Monday, February 6, 2012

Don't Be Duped by the Birthers

UPDATE XVII: Well, the Birthers finally got a hearing, and no one appeared for Obama, and no evidence or argument was entered into the record on behalf of Obama. Nevertheless, "a state law judge flatly rejected legal challenges that contend he can not be a candidate." Read The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Judge: Obama eligible to be Georgia candidate.

Can't wait to hear our very own Pastor Dred Scott (you may remember the infamous Dred Scott decision of 1857, which asserted that African Americans were "beings of an inferior order" who "had no rights which the white man was bound to respect." That ruling declared that African Americans could never be U.S. citizens and therefore could never be President) (AKA Pastor Truthiness (formerly known as Pastor Poppins) spin this one.

Expect a missile sighting somewhere over the U.S. to distract you from the news.


UPDATE XVI: Our Resident Pastor-to-the-Dictators (AKA Pastor Truthiness (formerly known as Pastor Poppins)) is now plagiarizing lies to salvage his malicious fantasy campaign to brand Obama as an outsider, as un-American, as non-American.

First it was false claims of document layering.

Now it is a false claim of kerning.

Lest he could do would be to give credit to the Birther who first made the claim.


UPDATE XV: Our Resident Pastor-to-the-Dictators (AKA Pastor Truthiness (formerly known as Pastor Poppins)) continues with his malicious fantasy campaign to brand Obama as an outsider, as un-American, as non-American.

One specific lie, the shameful pastor claimed that after Obama released his long-form birth certificate, Wikipedia removed references to Vattel.

False! The reference was there yesterday, and remains there today. See Wikipedia, Natural born citizen clause of the U.S. Constitution, about 3/10th of the way down.

So many lies, so little time to refudiate.


UPDATE XIV: The anti-Obama conspiracy du jour, Michele Obama needs three hands for all of her jewelry.

From the The Hartford Courant via Reddit and Rick's Blog:




UPDATE XIII: Our Resident Pastor-to-the-Dictators (AKA Pastor Truthiness (formerly known as Pastor Poppins)) continues his despicable sideshow over Obama's birth certificate.

It is a shameful episode with nothing “to do with reality and everything to do with the strangeness of Obama's background - especially his race. Many Republicans refuse to accept that Obama could come from such an exotic stew and still be ‘American.’ They have to delegitimize him. So, even though the certificate of live birth first made public in 2008 is a legal document that any court would have to recognize, they demanded more.

No American president has ever been so humiliated, and those who think it has nothing to do with race are deluding themselves.”


Pastor Truthiness owes Obama an apology for continuing to stoke these coded fears about the president's origins.


UPDATE XII: After proving once again his citizenship, Trump and the birthers now try to "undermine the acceptance of [Obama's] academic credential."

"[Y]ou can work hard, play by the rules, achieve great things academically and professionally and still have people look at you as less-than, look at you as not deserving of the things you worked hard to achieve, look at you as unqualified despite plenty of evidence to the contrary because you are black." Read the Washington Post, Trump insults 'the blacks,' again.

And watch MSNBC, The Last Word, with Lawrence O’Donnell:




UPDATE XI: Case closed? Don't be so naive.

Republi-cons will continue to create and exploit absurd non-issues "with sideshow and carnival barkers and silliness," "make stuff up and pretend that facts are not facts," and vilify their political opponents.

As for the "birther" issue, why were there persistent demands never before made of any prior president? Read USA Today, Study: racial prejudice plays role in Obama citizenship views.


UPDATE X: What drives the false political belief of the birther myth, and why is it so hard to dispel? Read The New York Times, The Psychology of the 'Birther' Myth, which discusses "motivated reasoning," racial resentment, belief in silly things, a dysfunctional system, and echoes of McCarthy-type conspiracy theories.


UPDATE IX: More "GOP politicians are recognizing that . . . the birther issue . . . paints the conservative base as loony." Read the Washington Post, Have Republicans figured out Obama’s birth certificate is a political loser?


UPDATE VIII: Even the Republi-con establishment wants nothing to do with those birthers on the "nutty right" (Rove's words, not mine). Read the Washington Post, Top Republicans try to scotch birther theories.


