Where is the birth certificate, Obama? Or who let the birthers out of the insane asylum?

Yesterday I called the Texas Department of Health Bureau of Vital Statistics in Austin, Texas to ask if an individual is given his/her original birth certificate upon request. My curiosity was peeked when I read that Republican Rep. Judy Burges of Arizona is trying to get a birthers bill passed. The preliminary vote was 31-22. The bill will have to undergo a formal vote before it goes to the Senate. Florida and Oklahoma pulled this prank and met with complete failure.

Arizona legislatures want all future presidential candidates to produce birth certificates if they want to be on the ballot. You do not have to be a political mastermind to know this is about President Barack Obama’s birth certificate, and his right to be president. Tea Party nitwits, fruitcake politicians and copycat pundits are encouraging these legislators to conduct themselves like ill-informed yokels. They refuse to accept the President's birth certificate that's posted online.

I never saw or read about this kind of brouhaha regarding the birth places of other presidents. No White man running for president has ever showed his birth certificate or proof of his citizenship. If it happened I must have been in a Rip Van Winkle type sleep.

If presidential candidate Hillary Clinton did not uncover evidence that Barack Obama is not an American born citizens–then there is no campaign scandal waiting to be discovered. Clinton and her campaign looked under every rock, every bed, opened every closet. They did a more than thorough job. I am sure John McCain conducted the same kind of search.

I think this pending Arizona Birthers Bill is silly. It is a waste of valuable time. But then, Republicans are good at wasting time. I have to look at my calendar to remind myself that this is 2010, not 1810. In 1946 the U.S. National Center for Health Statistics designed a form for all states to utilize when recording a birth; however, states were not obligated to use it. Each state was free to design its own form.

Birth certificates are titled (a) Certificate of Birth; (b) Certificate of Live Birth or (c) Certificate of Birth Registration. I have my Certificate of Birth. Not the original, a copy. I could not get the original even if I went to court, demanding that Texas not deny me the original certificate. Is it not my right to have the original certificate if I want it? Allow me to answer my own question: A resounding No! I do not have a right to the original. If I lose my photocopied copy, I can always get another copy. If I had the original, and misplaced it, how would I make a copy? Life as I know it would complicated. When a state agency asks to see proof of my age, place of birth, if I am a citizen of the U.S., where is my proof? Word of mouth from friends and relatives won't cut it. I couldn't say: "Trust me. I am an American born citizen. I was born  . . ."

Before states were required to record births no official records were kept prior to 1914. If you have researched your family genealogy, you will likely discover that many of your ancestors' birth dates were not officially recorded. Where your ancestors were born, dates of their births and their ages becomes a guessing game. Not having this vital information complicates your search. So it makes sense that original birth certificates are not issued to individuals but remain in the files of state registrars.

To state it simply--the original birth certificate is the only tangible proof of where you were born, the hospital, the doctor, your parents, the time, family address, occupation of parents, their ages, mother’s maiden name (if married) and the state seal affixed on the certificate. Years ago in Austin a baby's birth was announced in the daily newspaper if the couple was married; the same as President Obama’s birth announcement. Parents cannot stage these announcements decades in advance, foreseeing their adult son or daughter might run president of the U.S.

An employee at Vital Statics told me that no one gets original records of any kind. The State of Texas is in charge of those records, but upon request the individual, or an authorized individual can obtain a copy of a birth certificate, marriage license, etc. She explained the kinds of paper the copy is printed on, which has the Texas seal. She said she could not speak for other states, but she was sure no one has ever been given an original birth certificate.

All this birthers trash talking is about an African American holding the highest office in the  United States. His victory was not supposed to happen. Only White males win the presidency in America. That is this country’s history, the reason Southern birthers are going insane. Needless to say, their propagandizing, hate talk and shrill punditry began long before the 2008 election. Baseless accusations against candidate Obama has always been wildly out of control. As of 2010, the lies have gotten bigger.

