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A Ring of Truth(ers) - Truthers vs. birthers.
National Review Online ^ | September 11, 2009 | Jonah Goldberg

Posted on 09/11/2009 10:09:02 AM PDT by neverdem








A Ring of Truth(ers)
Truthers vs. birthers.

By Jonah Goldberg

Herewith, two scenarios.

Scenario A: The supposedly inept president of the United States carefully planned and orchestrated the worst terrorist attack on American soil in our history. Though “only” 3,000 people died, the plan was to kill many more by simultaneously attacking the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and either the U.S. Capitol or the White House itself on Sept. 11, 2001.

Hundreds of people, including personnel from myriad agencies, participated. According to some versions of Scenario A, explosives were placed at the World Trade Center to ensure success. In other versions, all of “the Jews” working there were tipped off by some phone bank run by the Mossad. In every version, however, the U.S. government was in on it, and everyone involved kept the biggest secret in American history.

Then there’s Scenario B: An ambitious and extremely clever politician, who has at best been selectively forthcoming about large chunks of his youth, lied about his place of birth so he could be eligible for the presidency.

To further this scheme, he has arranged for the full and/or original version of his birth certificate to remain under lock and key. At most, a handful of supporters and lawyers are in on the whole thing.

Now, which one is more believable? For the record, I don’t believe either. But it seems to me the “birther” hypothesis is vastly more plausible than the “truther” hypothesis. Politicians lie to advance their careers. You can look it up. Whole governments rarely orchestrate incredibly complex acts of physics, logistics, and mass murder all the while pinning guilt on others (who boast that they acted alone).

Just for clarification: “Truthers” believe Scenario A. “Birthers” believe Scenario B.

The question of which scenario is more plausible is neither academic nor trivial. This summer, a host of columnists, commentators, and activists, seemingly taking their cues from a White House and DNC public-relations offensive, declared that the rise of the “birthers” was a fatal indictment of modern conservatism and the Republican party. The refusal of the birthers to give up their cockamamie theory was proof that the GOP had succumbed to the “paranoid style.” Indeed, according to some liberal commentators, the birthers were the potential wellspring for a nascent Nazi movement in America. Never mind that the vast majority of leading Republicans and conservatives — from Newt Gingrich to Ann Coulter — rejected the birthers categorically.

Fast-forward to the last week or so. Van Jones, an avowed “Communist” and passionate supporter of convicted cop killer Mumia Abu-Jamal, was a truther par excellence. Contrary to many reports, he didn’t merely sign 911truth.org’s petition in 2004, he helped organize one of the first truther groups as early as 2002.

When these and other revelations came to light, Jones resigned his post as White House “green jobs czar.”

The reaction from much of the liberal establishment has been fascinating, hypocritical, and deeply creepy. For starters, the same White House that fueled the anti-birther boom has refused to offer a single critical word about Jones’s past positions (some of which he recanted as his job security grew more threatened; we’ll see how long that lasts).

In July, the popular left-wing website FiredogLake couldn’t let go of the birther bit. One post — titled “The Republican Party is the Birther Party, and it’s dragging them down” — made much of the fact that 28 percent of Republicans, according to one poll, do not believe that Obama is a natural-born citizen. This week, the site’s founder, Jane Hamsher, was disgusted that Jones was “thrown under the bus,” even though he subscribed to trutherism, a view that “35 (percent) of Democrats believed as of 2007.”

Got that? Belief in an implausible conspiracy is a cancer on the GOP. Even greater belief in an even more implausible conspiracy is proof that it’s mainstream.

Apologies for Jones and trutherism appeared instantly on the sites of the left-wing flagship magazines The Nation, The New Republic, and elsewhere. The New York Times and Newsweek deliberately distorted what the truthers believe in order to make Jones look more reasonable and his critics more unreasonable. The Financial Times actually reported that Jones resigned for criticizing how the GOP majority had run Congress.

But mostly, the mainstream press changed the subject to how the Right is paranoid and vaguely unpatriotic for opposing Obama’s speech to schools Tuesday, despite the fact that most conservatives and Republicans didn’t protest the speech once the Department of Education’s controversially politicized lesson plans were withdrawn.

