The Birthers: Racist Claptrap Run Amok

by Pa Rock
Social Observer

Conspiracy theories have a life of their own. They are nurtured and promoted by a group of believers who see any attempt to refute their beliefs, silly as they may be, as intentional disinformation generated to keep the official cover-up in place. There is no amount of truth or facts that can kill a conspiracy theory because the believers aren’t open to any ideas that challenge or refute their unique views.

An old army buddy of mine lives out in the Oregon woods where he has raised milk goats and philosophized for the past several decades. He enjoys a primitive lifestyle without many of the things most of us would regard as necessities, such as electricity and running water, but he does have a phone so we chat every couple of years. Last year we were catching up over the phone when my friend began talking about the destruction of the World Trade Center. The towers weren’t brought down by high-jacked passenger planes, he said calmly – they were blown up. It was an inside job. Our government brought down those buildings in order to have an excuse to go to war in the Middle East. Study the pictures, he implored me, study the pictures!

The World-Trade-Center-as-an-Inside-Job was the conspiracy theory de jour for the past couple of years. It followed closely on the heels of the Hillary-Killed-Vince-Foster conspiracy theory, one which just sort of petered out when the Clinton’s left the White House. But now we have moved on to something new: birtherism – the notion that Barack Obama was born outside of the United States and is therefore ineligible to be President. A variant of that is that only one of his parents was an American citizen and he is therefore, by virtue of the shameful Dred Scott decision of 1859 which was later overturned, not a natural born citizen, and therefore ineligible to be President.

It would be nice if America could just forget about the birthers. But their outrage is very real and very personal, and they have the potential to incite grievous harm. A black liberal is sitting in the Oval Office, and the only way to save the America that they know and love is to deny this usurper his legitimacy and drive him from office. The birthers are pissed off and vocal. They are being enabled by some devious Republican politicians and a handful of rightwing media personalities. Their quest is Quixotic, but even a hopeless crusade carries the potential for tragedy. It only takes one malcontent and one bullet to destroy a democratic mandate and inexorably alter the course of history.

The “head” of the birther movement, or at least the person who stays busiest on the cause and infuses most of the drama, is a lady dentist from southern California by the name of Orly Taitz. Ms. Taitz immigrated to the United States in the 1980’s from Moldavia (then part of the Soviet Union) by way of Israel. She has a law degree that she received from an on-line university – which enables her to stay busy filing legal briefs relating to the birther movement – though people who have witnessed these legal filings say that often she just drops off boxes of rambling papers at various courthouses and then rushes on down the road to incite whatever rabble awaits her.

Ms. Taitz, who is quickly offended when anyone disparages her, for instance by referring to her as a “birther” or, worse yet, a “birfer,” isn’t shy about using her own sharp tongue to lash out at anyone who gets in her way or questions her motives (or sanity). Someone who deigns to point out the fallacies in her specious arguments is automatically an “Obama thug.”

The company that Ms. Taitz keeps is less than stellar, and undoubtedly serves to keep the wackiness reinforced. One of her main lieutenants is Wiley Drake, a fundamentalist radio beggar who gained notoriety a few weeks ago for admitting that he prays for the death of President Obama. Drake ran for vice-president on the American Independent under Alan Keyes.

Philip Berg is another prominent member of the Birther family. Berg was a former Democratic official and office holder in Maryland who spent quite a bit of time suing the Bush Administration over the destruction of the World Trade Center which, according to him, was an inside job. Berg filed suit against the Democratic National Committee in 2008 trying to block its endorsement of Barack Obama. His case was thrown out of court.

A third mentor to Ms. Taitz is Robert Shulz, a tax cheat who used to host a web site telling people how to “legally” avoid paying payroll taxes – until a judge shut him down. Shulz ran two full page ads in the Chicago Tribune last December ordering President-Elect Obama to hand over certain documents relating to his birth and legal ability to serve as President. He held a news conference at which the President-elect was to bow before the Almighty Shulz and present him with the “proof” of his ineligibility. Not surprisingly, Obama didn’t show, but Taitz and Berg did – and the loony cabal was born.

Here is the crux of the birther blather: 1. There is reportedly a recording and transcript of Obama’s grandmother saying that she witnessed his birth in Africa. 2. Forensic “experts” have set up web pages and signed affidavits saying that his Certificate of Live Birth is a forgery. 3. Hawaiian law allows foreign-born children to obtain an Hawaiian Certificate of Live Birth. And, 4. Obama traveled to Pakistan in 1981, although at the time there was a ban or American passport holders going there.



Orly Taitz is little more than a pawn in this drama, albeit a completely willing pawn. The real culprits are the ones making money off of keeping the controversy alive: The World Net Daily, Fox News, and the usual suspects of O’Reilly, Hannity, Limbaugh, Beck, and Lou Dobbs. Surprisingly, Ann Coulter has distanced herself from the birther crowd, and Dobb’s network, CNN, has labeled it a “non-story.” The late William F. Buckley's conservative publication, National Review Online, has also stated that this "movement" is not based on reality.

