The Tampa Buccaneers managed to maintain first place in the NFC South division by defeating the New Orleans Saints today 23-20 at Raymond James Stadium thanks to interceptions by Jermaine Phillips, Cato June, and Phillip Buchanon. Jeff Garcia and Warrick Dunn turned in relatively mediocre performances but with the help of the mighty Bucs' defense, it proved enough to propel them past the Saints.
Although both the Bucs and the Carolina Panthers enter week 14 at 9-3, the Bucs currently prevail in any tie-breaking scenario. Next week's match up with the Panthers may prove to be the most important game of the year as the two teams fight for undisputed first place in the hotly contested division.
Each day I vow to no longer write about the controversy surrounding the birth certificate of President Elect Barack Obama and each day I break that vow after digging up some juicy tidbit. No juice today but I still can't avoid the temptation because of all the inaccurate information that I see floating around the blogospere. There appear to be many misinformed people who are in turn creating even more misinformed people so I felt a need to add my two cents on what I know to be fact, know to be rumour, and know to be pure speculation.
Early this past summer, many questioned the natural born citizenship status of Barack Obama based on three main points of reasoning.
1. Rumours abounded that Mr. Obama had been born in Mombasa, Kenya rather than Honolulu, Hawaii as recorded in his book, Dreams of My Father, and as recorded by the campaign. The only proof offered this far in connection to this theory was from an interview with Obama's paternal grandmother conducted over the telephone between two missionaries acting as translators. She referred to Obama as a "son of Kenya" and then later claimed that she witnessed his birth in Mombasa. There are also rumors of a Kenyan birth certificate that has supposedly been sealed by authorities.
2. Obama moved to Jakarta, Indonesia with his mother and stepfather, Lolo Soetoro, sometime around 1967. Mr. Soetoro registered Obama in school under the name Barry Soetoro, listing him as an Indonesian citizen with his religion as Islam. Many unknowns exist here. At the time, Indonesia did not allow foreign citizens to attend public schools. Did Mr. Soetoro adopt young Obama to allow for his education or did he only lie on the paper work to complete registration? Also at the time, Indonesia did not recognize dual citizenship, although this may not have been reciprocated by the U.S. government. The question that remains is did young Obama forfeit his American citizenship to attend school in Jakarta?
3. During the campaign, when questioned about his lack of foreign policy experience, Obama replied that he had travelled to Pakistan while in college and had derived expertise from those travels. At the time, Pakistan was on the state department's do not travel list. Much speculation persists that if he travelled to Pakistan and then later India, it must have been on an Indonesian passport. This has never been confirmed.
In response to those questioning, in mid June, the Obama campaign sent a .jpg scanned Hawaiian Certification of Live Birth (COLB) to the Daily Kos. Several days later, the same image appeared on factcheck.org, politifact.com, and Obama's own site fightthesmears.com. Immediately the internet erupted with claims that the COLB was a forgery. In researching Hawaiian law, many also learned that parents who were citizens could register foreign births with the state within a year and receive the same COLB.
Many lawsuits followed insisting Obama reveal the "vault" copy or long form version of his birth certificate which shows the birth hospital, attending physician, and many other bits of information that are omitted on the COLB. Rather than submit the document, the Obama campaign repeatedly files for motions to dismiss creating another buzz of "What is he hiding?". To date, I know of at least 39 lawsuits that have been filed around the country with three currently sitting at the U.S. Supreme Court.
I'll address many of the inaccuracies I've seen floating around the internet.
1. Barack Obama is a Muslim. This is not completely accurate. Obama was born into a secular Muslim household and then later raised for several years by another secular Muslim stepfather. Apparently, very little religion was practiced at home. Obama's maternal grandparents had more influence over his life and they were atheistic. As an adult Obama attended Jeremiah Wright's Trinity United Church of Christ where he later married wife Michelle and where apparently he was baptized but no records have been obtained.
2. Barack Obama was born in Kenya. So far, this is only speculation. No Kenyan birth certificate or record has surfaced and no one has yet been able to obtain the travel documents of Obama's mother, Stanley Anne Dunham, from the early 60's.
3. Barack Obama is more Arab than black. I saw dozens of postings yesterday claiming that Obama's genealogy shows that he is less than 7% black and over 40% Arabic. This is nonsense. His American mother was 100% Caucasian and his father a Luo tribe member from Kenya who was a 100% black. Many of the Luo converted to Islam and adopted Arabic sounding names. That does not make them Arabic.
4. Justice Souter has ordered Obama to reply to the lawsuit filed by Phillip Berg by Dec. 1st. This again is untrue. Normal response time to any suit is 30 days. Obama may respond but he has not been ordered to respond. Additionally, Berg is only before the supreme court because lower courts ruled that he did not have legal standing. If the supreme court decided that he does have standing, then most likely the case would be referred back to the lower courts.
5. Hawaiian heath department's Dr. Fukino has verified that Obama was born in Hawaii. This is also untrue. The only thing that Dr. Fukino revealed is that she had examined the original certificate and found it authentic. She never did reveal whether the place of birth was Hawaii or Mombasa.
The real truth of the matter lies in the fact that the leader of the mightiest nation in the world should be somewhat above reproach. Many question whether Obama meets the "natural born" citizenship provision of Article II of the U.S. Constitution. The only irrefutable proof would be the review of the vault copy birth certificate by a non partisan inspector and a decision made by the U.S Supreme Court regarding the possible forfeiture of U.S. citizenship while residing in Indonesia.
