REESE ANNOUNCES STATEWIDE CANDIDACY FOR 2010
Republican Attorney Files for Labor Commissioner
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Jan. 2, 2008
CONTACT: Jason Reese (405) 414-3655, reese@reeseforlabor.com
Oklahoma City--Calling for fundamental reform and a new vision at the Oklahoma Labor Department, Jason Reese today announced his candidacy for Oklahoma Labor Commissioner in 2010. “Oklahoma's Labor Commissioner should be at the forefront of the debate on how to build an economically vibrant state,” Reese said. “Our Commissioner should be consistently offering ideas and policies that will make Oklahoma an even better and more prosperous state. For too long, however, the Commissioner's office has been staffed by old-guard bureaucrats and defenders of the status quo whose stale and outdated ideas have done very little to move Oklahoma forward.” Reese, a Republican from Oklahoma City, pledged, “If elected - on day one - I'll start working to improve the efficiency and accountability of the office. I'll promote greater flexibility for employees in their workplaces across the state. Through better use of technology, I'll bring the Labor Department's services directly to people in their home counties, moving beyond the Department's outdated centralization in Oklahoma City. And I'll lead on the big issues, like Worker's Comp Reform, that have held our state back for too long.”
While reformatting the role of Labor Commissioner from the current reactive, bureaucratic model to a proactive, policy and idea model represents significant change, Reese said he'll meet the challenge. Combining cutting-edge new media with old-fashioned stumping across the state, the Reese campaign will demonstrate a forward-thinking, pro-Oklahoma approach to governance. “Though I grew up sweeping floors at my father’s auto body shop, my first paycheck came from my job performing maintenance at a rural electric cooperative. I learned early the value of hard work and fair dealing,” Reese said. Reese's diverse experience in both the public and private sectors make him uniquely suited for the Labor Commissioner role. He made his way through the University of Oklahoma on a National Merit Scholarship and part-time jobs. Afterward, he graduated from OU Law School and took a position on the staff of the Oklahoma House of Representatives. While there he served as an advisor to the Chairman of the Workers' Comp Taskforce and as Administrative Rules Counsel, where he was responsible for reviewing nearly every regulation written by Oklahoma's state agencies for constitutionality and effect on small businesses. Since leaving the House, Jason has worked as an attorney for one of the state's premier law firms, where he has advised Oklahoma businesses on numerous matters including labor practices and compliance with immigration laws. Reese recently introduced “A New Land Run,” a comprehensive plan to build an opportunity-economy in Oklahoma that is both job-friendly and family-friendly. The plan can be found at his website, ReeseforLabor.com. Active in his church and community, Reese, his wife Jessica, and sons, Patrick and Jack, reside in Central Park, one of the oldest neighborhoods in Oklahoma City. Reese concluded, “Just as my neighborhood is seeing a rebirth with the arrival of young families like mine, we need a reinvigorated Department of Labor, with a fresh, pro-growth vision for our state that puts the interest of the people first. That's exactly the kindof servant-leader I will be.”
Friday, January 2, 2009
Thursday, January 1, 2009
Will Obama Run Our Country Like Chicago?
Chicago .... Who Runs it?
Senators: Barack Obama & Dick Durbin Senators
Congressman: Jesse Jackson, Jr.
Illinois Governor: Rod Blogojevich (arrested this week)
Illinois House leader: Mike Madigan
Illinois Attorney General: Lisa Madigan (daughter of Mike)
Chicago Mayor: Richard M. Daley (son of Mayor Richard J. Daley)
The leadership in Illinois ? .....all Democrats.
Chicago body count in the last six months: 292 killed (murdered) in Chicago 221 killed in Iraq
State pension fund - $44 Billion in debt, worst in the country.
Cook County ( Chicago ) sales tax - 10.25% highest in country. (Look it up).
Chicago school system - rated one of the worst in the country. Of course, they're all blaming each other.
They can't blame Republicans because there aren't any. This is the political culture that Obama comes from in Illinois! And he's going to '"fix" Washington politics for us?
Good luck and may God help us all!!
Senators: Barack Obama & Dick Durbin Senators
Congressman: Jesse Jackson, Jr.
Illinois Governor: Rod Blogojevich (arrested this week)
Illinois House leader: Mike Madigan
Illinois Attorney General: Lisa Madigan (daughter of Mike)
Chicago Mayor: Richard M. Daley (son of Mayor Richard J. Daley)
The leadership in Illinois ? .....all Democrats.
Chicago body count in the last six months: 292 killed (murdered) in Chicago 221 killed in Iraq
State pension fund - $44 Billion in debt, worst in the country.
Cook County ( Chicago ) sales tax - 10.25% highest in country. (Look it up).
Chicago school system - rated one of the worst in the country. Of course, they're all blaming each other.
They can't blame Republicans because there aren't any. This is the political culture that Obama comes from in Illinois! And he's going to '"fix" Washington politics for us?
Good luck and may God help us all!!
Bob Picks Top 5 2008 Stories
1. GOP takeover number one story for 2008. Republicans now control the Senate and the House with 26 Republicans and 22 Democrats in the Senate. In the House the Republicans have 61 and the Democrats have 40.
2. Dana Murphy beats Jim Roth for Corporation Commissioner in the most negative campaigning in the history of Oklahoma by any Democrat or a Republican candidate. Dana Murphy stayed focused and run a clean race and did not return evil for evil. Dana stayed with her qualifications and did an outstanding job articulating her qualifications a traveling all over the state speaking to various groups.
3. House Speaker Lance Cargill resigns.
4. Democrat Auditor and Inspector Jeff McMahan convicted. Another Democrat crook bites the dust!
5. Rep. Sally Kerns makes national news for speaking the truth. She was over overwhelming re-elected and is one of the most respected members of the House.
Bob
2. Dana Murphy beats Jim Roth for Corporation Commissioner in the most negative campaigning in the history of Oklahoma by any Democrat or a Republican candidate. Dana Murphy stayed focused and run a clean race and did not return evil for evil. Dana stayed with her qualifications and did an outstanding job articulating her qualifications a traveling all over the state speaking to various groups.
3. House Speaker Lance Cargill resigns.
4. Democrat Auditor and Inspector Jeff McMahan convicted. Another Democrat crook bites the dust!
5. Rep. Sally Kerns makes national news for speaking the truth. She was over overwhelming re-elected and is one of the most respected members of the House.
Bob
Organize Now Get Active In Your Precinct
What Conservatives Must Now Do
By Peter Ferrara on 12.31.08 @ 6:07AM
Return to the Grassroots
First and most important is to build up mighty, grassroots networks across the country. This is something that conservatives must do, not Republicans, who need to work on their own grassroots party network. Conservatives have become too good lately in lecturing Republicans on what they must do. We need to lead by building a powerful political movement, and the Republicans will then naturally follow.
The radical, liberal-left agenda is tailor made for generating grassroots firestorms in opposition. Included in that agenda is national legislation to remove all state restrictions on abortion, all parental notification, waiting periods, informed consent, and partial birth abortion restrictions. Instead we are slated for taxpayer funding for abortion on demand. Another beaut is national legislation to remove all state protections of gun rights, such as conceal and carry permits. Then there is the federal takeover of health care, the federal shutdown of proven, reliable energy production, global warming regulation to shut down what is left of the economy, the "fairness" doctrine to shut down talk radio, and national legislation to take away workers' rights to a secret ballot election to determine whether they will be forced into a union in their workplace. That last item also includes forcing union contracts on businesses, small, medium and large, in place of the current system of free negotiation.
And we haven't even gotten to tax increases yet. Nor the trillion dollar deficit Obama will propose in his first budget, which will increase federal spending to the highest levels in peacetime in U.S. history, by far.
