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patgund(Crossposted from my article at Yes to Democracy)
That seems to be the concept some PUMAs are running with - that there's something......funny about Sen. Obama's birth certificate.
Like the vast majority of PUMA attacks on Sen. Obama, the recipe for this is one part wishful thinking, one part wingnuttery, one part lies and smears, a dash of racism, baked for weeks in an echo chamber, and devoured by the JSND crowd unthinkingly.
There seem to be two main sources for this constant myth. The formerly sane "NoQuarter", and the blog of PUMA "TexasDarlin". "TexasDarlin" is the one who cross-posts the latest round of myths to "NoQuarter" as the old ones get busted.
Now to anything with more than two brain cells to rub together, it's obvious that the whole thing is a fishing trip designed to find ANYTHING they can use to claim that Sen. Obama is not a "Natural-born US Citizen" and therefore cannot be president. It beggars belief that someone could get a passport, run for state office, run for FEDERAL office, get the security clearances senators require, be vetted to run for President, etc., unless there was solid, hardcore evidence they met the qualifications.
But to the tinfoil hat brigade, there's some sort of cover up that stretches across three or four countries, three continents, more than one state, and anyplace else they can drag in. Next thing I expect is a claim that the Illuminati or the Gnomes of Zurich are behind it.
The birth certificate lie has been pretty much nuked by urban legend site Snopes, which has a running list of debunked Obama smears. So let's look at the history of this myth, shall we?
9 June 2008, The National Review's Campaign Spot commented that "Obama Could Debunk Some Rumors By Releasing His Birth Certificate".
Basically those rumours were that:
1) Sen. Obama was born in Kenya, not Hawaii
2) His middle name was “Hussein” but “Muhammad".
3) His original first name was "Barry".
The Campaign released a redacted version of the birth certificate, or Hawaiian "Certificate of Live Birth" (COLB), as seen here and here.
Enter the tinfoil hat brigade.
18 June - The St. Petersburg Times contacted the Hawaii Department of Health, who said: "It's a valid Hawaii state birth certificate". This was made by Janice Okubo, Director of Communications of the State of Hawaii Department of Health.
20 June a blogger, "Polarik", on the Right-Wing site "Townhall.com" claimed that his "expert analysis" of the certificate indicated it was a fake. This was based on a) comparing the Hawaiian copy from the campaign to a scanned New York state COLB, and b) pointing out alleged evidence that the Hawaiian one was done on a graphics programme. PUMA "TexasDarlin" then posted this on her blog and NoQuarter, and the game was on.
You might be wondering "What Game?", since the State of Hawaii confirmed it as legit 2 days previously. But let not little things like reality stop the fishing trip of a PUMA!
21 June - "TexasDarlin"had the claim that since Stanley Ann Dunham (Sen. Obama's mother), made a trip with a newborn Barack Obama back to visit family and friends in Mercer Island, Washington. At that point, TexasDarlin hints "Is it possible that Dunham actually delivered Barry someplace close to Mercer Island — either in the US or Canada"
24 June, the right-wing "Israel Insider" website broke a story about the COLB being a forgery. Israel Insider has an ongoing track record of Obama smears so this is not unusual. However, notice how much the PUMAs are using Right-Wing sites and sources to back up their claims. Kinda weird for supposed "progressives", don't cha' think? "TexasDarlin", of course, cites it. Curiously enough, the same Hawaiian official who Israel Insider cited as proof it was a fake, was the same Janice Okubo that confirmed it for the St. Petersburg Times on 18 June.
27 June, the St. Petersburg Times prints another story about the COLB, who said that "if this document is forged, then they all are", and ended with
28 June, and "TexasDarlin" is claiming that Janice Okubo is dodging her questions (more like is sick and tired of being hounded)
30 June, and "TexasDarlin" makes the claim that the Daily Kos is "tampering" with the COLB.
That seems to be the concept some PUMAs are running with - that there's something......funny about Sen. Obama's birth certificate.