This matter will never be totally settled by bloggers or defendants requesting dismissals rather than providing the proper documentation.
And I really can't help that I'm addicted to writing about this issue!
In light of the dire economic and political times, one may ask, what do I have to be thankful for? I pondered that question myself and determined:
I'm thankful for the health of my spouse, my parents, my children, my grandchildren, myself and all of my extended family.
I'm thankful to own and work in an enterprise that maintains in spite of a downward spiraling economy.
I'm thankful for a life that's been thrown a lot of curve balls, but every now and then manages to hit a home run.
I'm thankful for the people in my life that God's given me to love and thankful that they love me back despite my cantankerous disposition.
But most of all, I'm thankful for a Saviour who gave up His kingdom to clothe Himself in flesh and blood and sacrifice Himself for my sin affording me eternal life.
Or as we're instructed in 1 Thessalonians Chapter 5: Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.
Appearing as the proverbial "beating a dead horse", information continually floods the internet concerning the authenticity of the birth certificate provided by the Obama campaign to the Daily Kos, factcheck.org, and his own site fightthesmears.com. Recently a rather convincing argument has been presented by a man using the pseudonym Ron Polarik, proclaiming himself a computer forensic expert. Mr Polarik amazingly claims the document featured on these sites is unquestionably a forgery, utilizing Adobe Photoshop and other graphic manipulating software. His argument appears valid and as a graphic artist myself, I understand the science behind his findings. I only remain skeptical because the man has not revealed his true identity. I understand that he's afraid of possible repercussions but to maintain credibility, one must always step forward. I'm also a little concerned about his fanciful use of deductive reasoning but I'll leave that for another time. Here is a link to the full report: http://polarik.blogtownhall.com/ as well as a youtube video of the man disguising both his face and voice while presenting the "smoking gun".
As most readers of this blog are keenly aware, I've been extremely apprehensive about the thought of Barack Obama leading this country through the many crises that we now face.
At this time I'm still uncertain whether or not Mr. Obama meets the minimum qualifications per Article II of the U.S Constitution regarding natural born citizenship. I don't need to elaborate hear but there are at least a half a dozen lawsuits pending throughout the country questioning this matter.
I'm also deeply concerned about Obama's ability to lead us as Commander-in-Chief through a world wide war on terror currently being fought by our troops on two different fronts. It also troubles me that for any other government job, Mr. Obama would not pass the background check necessary to obtain a security clearance regarding sensitive information.
But what affects me the most personally seems to be the Obama tax plan. I'm neither an accountant or tax attorney so my grasp may be limited but I am the owner of two subchapter S corporations and a managing member in a land development LLC. The plan appears to me to not be original but only a resurrection of the Clinton tax plan with Bush style rebates thrown in to the majority of tax payers. I strive to not reveal too much personal information online but I must make myself a little more vulnerable now because I can only relate to how this matter personally affects me.
As a stockholder in subchapter S corporations, the profit from those entities trickles down from the corporate tax return through schedule K-1 to my personal tax return. As a result of this my taxable income for 2007 was $359,967 of which I paid $96,866 in income tax. Of the $263,101 remaining, my family lived on less than $100,00. The balance went toward interest payments on a new commercial building for one business that must be later capitalized and a stock buyout of former partners from another business. So the majority of money was reinvested to help maintain local economic growth which ultimately added jobs.
If I understand the Obama tax plan correctly, my taxes would have been $142,546, a staggering $45,680 higher than what was paid. Consider the crippling economic effect on a nation full of closely held corporations. In my case alone between one and two jobs would be lost or as much as 8% of the work force! Can our nation sustain that type of blow? With the additional money contributing to big federal government spending, there would also be a draining of the local economy. Unless I'm missing something, an additional 8% of the poulation unemployed would force this nation to tumble into another 1930's type depression. Hopefully, there still remains in Congress enough common sense to prevent this from happening. Why penalize small business owners with higher taxes while offering a $1,000 rebate to 95% of the population causing nearly 16% to become unemployed forcing even higher taxes to support the welfare state?
It appears to me that the Obama tax plan will cause an out of control downward spiral in the U.S. economy, stagnating business growth and the creation of jobs. Please, let's not allow that to happen.
Earlier today, the 0-10 Detroit Lions jumped to a comfortable first quarter 17-0 lead over the visiting Tampa Bay Buccaneers. But Jeff Garcia and the never out Bucs decimated the Lions defense to comeback with 35 unanswered points. Garcia threw for only 165 yards but for two touchdowns and no interceptions. Ronde Barbe played another one of many career high games with two interceptions, one of which he returned 65 yards for a touchdown. The fumble prone but blazingly fast Clifton Smith ran back a punt 70 yards for six points.
With today's win and the Panthers loss to the Falcons, the Bucs move into first place in the fiercely competitive NFC South. Tampa Bay returns home for a Turkey weekend game against the Saints.
After waking a little late yesterday morning, I opted out of the Everglades Chapter of the Antique Motorcycle Club of America's (AMCA) Turkey Run around Lake Okeechobee. The decision proved beneficial as I enjoyed the better part of the day with three of my grandchildren at the house riding four-wheelers and eating the Christmas cookies that they baked with my wife.