But, and that is a big hypothetical but, if muckrakers can prove Obama’s presidency is illegitimate due the birth question, that will assure the ankle kickers that their suspicions are justified. The next step will be to erase everything President Obama has done since he has been in office. That proof will be reason to dismantle all legislation with his signature on it. No repeal. Just nullify.

Obama antagonist want an excuse to delete the election and his presidency. That is what they are aiming for with blessings from the media. If this were to occur--the deletion of Obama's presidency--the unfolding event would be a hallelujah moment for the Kool-Aid drinkers. Alas, they will find their lost freedom (that was never left). A battered, disregarded Constitution will find new life.

Citizens who are not getting Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid or VA checks can hang onto their right not to purchase big government medical insurance. No more socialistic "Obamacare" and apologizing for America’s sins. Older citizens will be safe from government death panels and fatal pills. Health care law suits will vanish like a Houdini illusion. White presidential candidates won’t have to produce birth certificates. America will be true America again with the socialist black guy run out of office. Everything will return to "normal" when the next white guy is elected president. Isn't that the way it's supposed to be in America? You betcha!

From wearing a swin suit in Hawaii to a dressed up president in Washington

Dressed up in his swimsuit, a smile on his face, here stands the future 

president of the United States, Barack Hussein Obama.

 

Born August 4, 1961, in Hawaii, presidential candidate Barack Obama won the 2008 election over his Republican opponent John McCain. He is the first African American to be elected president in the history of the United States. 

The announcement of Obama’s victory awakened a mountainside of emotions all over the world. His inauguration and swearing in  ceremony occurred January 20, 2009, on the steps of the Capital, at 12 noon. He is the 44^th president. Thousands upon thousands of spectators watched the historical event in chilling cold weather in Washington, DC. Millions watched while sitting in the warmth of their homes.

Supreme Court Justice John G. Roberts administered the oath to Obama. Judge Roberts was either asleep at the wheel, or had a sudden brain freeze when he instructed Barack Obama to repeat the ceremonial words after him. Judge Roberts stumbled. Obama did as he was instructed. Criticism was immediate.

Taking oath a second time in White House

I watched the same swearing in ceremony as the rest of the world, but the media and the know-all gum bumpers (pundit) put their own spin on what happened. It was Obama who stumbled not Roberts they tooted.  

Roberts prompted: " . . . That I will execute the Office of President to the United States faithfully." Obama stopped at "execute" and waited for Roberts to correct himself. Roberts, after a false start, then followed Obama's "execute" with "faithfully", which resulted in "execute faithfully", also incorrect. Obama then repeated Roberts' initial, incorrect prompt, with the word "faithfully" after "United States."

Pres. Barack Obama

Obama, who taught Constitutional Law for 12 years at the University of Chicago Law School, had a puzzled look on his face as he repeated Robert’s confused words. The next day the newly minted president repeated the oath in a private ceremony January 21 in the White House. 

Once again, Roberts administered the oath. Correctly.  Good thing he did. The media hurriedly declared that Obama was “unofficial" as president because he flubbed the swearing in. The media could not accept that Judge Robert bungled the swearing in. Obama’s presidency began with Roberts screwing up, and a media seriously trying to create controversy.

Below is legislation the President signed into law immediately.

• January 29, 2009 President Barack Obama, signed his first piece of legislation: "The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act" of 2009. The bill eased the statue of limitation for equal pay lawsuits.

• February 3 President Obama signed the "Children’s Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act (CHIP)", increasing the number of children on CHIP from seven million to 11 million.

• February 17, 2009, in Denver, Colorado, the President signed into law the $787 billion "American Recovery and Reinvestment Act" (ARRA). The bill was passed by the House and Senate, but mostly passed along party lines. No Republicans in the House voted for it. However, many House Republicans took credit when their states received funds. They took photos at groundbreaking ceremonies, displaying large checks with the amount their states received.  On TV they continually downgraded the financial helpfulness of ARRA.

