Shocker: Berg lawsuit denied by Supreme Court
posted at 9:45 am on January 13, 2009 by Ed Morrissey
I haven’t seen any reporting on this development, but Philip Berg announced late yesterday that the Supreme Court has refused to hear his lawsuit on Barack Obama’s status as a natural-born citizen. Berg provides no links to any opinion, but the court docket shows that they indeed denied him certiorari. Berg doesn’t sound happy, needless to say:
Berg said, “I am disappointed for the 300+ million U.S. citizens, our ‘Forefathers’ and for the tens of thousands that have died defending ‘our’ Constitution.
I am committed to keep our efforts going to continue litigation until the truth of Obama being ‘not qualified’ for President comes out. The Obama candidacy is the biggest ‘HOAX’ ever to be put forth to the citizens of the United States in 230 years.
Really? And here I thought that was the one involving the eye on the back of the one-dollar bill. Or perhaps the “culture of corruption” argument the Democrats used in 2006 to pretend that all corruption was Republican while one of their Congressmen hid $90,000 of kickback cash in his freezer. Or the JFK assassination conspiracy theories. Or, for that matter, Berg’s own 9/11 Trutherism.
Berg swears to continue the fight, apparently with the same enthusiasm he uses to convince people that the government really masterminded the attacks in New York City and Washington DC. He’s preparing a number of other legal challenges that will go exactly nowhere, including a lawsuit from a military officer challenging Obama’s legal authority to act as Commander in Chief. These will make for great reading and long comment threads on slow news days, but otherwise will be entirely pointless except as a commercial enterprise for Berg.
Hopefully, whatever opinion was generated from this denial will shortly become available. In the interim, one can guess that it amounted to, “You have got to be kidding me.”
Blowback
Note from Hot Air management: This section is for comments from Hot Air's community of registered readers. Please don't assume that Hot Air management agrees with or otherwise endorses any particular comment just because we let it stand. A reminder: Anyone who fails to comply with our terms of use may lose their posting privilege.
Trackbacks/Pings
Trackback URL
Comments
Comment pages: « Previous 1 2 3 4 Next »
This is what I am talking about, these weird statement…where did you get the information that he has spent “millions”?
And isn’t it true that the COLB has been, for over 50 years, the standard for birth in Hawaii, that every child born in the past 50 years was given a COLB and that it is accepted by every state agency and every country in the world?
The official from the Hawaiian Health and Services, the official spokesperson, stated that Obama was born in Hawaii, when asked if he was indeed born in Hawaii.
Move on…put down the kool aid and step away from the glass…
right2bright on January 13, 2009 at 11:13 AM
Even if he were, it would be legally meaningless. If you actually click through the Rense link (RENSE?!? WTF?) you’ll go here and find this:
Pablo on January 13, 2009 at 11:15 AM
She said she could not say why Ogego responded the way he did, and she promised to have the ambassador call and explain his own comments. The ambassador never returned requests for comment.
Riposte on January 13, 2009 at 11:15 AM
You asked for the cite. I gave you the audio.
But again, it doesn’t matter if Obama was born on Mars. He is ineligible.
Riposte on January 13, 2009 at 11:18 AM
You’ve got a cheek! We are asking for Obama’s documentation, and you say we are in the wrong. Consistency?
OldEnglish on January 13, 2009 at 11:18 AM
You have stumbled into Brilliance, sir or madam!
If The Amazing Criswell call it, then the Obama Presidency may well be:
“Plan 10 From Outer Space!”
and I was here to read it!
Doug on January 13, 2009 at 11:19 AM
Ed, you’re an arrogant ass. You may be right but have no way of knowing for sure until the secretive prick produces teh documents!
allahallahoxenfree on January 13, 2009 at 11:19 AM
This is what I don’t understand. There is NO documentation from Obama at all. NONE.
Yet, we are supposed to provide all the documentation?
Riposte on January 13, 2009 at 11:20 AM
I think we should start referring to Obama as “secretive” all the time. It’s a negative thing to say, and it’s true.
indythinker on January 13, 2009 at 11:23 AM
This is as stupid as Andrew Sullivan’s “Sarah Palin gave birth to her grandson” series of rants.
I think Berg thinks he has special “They Live” sunglasses.
okonkolo on January 13, 2009 at 11:23 AM
I can’t shake the feeling that everyone wants to protect Obama because of his racial ancestry. If he was white, he would have had to produce all his documents a long time ago.
indythinker on January 13, 2009 at 11:27 AM
I can’t shake the feeling that if Obama was white, this would never have been a controversy, miniscule one though it is.