Ms. Taitz got herself invited onto the Lou Dobbs show expecting a friendly reception for herself and her fantasies. Unfortunately for her, Dobbs chose that night to be absent, and his guest host ripped Orly a new one. Dobbs has since signed onto the birther crusade, causing his audience to decline by 15% and several major sponsors to drop his program from their advertising plan.

Last week Orly Taitz took imbecility to a new height when she produced Obama’s Kenyan birth certificate. The document had enough glaring errors that it was quickly labeled a forgery by even some of her supporters. It turned out to be the birth certificate of an Australian man that had been doctored to resemble an official Kenyan document. If Ms. Taitz had credibility, it certainly evaporated with that stunt. Rumor has it that due to that stunt, the state of California is now looking at the possibility of disbarring the Birther Queen.

So, yes, there is a great deal of deception taking place on the subject of where the President was born. The problem is, at least for the birthers, their leaders are the ones practicing that deception.

Patrick McKinnion of Yes to Democracy thinks it is more than simple deception. He said, “There’s a certain amount of fascination with unbridled insanity, and that’s what you’re seeing with the birthers: a level of hatred that borders, if not absolutely pole-vaults, into insanity.”

The birthers are small minded bigots, primarily Republican (56%) and from the South (69%), who cannot accept that the nation has elected a black President. They are like the very emotional and angry woman who showed at Congressman Castle’s town hall meeting in Delaware. When she finished yelling and screaming about how unfair it was that Obama was getting to serve as President, she broke down and sobbed, “I just want my country back!”

Sorry, honey. It’s not your country – it’s our country. We are a democratic society and our leaders are elected by all of us. You lost this time. Maybe your luck will improve next time, but I certainly hope not. America needs to leave the scourge of racism in its dark and desolate past and move on into a brighter future.

Se Habla Espanol?

by Pa Rock
Citizen Journalist

Contrary to popular opinion, English is not the official world language. And, try as some folks might to make it so, English is not the ubiquitous language of the United States. America, long regarded as the world's melting pot, has a rich variety of languages, including several, such as Spanish and the languages of the native Americans, that pre-date the arrival of the English.

Our nation is, however, very ego-centric, and emanates an almost religious belief that anyone of value is necessarily Caucasian and speaks English as their primary language. Those who speak in another tongue, or multiple tongues, are automatically suspect.

As anyone who has ever channel-surfed past a Lou Dobbs broadcast and caught even a few seconds of his bombast knows, Hispanic immigration into the United States has increased markedly over the past two decades. While some see this as ultimately strengthening our society and culture, Dobbs and his ilk use this phenomenon to stir up fear and reactionary measures.

One way that these knuckleheads have been trying to keep the invading brown hordes in their place is through "English Only" ordinances, particularly with regard to government services. They argue that allowing people to deal with their government in a language that they can actually understand creates unnecessary expenses for the government, and that those new arrivals would be better served in the long run by learning English.

In fairness, there is something to be said for learning a second language - even English. But learning a language, especially for adults, is not an easy or quick task. It is often the children of immigrants who first learn to use English in a competent and comfortable manner. Does that mean the parents don't want to learn English? No, it means that they are struggling to support their families, often with multiple jobs, and doing those innumerable other tasks that come with any relocation.

But back to the knuckleheads: The Metropolitan Council, a local group out of Nashville, TN, had a measure put on the city ballot this week that would have required that all governmental business in the city be conducted in English only. Tennessee is not the most progressive of states (think Fred Thompson, Bill Frist, and Bob Corker), but somehow commonsense prevailed with the good citizens of Nashville - and the jingoistic measure was solidly defeated. Good work, Music City!

Several years ago I had a long talk with a school board member of a large rural school district in extreme southwest Missouri. That district had elementary schools that were fifty-percent Hispanic. I suggested, quite innocently, that it would be a wonderful opportunity to begin teaching Spanish in the very early grades - where it could be taught and learned much more easily and effectively than attempting to accomplish the same objective in high school. The board member told me succinctly that the board and the community did not want their kids learning no Mexican!

So the kids in this nameless school district will grow up being safely protected from the horrors of being able to speak more than one language. In time many will end up working on the line at their local chicken processing plant - if, indeed, they work at all. And when they are busy plucking those birds, they will quickly discover that their union reps, government inspectors, line supervisors, foremen, managers, and other assorted honchos are the Mexicans who were their classmates years before. Those children of immigrants will have the "good" jobs for one basic reason - they will be fluent in English and Spanish and can resolve issues as they arise. The young bi-linguals will also have many of the teaching and government jobs, and will be the ones most likely to succeed in every endeavor.

But for the time being the good people of southwest Missouri can rest easy, because their kids ain't learning no Mexican!

Change is Coming

by Pa Rock

I have a couple of friends who were (are) Ron Paul supporters. I like libertarians because they have strong convictions and aren't afraid to speak their minds. In fact, I think that I would enjoy being an ornery libertarian if it wasn't for a few problematic issues: guns (they cause crime and not the other way around), taxes (they are a necessary evil, and every American should pay based on ability - including rich Americans and corporations), and immigration (no borders, no where - from North Pole, Alaska to the southern tip of Tierra del Fuego). Other than that, I would probably make a damn good libertarian!

