Posted on 02/11/2011 2:31:37 AM PST by Libloather
Author Q&A: New book delves into Obama roots
By Emily Cahn - 02/10/11 06:52 PM ET
It’s the rumor that just won’t go away: President Obama is not a U.S. citizen. But in his book, The Obamas, which chronicles the history of the president’s Kenyan ancestors, former BBC journalist Peter Firstbrook writes that that rumor is baseless. Firstbrook spent a year traveling through Kenya learning about Obama’s family there, and calls the finished product a prequel to Obama’s memoir, Dreams From My Father.
The Hill spoke with Firstbrook about the book and his experiences researching it.
Q: The topic of your book is something that not many authors or journalists have tackled. What inspired you to write about this subject?
When the American people elect a president, they really elect for the rest of the world the leader of the free world. For this new president, when he comes to office, he’s really an important individual. He touches the lives of every person in the world. ... And the one area of his life that I felt was missing and was not being covered at all was his African background, or rather the African background of his father.
Q: Since you write rather extensively about President Obama’s birth in Hawaii, was debunking the “birther” talk one of your goals when writing the book?
It’s interesting you say that, because the book came out in Britain last year, and the whole [birther] issue just isn’t an issue over here. It’s not something that anybody’s really aware of. I was aware of it, because I have been a bit of an Obama watcher, and so when I was talking to my U.S. editor … I said to her, “Do you want me to address the whole [birther] issue for the American version?”
And so those three or four pages about birthing are unique to the U.S. book for a U.S. audience. And it’s important to write these things, because there is a lot of misinformation about … the president, about his place of birth, about his religious inclinations. ... Because I know that the polls suggest that something like 25 percent of the electorate think that he’s a Muslim, and he’s clearly not. There is a minority of people who think that he was born in Kenya, or possibly even Indonesia, and he wasn’t. And I felt that the work that I was doing for the book as a whole did give me an opportunity to address some of those issues.
Q: You touched on this in the book, but expand on the kind of access you had to the extended Obama family in Africa. How difficult was it to track people down and find where they were?
It’s never easy in Africa, because the roads are difficult, there’s no electricity, there’s no running water in these villages, and it’s very difficult to make any prior contact with people. And so the inevitable consequence of this is that I would usually turn up somewhere completely unannounced … and, without exception, I just found that people were open, they were welcoming, they were friendly, and they would just sit down there and then and answer my questions.
Q: You had a lot of contact with President Obama’s extended family, but did you have any contact with the president himself for this book?
No, I didn’t. And the reason is this: It’s not about the president. The book is really about his family. … The end of the last chapter ends with the death of the president’s father, which really is where the president’s memoir, Dreams From My Father, begins … In a way my book is a prequel to Dreams From My Father. I actually started off where the president picked up in his autobiography, so in that respect I felt I had to keep it uniquely African.
The Abercrombie mess trumps all that. Firstbrook may need to write another.
From hearings attempting to confuse citizens and provide cover for John McCain to run for President. Sponsor of Senate Res 511, Pat Leahy. Every Senator, including Obama, agreed that being “born of American parents” was necessary to being a natural born citizen. They thought you wouldn't be smart enough to notice!
“My assumption and my understanding is that if you are born of American parents, you are naturally a natural-born American citizen,” Chertoff replied. “That is mine, too,” said Leahy.”
From 14th Amendment initiator, Congressman John Bingham, addressing the house in 1866:
I find no fault with the introductory clause [S 61 Bill], which is simply declaratory of what is written in the Constitution, that every human being born within the jurisdiction of the United States of parents not owing allegiance to any foreign sovereignty is, in the language of your Constitution itself, a natural born citizen….
From our greatest Chief Justice John Marshall, in his opinion for The Venus, 12 U.S. 253:
“The citizens are the members of the civil society; bound to this society by certain duties, and subject to its authority, they equally participate in its advantages. The natives or indigenes are those born in the country of parents who are citizens. Society not being able to subsist and to perpetuate itself but by the children of the citizens, those children naturally follow the condition of their fathers, and succeed to all their rights.”
Chief Justice Morrison Waite, from his decision in Minor v. Happersett, the definition cited by Justice Gray to clarify that Wong Kim was not a natural born citizen, and by Chief Justice Charles Evans Hughes to explain that Miss Elg was, because her parents were naturalized when she was born in New York:
“The Constitution does not, in words, say who shall be natural-born citizens. Resort must be had elsewhere to ascertain that. At common-law, with the nomenclature of which the framers of the Constitution were familiar, it was never doubted that all children born in a country of parents who were its citizens became themselves, upon their birth, citizens also. These were natives, or natural-born citizens, as distinguished from aliens or foreigners.”
