Posted on 12/07/2008 6:36:30 PM PST by Red Steel
Five weeks after the state of Hawaii vouched for the authenticity of President-elect Barack Obama's birth certificate, the controversy over allegations that Obama is not eligible to take office next month has reached the Supreme Court, which is expected to announce Monday whether it will consider the matter.
The fight is unusual because it thrives outside the so-called mainstream media, far beyond the oak-paneled offices of $700-an-hour lawyers and a world away from the 535 individuals whose surnames are preceded by Representative or Senator.
This is a different army at work, in an environment increasingly influenced by the Internet.
"It's only being mentioned by a relative few, by the real die-hard, anti-Obama crowd," said Michael Harrison, editor and publisher of Talkers magazine, the trade bible of the talk radio industry. "On mainstream talk radio, it's not a big deal right now. I think it's run its course."
"But," Harrison added, "we live in a time that, because of the Internet, all points of view can live forever."
Just as there is a split on the legitimacy of the legal claims, there is also a split within the media on the merits of the story. Is it the last gasp of opposition from fervent opponents of Obama who have a found community of like-minded believers on the Internet, or is there a legal question to be resolved? The court will answer the latter question thisweek.
The campaign challenging the legitimacy of Obama's 1961 birth certificate or the legality of his taking office is chronicled by WorldNetDaily, a popular, politically right-leaning site that was the 26th most-visited news and media Web site during November, according to Hitwise, which monitors Net traffic.
"If this [Obama taking office] happens, the question of eligibility for the highest office in the land will no longer even be a matter for concern," wrote Joseph Farah, founder and editor of WorldNetDaily.
"Precedent will have been established. Arnold Schwarzenegger will suddenly be eligible to run for the office in 2012," Farah wrote, referring to the Austrian-born California governor and film star.
An Obama spokesman declined to comment for this story.
The lawyers who, in at least six states, have argued Obama is not a natural-born citizen and cannot be president include one who supported Hillary Clinton's presidential bid, one who has thundered for decades against the legality of the federal government collecting income tax, and one who argues that Sen. John McCain, by virtue of his birth 72 years ago in the Panama Canal Zone, would be banned from moving into the Oval Office, had he won last month's election.
Leo Donofrio is a New Jersey lawyer who tried to get Obama and McCain stricken from the New Jersey ballot in November. Donofrio's case was presented Friday to justices of the Supreme Court. Another case challenging Obama's eligibility, this one from Pennsylvania, has not yet been presented to the full court for its consideration.
"My question is on a pure constitutional ground," said Donofrio. "He [Obama] is a citizen of the United States. I just don't believe he's a natural born citizen."
This is the thrust of the attack, picked up by people like Bob Schulz, an upstate New York lawyer who purchased two full-page ads in the Tribune this month that called Obama "a usurper" who "would be entitled to no allegiance, obedience or support from the People."
Schulz has challenged the federal government on issues including the Iraq War, the Patriot Act and the income tax. "I have a long history of petitioning the government for redress of grievances for violations of the constitution and the law," said Schulz, who said he and his wife live on Social Security checks. Schulz said the ads cost "tens of thousands of dollars" and were paid for with more than 500 private donations from individuals who support the effort. He said there were "no financial angels" behind it.
If the Supreme Court decides not to consider the case, Donofrio said there "won't be any beating on the drums saying there wasn't any justice."
But that will not be the end of the matter, Farah vowed.
"It'll plague Obama throughout his presidency. It'll be a nagging issue and a sore on his administration, much like Monica Lewinsky was on [President Bill] Clinton," Farah said. "It's not going to go away and it will drive a wedge in an already divided public."
That may underscore a landscape change in the media, where the Internet is playing a bigger role in setting the agenda. In 2004, the so-called swift boat campaign against John Kerry, the Democratic presidential nominee, began on the Internet. In fact, the co-author of "Unfit for Command: Swift Boat Veterans Speak Out Against John Kerry," Jerome Corsi, also wrote "Obama Nation," a book critical of Obama, published earlier this year.
Brendan Nyhan, a political scientist at Duke University, said the Internet's role in forming public opinion is gaining strength. WorldNetDaily, for instance, has one of the faster-growing audiences on the Internet, up 62 percent in the past year, according to Hitwise.
Nyhan co-authored a study this year that said journalists' attempts to correct misinformation is unlikely to sway public perceptions because many people want to believe the misperception.
"People often have a strong bias for believing the evidence they want to believe and disbelieving what they don't believe," Nyhan said. "There is less of a sense that we all have a common set of facts we can agree on. There's a polarization and we can't even agree on the basic factual assumptions to have a debate."
They might even try to use it to back out of existing agreements
Well at least some are covering it!
http://www.floppingaces.net/2008/12/07/pleading-the-fifth-reader-post/#more-13422
It’s telling that Obama’s peeps have ‘no comment.’
Why?