MadisonConservative on January 13, 2009 at 11:28 AM
Quite so. This secrecy reminds me of “The Man Who Wasn’t”. Obama seems to have gone to great lengths to hide his persona.
OldEnglish on January 13, 2009 at 11:29 AM
Bullsh*t. There’s a COLB, just like mine, issued by the State of Hawaii. Which, you’ll recall telling me, doesn’t matter.
Actually, I have two. Or four, even. Riposte told me there was evidence that Obama was born in Kenya. I know, it’s crazy of me to ask for it.
Pablo on January 13, 2009 at 11:30 AM
Yes. You don’t have to.
We have nothing to do with it. We have no standing. Our government is not beholden to us.
It has nothing to do with us. The government belongs to the people in power, who get into power by hook or crook, and by infinite deal-making. They do as they wish.
The Constitution is what they determine it to be, and to be interpreted as they desire. It has nothing to do with us.
The government does not belong to us, and we don’t make the rules. We simply live under it.
Alana on January 13, 2009 at 11:30 AM
If he were white, would he have a Kenyan father?
OldEnglish on January 13, 2009 at 11:31 AM
This birth certificate issue is one area where Ed has completely failed in research and arguments.
He formed the opinion that this was a “non-issue” before getting all the facts, and his answer to REASONABLE people who still want to see Obama’s original birth document is to attack Berg as a “truther.”
This is not about Berg, this is about a man being elected POTUS without establishing eligibility by producing his original birth document. This is no “conspiracy theory.” It’s a legitimate issue that ought to have been resolved by Obama long before the election…and would have…if he wasn’t hiding something.
What is he hiding? If closed-minded people like Ed Morrisey have anything to say about it, we’ll never know.
JannyMae on January 13, 2009 at 11:32 AM
Just so you know, black helicopters are following all of you Obama Birth Certificate truthers. You will be dealt with next week.
Vernon Hardapple on January 13, 2009 at 11:35 AM
Sooo… no one questioned McCain? There was no lawsuit? He did not produce his Birth Cert? Last time I checked he was White…
Playing the Race card on this is pretty silly…
Romeo13 on January 13, 2009 at 11:35 AM
Not crazy at all, neither am I. Obama maintains that he is a natural born American, and I am asking that he prove it.
OldEnglish on January 13, 2009 at 11:35 AM
That’s a British father, eh wot! Ask Riposte. He’ll tell you.
Pablo on January 13, 2009 at 11:36 AM
Aren’t you the one who was claiming that a birth announcement in a Hawaii newspaper that says nothing about Obama being born in Hawaii is evidence of same?
You can’t explain why Obama won’t produce his original birth document. Nobody can, except Obama.
We can only speculate. Why is it unreasonable to COMPEL Obama to produce that document? He, and he alone has the power to release it from the Hawaii archives. Why won’t he?
That’s what reasonable people want to know.
Dismissing the issue as irrelevant doesn’t cut it.
JannyMae on January 13, 2009 at 11:37 AM
Vernon Hardapple on January 13, 2009 at 11:35 AM
Oh. You mean like the “dealing with family business” scenes
at the end of “The Godfather”?.
Or will we all just be audited?
Or will the Tax Cuts be lifted and our taxes raised? (more likely)
kingsjester on January 13, 2009 at 11:38 AM
And a COLB does that to the satisfaction of anyone making any such inquiry of any American anywhere at any time for any purpose. Except for this one, apparently.
Pablo on January 13, 2009 at 11:38 AM
Nope.
Pablo on January 13, 2009 at 11:40 AM
From the last time the Supremes looked at Natural Born… on a case ABOUT the 14th Amendment…. PUNT….
Romeo13 on January 13, 2009 at 11:40 AM
Nice try.
OldEnglish on January 13, 2009 at 11:40 AM
Just so you know, black helicopters are following all of you Obama Birth Certificate truthers. You will be dealt with next week.
Vernon Hardapple on January 13, 2009 at 11:35 AM
No problem for me, I used a hacksaw and a grapefruit spoon to remove the chip from my skull so I can’t be tracked.
At least I think it was a chip. It resembled a piece of cranium but I swear it was a chip.
Bishop on January 13, 2009 at 11:41 AM
But I can and have explained why I won’t produce mine.
Who else would you like to COMPEL to satisfy your speculation? And by what authority?
Pablo on January 13, 2009 at 11:43 AM
For all you “colb is all he needs” there is another way to solve this , Release his college / private school transcripts, it will say what he applied with. such as Citizen of the USA , or immigrant or what ever it could be called to get Tax breaks and scholarships….
to date, obama has given no proof he is a US citizen other than having The news say it is so….
