Duckworth working to win (2006 Honolulu paper declares Obama born in Indonesia, not Kenya or HI)

The Betrayal ^ | 1-8-06 | Will Hoover

[TitansAFC]

Illinois Army National Guard Maj. L. Tammy Duckworth sat in a wheelchair at the paper-strewn kitchen table in her suburban Chicago home doing what she seems to do better than most mortals: focusing totally on the task at hand.

She worked the phones for hours Wednesday as part of her effort to get herself elected to Congress — reaching out to dozens of mayors, union officials and everyday voters.

Somehow, she's able to stay focused and find humor simultaneously. She has a knack for instantly putting people at ease with what some call her disability — the fact that she lost both her legs in Iraq 418 days before.

Pausing between calls, Duckworth noted that her high-tech artificial legs were in the closet "charging up." What she called her "left stump" was propped up on the table.

"That's my way of kicking back," she said with an infectious laugh. "I know, the politically correct term is residual limb. But that's just way too many syllables, and I figure it's mine. I can call it what I want."

Duckworth's Iraq experience already is the stuff of American military lore.

On Nov. 12, 2004, her entire focus was on not losing consciousness while trying to safely land a Black Hawk helicopter. It had been blasted by a rocket-propelled grenade that exploded where Duckworth was seated. The maneuver was an impossible feat with two missing legs, a shattered right arm, and a multitude of other serious injuries.

Another pilot landed the helicopter. But Duckworth, not realizing how seriously she'd been hurt, kept her attention on the mission, passing out only when the Black Hawk was on the ground. Initially presumed dead, Duckworth remained unconscious for the next 10 days.

Her focus for the better part of 2005 included staying alive, undergoing intense therapy at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., and painstakingly learning to walk again on artificial legs.

She is on record as saying she's determined to fly helicopters again.

Duckworth knows that political pundits are focused on her. As a Democratic candidate in a historically Republican district trying to win the House seat being vacated by retiring Republican icon Henry Hyde, her 6th District race is becoming a Democratic Party priority and a talking point among political heavyweights.

"Very rarely have I met a more impressive person than Tammy Duckworth," said Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., in an article the day before she announced her candidacy Dec. 18. "She just has the poise and exudes the type of character that I think would make her an astounding public servant."

Duckworth is happy to point out that she and Hawai'i-raised Punahou graduate Obama have "a kama'aina connection."

Both were born outside the country — Obama in Indonesia, Duckworth in Thailand — and graduated from high school in Honolulu — Punahou and McKinley, respectively.

"The big thing for me is that I'm a McKinley High grad," said Duckworth. "That gives you a lot of street creds. I wasn't a rich kid."

Born in Bangkok on March 12, 1968, when her father was there working with a United Nations refugee program, Duckworth spent much of her childhood in Southeast Asian countries. Along with her parents, Franklin and Lamia Duckworth, and her younger brother, Tommy Duckworth, she arrived in Hawai'i at age 16. An honors student, she skipped ninth grade and graduated in 1985.

Richard Sakamoto, Duckworth's high school principal, remembers her as the sort of student any educator would hope to find in the classroom — multitalented, determined and bound for success.

"She was one of the best students, because of her determination," said Sakamoto, who had breakfast with Duckworth when she returned to Hawai'i in September to attend a wedding and to speak at a women's leadership conference.

"She was something else, very intelligent, very goal-oriented. She was an athlete. She participated in basketball, volleyball and track."

And according to Duckworth, she was and still is a girly girl. A photo of her looking stylish and feminine in a short satin dress appears in the 1985 McKinley High yearbook, for which Duckworth wrote the epilogue.

Another yearbook picture of her throwing a discus offers a different perspective. The accompanying caption reads: "Tammy Duckworth proves that females are more than equal to the task."

Duckworth, who holds a master's degree in international affairs from George Washington University in Washington, D.C., received a bachelor's degree in political science from the University of Hawai'i in 1989.

UH political science professor Ira Rohter said she was a noticeable presence even then.

"Here was somebody who stood out and was asking questions," said Rohter, who recalls having Duckworth in one of his courses.

"She was inquisitive. There was a critical analysis. She was one of those people who read the material and then would talk and argue with you about it."

Rohter said he's not surprised now to find Duckworth on the national stage.

"I think she has a sophisticated understanding of what's going on," he said. "I'm intrigued with what it is that she wants to accomplish."

