Dear birthers: This is a typical birth certificate, issued by the state of Illinois. Note that it looks NOTHING like the original. BECAUSE NO ONE GIVES A RAT'S ASS. Up Yours, Me.
If it's good enough for an employer, then STFU. Seriously, I can't believe we're having this conversation. If the state says that a document is a birth certificate, then it's a birth certificate.
- Steven Perez
The more people talk about these ridiculous birthers, the more attention is drawn to their cause. They don't care about the facts or reality, just the buzz they create.
- Mo Kargas
Because I'll tell you what this is about Glen: it's about overturning an election. The birthers couldn't care less where Obama was born. He could have been born on the steps of the Capitol building, and he would still not be their president. You don't like the man? Fine. But to try and rededine the meaning of "is", just to to lessen the pain of a lost election - that's a coward's way.
- Steven Perez
And you know something else, Glen? Their argument deserves every bit of scorn and derision I can muster. Because the majority of these clowns are fools. I have no respect either for them or their goofball, half-baked ideas.
- Steven Perez
How would you like this argument to work, Glen? They've gotten the truth and ignored it, many many times. At some point you gotta cut your losses and say "some fucktards are just never going to accept the truth for what it is and ergo they are fucking asshole losers".
- Scoble, Alex Scoble
How much more can this issue be addressed? How much more proof can a person give than a birth certificate issued by the state of birth AND supporting evidence from a newspaper of record? The only way these people will believe he is a citizen is if we build a time machine and take them back so they can see little O crowning. If I believed so strongly that oranges were blue, despite being...
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- invariant
No answer will serve them, Glen. NONE. Nothing short of Barack Obama leaving office will ever satisfy them, and since they chose the most inane way of doing so (a make-believe loophole, instead of finding some sort of crime), they deserve every bit of name-calling they get. No, I have no respect for the lot of them - or anyone who propagates their craziness on any grounds.
- Steven Perez
Guess what, Glen? On this topic, you won't have a rational discussion - because one side believes that the president of the United States isn't an American.
- Steven Perez
Mark, yes you must provide proof of legal right to work in the country (fulfilled by birth certificate, green card, visa, etc.) when you start a job here in the US. EDIT: Maybe? I have had to for my jobs at least.
- invariant
Mark: if you sign up with a temp agency, you generally do. Most do, some don't. A passport works, too. (Which begs the question - does Barack Obama have a passport? Because one of the forms of ID for getting a passport is - wait for it - a birth certificate.)
- Steven Perez
Don't you have to have a passport to leave the country? Even if you're the POTUS, I don't think you just get to pass on through w/o ID
- Rah-PM 2012
wow, interesting side topic. I've had 7 jobs in my life, in the state of illinois, I've never once had to show my birth certificate.
- Adam Turetzky
The State Department takes the same birth certificate as proof of American citizenship to issue a passport. If it's certified by the state, it's accepted as an original.
- Kenya
I've had a LOT of jobs. Never had to show a birth cert. I think a DL and SSN imply a birth cert. Seems logical to me.
- Rah-PM 2012
Well, I did say you have to provide proof of legal right to work-SSN or DL are also obviously valid. Nevertheless, I retract my original comment.
- invariant
I had to get a new job a couple of months ago. I had to find my birth certificate and a id.
- ЯIИGҜIИG
Once I got my passport, I never needed to show my birth certificate again.
- Steven Perez
from IM
only ppl i know who had to show their passport or birth cert were either PR aliens or applying for work with a defence contractor...or telecom, lately.
- Joe The Sausage
I think we have arrived at a valid point. You can't have valid ID w/o showing someone a birth cert in the first place, right? So, implying Obama has no birth cert also implies he has no ID whatsoever.
- Rah-PM 2012
If you have a social security card, you won't have to show a birth certificate for employment.
- Kenya
I'm looking at the I-9 form that employers have to fill out to verify eligibility to work in the United States. There's a form called Certification of Birth Abroad that the State Department issues. Not one birther has claimed that such a thing exists for Obama.
- Kenya
I used my Illinois freshly printed birth certificate to reenter the US from Canada because I didn't have a passport.