Like the vast majority of PUMA attacks on Sen. Obama, the recipe for this is one part wishful thinking, one part wingnuttery, one part lies and smears, a dash of racism, baked for weeks in an echo chamber, and devoured by the JSND crowd unthinkingly.
There seem to be two main sources for this constant myth. The formerly sane "NoQuarter", and the blog of PUMA "TexasDarlin". "TexasDarlin" is the one who cross-posts the latest round of myths to "NoQuarter" as the old ones get busted.
Now to anything with more than two brain cells to rub together, it's obvious that the whole thing is a fishing trip designed to find ANYTHING they can use to claim that Sen. Obama is not a "Natural-born US Citizen" and therefore cannot be president. It beggars belief that someone could get a passport, run for state office, run for FEDERAL office, get the security clearances senators require, be vetted to run for President, etc., unless there was solid, hardcore evidence they met the qualifications.
But to the tinfoil hat brigade, there's some sort of cover up that stretches across three or four countries, three continents, more than one state, and anyplace else they can drag in. Next thing I expect is a claim that the Illuminati or the Gnomes of Zurich are behind it.
The birth certificate lie has been pretty much nuked by urban legend site Snopes, which has a running list of debunked Obama smears. So let's look at the history of this myth, shall we?
9 June 2008, The National Review's Campaign Spot commented that "Obama Could Debunk Some Rumors By Releasing His Birth Certificate".
Basically those rumours were that:
1) Sen. Obama was born in Kenya, not Hawaii
2) His middle name was “Hussein” but “Muhammad".
3) His original first name was "Barry".
The Campaign released a redacted version of the birth certificate, or Hawaiian "Certificate of Live Birth" (COLB), as seen here and here.
Enter the tinfoil hat brigade.
18 June - The St. Petersburg Times contacted the Hawaii Department of Health, who said: "It's a valid Hawaii state birth certificate". This was made by Janice Okubo, Director of Communications of the State of Hawaii Department of Health.
20 June a blogger, "Polarik", on the Right-Wing site "Townhall.com" claimed that his "expert analysis" of the certificate indicated it was a fake. This was based on a) comparing the Hawaiian copy from the campaign to a scanned New York state COLB, and b) pointing out alleged evidence that the Hawaiian one was done on a graphics programme. PUMA "TexasDarlin" then posted this on her blog and NoQuarter, and the game was on.
You might be wondering "What Game?", since the State of Hawaii confirmed it as legit 2 days previously. But let not little things like reality stop the fishing trip of a PUMA!
21 June - "TexasDarlin"had the claim that since Stanley Ann Dunham (Sen. Obama's mother), made a trip with a newborn Barack Obama back to visit family and friends in Mercer Island, Washington. At that point, TexasDarlin hints "Is it possible that Dunham actually delivered Barry someplace close to Mercer Island — either in the US or Canada"
24 June, the right-wing "Israel Insider" website broke a story about the COLB being a forgery. Israel Insider has an ongoing track record of Obama smears so this is not unusual. However, notice how much the PUMAs are using Right-Wing sites and sources to back up their claims. Kinda weird for supposed "progressives", don't cha' think? "TexasDarlin", of course, cites it. Curiously enough, the same Hawaiian official who Israel Insider cited as proof it was a fake, was the same Janice Okubo that confirmed it for the St. Petersburg Times on 18 June.
27 June, the St. Petersburg Times prints another story about the COLB, who said that "if this document is forged, then they all are", and ended with
"There is not one shred of evidence to disprove PolitiFact’s conclusion that the candidate’s name is Barack Hussein Obama, or to support allegations that the birth certificate he released isn’t authentic. And that’s true no matter how many people cling to some hint of doubt and use the Internet to fuel their innate sense of distrust."
28 June, and "TexasDarlin" is claiming that Janice Okubo is dodging her questions (more like is sick and tired of being hounded)
30 June, and "TexasDarlin" makes the claim that the Daily Kos is "tampering" with the COLB.
