President Obama Needs to Prove His Constitutional Eligibility to Be Commander-in-Chief

American Thinker ^ | April 08, 2010 | Terrence Lakin, MD

[neverdem]

Last week, I entered Walter Reed Army Hospital to notify the Department of Defense that I would refuse to obey any orders from my commanding officers -- including President Obama -- until the president produces his original birth certificate. After nearly eighteen years of wearing the military uniform of the country I have proudly served, including overseas assignments in imminent danger/combat areas in Bosnia and Afghanistan, I felt compelled to take this step. 

I made this decision from much deliberation, after lengthy consultations with many friends, family members, and colleagues, and I firmly believe that all servicemen and women, and the American public, have the right to know the truth about President Obama's constitutional eligibility to serve as Commander-in-Chief.

As military officers, we all take a solemn oath upon commissioning into the Uniformed Services. In this oath, we swear to support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic. Upholding the law is an essential part of our role as citizens; in the military, we are the ultimate protectors of that law. The Constitution is our social compact, which safeguards all of us and ensures the "equal rights" that we are entitled to as American citizens. 

Since Nuremberg, My Lai, and even Abu Ghraib more recently, the military has been taught the hard lessons of following illegal orders. Any reasonable person looking critically at the information and evidence currently in the public domain about Obama's birthplace would have questions about President Obama's claim to be a natural born citizen. I made the decision to disobey all military orders, including my deployment order to Afghanistan, in pursuit of the truth of whether President Obama can legally occupy the high post that he holds today and which entitles him to send servicemembers into harm's way. 

The United States serves an example to the rest of the world of a stable, civilized, democratic government, where all men are equal under the law and the rule of law is cherished and obeyed. The U.S. military teaches and promotes the rule of law and civilian control of the military to many other nations and military forces around the world. Every soldier learns what constitutes a lawful order and is encouraged to stand up and object to unlawful orders. This is called the "duty to disobey."

My deployment orders for a second tour in Afghanistan included a requirement to bring copies of my birth certificate. I would be glad to obey this order and provide a certified copy of my original birth certificate with common, standard identifiers, including the name of an attending physician and a hospital. Every day in transactions across the country, American citizens are required to prove their identity; standards for identification have become stricter since the terrorist attacks of 9/11.

Since fall 2008, I have been troubled by reports that the president's original birth certificate remains concealed from public view along with other records which, if released, would quickly end questions surrounding his place of birth and "natural born" status. Many people mistook the online Certification of Live Birth for an original birth certificate. Until the summer of 2009, the Hawaiian Department of Homelands would not accept this Certification of Live Birth to determine native Hawaiian identity -- the Department insisted upon also reviewing an original birth certificate. 

Many do not understand that the online document was from 2007, generated by computer, laser-printed, and merely a certification that there is something on file which may or may not be sufficient proof of a birth in Hawaii. An original birth certificate could be the underlying document that presumably includes a hospital and attending physician's or midwife's name. Such a document should lay to rest the "natural born" dispute. This controversy was further escalated by media reports that gave two different hospital names for Obama's birthplace -- even today, the public does not know what doctor delivered the then-future president or which hospital was the site of his birth. No eyewitnesses have stepped forward to affirm that he was born in Hawaii in 1961. Under immigration laws in force at the time, if born in Kenya to a father who was not a U.S. citizen, Barack Obama had no right to American citizenship of any kind, and he could never qualify as "natural born." This is why determining his actual birthplace is crucial.

In 2008, after pressure from news media, President Obama's rival, candidate McCain, produced an original birth certificate from the Panama Canal Zone; a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing examined and affirmed his "natural born" status and constitutional eligibility to serve as president. The U.S. Senate was strangely silent about President Obama's eligibility despite statements from Kenyan citizens that he was born there, evidently including his paternal grandmother and the Ambassador from Kenya to the U.S. during a November 2008 radio interview. Hawaiian state officials claim that they cannot release an original birth certificate without Obama's consent, declaring that the public has no "tangible interest" in seeing this vital birth record.

I attempted without success through my chain of command for over a year to get answers to the questions surrounding the president's eligibility. I was told that I have no standing to make this inquiry, and moreover, that no one in DoD could answer this question. I made inquiries, unsuccessfully, through my congressional delegation, which simply referred my questions back to DoD. No one I spoke to was able to offer any evidence that the president is "natural born." The burden of proof, it seems, must rest with the White House-- with president Obama himself, as these records are his, and he has chosen to conceal them at considerable legal expense. Remarkably, there is no enforcement mechanism for the Constitution's Article II, Section 1 requirement that the president be a "natural born" citizen -- voters have largely relied on an honor system and a free press to vet candidates for the highest political office in the nation.

While President Obama's records remain hidden, public consternation is growing. The American people have the right to know that their president is constitutionally eligible to serve as Commander-in-Chief and thereby may lawfully direct servicemembers into harm's way. I will be proud to deploy to Afghanistan to further serve my country and my fellow soldiers, but I should do so only with the knowledge that this important requirement of our Constitution is respected and obeyed. Those in uniform who continue to risk their lives and give the ultimate sacrifice to the service of our country deserve to know that they do so upholding their vows to the oath of office and to the Constitution.

Until an original birth certificate is brought forward that will validate the Commander-in-Chief's constitutional eligibility and put to rest the reasonable questions surrounding it, I cannot in good conscience obey any of my military orders. Unless it is established (sufficient proof that should be easily within the president's power to provide) that he is constitutionally eligible to serve as president and Commander-in-Chief, I and all other military officers are at risk of following illegal orders.  