The daileyKOs doesn’t defend obama’s Citizenship as much as Ed does
ps- i will not caps obama’s name, he does not deserve it :)
Donut on January 13, 2009 at 11:44 AM
We’ve been making chips that look like pieces of cranium for a few years now.
Please don’t tell others about your grapefruit-spoon extrication method.
Thanks.
Vernon Hardapple on January 13, 2009 at 11:44 AM
He’s half-white. The color of his skin belies that, and is my point. Had he looked like his mother, my guess is that there would be even fewer nuts propping this up than there are.
Yes, they did, and it was over in a heartbeat because of the lunacy of it. The fact that this conspiracy theory has been dragged out so long is appalling, and again, his skin color, I suspect, is not impertinent to the matter.
MadisonConservative on January 13, 2009 at 11:44 AM
/thread
You made my day.
MadisonConservative on January 13, 2009 at 11:45 AM
Personaly? I would have loved Dick Cheney, as President of the Senate, to NOT allow a vote until it was produced… but he didn’t….
Its FACT that in 5 states, a guy born in Central America was on the ballot for the Presidency. This issue needs to be resolved, and some agency needs to have the authority, and responsiblility, to ensure the President meets the Constituitional Requirments…. because right now? No Agency does that, and from court cases, Citizens do not have standing to ask.
Romeo13 on January 13, 2009 at 11:47 AM
Were Bambi white he probably couldn’t have gotten into either Columbia or Harvard nor would the Chicago political machine or Annenberg Foundation school project have had much need for him.
He is a product of special treatment and has done well exploiting it. All he has needed to do is find a venue where people are too lazy to question his qualifications. For everything. The rest he is handily able to buy with grandiose promises. The Elmer Gantry of our time meets The Music Man where the motto remains “never give a sucker an even break.”
viking01 on January 13, 2009 at 11:47 AM
It was over in a heartbeat because McCain RELEASED HIS DOCUMENTS! Not because it was a stupid question.
Romeo13 on January 13, 2009 at 11:50 AM
What? He refuses to honor my petulance by producing a simple document?? Oh, dear – maybe he’s unqualified to be president…
Maybe he is, maybe he isn’t, then again we aren’t talking about the head of the local PTA. Obarfy is going to be PRESIDENT of the UNITED STATES, as in PRESIDENT of the UNITED STATES.
As a U.S. citizen, you should be more concerned that your PRESIDENT has a habit of not producing anything which would prove or disprove his fitness and eligibility for office, but rather blows them off as “distractions.”
As you said, it’s a “simple document.” I have to show simple documents to get my frikken motorcycle tabs, but Obarfa doesn’t have to produce jack squat to lead the most powerful nation on earth?
Bishop on January 13, 2009 at 11:51 AM
We’ve been making chips that look like pieces of cranium for a few years now.
Please don’t tell others about your grapefruit-spoon extrication method.
Thanks.
Vernon Hardapple on January 13, 2009 at 11:44 AM
Too late. I ordered my dog to spread the word through his network and soon this extraction method will go viral and you will be defeated.
My dog and I have long conversations about many things, he’s quite knowledgeable.
Bishop on January 13, 2009 at 11:54 AM
*sniff sniff*
What’s that I smell? Someone trying to steal CyberCipher’s schtick?
MadisonConservative on January 13, 2009 at 11:59 AM
I probably posed that question poorly. What I was referring to was the Kenyan ethnicity of his father which, of course, means that he is “of colour”.
OldEnglish on January 13, 2009 at 11:59 AM
What’s that I smell? Someone trying to steal CyberCipher’s schtick?
MadisonConservative on January 13, 2009 at 11:59 AM
Cyber has a collie, a breed of dog I wouldn’t be caught dead around, much less carry on a conversation with.
Bishop on January 13, 2009 at 12:02 PM
This permanent tin foil hat will need to be surgically removed.
getalife on January 13, 2009 at 12:02 PM
RASIST!
OldEnglish on January 13, 2009 at 12:03 PM
/Looks at the tinfoil hat sitting next to his desk…
Nah, they come on and off without surgery…
Romeo13 on January 13, 2009 at 12:04 PM
Hmmm… Racist? Breedist? I’ll have to ask my Mutt what term he likes to use….
Romeo13 on January 13, 2009 at 12:06 PM
Errr .. that died a death, didn’t it. Racist, of course.
OldEnglish on January 13, 2009 at 12:08 PM
Agreed… All weare lloking for asi a simple explaination FROM the MESSIAH as to his reasons behind HIDING his Offical documents, birth record, school transcripts and college addmission papers and documents. Why is that unreasonable Ed? What’s the harm? What’s he hiding?