Conservatives don't need to wait for national leadership. Just start an activist grassroots network in your own locality. This consists most fundamentally in gathering lists of names, phone numbers, and emails of those in your area who will take political action to fight on one or more of the above issues, and others that will arise (Senator Patrick Leahy's court packing plan, for example). Political action means first and foremost communicating, to neighbors, family and friends, privately and publicly. Public communication is pursued through media outlets (letters to the editor, press releases, commentaries for local papers, complaints to the media by phone or in writing, induced media coverage), public forums and meetings (showing up with signs, loud protests, and speaking where that is allowed), contacts with elected officials (by phone, email, or in person), and public protests by the activist group itself.
The group's leadership would communicate with members through newsletters and action alerts, informing them about the issues, and about what is going on in Washington. This would be enhanced by meetings primarily involving attractive social gatherings at least once a month, which will build the spirit and cohesiveness of the network. An informative speaker at such events would help.
During campaign season, such groups would grow into fundraising networks, sources of campaign volunteers, and get out the vote drives, for candidates that support the group's views. Don't be shy about participating in politics. That is your right which many have fought and died for. The Left is not shy.
Most people are politically inactive except for showing up to vote, or maybe providing campaign contributions. So even a group of 20 active members is a political force. You can form such groups out of your existing social network, including friends from your church or even your union. But don't try to formally affiliate with your church or union, or ask them for permission to form your own group by contacting people you know. Also, don't pick a name for the group that suggests radical, inflammatory, revolution. The style should be moderate, informational, competent, professional. The substance should be vintage Reagan.
Conservative leaders must organize state, regional, and even national networks of such local groups, reaching into every congressional district in the country. State, regional or national conferences would add to the punch. This grassroots organizing should be in addition to existing organizations dedicated to pro-life, gun rights, and taxpayer issues, which are all to the good, but more is needed.
By Peter Ferrara on 12.31.08 @ 6:07AM
Return to the Grassroots
First and most important is to build up mighty, grassroots networks across the country. This is something that conservatives must do, not Republicans, who need to work on their own grassroots party network. Conservatives have become too good lately in lecturing Republicans on what they must do. We need to lead by building a powerful political movement, and the Republicans will then naturally follow.
The radical, liberal-left agenda is tailor made for generating grassroots firestorms in opposition. Included in that agenda is national legislation to remove all state restrictions on abortion, all parental notification, waiting periods, informed consent, and partial birth abortion restrictions. Instead we are slated for taxpayer funding for abortion on demand. Another beaut is national legislation to remove all state protections of gun rights, such as conceal and carry permits. Then there is the federal takeover of health care, the federal shutdown of proven, reliable energy production, global warming regulation to shut down what is left of the economy, the "fairness" doctrine to shut down talk radio, and national legislation to take away workers' rights to a secret ballot election to determine whether they will be forced into a union in their workplace. That last item also includes forcing union contracts on businesses, small, medium and large, in place of the current system of free negotiation.
And we haven't even gotten to tax increases yet. Nor the trillion dollar deficit Obama will propose in his first budget, which will increase federal spending to the highest levels in peacetime in U.S. history, by far.
Conservatives don't need to wait for national leadership. Just start an activist grassroots network in your own locality. This consists most fundamentally in gathering lists of names, phone numbers, and emails of those in your area who will take political action to fight on one or more of the above issues, and others that will arise (Senator Patrick Leahy's court packing plan, for example). Political action means first and foremost communicating, to neighbors, family and friends, privately and publicly. Public communication is pursued through media outlets (letters to the editor, press releases, commentaries for local papers, complaints to the media by phone or in writing, induced media coverage), public forums and meetings (showing up with signs, loud protests, and speaking where that is allowed), contacts with elected officials (by phone, email, or in person), and public protests by the activist group itself.
The group's leadership would communicate with members through newsletters and action alerts, informing them about the issues, and about what is going on in Washington. This would be enhanced by meetings primarily involving attractive social gatherings at least once a month, which will build the spirit and cohesiveness of the network. An informative speaker at such events would help.
During campaign season, such groups would grow into fundraising networks, sources of campaign volunteers, and get out the vote drives, for candidates that support the group's views. Don't be shy about participating in politics. That is your right which many have fought and died for. The Left is not shy.
Most people are politically inactive except for showing up to vote, or maybe providing campaign contributions. So even a group of 20 active members is a political force. You can form such groups out of your existing social network, including friends from your church or even your union. But don't try to formally affiliate with your church or union, or ask them for permission to form your own group by contacting people you know. Also, don't pick a name for the group that suggests radical, inflammatory, revolution. The style should be moderate, informational, competent, professional. The substance should be vintage Reagan.
Conservative leaders must organize state, regional, and even national networks of such local groups, reaching into every congressional district in the country. State, regional or national conferences would add to the punch. This grassroots organizing should be in addition to existing organizations dedicated to pro-life, gun rights, and taxpayer issues, which are all to the good, but more is needed.
Democrats Opposed Freeing Slaves
On New Year's Day in 1863, the Emancipation Proclamation came into effect. For over a year, Senator Charles Sumner, Senator Orville Browning, Governor Andrew Curtin and other Republican leaders had been urging President Abraham Lincoln to strike this blow against slavery.
While all Republicans rejoiced, Democrat politicians and newspapers denounced President Lincoln (R-IL) for freeing slaves. Demonstrating their depravity, New York's governor, Horatio Seymour, who would be the 1868 Democrat presidential nominee, denounced the Emancipation Proclamation as "a proposal for the butchery of women and children." The Louisville Daily Democrat called it "an outrage of all constitutional law, all human justice, all Christian feeling."
Acting on authority granted by the Republican-majority 37th Congress to seize rebel "property," President Lincoln had issued the proclamation two months before, to the dismay of the Democrats. Effective at yearend, all slaves in rebel-controlled territory would be "forever free."
Ill-informed critics of President Lincoln fault him for not freeing slaves in areas under U.S. control, but the federal government lacked the necessary authority. Within three years, the Republican-majority 38th Congress followed up the Emancipation Proclamation with the 13th Amendment, banning slavery throughout the nation.
While all Republicans rejoiced, Democrat politicians and newspapers denounced President Lincoln (R-IL) for freeing slaves. Demonstrating their depravity, New York's governor, Horatio Seymour, who would be the 1868 Democrat presidential nominee, denounced the Emancipation Proclamation as "a proposal for the butchery of women and children." The Louisville Daily Democrat called it "an outrage of all constitutional law, all human justice, all Christian feeling."
Acting on authority granted by the Republican-majority 37th Congress to seize rebel "property," President Lincoln had issued the proclamation two months before, to the dismay of the Democrats. Effective at yearend, all slaves in rebel-controlled territory would be "forever free."
Ill-informed critics of President Lincoln fault him for not freeing slaves in areas under U.S. control, but the federal government lacked the necessary authority. Within three years, the Republican-majority 38th Congress followed up the Emancipation Proclamation with the 13th Amendment, banning slavery throughout the nation.
Top 25 GOP Candidates For 2012
Here is a list of the top 25 GOP candidates for President in 2012.
1) Mark Sanford, Governor of South Carolina. The sane conservative choice.
2) Mike Pence, US Representative from Indiana. The insane conservative choice.
3) Tim Pawlenty, Governor of Minnesota. No strikes against him. Slogan: "If McCain had picked me, who knows?"
4) Rick Perry, Governor of Texas. If he thinks he can win re-election in 2010, he'll do it and then run for President. If he thinks Hutchison will beat him (see #9 below), he won't run for re-election, and then run for President.
5) Mitt Romney, former Governor of Massachusetts. He has to be on the list because it's possible that nobody else with access to serious funding will run. In the meantime, will he run for governor or senator of one of his various home states (which now includes California)?