Feeling a bit fidgety toward the end of the day, We decided to head around the corner to the monthly blues festival held at the "World Famous" Buckingham Blues Bar. Arriving late, we missed the first several bands, but caught most of the set by headliner, Blues Stone. Hailing from Fort Lauderdale, Blues Stone delivered a raw, very genuine good rockin' blues sound. We enjoyed the band from a bench close to the fire pit since a cold front had moved in and it was a little chilly for southwest Florida.
Enjoy this clip Blue Stone performing "Soul Shine":
After grooving to the sounds of Blue Stone, we headed back to the house to steam a half dozen blue crabs and saute a filet of snook, left for us by a friend who had attended the blues festival. Thanks Gary, there's nothing like fresh seafood!
As another lawsuit, filed by Andy Martin in Hawaii, falls unfavorably toward the plaintiff, it occurred to me that the majority of these cases were filed not so much in defense of our Constitution but as an attention getter from those who seek public notoriety.
A lingering question still remains as to the natural born citizenship status of Barack Hussein Obama. He claims to have been born in Honolulu, Hawaii on August 4, 1961 and has presented a Certification of Live Birth (COLB) to the Daily Kos and factcheck.org, as well as his own site, fightthesmears.com and it has supposedly been authenticated.
Many concerns surround the COLB posted on these websites. Many forensic experts claim it a forgery. See youtube video below:
Personally, I'm not impressed by the credence of this argument but I do realize that according to Hawaiian law in effect during 1961, Hawaiian citizens who gave birth outside the country were able to register those births in Hawaii within one year. This could be a distinct possibility because Obama's paternal grandmother insisted while being interviewed that she witnessed his birth in Mombasa, Kenya.
Additionally, Obama's father, a Kenyan on a student visa, was not a U.S. citizen. At the time Kenya fell under the British protectorate so technically, at birth, Obama possibly became a citizen of Kenya, Great Britain, and the United States.
To further complicate matters, Obama's parents divorced when he was two years old and four years later his mother remarried an Indonesian national, Lolo Soetoro, and the family moved to Jakarta. Mr. Soetoro registered young Obama in school as an Indonesian citizen, listing his name as Barry Soetoro and his religion as Islam.
So the matter that should be decided by a competent jurisdiction is:
a) Can natural born status be conferred upon an individual born with divided loyalties against the intent of our founding fathers?
b) Did Obama lose his American citizenship in Indonesia and then later regain it as a naturalized, not natural born, citizen?
The internet abounds with chatter about this situation but in reality, it needs to be addressed in the proper venue which ultimately would be the Supreme Court of the United States.
The major problem faced appears to be the credibility of the parties filing these lawsuits. I'm aware of at least 39 lawsuits that have been filed throughout the country either questioning Obama's eligibility or seeking access to the vault copy of his birth certificate. Most of these have already been dismissed but others are open and have received a fair amount of publicity, especially from the more conservatively slanted news sources.
The first suit I became aware of was filed before the Democratic National Convention by Hillary Clinton supporter Phillip Berg. Unfortunately, many of the suits that followed Berg's based their content on supposed Berg discovery; much of which stands as still unsubstantiated claims. To worsen the situation, Berg's reputation for filing frivolous lawsuits precedes him. In response to the Gore vs. Bush decision in 2000, Berg filed asking Justices Scalia, O'Connor, and Thomas to voluntarily disbar themselves for not recusing themselves from the case due to conflicts of interest. After 9-11, Berg, claiming that the twin towers were destroyed by the American government, and filed suit against George Bush and Dick Cheney for crimes against humanity. Berg vs. Obama, already dismissed by two Pennsylvania lower court now sits at the US Supreme Court. The Obama camp has filed a waiver not to respond. Based on his prior history, Berg has almost no chance to further this case at the federal level. The Supreme Court has not even yet scheduled a conference. It is unlikely that they will even consider the matter.
The next highly publicized case was filed by the colorful litigator, Andy Martin. Martin has been sanctioned at many different judicial levels for being a vexatious litigant, noting that he has a tendency to file suits of a frivolous and scandalous nature. He's also run for numerous political offices as a Democrat, a Republican and an Independent. Martin filed in Honolulu Circuit Court requesting access to Obama's long form vault birth certificate. Judge Ayabe conducted an abbreviated hearing on November 18th, took the matter under advisement, and ruled on the 20th denying Mr. Martin access to the document.
Another case sitting before the U.S. Supreme court was filed by retired lawyer and professional poker player Leo Donofrio. Mr. Donofrio appealed to the Supreme Court after his case was rejected by New Jersey Courts. He challenges the citizenship of Barack Obama, John McCain and Socialist Party candidate, Roger Colera. The Supreme Court has actually scheduled a closed door conference for December 5th to determine whether they will address this case. Is this a legitimate suit or just another publicity stunt from the fame seeking Leo Donofrio?
Many bogus cases have been blogged about. The most notorious by a fellow named "Wild Bill" and supposedly filed in Virginia. No one has been able to determine any docketing in any Virginia jurisdiction regarding this matter; just another example of web based "hot air".