Mark Garnett on January 13, 2009 at 12:17 PM
Ouch… “All we are looking for is a”, there, fixed it… geez! Stupid public schools… I know about gay rights and terrorists rights and global warming, BUT I CAN’T SPELL FOR CRAP!
Mark Garnett on January 13, 2009 at 12:18 PM
And you still haven’t learned that bolding your entire post neither makes you right nor makes anyone give more of a crap.
MadisonConservative on January 13, 2009 at 12:20 PM
Tin foil is out. Velostat™ is where it’s at!
Pablo on January 13, 2009 at 12:23 PM
It’s all so blatantly obvious…a 10 year old could figure this all out if it were an episode of Carmen San Diego.
To summarize…John O. Brennan, former head of the company cited back in March 2008 for breaching security at the State Department’s passport office and tampering with Obama’s passport info…is now his security adviser right-hand man.
selias on January 13, 2009 at 12:24 PM
Obama has a passport? Gee, I wonder how he got that without proof of citizenship?
Pablo on January 13, 2009 at 12:29 PM
“Pablo on January 13, 2009 at 12:29 PM”
yeah, ’cause NOONE gets passports using false documents — ever!
/eyeroll
Buckaroo on January 13, 2009 at 12:32 PM
The whole issue is pointless. US law for generations has been that you were automatically a citizen if you were born in the US or if one of your parents was a US citizen when you were born.
Obama’s mother is, and always has been, a US citizen (we won’t discuss where her loyalties lie). Ipso facto Obama is a US citizen by birth, and where he was born is moot.
LarryD on January 13, 2009 at 12:33 PM
Lots of very scary and/or disturbed individuals around here. Comforting to know you guys are walking around unattended. At least Romeo has a bit of sense of humor about the whole thing.
dakine on January 13, 2009 at 12:37 PM
So I guess, the official spokesperson for Hawaiian Health and Services stating that Obama was born in Hawaii, and the release of his COLB (which is the official document used for over 50 years) isn’t proof…that means about 10 million people born in Hawaii are not citizens…
How long has that van been parking in front of your house, sometimes it is a van, sometimes just a car…but it is always there…ever hear “clicking” noise on the phone? Ever lose connection on your cell phone, or have interference? Of course perfect transmission means they are routing it through another system and they don’t want to lose your signal…they are watching you, always watching you…
That pain in the neck, the backache, did someone place a probe to listen to your thoughts?
Refer to this post:
right2bright on January 13, 2009 at 12:38 PM
And you still haven’t learned that bolding your entire post neither makes you right nor makes anyone give more of a crap.
MadisonConservative on January 13, 2009 at 12:20 PM
Bullsh!t.
The Steelers are the best team in football.
If you argue this point you are a liberal. So go ahead and argue….if you dare.
Bishop on January 13, 2009 at 12:40 PM
So I guess, the official spokesperson for Hawaiian Health and Services stating that Obama was born in Hawaii, and the release of his COLB (which is the official document used for over 50 years)
If citizenship is ever renounced, all valid criteria become void.
Bishop on January 13, 2009 at 12:42 PM
“Bishop on January 13, 2009 at 12:40 PM”
Go RAVENS GO!
:-)
Buckaroo on January 13, 2009 at 12:42 PM
“LarryD on January 13, 2009 at 12:33 PM”
except she was a year UNDER the applicable statute that was in effect in 1961 …
/but thanks for playing …
Buckaroo on January 13, 2009 at 12:44 PM
I think Ed just posted this story to see Lightbright and MadCowConservative loose their mind, because they are the knowers of all. And all who do not agree with them are stupid, idiots, and the belly of the party.
I love guys or gals who hide behind their key boards with their wit and opinions. Do you two really talk this way to people face to face or just on here. Because if you talk like this to people face to face, Wow.
And I would call you Lightbright and MadCowConservative to your face.
kara26 on January 13, 2009 at 12:47 PM
He didn’t until he was severely spanked for posting that Obama’s COLB would be illegal to obtain a drivers license…I think after some reflection he began to understand that he was drifting off the sanity map…
Hope they all aren’t wearing Nike tennis shoes and talk in a high voices…
right2bright on January 13, 2009 at 12:48 PM
Maybe a person who is running for president, when it is required to meet the qualifications by authority of the constitution. I do not know if Obama meets those qualifications or not, but I do not think that it is unreasonable that it should be verified by an unimpeachable source. A person, who was not a citizen of the U.S., used a state issued copy of a birth certification to obtain credit in my son’s name and it has caused him enormous problems.
