I just sent the following message to editors at the New York Times, CNN, CBS Evening News, Newsweek and Time.
>Why haven't you covered Mr. Obama's failure to permit access to his birth certificate? There is considerable buzz about it on the Web, and you increase public skepticism by avoiding discussion. See the following blogs:
http://mitchell-langbert.blogspot.com/2008/08/letter-to-donald-mcgahan-and-federal.html
http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/Federal-Elections-Commssion/signatures.html
http://texasdarlin.wordpress.com/2008/08/09/a-call-for-obama-to-step-down/
http://mitchell-langbert.blogspot.com/2008/08/request-for-investigation-of-obama.html
http://mitchell-langbert.blogspot.com/2008/08/drake-questions-techdudes-analysis-is.html
http://atlasshrugs2000.typepad.com/atlas_shrugs/2008/07/atlas-exclusive.html
http://atlasshrugs2000.typepad.com/atlas_shrugs/2008/08/previous-owner.html
http://atlasshrugs2000.typepad.com/atlas_shrugs/obamas_birth_certifcate_forgery/
You wonder why the public stops taking you and the news media seriously, but all this buzz, thousands of people, on the Internet are wondering why Mr. Obama has not disclosed the information, and you're not asking questions. At a minimum, you should publicly ask him for all ID documents. Why has he failed to respond to repeated requests? There may be nothing wrong, but your failure to ask makes you look absurdly partisan.
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Five Things You Can Do About B.O.'s Birth Certificate
Joanie just e-mailed me asking what she can do to bring the failure of our government systems to address the public's concerns about B.O.'s birth certificate. There are at least five ways to contact elected officials, the media and the governmental bureaucracies. Joanie's inquiry and my response follow.
Joanie writes:
> Dear Sir,
> I have spent most of this lovely Saturday on the web reading. I am surprised to hear about a story that questions whether Obama's Birth cert is accurate. Are there any people I can email demanding that this story be looked into. Also, how can we get this into the main media to "chew" on?
>
> Thank you for your courage to write about this.
>
> Sincerely,
>
> Joanie
My response:
Hi Joanie:
You can sign my petition; write to the Federal Elections Commission; write to your state's Secretary of State and Board of Elections; write your Congressman, Senators and the President; and you can send out a press release. Each letter would be a little different.
1. First--I hope you signed my petition already. Please pass the URL around to anyone and everyone you know. We've got around 3,300 signatures now. The URL is at
http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/Federal-Elections-Commssion/
2. The website Texas Darlin (TD) has a model letter to write to your state's secretary of state. TD also has a list of secretary of states (here it is) on which you can look up your Secretary of State.
I used a different letter to the NY Secretary of State (I live in NY) on my blog
http://mitchell-langbert.blogspot.com/2008/08/request-for-investigation-of-obama.html
You can write a similar letter to your state board of elections.
TD's letter is at:
http://texasdarlin.wordpress.com/2008/08/07/eligibility-challenge-state-by-state-act-now/#comment-6377
3. Third, you can write a letter to the Federal Elections Commission just like the one that I wrote at:
http://mitchell-langbert.blogspot.com/2008/08/letter-to-donald-mcgahan-and-federal.html
4. Fourth, you can write to your Congressman and Senators and demand legislation that requires release of identification information to the Federal Elections Commission and to state boards of election. You can also copy the President on this as he oversees the FEC.
5. Fifth, you can send out a press release to the media in your area and/or national media informing them of each step. You can find media contact information on the Web. For instance, most newspapers have a letters to the editor address, and you can send a press release to that address or to a better address if one is on the Website.
Hope that is useful.
Joanie writes:
> Dear Sir,
> I have spent most of this lovely Saturday on the web reading. I am surprised to hear about a story that questions whether Obama's Birth cert is accurate. Are there any people I can email demanding that this story be looked into. Also, how can we get this into the main media to "chew" on?
>
> Thank you for your courage to write about this.
>
> Sincerely,
>
> Joanie
My response:
Hi Joanie:
You can sign my petition; write to the Federal Elections Commission; write to your state's Secretary of State and Board of Elections; write your Congressman, Senators and the President; and you can send out a press release. Each letter would be a little different.
1. First--I hope you signed my petition already. Please pass the URL around to anyone and everyone you know. We've got around 3,300 signatures now. The URL is at
http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/Federal-Elections-Commssion/
2. The website Texas Darlin (TD) has a model letter to write to your state's secretary of state. TD also has a list of secretary of states (here it is) on which you can look up your Secretary of State.
I used a different letter to the NY Secretary of State (I live in NY) on my blog
http://mitchell-langbert.blogspot.com/2008/08/request-for-investigation-of-obama.html
You can write a similar letter to your state board of elections.