Currently, the most credible case to date must be the one filed last week in California Superior Court by the United States Justice Foundation on behalf of presidential candidate Alan Keyes, and two electors from America's Independence Party. Keyes, an ambassador under Ronald Reagan, may possess a less tainted reputation than either Berg or Martin, but he's also known as a perennial political loser. In fact, just during 2008, he lost the Republican primary, the Constitution Part primary and then basically nominated himself as the candidate from AIP. Mr. Keyes, as a candidate on many states' ballots, does appear to have standing in the matter, unlike Phillip Berg. But, will the courts look at Mr. Keyes with a legitimate claim, or for just being a sore loser?
Herein lies the problem. Do we have a string of media hounds seeking personal notoriety taking right wing Americans for a ride? I'm certain that's how it appears to the liberal media and the majority of America's courts. There exists a legitimate concern that should be addressed prior to the electoral college meeting in December but we desperately need a competent plaintiff with a sterling reputation as well as legal standing to come forward. Sir or ma'am, where are you?
Barack Obama's birth certificate may prove to be the most exclusively protected document of all time. Andy Martin's request before the Circuit Court of Honolulu to gain ability to examine Mr. Obama's vault copy birth certificate has been denied by Judge Ayabe. The court claims that Mr. Martin has not presented any evidence that sufficient harm will occur if the records are not provided and that there is insufficient evidence that the public supports the relief sought. And the most shocking part of the decision by Judge Ayabe is "There is a reasonable belief that the public would rather preserve the confidentiality of vital health records." This statement could not ring anymore untrue! The public demands to know the content of those records. I would presume that Andy Martin will appeal, but who knows?
The framers of the U.S. Constitution most certainly carried intent when the document was officially adopted in 1787. A bloody war fought for independence from the British ended just four years earlier. Consider this provision excerpted from Article II Section 1 concerning the presidency:
No Person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the Office of President; neither shall any person be eligible to that Office who shall not have attained to the Age of thirty five Years, and been fourteen Years a Resident within the United States.
Our founding fathers considered this citizenship provision most important so as to assure the President held no divided loyalties, most notably with the British. The constitution requires that a President be a "natural" born citizen, not a "naturalized" citizen. The residency requirement serves as a guarantee that those loyalties have not been tainted.
Now, 221 years later, many have taken issue with the possibility that Barack Obama may not be a natural born citizen. The only proof offered by the Democratic Party has been a Hawaiian Certification of Live Birth reprinted in June 2007. According to Hawaiian law in 1961, this document may have been obtained for children born outside the U.S. to parents desiring to register their children in Hawaii. Mr. Obama's Kenyan grandmother has insisted that she witnessed his birth in Mombasa. Whether born in Hawaii or not, Obama's mother was an American citizen, yet his father was Kenyan leading to the issue of divided loyalties. To further complicate matters, young Obama's parents divorced when he was two years old and his mother remarried several years later to an Indonesian national, Lolo Soetoro. Mr. Soetoro moved the family to Jakarta in 1967 where he registered Barack in school under the name Barry Soetoto listing his citizenship as Indonesian and his religion as Islam. Did Lolo Soetoro adopt Barack Obama as implied? If so, as a minor, Obama would have forfeited his American citizenship since neither country recognized dual citizenship during that time. Young Obama returned to Hawaii around 1971 to live with his grandparents and to attend school in Honolulu. After graduation from high school, Obama attended Occidental College in California for two years before transferring to Columbia University in New York. The summer between colleges, Obama travelled to Indonesia on an Indonesian passport to visit his mother and sister and from there to Pakistan and India. At that time, only Indonesian citizens could obtain Indonesian passports. This becomes another case for the possibility of divided loyalties. Another question to ask is did Barack Obama ever renounce his Indonesian citizenship or take any of the steps necessary to regain his United States citizenship? If he did, he would be a "naturalized" citizen, if not, an illegal alien. Additionally, when Obama applied to the Illinois Bar and also when confirmed to the U.S. Senate, he affirmed that he had never lived under any aliases. But we know that while attending school in Jakarta, he assumed the name Barry Soetoro and while attending school in Hawaii, he used Barry Obama.
There are now at least a half dozen court cases filed throughout the country attempting to ascertain the qualifications of Barack Obama to serve as President of the United States and all are requesting to acquire the vault or long form version of his official birth certificate which he has refused to provide. Many claim that the Certification of Live Birth posted on factcheck.org and fightthesmears.com is actually a forgery.
Another provision from the Constitution In Article II Section 4 is:
The President, Vice President and all Civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.
Would perjury in the case of lying on a bar application or forgery on a birth certificate constitute "high crimes" as defined by the constitution? Here again lies another possible disqualification of Barack Obama.
Infamous litigator Andy Martin appeared for a hearing at 10:30 Honolulu time (3:30 eastern) to petition the Hawaiian Circuit Court in Honolulu to release the "vault" copy or long form version of Barack Obama's birth certificate. The suit filed against Linda Lingle, governor of Hawaii and Dr. Shiyome Fukino, the director of the Department of Health, heard by Judge Ayabe has been taken under advisement by the court. Jill Nagamine of the state Attorney General's office, representing the defendents, petitioned the court to dismiss the case but to no avail.
Amazingly, the NBC affiliate in Augusta, Georgia picked up on the lawsuit filed November 14 in California Superior Court on behalf of Alan Keyes and others questioning the qualifications of Barack Obama to serve as President of the United States. Speculation abounds across the country as to whether or not Mr. Obama is a natural born citizen of the United States. Numerous lawsuits have been filed seeking access to the "vault" copy or long form version of Obama's birth certificate.