• March 2009 President Obama reversed a Bush-era policy which limited funding of embryonic stem cell research. He pledged to develop strict guidelines on the research. Bush’s religion was instrumental in his decision.

• May 26, 2009, President Obama appointed two women to serve on the Supreme Court in the first two years of his Presidency. Sonia Sotomayor, nominated by Obama to replace retiring Associate Justice David Souter. She was confirmed on August 6, 2009, becoming the first Hispanic to as a Supreme Court Justice.

• 2009 President Obama turned around U.S. Auto Industry. His advisers didn’t have the faith and confidence he had that industry could rebound. Obama went with his intuition and invested $62 billion in federal money, in addition to the $13.4 billion the Bush administration had previously invested in GM and Chrysler, in return for equity stakes and agreements for massive restructuring.  Whereas Bush placed no other conditions on the funds, Barack Obama put strict guidelines and demands on the borrowers. Pop goes the weasel, the auto industry created a workable plan, and followed through on it. The auto industry added more than 100,000 jobs. By 2011 the industry gained their market share for the first time in two decades.

• March 30, 2010, President Obama signed the "Affordable Care Act" into law, putting in place comprehensive reforms that improve access to affordable health coverage for everyone and protect consumers from abusive insurance company practices. The law allows all Americans to make health insurance choices that work for them while guaranteeing access to care for our most vulnerable and provides new ways to bring down costs and improve quality of care.

• May 10, 2010 Elena Kagan was nominated by the President to replace retiring Associate Justice John Paul Stevens. She was confirmed on August 5, bringing the number of women sitting simultaneously on the Court to three, for the first time in American history.

• 2010 the President signed the "Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act". It is designed to re-regulate the financial sector after its practices caused the Great Recession. The legislation tightens the screws on capital requirements on large banks and other financial institutions. Derivatives are required to be sold on clearinghouses and exchanges, mandates that large banks provide living wills to avoid chaotic bankruptcies, limit their ability to trade with customers’ money for their own profit, and creates the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to put a choke hold on abusive lending products and companies. The Chase Bank scandal is good reason for the reform.

• 2010 President Obama tightened the noose around the neck of Iran, locking done on sanctions. The idea is to deter Iran’s goal to engage in the construction a nuclear weapon. He, along with a number of other countries, signed "The Comprehensive Iran Sanctions Accountability and Divestment Act" of 2010. This act punishes firms and individual businesspeople willing to aid Iran via purchasing petroleum from the country.

• March 2011 was the year Muammar Gaddafi was sniffed out by angry Libyan rebels with a cause. The U.S. joined a coalition of European and Arab governments to execute military action, that included air strikes and naval blockade. Gaddafi was on the run, but he was finally cornered and shot to death by Libyans. That ended Gaddafi’s 42-year reign of terror and dictatorship. After eight months of bombing and on the ground fighting by Libyan rebels and citizens, Gaddafi was killed October 20, 2011. Not one American died.

• May 1, 2011, terrorist Osama bin Laden met his waterloo on this date due to a successful plan to take him out. Skilled Navy SEALS executed the plan without incidence. The SEALS raided bin Laden’s compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, where the architect of 9/11 was shot to death. A treasure trove of documents was found and taken by the SEALS. The night before the killing of bin Laden, President Obama was telling jokes and being funny at the annual Correspondent Dinner. He told the world the next day that the #1 terrorist had been taken out. Though his advisers wanted the President to go the easier route–bombing the compound–he went the riskier route. He didn’t want bin Laden blown to smithereens, making it impossible to identify his body. The President’s hunch was correct. It was a brave call. Had it gone wrong the media would have destroyed his political career. As it stands, they are trying to destroy him anyway.

