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So you're saying Obama was born in Australia. ;-)

Good find. So what are the odds Australia and Kenya used similar book numbers and formatting? :) Seems unlikely.

so I guess I'll ask this, how long has this Australian birth notice been on the net? Anyone know the origins and validity of the Australian doc also? (I'm just asking. :-P )

http://www.bomford.net/worcestershire/images/DavidJeffreyBomfordBirthCertDoc65.jpg.

Here is the linkage. If you delete the addy back to net, you can see the complete site. It’s a genealogy site.

The entire reason there is a professional field known as forensic document examination is that a great deal can be told from examination of the original document itself. Much, much less can be told by looking at a photocopy of a document and very little, if anything at all, can be told from looking at a digital image that purports to be an image of an original document. Too much opportunity for adulteration, no opportunity to examine the paper, the ink, any impressions made on the paper, etc. These online pissing matches discussing images (especially photographic images) of documents are not worth the electrons.

I'm not arguing that Obama was not born in the United States. But, if I were arguing such a position I would be requesting that the President select a neutral panel of say 3 journalists and 2 (or 3) experienced forensic document examiners and then ask the Governor of Hawaii to unseal the documents for the purpose of an in camera examination, following which a report can be made to the public. That seems like a fair and probably not too expensive way to resolve this question.

At some point, whether Obama and his advisors consider those who argue that he is not a natural citizen to be total kooks, or not, it becomes worth it to clear away this question so, arguably, we can concentrate on what may be more important issues. As it becomes more of a distraction to his administration, it will become even more conspicuous that he does not swat this fly with ease, unless he values embarrassing his detractors more than clearing the air, in which case he may wait for a long time.

I think it would be extremely interesting to see a write-up of the procedural mechanics by which his campaign lawyers sealed these records as well as his academic transcripts. The Federal privacy laws which control access to academic transcripts date back to 1974, but seem to be generally ineffective for most politicians running for office (e.g., G.W. Bush, Dan Quayle, etc.) Somehow, Obama's approach worked. The only question on the transcripts is - was it something overt that the campaign did to maintain or assert the privacy interest or was the passive acquiescence of the media in not publicizing them?

I also find his transfer from Occidental College to Columbia University curious. I'd love to see a frequency analysis of how many students in the 10 years before or 10 years following Obama's entry at Columbia had transferred either from Occidental or a college similar to Occidental after 2 years of undergraduate study. Something tells me it is very uncommon. Like 56-game hitting streak in the major leagues uncommon.