Currently, active lawsuits sit before judges in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, California, and Hawaii, as well as the U.S. Supreme Court. Many suits were filed previously and dismissed and more suits are pending.
Andy Martin appears in Honolulu Circuit Court today at 10:30 am local time (3:30 pm eastern) to present his case for the release of Barack Obama's official long form birth certificate from 1961. Many question the authenticity of the Certification of Live Birth reprint posted on web sites such as factcheck.org and fightthesmears.com, especially in light of Obama's paternal grandmother's claim that she witnessed his birth in Mombasa, Kenya. Hopefully, the judge will side with Mr. Martin enlightening we the people only a tad more about the history of Mr. Obama.
If the birth certificate proves Obama's Hawaiian birth, which is likely, lawsuits filed by Phillip Berg and Alan Keyes lose much of their firepower. They must then focus on the Indonesian citizenship issue, which is still very much a valid argument which should be settled judiciously.
If the birth certificate shows birth in Kenya or anywhere else, Obama may still prove himself a natural born American citizen due to the status of his mother but he would also be painted a liar and perjurer.
If the judge refuses to release the document, then we will remain in the dark about the factual history of the man soon to be President of the United States.
I found the California Superior Court file containing the Writ of Mandate regarding the lawsuit filed by Alan Keyes and others regarding the qualification of Barack Obama to serve as President of the United States based on his status as a natural born citizen. The 18 page filing is too long to post on this blog so here is a link:
Former Bucs safety John Lynch will announce his retirement later today from a news conference at the Buccaneers headquarters located at One Buccaneer Place in Tampa. The nine time pro-bowler, known for his hard hitting style, helped lead the Bucs to victory in the 2002 Super Bowl. Lynch played his first eleven seasons in Tampa until traded to the Denver Broncos in 2004, where he played the last four. He signed with the Patriots during this year's pre-season but they released him prior to the first game. Good Luck John and God bless!
In a brief respite from the rigors of managing a small business during a downward economic spiral and political blogging, the wife and I headed north to Raymond James Stadium to watch the Bucs stomp the Vikings.
Adrian Peterson slithered his way through the Tampa defense at every opportunity but to no avail as the Bucs defeated the Vikings 19-13.
Matt Bryant kicked 3 field goals and a rectivated B.J. Askew ran for a touchdown as the Bucs defeated their pre-realignment black and blue division rivals.
I found myself pleasantly surprised yesterday when I discovered that a new suit questioning the natural born citizenship of Barack Obama and therefore his qualification to serve as President of the United States had been filed before the Superior Court of California. The suit was filed by Gary Kreep (good name for a lawyer) of the United States Justice Foundation on behalf of Alan Keyes, a presidential candidate on the American Independent Party ticket, as well as California electors, Wiley S. Drake and Markham Robinson. Besides Obama, California Secretary of State Debra Bowen, Vice President Elect Joe Biden, and a list of 53 California electors were also named as defendants.
Although neither a lawyer or legal professional, it appears to me that the three plaintiffs in this particular case do actually have standing, something which Phillip Berg has had difficulty proving in his case filed before the Pennsylvania courts and now in the hands of the U.S. Supreme Court. In hindsight, Mr. Berg probably should have found citizens with standing who he could have represented as council and filed on their behalf, therefore avoiding a pile of legal technicalities.
With cases pending in Hawaii, Ohio, Connecticut, Washington, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Georgia, this issue will apparently soon come to a head. Chicago lawyer Andy Martin has a hearing scheduled for November 18th to attempt to force the state of Hawaii to produce the vault copy of Obama's birth certificate, which would indicate the birth hospital, attending physician, and other details not present on the short form Certification of Live Birth posted on web sites such as factcheck.org. Mr. Martin should have a better than average chance of prevailing due to the pinpoint accuracy of details outlined in the suit and the fact that he most definitely avoided jurisdictional issues. Evidence obtained by Andy Martin in Hawaii may be brought forth in the California case as well as others so Mr. Martin's early efforts may prove to be the backbone of the entire movement.
In my opinion, the suit filed yesterday in California on behalf of Alan Keyes has the most potential for success. Alan Keyes and the two electors can prove both standing and proper jurisdiction. This case lacks the hearsay and unsubstantiated claims of the Berg case. I also feel that the attorney for the plaintiffs should focus more on the Indonesian connection rather than the 1961 vault copy of Obama's birth certificate. When Ann and Lolo Soetoro moved their family to Indonesia in 1967, Mr Soetoro enrolled young Barack in school under the name Barry Soetoro as an Indonesian citizen listing his religion as Islam. During that time, neither Indonesia or the United States recognized dual citizenship. Although Obama returned to the U.S. four years later, he travelled to Indonesia in 1981 to visit his mother utilizing an Indonesian passport according to his book, Dreams of My Father. He renewed his passport while in Jakarta and travelled on to Pakistan which at that time was on the U.S. do not travel list. Under Indonesian law, only citizens could obtain passports from that country.
The complicated questions that must be answered by any of these cases to set precedent are:
a) Is Obama a natural born U.S. citizen under laws in effect during 1961?
b) If Obama forfeited his citizenship while naturalized in Indonesia, does he somehow retain his natural born status or is he now a "naturalized" citizen rather than "natural born"?
c) Upon returning to the U.S., did Obama take the steps necessary to regain U.S. citizenship or is he now technically an illegal alien?
