Open Letter to Mr. George Soros and Open Society Institute Re Obama Birth Certificate
Mr. George Soros
Open Society Institute
400 West 59th Street
New York, NY 10019, U.S.A.
Dear Mr. Soros:
You have made a point of claiming that you believe in an “open society” and you have assertively backed Barack Obama’s candidacy. At present, the State of Hawaii has violated the requirements of its Open Records Law and § 338-18 of its statute concerning birth records by refusing to provide Barack Obama’s birth certificate to every American. Yet, every American has a direct and tangible interest in seeing this information first hand. I have written to Mr. Obama and asked that he open this information to society and he has not responded. Instead, Obama supporters have offered a fraudulent birth certificate via a Web site. I am curious as to how Mr. Obama’s willingness to engage in manipulative secrecy jibes with your belief in an open society. Do you continue to support Mr. Obama’s candidacy despite his indifference to an open society?
Some have argued that Mr. Obama’s birth certificate is not problematic and that he is merely manipulating public opinion, intending to reveal favorable information at an opportune time. If so, is this sort of political manipulation the foundation of your interpretation of what the term “open society” ought to mean?
Sincerely,
Mitchell Langbert
July 14, 2008
Dr. Chiyome L. Fukino, MD
Director of Public Health
State of Hawaii Department of Health
Honolulu, Hawaii 98601-3378
Dear Ms. Fukino:
“The following persons shall be considered to have a direct and tangible interest in a public health statistics record:...”
If the authors of the statute had aimed to limit access to the list, they could have stated that the list is exhaustive and exclusive in the statute, but the statute DOES NOT so state. Hence, Ms. Okubo is incorrect in claiming that the people who have “direct and tangible interest” are defined in the statute. The statute merely states those who should be construed to have such an interest (a safe harbor list) but DOES NOT STATE that others may not also have “direct and tangible interest”.
Since all Americans have a “direct and tangible interest” in knowing what Mr. Obama’s birth certificate states, you and the Department of Health are violating § 338-18 by refusing to provide a certified copy of the birth certificate to any American.