Obama citizenship status lawsuit incites reader furor

Ledger-Enquirer ^ | 7-19-09 | Chuck Williams

[STARWISE]

When Ledger-Enquirer reporter Lily Gordon wrote a short story Monday afternoon about a U.S. Army major filing a suit in federal court to stop his deployment to Afghanistan, she was not prepared for the reaction.

The article sparked the highest volume of traffic ever by a single story in the history of ledger-enquirer.com. The more than 1,000 comments from readers included written threats against the newspaper.

“All I did was a write a story on an open public document and it set off a powder keg,” Gordon said Friday.

Maj. Stefan Frederick Cook and his lawyer, Orly Taitz, filed the suit July 8 in U.S. District Court asking for conscientious objector status and a preliminary injunction based on Cook’s belief that President Barack Obama is not a “natural born” citizen of the United States and is therefore ineligible to serve as president of the United States and commander-in-chief of the U.S. Armed Forces.

U.S. District Court Judge Clay Land dismissed the suit Thursday in a one-hour hearing.

Ledger-Enquirer Executive Editor Ben Holden summed up the readers’ reaction this way: “Basically, we were the forum for somebody else’s food fight.”

It became obvious Tuesday morning that the story, published on page A3 of that day’s newspaper, had taken on a life of its own.

Between 9 a.m. and 10 a.m. Tuesday, there were 62,140 unique yearly visitors — or users who had not clicked on the site in the previous 12 months — to the newspaper’s Web site, said Jeff Hendrickson, the Ledger-Enquirer’s senior editor for new media. During the same hour a week earlier, ledger-enquirer.com had 864 unique yearly visitors.

By the end of the day, nearly a half million new readers had visited the newspaper’s Web site. Also, there were 712,251 page views — more than seven times a normal daily volume.

Earlier that morning, Hendrickson began the customary practice of offering the story to various news sites that link stories to broader audiences. The Drudge Report picked it up, placing it in a prominent spot on its home page. That accounted for nearly 84 percent of the traffic to the Ledger-Enquirer’s site.

It wasn’t just the volume that was different about the story; it was also the intense reaction. When Gordon got to work at 11 a.m. Tuesday, her e-mail box was filling up rapidly. On a normal morning she has about 15 new e-mails.

“When I checked my e-mail I had 170,” Gordon said.

Most of the writers took exception with one line in the story. “Actually, Obama was born in Hawaii in 1961, two years after it became a state,” Gordon’s story said.

Here’s just one of the more than 300 e-mails Gordon received, from someone at the e-mail address jayson_aldrich@yahoo.com, after she reported in Wednesday’s newspaper that the Army revoked Cook’s deployment orders:

“Great! There’s hope for you!!! Even though you didn’t remove the statement from yesterday’s article — ‘Actually, Obama was born in Hawaii in 1961, two years after it became a state’ … you only moved it to the bottom, instead of up at the top where it was originally. The statement has NOT been proven. If it were proven, there wouldn’t be such a controversy, and the military most certainly would NOT have revoked Cook’s deployment orders!”

Several of the e-mails to the newspaper were threatening and editors reported them to authorities.

“This is complete speculation,” Holden said, “but I believe in these situations the chances are 1 in a 1,000 of something actually happening, but do you really want to take a 1-in-a-1,000-chance that one of your employees could be harmed?”

The tone of the bulk of the e-mails and calls, which reached well into the hundreds, caused Holden to take notice.

“The chatter had the feel of a righteous cause — almost a religious cause — because some people hate this president,” Holden said.

Local law enforcement took the threat seriously, said Brad Hicks, the city’s director of Homeland Security. For Cook’s hearing Thursday morning, security around the courthouse — which is located two blocks from the newspaper’s offices — was tight.

At least five public safety agencies, including the Columbus Police Department, Phenix City Police Department, Muscogee County Sheriff’s Office, Columbus Fire and Emergency Medical Services and the U.S. Marshal’s Office, were involved in the operation.

“Any time you get a call that a threat is made, you go into a preventive posture to make sure nothing takes place,” Hicks said.

In the end, the security plan allowed law enforcement the opportunity to evaluate their threat readiness in light of a range of possibilities.

“It is a lot better for us to learn from an incident like this than to stage an exercise,” Hicks said.

[mojitojoe]

If had a shred of honor, which he does NOT, he would provide the people he works for, and the military men that risk their lives for this country, all of the information he has withheld. IF he has nothing to hide, why let this go on. Either he has something to hide that is so dire that it will destroy him, or he likes to play games. He’s going down a very slippery slope doing that. I doubt our troops are in ny mood to be jerked around by some arrogant, elitist a*shole that is only in this game for himself and what HE can get our of it.

[mojitojoe]

Do you have the link to the original story?

[taxesareforever]

“Several of the e-mails to the newspaper were threatening and editors reported them to authorities.”

Sounds like some of those community organizing groups (ACORN?)turned into thugs. Oh, excuse me. They already were thugs. Just expanding their territory and protection of the illegitimate president.

[GVnana]

“The chatter had the feel of a righteous cause — almost a religious cause — because some people hate this president,” Holden said.

Actually, Holden, it's because people hate being lied to.

[Kevmo]

Between 9 a.m. and 10 a.m. Tuesday, there were 62,140 unique yearly visitors — or users who had not clicked on the site in the previous 12 months — to the newspaper’s Web site, said Jeff Hendrickson, the Ledger-Enquirer’s senior editor for new media. During the same hour a week earlier, ledger-enquirer.com had 864 unique yearly visitors.

