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Letter to my congressman: Obama Birth Certificate
Today | Self

Posted on 11/25/2008 6:36:48 PM PST by DouglasKC

My congressman is Rep. Peter Hoekstra. Today I sent him an email (via his website) in which I inquired about his awareness of the Obama birth certificate situation. I outlined very briefly the issue and asked if any action was being taken on it. This is the response I received:

Dear Mr. *:

Thank you for contacting me about President-elect Barack Obama. I appreciate hearing from you.

There have been numerous Internet rumors circulating in recent months that claim Senator Obama was not born in the United States and therefore not permitted to run for president. Such speculation is misleading based upon an absence of evidence rather than possession of any actual evidence.

On November 1, Hawaiian Health Department Director Dr. Chiyome Fukino stated that she and the registrar of vital statistics, Alvin Onaka, have personally verified that the health department holds Sen. Obama's original birth certificate.

Hawaii state law forbids the release of birth or marriage certificates to anyone but the persons named in the documents or their immediate relatives. However, Senator Obama's campaign released an electronic copy of his birth certificate in June.

Again, thank you for your message.

Sincerely,

Pete Hoekstra
Member of Congress

Most likely this was not written by congressman Hoekstra, but is a boiler plate response. So tonight I upped the ante and composed this email:

-----BEGIN RESPONSE------ Thank you for your response.  As you have stated there has been much speculation on the internet as to the origins of Barak Obama.  The response you have given shows that you have not been informed of some of the particulars of these so called rumors. 
Know first that the rumors exist primarily due to unanswered questions.  The lawsuits also exist because of concerns about the constitutional requirements for the office of the President.

The rumors are based upon two different scenarios:

1. That Senator Obama was born overseas to a non-American father and an American mother.  The concern here is that Obama didn't qualify as a citizen due to technicalities having to do with the age of his mother and the citizen requirements in effect at that time.
2. That Senator Obama held dual citizenship at birth.  This is absolutely provable and in fact is admitted.

I'm going to take you over some basic facts. Please don't shake your head and dismiss them out of hand. Take the time to study and digest them.  I am asking as a constituent that you examine this, weigh it and respond in a way that shows a thoughtful approach instead of dismissing it as "rumor".   I'm going to try and present this information in a clear, easy to follow way.  I will include links to official websites to bolster my points.

SCENARIO 1

Your stated:  "On November 1, Hawaiian Health Department Director Dr. Chiyome Fukino stated that she and the registrar of vital statistics, Alvin Onaka, have personally verified that the health department holds Sen.
Obama's original birth certificate."

Although this is true, Fukino never indicated what information is contained on that birth certificate.  The reason she can't know what is on it is that she would have to violate the law to do so. As you said, Hawaii state law prohibits releasing that information.

This is germane because of this statement from the Hawaii Department of Health (http://hawaii.gov/health/vital-records/vital-records/hawnbirth.html) :

The Certificate of Hawaiian Birth program was established in 1911, during the territorial era, to register a person born in Hawaii who was one year old or older and whose birth had not been previously registered in Hawaii. The Certificate of Hawaiian Birth Program was terminated in 1972, during the statehood era.

Obama was born in 1961. During this time frame anybody could claim their child was born in Hawaii and  within a year of the birth obtain a certificate of Hawaiian Birth.  I think you should recognize the difficulty here.  It is speculated that Obama was born in Kenya and was subsequently brought to Hawaii and registered there.  As you know this would disqualify Sen. Obama from holding the office of the Presidency under Article II, Section 1 of the US Constitution which states:

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;


The vetting process for a President should have higher standards than obtaining a drivers license.

You stated: "However, Senator Obama's campaign released an electronic copy of his birth certificate in June."

The website "fightthesmears.com", which purportedly is run by the Obama campaign, did indeed post an electronic version of a "Certificate of Live Birth".  However there are several issues.

