From Paul at Byzigenous Buddhapalian:
Here's a little quiz for you:
Where was Barack Obama born?
a. Somalia
b. Kenya
c. Hawaii
d. Indonesia
e. Illinois
Now, here is a sub-quiz:
1. I had to look this up online
2. I knew the answer for certain
3. I just took a guess
4. I have no flipping clue
5. I had a pretty good idea but now I'm not so sure.
So, how did you do?
Here's the answer:
Barack Obama was born on August 4th, 1961, in Hawaii to Barack Obama, Sr. and Ann Dunham.
From his Senate web site. Wikipedia specifies that it was Honolulu, where his parents met and where he spent most of his childhood. His father was born in Kenya. He lived for a while in Jakarta, Indonesia (ages 6-10) with his mother and Indonesian stepfather. He is a Senator from Illinois. A photo taken of him in native garb while visiting Somalia (something politicians do now and again) is currently being re-circulated with the implication that he is "from there" (i.e., a non-American nation, and a Muslim one at that, one where American troops have been killed).
Let's review our geography, folks. Honolulu, Hawaii, is in the United States. Try to wrap your minds around that one. I remember when it was admitted as a state, so if you are a geezer this may still seem like something new, but it happened in 1959, two years before Obama was born.
OK. Are we all clear now? Barack Hussein Obama, Jr., was born in the United States. He has lived abroad, something I think would be extremely desirable in a president, given the appalling ignorance of the world around us demonstrated by the current destructive twit.
Now, here is a quote from Democratic Congresswoman Stephanie Tubbs Jones, a Clinton supporter, talking with Pat Buchanan:
JONES: "Understand this: The Clinton campaign does not condone people putting out pictures that they seem to believe are inappropriate. But let me say this: I have no shame or no problem with people looking at Barack Obama in his native clothing, in the clothing of his country."
[Emphasis mine]
I am not making this up:
WTF is this woman on about? Is she that ill-informed? Or that mendacious? I would expect one huge fecking apology out of her, on the assumption that she has a shred of decency.
In conclusion: Now you know. You can do your part to stop misinformation.
--the BB
Posted by Paul at 12:05 PM
Paul gave me permission to lift his whole post except for the pictures. You really should click the link to his blog to see the pictures and to view the appalling video of Stepnanie Tubbs Jones spouting her foolishness, or mendaciousness, or whatever it was.
I left this in the comments at the BB's site:
Grandmère Mimi said...
I failed when I gave my answer, Paul, but I knew better. I knew he was born in Hawaii. The sliming of Obama has penetrated my consciousness. Shame on me. Had he not been born in the US, he could not run for president, right? Shame, shame on me.
Yes, I am ashamed. If this happened to me, it could happen to millions of folks in this country. I fear that the sliming will only get worse, very much worse. We have not hit bottom yet. Far from it.
It will get worse. The Clintons have a dark side, and it is showing.
ReplyDeleteOh this is nothing like what will happen when it gets down to Obama and McCain.
ReplyDeleteBut honestly Mimi, are you truly shocked? Last week I ran across a woman's blog (one of the folks who was incensed about the YouTube excerpt from an ER t.v. episode retitled something about post-Modernism -- something the SF folks were waving about during a slow news moment) and she quoted a marvellous website called "Accuracy in Media" (which, forgive me, but I couldn't help noticing that she spelled it "acuracy"). AIM has stuff about Obama's Communist connections and she had photos that supposedly showed American flags with photos of Castro and/or Che Guevara patched onto the flags). This AIM site had stuff on Obama's "Internationalist Socialist Connections" (due to an endorsement he supposedly received from the Democratic Socialists of America in Chicago -- that part I would believe -- look up DSA at Wiki) and recently posted more about his "Communist mentor."
Yes, it's going to be tough work keeping even the mainstream media honest about what they report, but I don['t know about you but I seem to recall all sorts of crazy things being circulated about all sorts of candidates over the years. And while I'm not giving a pass to Hillary if this really represents anything from someone associated with her campaign (yes, they're getting both stupid and desperate), she's gotten plenty herself (I watched stuff on a C-Span book review that was fit for the British tabloids, not to mention whatever that other book was awhile back that said BOTH that Hillary was a lesbian AND that she had an affair with Vince Foster).
And, if it's any consolation, the stuff that was tossed about between the partisans of Jefferson and Adams and Hamilton were anything but pretty. That doesn't make it right, of course, but lying, cheating, and stealing (let's see how did our current President get elected?) is pretty much par for the course.
(You know I always agree with you, Mimi, don't you, just in pretty rounadbout ways).
P.S. I remember when Alaska and Hawaii became states and the flag changed. I'm old, cranky, but am not ready to own up to being a geezer!
and P.P.S. I passed the test (except there should have been something between 2 and 5 -- like being pretty sure).