• June 2011 the President issued the order to initiate troop withdrawal from the war in Afghanistan, bringing home 101,000 troops. That reduced U.S. troops to 91,000, with 23,000 scheduled to head back to the U.S. by the end of summer in 2012. The mission is expected to end by 2014.  

• 2011, because President Obama understands the importance of a complete education in order to compete on a global scale, he initiated "Race to the Top". It is a federal program that provides grant money to improve and encourage interests in math and science. Schools had to follow three guidelines to apply for a share of allocated $4.35 billion.

All of the accomplishments that President Obama and his administration have achieved in three-in-a-half years are too numerous to list. That is why I am puzzled when presidential candidate Mitt Romney, Republicans, and Obama haters say he has no record to run on.  They claim he has achieved nothing since he became president. They refuse to acknowledge that he  out achieved Bill Clinton, Ronald Reagan and George Bush during this time period in their presidency.

Barack Obama (r), half-sister Maya Soetoro-Ng, mother Ann Durham, grandfather Stanley Durham. Photo taken in Hawaii.

Words of wisdom comes easily for those who have lived and learned their meanings

1. I am obliged to confess that I do not regard the abolition of slavery as a means of warding off the struggle of the two races in the Southern states. The Negroes may long remain slaves without complaining; but if they are once raised to the level of freemen, they will soon revolt at being deprived of almost all their civil rights; and as they cannot become the equals of the whites, they will speedily show themselves as enemies.    
      
      Alexis de Tocqueville, French historian and political scientist. 1805-1859

1.  My mother, Southern to the bone, once told me, "All Southern literature can be summed up in these words: 'On the night the hogs ate Willie, Mama died when she heard what Daddy did to sister.  
      
      Pat Conroy,  American Novelist, b.1945
 

1. Be yourself. Above all, let who you are, what you are, what you believe, shine through every sentence you write, every piece you finish.”   
     
       John Jakes
 

1. Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for.  
       Epicurus, Greek philosopher, BC 341-270
 

1. Through humor, you can soften some of the worst blows that life delivers. And once you find laughter, no matter how painful your situation might be, you can survive it. 
      
      Comedian Bill Cosby

1. All major religious traditions carry basically the same message, that is love, compassion and forgiveness the important thing is they should be part of our daily lives.   
      
      Dalai Lama
 
1. Allow the president to invade a neighboring nation, whenever he shall deem it necessary to repel an invasion, and you allow him to do so whenever he may choose to say he deems it necessary for such a purpose - and you allow him to make war at pleasure. 
 

2. America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves.

3. Character is like a tree and reputation like a shadow. The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing.

4. How many legs does a dog have if you call the tail a leg? Four. Calling a tail a leg doesn't make it a leg.    
       
      President Abraham Lincoln

1. A genuine leader is not a searcher for consensus but a molder of consensus.

2. A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual doom.

3. Change does not roll in on the wheels of inevitability, but comes through continuous struggle. And so we must straighten our backs and work for our freedom. A man can't ride you unless your back is bent.   
      
      Civil rights activist Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

1. A man is never more truthful than when he acknowledges himself a liar.

2. A person who won't read has no advantage over one who can't read.

3. Don't go around saying the world owes you a living. The world owes you nothing. It was here first.   
        
      Author and humorist Mark Twain

1. In a country well governed, poverty is something to be ashamed of. In a country badly governed, wealth is something to be ashamed of. 

2.It is easy to hate and it is difficult to love. This is how the whole scheme of things works. All good things are difficult to achieve; and bad things are very easy to get. 
3. Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall. 
      
      Confucius

1. A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new.

2. All that is valuable in human society depends upon the opportunity for development accorded the individual.

3. Anyone who doesn't take truth seriously in small matters cannot be trusted in large ones either. 
       
      Genius Albert Einstein 

1. And we love to dance, especially that new one called the Civil War Twist. The Northern part of you stands still, while the Southern part tries to secede.  
     
      Comedian and activist Dick Gregory