An overlooked nugget is, "prima facie evidence." "Prima facie" is a Latin phrase meaning "on its first appearance" or "by first instance." It is evidence which is adequate, if not invalidated, to confirm a particular intention or fact. It is evidence that is sufficient to raise a presumption of fact or to establish the fact in question unless rebutted. A prima facie case may be insufficient to enable a party to prevail if the opposing party introduces contradictory evidence. In other words, it basically means that on the face of it or on the surface there is enough evidence to prove the alleged fact, unless and until the alleged fact is contradicted.
What does all this mean? Obama has presented his COLB as proof that he was born in Hawaii. That document itself states that it is only "prima facie" evidence of that fact. When evidence contradicting the alleged fact is presented, the interested party needs to present other competent evidence to prove the existence of that alleged fact. If he fails to do so, the alleged fact is not proven, even if the opposing party produces no further evidence.
What has been presented to date is more than enough:
- the existence of the lax Hawaiian law that existed at the time Obama was born which allowed parents to register their foreign born babies in Hawaii;
- Obama's grandmother's statement that her grandson was born in Kenya and that she was present during that birth;
- the Kenya Ambassador to the United States, Peter N.R.O. Ogego, confirmed on November 6, 2008 during a radio interview with Detroit radio talk-show hosts Mike Clark, Trudi Daniels, and Marc Fellhauer on WRIF's "Mike In the Morning," that "President-Elect Obama" was born in Kenya and that his birth place was already a "well-known" attraction;
- the conflicting statements of Obama and his sister concerning in which Hawaiian hospital he was born;
- the failure of any Hawaiian hospital to confirm that Obama and/or his mother were present in any such hospital at the time of Obama's alleged birth in Honolulu;
- Director of Hawaiian Department of Heath, Fukino, said she has “personally seen and verified that the Hawaii State Department of Health has Sen. Obama’s original birth certificate on record in accordance with state policies and procedures," but she failed to say that the certificate shows that Obama was born in Hawaii;
- fightthesmears.com's and factcheck.org's current silence on the issue;
- the lack of any other corroborating document showing that Obama was born in Hawaii;
- the refusal of Obama to release for inspection his past documents (college and law school records and passports) which would shed some light as to where he was born;
- the failure of Obama to declare publicly after his COLB has been put into question that he was born in Hawaii;
- and Obama relying on state privacy laws to block the release of a certified copy of his birth certificate.
All the evidence you are using to cast doubt on the COLB is false. Let's go through them one by one.
-the existence of the lax Hawaiian law that existed at the time Obama was born which allowed parents to register their foreign born babies in Hawaii;
Not true. That law was not passed until 1982, and even then, the certificate of foreign birth issued by Hawaii would not list Honolulu as the birthplace, unless you are seriously aserting Hawaii deliberately lies on its official documents.
- Obama's grandmother's statement that her grandson was born in Kenya and that she was present during that birth;
She never said that. In fact, she insisted the opposite: that he was born in Hawaii while she was present in Kenya.
- the Kenya Ambassador to the United States, Peter N.R.O. Ogego, confirmed on November 6, 2008 during a radio interview with Detroit radio talk-show hosts Mike Clark, Trudi Daniels, and Marc Fellhauer on WRIF's "Mike In the Morning," that "President-Elect Obama" was born in Kenya and that his birth place was already a "well-known" attraction;
He did no such thing.
- the conflicting statements of Obama and his sister concerning in which Hawaiian hospital he was born;
Another unsubstantiated internet rumor.
- the failure of any Hawaiian hospital to confirm that Obama and/or his mother were present in any such hospital at the time of Obama's alleged birth in Honolulu;
Did any Hopsital confirm GW Bush's birth? How about Clinton's? Reagan's?
Get a clue. Hospitals don't keep records for 40 years.
- Director of Hawaiian Department of Heath, Fukino, said she has “personally seen and verified that the Hawaii State Department of Health has Sen. Obama’s original birth certificate on record in accordance with state policies and procedures," but she failed to say that the certificate shows that Obama was born in Hawaii;
Her spokesman later clarified her comment and confirmed that's what she meant.
- fightthesmears.com's and factcheck.org's current silence on the issue;
Why should they say anything? To all but the tinfoil hat crowd, this is a dead issue.
- the lack of any other corroborating document showing that Obama was born in Hawaii;
Two birth announcements in two seperate local papers qualify. And no, they were not called in. The papers make quite clear they based their birth announcements on data from the state bureau of health statistics.
- the refusal of Obama to release for inspection his past documents (college and law school records and passports) which would shed some light as to where he was born;
LOL. How on earth are college and lawschool documents supposed to shed light on where he was born? Furthermore, can you name a single other presidential candidate that publicly released his passport records? This is absurd.
- the failure of Obama to declare publicly after his COLB has been put into question that he was born in Hawaii;
Why would he need to do that if no one but a lunatic fringe is questioning his eligibility?
- and Obama relying on state privacy laws to block the release of a certified copy of his birth certificate.
And how exactly is Obama supposed to change Hawaii law?