Johan Klaus on January 13, 2009 at 12:50 PM
That’s so cute. The conspiracy theorist is calling me mad.
MadisonConservative on January 13, 2009 at 12:51 PM
“MadisonConservative on January 13, 2009 at 12:51 PM”
dumbass, to question duh1′s eligability does NOT make soemone a conspiracy theorist!
Buckaroo on January 13, 2009 at 12:52 PM
Hey, Lightbright, that’s a new one…good for you, you get an A for originality…and no I don’t talk this way to people who think like you to their face.
Do you think I am stupid enough to engage anyone who thought like you in person? I just look at them through the little glass window in the door, and hope they don’t hurt themselves in their padded cell.
Actually if you called me that to my face, I would probably buy you a beer…or at least give you a couple of bucks so you could take a shower at the local Y.
right2bright on January 13, 2009 at 12:53 PM
For over 50 years, what Obama produced was good enough…now he is the first person in the history of Hawaii that the COLB is not good enough? The first, no one has ever found anyone being refused anything legal for using the Hawaiian COLB. No one has ever came forward and said “My Hawaiian COLB stopped me from…”. We are talking about millions of people here, tens of millions, and never one single instance of it not being accepted by every agency in the world.
You have people saying, like you, that a unofficial certificate causes problems, people say they have been refused documents because they didn’t use their official birth certificate…but never has a Hawaiian come forward and say that the COLB was not accepted as anything but valid proof.
right2bright on January 13, 2009 at 12:59 PM
annnd after 100+ posts we hit the crux of the issue — the snobs [and I must include Ed in this category] have chosen to simply dismiss ANYONE who is not in the “he’s natural born. why? shut up, that’s why” camp as mentally ill — sad, really …
Buckaroo on January 13, 2009 at 12:59 PM
Keep elevating the level of discourse.
MadisonConservative on January 13, 2009 at 1:02 PM
Assuming you can find someone with sufficient standing to sue (maybe after he signs an executive order effecting someone), I think the COLB creates a presumption that Obama was born in Honolulu — because that is what it says… However, a presumption can be overcome with sufficient evidence. The evidence available now (mere suspicions and the ramblings of a crazy grandmother) are less than persuasive, but there has been no opportunity for discovery. Berg or whoever has not been able to issue subpoenas or take depositions under oath. Until discovery is taken, this case will not have been decided on its merits and anyone coming to any conclusions either way will be taking out of their a$$. Obama certainly has had a murky past. A British subject for a father, was the marriage legitimate or polygamy, an Indonesian for a step-father, maybe adopted in Indonesia, enrolled in school as an Indonesian citizen, Indonesian passport (?), and numerous possible name changes — quite an unusual past. The original vault copy of his birth certificate probably has numerous amendments and alterations. It might be a late birth certificate issued up to a year after his birth or it might not list a hospital or doctor giving rise to the suspicion that the BC was falsified. Or the BC might be in order, putting the entire issue to rest. WE DON’T KNOW, because no court has permitted any discovery. The question is whether under any factual scenario alleged by the plaintiff can Obama be ruled ineligable. If they have alleged any facts that would allow them to win, they should be permitted to pursue discovery to prove those facts.
1) It is my understanding that if he was born in Kenya, the mother was too young (at that time) to confer citizenship.
2) It is my understanding that if he possessed Indonesian citizen as an adult at any time he would have been required to renounce his US citizenship.
These alleged fact may be unlikely, but if they were alleged, the plaintiff should get an opportunity to conduct discovery to try and prove it. That is how our legal system is suppose to work. You can ALLEGE ANYTHING. If what you allege can result in relief, you get an opportunity to conduct discovery to prove your allegations. If insufficient evidence is found during discovery the defendant can have the case thrown out before trial on summary judgment, but if the evidence presents a legitimate question of fact there should be a trial. You can’t throw out a case with legitimate allegations before discovery is conducted.
I personally think Obama would end up to be qualified, but I think there are legitimate issues, and to shut these cases down, before any discovery and with no discussion of the merits is wrong and ultimately unhealthy to this country. A court should review all the arguments and rule that as a matter of law under no scenario alleged by plaintiffs can Obama be rendered ineligible. Otherwise, the Court should permit discovery to proceed.
