Birth Certificates and the Grassy Knoll

Yesterday President Barrack Obama celebrated his 48th birthday and though there were some events held to commemorate the day there was one that seemed to get more attention and that was the protests held by the 'birther' movement. I don't really think it can be called a 'movement' as such but that's what the media has chosen to call this group of conspiracy theorists. Just what is a 'birther'? Well a birther is someone who believes that Barack Obama is not legally qualified to be the President of the United States due to the fact that he was born in Hawaii and they contend (despite evidence to the contrary) that in fact he was born in some foreign land therefore due to the rules of the Constitution he should be thrown out of office. Now I've heard and read my share of conspiracy theories but this is one that really takes the (birthday?) cake for me.

As I stated earlier, there has been evidence brought forward to show that Obama is indeed a 'natural-born citizen' which therefore cleared the way for him to be President is being discounted in many conservative and ultra-right wing circles. What these folks choose to contend is that 'they' (whether the birthers mean the state of Hawaii, the followers of Islam, or perhaps the 'elite' media) has cooked up a fake birth certificate for the media and public to be fooled with. Apparently the conspiracy to put a 'Muslim card-carrying member of al Queda' in the White House so that he can lead our country to destruction was hatched forty-some years ago. Now I grant you there are conspiracy theories and then there are conspiracy theories, but this one blows all other theories out of the water. Despite the fact that the state of Hawaii has provided copies of both the long-form and short-form of his birth certificate and despite having seen newspaper clippings announcing his birth in Honolulu newspapers, there is still lingering doubt.

With the Kennedy Assassination, there was some basis for the theories that surround the incident. There are witnesses that provide enough evidence that there was possibly a shooter on the Grassy Knoll overlooking Dealy Plaza where the shooting occured and perhaps yes, there was a government conspiracy but even those theories have been discounted due to evidence that is so thin it could be considered the perfect material for a doiley on an English Tea serving set. Yet despite the continued presentation of proof there continues to be doubt. Now when President Bush (part II) was voted into office, there were calls by those who doubted his military service. Once the records were released and declared to be legal, the claims died down and subsided, in this case the calls continue. I don't know how many times I've seen bumper stickers calling for Obama's birth certificate.

Have you actually seen your own? I know many people who haven't. And even if it was a conspiracy to put a foreign-born individual into the White House which was hatched forty-plus years ago, do you think that if they were powerful enough to put this plan into action that they wouldn't be able to carry out any dasterdly plans? Do you think a paltry 21% of the population would be able to stop it? For as much as our society likes to talk about how progressive or modern we are compared to the rest of the world, we still tend to act like country bumpkins. For most of the people who support the idea that Obama is a false citizen, I challenge them to locate the countries they think he's from on a map. I have had conversations with such theorists who were convinced that Obama was born in Kenya yet couldn't find Kenya on a map.

Now you're right, what does one have to do with the other? Not much really but honestly, if even in the face of overwhelming evidence you still harbor so much doubt then you'll never be satisfied with any answer you get. We all believe or see what we want to see. Global warming is not a reality, just a scare tactic being perpetuated by the liberals and the 'elite media'. Don't believe the science and don't believe the proven facts, it's all lies meant to scare us. So if you believe that then you'll believe that Obama is a Muslim secret agent who has been trained since birth to be one thing and when someone utters a code phrase in the right sequence, he will suddenly lapse into crazy mode and create actual doom and gloom. And if you believe that then I have some ocean-facing beachfront property to sell you in Kansas.