I published a letter in yesterday’s Oakland Press on the subject of this so-called "Birther" issue. I have published a number of letters over the years on subjects far more important than I consider this one to be and nary has there been a peep from anyone. But this one – 11 impassioned replies on the OP web site, from both sides!
Plus phone calls, plus emails, plus people intercepting me at Lourdes to let me know they had seen the letter. Since not all my readers in this blog hold the same view on this issue, I was going to keep quiet about it. There was no need to ruffle any feathers. But I am amazed at how fast the news has traveled. So many of you have already contacted me (mostly just this afternoon) that you have seen and read the letter, that there is no longer any need to downplay it. Any feathers that are going to be ruffled have already been so, even though you’ve all been very nice about not expressing that even if you feel it. In fact, you’ve all been the picture of politeness in expressing your reactions, both positive and negative. For that, I thank you.
However, it now seems that the OP was a bit premature, published it a day too soon as, with today’s developments of the White House releasing the long form of the birth certificate (which has considerably more information on it than did the certified short form that the Obama campaign released in 2008), it seems even his most vocal detractors have now accepted it and the worst criticism that remains is that he should have done this a long time ago. Even Donald Trump has gone very public today announcing he is now quite satisfied.
Anyway, I’ve been trying all my life to write something that would actually be read. The old saying seems to be true – be careful what you wish for, you just might get it. I’ve written and published many letters. It’s fun to write letters to the OP as they have a stated policy of publishing every letter they receive as long as you limit your letters to no more than once every two months. I have however discovered over the years this is not exactly true. There have been at least two occasions on which they have not published my letters. In one case, they claimed they lost it. When I re-sent it, they promised to resurrect it, but never did. On another occasion, they refused to print me claiming it had been only six weeks. When I sent them proof that it had been six months, not weeks, they changed their position and told me they would publish it after all. They did not.
Ordinarily they print letters within a few days of submission. My letter was triggered by Bill O’Reilly’s interview with Donald Trump nearly a month ago on his program. When even the uber-conservative O’Reilly came out against the Birthers (as have many Republican leaders) I was inspired to do a little research on my own and in a very short time found all kinds of proof of the existence and legitimacy of the Obama birth certificate. So I wrote a letter. That was nearly a month ago. By Sunday I had assumed they had once again ignored me. They either considered it a non-issue or disagreed with my position. Then yesterday, big surprise!
But my letter was not so much based on this little bit of research I had done in just a brief part of a single evening but on my whole life experience, a life of applying for and receiving basic documents that everyone must have – Social Security card, driver’s license to name a few – none of which I was able to get without presenting an official original certified copy of my birth certificate. So what was the issue here? If I could not get my driver’s license or my passport without my birth certificate, if I could not even declare my candidacy for my seat on the cable board without my birth certificate, then how does anyone run for any public office let alone State Senate, U.S. Senate, or President, without doing the same? The short answer is – they don’t.
So that’s what I wrote about. I have published many letters in the Oakland Press over the years. In one letter I was particularly proud of, I provided in 250 words a complete summary of all the many flaws in the creationism argument and, moreover the position in Catholic teaching that there is no conflict with believing both in evolution and Genesis. Not a peep. In another, I decried the apathy of the American public and how that, and not the many other much more minor issues we are constantly sniping about, is the real cancer that afflicts this country. Again, not a peep. But my most notorious letter of all – a repudiation of Troy columnist Robert Bickmyer, a man with zero experience in the film industry and no real credentials to even be a columnist, and yet spouted a vitriolic position that Hollywood movies are singularly responsible for the decline in America’s morals and that we should bring back the infamous Hays Code. Once again, nary a peep.
This time I wrote about a President who has been accused of not being born in this country and therefore not eligible to remain in office, something that is quite impossible since you can’t run for any public office, let alone President, without providing proof of both your identity and your citizenship status - namely, your birth certificate. After discovering that even O’Reilly agreed with this, I thought it was a no-brainer.
So I wrote a letter. I have attained a small amount of instant celebrity these last two days and I haven’t decided whether it’s a curse or a blessing. The good news is that it will soon pass, if it hasn’t already. But I thought everyone might get a kick out of my 15 minutes of fame. I’m including below the letter (which for the first time was published completely unedited) and the reactions that have been posted on the OP web site.
I will direct my only comment to the lady or gentleman who accused me of lying about the governor’s statement and called me a "liberal/socialist" who can only advance my agenda with lies. I have to assume that s/he lumps everyone who disagrees into this camp. Perhaps s/he also considers O’Reilly to be a socialist. Whatever, I assure everyone this is no lie. I only wrote this after having found the actual newspaper articles on the Internet in which the governor was interviewed and quoted precisely as I represented him. If I did not have a direct quote from him, I would not have added the comment.
(This person was identified only as "Tucker." My only profound discomfort here is that my piano teacher’s last name is Tucker. Tucker is a common name so I think I’m safe. But please, Pam and Andy, let it not be you. We’re on break this week, but next Thursday’s lesson may be a bit tense.)
And a concluding remark: People should know that this is not the first president this has happened to. Not even close. A number of our presidents throughout our history have had their birthrights attacked by their enemies for the same reason Obama’s opponents are doing it – a desperate hope that latching on to even the most fragile of legal technicalities might provide a basis to remove them from office. Despite much effort, never once has it ever been proven that any of our Presidents were not born here. The courts have gotten so sick of this that even our very conservative Supreme Court has issued a ruling refusing to hear any more cases along these lines.