Those who denigrate these cases as conspiracy theories contemplate this: The Kennedy assassination was the subject of investigations by the Dallas Police Department, the FBI, the Warren Commission, the Ramsey Clark Panel, the Rockerfeller Commission, and the House Select Committee on Assassinations. After all these investigations found Oswald acted alone, those who refuse to accept the findings are properly labeled as conspiracy nuts. — What official investigation with subpoena power has been conducted into the eligibility of Obama? Until there is an official investigation and official findings, don’t you think it is premature to denigrate anyone who asks a question as a conspiracy nut?
tommylotto on January 13, 2009 at 1:04 PM
There are plenty of all-white Kenyan citizens. And at the time BHO was born they would have been Brits as several interested parties have pointed out. But being ‘OldEnglish’ you know that of course.
baldilocks on January 13, 2009 at 1:05 PM
Understood.
baldilocks on January 13, 2009 at 1:07 PM
Ed:
I know you want this issue to go away – but let me tell you why I don’t think it will.
First, there isn’t actually any doubt about his technical ineligibility: his own claims that his father was a British citizen and his mother a minor of less than 19 at the time of his (Obama’s) birth testify to this because the founders specifically excluded anyone not a “natural born citizen” -and he isn’t.
(Notice, by the way, that the term had a clear meaning at the time – a meaning that’s since been eroded by language and cultural change but which is made clear by other writings from the period and has been supported in law a number of times since.).
Had Obama been running as a Republican this would have disqualified him from the beginning, but as things stand it’s being treated like Mrs Clinton’s ineligibility to serve as SOS – perfectly clear in law, but ignored because it’s seen as a technicality.
Most of the challenges, however, don’t take this as their primary basis. Most of the challenges invoke, instead, one of three alternate theories to declare him ineligible:
1 – that he was born in Kenya, then returned to Hawaii by his mother and is ineligible by both birth and citizenship;
2 – that he knows his real father was a guy named Davis and is ineligible because he’s running under an alias;
3 – that his adoption in Indonesia and subsequent travel in Pakistan demonstrate that he was not, and did not consider himself, an American citizen at the time and is ineligible because he never formally reclaimed his American citizenship.
The first theory has little factual support – but cannot be disproven by the evidence at hand either:
1 – No one in the Hawaii government has said he was born there: what they’ve said is that they have the records.
2 – The COLB provided appears to be a forgery. The comparable CsOLB for other mixed race children born in Hawaii during that period have the words “Negro, Negroid, or Negress” for the appropriate parent – not the modern “African”.
3 – The source for the newspaper announcements pointed to by those arguing for Obama’s Hawaiian birth is unknown. If his grandmother placed them, she could have done so whether he was born in Kenya and on his way to her or in her front parlour. (Not in a hospital, every known hospital from the period has been queried, none admit to having been his birthplace.)
The “Davis” hypothesis is interesting, but would actually strengthen his claim to eligibility if true – and provide cover for his refusal to provide documentation. What’s intriguing about it, is that it’s also the only explanation anyone has offered for the extraordinary support that got him into, and kept him in, very expensive private schools in Hawaii, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Boston.
The Indonesian argument is another gimme. He claims to have travelled in Pakistan when it was illegal for Americans to do so. Therefore wasn’t an American at the time. Period – it doesn’t get any clearer than this.
Unless, of course, the Pakistan story is a lie he made up to give himself “foreign policy (!)” experience – then we’re into the murkier waters of his Indonesian citizenship.
At the time Indonesian law on this was in a state of flux (leading to serious bloodshed a few years later) – and American law has changed a few times too. In brief, however, it makes sense to argue that his mother had to have renounced his American citizenship to marry under Islamic/indonesian law and he’s never done anything to formally reclaim it. Therefore he’s ineligilible.
The Indonesian business looks complicated but is actually pretty clear: simple, black letter, law – he’s not eligible.
Now, about your reluctance to bell the cat – I know, it sounds nutty but I predict nobody will act to stop him and we’ll soon see a constitutional conference selling change (probably based “being fair” to the governator) making what he’s done legal in time for his second or third term…
Paul Murphy on January 13, 2009 at 1:10 PM
Well…Why won’t he release not only his BC but his school records?
It seems unbelievably juvenile. Whats the point? How many people here would carry it to this extent as opposed to ” Yeah..of course…release my records, I don’t want to waste time with distractions”.
Itchee Dryback on January 13, 2009 at 1:11 PM
Even if his real father were Davis, why would the name “Barack Obama” be an alias?
baldilocks on January 13, 2009 at 1:13 PM
I can’t shake the feeling that if Obama was white, this would never have been a controversy, miniscule one though it is.
MadisonConservative
Apparently you haven’t read the memo: the white American male is now the maligned ‘ethnic group’. How about a white Republican male OR female–would he or she have to produce the proper papers? Would that person have made it to the primaries?
