Obama citizenship and birth certificate issue

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):

National Review lies in anti-Birther editorial ("Born in the U.S.A.") - 7/28/2009

... (peekURL.com/zkdwktb) about the Obama citizenship issue. Not only are they aping the title of a deceptive FactCheck page about this issue [1], and not only are they using similar statements to those used by FactCheck, but they're lying almost as badly as FactCheck does. I'll only discuss this part: The Hawaiian birth certificate President Obama has produced - the document is formally kn...

Hawaii Health director now says Obama was born in Hawaii; she did not say that before - 7/28/2009

Dr. Chiyome Fukino of the Hawaii Department of Health has issued a press release that supposedly says (link from Dan Nakaso of the Honolulu Advertiser): "I, Dr. Chiyome Fukino, director of the Hawaii State Department of Health, have seen the original vital records maintained on file by the Hawai'i State Department of Health verifying Barrack Hussein Obama was born in Hawaii and is a natu...

Howard Kurtz of CNN is not a reliable source - 7/27/2009

If you think Howard Kurtz of CNN and the Washington Post is credible, please see the following. On yesterday's "Reliable Sources" program, he said the following (video attached): Is it responsible for (Lou Dobbs) and others to go on the air, talk about these claims, demand proof, when we have seen a copy of the birth certificate? When Hawaii officials say that Barack Obama was born ...

Obama's COLB was "filed", someone else's was "accepted". Does that imply anything? - 7/26/2009

The picture of Barack Obama's "Certification of Live Birth" ("COLB") includes a line with "Date Filed by Registrar". However, another COLB from someone named Patricia Decosta has "Date Accepted by Registrar" (bolding added; image here; that link is only provided for the image at that page, not the rest of that page). While the second was apparently obta...

What Brad DeLong doesn't want you to see (+he does it again) - 7/24/2009

... someone else's post about the Obama citizenship issue together with a supposed picture of Barack Obama's COLB. I left the two comments below; as predicted, they were deleted. A comment replying to my comment remains, but both mine are gone. Obviously DeLong is a bit sensitive about this issue. UPDATE: I left another comment on [2], and it was deleted as I predicted. That comment is belo...

Dave Weigel lies about Obama certificate issue again (Rachel Maddow, "Birthers") - 7/24/2009

... coverage of this issue on the Obama citizenship page. And, if you want to do something about this, leave a link to this post on Weigel's entries about this issue at the Washington Independent and at other sites that rely on his reporting. And, please contact Weigel and let him know that you know he's a liar. [1] politifact.com/truth-o-meter/article/2008/jun/27/obamas-birth-certificate-p...

Ed Morrissey must think that Hawaiian state law is a "Birther theory" - 7/23/2009

Low-level conservative commentator Ed Morrissey of HotAir recently got a special treat: a shout-out from Media Matters for America in their article 'Unlike Dobbs, some conservative media think birthers are "nutburgers"' (by Julie Millican, mediamatters.org/research/200907220051). Rather than criticizing him, they were giving him a cookie for helping "[to] debunk[] the birt...

Kitty Pilgrim of CNN lies, smears over Obama certificate issue (John Avlon and Errol Louis lie) - 7/21/2009

... attempts to "debunk" the Obama citizenship issue and shows that she's simply a dissembling mainstream media hack. The discussion features Orly Taitz and Alan Keyes on one side, and John Avlon and Errol Louis on the other. Rather than trying to get the facts of the matter, Pilgrim persistently engages in mockery, as do Avlon and Louis. Pilgrim first leads off with a summary of the i...

How not to ask about the Obama citizenship issue (Mike Castle assumes Obama is a citizen) - 7/21/2009

... nothing more than a rant about the Obama citizenship issue and then states that Obama is a citizen of Kenya. Castle responds by saying he's a U.S. citizen. They're both wrong in similar ways: while there's a very strong possibility that Obama is a U.S. citizen, no definitive proof has so far been offered. If Castle has definitive proof that he's obtained as part of his job, th...