Voice of the people April 26th
Reader wants Birther questions laid to rest
Even TV personality Bill O’Reilly, no Obama ally, agrees the Birthers are nuts.
O’Reilly recently debated the issue with Donald Trump, defending the president and providing proof Obama was born in Honolulu. Trump’s not buying, claiming the records could be fake.
Have these Birthers done even the most superficial homework? Besides the Election Commission, do they even know you cannot get a Social Security card, your first driver’s license or a passport without providing your birth certificate? I just got a Michigan Enhanced License and had to supply my birth certificate again.
The Hawaiian governor and Secretary of State have both declared they have seen the birth certificate and that Obama was born in Honolulu. What more do people want?
Do they really believe that all these agencies have been conspiring for decades on the chance that Obama might someday run for president? That’s what one must believe to buy into this nonsense.
No one gets to see an original birth certificate except the government and the holder. It’s far too sensitive for anyone else’s eyes. Copies can be faked, so what would that prove? There’s no doubt the birth certificate exists and shows the president was born here.
If anyone cares, the L.A. Times published the document on June 16. 2008. It’s also on Snopes.
Besides, no one’s contesting that Obama’s mother was a natural born citizen. By law, that automatically makes him one.
So can we please put this to rest?
Michael Grogan
Orchard Lake
AND THE REACTION:
Ruger wrote on Apr 26, 2011 7:35 AM:
" The bigger issue regarding Obama may be his fraudulent use of a Social Security Number. There is no credible explanation for why he has a SSN that was issued between 1977 and 1979 in Connecticut, when neither he nor any family members ever lived there. "
Ruger wrote on Apr 26, 2011 7:51 AM:
" Clarification: The credible explanation is that Bill Ayers, Obama's terrorist buddy, helped him obtain the fraudulent card. After all, he wrote of his organizations ability to obtain multiple and false IDs. "
Freeman wrote on Apr 26, 2011 8:48 AM:
" Mr. Grogan,
That's a good one. Expecting the lemmings to believe something besides what Fox or World Nut Daily tells them to believe. As has already been demonstrated here, the lies have taken hold and won't be going away anytime soon.
Keep your ears open for this: "Not intended to be a factual statement."
That's an increasingly popular canned excuse for GOP politicians caught prevaricating. There is no explanation for the lie, just the idea that the speaker never intended for you to believe them. Because they got caught.
The next election cycle will be a watershed moment in American politics. That's when our new corporate citizens (Republicorps (R)) will have figured out how to do the most damage with their newly enhanced ability to affect elections. With anonymous donors and no one accepting responsibility for the content of political advertising, "Not intended to be a factual statement" will become a routine part of our lives. "
nonsense wrote on Apr 26, 2011 8:59 AM:
" I am not a birther proponent but I will say that all the incompetent has to do is show the birth certificate and end all the speculation. The longer he waffles the more suspect he becomes. There are also questions about his attendance at Columbia University that need to be answered.
BHO has received millions from socialist supreme George Soros and his various hidden agencies-people that live in glass houses shouldnt throw rocks. "
Tucker wrote on Apr 26, 2011 10:06 AM:
" Grogan said this:
"The Hawaiian governor and Secretary of State have both declared they have seen the birth certificate and that Obama was born in Honolulu."
This is an out and out LIE. The Governor never said he saw it. In fact, he said he has never seen it.
Nothing like a liberal/socialist lying to advance their agenda.
http://www.infowars.com/abercrombie-admits-failure-to-discover-obama-birth-certificate/ "
Patriot Games wrote on Apr 26, 2011 11:25 AM:
" The larger and more relevant (and easily proven) issue is the allegiance owed by Barack Obama’s Kenyan father at the time of the President’s birth — regardless of whether that event occurred in Hawaii, Kenya, or elsewhere.
Essentially, a baby, even one born in the United States, cannot be considered a "natural born citizen" of our Republic if one or more of his parents were subjects to a foreign power. In this case, there is no dispute that President Obama’s father was neither a citizen nor a permanent resident of the United States, and in fact as a Kenyan he was a subject of the British Crown. This inarguable fact alone is sufficient to void President Obama’s eligibility for the presidency.
Arguments in this case are scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. on May 2 in the Federal Courthouse in Pasadena, California. "
Troytaxpayer wrote on Apr 26, 2011 1:14 PM:
" The 'ship has sailed' on the birther issue; it is just a distraction now. A distraction from what? Obama's failure to unite the country because of his politics of envy (instigating class warfare/ income redistribution), his lack of leadership as the Federal government approaches the abyss of bankruptcy and his incompetence and ill-intentions in dealing with foreign affairs. "
Jim wrote on Apr 26, 2011 1:47 PM:
" I don't want the birthers to go away. It's too much fun watching them.
It's like Jersey Shore. You have fun watching the idiots because of the entertainment value. "
Ruger wrote on Apr 26, 2011 2:29 PM:
" So, Jim, you watch Jersey Shore. That explains a lot.
Troytaxper, it's not a distraction to those who understand chain of command in the military. Lt. Col. Terry Lakin, a medical doctor, spent 6 months in military prison over this issue. But sorry you're distracted...it's all about you. "
resident11 wrote on Apr 26, 2011 3:46 PM:
" I don't believe owebummer was born in the US..any document can be forged! "
liberty please wrote on Apr 26, 2011 8:05 PM:
" Who cares where he was born, that is an issue that has been put to bed. If that was his biggest and only assault against the Constitution it could be an issue. He should be impeached for numerous other things, let the birther issue go people. "
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