by Pa Rock
Citizen Journalist
Joe Arpaio, the octogenarian sheriff of Maricopa County, Arizona, is a world class publicity hound who would drive over his own mother to get his face in front of a press conference. Joe is a skilled politician who carefully chooses his issues and positions - many of which have absolutely nothing to do with Arizona law enforcement.
Old Joe's current jihad is to be the point man for the crazy birthers in their quest to prove that Barack Obama was born in a foreign country and therefore ineligible to be President. The issue has zip to do with Maricopa County, Arizona, but that doesn't bother the High Sheriff who feels that his authority includes anything he damn well pleases.
Last year Jerome Corosi, a conspiracy theorist who has made lots of money writing books that pander to fools, spoke to the Tea Party of Surprise, Arizona - a group of angry old white people, many of whom live in or near Sun City - and Corsi encouraged them to sign a complaint asking Arpaio to investigate President Obama's citizenship. Sun City is ground zero of Arapio's support network, but even without that factor, Joe recognized this as an excellent venue for making some national news. He quickly agreed to address the matter and get it sorted out.
Arpaio activated his cold-case posse to find the truth - because the truth is out there. A small group, including Corsi and his writing partner, former deputy Mark (or Mike) Zullo, spent a few days traveling to Hawaii and walking up and down Waikiki Beach looking for the truth. Unfortunately for Arizona taxpayers, Arpaio also sent along one of his deputies to help with the investigation. The current estimate of public tax money poured down this rat hold is $10,000 - but Joe has never lost any sleep over spending the taxpayer's money.
Last March Arpaio called a press conference to announce that the President's birth certificate is probably a forgery. Yesterday he called another press conference and announced unequivocally that the document is a forgery. The only thing he didn't present at either news conference was substantive evidence. (There are some statements on the document that the birther investigators feel may have been filled in after the fact - based on a phone call to a 95-year-old former Hawaii government clerk.)
I watched the news recap of Arpaio's most recent press conference this morning on our local CBS Channel 5 (KPHO), which appears to be the station that really gets under the sheriff's wrinkled old skin. A reporter from Channel 5 noted that Arpaio was basically using the "research" and leg work of two men, Corsi and Zullo, who are both making money off of this controversy - and that if the sheriff had any real evidence he would be taking it before a judge and not a news conference. Arpaio's reply - he told the reporter that he was "very rude."
And maybe he was, because nobody knows rude better than Joe Arpaio.
Joseph A. Wisch, a special assistant to Hawaii's attorney general, had this response:
Coincidentally, just as Arpaio was holding his news conference, an e-book went on sale on the Internet at the bargain price of $9.99 each. The title is A Question of Eligibility: A Law Enforcement Investigation into Barack Obama's Birth Certificate and his Eligibility to be President. The authors are Mr. Corsi and Mr. Zullo.
Barack Obama is an American. He was born in Hawaii which was, and is, a part of the United States, and his mother was an American citizen who was born in America's heartland state of Kansas. If Arpaio, Corsi, Zullo, Orly Taitz, and any other "investigators" want to look into politicians who were born beyond America's borders, maybe they should shift their focus to John McCain (who was born in Panama) or former New Hampshire governor and current Romney attack dog, John Sununu, who was born in Havana, Cuba.
Oh wait - they're white.
Never mind.
Citizen Journalist
Joe Arpaio, the octogenarian sheriff of Maricopa County, Arizona, is a world class publicity hound who would drive over his own mother to get his face in front of a press conference. Joe is a skilled politician who carefully chooses his issues and positions - many of which have absolutely nothing to do with Arizona law enforcement.
Old Joe's current jihad is to be the point man for the crazy birthers in their quest to prove that Barack Obama was born in a foreign country and therefore ineligible to be President. The issue has zip to do with Maricopa County, Arizona, but that doesn't bother the High Sheriff who feels that his authority includes anything he damn well pleases.
Last year Jerome Corosi, a conspiracy theorist who has made lots of money writing books that pander to fools, spoke to the Tea Party of Surprise, Arizona - a group of angry old white people, many of whom live in or near Sun City - and Corsi encouraged them to sign a complaint asking Arpaio to investigate President Obama's citizenship. Sun City is ground zero of Arapio's support network, but even without that factor, Joe recognized this as an excellent venue for making some national news. He quickly agreed to address the matter and get it sorted out.
Arpaio activated his cold-case posse to find the truth - because the truth is out there. A small group, including Corsi and his writing partner, former deputy Mark (or Mike) Zullo, spent a few days traveling to Hawaii and walking up and down Waikiki Beach looking for the truth. Unfortunately for Arizona taxpayers, Arpaio also sent along one of his deputies to help with the investigation. The current estimate of public tax money poured down this rat hold is $10,000 - but Joe has never lost any sleep over spending the taxpayer's money.
Last March Arpaio called a press conference to announce that the President's birth certificate is probably a forgery. Yesterday he called another press conference and announced unequivocally that the document is a forgery. The only thing he didn't present at either news conference was substantive evidence. (There are some statements on the document that the birther investigators feel may have been filled in after the fact - based on a phone call to a 95-year-old former Hawaii government clerk.)
I watched the news recap of Arpaio's most recent press conference this morning on our local CBS Channel 5 (KPHO), which appears to be the station that really gets under the sheriff's wrinkled old skin. A reporter from Channel 5 noted that Arpaio was basically using the "research" and leg work of two men, Corsi and Zullo, who are both making money off of this controversy - and that if the sheriff had any real evidence he would be taking it before a judge and not a news conference. Arpaio's reply - he told the reporter that he was "very rude."
And maybe he was, because nobody knows rude better than Joe Arpaio.
Joseph A. Wisch, a special assistant to Hawaii's attorney general, had this response:
"President Obama was born in Honolulu, and his birth certificate is valid. Regarding the latest allegations from a sheriff in Arizona, they are untrue, misinformed, and misconstrue Hawaii law."
Coincidentally, just as Arpaio was holding his news conference, an e-book went on sale on the Internet at the bargain price of $9.99 each. The title is A Question of Eligibility: A Law Enforcement Investigation into Barack Obama's Birth Certificate and his Eligibility to be President. The authors are Mr. Corsi and Mr. Zullo.
Barack Obama is an American. He was born in Hawaii which was, and is, a part of the United States, and his mother was an American citizen who was born in America's heartland state of Kansas. If Arpaio, Corsi, Zullo, Orly Taitz, and any other "investigators" want to look into politicians who were born beyond America's borders, maybe they should shift their focus to John McCain (who was born in Panama) or former New Hampshire governor and current Romney attack dog, John Sununu, who was born in Havana, Cuba.
Oh wait - they're white.
Never mind.
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