Has Obama publicly released his birth certificate? (The answer is no) - 7/19/2009

Many people assume that Barack Obama has publicly released his birth certificate. That's false for two reasons: 1. The "birth certificate" shown on his website is a "certification of live birth" ("COLB"). 2. More to the point, all he's publicly released is a picture of that COLB. To help explain the difference between an object and the picture of that objec...

Dave Weigel misleads about Obama certificate issue, again (Janice Okubo) - 7/17/2009

... campaign to mislead people about the Obama citizenship issue, Dave Weigel of the Washington Independent offers "'Birther' Movement Dogs Republicans" [1]. I just got off the phone with one of his sources for the article, and she refused to verify the impression that Weigel's article is trying to make. Weigel is trying to mislead people into believing that the state of Hawa...

Robert Farley of Politifact misleads about Obama certificate issue - 7/15/2009

On July 1, Robert Farley of Politifact offered "White House spokesman Robert Gibbs "lied" when he said President Obama's birth certificate is posted on the Internet" [1] about an ad WorldNetDaily ran regarding a question Les Kinsolving asked at a press conference (described here). See [1] for the details; this post will detail how Farley is misleading and will provide yet ...

Obama's "birth hospital" covers up letter he sent (Kapiolani, Neil Abercrombie) - 7/11/2009

The Obama citizenship issue just gets weirder and weirder. As previously discussed, Snopes, Wikipedia, and Obama himself have all given differing accounts of which hospital he was born in. The Kapiolani Medical Center reprinted on their site a letter from Barack Obama in which he stated he was born there but has now taken the letter off their site. Well, almost. The letter is still there in the HT...

Fight the Smears: The Truth About Barack's Birth Certificate (fightthesmears.com) - 7/09/2009

... the last link and here. See the Obama citizenship issue for our comprehensive - and completely fact-based - coverage of this issue. Most of what you've heard about this issue from others is false.

Barack Obama gave differing accounts of which hospital he was born in (Wikipedia and Snopes too) - 7/08/2009

... who have questions about the Obama citizenship issue. See the last link for our extensive coverage of this issue, including those who've lied about the issue. Regarding the uncertainty, see this for screengrabs and the details. That page doesn't discuss Wikipedia; more on that angle below. On their website, the Kapi'olani Medical Center for Women and Children in Honolulu reprints a...

Lee Fang of ThinkProgress misleads about Obama citizenship issue - 6/23/2009

Discussing a bill that would require presidential candidates to provide a birth certificate showing they're eligible, Lee Fang of ThinkProgress offers a volley of misleading statements at thinkprogress.org/2009/06/23/gop-birther-bill:

Spencer Kornhaber misleads about Obama citizenship issue (+a challenge) - 6/22/2009

... see my completely fact-based Obama citizenship summary for my coverage of this issue. That said, Kornhaber's article is yet another attempt to smear those who have questions about this issue and lump all who have questions together. And, like all the other "debunking" articles, it's based on misleading claims.

Jeremy Leaming /American Constitution Society deletes comment (Obama certificate issue) - 4/05/2009

Back on March 6, Jeremy Leaming of the American Constitution Society offered 'Suit Challenging Obama's Eligibility: "Frivolous"' [1] about the recent ruling from Judge James Robertson. The comment appeared but isn't there now (webified): Jeremy Leaming: there's proof that (Ben Smith) is a liar at my name's link. Let me suggest less mindless mocking and more ...

Liz Sidoti /AP: Obama's opponents still racist (lies, takes quotes out of context, elides statistics...) - 3/30/2009

Before the election there were a string of articles attempting to portray opponents of Barack Obama as racist. Liz Sidoti of the Associated Press decided to carry on that fine tradition after the election (link): Disproved and disputed claims about his religion and citizenship, namely untruths that Obama is a Muslim and isn't U.S.-born, zip across chatrooms and dominate the blogosphere. Fring...

