"Make a Hole Make it Wide"
Big Poppa's a little weary eyed this Friday morning, too many frosty cold ones and empty peanut bowls from watching a triple overtime Penguins game and the NFL Draft. But I stumbled upon an article concerning the state of Arizona's new "Birther" provision and I'm tired of conspiracy theories. People need to come up with better conspiracies for 2012.
So Big Poppa's thinking of running for President of the United States in the 2012 election cycle, well besides the three basic U.S. Constitutional laws we have, Arizona added a fourth for everyone to follow and there are more states to follow.
On April 22, 2010, the great state of Arizona passed a new anti-immigration bill that sent the Media-heads twisting. The Arizona House also passed a smaller provision that very afternoon as well, we'll call it the "Birther Provision." The same measure is on State Legislature calendars in Oklahoma, Florida, and Missouri.
The U.S. Constitution, that "living" document so many Americans hold close to their heart, states three simple steps to legally become the President of the United States:
1. Only a native born U.S. citizen may be President of the United States. If you are born abroad, as long as both parents are still citizens of the United States, you can still become president.
2. You must be at least 35 years old to be president (Note: there is no upper age limit, so if you are 100 years old, you can be president.)
3. In addition to being a natural born citizen, you must live within the United States for at least 14 years. There is no mention of these being consecutive years.
The U.S. Constitution could not be any more clearer to those facts and by all means, President Barack Obama has met all those requirements. No where in the U.S. Constitution does it say "A document stating place of birth be required." Was Senator John McCain asked to show his birth certificate in 2000 or in 2008? He was not born in the United States, we was born on a Naval Base in Panama, but he still met the requirements.
Does Barack Obama meet Criteria #1? President Obama was born in Hawaii, it became the 50th state on August 21, 1959. President Barack Obama was born on August 4, 1961. To this day there are many Americans who still believe President Barack Obama is not a natural born citizen. But Hawaii was indeed our 50th state for almost two years when he was born.
House Resolution Bill 593 was signed on July 27, 2009. The resolution states "recognizing and celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the entry of Hawaii into the Union as the 50th State," and also notes this provision "Whereas the 44th President of the United States, Barack Obama, was born in Hawaii." So he meets criteria #1 on the Constitution.
Does Barack Obama meet criteria #2? Well even though his father is from Kenya, his mother, Ann Dunham, was a natural born citizen as well. Born in Wichita, Kansas and had lived all across the globe, never relinquishing her U.S. citizenship. So he meets criteria #2.
What about criteria #3? Though he lived with his mother on her ventures across the globe, he attended several schools in the United States and at the age of 48, he has been here longer than the 14 recommended years.
So what all the fuss about a birth certificate? Simple conspiracy is the answer. Just because he has never shown a "long" form of his birth certificate, people would that against him.
Or is it because his middle name is Hussein? Are people that ignorant in today's world to hold a man's dream hostage due to his middle name, albeit a family name. What if his middle name was Joseph, but spelled "Josef." Would people say he was a Communist because that is how Josef Stalin spelled his name? What if it were Ivan or Igor? Would people think of Ivan the Terrible or the disfigured minion of Count Dracula?
Now Arizona, with the states of Oklahoma, Florida and Missouri in tow, is now requiring anyone who wants to be in their states presidential ballot needs to show a birth certificate to prove citizenship. Maybe this should be taken up with the Federal Elections Committee first, because nowhere in their official guidelines does it state anything about showing a birth certificate.
Arizona legislatures state the "birther" provision is meant to help contain illegal immigrants in their state. Yet, this provision is pointing directly at President Obama and he is not helping the matter at all. President Obama has shown his "short" birth certificate, the only one he says he has. Is it a legal document? Yes it is, with doctor signatures and the Hawaii Hospital stamp on it.
We pride ourselves on our "living" Constitution, should we not still believe that it is correct on how we elect our presidents?
These "birthers" don't actually believe President Obama is not legally able to be the President. It's as simple as sour grapes. Their party didn't win, so they're going to have temper tantrums until 2017 (hopefully longer).
ReplyDeleteI thought we had decided travelling on an unrestricted US passport established citizenship. Last time I got a passport I had to show a birth certificate. We know that Obama has a passport.
ReplyDeleteS'ok, Big Poppa... we just need to build that wall they're so all-fired sure will cure all their immigration problems down there a few ticks north of the Mohave, Coconino, Nsvajo and Apache county lines there in the Grand Canyon state... hell, wall it the whole way around and 50 feet high...
ReplyDeleteThey can have anyone they want be their President, no one will be able to get in and bother 'em... and none of THEM will be able to get out and bother ME!
I'm not a birther, however, I don't think it is as black & white as you are making it out to be. Dad was Kenyan & a subject of the UK. The mother was too young to confer her citizenship. The Constitution does not allow dual citizenships for president. If you are saying that O didn't have one, then how do you account for the fact that he visited Pakistan as a college student at a time that those holding a US passport were not permitted to travel there.
ReplyDeleteAlso, the "certification of live birth" posted online and widely touted as "Obama's birth certificate" does not in any way prove he was born in Hawaii, since the same "short-form" document is easily obtainable for children not born in Hawaii. The true "long-form" birth certificate – which includes information such as the name of the birth hospital and attending physician – is the only document that can prove Obama was born in Hawaii, but to date he has not permitted its release for public or press scrutiny. It would seem that the much touted transparency would put an end to it.
ABC News "Apparently, according to the Obama campaign, In 1981 -- the year Obama transferred from Occidental College to Columbia University -- Obama visited his mother and sister Maya in Indonesia. After that visit, Obama traveled to Pakistan with a friend from college whose family was from there. The Obama campaign says Obama was in Pakistan for about three weeks, staying with his friend's family in Karachi and also visiting Hyderabad in Southern India."
ReplyDeleteFActcheck.org (the one VP Dick Cheney told everyone to use in 2004 campaign):"The document is a "certification of birth," also known as a short-form birth certificate. The long form is drawn up by the hospital and includes additional information such as birth weight and parents' hometowns. The short form is printed by the state and draws from a database with fewer details. The Hawaii Department of Health's birth record request form does not give the option to request a photocopy of your long-form birth certificate, but their short form has enough information to be acceptable to the State Department. We tried to ask the Hawaii DOH why they only offer the short form, among other questions, but they have not given a response."
How many Americans have their long form borth certificate? How many older parents, 50-70, have their child's long form?
Actually, my birth certificate from PA is notorized with the Seal and does contain this information as does my son's from the state of Delaware.I didn't even know there was such a thing as a long or short term bc until all this.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure many people only thought there was one birth form only, but I am only speaking for myself. Before applying for a marriage license, I couldn't find my birth certificate nor could my parents, so I had to call and get a copy. Luckily now we have copies of our birth certificates, marriage license and our son's original birth cert in a safe place..
ReplyDeleteJust can't remember where that safe place is! Dang I'm good at hide and go seek or maybe I'm bad at it
"We pride ourselves on our "living" Constitution, should we not still believe that it is correct on how we elect our presidents?"
ReplyDeleteWe don't "pride ourselves" that our Constitution is "living". It's not. Only progressives / liberals believe that. According to MANY polls, the USA is a center right country.