Due to many legal difficulties, this web can only be untangled by a competent court system with evidence presented by plaintiffs that can prove both standing and proper jurisdiction. Good luck, Mr. Keyes! May God bless you!
I'm surprised that no soft drink manufacturer has recruited Sarah Palin to plug their product, due to her huge advocacy of the industry. During an October big ticket fund raiser in Naples, she declared, "We will win Florida. I'll betcha a Pepsi!" Unfortunately she now owes those $10,000 a plate attendees a Pepsi but what a wonderful promotion of the product. Last week I watched on network television as yet another interviewer grilled her mercilessly over the campaign wardrobe expenditures. She exclaimed, "I never asked for anything from the campaign other than maybe a Diet Dr. Pepper!" for another great large audience plug.
I hope that we will soon see commercials of Ms. Palin promoting one of these products much as Bob Dole advertised for Viagra after his election loss. Hopefully Pepsi-Cola Co. and Dr. Pepper Co. are now in a bidding war to receive her endorsement. Unless of course, Budweiser is seeking her support for their "Joe 6-Pack" campaign. Good luck Sarah! I hope you make millions!
Until very recently, I've adamantly supported the suit filed by Phillip Berg questioning Barack Obama's qualification as President of the United State based on the issue of national born citizenship. In a nutshell, Mr. Berg asserts that there are two possible scenarios in which Mr. Obama is not a natural born citizen. First, Berg believes Anne Dunham gave birth to Obama in Mombasa, Kenya rather than Honolulu, Hawaii as reported. In my opinion, this argument carries little weight because his mother was still a United States citizen, and there exists a certificate of live birth listing Obama's birthplace as Honolulu. Secondly, Berg states that Obama forfeited his American citizenship when the family moved to Indonesia in 1967. This argument holds more water because if Obama lost his U.S. citizenship then returned to the country and regained it, he would be a naturalized citizen, not a natural born citizen and therefore ineligible to be President. Mr. Berg has a strong, credible argument that should be settled by our court system but he also apparently lacks standing in his ability to file.
Even if Phillip Berg can prove standing in the Berg vs. Obama case before the supreme court, I feel that it may be in the nation's best interest for the case to still be dismissed. If Barack Obama's popularity became tainted with his disqualification to hold the nation's highest office, unchecked civil unrest would be released. I'm certain that we would see major bouts of rioting and a move toward anarchy, which could possibly lead to civil war. It may prove to be safer to allow Obama to serve his presidency and let him be judged on his own merit. Constitutionally, we may now have the nation's greatest test of it's system of checks and balances.
If Obama wisely governs from the center, allowing for the people's best interest, he may succeed and actually make a difference. If he leans too far left, he will alienate a large segment of society and we will probably see a re-run of 1994 when the Republicans made huge advances in the House and Senate and assumed control for the first time in over 40 years.
Mr. Berg, your case provides adequate proof and holds merit. You speak of an unavoidable constitutional crisis if the case cannot be settled expeditiously, yet I feel that the potential for crisis may be greater if Obama is disqualified. Perhaps, it's better to allow our political system the time to return balance. Sometimes it's best to just let sleeping dogs lie.
Heavenly Father, Please protect the brave men and women who valiantly serve our country, especially those who are currently deployed. Strengthen those who have been wounded and have given limbs for our liberty and freedom. Comfort the fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, sons and daughters who have lost loved ones and are grieving. Give peace to those who have been traumatized by witnessing events not meant to be seen by man. Give our leaders insight to end these conflicts victoriously and not allow them to bring shame and humiliation upon our troops. Help bring this country back to the realization that the only one true leader is You. In the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, we pray. Amen.
In true harmony with his narcissistic messianic complex, Barack Obama's first political appointment was Chief of Staff, Rahm Emanuel, a man who's name in Hebrew means "God is with us".
But all joking aside, I feel that Emanuel may prove to be a decent choice for the job and offer some balance to the Obama philosophical platform. Although both men tend to lean far left on domestic issues such as universal health care, abortion, and gay marriage, Mr. Emanuel stands diametrically opposed to Obama on many foreign policy matters including the war in Iraq and our relations in the Middle East. Although he feels President Bush made a few strategic blunders, Emanuel supports Bush's all out war on terror including the invasion of Iraq and the ousting of Saddam Hussein. Where Obama tends to be a little too pro-Palestinian, Emanuel, a modern orthodox Jew, is fully pro-Israel. A first generation American, he held dual American-Israeli citizenship until the age of 18 and served in the Israeli military during the first Gulf War.
So hats off to you, Mr. Obama, for not selecting a "yes man" as your first appointee. I understand that as an intellectual, you enjoy debate with those of opposing views. I hope that your domestic cabinet positions may be filled with individuals who may help align you more with the center.
The city of Fort Myers kicked off 2009 early with the first of four downtown bike nights. The logic escapes me as to why the first bike night of 2009 was held on November 8, 2007 but that wasn't going to stop me from having a little fun. So early in the evening, I threw the wife on the back of the 2003 Heritage Softail and cruised down Palm Beach Boulevard to downtown Fort Myers.