I guess Berg is just wrong about this because he’s a 9/11 Truther, (just like Corsi is maligned for his research on the NAU because as a Demo, he entertained the idea that the Bush Administration was somehow behind 9/11). If it’s a fact, then quit covering his efforts to reveal this tip of the Obama iceberg.
Buckaroo, I’m with you. I want to sign up to post at MM.com; I’m tired of sitting at the kiddie table.
Christine on January 13, 2009 at 1:14 PM
Like, say, the Hawaii Department of Health, Vital Records Division?
Oh, he used your son’s birth certificate, or perhaps his COLB? And maybe the next POTUS isn’t really Barack Hussein Obama, but an imposter!?! That’s got legs! Let’s dig in!
Actually, I’m a little busy debunking the moon landing right now. Would you mind running with that for now?
Pablo on January 13, 2009 at 1:14 PM
If there is a requirement for him to be a “natural-born citizen”, then that infers that someone must verify that requirement before he is allowed to take office.
To all of you (including Ed)… who is it that must validate this requirement? Is it the Electoral College who cast their representative votes, or the State board of elections who put candidates on the ballots? WHO?
If it is some member of the Government, and they haven’t performed that validation as is alleged, why aren’t people allowed to demand that their Government perform the duties for which they are Constitutionally obligated?
I just don’t get this stance from self-titled conservative bloggers. It’s like you’re afraid of pressing the issue in case he does prove himself and you look a little foolish. Simply put, you are more concerned with your image than adherence to the Constitution or the truth. If you only want to pick and choose your Constitutional battles, you’re no better than the liberals who also pick and choose what they want out of it. I’ve never seen such a group of cowardly ostriches… people that I looked up to and admired.
Disappointment doesn’t even begin to describe how I feel… more like disillusionment and disgust.
Ed, I hope you and others realize how much this hurts your credibility in my eyes. Don’t even dare complaining about the unconstitutionality of pork projects or bailouts… you have no standing. Don’t complain about ethics violations or breaches of power against the Constitution… you have no standing. Ban me if you must. But a true conservative journalist would attempt to answer the questions I posed above.
dominigan on January 13, 2009 at 1:15 PM
Paul Murphy is obviously clued in.
Conservatives hate the courts because they think the government should not exist, and people should carry guns around shooting people they have business disagreements with, etc. The wild West.
Well, guess what, the one card conservatives have to play for the next four years is the courts. Lawsuits are where it’s at. Get used to it.
HA’s dismal BC coverage has been a disgrace. HA’s legal coverage in general is a disgrace. For the sake of all that is holy, please hire a conservative lawyer from the blawgosphere and put that person in charge of the legal stories. Ed has to stop bumbling around in the law.
Ed, you do not understand the law. It does not work like you think you do. Every time you post about the law, you are embarrassing yourself.
indythinker on January 13, 2009 at 1:16 PM
Hey, wait a minute! His real father is Malcolm X!
Ah, crap. He was a frigging US citizen, wasn’t he?
Pablo on January 13, 2009 at 1:18 PM
Ed when the day comes that it is known that Obama is not a citizen what will you say then?
thmcbb on January 13, 2009 at 1:20 PM
Pablo on January 13, 2009 at 1:22 PM
I did not claim that he was an imposter, nor do I claim that he is not qualified. I am only pointing out that state issued certificates are not always what they appear to be.
Johan Klaus on January 13, 2009 at 1:23 PM
Stupid HTML. Let’s try that again:
You’ll find a few of those here, indythinker. And one of them is an occasional poster here, the one who wrote this post.
Pablo on January 13, 2009 at 1:25 PM
I suspect the document that was used to steal your son’s identity was what it appeared to be, but was wrongfully acquired and fraudulently used. Which isn’t to say that they can’t be forged, but then you generally can’t get the state to authenticate forged documents as Hawaii has done with Obama’s.
Pablo on January 13, 2009 at 1:27 PM
Allow me to dampen your spirited post…however I also realize that facts will not deter you truthers.
You have many wrong statements, but let’s just take these two.
First, the official spokesperson of the Hawaiian Health and Services when asked “Does this mean Obama was born in Hawaii?” the answer was a definitive “Yes”, then it was added they hope that his puts the conjecture to bed. She answered both verbally and in an email…she is the official government spokesperson. I posted the links and quotes at least 6 times.
Second is just plain false, when asked his race, which the nurse asks the father, the father answers how he sees himself…in this case he said “African”, because that is what he was to him. Seldom does a black person say “I am a negroid”. I am surprised (not really) that someone still is using that argument, I even think Berg gave that one up.
right2bright on January 13, 2009 at 1:29 PM
O.K. The next time a police department has a member of its force accused of misconduct, it can be settled by an official who declares, “We looked into it..it all checks out O.K., now don’t be childish and ask to see the evidence”.