I scrambled the best part. The photos with the flags supposedly were showing Obama campaign headquarters somewhere. I didn't tarry long enough to get whether the blogger thought they were real or whether it was supposed to be a clever bit of photoshopping commentary on the news about the DSA.
ReplyDeleteI could dig up the links to these places for you but I suspect you'd rather not have them coming over here.
Well, I passed easily, but only because of the timing of the Hawaii primary, and hearing it referred to has his birth state. Knowing one has to be a natural citizen to be president would have kept me from wandering too far, but if not for the primary I would have guessed Illinois -- I recall being very surprised to hear he was born in Hawaii. I don't know why; maybe because I know more people from Illinois than Hawaii.
ReplyDeleteJim, it will get worse, much worse. It will be really ugly. Wait until the Republican slime machine gets into gear for whoever is the Democratic nominee.
ReplyDeleteKlady, I still get surprised. I know about the many web sites full of outright lies and slander, but I still expect better of the big media - why, I don't know, because they have failed us so often.
The Clinton campaign seems to be going off the rails. I don't like what I see at all.
I remember when Alaska and Hawaii became states, along with the new lineup of stars on the flag.
I thought geezers were men. Biddy? Would that work? For me, not for you.
Well, I passed easily,
Tobias, of course. I would expect nothing less from you.
Yes, I knew the answer because I read his book last year.
ReplyDeleteI really get upset when they try to call him a Muslim. I think that they do it because the word Muslim pushes a lot of buttons and is more acceptable than the race reference.
I think that Susan is absolutely right: "Muslim" is both a fearmongering tactic (post 9-11) AND code for "dark skinned"
ReplyDeleteOf course, a few weeks ago Hillary's team of Wolfson and Penn tried to spin the media about Obama's admitted use of drugs when he was a young kid (at least he was honest unlike a certain ex president).
Luckily the media didn't bite on the drug using gangsta from the South Side of Chicago story line.
Hillary hired two nasty Rove wanna-bes in Wolfson and Penn. They will go on to running Republican races and it will never hurt their reputation. But Hillary will be remembered by the company that she kept in this election. And it could have been different. Sad, really.
I'm watching the debate, and I believe that Clinton is coming across very badly. I thought her whine about always being asked the first question was pathetic.
ReplyDeleteI passed easily too. I read his first book Dreams of my Father, so I knew that he was born in Hawaii, and that his father is Kenyan. I wonder if that web site means Saul Alinsky when they talk about his "communist mentor"? I know he worked with community organizing in Chicago. In my view, that is one of the more interesting things about him, and probably accounts for some of the "web are the change..." rhetoric. community based organizing teaches, among other things, that power is "organized people", and really believes in citizens taking back government, getting involved and demanding accountability from public servants, etc.
ReplyDeletealso, I have had a couple of conversations at church with people who are SURE Obama is Muslim. So I know that stuff is out there.
I firmly believe that the animosity between the Hillary and Obama camps is being trumped up (and mostly invented) by the right-wingers. I'm not a particular fan of either Hillary or Obama. I voted for Edwards in the NY primary as a protest. But I will happily vote for the Democratic nominee in November, and I'm doing my best to ignore the noise in the meantime.
ReplyDeleteSo there. :p :)
Tim Russert should never be allowed to moderate a debate again. It's not the moderator's job to attack the debaters. Asking questions is one thing, but launching attacks is another, and he did it to both Clinton and Obama.
ReplyDeleteDiane, that he worked at community organizing looks like a good thing to me, too.
PJ, if I can read looks at all, Clinton was looking daggers at Obama. I don't think it's all manufactured.
Community organizing IS good. It's NOT politics.
ReplyDeleteI like everything that Obama says. I just don't think he can make any of it happen. He is totally out of his depth. The GOP will ruin all over him, if they don't destroy him in the general.
Go Hillary.
Lindy, the more I see of Clinton, the less I like her. I want to like her, but I can't. That doesn't mean I won't vote for her over McCain.
ReplyDeleteActually, I don't put great hope in either Obama or Clinton accomplishing a whole hell of a lot, if a Democrat wins. There were others that I liked better than either of them, but I know I don't want John McCain as president. He could be worse than Bush.
I'd have to disagree with you and say that I believe that community organizing is a part of politics.
BTW: I know that this has been another piece of misinformation, but why would it matter if Obama was a Muslim?
ReplyDeleteDP, it wouldn't matter to me. I am thoroughly sick of the campaign rhetoric already, and there's much worse to come. And we're not sure if a one of them will carry out what they say they will do. Call me cynical; call me jaded.
ReplyDeleteI know I don't want McCain for president. He could be worse than Bush. I didn't think that was possible, but he's making me think it is.
I'm so in agreement with you GM ... I hated the whining about being asked the first question ... and the daggers when she looked at Obama ... and, McCain would be at least as bad as Bush (can anyone really be worse? YIKES!!!!)
ReplyDelete