Picture of a Hawaii Certificate of Live Birth (long-form) - 3/25/2009

There's a picture of a 1963-vintage Hawaiian "Certificate of Live Birth" here. Compare that to the only documentation that Barack Obama has provided here: fightthesmears.com/articles/5/birthcertificate What's pictured at the second link is a "Certification of Live Birth", and it has much less information that the "Certificate of Live Birth", which is also ca...

Did Barack Obama get his Social Security Number in Connecticut? (042-68-????) - 3/18/2009

... and where? Also, please see the Obama citizenship page for our extensive coverage of the wider issue.

Terry Krepel needs logic lessons (Obama certificate issue) - 3/11/2009

I hesitate to discuss blogs that criticize this site when the blog in question only gets about 400 visits per day. However, a week ago Terry Krepel of "ConWebWatch" offered "Blog Misleadingly Comes to Kincaid's Defense" [1] about a recent video I made. In his post, Krepel - a a Senior Editor at Media Matters for America - shows his inability to understand basic concepts of...

Wikipedia misleads, smears about Obama citizenship "conspiracy theory" - 3/10/2009

... has a page called "Barack Obama citizenship conspiracy theories" (en.wikipedia .org/wiki/Barack_Obama_citizenship_conspiracy_theories) that smears those who have questions about where Obama was born and whether he's eligible to be president as fringe conspiracy theorists. And, as will be shown below, that page has been grossly misleading visitors about this issue for almost two and...

Judge James Robertson shows keen lack of intellectual integrity (natural born citizen lawsuit) - 3/06/2009

... constantly lied about; see the Obama citizenship page for all the details and a list of some of those who've lied about that issue. That doesn't mean that Obama isn't a natural born citizen. It does mean, however, that an intellectually honest judge should take that into account. If he's not aware of how that issue has been lied about, then he isn't qualified to write suc...

Ben Smith /Politico keeps lying about Obama certificate issue - 3/01/2009

... assumptions, they refused. See the Obama citizenship summary for much more. The bottom line is that Ben Smith of the Politico is a brazen liar. 3/16/09 UPDATE: Ben Smith lied again, saying (politico.com/news/stories/0309/20033.html): Obama has actually produced a copy of his Hawaii birth certificate, and it has been certified by the state of Hawaii. 1. He only "produced" it to FactCheck...

ThinkProgress lies for Obama (Cliff Kincaid on knowing where Obama was born) - 2/28/2009

... also contains a summary of the Obama citizenship issue showing that no definitive proof of where Obama was born has yet been provided.

Andrew Sullivan calls on Obama to release his birth certificate - 2/23/2009

... who want the truth about the Obama citizenship issue (see that link for our extensive, completely fact-based coverage), Andrew Sullivan now says (andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2009/02/first-keyes-now.html): ...I see absolutely no reason why Obama himself should not release the actual original document and provide it to the press. The president of the United States, like anyone els...

What Larisa Alexandrovna doesn't want you to see - 2/17/2009

Larisa Alexandrovna of RawStory and "At-Largely" (also a Huffington Post contributor) doesn't want her readers to see how she's misleading them. Read on to see why you can't trust her reporting.

Gail Kerr's misleading Tennessean column (+a challenge) - 2/16/2009

... this issue, please review the Obama citizenship page for all the facts that are known about where Obama was born. For those who doubt this site's discussion of this issue, here's a challenge. Pick up the phone and call Hawaii and see if they'll verify what you believe.

What Dave Weigel doesn't want you to see - 1/23/2009

... efforts to bring to light the Obama citizenship issue. I replied with a comment showing how he's wrong (printed below), but the comment remains in moderation: Weigel is too afraid to approve it because it points out how much of a hack he is. It's standard journalistic practice to have a "right of reply", allowing those to be or those who have been written about to reply to art...

Challenge: get Hawaii to clarify their 10/31 statement - 1/23/2009

... thoroughly familiar with the Obama citizenship summary, so please read that through first if you haven't already. If you believe that FactCheck is telling the truth, here's what you need to do: get the state of Hawaii to clarify their 10/31 statement and/or obtain clarification from a recognized legal scholar. For instance, you can call Janice Okubo from the Hawaii Department of Hea...