You know that’s not at all an accurate analogy.
Itchee Dryback on January 13, 2009 at 1:32 PM
So I claimed that the state of Hawaii has authenticated forged documents? I guess that I need new glasses.
Johan Klaus on January 13, 2009 at 1:34 PM
No such duty exists. Perhaps it should, but it doesn’t.
No one. There is no mechanism for proactively validating this. The only recourse is to challenge eligibility in the courts.
There is no required act that hasn’t been performed. People are allowed to challenge eligibility in court, and several have tried in Obama’s case. So far, they’ve lost every case.
Pablo on January 13, 2009 at 1:35 PM
Doesn’t HI. have a provision for children who were adopted from a foreign country to get a HI. BC.?
Someone posted the actual statutes, but I can’t remember where I saw it.
Itchee Dryback on January 13, 2009 at 1:35 PM
Not that I’ve seen. But I am suggesting that they likely haven’t.
Pablo on January 13, 2009 at 1:39 PM
Yes, but the Hawaii BC issued to someone born overseas, if accurate, would still state the baby’s place of birth (say Mombassa, Kenya). Obama’s says Honolulu. So, we have to presume that he was born in Honolulu until further evidence is presented. That is why we need discovery — to check out the delineations (if any) on the original birth certificate, etc….
tommylotto on January 13, 2009 at 1:40 PM
I recall seeing that, but they don’t invent a new place of birth. And again, HI says they have the original.
Pablo on January 13, 2009 at 1:41 PM
Someone claimed that, but I posted that it cannot be done, without the COLB stating that it has been altered. The altered stamp must be across the front of the COLB if any change from the original birth certificate is modified.
It is a specific statute, which also put to rest the “for a couple of bucks you can change your COLB” false statement.
right2bright on January 13, 2009 at 1:44 PM
I’ll believe PEBO is constitutionally qualified to be POTUS when I see a for-real Hawiian BC, not that “Certificate of Live Birth” his campaign tried to pass off a while back as proof this bought-and-paid-for fraud was actually born in Hawaii.
I have had to produce mine numerous times, why can’t he?
And why are so many so-called “conservatives” telling us that PEBO meets this qualification when they themselves have not seen his actual BC?
Suppose it turns out later that he does not, in fact, meet the requiremts our founders laid down for the office of POTUS.
What then?
-Dave
Dave R. on January 13, 2009 at 1:44 PM
Why, you’re exactly right! That isn’t an accurate analogy at all.
Oh, and if you’re the victim of police misconduct, you sue and subpoena the evidence. Why haven’t any of our litigants done that?
Pablo on January 13, 2009 at 1:45 PM
What frustrates the truthers, is that every argument they come up with, it is destroyed by facts…it frustrates them to the point of not being reasonable, and it makes the purveyors of facts look like they are just attacking the person posting.
And after awhile of answering with facts each of the truthers accusations, it does get rather irritating that people can’t read or understand basic facts.
Here is one: Since the history of the COLB (over 60 years ago) no one has ever questioned the validity of this document…until now. No probate court, no judge, no lawyer, no state, no country…think of just the probate courts and rights to heirs, that alone would have brought to light any number of inconsistency’s, if they existed.
No one has brought up anything that has not been dealt with officially.
That is what is so confusing to me, each point made now by the truthers have been addressed.
right2bright on January 13, 2009 at 1:52 PM
Let me try this one more time:
Because the COLB in the state of Hawaii hold special significance…it is the only document given at birth. It is the official document that every state, every country, every government agency has accepted for over 50 years, and it has never been not accepted for anything…never…if it has, show it to us. No one has documented anything but this Hawaiian COLB (which is different from many other states COLB) is the official birth document for all Hawaiians.
That would be like saying your birth certificate is good enough, we need your doctor to sign a paper saying it is factual…we accept your birth certificate, everyone (except truthers) accept Hawaiian COLB….sheesh.
right2bright on January 13, 2009 at 1:57 PM
When one files candidacy for the presidency of the US it should trigger two things:
1. Do they meet the constitutional requirements to be president.
2. Perform a back ground check to see if they could obtain a security clearnance.
Clearing Item #1 should be a requirement.
The results of Item #2 should be disclosed to help voters make their decision.
Make they clear constitutional muster up front.
The Rock on January 13, 2009 at 2:01 PM
This is President elect Urkel’s own fault for being so hush hush about his hopey life.
Little Boomer on January 13, 2009 at 2:02 PM
Comment pages: « Previous 1 2 3 4 Next »