There is no legitimate privacy right to information necessary to prove that President Obama is legally eligible to serve as Commander-in-Chief. 

I remain at risk of arrest and court-martial, but am mindful always that my oath of office is to the Constitution. It fills me with great sadness that on 31 March, I declined a direct order from my Medical Brigade Commander. This is a man I honor and wished to meet in order to thank him for his unquestionable valor and courage, and yet I could not obey his order. Now, he could order my arrest at any time.   

I hope that President Obama will demonstrate his respect for the U.S. Constitution and release his original birth certificate. My bags are packed, and I look forward to joining my fellow soldiers in Afghanistan, but I will deploy only with the knowledge that I am following legal orders under a lawful Commander-in-Chief. 

For those readers wanting to follow my ongoing story, the American Patriot Foundation has set up a legal defense fund to help me, and they tell me that they will be posting up-to-date information about my case. Their website is .

Dr. Terrence Lakin is an active duty Lieutenant Colonel who serves as Chief of Primary Care at the Pentagon's TRICARE health clinic; he has been selected for promotion to Colonel.

[mojitojoe]

I tried my best, even used a powerful magnifying glass but the pixels blur it. My eyes are tired tonight, a lot of reading and end of quarter work today. Maybe someone else will have better luck. :(

[mojitojoe]

Thank you. :)

[azishot]

You’re welcome!

[Fred Nerks]

Malik Abongo Obama, in his muslim get-up, he’s very devout, eldest son of Kezia.

[justiceseeker93]

...this good man is well within his rights to refuse serving a Marxist.

The issue raised by Lt. Col. Lakin is not O's Marxism, but rather O's dubious constitutional qualifications for the presidency.

[justiceseeker93]

Yeah, we'll fight him at the polls and we still want the truth.

Yes, we're strong enough to walk and chew gum at the same time.

[TigersEye]

Excellent post! The destruction of the rule of law is the ultimate result of this endless passing of the buck. Colonel Lakin has simply said he will not participate.

[justrepublican]

Thank you.

[El Gato]

the orders of my commanding officer is what I was expected to do

So were the guards at Trelinka, Oswiecum and other such places. So were the Japanese soliders who conducted the Battan march.

Again, "I was just following orders" doesn't cut it. Especially not for officers.

[El Gato]

This is where we musty sadly part legal company. He is exercising every prerogative of the office.... De facto, not de jure.
...
He cannot be removed except by impeachment and conviction in Congress. If the the SCOTUS rules on the appeal of the Writ of Quo Warranto, and finds him indeed to to be ineligible, they cannot order his removal.

Think about this: When the Supreme Court declares a law to be unconsituttional, they don't repeal, just, in effect, order all lower courts not to enforce it. It's as if it never existed.

[Kevmo]

Beat me to it. Obama’s been avoiding discovery at all costs, and would bring a tremendous amount of carrot & stick pressure on this guy to relent. If he gives in, he becomes a general officer. If he stays the course, he gets hounded. But I doubt it will ever get to that, because zer0bama has already shown a propensity to run from a fight. The guy’s orders will simply change. That’s what happened to the last officer who did this.

[little jeremiah]

Maybe this is nothing, but the young pictures of 0bama show him chunky, and today (IIRC) I read a description that he was chunky when in high school or a bit earlier, or a similar description.

He’s as skinny as a stick now; and I realize some people do thin out, but if he was chunky in high school it is a bit odd to be so skinny as an adult. Actually, those doper Occidental photos show a plump faced young man.

So, I’m wondering if the skinniness is due to drug taking, AIDS, or just naturally occurring. Or an eating disorder - men aren’t usually prone to them but maybe homosexuals are.

[Kevmo]

If This Thread is a Waste of Time, why did you log onto it?
Sunday, October 05, 2008 9:01:23 PM · by Kevmo · 54 replies · 842+ views
Free Republic ^ | October 5, 2008 | kevmo
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2098432/posts

[Artemis Webb]

Please tell me where I said, “This thread is a waste of time”. Those exact words...or are you just into making things and claiming people said something because it’s easier to debate lies than the truth?

[pissant]

You are the whining wuss who thinks Obama is legit, knobshine.

[Artemis Webb]

Knobshine?
Gosh Pissant. It’s always been so easy to not take you seriously. I love it when you make it easy.

[dennisw]

The “natural born” concept was never brought to a court before the 2008 election. It should have been but 0bama being the great black hope and the great biracial hope, people were scared off from trying to force him out this way. It was a lot easier to understand Obama hiding his birth certificate that to understand why 0bama is not a natural born citizen.

[Kevmo]

You acknowledge it as a waste of time in your post to Matthew Fuller.

What’s the point? You say that you think he was born in Kenya, yet you’re joining in with what all the other naysayers are doing in their attempts to discourage any digging into this highly leveraged scandal. Zer0bama could make this all go away for $12 but instead chooses to spend 6 figures fighting it. No other issue has 6 figures worth of leverage behind it, so why do you find yourself calling it a waste of others’ time (note the hypocrisy) rather than just letting them make political hay out of it? Why don’t you just STFU & get out of the way rather than demand “exact words”? Methinks the lady doth protest too much.

Matthew Fuller in post 43
Seems like this thread is a waste of your time..

To: matthew fuller
It’s my time.

46 posted on Thursday, April 08, 2010 12:06:01 AM by Artemis Webb (Class of ‘98 needs no sarcasm tags!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 43 | View Replies | Report Abuse]

[Artemis Webb]

Nice try. But apparently you are incapable of understanding context. How do you expect to read basic documents like birth certificates if you are not functionally literate?

I’m sorry but you ARE a waste of my time.