TD's letter is at:
http://texasdarlin.wordpress.com/2008/08/07/eligibility-challenge-state-by-state-act-now/#comment-6377
3. Third, you can write a letter to the Federal Elections Commission just like the one that I wrote at:
http://mitchell-langbert.blogspot.com/2008/08/letter-to-donald-mcgahan-and-federal.html
4. Fourth, you can write to your Congressman and Senators and demand legislation that requires release of identification information to the Federal Elections Commission and to state boards of election. You can also copy the President on this as he oversees the FEC.
5. Fifth, you can send out a press release to the media in your area and/or national media informing them of each step. You can find media contact information on the Web. For instance, most newspapers have a letters to the editor address, and you can send a press release to that address or to a better address if one is on the Website.
Hope that is useful.
James Commends Mitchell Langbert's Blog
Now here is something! I commend you, Mr. Langbert, and your reference to Rocky Mountain News.
Being in charge of all of our armed forces, you M U S T have undivided loyalty. That must be part of the reasoning about not being eligible for the office, if you are naturalized. To that end, how can duel citizenship not be an issue? I would say this no matter the candidate, no matter the political party, no matter the other nation.
Mr. Langbert:
Can this information be corroborated or is it some "urban myth" Is there some sort of legal ruling or position on this issue of duel citizenship
Mr. Langbert, your comment about obfuscation and obstructionism is dead-spot on. Keep in mind that this is a no win situation for Mr. Obama, so, if I were him, I would certainly ignore it and just hope that it does not get traction. Keep in mind, from the very onset of the campaign, Mr. Obama has been running from his past, and frankly running from himself. Yet sadly, he seems to not know it, because he has no center.
My career requires me to make decisions about situations and more importantly people. I have learned to trust my gut, and it is usually right. Now, as I have grown older, I have become convinced that solid character is the most critical component to effective leadership. Perhaps the Boy Scouts have said it best: "CHARACTER COUNTS".
Mr. Obama, who are you?
This guy is really beginning to fail the smell test. So, as these data points stack up, pardon my bending a phrase from another of his associates, but "the fleas are coming home to roost".
James
Being in charge of all of our armed forces, you M U S T have undivided loyalty. That must be part of the reasoning about not being eligible for the office, if you are naturalized. To that end, how can duel citizenship not be an issue? I would say this no matter the candidate, no matter the political party, no matter the other nation.
Mr. Langbert:
Can this information be corroborated or is it some "urban myth" Is there some sort of legal ruling or position on this issue of duel citizenship
Mr. Langbert, your comment about obfuscation and obstructionism is dead-spot on. Keep in mind that this is a no win situation for Mr. Obama, so, if I were him, I would certainly ignore it and just hope that it does not get traction. Keep in mind, from the very onset of the campaign, Mr. Obama has been running from his past, and frankly running from himself. Yet sadly, he seems to not know it, because he has no center.
My career requires me to make decisions about situations and more importantly people. I have learned to trust my gut, and it is usually right. Now, as I have grown older, I have become convinced that solid character is the most critical component to effective leadership. Perhaps the Boy Scouts have said it best: "CHARACTER COUNTS".
Mr. Obama, who are you?
This guy is really beginning to fail the smell test. So, as these data points stack up, pardon my bending a phrase from another of his associates, but "the fleas are coming home to roost".
James
Drake Questions Techdude's Analysis: Is There Risk In The Pursuit of B.O.'s COLB?
My concern in following through with the pursuit of B.O.'s Certificate of Live Birth (C.O.L.B.) is not my concern with the C.O.L.B.'s authenticity or the chance that there is anything wrong in it. Rather, I am chiefly concerned that the state boards of election or the federal election commission should do due diligence on requirements to hold office, to include this constitutional one of natural citizenship. Criminal records, drivers' license information, birth certificate and similar kinds of identification should be collected by the state boards of election and the federal government and should be available for all citizens to review. We live in an age of identity theft and electronic scams. It is foolish to run an electoral system that takes at face value candidates' claims as to who they are. Even if the birth certificate on the Daily Kos and other pro-Obama websites is fair and true there should be a way for a citizen to review a certified copy in person without resorting to a website or bloggers' work-shed analyses. As well, Mr. Obama should have simply told his staff to authorize any and all requests for information to the Hawaii Health Department.
The main point is that the states or the federal government need develop a responsive audit system, not whether there is anything wrong with Mr. Obama's birth certificate. I'm puzzled that there is no system in place to permit a citizen to obtain identification information. Is our government run by marks, by trusting fools eager to be conned? If the state and federal governments cannot run an election properly, what can they do?