1. There has been no independent verification by any official that this is a valid Certificate of Live Birth" for Barak Obama.  No official has seen the paper copy. No official has declared it as authentic.  As indicated earlier the vetting process for a candidate for President should be more exhaustive than an electronic copy posted on a 3rd party website.
2. Several computer graphic experts have concluded beyond a reasonable doubt that the Certificate of Live Birth has been altered in a number of ways. I have been in the IT industry for 20 years and I can tell that there are strong indications that this document has been electronically altered. 
3. Look for yourself at fightthesmears.com.  http://fightthesmears.com/articles/5/birthcertificate.  A statement on the purported Certificate of Live Birth specifically says "ANY ALTERATIONS INVALIDATE THIS CERTIFICATE".   Yet there IS an alternation that invalidates this certificate and that is the blacking out of the Certificate Number.  So even this supposed "proof" is invalid by the wording of the document itself.

The concerns here about oversight.  There has been no oversight to verify that Senator Obama is constitutionally qualified as having been a "natural born citizen".

SCENARIO 2

If you're still with me then please refer again to the "Fight the Smears" page:  http://fightthesmears.com/articles/5/birthcertificate
Note this statement toward the bottom of the page:

“When Barack Obama Jr. was born on Aug. 4,1961, in Honolulu, Kenya was a British colony, still part of the United Kingdom’s dwindling empire. As a Kenyan native, Barack Obama Sr. was a British subject whose citizenship status was governed by The British Nationality Act of 1948. That same act governed the status of Obama Sr.‘s children.

Since Sen. Obama has neither renounced his U.S. citizenship nor sworn an oath of allegiance to Kenya, his Kenyan citizenship automatically expired on Aug. 4,1982.”


By his own admission, Senator Obama, no matter where he was born, held Kenyan citizenship AT the time of his birth.  His Kenyan citizenship expired on his 21st  birthday.  But note that at the very least Senator Obama held duel citizenship with both the United States and Kenya at birth.  This would not see to fit the definition of "natural born citizen" as defined in the constitution.  As a matter of fact, the founding fathers specifically precluded this by their wording of the article:

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;

Those who wrote the constitution were foreign born and in essence held dual citizenship themselves.  Thus they excepted themselves for not being a "natural born citizen" by including the phrase "or a citizen of the United States, at the time of the adoption of this Constitution".  This means that AFTER the adoption of the constitution one would have to fit the definition of "natural born citizen" to be eligible to the office of President.

It really is about oversight and upholding the Constitution of the United States.  If a person constitutionally ineligible to hold the office of President becomes President and it later becomes known that's he or she is ineligible then all decisions, treaties, etc. made by this person would have no legal weight.  In addition it could set a dangerous precedent by allowing others to obtain and hold that office that might not have the best interests of the United States in mind. As a congressman and my duly elected representative it falls to you to investigate and take action if needed.

Thank you for your consideration.

-----END RESPONSE-------


TOPICS: Your Opinion/Questions
KEYWORDS: birth; birthcertificate; certifigate; constitution; obama; obamatransitionfile; obamatruthfile; president
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I think we have to get through to our congressmen and Senators and let them know this is not just a nutty theory. There are some real, unresolved constitutional issues here. This was just designed to get them thinking . Please feel free to cut and paste. I'll keep the thread updated with any responses.
1 posted on 11/25/2008 6:36:49 PM PST by DouglasKC
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To: DouglasKC

Too bad it’s so long. I doubt he will read it. Too much text.


2 posted on 11/25/2008 6:40:41 PM PST by library user
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To: DouglasKC

Well, good luck with that. But I bet you anything you will receive the same boilerplate response as you did before.


3 posted on 11/25/2008 6:40:44 PM PST by VictoryGal (Never give up, never surrender!)
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To: DouglasKC
Please feel free to cut and paste.

Reference Ping...

4 posted on 11/25/2008 6:42:07 PM PST by TLI ( ITINERIS IMPENDEO VALHALLA)
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To: DouglasKC

I’m pretty suspicious at this point.

If there is no problem, just release the dad-gum BC and put it all to rest.


5 posted on 11/25/2008 6:43:20 PM PST by berdie
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To: DouglasKC

That was all very well written.

Alas, likely to be ignored anyway.


6 posted on 11/25/2008 6:43:39 PM PST by Incorrigible (If I lead, follow me; If I pause, push me; If I retreat, kill me.)
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To: DouglasKC

Good for you! If you get another bland response, send another letter ——telling him how disappointed you are in a man who dismisses an important constitutional matter. If he is so uninformed on this issue, how informed is he on other issues.