6) Jim DeMint, US Senator from South Carolina. Sure acts like he wants it more than anybody else.
7) John Thune, US Senator from South Dakota. It's a shame that Daschle isn't going for the rematch in 2010. That would be a great race.
8) Bobby Jindal, Governor of Louisiana. Says he's not going to run in 2012. They're so cute the first time they say that!
9) Kay Bailey Hutchison. Assuming she becomes governor of Texas (see #4 above) she'd be in great position for it. Slogan: "A Republican woman who knows stuff."
10) Mitch Daniels, Governor of Indiana. A rarity: a Republican who has recently won an election.
11) Bill Frist, former Senator from Tennessee. Consider yourself warned: the doctor is planning a comeback.
12) Jon Huntsman Jr., Governor of Utah. Mormon, but less creepy than Mitt. Would be higher on this list, but I assume that Romney will torpedo him as revenge for endorsing McCain.
13) Newt Gingrich, former Speaker of the House from Georgia. Running for President is a great way to meet chicks.
14) Haley Barbour, Governor of Mississippi. A real rarity: a competent Republican.
15) Sarah Palin, Governor of Alaska. Would be lower on this list, but how do I know it isn't God's will?
16) Charlie Crist, Governor of Florida. He got married to a woman earlier this month, which is supposed to put the gay rumors behind him. Good luck with that.
17) Eric Cantor, US Representative from Virginia. He's Mr. Ambition.
18) Mike Huckabee, former Governor of Arkansas. Have you noticed that he's been putting the weight back on? Remember when everyone was watching Al Gore's waistline for signs that he was getting in shape to run last year?
19) John Ensign, US Senator from Nevada. As chair of the Republican Senate Campaign Committee, he cleverly cleared away much of the field of prominent Republicans.
20) Tom Ridge, former Secretary of Homeland Security. Great candidate, but his pro-choice position makes him unfeasible -- unless he can concoct a better magical sanctity-of-life conversion story than Romney did. Possible campaign slogan: "I left Homeland Security WAAAYY before Katrina!"
21) Jeb Bush, former Governor of Florida. Perhaps the next US Senator from Florida. Still, 2012 might be too soon for rehabbing the family name.
22) Gen. David Petraeus, CENTCOM Commander. An awful lot of conservatives seem to think this is a serious possibility, and I guess it makes at least as much sense as Wesley Clark did.
23) Lindsay Graham, Senator from South Carolina. Third most likely South Carolinian. A real loser.
24) Don Carcieri, Governor of Rhode Island. Sure, nobody knows him. That's his upside.
25) Unknown business tycoon. I'm sorry to wimp out like that, but I think there's a legitimate chance that the nominee will be some extremely successful but relatively little-known executive -- a center-conservative version of Virginia's Mark Warner, or a Christian version of Michael Bloomberg -- who has never run for public office before. And I have no idea who it might be.
Published Dec 31 2008, 10:40 AM by David S. Bernstein
1) Mark Sanford, Governor of South Carolina. The sane conservative choice.
2) Mike Pence, US Representative from Indiana. The insane conservative choice.
3) Tim Pawlenty, Governor of Minnesota. No strikes against him. Slogan: "If McCain had picked me, who knows?"
4) Rick Perry, Governor of Texas. If he thinks he can win re-election in 2010, he'll do it and then run for President. If he thinks Hutchison will beat him (see #9 below), he won't run for re-election, and then run for President.
5) Mitt Romney, former Governor of Massachusetts. He has to be on the list because it's possible that nobody else with access to serious funding will run. In the meantime, will he run for governor or senator of one of his various home states (which now includes California)?
6) Jim DeMint, US Senator from South Carolina. Sure acts like he wants it more than anybody else.
7) John Thune, US Senator from South Dakota. It's a shame that Daschle isn't going for the rematch in 2010. That would be a great race.
8) Bobby Jindal, Governor of Louisiana. Says he's not going to run in 2012. They're so cute the first time they say that!
9) Kay Bailey Hutchison. Assuming she becomes governor of Texas (see #4 above) she'd be in great position for it. Slogan: "A Republican woman who knows stuff."
10) Mitch Daniels, Governor of Indiana. A rarity: a Republican who has recently won an election.
11) Bill Frist, former Senator from Tennessee. Consider yourself warned: the doctor is planning a comeback.
12) Jon Huntsman Jr., Governor of Utah. Mormon, but less creepy than Mitt. Would be higher on this list, but I assume that Romney will torpedo him as revenge for endorsing McCain.
13) Newt Gingrich, former Speaker of the House from Georgia. Running for President is a great way to meet chicks.
14) Haley Barbour, Governor of Mississippi. A real rarity: a competent Republican.
15) Sarah Palin, Governor of Alaska. Would be lower on this list, but how do I know it isn't God's will?
16) Charlie Crist, Governor of Florida. He got married to a woman earlier this month, which is supposed to put the gay rumors behind him. Good luck with that.
17) Eric Cantor, US Representative from Virginia. He's Mr. Ambition.
18) Mike Huckabee, former Governor of Arkansas. Have you noticed that he's been putting the weight back on? Remember when everyone was watching Al Gore's waistline for signs that he was getting in shape to run last year?
19) John Ensign, US Senator from Nevada. As chair of the Republican Senate Campaign Committee, he cleverly cleared away much of the field of prominent Republicans.
20) Tom Ridge, former Secretary of Homeland Security. Great candidate, but his pro-choice position makes him unfeasible -- unless he can concoct a better magical sanctity-of-life conversion story than Romney did. Possible campaign slogan: "I left Homeland Security WAAAYY before Katrina!"
21) Jeb Bush, former Governor of Florida. Perhaps the next US Senator from Florida. Still, 2012 might be too soon for rehabbing the family name.
22) Gen. David Petraeus, CENTCOM Commander. An awful lot of conservatives seem to think this is a serious possibility, and I guess it makes at least as much sense as Wesley Clark did.
23) Lindsay Graham, Senator from South Carolina. Third most likely South Carolinian. A real loser.
24) Don Carcieri, Governor of Rhode Island. Sure, nobody knows him. That's his upside.
25) Unknown business tycoon. I'm sorry to wimp out like that, but I think there's a legitimate chance that the nominee will be some extremely successful but relatively little-known executive -- a center-conservative version of Virginia's Mark Warner, or a Christian version of Michael Bloomberg -- who has never run for public office before. And I have no idea who it might be.
Published Dec 31 2008, 10:40 AM by David S. Bernstein
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Police New Pain-Ray
Police Pain-Ray
Friday, December 26, 2008 by Shattered Paradigm ·
Labels: Police State
I wonder how many guns Norman will order? Maybe OU will order some in case the fans at an OU Football game ever get on the field or get excited and charge onto the Lloyd Noble basketball court after a big win.
Bob
Imagine a world where police have the ability to fire pain ray guns at protesters that instantly cause them excruciating pain as soon as they are activated.Imagine a world where police have the ability to torture from a distance anyone they want at the touch of a button.Does that sound like something out of a science fiction novel?It's not.It is in the final stages of development and could soon be a reality on the streets of America.NewScientist is reporting that the U.S. Department of Justice is developing two portable "non-lethal" weapons that inflict severe pain from a distance using either microwave technology or laser beams.According to that report, the intention of the U.S. Department of Justice is to put these pain ray weapons into the hands of police on the streets of America.Some observers are very upset about this development, as they claim that giving police the ability to instantly torture anyone they want from a distance is a very dangerous thing to do.Others are applauding the development of these new "non-lethal" weapons as a step away from the use of "lethal" weapons by police.All of this comes a couple of months after a report that the U.S. Army will be deploying mobile pain ray trucks (called the Active Denial System) that have the capability to instantly fry the flesh of whole crowds of protesters using microwave technology.Imagine that.A whole crowd of rioters actually being cooked like they are in a microwave oven.Frightening stuff.Instead of finding more ways to torture and kill one another, perhaps we all should be looking for more ways to love each other.