UPDATE VII: Even Bill O'Reilly thinks it is time to refudiate the Republi-cons:



UPDATE VI: Why do Republi-cons spread rumors instead of getting to the facts? Let us ask The Great Palin what she thinks:



UPDATE V: One bad birther conspiracy deserves another:

Did you know that Palin faked "her pregnancy with Trig, not only to cover for her daughter Bristol, but also to gain pro-life street cred with the far right." The press then "helped "to cover up the hoax, intentionally or not, by never investigating it thoroughly enough. Had journalists dug deeper, the answers were easy enough to find."
This has to be true, because it is on the internet. Laughing Smiley


UPDATE IV: Read the Washington Post, More 'birther' nonsense from Donald Trump and Sarah Palin, which "refudiates" their claims that Obama has "spent $2 million to not show his birth certificate."

The claims are "whoopers" and earn Four Pinocchios:




The article also 'debunks' other claims by Trump, which are common birther myths:

“His grandmother from Kenya stated, on tape, that he was born in Kenya and she was there to watch the birth.” False: On the tape, there was initial misunderstanding but then she said he was born in Hawaii.

“His family in Honolulu is fighting over which hospital in Hawaii he was born in — they just don’t know.” Another myth with no basis in fact.

“He has not been able to produce a ‘birth certificate’ but merely a totally unsigned ‘certificate of live birth’ — which is totally different and of very little significance.” Wrong: It is signed and has full legal significance.

“There are no records in Hawaii that a Barack Hussein Obama was born there.” Wrong again, there is plenty of evidence.

“As far as the two notices placed in newspapers, many things could have happened, but some feel the grandparents put an ad in order to show that he was a citizen of the U.S.” Oops, the information was provided by the State Department of Health — not the grandparents.

So many lies, so little time to refudiate.


UPDATE III: Maybe Obama wasn't born in the United States and maybe Palin didn't give birth to Trig,

You say cogito ergo sum, but maybe life is an illusion, and reality is a simulation.

"[W]e don't really KNOW anything, do we?" Read Business Insider, THE TRUTH REVEALED: Sarah Palin May Not Have Been Born In The USA.


UPDATE II: Some Republi-cons continue to embarrass themselves ranting about a birth certificate and clinging to a delusion that the Supreme Court might put their man in office (again). Sorry, it ain't gonna happen.

Locally we have our Resident Pastor-to-the-Dictators (AKA Pastor Truthiness (formerly known as Pastor Poppins)).

Nationally, it's the Republi-con's latest celebrity candidate, a birther. It is clear that he hasn't even read the Congressional Research Service that would agree that Obama is a "natural born citizen," (the Congressional Research Service is a part of the Library of Congress, providing professional, objective and non-partisan public policy research to members of Congress and their staffers. The writer of the memorandum is a qualified constitutional attorney who has summarized the historical and legal material with references, showing, by contrast, how shoddy the birther arguments are) (this memorandum explains why even Republi-CON Congressmen/women refuse to join the Birthers). And he hasn't talked to Barbara Nelson, who "specifically remembers his birth" because she spoke with the obstetrician who delivered him shortly after his birth.

Unfortunately, Mike tells me he's going to replay a show full of birther nonsense. He must be promoting Trump for President.

Fortunately, Trump is doing his best to discredit himself. (Read the Washington Post, Trump’s disgusting, dangerous dance with birthers.)

Don't be duped by the birthers. See PolitiFact.com, Obama's birth certificate: Final chapter.


UPDATE: His own attorney admitted that he was a "victim of an obsession." And his reward for his obsession, prison and dismissal. Read the Washington Post, Military jury: Prison, dismissal for Army birther.

"So much for the Birthers bringing down a presidency in dramatic fashion during a court-martial." Read The New York Times, Usurper in Chief?

Maybe Colonel Larkin realizes he was duped by the Birthers:

"Sobered by the prospect of a dishonorable dismissal, losing his pension and serving hard time, as well as facing a panel of military superiors in dress uniforms, Colonel Lakin said the winter had been “a confusing time, a very emotional time for me.” His shoulders slumped, he offered excuses about how he had gotten conflicting advice from lawyers — his defense was underwritten by Birthers. . .

[I]n the end, the court-martial offers one big truth: President Obama doesn’t have to show Terry Lakin anything. The colonel should have followed orders. "

Our Communist Military

UPDATE: The military "builds solidarity by taking care of its own, relying on a far more egalitarian structure of pay and benefits than the civilian economy." Read The New York Times, Saluting Teamwork.

FYI, egalitarian philosophies include are socialism, communism, anarchism, left-libertarianism, social liberalism and progressivism.


Racial and gender desegregation, equal opportunity for working-class families, single-payer universal health care, excellent child care and educational opportunity, and salaries that limit income inequality. Name that belove American socialist organization. And read The New York Times, Our Lefty Military.