Martin's Hawaiian Case Under Advisement

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.

Mainstream Coverage of Obama Citizenship

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.

Martin vs. Obama in Hawaii

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.

Alan Keyes Writ of Mandate

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:

https://services.saccourt.com/publicdms2/DefaultDMS.aspx

When the form opens enter case number 80000096

John Lynch Retires

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!

Bucs Take Vikings by the Horns

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.

Keyes in Better Standing Than Berg

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!

Never Thought We'd See This Again

A picture speaks a thousand words!

Pepsi Pepper Palin

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!

Berg vs. Obama - A New Opinion

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.