Just a thought.
Labels: Police State
I wonder how many guns Norman will order? Maybe OU will order some in case the fans at an OU Football game ever get on the field or get excited and charge onto the Lloyd Noble basketball court after a big win.
Bob
Imagine a world where police have the ability to fire pain ray guns at protesters that instantly cause them excruciating pain as soon as they are activated.Imagine a world where police have the ability to torture from a distance anyone they want at the touch of a button.Does that sound like something out of a science fiction novel?It's not.It is in the final stages of development and could soon be a reality on the streets of America.NewScientist is reporting that the U.S. Department of Justice is developing two portable "non-lethal" weapons that inflict severe pain from a distance using either microwave technology or laser beams.According to that report, the intention of the U.S. Department of Justice is to put these pain ray weapons into the hands of police on the streets of America.Some observers are very upset about this development, as they claim that giving police the ability to instantly torture anyone they want from a distance is a very dangerous thing to do.Others are applauding the development of these new "non-lethal" weapons as a step away from the use of "lethal" weapons by police.All of this comes a couple of months after a report that the U.S. Army will be deploying mobile pain ray trucks (called the Active Denial System) that have the capability to instantly fry the flesh of whole crowds of protesters using microwave technology.Imagine that.A whole crowd of rioters actually being cooked like they are in a microwave oven.Frightening stuff.Instead of finding more ways to torture and kill one another, perhaps we all should be looking for more ways to love each other.
Just a thought.
Newt Is Wrong!
Do grassroots conservatives really care what Newt Gingrich thinks? Newt has done a great job articulating conservative positions in the past, but really Newt, you need to "Wake up and smell the Roses". This is today and we need strong leadership. To be critical of Saltsman over this stupid parody is wrong! The parody has been played hundreds of times on Rush Limbaugh’s show. The parody is almost a year old, Saltsman did not write it nor did he sing it, he only sent the CD to RNC members. If Newt thought the CD was so bad why did he not speak up, one of the many times he was on Limbaugh’s radio show? Why didn't the Current RNC Chairman speak up when he heard the song on Limbaughs radio show? Chairman Duncan needs to step aside and let someone with some actual ideas be the next RNC Chairman. The RNC needs innovation if we are going to be successful in the future. I hope our National Committeewoman, Committeeman and State Chairman vote for a change.
Bob
http://spectator.org/archives/2008/12/30/hapless-white-boys-run-for-gop/
Political Hay
Hapless White Boys Run for GOP Chairman
By Jeffrey Lord on 12.30.08 @ 6:08AM
Amazing. Absolutely amazing.
Into the Christmas-New Year's holiday lull comes word that one Chip Saltsman, late of the Huckabee for President campaign (he was the campaign manager) and now a candidate for Republican National Chairman, is under attack by two of his competitors and, of all people, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich.
Why? What on earth could possibly put the contest for GOP chairman in the news amidst Christmas tidings and the impending tidal wave of Obamamania?
It seems that Mr. Saltsman, in pursuit of his candidacy (voters for RNC chairman are the members of the Republican National Committee) sent to all RNC members a disk containing some of the musical political parodies of Paul Shanklin. Mr. Shanklin, according to Saltsman, is a "longtime friend." Shanklin is also, of course, extremely well known to the audience of the Rush Limbaugh Show. Rush frequently plays the latest Shanklin parody about this or that political figure or news event, always to great mirth or at a minimum a considerable chuckle. The Shanklin parodies are a rousing hit with the Limbaugh audience, combining an uncanny ability to match famous songs with a devastating take of the latest shenanigans of the non-conservatives of this world. Needless to say, Shanklin has lots of material to work with.
What has suddenly erupted into a bizarre yet disturbing fight among the candidates for GOP chairman is that the selection Saltsman sent to every RNC member contained a Shanklin parody titled "Barack the Magic Negro." Sung to the famous Peter, Paul and Mary tune "Puff the Magic Dragon," the song features Shanklin-as-Al Sharpton lamenting the rise of Barack Obama.
The title is taken from an op-ed published in the Los Angeles Times in early 2007 as Obama was beginning to catch on as a presidential possibility. The article was penned by David Ehrenstein, a black, gay liberal writer. Ehrenstein's point was that Obama was just another "magic negro" (Ehrenstein's phrase) who, like actor Sidney Poitier of 1960s movie fame (or perhaps today's Tiger Woods), comes across to whites as unthreatening, black but yet not really black at all. Certainly Obama is no Al Sharpton or Jesse Jackson, was the Ehrenstein point, both of whom are real blacks as opposed to, um, fake blacks. Wrote Ehrenstein of Obama and whites: "If he were real, white America couldn't project all its fantasies of curative black benevolence on him." Ehrenstein, it should be said, is no Obama fan, pointedly saying recently that Obama "is not my president" because of the invite to conservative pastor Rick Warren to give the invocation at the Obama inaugural.
While Sharpton is now on the Obama train, it is important to remember here that at the beginning of the campaign season Sharpton was decidedly not an Obama supporter. It quickly became clear that because Obama had not made his bones in the modern civil rights movement and was -- gasp -- not a descendant of slaves but the son of an African who actually lived in Africa (Kenya) Obama was somehow not down with the struggle. Sharpton, like Jesse Jackson, had also run for the Democratic presidential nomination once upon a time and met with similar results, which is to say defeat. The word was out that there was not an inconsiderable amount of outright jealously directed towards Obama by both Sharpton and Jackson. The more Obama succeeded, of course, the feeling was the less relevant the two would become. If America has a black president, who needs two old and out of touch self-described black civil rights leaders?
In an interview with WCBS-TV reported in the March 13, 2007 Political Bulletin of U.S. News & World Report, Sharpton is said to have made "harsh" criticisms of Obama, saying: "Why shouldn't the black community ask questions? Are we now being told 'You all just shut up'?" Jackson was famously caught waiting for a Fox TV interview, where, unaware that there was a live microphone and already rolling camera, the good Reverend whispered to a fellow guest that he wanted to "cut (Obama's) nuts off." Jackson also used the "N word" in the course of his whispered and highly revealing diatribe.
WHAT DOES ALL OF THIS have to do with Chip Saltsman, Paul Shanklin and Rush Limbaugh?
The Shanklin parody has a very distinct point. It zeroes in on Sharpton for being the racial arsonist that he in fact is. Shanklin, and certainly Rush Limbaugh, are well aware of Sharpton's despicable record as a black David Duke, Duke the Louisiana Ku Klux Klan leader who ran for governor of the state as a brand new Republican. (Duke, by the way, was forcefully and quite publicly disowned by then-RNC chair Lee Atwater and President George H.W. Bush. Sharpton, on the other hand, was recently pictured lunching with New York Senate hopeful Caroline Kennedy, just as he has been sought out previously by both Clintons and Al Gore, to name but a few of the establishment Democrats who grovel at his feet.) Sharpton's involvement in the disgraceful Tawana Brawley episode, in which he became an "advisor" to a young black girl who falsely (as was eventually admitted) accused six white men of rape, was but one glaring example of his relentless use of racial cross-burning politics. So too was Sharpton's role in the tragedy of Freddy's Fashion Mart, a Harlem incident in which Sharpton urged on a protest of a Jewish store owner, in anti-Semitic style labeling the Jewish man a "white interloper." The result was the burning of Freddy's and a shooting by a black man riled to action, with several customers shot outright and seven store employees dying of smoke inhalation. In short, the record of Sharpton as, in the words of conservative David Horowitz, "an anti-Semitic racist" is well out there. Yet still there's no problem for Caroline, Hillary, Bill or Al etc. etc. Does that tell you something about the history of Democrats and race or what?
