Other Tea Party members continue to question the president's citizenship -- a sign reading "Show Us Your Birth Certificate" popped up at a recent rally in Traverse City, Mich.
"What's more disturbing is that...
NPR described Obama as "Kenyan-born", then later posts correction - 04/09/10
The blurb for the October 9, 2008 NPR story "Trial and Triumph: Stories Out Of Africa" (introduced by Michel Martin, npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=95550177) included the following (bolding added): "[West African correspondent Ofeibea Quist-Arcton] describes the stories that have been exciting, including the U.S. presidential race of Kenyan-born Sen. Barack Obama."
Michelle Obama: Kenya is Barack Obama's "home country" - 04/04/10
The video at peekURL.com/vzgiubo [1] shows Michelle Obama speaking to an LGBT Delegate dinner on August 26, 2008 and she clearly states the following:
"Barack has led by example. When we took our trip to Africa and visited his home country in Kenya we took a public HIV test for the very point of showing folks in Kenya that there is nothing to be embarrassed about in getting tested."
That's not a slip of the tongue and she doesn't correct herself: she states it as a simple fact. Does this prove that Obama was born in Kenya? No, and it doesn't provide strong evidence of it either. It certainly...
Hawaii considers blocking questions about Barack Obama birth certificate - 03/17/10
It's Sunshine Week - a celebration of access to government records (sunshineweek.org) - and some in Hawaii want to go the other way: their state House Judiciary Committee was presented with a proposed bill that would allow state officials to ignore requests about the Obama citizenship issue.
John McCain misleads about JD Hayworth over "birthers"; HotAir helps - 02/25/10
The video at peekURL.com/v3c14ar is a new John McCain attack ad against JD Hayworth that misleads potential voters, trying to portray Hayworth as a dreaded "Birther".
Erick Erickson lies about Hawaii's governor; bans "Birthers" and "Truthers" from RedState - 02/12/10
Erick Erickson of RedState offers "Vigilance: I’m Banning Birfers, Truthers, and Groups Affiliated Therewith" [1] (Erickson's lie bolded):
We’ve always banned truthers at RedState. Increasingly, we have also banned a number of individuals who think Barack Obama is disqualified from being President because despite the Republican Governor of Hawaii confirming the legitimacy of the Democratic President’s birth origin as a citizen of the United States... Today I want to reaffirm and make it more definitive. If you think 9/11 was an inside job or you really want to debate whether or not Barack...
State of Hawaii releases Frequently Asked Questions about Obama certificate - 01/25/10
The state of Hawaii has released a FAQ about Barack Obama's birth records: link.
The page outlines what information they're legally able to release and what they can't and links to their various laws and procedures. The page makes clear that they can't release the specifics of Obama's certificate. In one section they offer "All past statements by the Health Director", linking to the first and second statements and saying:
The statements speak for themselves and there are no other public records maintained by the department related to these statements that are available to the public.
1. The...
Is Barack Obama's real name Steve Dunham? Let's figure that out. - 01/12/10
At the Alfred E. Smith Dinner - a political roast featuring our wonderful political establishment - Barack Obama made a joke about his middle name being "Steve" [1].
Sarah Palin now "Birther"? Certificate is "fair game"; what her supporters must do - 12/03/09
Speaking on the Rusty Humphries show earlier today, Sarah Palin said the following:
"I think the public rightfully is still making it an issue... I don't have a problem with that. I don't know if I would have to bother to make it an issue, because I think that members of the electorate still want answers... I think it's a fair question just like I think past associations and past voting records. All of that is fair game... ...the McCain-Palin campaign didn't do a good enough job in that area. We didn't call out Obama and some of his associates on their records and what their beliefs were, and...
ADL lies, smears in "Rage Grows in America: Anti Government Conspiracies" - 11/18/09
The Anti Defamation League has a new report entitled "Rage Grows in America: Anti‑Government Conspiracies", which contains at least one major lie. And, it's a lie that you probably won't hear anyone else discuss, namely the one in the section about the "Birther" movement (adl.org/special_reports/rage-grows-in-America/birther-movement.asp):
Despite the fact that government officials in Hawaii and non-partisan groups have all authenticated Obama's birth certificate, the “birther” movement continues to gain adherents.
1. Government officials in Hawaii admit that they've never authenticated the...
Victor Manuel Ramos misleads about Lou Dobbs, far-left illegal immigration supporters - 11/12/09
Victor Manuel Ramos of the Orlando Sentinel offers a round-up of reaction from far-left groups to Lou Dobbs' announcement that he's leaving CNN.
