The Elephant in the Room: Obama vs. United States

Philadelphia Inquirer ^ | April 9, 2009 | Rick Santorum

[greyfoxx39]

Watching President Obama apologize last week for America's arrogance - before a French audience that owes its freedom to the sacrifices of Americans - helped convince me that he has a deep-seated antipathy toward American values and traditions. His nomination of former Yale Law School Dean Harold Koh to be the State Department's top lawyer constitutes further evidence of his disdain for American values.

This seemingly obscure position in Foggy Bottom's bureaucratic maze is one of the most important in any administration, shaping foreign policy in the courts and playing a critical role in international negotiations and treaties.

Let's set aside Koh's disputed comments about the possible application of Sharia law in American jurisprudence. The pick is alarming for more fundamental reasons having to do with national sovereignty and constitutional self-governance.

What is indisputable is that Koh calls himself a "transnationalist." He believes U.S. courts "must look beyond national interest to the mutual interests of all nations in a smoothly functioning international legal regime. ..." He thinks the courts have "a central role to play in domesticating international law into U.S. law" and should "use their interpretive powers to promote the development of a global legal system."

Koh's "transnationalism" stands in contrast to good, old-fashioned notions of national sovereignty, in which our Constitution is the highest law of the land. In the traditional view, controversial matters, whatever they may be, are subject to democratic debate here. They should be resolved by the American people and their representatives, not "internationalized." What Holland or Belgium or Kenya or any other nation or coalition of nations thinks has no bearing on our exercise of executive, legislative, or judicial power.

Koh disagrees. He would decide such matters based on the views of other countries or transnational organizations - or, rather, those entities' elites.

Unsurprisingly, Koh is a strong supporter of the International Criminal Court, which could subject U.S. soldiers and officials to foreign criminal trials for their actions while fighting for our security. He has recommended that American lawyers work to "undermine" official American opposition to the court.

If only Koh's transnationalism ended there. Our Eighth Amendment's prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment? Koh believes it should be reinterpreted in light of foreign and international law to pay "decent respect to the opinions of humankind."

Old fogies like me believe we ought to pay more attention to the opinions of the Founders who wrote the Constitution and the people who have lived under it. If Americans want to end the death penalty, they can do so through their elected state representatives.

If foreign opinions trump those of Pennsylvanians on capital punishment, why not on other issues? Why not, indeed: Koh thinks "international comity" trumps American sovereignty. He believes that, since certain nations recognize a right to same-sex marriage, our courts should, too. He wrote that "the principles of human dignity and autonomy that are the essence of the modern right-protecting democracy demand that civil marriage be available to all couples and that the equality of all citizens triumph over historical attitudes."

What's beneath this legal jargon? Simply this: Even if marriage in Pennsylvania has always been understood as involving one man and one woman - even if Pennsylvanians, through referendum or constitutional amendment, decide it should remain so - none of that should count. What should count are the views of courts in other nations or international bodies.

"I'd rather have [Supreme Court Justice Harry] Blackmun, who used the wrong reasoning in Roe to get the right results," Koh wrote of the landmark abortion case, "and let other people figure out the right reasoning."

Stunning and revealing: Koh tells us it doesn't matter if the right to abortion can be found in the Constitution. In fact, he concedes that Blackmun's reasoning was wrong. But it is up to others to get it right. How? By finding out what the United Nations, European Union, or particular European nations think.

Koh tops the list of Obama's potential Supreme Court nominees. Is this what Sen. John Kerry meant when he once suggested that American policy must pass a "global test"? Or what Barack Obama meant when he said last week that we have failed to "appreciate Europe's leading role in the world"? Or when he spoke of "change we can believe in"? And just who are "we"?

[astounded]

ROFLMHO...thanks for the chuckle.

[greyfoxx39]

The Federal government is now the primary domestic enemy of the Constitution.

Well said...that there is tagline material.

[greyfoxx39]

We've been overrun by Stalinists.

IMO, this is the fruit of the Clinton cabal. These evil men and women burrowed into the fabric of the government with his direction and aid during the Clinton years, and engineered the coup that brought us to this point.

[justiceseeker93]

...because he was not raised here, educated here, or been exposed to patriotic love of America.

Not raised here? Partially true, he spent 4 years of his childhood in Indonesia.

Not educated here? Again, partially true, he attended Indonesian schools for those four years, but the rest of his education was in the US.

Not been exposed to patriotic love of America? True, for the most part. You are not going to be exposed to much patriotic love for America when you grow up as a Red Diaper Baby.

But the main point should be that he may not even be an American citizen at all. There has been no bona fide documentation that he was even born here!

[justiceseeker93]

...because he was not raised here, educated here, or been exposed to patriotic love of America.

Not raised here? Partially true, he spent 4 years of his childhood in Indonesia.

Not educated here? Again, partially true, he attended Indonesian schools for those four years, but the rest of his education was in the US.