All inquiries are suppose to go to this person..don’t remember her name..and she is the one that claims the Director was indicating that Obama was born in Hawaii. You will have to read the article. I don’t have the link handy. But it is based on emails and telephone conversations with this person according to the Tribune.
Which begs the question...was that revelation against the law or did Obama put something in writing that told them they could say that to the tribune.
If he is opening the door to a discussion of his birth certificate...does that mean the door is wide open? I mean..kind of like a court case when someone opens the door a topic becomes open for examination.
the link that was posted wasn’t a direct article at the tribune site. I didn’t do any research to see how all of this came about..I just read the story posted by the Obamatron.
HF
Incredible how this is misreported, isn’t it?
All the State said was that a vault copy of his birth certificate did exist and that it was available to Obama if he requested it. Not who issued it, where, or what was on it.
Which knocks holes in any legal argument he might make that such a certificate did not exist or that he could not obtain it to present in court as ordered. It also indicates that only Obama can get the document, not one of his cronies “on his behalf”....
which was probably one reason for his one day trip to Hawaii the week before elections
Janice Okubo?
Barack Obama could have asked a court to examine the documents in closed chambers if that were the case.
Most likely I think is that he's probably eligible, but trying to stoke his ego by demonstrating that he can bluff his way through anything he wants. Not a good precedent to set.
My nightmare scenario is that the Iranians will grab some of our soldiers and accuse them of unlawfully operating under the orders of an illegitimate leader. The only question is will his pride allow the soldiers to go to “trial”.
The Chinese saw weakness in president Bush and tried to exploit it when they held our airmen.
I believe this is the name....she is the one..let me go find the article.
Why is this misrepresentation of what Hawaii health officials said repeated so often? No Hawaiian offical has ever vouched for the authenticity of the birth certificate Obama provided via the web in June.
She should also tell us which hospital he was born in and the doctor who delivered Obama too.
Read this..it puts a new spin on it and brings up more questions
http://www.swamppolitics.com/news/politics/blog/2008/11/obama_hawaaianborn_citizen_for.html
The person you are refering to is Director: Janice Okubo Phone:(808) 586-4442, Fax:(808) 586-4444 ... E-mail: janice.okubo@doh.hawaii.gov
This is the moron who politico,com claims "authenticated" an emailed SCAN of the supposedly fake COLB.
How you can "authenticate" a scan of a document (that was clearly altered since the serial number was missing) is beyond me - that's like declaring a scan of a twenty dollar bill to be "authentic". In fact she said it "looked just like a real Hawaiian COLB" well Duh! It's forged to "look like" a COLB - and she has no expertize to detect the fraud.
The woman appears to be a loose cannon, she alleged a statement that put words in Fukino's mouth that could put Fukino in legal jeopardy for violating 0bama's privacy
I wouldn't put any stock in her comments.
They are doing it on purpose, they want the uninformed to threaten riots if any investigation were to occur.
An alleged anonymous source? That doesn’t really clear up anything.
Fukino’s statement seems pretty straightforward and carefully worded. It deliberately does NOT say anything about what is in the birth certificate.
http://michaelpatrickleahy.blogspot.com/2008/11/official-statement-of-dr-chiyome-fukino.html
>>> Here’s the scoop on who can access/obtain vital records in Hawaii. <<<
About Vital Records | Marriage License | Reciprocal Beneficiary Relationships
Who is Eligible to Apply for Certified Copies of Vital Records?
A certified copy of a vital record (birth, death, marriage, or divorce certificate) is issued only to an applicant who has a direct and tangible interest in the record. The following persons are considered to have such an interest:
the registrant (the person whom the record is concerned with);
the registrant’s spouse;
the registrant’s parent(s);
a descendant of the registrant (e.g., a child or grandchild);
a person having a common ancestor with the registrant (e.g., a sibling, grandparent, aunt/uncle, or cousin);
a legal guardian of the registrant;
a person or agency acting on behalf of the registrant;
a personal representative of the registrant’s estate;
a person whose right to obtain a copy of the record is established by an order of a court of competent jurisdiction;
adoptive parents who have filed a petition for adoption and need to determine the death of one or more of the prospective adopted child’s natural or legal parents;
a person who needs to determine the marital status of a former spouse in order to determine the payment of alimony;
a person who needs to determine the death of a nonrelated co-owner of property purchased under a joint tenancy agreement; and
a person who needs a death certificate for the determination of payments under a credit insurance policy.
If you are not able to establish a direct and tangible interest in the record, you are ineligible and will not be issued a certified copy of the record.
Upon request, a letter of verification attesting to the existence of a requested record on file with the Department of Health may be issued. Instructions for applying for letters of verification are included in the next section and immediately follow the set of instructions on applying for certified copies. The same eligibility requirements apply for both ceritified copies and verification letters.
A search of the records on file with the Department of Health will only be conducted to process an application requesting either a certified copy or a letter of verification. If the search establishes that the requested record is not on file, you will be notified that no record has been found. No searches of the records on file with the Department of Health will be conducted prior to or outside of the receipt of an application and payment of fees.
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