Judge David Carter makes false assumption, rules against Orly Taitz ("Birther" suit) - 10/29/09
Yet another Orly Taitz "Birther" lawsuit has failed; Dave Weigel crows about it here. Leaving aside all the many other factors of this story, judge David Carter of the Central District of California in his ruling (link) made a false assumption that shows either bias or inability to understand the fine points of this issue. He says (bolding added):
More specifically, Plaintiffs allege that the President has not shown that he is a "natural born citizen" of the United States and assert that he should have to establish his citizenship by "clear-and-convincing evidence". Plaintiffs argue that...
Bill Frist helps Huffington Post smear half the Republicans in Tennessee - 10/16/09
The GOP has a problem with the "Birthers", but only in that they're too incompetent or corrupt to figure out how to turn the issue to their advantage or at least minimize its impact. Instead, establishment Republicans and their minor league helpers keep doing the opposite: helping Obama, the Democrats, and the mainstream media at the same time as they hurt their base.
The latest example of that was offered by former senator Bill Frist. Per Sam Stein of the Huffington Post (huffingtonpost.com/2009/10/16/frist-addresses-tennessee_n_323639.html):
Speaking at a conference in Washington D.C., the...
HI AG Mark Bennett "reviewed and approved" Fukino 7/27 statement ("natural born citizen") - 10/01/09
On July 27, Chiyome Fukino of the Hawaii Department of Health released a statement in which she said that Obama was born in Hawaii. One of the curious things about the statement (at the link) is that she claimed to have verified that "Obama... is a natural-born American citizen". She's not a legal scholar and thus wouldn't seem to be qualified to make that determination. But, now it turns out that her statement was approved by Hawaii's Attorney General, a Republican named Mark Bennett.
As discussed here, someone sent an email to Janice Okubo, spokeswoman for Hawaii's DOH asking about this....
Lindsey Graham slams Glenn Beck; "Birthers" are "crazy" (The Atlantic's First Draft of History) - 10/01/09
The Atlantic is conducting a corporate-sponsored series of interviews they call the "First Draft of History". Me, I call them EstablishmentHackapaooza. Earlier today, one segment featured Sen. Lindsay Graham being interviewed by Jeffrey Goldberg of the Atlantic (firstdraftofhistory.theatlantic.com/analysis/graham_the_loyal_opposition.php). As could be expected, Graham wasn't exactly challenged on the various things he said.
James Taranto lies, misleads about Obama certificate issue - 09/27/09
On July 30, 2009, James Taranto of the Wall Street Journal offered "It's Certifiable/The last word on President Obama’s place of birth" [1] about the Obama citizenship issue. In the article Taranto lies, misleads, and generally gets things wrong.
Taitz client says didn't authorize appeal, but is letter to Land legit? - 09/19/09
From this:
A letter filed Friday and signed Capt. Connie Rhodes, who filed a complaint Sept. 4 in U.S. District Court that sought to stop her deployment to Iraq by arguing that President Barack Obama can’t legitimately hold office, states that she never authorized her attorney to appeal a Wednesday ruling against her.
Additionally, Judge Clay Land - who denied Rhodes’ request and threatened sanctions against her lawyer, Orly Taitz, a national figure in the “birther” movement - states that Taitz has two weeks from Friday to explain why he shouldn’t impose a $10,000 penalty against the...
Judge Clay Land shows pro-Obama bias in dismissing Orly Taitz "birther" suit - 09/16/09
From this:
Judge Clay Land - the same judge who earlier dismissed a similar case filed by Maj. Stefan Frederick Cook - has rejected another request for restraining order from a medical doctor and Army officer and threatened sanctions against attorney Orly Taitz if she files any future "frivolous" actions with his court.
Leaving aside all of the many other issues, Land appears to have clearly shown pro-Obama bias, or at least given him the benefit of the doubt that he didn't give to Taitz. While Obama supporters, the mainstream media, and some in the GOP will certainly disagree, if a judge is...
Media Matters lies: Hawaii has not authenticated the certificate on Obama's site (Corsi, Dobbs, FAIR) - 09/16/09
Media Matters for America offers a smorgasbord of smears in "At "hate group" event, Dobbs embraces discredited birther Jerome Corsi" (mediamatters.org/research/200909150042, not bylined):
On his radio show -- broadcast from the anti-immigration organization Federation for American Immigration Reform's (FAIR) "Hold Their Feet to the Fire" legislative advocacy event -- Lou Dobbs interviewed WorldNetDaily staff reporter Jerome Corsi, who Dobbs described as "a pretty good guy to talk to" about immigration issues... ...On Fox News, Corsi claimed that Obama's presidential campaign "has a false,...
Do Obama's birth announcements prove he was born in Hawaii? (Honolulu Advertiser newspaper) - 09/15/09
Shortly after Barack Obama was born, two identical announcements appeared in Hawaiian newspapers announcing his birth. The announcements do not prove he was born there, for the reasons outlined below.