One last question is worth asking. Forget which is more plausible. Which scenario is more unpatriotic, more malicious, more corrosive to civic life? In short: Which is more evil? Again, I think the answer is obvious. Alas, it seems I’m in a minority.

— Jonah Goldberg is editor-at-large of
National Review Online and the author of Liberal Fascism: The Secret History of the American Left from Mussolini to the Politics of Meaning. © 2009 Tribune Media Services, Inc.



TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; Culture/Society; Editorial; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: birthers; certifigate; terrorism; truthers
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To: curiosity
The only thing that was redacted in the original scan was the certificate number. Photos of the same document, without redaction, were later posted on factcheck's website.

I'm looking at the factcheck.org website right now. The redaction is still there. Perhaps you have information that you'd like to share with the rest of us?

Perhaps you know which hospital Obama was born at? He doesn't. But the vault certificate might state it.

Who witnessed his birth?

Certain offices of the state of Hawaii do not accept the COLB that was posted...That is not true, and again, the article you link that makes the claim fails to substantiate it.

Please provide a link to back your claim.

it is a computer generated form, derived from a database...Yes, as are most birth certificates these days. What's your point?

The computer generated form, in light of Hawaiian law in 1961, lacks sufficient information to verify NBC status.

This article notes that there were 4 ways to get a Hawaiian certificate of birth in 1961, some not requiring documentation: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2304157/posts... Yes, that's what the article claims. Unfortunately, it fails to substantiate those claims

It really will help you on you path to learning to follow the links in the article. Townhall.com has similar information.

21 posted on 09/11/2009 1:59:41 PM PDT by kidd (Obama: The triumph of hope over evidence)
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To: kidd

Why aren’t folks looking at the his father’s citizenship? Doesn’t the law state that there has to be two natural citizens for eligibility?


22 posted on 09/11/2009 2:00:19 PM PDT by oneamericanvoice (Support freedom! Support the troops! Surrender is not an option!)
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To: kidd
I'm looking at the factcheck.org website right now. The redaction is still there. Perhaps you have information that you'd like to share with the rest of us?

Sure. Here it is:

http://www.factcheck.org/UploadedFiles/birth_certificate_5.jpg

Perhaps you know which hospital Obama was born at? He doesn't. But the vault certificate might state it.

How exactly is the hospital relevant to his eligibility?

Who witnessed his birth?

A bunch of people who are now dead.

Please provide a link to back your claim.

You said a governmant agency doesn't accept the COLB. The burden of proof is on you to provide the evidence, not me.

And no, unsupported assertions by WorldNutDaily don't count.

The computer generated form, in light of Hawaiian law in 1961, lacks sufficient information to verify NBC status.

How so? It lists the place of birth and the parents' names. What else is necessary to verify NBC status?

It really will help you on you path to learning to follow the links in the article. Townhall.com has similar information.

There was not a single link in the article that substantiated the claim that Maya has a Hawaiian COLB.

23 posted on 09/11/2009 2:22:07 PM PDT by curiosity
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To: oneamericanvoice
Why aren’t folks looking at the his father’s citizenship?

Because it isn't relevant.

Doesn’t the law state that there has to be two natural citizens for eligibility?

No.

24 posted on 09/11/2009 2:22:54 PM PDT by curiosity
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To: curiosity

I thought it was relevant because of what I thought the law stated. Thanks for the info. Well, the law should be two citizens that are born here.


25 posted on 09/11/2009 2:29:10 PM PDT by oneamericanvoice (Support freedom! Support the troops! Surrender is not an option!)
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To: wardaddy; Joe Brower; Cannoneer No. 4; Criminal Number 18F; Dan from Michigan; Eaker; Jeff Head; ...
Terrorism & Hypocrisy Special:

Gov Palin Called It: Obama Loans $10 billion & Soros Invests $811 Million In Petrobas of Brazil

Lockerbie Families Deserve Answers - What did U.S. officials know, and when did they know it?

Our allies can parlay a convicted terrorist for oil, and we can finance Soros' lust for Brazilian oil profits, but we can't dig for our own oil?

Walid Phares: The War on '9-11'

Our National 9/11 Schizophrenia (Victor Davis Hanson) more like bipolar disorder

Some noteworthy articles about politics, foreign or military affairs, IMHO, FReepmail me if you want on or off my list.