On the local level in Illinois, Duckworth wants to accomplish the sorts of things that matter to the people in the 6th District — better education, higher-paying jobs for young graduates, and affordable healthcare.

And she isn't shy about speaking her mind on controversial subjects. Duckworth talks about what she sees as a lack of leadership in Washington, D.C., record federal debt and bad fiscal policies that benefit the rich.

"Invading Iraq was a mistake," she says on her Tammy Duckworth for Congress Web site. "We should have focused our military resources instead on pursuing the terrorists who attacked our country and on capturing Osama Bin Laden."

Once she was discharged from active duty in late December, Duckworth was no longer restricted from making political statements. She remains in the Illinois National Guard on a Continuation On Active Reserve status — one of two severely injured soldiers given that special status, she said.

Out of uniform, she'll say what's on her mind, taking her cues largely from those who know firsthand what she's been through.

"I have a lot of respect for that World War II generation who came back from the war and changed this country," said Duckworth, whose husband, Bryan Bowlsbey, is a captain in the Army National Guard.

"Sen. Daniel Inouye was in that generation. Bob Dole and John F. Kennedy were in that generation."

Duckworth's dad, a Marine who received a Purple Heart for wounds received in Okinawa and the driving influence of her life, was of that generation. He died of heart failure on Jan. 28, 2005.

His daughter has nothing but praise for her fellow soldiers in the Middle East who she says risk their lives daily, watch their buddies get killed, and then keep going the next day.

"What's happened is they've done their duty, but the politicians have failed them," she said.

Too many legislators don't have a personal stake in the decision process — their sons aren't serving, Duckworth said. And that's why she remains in the military.

"Because if I get into Congress, the next time they decide whether or not to send troops into battle, I want to be there to make that decision.

"At least my butt will be on the line. I'm not just going to send somebody else. I'm going to be sending myself."

As for those who might criticize her views as somehow unpatriotic, Duckworth said bring it on.

"I've already had an RPG blow up in my lap," she said. "After that, take your best shot. I'm going to get up and fight for what I think is right."

[faucetman]

” Anyone ask Alan Keyes directly about the supposed exchange?”

Yes, he doesn’t remember it.

[Non-Sequitur]

Next year, rather than repurchasing my Bengals season tickets, I'll look at putting that money towards scalping some Buckeye's tickets.

I read it. There's also a thread floating around saying Obama was born in Indonesia. How can you Birthers expect to be taken seriously when you can't narrow down his birthplace to a single continent, much less a single location?

[stockpirate]

How do you anti-birthers expect to be taken seriously when you never answer questions dealing with the truth?

I asked what you thought of the article I listed, no other.

[Las Vegas Ron]

Don't you think it would do your cause some good if you could narrow down his place of birth to one continent, if not one country?

And therein lies the problem. No one can nail it down, that's why we would like to see some proof

And no, the one one the web does not suffice.

[faucetman]

I missed it too. I thought it was Duckworth stating it, but it was the article writer making that claim, no “quotes”

[RonF]

You do not have to have been born in the U.S. to be a natural-born citizen. If both your parents are American citizens it does not matter where you are born. I’m not sure of what the law is if only one of your parents is an American citizen.

[Non-Sequitur]

And therein lies the problem. No one can nail it down, that's why we would like to see some proof

Well Obama doesn't appear willing to accommodate you.

[Non-Sequitur]

I asked what you thought of the article I listed, no other.

OK,since you asked, I put about as much creedence into it as I do to the Duckworth comment. It was a comment made in passing without a single source for the information. Had the writer mentioned it more than once or had quoted someone on the birthplace or if he/she had gone into more details then it would have been obvious that it was not made in error. But as it is, it qualifies as proof in Birther land and that's about it.

OK?

[Las Vegas Ron]

Well Obama doesn't appear willing to accommodate you.

Wow, did you just now figure that out?.

It's all too obvious that you are all to willing to accomodate him though.

[BP2]

Statements that DO NOT illicit a response from the FR Eligibility Troll:

Obama is a corrupt liar - no response

Pelosi is a corrupt liar - no response

Reid is a corrupt liar - no response

Obama, Pelosi & Reid are trying to Socialize the US - no response

The MSM are corrupt liars - no response

The MSM backs Obama and his agenda - no response

ALL of them are CORRUPT and WOULD DO WHATEVER IS NECESSARY to keep Obama & the Democrats in power - no response

But ... mention that Obama is not a natural born citizen and Pelosi, Reid and the MSM did NOT vet Obama's eligibility before the election ... and the TROLLs come alive:

the 14th Amendment says ...

in Wong Kim Ark ...