(Unfortunately, since many witting or unwitting fans of Obama and the mainstream media are hard of thinking, I'll have to put this in bold up front: that doesn't mean he wasn't born there; that just means that the announcements aren't proof).
Is Jonah Goldberg now a "Birther"? (in addition to being confused as usual) - 09/11/09
By the very rules established by the Democrats, the mainstream media, and their Republican allies, Jonah Goldberg of the National Review might now qualify as a "Birther". In order not to be a "Birther" - as defined by the aforementioned groups - one must believe to the core of one's being that not only was Barack Obama born in Hawaii, but that he's told the complete truth about his past and he's not trying to cover anything up. Expressing any doubts will not be tolerated; one must confess that any deviation from the narrative provided by Obama is impossible. I didn't make those rules: they...
Ed Morrissey of HotAir notes GOP problem, but not smart enough to figure out a solution - 09/07/09
Ed Morrissey of HotAir offers "An end to fringe mainstreaming?" (link) in which he worries about the backlash from the Democrats and the MSM over the Van Jones resignation. He also shows that solving problems isn't exactly his forte:
...we can expect the media to hold Republicans to the standards the conservative punditry imposed on Van Jones, and to be a lot more aggressive about it than they were with Jones himself... it means that no one who ever expressed public support for Birthers to get the benefit of the doubt. The two conspiracy theories are different, but they both are entirely...
Will Hoover explanation: he found an anti-Obama site in January 2006 (magical memory!) - 09/02/09
A January 2006 article from Honolulu Advertiser writer (and Obama defender) Will Hoover claimed that Barack Obama was born in Indonesia.
Chris Matthews in 2007: Obama was "born in Indonesia"; "his Islamic background" - 09/02/09
Apparently Chris Matthews is now a "Birther", because on the December 19, 2007 edition of Hardball he said that Barack Obama was "born in Indonesia" and referenced "his Islamic background". That doesn't mean that just because Matthews said it that Obama was indeed born there or is/was a Muslim. However, it does illustrate yet again just how fluid the facts can be depending on who's providing the facts.
Matthews said that in the context of discussing whether Hillary Clinton and her surrogate Bob Kerrey were playing up Obama's Indonesian and Muslim background in an attempt to undercut his...
Grandparents lived at address in Hawaii newspaper Obama birth announcements; did Stanley? - 08/19/09
Barack Obama supporters never tire of trying to pretend that the two announcements of Obama's birth that appeared in Hawaiian newspapers in 1961 are definitive proof that he was born there. In addition to the other complications with their claim, it now appears that the address given in the announcements (6085 Kalanianaole Highway) was rented by Obama's grandparents. While Stanley Ann may have lived there for a time, whether Barack Sr.
24%: Obama not born in U.S.; 6%: Hawaii is not a state (are they right?) - 08/19/09
Tom Jensen of Public Policy Polling shows a keen lack of intellectual rigor in discussing a poll they did ("A deeper look at the birthers", link):
...62% of Americans think Obama was born here, while 24% think he was not and 14% are unsure.
10% of the country thinks that he was born in Indonesia, 7% think he was born in Kenya, and 1% think he was born in the Philippines.
That leaves 20%, which includes at least some people who correctly believe that Obama was born in Hawaii, but who don't consider Hawaii to be part of the United States. You read that right- 6% of poll respondents think that...
2004: state official pleads guilty to providing fraudulent birth certificates to illegal aliens - 08/17/09
This is a WorldNetDaily story, but for some reason their page won't load. So, let's turn to the 2004 press release from the Department of Justice (usdoj.gov/usao/nj/press/files/ande1028_r.htm):
The former deputy registrar of the Hudson County (New Jersey) Office of Vital Statistics pleaded guilty today to conspiring to illegally transfer Hudson County birth certificates...
...An individual who paid Anderson and her co-conspirators for the service of creating the false birth records could then go to Office of Vital Statistics to receive a birth certificate.
As part of the investigation,...
Maybe John Richardson of Esquire should try some real reporting (Ben Smith, HotAir, Orly Taitz) - 08/12/09
The campaign by the Beltway establishment to discredit anyone who dares questions the official story of Barack Obama's past rolls on as John Richardson of Esquire offers "What Really Happens When You Demand the President Produce His Birth Certificate?" [1].
Andrew Sullivan lies, misleads, smears: Hawaii never "vouched for" the COLB pictured on Obama's site - 08/09/09
Andrew Sullivan offers "Obama still isn’t president in the south/Denying the leader’s American birth is just another form of racism" (link). There are other smears besides those in the title, but I'll leave looking at those to the reader. Instead, I'll just concentrate on how he's lying and misleading about this issue:
There are notices in two local papers and the certification of birth is filed in the state of Hawaii’s records.