26 posted on 09/11/2009 7:28:57 PM PDT by neverdem (Xin loi minh oi)
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To: neverdem

The use of the word slavery devalues the insidiousness of current day liberalism. I think nobody wants any form slavery. Its more akin to serfdom in that the peons were semi willing participants in the system. A slave is property. A serf is a guy with internalized obligations. Obligations to the state. We’re on a road to serfdom. Hope you had a good summer ND.


27 posted on 09/11/2009 7:44:31 PM PDT by Delacon ("The urge to save humanity is almost always a false front for the urge to rule." H. L. Mencken)
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To: SandWMan
SandWMan: "Why this moron and so many others simply refuse to believe that it is even possible ..."

Sand, you're a great American. But one of this country's finest conservatives writes an article, with a huge readership, defending the patriotism of the "birthers" ... and he is a "moron"?

It is a well-written piece. If people really want a persuasive, thoughtful editorial arguing why Obama's NBC status is in doubt .... they could hire someone to write it ... that is not the purpose of this editorial.

Goldberg: "But it seems to me the “birther” hypothesis is vastly more plausible .... Politicians lie to advance their careers. You can look it up."

Yes, his defense is subtle, but he is not "birther-bashing" here.
28 posted on 09/11/2009 9:14:08 PM PDT by campaignPete R-CT
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To: curiosity
Not true. The newspaper announcements were based on data received directly from the Hawaii Department of Health. It says so right at the top of the newspaper page where they are printed, scanned copies of which are available all over the web. Did you even bother to look at them?

Those images were produced from a single reel of microfilm. Not from the original newspapers, and not from a microfilm obtained from the newspapers either. From a library, where they had been checked out not long before they were "discovered". Strangely no one has been able to find the newspaper announcement of the Nordyke twins birth, the day after Obama's is said to have been. But images of certified copies of their original long form are to be found, originally published by the Honolulu Advertiser, but now the story with them is no longer accessible, at least not at the original URL. Interestingly the younger of two has a file sequence number 3 lower than that shown on the FactCheck version of the Obama COLB, despite the fact that they were born 19 hours *after* he was, and according to their long form, and his COLB, his certificate was filed 3 days before theirs. Just another anomaly, in a sea of others surrounding BHO Jr.

One of the newspapers now says on their "vital records" page that the date indicated is not the birth or marriage license date, but rather the date the document was filed. If that was true in '61, then there's another little problem for the newspaper announcements visa vi the online COLB.

29 posted on 09/11/2009 10:52:46 PM PDT by El Gato ("The Second Amendment is the RESET button of the United States Constitution." -- Doug McKay)
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To: curiosity
and there is absolutely no reason to believe he was born anywhere else.

Other than this that is:

Forgery? Maybe, but then again so may this be the KOS, FTS, Factcheck etc CoLB, all or merely some of them.

30 posted on 09/11/2009 10:58:55 PM PDT by El Gato ("The Second Amendment is the RESET button of the United States Constitution." -- Doug McKay)
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To: curiosity
Doesn’t the law state that there has to be two natural citizens for eligibility?

the No answer is correct, but misleading, since the law, statute law, or the Constitutoin, does not say anything about the criteria for "natural born". The statute says nothing about "natural born" at all, while the Constitution doesn't define it.

31 posted on 09/11/2009 11:03:10 PM PDT by El Gato ("The Second Amendment is the RESET button of the United States Constitution." -- Doug McKay)
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To: neverdem

The 9/11 Commission concluded that 9/11 was not an inside job.

Let’s hold another commission, to look into Obama’s birth, before concluding birthers are as wrong as truthers.


32 posted on 09/12/2009 4:16:59 AM PDT by syriacus (Obama wants to "monologue" with us -- 24/7.)
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To: neverdem
Probably the worst column that Goldberg has ever written.
33 posted on 09/12/2009 5:11:46 PM PDT by Radix (Obama represents CHAINS for posterity.)
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To: neverdem
Jonah, the following are **facts**:

1)Fact: Obama refuses to release his long form birth certificate.

2) Fact: Obama refuses to release his college admission paperwork that would indicate what nationality he use to apply for scholarships and admission.

3) Fact: Obama refuses to release his passport and travel records.