Not been exposed to patriotic love of America? True, for the most part. You are not going to be exposed to much patriotic love for America when you grow up as a Red Diaper Baby.

But the main point should be that he may not even be an American citizen at all. There has been no bona fide documentation that he was even born here!

[justiceseeker93]

Ping!!!

Please see my post # 87.

[BP2]

Well, we already have a question of alliance with Obama and the PIRATE crisis. Did you note the dateline of most of those stories?

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP)

Yes, Somalia seems to be the launching point for most of the pirate attacks, and Kenya signed a pact back with the US in late January to prosecute the pirates in their court, with the understanding it might be easier to secure the judgment by being held nearer to Somalia than say the UK.

However, it's a FACT: Obama was a Kenyan Citizen from the time of Kenya Independence until his 21st birthday, or 1963 to 1982; nearly half of his life. As far as we know, he still may be a Kenyan citizen if he re-applied when he was on his overseas travels while at Columbia. He may be an Indonesian citizen still. Only he knows -- and he ain't telling.

If one of the pirates is a blood relative of Obama, or is affiliated with a Kenyan official, how does that affect Obama's judgment in dealing with the crisis? Does Obama order the US Navy to open fire on the pirates, or does he exercise restraint because one of the pirates might be a blood relative of Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki? Again, who knows...

However, with eyes to the ground and a DEEP bow when greeting an Islamic King, we are already seeing where his TRUE allegiance seems to lie.

[PhilDragoo]

[little jeremiah]

Deep seated psychological problems and deep seated evil.

[little jeremiah]

I wish I lived within one day’s driving distance of DC.

[Polarik]

But the main point should be that he may not even be an American citizen at all. There has been no bona fide documentation that he was even born here!

Add to that eleven counts of felony document fraud.

[potlatch]

Thanks justice, I read your other post. I once read that a child has to learn how to LOVE by the age of two. Obama may have been loved but all those raising him were of a communistic nature.

He has no foundation for love of or even respect of American values.

[ckilmer]

Here is Gov (commerce secretary elect)Bill Richardson saying in Spanish that Obama is an "immigrant." (So he understands understands "immigrant" issues.)The context suggests that by "immigrant" bill richardson means "illegal immigrant"



Here in plain English is the Kenyan Ambassador saying that Obama is born in Kenya.



Obama's own flacks deny that obama was born in Kenya but do acknowledge that he had a dual citizenship up until 1982

from obama's own site factcheck.org by way of fightthesmears on his dual citizenship at birth

“When Barack Obama Jr. was born on Aug. 4,1961, in Honolulu, Kenya was a British colony, still part of the United Kingdom’s dwindling empire. As a Kenyan native, Barack Obama Sr. was a British subject whose citizenship status was governed by The British Nationality Act of 1948. That same act governed the status of Obama Sr.‘s children.

Since Sen. Obama has neither renounced his U.S. citizenship nor sworn an oath of allegiance to Kenya, his Kenyan citizenship automatically expired on Aug. 4,1982.”
Someone will want to cache the above web page because it will be taken down eventually.
It is well established that Obama did travel to Indonesia and Pakistan in 1981. In a tape of his speech at this April 6, 2008 San Francisco Fundraiser, Obama discloses his trip to Pakistan (40:17) when he was in college. On what passport did he travel?

A last arguement for baraks people might be that of course the Kenyans would have an interest in claiming that obama was a "son of the soil" both as a matter of pride and as a matter of bucks coming their way. However, if Obama was not born in Kenya -- then why wouldn't Obama release his original long form birth certificate. Exactly What IS a Natural Born Citizen?

The thing has become a joke in washington. dJoe Biden Joked at the Gridiron Dinner in March 09.

After mentioning one of the Republican speakers for the evening, Arnold Schwarzenegger, was born in Austria and that one of the Democratic speakers, Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm, was born in Canada, Biden chortled: "Folks, this is going to be Lou Dobbs' worst nightmare. "

From there, Biden transitioned to the birth certificate controversy.

"You know, I never realized just how much power Dick Cheney had until my first day on the job. I walked into my office, and you know how the outgoing president always leaves the incoming president a note in his desk?" he asked rhetorically. "I opened my drawer and Dick Cheney had left me Barack Obama’s birth certificate."

[ckilmer]

A detroit radio station called the Kenyan embassy after the election of Obama. After a a few minutes they get through to the ambassador of Kenya.

The ambassador of Kenya says that obama was born in Kenya and that his birth place has become a national shrine.

Listen to the recording here

The quote is around 12:35, so if you don’t have time to listen to the whole thing, you can jump ahead.
The transcript reads:

Radio Jockey: President elect Obama's birth place over in Kenya -- is that going to be a national spot where he was born

Ambassador Peter Ogego: its already an attraction. his paternal grandmother is still alive

Radio Jockey:But his birth place...they'll put up a marker there

Ambassdor Peter Ogego: It would depend on the government. Its already well known.