Hawaiian state law allows children born outside Hawaii get valid Hawaiian birth certificates (S. 338-17.8) - 1/15/2009

The following Hawaii state law (Hawaii Revised Statutes S. 338-17.8) allows children who are born outside Hawaii to obtain valid Hawaiian birth certificates, depending on the residency of their parents. This law isn't restricted to those born in the other 49 states; a child could be born in a foreign country and still get a valid HI birth certificate. This law was added in 1982, as confirmed ...

Laura McCann/Washington Independent's faith-based "facts" about Obama certificate issue - 1/09/2009

... Washington Independent about the Obama citizenship issue, specifically relating to her paper's attempts to portray those who know the difference between the truth and falsehoods as tinfoil hat wearers. Clearly, she's more interested in basing their "reporting" on faith rather than the facts. She continually insisted that she knew for a fact that Obama was born in Hawaii. Per h...

Senator David Vitter misleads about Obama certificate issue (and Dave Weigel helps) - 1/08/2009

... senator David Vitter about the Obama citizenship matter, and his office apparently replied as follows: "Thank you for contacting me with concerns about President-elect Barack Obama’s citizenship status... I appreciate hearing from you on this important issue... Hawaii state officials have verified that President-elect Obama was born in Honolulu on August 4, 1961, making him a natural born ...

Hawaii Department of Health 10/31/08 press release about Obama birth certificate - 12/13/2008

... details on this issue at the Obama citizenship page. ---------------- BEGIN STATEMENT ------------------------ DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH News Release LINDA LINGLE GOVERNOR CHIYOME LEINAALA FUKINO M.D. DIRECTOR Phone: (808) 586-4410 Fax: (808) 586-4444 For Immediate Release: October 31, 2008 08-93 STATEMENT BY DR. CHIYOME FUKINO "There have been numerous requests for Sen. Barack Hussein Obama’s ...

Dr. Chiyome Fukino responds to my Obama birth certificate questions, "takes the Fifth" - 12/11/2008

... something she did not. See the obama citizenship summary for all the details. I recently sent some questions to Dr. Fukino's office, and in her reply she basically "takes the Fifth". The questions and their reply are below. More on this tomorrow... Here are the questions I sent them: 1. Did that statement (or any other official statement from the state government) confirm th...

Dana Milbank lies about Obama birth certificate - 12/09/2008

Dana Milbank of the Washington Post offers "President Alien, and Other Tales From the Fringe" (link), about a press conference held by Philip Berg following the Supreme Court's decision not to hear the Donofrio case which claimed that Barack Obama is a dual citizen and ineligible for the presidency. And, it's not a big surprise that Milbank lied. Discussing statements made by B...

FactCheck's "Born in the U.S.A." as of December 7, 2008 - 12/07/2008

Included below is the content of the FactCheck page retrieved from factcheck.org/elections-2008/born_in_the_usa.html on December 7, 2008. Screengrabs were taken, each of which is less than 200k: part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, part 5, part 6, part 7, part 8. The page content follows the graphic showing the part about which FactCheck lied: Born in the U.S.A. August 21, 2008 Updated: November 1, 20...

Dave Weigel /Slate /Reason Magazine lies about Obama birth certificate issue - 12/04/2008

Dave Weigel of Reason Magazine takes to the webpages of Slate to offer "Change They Can Litigate/The fringe movement to keep Barack Obama from becoming president" (link). It contains at least one lie and several misleading statements (I didn't read the whole thing, so there's probably more). The lie is his claim concerning the "state of Hawaii's official statement tha...

Ben Smith /Politico misleads about Obama birth certificate - 12/04/2008

... cont'd" (link): The baseless Obama citizenship rumor is back, based on an attempt by its purveyors request that the Supreme Court get to the bottom of the case. The "rumor" isn't "baseless", despite what Ben Smith would have you believe: the fact remains that Obama simply has not proven where exactly he was born. In the paragraph above, Smith links to the Octobe...

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