Picking up on the theme of the black Ehrenstein that Obama was a "magic negro" (which is to say, decidedly unlike Sharpton who is presumably an "un-magic negro"), Shanklin's parody, in decidedly 21st century humorist form, makes the ancient core point of the Republican Party. To wit, racism has no business in the GOP, and that it has been at the very center of the Democrats' party since its very inception. Al Sharpton's first, gut reaction to Obama is in fact just the latest personification of what is a very, very ugly history indeed. There is no need here to endlessly detail the record of Democrats, the party of race, which includes enthusiastic support for every hatefully racist idea in American from the cruelty of slavery, to segregation and lynching. For that one can pick up Bruce Bartlett's great book Wrong on Race: The Democratic Party's Buried Past, or read earlier thoughts from this space on the Democrats' Missing Years or whether there would be an apology for slavery in the Democrats' platform from then presumptive-nominee Hillary Clinton. Specifics may be found there.
What disturbs greatly here is the reaction to the Shanklin parody, to Saltsman, and by extension, wittingly or not, to Rush Limbaugh. As quoted in the New York Times of December 28th (and admittedly taking a quote of any Republican as accurate when reported by the Times is perilous), Saltsman has come under virulent attack from at least two of his competitors for the RNC chairmanship. Said incumbent chair Mike Duncan: "I am shocked and appalled." Chimed in Michigan chairman Saul Anuzis: "This isn't funny, and it's in bad taste."
Most amazing was the reaction as quoted from an e-mail by ex-Speaker Gingrich: "This is so inappropriate that it should disqualify any Republican National Committee candidate who would use it. There are no grounds for demeaning him (President-elect Obama) or for using racist descriptions."
One can only be startled that these gentlemen do not seem to understand that their reaction to what is clearly an attack on the racist, anti-Semitic ravings of Mr. Sharpton makes them seem as nothing more than a collection of white-shoe country club Republicans whose idea of civil rights is to tip the black waiter an extra buck while telling him they gave five more bucks to the NAACP. This is serious stuff here. To elect anyone chairman of the Republican National Committee, anyone who does not have a detailed understanding of the real civil rights record of the GOP as opposed to the grossly misrepresented version of that history routinely presented by Democrats and the media, is a critical mistake. The votes of African Americans will never -- and should never -- be sought with the incredibly patronizing attitude about blacks displayed in the comments of Duncan, Anuzis and Gingrich. African Americans are understandably proud that one of their own is about to become President of the United States. So too were Irish Catholics proud of JFK, and this year millions of women enthusiastic about Hillary Clinton and Sarah Palin.
Yet in the end, the American ideal is that we are all Americans here, that America is very much NOT about race, creed, gender or sexual preference but ideas of freedom and liberty. And the embrace of Obama by blacks in a way they refused to embrace Sharpton and Jackson is telling indeed. "Magic negro" or not, instinctively they recognized racism when they saw it. Of the two major political parties, there is only one which from its founding and in platform after platform and policy after policy, from Lincoln to Grant to Theodore Roosevelt, Coolidge, Eisenhower, Nixon, Reagan and down to George W. Bush that has relentlessly stood for the goal of a color-blind America. That party is the one which now has two African Americans, Michael Steele of Maryland and Ken Blackwell of Ohio, also seeking the RNC chairmanship. Surely no one has to tell either of these two of the real GOP history that Mr. Shanklin is pointedly highlighting in his parody, particularly not Mr. Steele, who had Oreo cookies thrown at him by Democrats during his race for the U.S. Senate.
ONE CAN ONLY WONDER what possesses these three men -- Duncan, Anuzis and Gingrich to ever -- ever! -- put themselves or their party in the position of adopting a "me-too" version of the Republican Party as presented by opponents that have made the ugliest of racism part of the bedrock of their party history. It is impossible to believe that any of the three thought carefully about what they were saying, thought deeply about Reverend Sharpton's Duke-like history, or have even taken any time recently to go back and read the civil rights history of their own party. In the case of history professor Gingrich this is particularly stunning.
The first thing these three can do when the New Year arrives? Apologize for this mind-boggling display of racial patronizing to the African-American community, to Republicans and quite specifically to Mr. Saltsman, Mr. Shanklin, and Mr. Limbaugh. In the case of the latter -- and as a Newt fan who has met the Speaker many times in my career and for whom I have great respect -- Newt should bite the bullet and ask to go on-air with Rush. To apologize directly to Rush. To get this clarified. To do otherwise is to leave the impression, an impression I am certain he does not hold, that he, Newt Gingrich, has appeared frequently over the years on a radio show he secretly considers racist. Quite aside from the fact that this is insulting to Rush, it is an in-your-face swipe at his 20 million listeners. Does Newt really believe conservatives and Republicans are a party of racists? Of course not -- but you sure couldn't say that from his reaction here.
What were these guys thinking in saying something this nutty? How could they be so wildly off point?
I have no idea. But it wasn't magic, it was hapless.
Bob
http://spectator.org/archives/2008/12/30/hapless-white-boys-run-for-gop/
Political Hay
Hapless White Boys Run for GOP Chairman
By Jeffrey Lord on 12.30.08 @ 6:08AM
Amazing. Absolutely amazing.
Into the Christmas-New Year's holiday lull comes word that one Chip Saltsman, late of the Huckabee for President campaign (he was the campaign manager) and now a candidate for Republican National Chairman, is under attack by two of his competitors and, of all people, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich.
Why? What on earth could possibly put the contest for GOP chairman in the news amidst Christmas tidings and the impending tidal wave of Obamamania?
It seems that Mr. Saltsman, in pursuit of his candidacy (voters for RNC chairman are the members of the Republican National Committee) sent to all RNC members a disk containing some of the musical political parodies of Paul Shanklin. Mr. Shanklin, according to Saltsman, is a "longtime friend." Shanklin is also, of course, extremely well known to the audience of the Rush Limbaugh Show. Rush frequently plays the latest Shanklin parody about this or that political figure or news event, always to great mirth or at a minimum a considerable chuckle. The Shanklin parodies are a rousing hit with the Limbaugh audience, combining an uncanny ability to match famous songs with a devastating take of the latest shenanigans of the non-conservatives of this world. Needless to say, Shanklin has lots of material to work with.
What has suddenly erupted into a bizarre yet disturbing fight among the candidates for GOP chairman is that the selection Saltsman sent to every RNC member contained a Shanklin parody titled "Barack the Magic Negro." Sung to the famous Peter, Paul and Mary tune "Puff the Magic Dragon," the song features Shanklin-as-Al Sharpton lamenting the rise of Barack Obama.
The title is taken from an op-ed published in the Los Angeles Times in early 2007 as Obama was beginning to catch on as a presidential possibility. The article was penned by David Ehrenstein, a black, gay liberal writer. Ehrenstein's point was that Obama was just another "magic negro" (Ehrenstein's phrase) who, like actor Sidney Poitier of 1960s movie fame (or perhaps today's Tiger Woods), comes across to whites as unthreatening, black but yet not really black at all. Certainly Obama is no Al Sharpton or Jesse Jackson, was the Ehrenstein point, both of whom are real blacks as opposed to, um, fake blacks. Wrote Ehrenstein of Obama and whites: "If he were real, white America couldn't project all its fantasies of curative black benevolence on him." Ehrenstein, it should be said, is no Obama fan, pointedly saying recently that Obama "is not my president" because of the invite to conservative pastor Rick Warren to give the invocation at the Obama inaugural.