These are the words of our founders and framers. The mysterious background is an intended distraction. It is clear that Obama has no respect for our laws. That is why our founders and framers considered the allegiance of parents so important. Could it be any more clear that Obama's allegiance is to his bitter Muslim, Marxist, Kenyan father? He was never legitimate, and Justice Roberts knew it, as should any reasonably well read constitutional attorney. By taking the oath of a man who was violating the oath as he spoke the words, Roberts was violating his oath to report violations of our laws. Roberts had original jurisdiction from Article III Section II - the president is a "public minister." That is not "good behavior", and he can be removed by the Senate.
Well, clearly he is. That's by how most Muslim's interpret Islamic Law. Because his Dads, plural, were Muslim being he was adopted by Indonesian Muslim Lolo Soetoro, by Islamic Law the son, Obama, is Muslim. That's clearly testified to by entry the register book of the elementary school in Indonesia that Obama attended. Yet those clear and established facts are ignored by the hack.
Thus this is a work of fiction, feeding delusion and propaganda. I wonder who advanced the money for it?
“Thus this is a work of fiction, feeding delusion and propaganda. I wonder who advanced the money for it?”
Precisely my thoughts after reading this BS. Just show us the original birth certificate and put the matter to rest.
is impeachment available for SCOTUS justices? how are they removed?
So which hospital does the author name? Any chance he sleuthed out the delivery room dr? /s
Just a hunch, but if this guy had found anything that looked factual regarding where Obama was really born, the faithers would be trumpeting about it like elephants (the animals, not Republicans) in heat.
The fact that the author so unquestioningly embraces Obama’s ‘christianity’ is all I needed to know. He is an Obamaphile, and will hew the party line regardless of the evidence.
Between the two of them, Cashill and Corsi will take this fake man apart at the seams. Their books are going to make for scintillating reading.
The biggest problem is that this guy has a conflict of interest. The financial value of Obama’s “roots” are limited if it is exposed that Obama is a fraud and was not born in the United States.
Hmmm..... Seems “everyone in Africa knows Obama was born there”. From USAfrica (via TheObamaFile.com):
“Kenyan-born Obama makes history... wins presidential nomination of U.S. democratic party...”
http://www.theobamafile.com/_images/Born09.gif
Here are the rest of the African Newspaper articles I have saved since the beginning of 2009
Historical News Articles and FactCheck Agree: “Obama is Kenyan-born”
Here are 6 “African Newspaper” articles calling Obama “Kenyan-Born”
Notice the first article was from Sunday, June 27, “2004”
Historical News Articles and FactCheck Agree: Obama is “Kenyan-born”
Posted on October 18th, 2009 by David-Crockett
Sunday, June 27, “2004”
Kenya Sunday Standard headline-”Kenyan-born” Obama all set for US Senate
http://www.theobamafile.com/_exhibits/Born04.htm
The Nigerian Observer-Americans will today go to the polls to elect their next President with Democratic Party candidate, Senator Barack Obama largely favoured to win. The “Kenyan-born” Senator will…”
http://www.theobamafile.com/_exhibits/Born01.htm
USAfrica — “Kenyan-born” OBAMA makes history…wins presidential nomination of U. S. Democratic party; eyes on White House…
http://www.theobamafile.com/_images/Born09.gif
AllAfrica.com — ” Little wonder then why “Kenyan-born” Barack Obama, America’s first Black President…”
http://www.theobamafile.com/_exhibits/Born02.htm
GraphicGhana.com — “For Ghana, Obama’s visit will be a celebration of another milestone in African history as it hosts the first-ever “African-American President” on this presidential visit to the “continent of his birth”. The same article, with the same quote, appeared in ModernGhana.com.
http://www.theobamafile.com/.../...5-ContinentOfBirth.htm
The Ghana Times — “So far, the odds favour the once underdog in American politics, Obama, the “African-American Senator” from Illinois state. A Congressional Quarterly (CQ) politics monitored on BBC put the “Kenyan born” American ahead of his rivel, John McCain.”
http://www.theobamafile.com/_images/Born07.bmp
Look up Obama and the term “son of the soil” too, plus the Minister of Lands in Kenya, Michelle Obama, etc.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