One of these friends that I just mentioned recently asked me what kind of change was on the horizon if Obama gets elected. In my reply I prattled on about having national goals and policies based on intelligence and the public need, rather than being rooted in greed and vindictiveness like we've seen for the past eight years. I believe that a bright future awaits us if we have the courage to go forth and meet it.

In fairness, John McCain would bring change also, most of it positive - at least positive compared to the abysmal swamp that we've been mired in for the past eight years. But McCain has shed his luster. He is no longer the maverick that was putting his spurs to the Bush family eight years ago. He no longer rails on the crackpot Christian fundamentalists as being agents of intolerance, and he supports Big Oil and never-ending war. Now, in an attempt to form a winning constituency, he has thrown his tent open to all of the crap that coalesced eight years ago to put Dear Leader in the White House.

One can only hope that if McCain wins the presidency (and I think a snowball would stand a better chance of rolling across Phoenix in August) that a bit of the maverick survives somewhere deep in his gut. We keep hearing about what a mean little bastard he really is. Wouldn't it be fun if that personality came busting out the first time the boys at Fox News (excuse the oxymoron) tried to tell him how to run the war, or when Lou Dobbs started lecturing him how to construct the border fence? That McCain also needs to be the one who smites down the Christian fascists when they show up to select his cabinet members and federal judges.

If John McCain gets to the White House (Allah forbid!), my prediction is that we all will experience change, even those who thought that they were voting for Bush's third term.

It shouldn't be a question about change, because change will happen regardless of who wins. The question must be about direction and destination. Where do we want to go and how will we get there? We need positive change to tap into our great national potential, and only Barack Obama appears to be willing to go there.

Nogales

I made myself a promise when I moved to Arizona in late September, a vow that I would get out and explore my new home. Today I took a road trip in my quest to learn more about the southwest. I drove from Phoenix, through Tucson, and on down to Nogales, Arizona. I left my car behind the McDonald’s, four dollars for the entire day, and walked through the international border into Nogales, Mexico.

Nogales, Mexico, was much as I expected it to be: crowded streets with many shops and vendors vying for attention. I was clad in shorts and a short-sleeved shirt and the day was much cooler than I had anticipated, so the first shopkeeper who accosted me managed to unload a woolen parka and a blanket. He literally saw me coming! After that I spent a couple of hours roaming through the narrow streets and alleyways looking at merchandise and watching the easy flow of multi-culturalism.

Having been in southern Mexico a couple of times, I was expecting to see the multitude of little shops with their blankets, pottery, silver jewelry, leather goods, and whatnots. Something that I hadn’t expected to encounter was the abundance of pharmacies and dental clinics, several of each on almost every block. Clearly the gringos must be crossing the border en masse to buy prescription drugs and have their dental work done.

Another surprise was the relative ease with which I was able to get into and out of Mexico. Going in involved navigating through a turnstile, no identification check, no sign-in, nada. Coming out I presented my passport to a US Customs agent who didn’t look at it. He asked what I had bought, and when I told him and started to pull the blanket out of its bag, he waved me on through. Mexican nationals crossing into the United States, and they were by far the majority as I was going through, presented an identification card to the bored agent, and he swiped it through a card reader. On the way home I encountered a Border Patrol checkpoint about 20 miles north of Nogales where I was waved through without being carded or questioned. (Lou Dobbs would have been appalled!)

All in all, it was a nice way to spend a beautiful Saturday.

Student Activism Thrives in Tucson

by Pa Rock
Citizen Journalist

Late last week a freshman showed up stoned at Catalina High School in Tucson. When school officials noticed the young man's incoherent behavior, they searched his backpack and found a substance that resembled marijuana. In accordance with the school's policy, the police were called.

So far, so good. But when the police arrived, things began to get dicey. The police called the boy's parents who, concerned about the welfare of their son, rushed to the school as most good parents would. Then, for reasons known only to them (but racial profiling leaps to mind), the police asked to see the parents' driver's licenses, whereupon they learned that the family had been residing illegally in the United States for the past six years. The police promptly notified the Border Patrol, and the father was deported the following day. This left the mother, the student, and his younger brother little choice but to follow along.

The following morning one hundred students from Catalina High got together and marched five miles to downtown Tucson in a peaceful protest of the treatment received by their classmate and his family. Their action bore results later that day when Tucson Police announced a new policy stating that they would no longer call the Border Patrol to schools or churches.

Kudos to the kids for marching those five hot miles, and kudos to the Tucson Police for respecting the big voice of those young people. Schools and churches are sanctuaries, places of support and comfort for the whole spectrum of society. When those sanctuaries are violated, a basic trust is broken and we are all diminished.

"The most efficient way to solve the immigration issue would be to build a wall around Lou Dobbs." --Pa Rock