Black's Law Dictionary defines “citizen” as ...

Orly is nuts ...

Vattel was not a founding father ...

THAT reporter was WRONG ...

I voted for McCain ...

You're racist ...

"Obama supporters have consistently shown
irrational passion to defend Obama from what
they claim are ridiculous charges."

[San Jacinto]

And you Birthers are willing to believe just about anything, no matter how outrageous.

The only thing I believe is that a document does exist in the birth records of the State of Hawaii which, for some unfathomable reason, no one is allowed to see.

Don't you think it would do your cause some good if you could narrow down his place of birth to one continent, if not one country?

That is a burden of proof which would not be hard to sustain given unfettered access to the proper documents, but absent that, one can only speculate on whether the President is or is not Constitutionally qualified to serve, and that is a sorry state of affairs.

[faucetman]

What you don't get mr. non-sexitor, is that we CONSIDER everything, investigate, mull it over and determine it's voracity. You and your fellow trolls just dismiss EVERYTHING out of hand as if NONE of it can be true. The trouble with your approach is you throw out the baby with the Kenyan coffee beans. That is IF you were ever interested in the truth. Which I think you are not. You are just here because you are paid by Obama to try and throw cold water on EVERYTING. Nice try, no cigar.

[pissant]

But...but...but...the newspaper article said he was! Didn't you just criticize me for poo-pooing it? "But those pro-obama papers without an agenda, why by golly, they were just simple errors," those are your exact words.

No, I criticized you more generally for poo-pooing ALL the contrary evidence (note I said evidence) to your Obama-centric bubble. That's why I said papers. You happily chirp in that the interviewer of Maya in the paper just pulled Queens hospital out of his ass, not Maya's. You poo-poo the multiple articles stating he was Kenyan born. You dimiss his granny on tape saying she was at his birth, before her handlers caught on and "corrected" her. You dismiss the guy who actually has a signed affadavit in a court of law claiming the Obama Kenyan BC was obtained in Kenya. You dismiss, over and over and over again the fact that a legitimate COLB will reflect the changes petitioned for and accepted to the original birth records.

Yet a Rachel Maddow little butt weasel like Weigel is the gold standard to you. LOL.

I don't believe that anyone can look at an electronic copy of a document and proclaim it a forgery. Or state for certain it's genuine for that matter. So your claims that it's fake ring just as hollow as FactCheck.org's claims of fact.

You've come a long way. The differences between FactCheck and me, however are notable. If FactCheck were honest, the only thing they could claim is that they were able to examine a paper copy that appeared to them to be legitimate. That's it. Fukino had two lawyered up statements designed to put the issue to rest. In neither, did she say one word about the COLB, which has been at the center of the controversy since he posted it, and is the lynchpin for FactCheck "proving" your boy's legitimacy.

And if you are consistent in your belief that a document cannot be determined to be fraudulent by looking at a picture or scan of it, then the Kenyan BC with an affidavit behind it should equally give you pause to declare it fake, eh?

[Non-Sequitur]

Wow, did you just now figure that out?.

Long ago. But all you Birther types keep saying, "If only he'd produce his long form...." Newsflash: he isn't going to.

It's all too obvious that you are all to willing to accomodate him though.

Having read the Constitution many times I still haven't come across the part that says says because I want something that means the president or Congress have to do it.

[Non-Sequitur]

What you don't get mr. non-sexitor, is that we CONSIDER everything, investigate, mull it over and determine it's voracity.

Because I've seen very little evidence that is true.

[faucetman]

Again you confuse NATURAL BORN and plain old citizen.

[SvenMagnussen]

"We are going to trial January 26, 2010"

-Orly Taitz

[tumblindice]

“you can’t narrow down his birthplace” question begging.
Stay on track: Why can’t we narrow down his birthplace?

[Las Vegas Ron]

Newsflash: he isn't going to.

Why do you think that is so?

Having read the Constitution many times I still haven't come across the part that says says because I want something that means the president or Congress have to do it.

We the people have a right to demand that our Representatives due their duty, which they obviously failed to do in this circumstance, that's all we're asking.

Are you against that too?

[Vendome]

They killed the article but we have it archive here at FR and other places.