Here is an abridged Utube version of the the radio interview. So you can hear just the relevant parts.

It can be reasonably pointed out that the DJ was trying to entrap the Ambassador and that the Ambassador fell into his trap.
However, if you listen to the long version of the radio interview --you’ll notice he used the same strategy on two different occasions and the ambassador gently brushed him off.

First, he tried to force the ambassador to sing the Kenyan national anthem. The ambassador referred him to the kenyan website.

Second he tried to push the ambassador into saying something about maybe Kenya becoming the 51st state. Again the ambassador said that Kenya was a sovereign country. ie No.

He used the same technique on the question of Obama’s birth place. This time the ambassador did not brush him off. Rather in answer to the question as to whether Obama was born in Kenya --he says "It is well known."

Because the ambassador answered no in the two previous examples -- you can't say that the ambassdor was either a fool or ill advised.

Finally, you might ask well doesn't he know that saying Obama is born in Kenya would make trouble for Obama? The answer there is why should he be concerned? He has heard no suggestion in the mainstream media that there might be a problem there. So to say what is already well known--as he says--would be no problem.

Here is a utube video of Ambassador Peter Ogego speaking at a conference. Ambassador of Kenya H.E. Peter Ogego To verify that the voice on the radio is Ambassador Ogego-- compare the radio voice with the DJ to the voice on the Utube that goes with Ambassador Ogego. Ambassador Peter Ogego is introduced a bit after minute 18..

They are the same.


Subsequently, the Kenyan ambassador said that he meant Obama's father was born in Kenya. However, when pressed about Obama's birth place:

"I don't know," he said with a tone of irritation. "You should ask your government. I know his father is Kenyan."

However, that's not what the original transcript suggests. clear="all" /> Finally, there is a Affidavit of Bishop Ron McRae which is part of the Berg case. The Bishop says pretty much the same thing as the Ambassador.

"Additionally, it is common knowledge throughout both the Christian and Muslim communities in Kenya, that contrary to news media propaganda here in the United States, US Senator Barack Obama is a Muslim and not a Christian, and that he was born in Mombasa, Kenya and not in the State of Hawaii as falsely purported by the Obama campaign for presidency of the United States."

While you cannot impeach the ambassador's character, you can impeach McCrae's character. After all, he's just an itinerant preacher. But McCrae has been to Kenya. Still that makes two people who say that it is common knowledge in Kenya that Obama was born in Kenya.
Then of course there is a video of Obama's grandmother saying that Obama is born in in her village in Kenya
There is a case to be made that Obama mother didn't mean Obama was born in her town but rather that he is a "son of this village". If taken alone, she could well be ignored. However, her take is in keeping with others both high and low.

Again here is a pdf transcript of Kenyan National Assembly on Nov 5, 2008, the day after Obama was elected. Over and over again there are references to Obama being a "son of the soil" of Kenya and a Kenyan. On page page 3275 there is this passage:

HOUSE SHOULD ADJOURN TO DISCUSS ELECTION OF MR. BARRACK OBAMA

Ms. Odhiambo: On a point of order, Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir. It is not on this issue. I stand on a point of order under Standing Order No.20 to seek leave for adjournment of the House to discuss the American presidential election results.

(Applause)

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, the President-elect, Mr. Obama, is a son of the soil of this country. Every other country in this continent is celebrating the Obama win. It is only proper and fitting that the country which he originates from should show the same excitement, pomp and colour.



Again. It is not the one thing. Rather it is the tide.

The Obama administration could put this to rest by releasing his long form birth certificate. But he doesn't. Rather he spends -- now over a million -- on flaks. Why bother. The Arnold would have run for president long ago and likely won if he were a "natural born" american. He's not. He's naturalized. So he can't run. And he knows it. (though there were some trial balloons sent up a couple years back about changing the law--that went nowhere.)

Like the Arnold, Obama looks to be a naturalized citizen--but maybe he's not even that.

[devolve]

.

Those “raising” Hussein Junior coldly used him to further their own warped agendas

And taught him to lie as needed

His Chi-Town mansion, previous Chrysler 300-Hemi, and his (only tax-frees!) munis (no stocks long before 2008) show his real “common touch” for “spreading the wealth”.....

[potlatch]

[Those “raising” Hussein Junior coldly used him to further their own warped agendas]

He did look happy in all his childhood pictures.

[devolve]

.

Custom-fitted Black Leather jackets and designer jeans and shoes in those old photos

Somebody had plenty of green in the 60s and 70s to keep Hussein Junior happy

Somebody had to give Hussein Junior the cash to but booze, cocaine, marijuana, LSD, Speed, whatever

Could it have been his known druggie mommy?

She has aliases and addresses in many states and foreign countries