7 posted on 11/25/2008 6:47:28 PM PST by Exit148 (Giants versus Jets? How 'bout a tie.)
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To: Exit148

Essence Magazine claims this in an interview with Alan Keyes:

ESSENCE.COM: State officials from the health department of Hawaii have verified that they have Obama’s birth records, and that he was indeed born in Hawaii. Do you think they’re lying?


8 posted on 11/25/2008 6:51:04 PM PST by RummyChick
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To: DouglasKC

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122763857669957141.html


9 posted on 11/25/2008 6:52:34 PM PST by pookie18 (Jindal-Palin or Palin-Jindal '12)
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To: DouglasKC

But it is a nutty theory.

This has become the truther movement of the right.

It’s crap and will go nowhere

How about looking at the issues not this garbage.

And before you tell me you are right.....wait until inaguration and then what....

Do I have to read this until 2012 or 2016

sigh.


10 posted on 11/25/2008 6:53:53 PM PST by JNL (uot)
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To: DouglasKC

Great job. I don’t think any of these guys seem to care, however. Facts don’t seem to matter.

Keep up the good work. Maybe something will give.


11 posted on 11/25/2008 6:53:54 PM PST by Memphis Moe
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To: RummyChick

That one was born in Hawaii. He was born in Hawaii, do you think he could hide that forever, even if the MSM didn’t care? My guess is there is something else on the BC he doesn’t want people to know about, like maybe a different name.


12 posted on 11/25/2008 6:54:54 PM PST by Reagan79 (Ralph Stanley & The Clinch Mountain Boys)
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To: DouglasKC
I remember when some congress members cried when they were allowed to view the evidence against Clinton. But sheets Byrd stated "While these rise to the level of high crimes and misdemeanors, I'll not vote to remove."

If this isn't settled by January 20, we have a more serious challenge ahead.

13 posted on 11/25/2008 6:56:01 PM PST by nufsed
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To: RummyChick
"Do you think they’re lying?"

Without a doubt.

14 posted on 11/25/2008 6:57:06 PM PST by editor-surveyor (Obama - not just an empty suit - - A Suit Bomb invading the White House)
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To: DouglasKC

You CANNOT get a Job on a Federal Contract, with ONLY a certificate of LIVE Birth.

They (Govt./Employer) WILL NOT ACCEPT A Certificate of Live Birth. You HAVE to get a Birth Certificate.

END DISCUSSION. That’s the way it is, in the REAL WORLD.


15 posted on 11/25/2008 6:57:35 PM PST by 4Speed
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To: berdie

“I’m pretty suspicious at this point.

If there is no problem, just release the dad-gum BC and put it all to rest.”

They seem to be operating under the misapprehension that the COLB is the BC.


16 posted on 11/25/2008 6:58:11 PM PST by Nipfan
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To: RummyChick

“ESSENCE.COM: State officials from the health department of Hawaii have verified that they have Obama’s birth records, and that he was indeed born in Hawaii.”

This is the first mention I’ve seen of where he was born. Every other reference to comments by Hawaiian officials have simply stated that they have a BC on record. No confirmation of place of birth. Perhaps this is just somebody’s extrapolation.


17 posted on 11/25/2008 7:00:37 PM PST by Nipfan
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To: DouglasKC

These representatives of BOTH parties do not want to know the TRUTH. The truth will cause civil strife in the USA, maybe another civil war.


18 posted on 11/25/2008 7:00:49 PM PST by Theodore R. (The most frightening words in the English language: The American people!)
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To: JNL

Go back to DU or wherever


19 posted on 11/25/2008 7:01:01 PM PST by editor-surveyor (Obama - not just an empty suit - - A Suit Bomb invading the White House)
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To: DouglasKC

>I think we have to get through to our congressmen and Senators and let them know this is not just a nutty theory.<

These congressmen know damn well that this is not just a nutty story, but they have their jobs to protect. If you expect your congressman to stick his neck out for you, you will be disappointed.


20 posted on 11/25/2008 7:03:39 PM PST by 353FMG (The sky is not falling, yet.)
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