While Sharpton is now on the Obama train, it is important to remember here that at the beginning of the campaign season Sharpton was decidedly not an Obama supporter. It quickly became clear that because Obama had not made his bones in the modern civil rights movement and was -- gasp -- not a descendant of slaves but the son of an African who actually lived in Africa (Kenya) Obama was somehow not down with the struggle. Sharpton, like Jesse Jackson, had also run for the Democratic presidential nomination once upon a time and met with similar results, which is to say defeat. The word was out that there was not an inconsiderable amount of outright jealously directed towards Obama by both Sharpton and Jackson. The more Obama succeeded, of course, the feeling was the less relevant the two would become. If America has a black president, who needs two old and out of touch self-described black civil rights leaders?
In an interview with WCBS-TV reported in the March 13, 2007 Political Bulletin of U.S. News & World Report, Sharpton is said to have made "harsh" criticisms of Obama, saying: "Why shouldn't the black community ask questions? Are we now being told 'You all just shut up'?" Jackson was famously caught waiting for a Fox TV interview, where, unaware that there was a live microphone and already rolling camera, the good Reverend whispered to a fellow guest that he wanted to "cut (Obama's) nuts off." Jackson also used the "N word" in the course of his whispered and highly revealing diatribe.
WHAT DOES ALL OF THIS have to do with Chip Saltsman, Paul Shanklin and Rush Limbaugh?
The Shanklin parody has a very distinct point. It zeroes in on Sharpton for being the racial arsonist that he in fact is. Shanklin, and certainly Rush Limbaugh, are well aware of Sharpton's despicable record as a black David Duke, Duke the Louisiana Ku Klux Klan leader who ran for governor of the state as a brand new Republican. (Duke, by the way, was forcefully and quite publicly disowned by then-RNC chair Lee Atwater and President George H.W. Bush. Sharpton, on the other hand, was recently pictured lunching with New York Senate hopeful Caroline Kennedy, just as he has been sought out previously by both Clintons and Al Gore, to name but a few of the establishment Democrats who grovel at his feet.) Sharpton's involvement in the disgraceful Tawana Brawley episode, in which he became an "advisor" to a young black girl who falsely (as was eventually admitted) accused six white men of rape, was but one glaring example of his relentless use of racial cross-burning politics. So too was Sharpton's role in the tragedy of Freddy's Fashion Mart, a Harlem incident in which Sharpton urged on a protest of a Jewish store owner, in anti-Semitic style labeling the Jewish man a "white interloper." The result was the burning of Freddy's and a shooting by a black man riled to action, with several customers shot outright and seven store employees dying of smoke inhalation. In short, the record of Sharpton as, in the words of conservative David Horowitz, "an anti-Semitic racist" is well out there. Yet still there's no problem for Caroline, Hillary, Bill or Al etc. etc. Does that tell you something about the history of Democrats and race or what?
Picking up on the theme of the black Ehrenstein that Obama was a "magic negro" (which is to say, decidedly unlike Sharpton who is presumably an "un-magic negro"), Shanklin's parody, in decidedly 21st century humorist form, makes the ancient core point of the Republican Party. To wit, racism has no business in the GOP, and that it has been at the very center of the Democrats' party since its very inception. Al Sharpton's first, gut reaction to Obama is in fact just the latest personification of what is a very, very ugly history indeed. There is no need here to endlessly detail the record of Democrats, the party of race, which includes enthusiastic support for every hatefully racist idea in American from the cruelty of slavery, to segregation and lynching. For that one can pick up Bruce Bartlett's great book Wrong on Race: The Democratic Party's Buried Past, or read earlier thoughts from this space on the Democrats' Missing Years or whether there would be an apology for slavery in the Democrats' platform from then presumptive-nominee Hillary Clinton. Specifics may be found there.
What disturbs greatly here is the reaction to the Shanklin parody, to Saltsman, and by extension, wittingly or not, to Rush Limbaugh. As quoted in the New York Times of December 28th (and admittedly taking a quote of any Republican as accurate when reported by the Times is perilous), Saltsman has come under virulent attack from at least two of his competitors for the RNC chairmanship. Said incumbent chair Mike Duncan: "I am shocked and appalled." Chimed in Michigan chairman Saul Anuzis: "This isn't funny, and it's in bad taste."
Most amazing was the reaction as quoted from an e-mail by ex-Speaker Gingrich: "This is so inappropriate that it should disqualify any Republican National Committee candidate who would use it. There are no grounds for demeaning him (President-elect Obama) or for using racist descriptions."
One can only be startled that these gentlemen do not seem to understand that their reaction to what is clearly an attack on the racist, anti-Semitic ravings of Mr. Sharpton makes them seem as nothing more than a collection of white-shoe country club Republicans whose idea of civil rights is to tip the black waiter an extra buck while telling him they gave five more bucks to the NAACP. This is serious stuff here. To elect anyone chairman of the Republican National Committee, anyone who does not have a detailed understanding of the real civil rights record of the GOP as opposed to the grossly misrepresented version of that history routinely presented by Democrats and the media, is a critical mistake. The votes of African Americans will never -- and should never -- be sought with the incredibly patronizing attitude about blacks displayed in the comments of Duncan, Anuzis and Gingrich. African Americans are understandably proud that one of their own is about to become President of the United States. So too were Irish Catholics proud of JFK, and this year millions of women enthusiastic about Hillary Clinton and Sarah Palin.
Yet in the end, the American ideal is that we are all Americans here, that America is very much NOT about race, creed, gender or sexual preference but ideas of freedom and liberty. And the embrace of Obama by blacks in a way they refused to embrace Sharpton and Jackson is telling indeed. "Magic negro" or not, instinctively they recognized racism when they saw it. Of the two major political parties, there is only one which from its founding and in platform after platform and policy after policy, from Lincoln to Grant to Theodore Roosevelt, Coolidge, Eisenhower, Nixon, Reagan and down to George W. Bush that has relentlessly stood for the goal of a color-blind America. That party is the one which now has two African Americans, Michael Steele of Maryland and Ken Blackwell of Ohio, also seeking the RNC chairmanship. Surely no one has to tell either of these two of the real GOP history that Mr. Shanklin is pointedly highlighting in his parody, particularly not Mr. Steele, who had Oreo cookies thrown at him by Democrats during his race for the U.S. Senate.
ONE CAN ONLY WONDER what possesses these three men -- Duncan, Anuzis and Gingrich to ever -- ever! -- put themselves or their party in the position of adopting a "me-too" version of the Republican Party as presented by opponents that have made the ugliest of racism part of the bedrock of their party history. It is impossible to believe that any of the three thought carefully about what they were saying, thought deeply about Reverend Sharpton's Duke-like history, or have even taken any time recently to go back and read the civil rights history of their own party. In the case of history professor Gingrich this is particularly stunning.
The first thing these three can do when the New Year arrives? Apologize for this mind-boggling display of racial patronizing to the African-American community, to Republicans and quite specifically to Mr. Saltsman, Mr. Shanklin, and Mr. Limbaugh. In the case of the latter -- and as a Newt fan who has met the Speaker many times in my career and for whom I have great respect -- Newt should bite the bullet and ask to go on-air with Rush. To apologize directly to Rush. To get this clarified. To do otherwise is to leave the impression, an impression I am certain he does not hold, that he, Newt Gingrich, has appeared frequently over the years on a radio show he secretly considers racist. Quite aside from the fact that this is insulting to Rush, it is an in-your-face swipe at his 20 million listeners. Does Newt really believe conservatives and Republicans are a party of racists? Of course not -- but you sure couldn't say that from his reaction here.
What were these guys thinking in saying something this nutty? How could they be so wildly off point?
I have no idea. But it wasn't magic, it was hapless.