The announcements didn't list where or in what hospital he was born and no one has proved that they could have only come from a birth hospital and would only indicate...
Jon Klein, CNN "political researchers" were wrong: Hawaii didn't discard paper records (Dobbs, Farah) - 08/08/09
On July 23, CNN president Jon Klein sent an email to staffers of the Lou Dobbs show saying that he'd asked CNN's "political researchers" to look into the "Birthers" issue and that those "researchers" had determined that Hawaii had discarded their paper birth certificates. He was attempting to show thatBarack Obama can't release his original certificate. The email is reprinted at [1].
However, the claim from CNN's "political researchers" was false: as Janice Okubo later confirmed [2], Hawaii had not discarded any paper copies, they were simply archived when that state put their birth records...
Hawaii has not authenticated the Certifications of Live Birth shown on Obama's site or on FactCheck - 08/08/09
Various sources have claimed or implied that Hawaii has verified or authenticated the pictures of a "Certification of Live Birth" ("COLB") as pictured on Obama's website. Or, they've claimed that Hawaiian officials have said that what's shown on his site matches what they have on file. Those claims are false. From this:
In response to a direct question from WND, the Hawaii Department of Health refused to authenticate either of the two versions of President Obama's short-form Certificate of Live Birth, or COLB, posted online – neither the image produced by the Obama campaign nor the images...
Barack Obama could have Hawaii release his original birth certificate if he wanted to - 08/08/09
[IMPORTANT UPDATE BELOW]
On June 6, June Watanabe of the Honolulu Star Bulletin offered "Born identity/Birth certificate styles adjust to fit times and regulations" (link) which some have attempted to use to claim that Barack Obama could not release his original, long-form birth certificate. In the article (excerpted below), Hawaii Department of Health spokeswoman Janice Okubo claims that all birth records were converted to electronic form and that the state of Hawaii only issues "Certifications of Live Birth", such as that shown in the picture on Obama's site.
However, nowhere in the article...
Maybe Kathryn McGarr and the Politico should try real reporting for a change - 08/07/09
Kathryn McGarr is/was a grad student at the Columbia Journalism School now working in some capacity at the Politico.
Did Hawaii governor Linda Lingle verify that Barack Obama was born there? - 08/06/09
Various mainstream media sources have claimed that Hawaii governor Linda Lingle verified that Barack Obama was born in her state. At post time, that claim very strongly appears to be false. I've been trying to obtain a clear statement confirming that she never verified that Obama was born there from her office for over a week without success, and this post will be updated if they finally reply.
Eugene Robinson lies, misleads about Obama certificate issue - 08/05/09
Pulitzer prize winner and Barack Obama sycophant Eugene Robinson offers "The Berserk 'Birthers'" (link). It contains some of the same now-familiar lies and misleading statements about the Obama citizenship issue:
Officials in Hawaii have attested again and again that Obama was, in fact, born in Honolulu on Aug. 4, 1961. When the "birthers" demanded to see his birth certificate, state officials produced it. Journalists have looked at this complete non-story from every angle and concluded that it is, in fact, a complete non-story.
1. The first sentence is a lie: only one official has said he...
Jaymes Song of AP lies about what Hawaii's DOH Director actually said - 08/05/09
Jaymes Song of the Associated Press decided to re-write history in the July 27 article "Hawaii again declares Obama birth certificate real" (link). The same title is used on a few other reports at different sites, so that's the original AP title.
Alex Koppelman lies in his failed refutation of "Birthers" - 08/05/09
Alex Koppelman of Salon offers "Salon's handy-dandy guide to refuting the Birthers" (link):
1. He says of the Certification of Live Birth ("COLB") pictured on Obama's site:
There are allegations that what Obama released is a forgery, but state officials have repeatedly affirmed its authenticity and said they've checked it against the original record and that Obama was indeed born in Hawaii.
That is completely, absolutely false. Those state officials haven't even once said they've checked the picture on Obama's site against their records. I don't like repeating what I wrote earlier, but aside...
Alexandra Marks of CSM lies: Hawaiian officials never confirmed the certificate on Obama's site - 08/05/09
Alexandra Marks of the Christian Science Monitor offers "Should CNN attack its own anchor over ‘birther’ flap? /A media watchdog group releases an ad criticizing CNN anchor Lou Dobbs for stoking the 'birther' controversy" [1] about an ad Media Matters for America is running against Dobbs for him daring to mention the Obama citizenship issue. It includes this:
Officials in Hawaii have confirmed multiple times that the birth certificate produced by the Obama campaign in 2008 is legitimate. Factcheck.org, a project of the Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania, has also...