We people watched while enjoying a fantastic gourmet meal from a sidewalk table at Delicious Things, a First Street restaurant which truly earns it's name. After dinner, we meandered toward Starbuck's for a nice cup of joe. Vendors lined both sides of the street and Renee couldn't help but to transfer some of our cash to them, although she did wind up with a nice belt and some flashy bling.
Coffee in hand, we headed to The Cigar Bar for a stogie and a single malt scotch then out to the street to rock to the old school metal sounds of Myth. After a set of head banging, we hopped back on the bike and enjoyed a brisk ride home.
Sorry for the poor quality photos. I inadvertently left my camera bag at home and had to use my cellular phone.
Emerging from the 1960's psychedelic movement, Pink Floyd established themselves early with a timelessness that sounds as current today as it did 40 years ago. Deriving their name from two blues musicians, Pink Anderson and Floyd Council, original members Sid Barrett, Roger Waters, Nick Mason and Richard Wright recorded their debut album, Piper at the Gates of Dawn in 1967. The band added guitarist David Gilmour to the line-up in 1968 to compensate for the lack of solid contribution by Sid Barrett due to declining mental health, which eventually lead to his complete departure. Three highly experimental albums followed, Saucerful of Secrets, Ummagumma, and Atom Heart Mother before the band finally matured creating the infamous lumbering, spacey Pink Floyd sound that we find so recognizable today. The band realized tremendous commercial and financial success throughout the 1970's with Meddle, Dark Side of the Moon, Wish You Were Here, Animals, and The Wall. Dark Side of the Moon spent 742 weeks (14 years) on the Billboard 200 album chart, a record breaking feat far surpassing all other acts. This huge success led to quite a bit of feuding over artistic direction, especially between Gilmour and Waters. In 1985, Roger Waters declared Pink Floyd "a spent force" and departed the band to pursue a solo career. Gilmour, Waters and Mason continued to tour as Pink Floyd and recorded twon more albums, A Momentary Lapse of Reason and The Division Bell. Waters rejoined the band in 2005 for one show at London Live 8. Rick Wright died of cancer on September 15th of this year. Richard, you will be sorely missed!
The world's modern day Apostle Paul, well known evangelist Billy Graham turns 90 years old today. Billy has spent a lifetime ministering to the lost, delivering a straight forward gospel message of the sacrifice made for us all by Jesus Christ on the cross. Reverend Graham has never been involved in scandal or controversy, nor allowed himself to be tainted by the bizarre elements of fringe Christianity. Billy Has preached to over 2 billion people around the world where almost 3 million have stepped forward and given their lives to Christ. He has personally met with every American president since Harry Truman.
In 1998, I had an opportunity to attend a Billy Graham crusade at Raymond James stadium in Tampa, featuring musical guests Jars of Clay and DC Talk. The event still holds the record for the largest crowd at that venue. It looks like Billy is more popular than the Bucs! Although already a Christian at the time, I will still never forget the impact that he had on my life.
Suffering from Parkinson's disease for over 15 years, Billy Graham's health continues to decline so it will not be long before he returns home to meet his maker. I'm certain that the first thing the Lord will utter to him is "Well done my good and faithful servant".
Barack Obama handily beat John McCain yesterday in what appears to be an electoral landslide. Republican strongholds Ohio, Indiana, Virginia, and my beloved Florida all turned blue and North Carolina and Missouri still remain too close to call. So on January 20, 2009, Obama will be sworn in as America's first black president. The United States poises itself ready for an African-American leader but my views are more clouded by issues rather than race so personally I would have preferred Colin Powell or Condoleezza Rice to have earned that designation.
I hope and pray that Obama holds true to his campaign promises of a more moderate form of government rather than taking us to the extreme left which would be more aligned with his voting record. I remain optimistic that 95% of you will actually receive the tax relief promised although I find myself one of the 5% to be penalized for success.
As a Christian I strongly feel that I must eventually repent and accept Obama's authority over me as commanded by Romans chapter 13 verses 1-3 and Hebrews chapter 13 verse 17. Unless of course, Mr. Obama does actually prove to be the Antichrist for then I must rebuke him at every opportunity.
Before Inauguration Day, there still seem to be constitutional issues that must be resolved. There are several court cases, most notably Berg vs. Obama, which question his status as natural born citizen. Berg's case now sits with Justice Souter at the U.S. Supreme Court. Obama, the defendant, has until December 1st to respond. What happens if Obama is found not to be qualified to serve as President? Apparently, if this discovery takes place before the electoral college meets, the electorate may designate another candidate as president. The new president would most likely be Al Gore or Hillary Clinton. If the discovery occurs after the electoral process, then Joe Biden becomes president by default. Senator Biden seems an honorable man and would probably make a good president. Either way, John McCain is out of the picture whether the election was fraudulent or not.
Apparently, there are other similar cases filed around the country including one in Hawaii with a hearing scheduled for November 17th. There is also a case in the Illinois courts questioning whether Obama commited perjury when applying to the Illinois Bar. When asked if he had ever assumed an alias, he answered no, when in reality he has lived under the other names of Barry Soetoro and Barry Obama.
I still find it hard to believe that a man who would be denied a security clearance by the CIA or FBI may now govern our entire country and be privy to the most sensitive of classified information regarding national security. Hopefully, someone in power has the common sense and good decency to see that this does not lead to the complete demise of our country. Anyway, Mr. Obama, I pray that you will do what's right for the American public and our country overall. God Bless both you and John McCain!