Monday, December 29, 2008
Supreme Court Will Look At the Birth Certificate Issue
WorldNet Daily
OBAMA WATCH CENTRALEligibility remains focus of Supremes' conferencesDispute posted on docket twice after Electoral College votes in
Posted: December 26, 200810:40 pm Eastern© 2008 WorldNetDaily
A second conference has been posted on the docket for the U.S. Supreme Court over the issue of Barack Obama's eligibility to occupy the White House, this one scheduled a week after Congress is to review the Electoral College vote tabulation.
The latest issue posted is a request for an injunction on the election results pending the resolution of a petition for a writ of certiorari filed by attorney Philip J. Berg, a case that is docketed for a similar conference among the justices on Jan. 9.
Berg's original case raises questions about Obama's eligibility and his injunction request first was filed early in December. It was submitted to and rejected by two different justices before it came before Justice Antonin Scalia on Dec. 18. Then just before Christmas the docket was updated to reflect that the motion had been "distributed for conference of January 16, 2009."
On Berg's Obama Crimes.com website, he said Congress is scheduled to hear the Electoral College results on Jan. 8. Then on Jan. 9 there's the conference scheduled on Berg's case itself, with the injunction issue to be addressed a week later.
WND has reported Berg's case, one of the first legal challenges to Obama's eligibility to reach the Supreme Court, alleges he cannot constitutionally be inaugurated.
"I know that Mr. Obama is not a constitutionally qualified natural born citizen and is ineligible to assume the office of president of the United States," Berg said in a statement on his ObamaCrimes.com website.
"Obama knows he is not 'natural born' as he knows where he was born and he knows he was adopted in Indonesia; Obama is an attorney, Harvard Law grad who taught Constitutional law; Obama knows his candidacy is the largest 'hoax' attempted on the citizens of the United States in over 200 years; Obama places our Constitution in a 'crisis' situation; and Obama is in a situation where he can be blackmailed by leaders around the world who know Obama is not qualified," Berg's statement continued.
"The Supreme Court has listed the case of Berg vs. Obama for 'conference' on January 9," the website said.
"I am appalled that the main stream media continues to ignore this issue as we are headed to a 'Constitution Crisis,'" Berg wrote. "There is nothing more important than our U.S. Constitution and it must be enforced. I am concerned that our courts have not yet decided to look into the merits of our allegations."
WND previously reported on a case brought by Cort Wrotnowski. It fell by the wayside when the justices heard about it in conference but refused to give it a further hearing. That was the same fate handed to a case brought by Leo Donofrio. Both challenged Obama on essentially the same issue: allegations that dual citizenship based on a father who was a British subject and a mother who was an American minor disqualified him for office.
Where's the proof Barack Obama was born in the U.S. or that he fulfills the "natural-born American" clause in the Constitution? If you still want to see it, join more than 190,000 others and sign up now!
The high court previously turned down a request from Berg to stop the Electoral College from selecting the 44th president until Obama documents his eligibility for the office.
As WND has reported, more than a dozen lawsuits have been filed over Obama's eligibility to assume the office of the president, many have been dismissed, while others remain pending.
The cases, in various ways, have alleged Obama does not meet the "natural born citizen" clause of the U.S. Constitution, Article 2, Section 1, which reads, "No Person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the Office of President."
Some of the legal challenges have alleged Obama was not born in Hawaii, as he insists, but in Kenya. Obama's American mother, the suits contend, was too young at the time of his birth to confer American citizenship to her son under the law at the time.
Other challenges have focused on Obama's citizenship through his father, a Kenyan subject to the jurisdiction of the United Kingdom at the time of his birth, thus making him a dual citizen. Such cases contend the framers of the Constitution excluded dual citizens from qualifying as natural born.
Several details of Obama's past have added twists to the question of his eligibility and citizenship, including his family's move to Indonesia when he was a child, his travel to Pakistan in the '80s when such travel was forbidden to American citizens and conflicting reports from Obama's family about his place of birth.
A partial listing and status update for several of the cases surrounding Obama's eligibility to serve as president is below:
Philip J. Berg, a Pennsylvania Democrat, demanded that the courts verify Obama's original birth certificate and other documents proving his American citizenship. Supreme Court conferences on the case and its motions are scheduled Jan. 9 and 16.
Leo Donofrio of New Jersey filed a lawsuit claiming Obama's dual citizenship disqualified him from serving as president. His case was considered in conference by the U.S. Supreme Court but denied a full hearing.
Cort Wrotnowski filed suit against Connecticut's secretary of state, making a similar argument to Donofrio. His case was considered in conference by the U.S. Supreme Court, but was denied a full hearing.
Former presidential candidate Alan Keyes headlines a list of people filing a suit in California, in a case handled by the United States Justice Foundation, that asks the secretary of state to refuse to allow the state's 55 Electoral College votes to be cast in the 2008 presidential election until Obama verifies his eligibility to hold the office. The case is pending, and lawyers are seeking the public's support.
Chicago attorney Andy Martin sought legal action requiring Hawaii Gov. Linda Lingle to release Obama's vital statistics record. The case was dismissed by Hawaii Circuit Court Judge Bert Ayabe.
Lt. Col. Donald Sullivan sought a temporary restraining order to stop the Electoral College vote in North Carolina until Barack Obama's eligibility could be confirmed, alleging doubt about Obama's citizenship. His case was denied.
In Ohio, David M. Neal sued to force the secretary of state to request documents from the Federal Elections Commission, the Democratic National Committee, the Ohio Democratic Party and Obama to show the presidential candidate was born in Hawaii. The case was denied.
In Washington state, Steven Marquis sued the secretary of state seeking a determination on Obama's citizenship. The case was denied.
In Georgia, Rev. Tom Terry asked the state Supreme Court to authenticate Obama's birth certificate. His request for an injuction against Georgia's secretary of state was denied by Georgia Superior Court Judge Jerry W. Baxter.
California attorney Orly Taitz also has brought a complaint alleging Obama is not a "natural born" citizen and has written an open letter to the Supreme Court asking for the issue to be resolved.
Last month, WND reported the worries over a "constitutional crisis" that could be looming over the issue of Obama's citizenship.
"Should Senator Obama be discovered, after he takes office, to be ineligible for the Office of President of the United States of America and, thereby, his election declared void," argues the Alan Keyes case pending in California, "Americans will suffer irreparable harm in that (a) usurper will be sitting as the President of the United States, and none of the treaties, laws, or executive orders signed by him will be valid or legal."
With such high stakes potentially at risk, WND earlier launched a letter campaign to contact Electoral College members and urge them to review the controversy.
That followed a campaign that sent more than 60,000 letters by overnight delivery to the U.S. Supreme Court when one case contesting Obama's eligibility for the Oval Office was pending.
A separate petition, already signed by more than 190,000 also is ongoing asking authorities in the election to seek proof Obama was born in the U.S. or that he fulfills the "natural-born American" clause in the Constitution.
WND senior reporter Jerome Corsi had gone to both Kenya and Hawaii prior to the election to investigate issues surrounding Obama's birth. But his research and discoveries only raised more questions.
The biggest question was why, if a Hawaii birth certificate exists as his campaign has stated, Obama hasn't simply ordered it made available to settle the rumors. The image his campaign posted online has been rejected by critics since it is a "certification of live birth," not a birth certificate, and under Hawaii law at the time such certifications were given to parents of children born outside the state.
The governor's office in Hawaii said there is a valid certificate but rejected requests for access and left ambiguous its origin: Does the certificate on file with the Department of Health indicate a Hawaii birth or was it generated after the Obama family registered a Kenyan birth in Hawaii?
Obama's half-sister, Maya Soetoro, has named two different Hawaii hospitals where Obama could have been born. There have been other allegations that Obama actually was born in Kenya during a time when his father was a British subject. At one point a Kenyan ambassador said Obama's birthplace in Kenya already was being recognized.