4) Fact: Obam refuses to release his adoption records and explain his use of his stepfather's ( or adoptive father) name.

5)Fact: A COLB could refer to almost anything, and so could the carefully worded obfuscation of Dr. Fukino.

6) Fact: There really are serious questions about forgery regarding the COLB posted.

7) Fact: It is highly unusually for someone like Major Cook to have his orders to deploy rescinded. This happened hours before his court appearance.

8) Fact: Obama refuses to release information about his Selective Service registration or any records regarding repatriation.

9) Fact: Obama, **himself**, claims that his father was a citizen of Kenya and Britian.

10) Fact: Obama has spent more than 1.4 million to keep the above information from court review.

AND MOST IMPORTANT OF ALL!!!!!!

Fact: An honest and straightforward man would be **HONORED** to promptly resolve **all** of the above, and prove to the troops in his command, and to the American people that he was a natural born citizen!

Jonah...Facts are not conspiracies. The person who is a conspirator here is Obama. While it is very hard to prove a negative ( that Bush was not responsible for 9/11), with a nod of his head, Obama could **promptly** prove he is a natural born citizen.

By the way, Jonah, fence sitting isn't good for gonads that are the size of dust mites.

34 posted on 09/12/2009 5:21:46 PM PDT by wintertime (People are not stupid! Good ideas win!)
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To: El Gato
Forgery? Maybe, but then again so may this be the KOS, FTS, Factcheck etc CoLB, all or merely some of them.

The difference is that there is nothing to corroborate this alleged Kenyan BC.

On the other hand, we have the word of the Hawaii Department of Public health plus two birth announcements to corroborate the facts attested to by the Hawaiian COLB.

Furthermore, the idea that an 8 months pregnant woman would travel half way around the world in 1961, to a third world country, in a journey likely lasting several days and multiple primitive modes of transportation, for no apparent reason, is just plain looney. If you can't see that, then you are either insane or willfully blind.

35 posted on 09/12/2009 9:37:20 PM PDT by curiosity
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To: El Gato
Those images were produced from a single reel of microfilm. Not from the original newspapers,

So? I've never hear of any library or news organization keeping newspapers lying around for 40 years! Have you?

and not from a microfilm obtained from the newspapers either. From a library,

I see, so libraries can't be trusted in your paranoid mind. They're in on the conspiracy!

where they had been checked out not long before they were "discovered".

Right. That's very suspicious, because we know no one ever checks out microfilms of old newspapers. Ever. Libraries just keep them so that they can gather dust.

Strangely no one has been able to find the newspaper announcement of the Nordyke twins birth, the day after Obama's is said to have been.

And who exactly looked? You? Some anonymous guy reporting to WorldNutDaily?

Interestingly the younger of two has a file sequence number 3 lower than that shown on the FactCheck version of the Obama COLB, despite the fact that they were born 19 hours *after* he was, and according to their long form, and his COLB, his certificate was filed 3 days before theirs.

I see. That would only be a problem if you assume the number were based on time of birth. You know this how?

his certificate was filed 3 days before theirs.

Again you are making assumptions about how the certificate numbers were generated. What evidence do you have that they are generated in the order you think they should have been generated?

Just another anomaly, in a sea of others surrounding BHO Jr.

Yup, clear sign of the paranoid mind: to see "anomalies" behind every corner.

36 posted on 09/12/2009 9:48:05 PM PDT by curiosity
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To: curiosity
I see, so libraries can't be trusted in your paranoid mind. They're in on the conspiracy!

Putting words in my mouth again I see.

Libraries do not in general keep very tight control over their stuff, except to ensure that it doesn't walk out the door. Patrons are left alone with the material, sometimes in "screened" environments, such as cubbyhole.

It turns out, I mispoke. They came from two rolls of microfilm, which, AFAIK, no one has gone back to even look at again. But even if they have, splicing in a single frame in the semi-privacy of a library cubbyhole would not be all that hard.

And who exactly looked? You? Some anonymous guy reporting to WorldNutDaily? Some anonymous poster at Texas Darling. They are also the one who reported that someone else had accessed the microfilm so recently that they had not been re-shelved.

I see. That would only be a problem if you assume the number were based on time of birth. You know this how? So how do you think it's done? And why would you think it's done that way? Pretty much every system that logs things does so in sequence of arrival. Remember this was a paper system, filing paper documents.