- Andy Bakun
from Android
What is all this "birthers" crap? Some idiot the other day here said "I bet you are a birther too".. and I got no idea WTF they are on about lol Yeah.. I was born.. like the rest of us lol. :o)
- Rob Sellen :o)
Rob: "Birthers" is the collective name given to the right-wing element of Americans who want to find any piddling pathetic little excuse to support their racism and/or zealous political leanings; those who refuse to believe Obama is American and so shouldn't be President (though if Arnie was ever in a position to represent them, well that would be different of course.)
- Mark H
I see... so those who said that to me are DUMB seeing as I am not even an American lol. ;o) Thanks for explaining that for me. :o)
- Rob Sellen :o)
DYSP: But look at the kerning! And the lack of EXIF information! It's obviously counterfeit!
- Jim Norris
Birthers believe in a conspiracy, it almost impossible to convince someone who believes in a conspiracy that they are wrong, because anything you say against their belief they will see as apart of the conspiracy. The one thing you don't do is give them a voice in the main stream media as if they have a valid point.
- Kim Landwehr
I agree with Kim to a point, though the nature of conspiracy theories is that such disregard helps reinforce the story for true believers: "Of course it's true; that's /why/ the media is afraid to talk about it!"
- Andrew C (✓)
I guess my point is that when it comes to the Birther, your in a no win situation, no matter what you do or say, its going to reinforce their belief +1 Andrew C
- Kim Landwehr
If you are gonna change your constitution it will be worthless... can't change things on a whim and expect people to trust it.
- Rob Sellen :o)
What?!? You mean the Bill of Rights makes the Constitution worthless?!? No wonder it's all f'ed up!! Anyway, there's no need for a constitutional amendment since Obama was born in Hawaii, and Arnold Schwarzenegger wouldn't have a snowball's chance in hell for the presidency even with an amendment ever since he destroyed the state of California.
- Victor Ganata
I'm just glad I'm Canadian where back in the day it was cool that our prime minister was a playboy. (no offense)
- Nathalie
Kevin, no, we don't change our Constitution! (However, judges have 'interpreted' the Constitution in a way that precisely meets their needs/agendas since the framers created it. Not change. Interpret ,-)
- Jess
Actually, we do. That's what an amendment is: the act of amending or correcting; a statement that is added to or revises or improves a proposal or document (a bill or constitution etc.) http://www.google.com/search...
- Steven Perez
from IM
And whether or not the Constitution should be amended is a moot point. The document has been produced; it's not the Congress' job to rewrite the laws of reality for a few racist conspiracy nuts.
- Steven Perez
from IM
If they're not going to believe the evidence from the time machine, then there's simply no hope for them.
- Victor Ganata
I was including Amendments and all Rights under 'Constitution'. I agree completely that the Birther issue is racist and people are grabbing at straws. Just like I believe that it's crazy to think the framers of Constitutional Law could foresee/and think they could forsee all the issues the US would face in its future. That's why the words they used are so broad and not to be taken in a formalist nature.
- Jess
Jess, Rob, that was the genius of the Founding Fathers, that they realized no document could be perfect, so they provided a mechanism by which we could make changes.
- Victor Ganata
Back to the original discussion, I understand Glen's original point regarding ad hominems and such, and it's valid in general cases, but we're now well past this being an "argument." There is no two sides to this anymore. There's the proven truth and that's it. Anyone who argues the other side is, by definition, now making a completely irrational argument, which usually is when ad...
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- Chieze Okoye
The fact that a Birther's belief cannot be falsified with any sort of evidence means the rules of logic can't apply anyway.
- Victor Ganata
That's an abstracted birth certificate.
- MicahBear78
Obama should make his original, 1961 birth certificate available, just for transparency's sake. According to Hawaii officials, they have it in their vault. So there's no good reason not to show it.
- Rob Sterling
I didn't know bunnehs had birth certificates. You learn something new every day :)
- ☆ Mellyboo ☆
Rob, I'm totally sure that the birthers who have not only rejected every piece of evidence to date but refused to even acknowledge their existence will certainly change their tune if Obama were to release the long form birth certificate!
- Andrew C (✓)
@Andrew - The only piece of evidence that means anything is the 1961 birth certificate from the vault. And I can't imagine a reason for Obama to keep it locked up.
- Rob Sterling