OBAMA WATCH CENTRALEligibility remains focus of Supremes' conferencesDispute posted on docket twice after Electoral College votes in
Posted: December 26, 200810:40 pm Eastern© 2008 WorldNetDaily
A second conference has been posted on the docket for the U.S. Supreme Court over the issue of Barack Obama's eligibility to occupy the White House, this one scheduled a week after Congress is to review the Electoral College vote tabulation.
The latest issue posted is a request for an injunction on the election results pending the resolution of a petition for a writ of certiorari filed by attorney Philip J. Berg, a case that is docketed for a similar conference among the justices on Jan. 9.
Berg's original case raises questions about Obama's eligibility and his injunction request first was filed early in December. It was submitted to and rejected by two different justices before it came before Justice Antonin Scalia on Dec. 18. Then just before Christmas the docket was updated to reflect that the motion had been "distributed for conference of January 16, 2009."
On Berg's Obama Crimes.com website, he said Congress is scheduled to hear the Electoral College results on Jan. 8. Then on Jan. 9 there's the conference scheduled on Berg's case itself, with the injunction issue to be addressed a week later.
WND has reported Berg's case, one of the first legal challenges to Obama's eligibility to reach the Supreme Court, alleges he cannot constitutionally be inaugurated.
"I know that Mr. Obama is not a constitutionally qualified natural born citizen and is ineligible to assume the office of president of the United States," Berg said in a statement on his ObamaCrimes.com website.
"Obama knows he is not 'natural born' as he knows where he was born and he knows he was adopted in Indonesia; Obama is an attorney, Harvard Law grad who taught Constitutional law; Obama knows his candidacy is the largest 'hoax' attempted on the citizens of the United States in over 200 years; Obama places our Constitution in a 'crisis' situation; and Obama is in a situation where he can be blackmailed by leaders around the world who know Obama is not qualified," Berg's statement continued.
"The Supreme Court has listed the case of Berg vs. Obama for 'conference' on January 9," the website said.
"I am appalled that the main stream media continues to ignore this issue as we are headed to a 'Constitution Crisis,'" Berg wrote. "There is nothing more important than our U.S. Constitution and it must be enforced. I am concerned that our courts have not yet decided to look into the merits of our allegations."
WND previously reported on a case brought by Cort Wrotnowski. It fell by the wayside when the justices heard about it in conference but refused to give it a further hearing. That was the same fate handed to a case brought by Leo Donofrio. Both challenged Obama on essentially the same issue: allegations that dual citizenship based on a father who was a British subject and a mother who was an American minor disqualified him for office.
Where's the proof Barack Obama was born in the U.S. or that he fulfills the "natural-born American" clause in the Constitution? If you still want to see it, join more than 190,000 others and sign up now!
The high court previously turned down a request from Berg to stop the Electoral College from selecting the 44th president until Obama documents his eligibility for the office.
As WND has reported, more than a dozen lawsuits have been filed over Obama's eligibility to assume the office of the president, many have been dismissed, while others remain pending.
The cases, in various ways, have alleged Obama does not meet the "natural born citizen" clause of the U.S. Constitution, Article 2, Section 1, which reads, "No Person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the Office of President."
Some of the legal challenges have alleged Obama was not born in Hawaii, as he insists, but in Kenya. Obama's American mother, the suits contend, was too young at the time of his birth to confer American citizenship to her son under the law at the time.
Other challenges have focused on Obama's citizenship through his father, a Kenyan subject to the jurisdiction of the United Kingdom at the time of his birth, thus making him a dual citizen. Such cases contend the framers of the Constitution excluded dual citizens from qualifying as natural born.
Several details of Obama's past have added twists to the question of his eligibility and citizenship, including his family's move to Indonesia when he was a child, his travel to Pakistan in the '80s when such travel was forbidden to American citizens and conflicting reports from Obama's family about his place of birth.
A partial listing and status update for several of the cases surrounding Obama's eligibility to serve as president is below:
Philip J. Berg, a Pennsylvania Democrat, demanded that the courts verify Obama's original birth certificate and other documents proving his American citizenship. Supreme Court conferences on the case and its motions are scheduled Jan. 9 and 16.
Leo Donofrio of New Jersey filed a lawsuit claiming Obama's dual citizenship disqualified him from serving as president. His case was considered in conference by the U.S. Supreme Court but denied a full hearing.
Cort Wrotnowski filed suit against Connecticut's secretary of state, making a similar argument to Donofrio. His case was considered in conference by the U.S. Supreme Court, but was denied a full hearing.
Former presidential candidate Alan Keyes headlines a list of people filing a suit in California, in a case handled by the United States Justice Foundation, that asks the secretary of state to refuse to allow the state's 55 Electoral College votes to be cast in the 2008 presidential election until Obama verifies his eligibility to hold the office. The case is pending, and lawyers are seeking the public's support.
Chicago attorney Andy Martin sought legal action requiring Hawaii Gov. Linda Lingle to release Obama's vital statistics record. The case was dismissed by Hawaii Circuit Court Judge Bert Ayabe.
Lt. Col. Donald Sullivan sought a temporary restraining order to stop the Electoral College vote in North Carolina until Barack Obama's eligibility could be confirmed, alleging doubt about Obama's citizenship. His case was denied.
In Ohio, David M. Neal sued to force the secretary of state to request documents from the Federal Elections Commission, the Democratic National Committee, the Ohio Democratic Party and Obama to show the presidential candidate was born in Hawaii. The case was denied.
In Washington state, Steven Marquis sued the secretary of state seeking a determination on Obama's citizenship. The case was denied.
In Georgia, Rev. Tom Terry asked the state Supreme Court to authenticate Obama's birth certificate. His request for an injuction against Georgia's secretary of state was denied by Georgia Superior Court Judge Jerry W. Baxter.
California attorney Orly Taitz also has brought a complaint alleging Obama is not a "natural born" citizen and has written an open letter to the Supreme Court asking for the issue to be resolved.
Last month, WND reported the worries over a "constitutional crisis" that could be looming over the issue of Obama's citizenship.
"Should Senator Obama be discovered, after he takes office, to be ineligible for the Office of President of the United States of America and, thereby, his election declared void," argues the Alan Keyes case pending in California, "Americans will suffer irreparable harm in that (a) usurper will be sitting as the President of the United States, and none of the treaties, laws, or executive orders signed by him will be valid or legal."
With such high stakes potentially at risk, WND earlier launched a letter campaign to contact Electoral College members and urge them to review the controversy.
That followed a campaign that sent more than 60,000 letters by overnight delivery to the U.S. Supreme Court when one case contesting Obama's eligibility for the Oval Office was pending.
A separate petition, already signed by more than 190,000 also is ongoing asking authorities in the election to seek proof Obama was born in the U.S. or that he fulfills the "natural-born American" clause in the Constitution.
WND senior reporter Jerome Corsi had gone to both Kenya and Hawaii prior to the election to investigate issues surrounding Obama's birth. But his research and discoveries only raised more questions.
The biggest question was why, if a Hawaii birth certificate exists as his campaign has stated, Obama hasn't simply ordered it made available to settle the rumors. The image his campaign posted online has been rejected by critics since it is a "certification of live birth," not a birth certificate, and under Hawaii law at the time such certifications were given to parents of children born outside the state.
The governor's office in Hawaii said there is a valid certificate but rejected requests for access and left ambiguous its origin: Does the certificate on file with the Department of Health indicate a Hawaii birth or was it generated after the Obama family registered a Kenyan birth in Hawaii?
Obama's half-sister, Maya Soetoro, has named two different Hawaii hospitals where Obama could have been born. There have been other allegations that Obama actually was born in Kenya during a time when his father was a British subject. At one point a Kenyan ambassador said Obama's birthplace in Kenya already was being recognized.
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