If your like me then you’re always trying to keep your finger on the political pulse. However, you probably aren’t one of those people (I live in a lonely, little world) so I’m here to tell you about one of the most absurd stories that I’ve ever heard of in politics: birthers.
Who are the birthers? They are a group of individuals who deny that Obama was born in the US and as such, cannot be President. Their claim basically runs like this: Obama was born in Kenya, but within 6 months was brought to Hawaii where his mother then claimed to have not received a birth certificate for him and was given one. Some birthers even go so far as to say that this was part of a larger plan to put a black man in the White House.
Birthers might actually be battling Westboro Baptists for the ‘Crazy Fringe Group of the Year Award’. The Birthers are led by a cast that would score higher ratings on Saturday Night Live than they do political points.
Orly Taitz – Taitz is a Russian born, peroxide blond, SoCal dentist who only just missed the cut to play Drago in Rocky IV. She is also a lawyer believe it or not; she graduated from the prestigious William Howard Taft Online University.
Watch the below video to see how crazy the ‘Queen of Birthers’ is:
I still think she is being portrayed by SNL’s Chris Kattan and this is all a big joke. Notice the reference to ‘brownshirts’. If you don’t know what that means click here and erase it from your vocab. Even the winner of American Idol -neo con edition, Ann Coulter thinks that Taitz is a crackpot.
Phillip Berg – Berg is a conspiracy addict. He was a leader in the indefatigable ‘9/11 truth’ movement, claiming that the US Government had prior knowledge of 9/11 and didn’t work to stop it. Other ‘truthers’ believe that the government encouraged or even planned the 9/11 attacks. During this time he launched a long shot lawsuit against President Bush and VP Cheney that they were complicit in 9/11He then jumped ship from them to join PUMA (People United Means Action or Party Unity My Ass [seriously]) a brief organization that formed after the Democratic nomination. PUMA denied the Obama had won the nomination and were convinced that it had actually gone to Hillary Clinton.
So now Berg is in with the birthing flock and he hasn’t gotten any less insane:
Other people to add to the crazy list:
Carl Swensson- A man who believes that if you put a few people in a room and they come to an agreement you can all them a Grand Jury. Power from the Magna Carta gives the Juries the power to “distrain and oppress the government in every way in their power, namely, by taking the homes, lands, possessions, and any way else they can until amends shall have been made according to the sole judgment of the grand jury.” Don’t worry though, “the grand jury may not imprison or execute any government personnel or their children.”
Andy Martin – The racist who gets credit for starting the whole Obama is a secret Muslim thing. Brilliant comedy, fail politics.
Lou Dobbs – The bumbling bear of a man on CNN who always has something negative to say about undocumented individuals in the US. He brought Taitz on his show and is demanding that Obama produce a birth certificate. Something he did before he ran for president and can be seen online here.
The really scary thing is that it isn’t just a few people who are into this bollocks anymore. A poll of Virginians found that only 53% of the population is convinced that Obama is a natural born citizen. Another poll of North Carolina found a similar trend; only 54% think that he was born in the US. But who knows what people believe: only 88% of North Carolina’s Republican voters are sure that Hawaii is a state. 7% say it isn’t and 4% aren’t sure. Source.
Maybe everyone is a crackpot in that great neighbour to the south. Its great having front row seats to the most absurd democracy on the planet.
Geoff is a 5th year student who studying a double major in Integrated Science (Evolutionary ecology, virology) and Political Science. He was the 'Wish' speaker at the 2008 Terry Talks and is passionate about university education, especially when it comes to interdisciplinary experiences.
After graduation Geoff wants to find a job that allows him to meet people from all sorts of backgrounds and share stories.
If your savvy enough you can follow Geoff on Twitter - user: gcosteloe.
Birthers: Even The Joker Isn’t This Crazy
By Geoff Costeloe,
If your like me then you’re always trying to keep your finger on the political pulse. However, you probably aren’t one of those people (I live in a lonely, little world) so I’m here to tell you about one of the most absurd stories that I’ve ever heard of in politics: birthers.
Who are the birthers? They are a group of individuals who deny that Obama was born in the US and as such, cannot be President. Their claim basically runs like this: Obama was born in Kenya, but within 6 months was brought to Hawaii where his mother then claimed to have not received a birth certificate for him and was given one. Some birthers even go so far as to say that this was part of a larger plan to put a black man in the White House.
Birthers might actually be battling Westboro Baptists for the ‘Crazy Fringe Group of the Year Award’. The Birthers are led by a cast that would score higher ratings on Saturday Night Live than they do political points.
Orly Taitz – Taitz is a Russian born, peroxide blond, SoCal dentist who only just missed the cut to play Drago in Rocky IV. She is also a lawyer believe it or not; she graduated from the prestigious William Howard Taft Online University.
Watch the below video to see how crazy the ‘Queen of Birthers’ is:
I still think she is being portrayed by SNL’s Chris Kattan and this is all a big joke. Notice the reference to ‘brownshirts’. If you don’t know what that means click here and erase it from your vocab. Even the winner of American Idol -neo con edition, Ann Coulter thinks that Taitz is a crackpot.
Phillip Berg – Berg is a conspiracy addict. He was a leader in the indefatigable ‘9/11 truth’ movement, claiming that the US Government had prior knowledge of 9/11 and didn’t work to stop it. Other ‘truthers’ believe that the government encouraged or even planned the 9/11 attacks. During this time he launched a long shot lawsuit against President Bush and VP Cheney that they were complicit in 9/11He then jumped ship from them to join PUMA (People United Means Action or Party Unity My Ass [seriously]) a brief organization that formed after the Democratic nomination. PUMA denied the Obama had won the nomination and were convinced that it had actually gone to Hillary Clinton.
So now Berg is in with the birthing flock and he hasn’t gotten any less insane:
Other people to add to the crazy list:
Carl Swensson- A man who believes that if you put a few people in a room and they come to an agreement you can all them a Grand Jury. Power from the Magna Carta gives the Juries the power to “distrain and oppress the government in every way in their power, namely, by taking the homes, lands, possessions, and any way else they can until amends shall have been made according to the sole judgment of the grand jury.” Don’t worry though, “the grand jury may not imprison or execute any government personnel or their children.”
Andy Martin – The racist who gets credit for starting the whole Obama is a secret Muslim thing. Brilliant comedy, fail politics.
Lou Dobbs – The bumbling bear of a man on CNN who always has something negative to say about undocumented individuals in the US. He brought Taitz on his show and is demanding that Obama produce a birth certificate. Something he did before he ran for president and can be seen online here.
The really scary thing is that it isn’t just a few people who are into this bollocks anymore. A poll of Virginians found that only 53% of the population is convinced that Obama is a natural born citizen. Another poll of North Carolina found a similar trend; only 54% think that he was born in the US. But who knows what people believe: only 88% of North Carolina’s Republican voters are sure that Hawaii is a state. 7% say it isn’t and 4% aren’t sure. Source.
Maybe everyone is a crackpot in that great neighbour to the south. Its great having front row seats to the most absurd democracy on the planet.
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Geoff is a 5th year student who studying a double major in Integrated Science (Evolutionary ecology, virology) and Political Science. He was the 'Wish' speaker at the 2008 Terry Talks and is passionate about university education, especially when it comes to interdisciplinary experiences. After graduation Geoff wants to find a job that allows him to meet people from all sorts of backgrounds and share stories. If your savvy enough you can follow Geoff on Twitter - user: gcosteloe.