Exercise your right, let your voice be heard and get to the the polls today to vote! Regardless of your political affiliation, you are afforded an opportunity granted to few others in this world. After travelling to dozens of foreign countries over my lifetime, I've come to the realization that our flawed American system is still the best on earth. So although the lines will be long, please patiently wait and cast your ballot.
Earlier this year, while still in the primary season, I must admit that I was not particularly fond of either Barack Obama or John McCain. Obama's extremely liberal view on abortion, especially partial birth and live birth abortions, sickened me and McCain seemed a bit too moderate for my conservative taste. Living in southwest Florida and feeling the negative effects of illegal immigration caused me to label McCain's proposed amnesty programs as way too lenient and detrimental to America's financial well being.
So I performed my due diligence to determine the lesser of what I considered two evils. With a voracious appetite for reading, I devoured as much news as I could on both candidates. And now I must finally admit that the more I learn of John McCain, the deeper my respect grows for the man, and the more I learn of Barack Obama the more apprehensive I become.
John McCain stands today as one of America's great heroes. He's been tried and tested and never once failed his country. Descended from a long line of warriors, McCain draws from a heritage that few may claim. His grandfather served in the Pacific commanding aircraft carriers during World War II and proved himself one of our country's fiercest leaders during adversity. McCain's father served as Commander in Chief, Pacific during the Viet Nam conflict. McCain followed in their footsteps into a Navy career. As a naval A-4 aviator, he was gunned down over Viet Nam and lived five long years as a prisoner of war. He survived two broken arms and a broken leg, repeated torture, tropical disease, and two years of solitary confinement to arrive home not a bitter and broken man but a stronger one, more mature and more in love with his country. After painful rehabilitation for injuries that had not been treated and torture suffered, his body once again became useful enough to regain flight status and complete a military career although you can still see him wince from pain when attempting to lift his arms. After retiring a captain from the Navy, he continued serving his country by serving two terms in the House of Representatives and now four terms in the Senate. McCain has fought corruption in government, especially pork barrel spending during his entire career and is a man who can be trusted. He's drawn much executive experience as military leader and realizes the demands placed upon Commander in Chief. He attributes a strong faith in God for surviving many of life's difficulties. John McCain definitely has the ability to run our country.
On the other hand, Barack Obama remains an enigma. He attempted to conceal or seal many of the records from his past including birth certificate, travel documents and passports, and school transcripts. Obama was born in Hawaii in 1961 to Stanley Ann Dunham and Barack Hussein Obama, although others including his paternal grandmother claim that he was born in Mombassa, Kenya. His parents divorced after two years and his mother soon remarried an Indoenesian national, Lolo Soetoro. Apparently (although the record is sealed) Mr. Soetoro adopted young Barack and the family moved to Jakarta where Obama attended school under the name Barry Soetoro. His school records from Jakarta state his religion as Islam and his citizenship as Indonesian. Obama's mother sent him to Hawaii at the age of ten to live with his grandparents where he attended a very exclusive private school. He graduated and attended Occidental College in California before transferring to Columbia University, another elitist school. The summer between schools he travelled on an Indonesian passport to Indonesia to visit his mother and sister then on to Pakistan and India. At the time Pakistan was on the U.S. no travel list and also forbade non-Muslims from visiting the country without prior diplomatic approval. After graduation Obama worked in Chicago as a community organizer before attending Harvard law and eventually practicing and lecturing back in Chicago. He then served in the Illinois Senate before running in 2004 for the U.S Senate and now in 2008 as a presidential nominee for the Democratic Party.
During his career, Mr. Obama has kept company with some rather unsavory characters. Frank Marshall Davis a communist party leader in Hawaii served as a mentor to Obama during his teenage years. Obama launched his political career from the living room of Bill Ayers, a domestic terrorist who once planned to bomb both the Pantagon and White House. He was counseled for twenty years by Jeremiah Wright, a bigoted and racially devisive pastor in Chicago. Black Muslim leader Louis Farakhan proclaimed Obama the next messiah. Behind the scenes manipulator and billionaire George Soros has dumped million of dollars into the Obama campaign.
McCain counts as his friends two fellow prisoners of war, and fellow legislators like Joe Lieberman and Joe Biden. With the exception of the Keating five scandal, there is no other blemish on McCain's professional record and little controversy.
Fellow Americans, we may not have now and may never have the perfect candidate running for President of the United States but if you need to put your trust in a man capable of leading this country through a miserable economy and and a war on terrorism and defeat partisan politics, there is only one logical choice and that is John McCain.
The beautiful sunny sky and moderate temperature set up a perfect day for the 8th Annual March of Dimes Bikers for Babies ride from Naples to Fort Myers.
The 35 mile police escorted ride began at North Collier Regional Park on Livingston Road in Naples, winded along Bonita Beach through Fort Myers Beach, down Royal Palm lined McGregor Boulevard, and concluded at Harley-Davidson of Fort Myers on Colonial Boulevard, where folks from Riverside Bank cooked burgers for the famished crowd.
Over 2,000 bikers from all of southwest Florida joined the event as onlookers, waving American flags and holding supportive signs, formed along the entire stretch to cheer. All money raised will help the March of Dimes combat birth defects, premature birth, and infant mortality.