What evidence do you have that they are generated in the order you think they should have been generated? The Nordyke twins, born minutes apart, have sequential file numbers. So they don't draw the numbers out of a hat.

Why don't you just change your name to "Defender of The Faith?", since you certainly don't seem to have much curiosity.

37 posted on 09/13/2009 9:31:09 AM PDT by El Gato ("The Second Amendment is the RESET button of the United States Constitution." -- Doug McKay)
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To: curiosity
Furthermore, the idea that an 8 months pregnant woman would travel half way around the world in 1961, to a third world country, in a journey likely lasting several days and multiple primitive modes of transportation, for no apparent reason, is just plain looney.

You are becoming the King of the Strawman.

Who's to say she was 8 months along when she traveled, if she traveled? Her whereabouts are unknown from at least the end of the fall semester at U of HI, that would be the last part of January, not early July. She would have only been about 3 months along, when most women aren't even "showing" and generally before "quicking", especially in a first pregnancy.

38 posted on 09/13/2009 9:42:19 AM PDT by El Gato ("The Second Amendment is the RESET button of the United States Constitution." -- Doug McKay)
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To: El Gato
Who's to say she was 8 months along when she traveled, if she traveled? Her whereabouts are unknown from at least the end of the fall semester at U of HI, that would be the last part of January, not early July.

Divorce records indicate they were married in late February on Maui. So she was at a minimum 5 months pregnant.

Furthermore, Obama Sr. was enrolled in the Spring Sememster as well. So unless she travelled first, without him, that means the couldn't have left until June.

Don't you find it a bit strange that not one of her friends seems to remember any trip to Kenya? Isn't it also strange that not a single one of Obama's many Kenyan relatives remembers her visit? Or are you suggesting that maybe they're all in on the conspiracy. Yeah, that must have be it.

She would have only been about 3 months along, when most women aren't even "showing" and generally before "quicking", especially in a first pregnancy.

Okay, assume she travelled at six months. So now you are postulating that a young woman would have travelled around the globe, on a journey lasting several days, with multiple primitive modes of transportation, to a third world country for no good reason.

And there's not a shred of evidence she was ever there.

If you find that plausible, then you belong in the nut house.

39 posted on 09/13/2009 6:13:44 PM PDT by curiosity
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To: El Gato
It turns out, I mispoke. They came from two rolls of microfilm, which, AFAIK, no one has gone back to even look at again. But even if they have, splicing in a single frame in the semi-privacy of a library cubbyhole would not be all that hard.

I seriously doubt there is the only library that has microfilms of the two newspapers. If someone had altered the documents in the first library, it could be easily checked by looking at the microfilms in other libraries.

Some anonymous poster at Texas Darling.

Oh wow, that's such a credible source /sarcasm.

They are also the one who reported that someone else had accessed the microfilm so recently that they had not been re-shelved.

My my, that is so suspicious. You know, no one ever accesses microfilms at libraries! Like i said, libaries just keep them as dust collectors. /sarcasm

So how do you think it's done?

I have no idea how it's done, and neither do you. But that's your problem, not mine. You're the one making an argument regarding the order of certificate numbers. Until you do have good information on how ordering is done, your argument amounts to nothing more than wild speculation.

Pretty much every system that logs things does so in sequence of arrival. Remember this was a paper system, filing paper documents.

Possibily. But the sequence of arrival need not match the sequence of birth, or even the sequence of the date at which information is received by the health department. That's especially true with paper documents. Bureaucrats don't necessarily processes papers in the order received.

And that's why your supposed "anomaly" with the certificate numbers really doesn't amount to much more than wild speculation.

What evidence do you have that they are generated in the order you think they should have been generated?

Here you go again, shifting the burden of proof. Since you're the one making an argument about number generation, the onus is on you to understand how they are generated.

The Nordyke twins, born minutes apart, have sequential file numbers.

Duh. The same doctor filled out the same BC, and the documents were likely kept together when delivered to the health department. It's very unlikely two twin BC documents would get out of order. But that doesn't mean the health department kept some rigid order when processing documents.

40 posted on 09/13/2009 6:27:58 PM PDT by curiosity
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