By the end of the day, nearly a half million new readers had visited the newspaper’s Web site. Also, there were 712,251 page views — more than seven times a normal daily volume.
***Maybe newspapers will wake up to the fact that this is their freeping job, and it helps sell newspapers.

[patriot08]

.

Something everyone should read:

‘Do YOU fear Obama?’
http://canadafreepress.com/index.php/article/12999
Powerful stuff.

.

[MitchellC]

Except that Obama could end the whole thing by simply releasing his complete birth certificate which would cost him $5 ~ $10 but instead he desperately fights the release of his birth certificate.

Why would he want to? I know if I were him, I'd let this movement snowball to the point that it becomes more 'GOP mainstream,' THEN I'd release the certificate and make ALL of my opponents look like kooks/idiots/losers.

See, there is no "whole thing" that he is "desperately fighting." Getting it talked about on WND is not a sign that this is being taken seriously. And it takes a fervent imagination to believe that Obama is secretly worked up about this.

We have to provide a birth certificate for our kids to play organized sports or get a drivers license...

The fact of the matter is that the law does not compel candidates for president to show their legal qualifications up front. That Obama hasn't followed a law that we don't have isn't proof that he's hiding something.

[nightlight7]

Care for a friendly bet that this will never, ever go anywhere, even if it is somehow true?

It may well be that there is nothing outright disqualifying behind all the secrecy, but merely something embarrassing he doesn't wish disclosed. Recalling Nixon though, it's the cover-up and illegal acts as it unfolds, that could have him impeached. It is also perfectly conceivable that House and Senate may end up turning the present balance of forces upside down in 2010, in which case the impeachment becomes a possibility.

The stuff that happened with Major Cook, the rescinded deployment by the Army, then his firing from the civilian job, is already pretty close to the red line, if not over. And there are more in the pipeline like him, so there will be more mistakes and more impeachable acts ahead. This slow motion unfolding, just below the radar of the major news figures, for over a year now, is increasingly resembling the slow rise of the Watergate scandal.

[patriot08]

ONE person has almost single handedly brought U.S and world attention to Obama's lack of elgibility. This brave little Russian refugee lady has put her life on hold- and in danger to try to save YOUR country. She flies all over the U.S. serving papers, giving speeches, meeting with various officials and giving interviews. This involves great expense, and it is reported that Dr. Orly is over $8,000 in debt from using her own funds in her fight to prove Obama's ineligibility. She needs researchers, lawyers and other volunteers. Please do what you can to help her. Help Dr. Orly keep the pressure on. http://www.orlytaitzesq.com/blog1/ Dr. Orly has recently added Steve Pidgeon, renouned attorney as her associate in her work. http://stephenpidgeon.com/ http://www.therightsideoflife.com/?p=2816 . ,

[patriot08]

.
Dr. Orly Taitz website and PayPal:
http://www.orlytaitzesq.com/blog1/

Information on Dr. Orly’s assistant, attorney Steve Pidgeon:

http://stephenpidgeon.com/
http://www.therightsideoflife.com/?p=2816

.

[SatinDoll]

Since last summer that “son of a bitch” (a description I agree with) has had people trying to hack into my computer, first from his senate office building in Washington, D.C., then from Chicago, and now again from Washington, D.C.

My kid is a great ethical hacker, and has backtracked every attempt. We had contacted the FBI but they’ve done nothing (big surprise there!)

My sense of outrage is indescribable. But the people I hate are the ones who have made this possible - scum like Soros. Obama, like a skunk, is just doing what comes natural. Catch my drift?

At some point the American people will have had enough and a fuse will be lit. This is coming, and soon.

But first, enough people have to be incensed and the press no longer on their collective knees, for this to occur. It will happen, but for some of us, like me and probably you, too, it will never be quickly enough.

[RJL]

That Obama hasn't followed a law that we don't have isn't proof that he's hiding something.

There are very few requirements for the office of President, but the Constitution, which *is* the law, does require that one be a natural born citizen.

Why would the Constitutional Convention write a requirement in the Constitution that no one really has to prove?

[353FMG]

“If had a shred of honor, which he does NOT...”

.
Don’t just blame Obama, he’s only a straw man. Blame those who enabled him to occupy the WH illigitimately. If Obama ever gets charged with a felony, so should those who made this mess possible. These people must’ve known from the very beginning that Obama was an imposter but they went ahead anyway and supported the big lie.

[MarkT]

Occam’s Razor.

[period end of story]

[csense]

Why would he want to? I know if I were him, I'd let this movement snowball to the point that it becomes more 'GOP mainstream,' THEN I'd release the certificate and make ALL of my opponents look like kooks/idiots/losers.

In my opinion, his window of opportunity for doing that has long since expired. Once it reaches the level of a clear constitutional argument, which it has, then this can only end badly for him, whether he is, or is not, a natural born citizen.

At this point, it simply doesn't make sense that it is merely a "gotcha' exercise on the part of Obama. There are all kinds of unintended consequences here, not the least of which are the international implications, which are already starting to surface.

One thing is clear....he's hiding something

[TheThinker]

That Obama hasn't followed a law that we don't have isn't proof that he's hiding something.

Did you know that Obama has spent over a million dollars in legal fees to prevent his having to disclose his BC. That's a lot of dough to spend for not having something to hide.

[clamper1797]

That gives faggot crossdressers a bad name

[STARWISE]

Hmmm ....

[MitchellC]

Why would the Constitutional Convention write a requirement in the Constitution that no one really has to prove?

Is there a history of anyone ever having had to prove it?