Shostack + Friends Blog Archive

 

Is Barack Obama an American Citizen?

It might seem, to the average person, that the “Birthers” must have a tough time proving their case. After all, Barack Obama has released his Certification of Live Birth (pictured above), which meets all the requirements for proving one’s citizenship to the State Department. The authenticity of the certificate has been verified by Hawaii state government. Moreover, Barack Obama’s birth announcement was found in two newspapers at the time, and such notices were provided directly by the Hawaii Department of Health.

Faced with this overwhelming evidence, the average person will no doubt shrug and consider the case closed. There is no question that the evidence points to the conclusion that Barack Obama was born in Hawaii and is therefore a “natural-born citizen.”

No question, that is, if you accept the dominant paradigm of metaphysical realism. That is, the idea that things exist independent of the mind and that those things are perceivable and knowable. Moreover, those who insist that Barack Obama is an American citizen also rely on philosophic naturalism–the idea that reality is subject to objective, knowable natural laws that can’t be tampered with.

Read the whole thing:
Is Barack Obama an American Citizen? [link to http://www.hereticalideas.com/2009/07/is-barack-obama-an-american-citizen/ no longer works]

7 comments on "Is Barack Obama an American Citizen?"

  • Nicko says:

    Moreover, those who insist that Barack Obama is an American citizen also rely on philosophic naturalism–the idea that reality is subject to objective, knowable natural laws that can’t be tampered with.
    Geez, that would explain why people who think Obama was born in the USA also seem to believe in whack-a-do ideas like evolution, human involvement in climate change and the crazy concept that the world might be round. When Palin wins in 2012 she better instruct the Army to go back in time 2,500 years, invade Greece and put a stop to all this unholy logic stuff!

  • Anonymous says:

    whats the big deal with him showing proof!!but there again he can’tprove half the stupid shit he does!!!

  • tim says:

    Please stop it. The problem is not the birthers the problem is everyone and their brother giving this nonsense the time of day. Just stop it. This is beyond silly and takes the attention from real issues….

  • Adam says:

    Aww, Tim, if we can’t mock the birthers, who can we mock?

  • David Brodbeck says:

    Nicko: I’m sure she’ll get to that as soon as she finishes defeating Neptune, the God of the Sea.
    Anonymous: He has shown proof (see factcheck.org for a picture of his birth certificate), but the thing about conspiracy theories is you can’t talk people out of them with facts.
    Tim: Well, they’re oddly fascinating. Plus, according to a recent poll 28% of Republicans buy into this stuff, and an additional 30% aren’t sure. When a majority of Republicans are sympathetic to an idea that seems crazy on its face, it bears a look.

  • Dan Weber says:

    First off, I want to say that I believe that Obama was born in Hawai’i. I was convinced even before I saw the newspapers with the birth announcements. To try and prove he wasn’t born in America requires massive reality distortion fields and a huge conspiracy that would have to have been done 48 years ago, as well as requiring Hawai’i’s Republican governor to expose herself to needless risks.
    Second, I want to say that what we haven’t seen Obama’s original birth certificate, we’ve seen a record printed out from Hawai’i’s database. I know what has been supplied is absolutely sufficient from a legal perspective. I don’t think there is any legal requirement for anyone to produce anything that has already been supplied. I also know that Hawai’i’s officials in charge of it has sworn that the information in their old files matches the information that has been released. I also know that there is no legal requirement for the original to be released.
    Third, I need to repeat that I fully believe that Obama was born in the United States. And the longer the Republicans try to keep this issue alive, the more damage they do to themselves. When Ann Coulter says you are nuts, it’s time to listen.

  • PHB says:

    Well one security concern here is that moving from paper to electronic records may have unintended consequences as people may not trust your guardianship of those records later on.
    As with the events in Dallas, what happened is not the only thing that is important, what might have happened can have as great or even greater effect on history.
    For example, the Warren commission was a white wash, we have contemporary records that show it was intended to be a white wash. Why did they need a cover up? Well LBJ thought that Castro ordered the assassination of Kennedy in revenge for CIA attempts on his life. Since the US establishment did not want to admit that the CIA was a rogue agency at the time, they were forced to cover up. It was only later when the Church committee reported that the CIA activities came to light.
    Whatever conspiracy might have happened, the conspiracy that LBJ believed in has continuing impact today, it is a large part of the reason for continued sanctions on Cuba.
    The real impact of the flat-earth birthers is that they are tearing the GOP apart. They are turning it into a LaRouche style cult. And just like the other cults, it is proving mighty profitable for the people who run it.
    Birtherism is just one of the hot buttons that the cult-leaders can press to deliver contributions, gay-marriage, abortion, climate change denial, school prayer, the issue is not the issue, it does not matter, only the donations matter.
    A direct mail campaign to a million rubes will typically bring in $5 million or so in donations for the cause. Only a small part of that money will be spent on the cause itself, the vast bulk (up to 90%) will go to the organizers as ‘administrative fees’. But the actual out of pocket cost of sending out the letters is perhaps only $1 each. So the organizers can trouser up to $3.5 million. Repeat every 3 months or so.
    That is why all those wingnut book clubs are so profitable. The real objective is to build a mailing list of certified rubes who are likely to cough up for more nonsense.

Comments are closed.