Drake, a scientist and attorney, has e-mailed me about his concerns that TechDude's analysis is inaccurate. But I don't think that's the right concern. The only chance of improving due diligence requirements for candidates is now. Public pressure must be intense because politicians don't like scrutiny any more than do Corporate America, Wall Street or Tony Soprano.
Drake writes:
>Dr. Langbert:
I have been trying to carefully follow this Obama COLB issue from the beginning. At first, I was convinced that a forgery had in fact been demonstrated. However, as time has gone on, I am becoming more and more skeptical. As one who has a computer science degree and is minimally competent at graphics, I have yet to see any verifiable and reproducible information from Techdude that actually indicates a forgery. This is especially significant concerning the claim that the name of the original bearer of the certificate (Maya, apparently) could be discerned from the image. Techdude has yet to post step by step instructions by which any reasonably skilled person in graphics could reproduce his findings.
Instead, what seems to be happening is that Techdude makes his claims and, as "support" for them, goes into laborious detail using very technical language and images with boxes and numbers. Most people simply skim these explanations, regarding them as beyond their expertise, and simply accepting his ultimate conclusions. Yet, when other non-pseudonymous graphic experts actually take the time to sludge through his explanations, they find them vacuous and insufficient to point toward Techdude's ultimate conclusions. Although I in no way regard myself as a graphics expert, I have reached the same conclusion when I have actually taken the time to go through his dense analysis. At the end, I ask myself, "Is there something I'm missing?" Yet, for a significant period of time, I have simply assumed that the missing analysis is there and Techdude has either not yet posted it or I am simply unable to understand it. As time goes on, I am becoming convinced that nearly everyone on the Atlas blog and on the TexasDarlin' blog is doing the same thing. Each person thinks to himself or herself, Well, I don't understand it, but it looks impressive and very technical, and all of these other people are convinced, so apparently his explanations have satisfied them. The result is that each person simply assumes that the others understand and have independently verified. It's like the free rider problem in economics.
Dr. Langbert, I'm writing you personally because, having read your blog, it is apparent that you are an intelligent man and a respectable scholar. I believe that we are similar in that we are both respectable professionals who are careful in their analysis and not simply internet hotheads. I myself am both a computer scientist and a lawyer. I am concerned that we are possibly being hoodwinked. I do not think it wise to try to bring an allegation of forgery in either the media, the political process, or the law until there is sufficient proof of forgery. Although I personally would very much like to see Obama disqualified from the Presidency (as I find his policy positions repugnant, to say the least), I can honestly say that neither Techdude nor anyone else has sufficiently shown forgery. Unlike others, I am in no way declaring the authenticity of the COLB, but neither has it been proven in authentic. If this email registers with you, I could go into more careful detail as to the holes I see and the seeming psuedoscience of it all.
While it might be argued that if Obama ultimately produces a physical copy as a result of this campaign you are waging, then there will be no harm done, I respectfully disagree. If the MSM were to actually pick this story up and Obama were to produce an authentic physical copy identical to the picture, and the analysis on which you and others are relying were to be exposed as junk science, then the result is far worse than having never brought up the story. Those who opposed Obama on this ground would look like idiots, hurting the credibility of his opposition. Moreover, as an associate professor who actually has a career at stake in terms of intellectual integrity, I honestly fear what the consequences might be for your career if this whole thing flops as badly as I fear it might. I myself am operating under a psuedonymn (Drake is not my real name) for this very same reason. I don't need my reputation to be tarnished or my publications not to be taken seriously as the result of this.
Regardless, I am not trying to tell you what to do. My concerns are simply that I am beginning to fear more and more that this is a hoax, and I worry that it may ultimately aid Obama. It seems to me that you are the most intellectually respectable and credentialed role player in this, and therefore I thought I'd email you about my concerns, both out of interest as to your thoughts regarding my criticism and a slight concern for your career.
I look forward to (hopefully) hearing back from you. Kind regards,
Drake
The main point is that the states or the federal government need develop a responsive audit system, not whether there is anything wrong with Mr. Obama's birth certificate. I'm puzzled that there is no system in place to permit a citizen to obtain identification information. Is our government run by marks, by trusting fools eager to be conned? If the state and federal governments cannot run an election properly, what can they do?
Drake, a scientist and attorney, has e-mailed me about his concerns that TechDude's analysis is inaccurate. But I don't think that's the right concern. The only chance of improving due diligence requirements for candidates is now. Public pressure must be intense because politicians don't like scrutiny any more than do Corporate America, Wall Street or Tony Soprano.
Drake writes:
>Dr. Langbert:
I have been trying to carefully follow this Obama COLB issue from the beginning. At first, I was convinced that a forgery had in fact been demonstrated. However, as time has gone on, I am becoming more and more skeptical. As one who has a computer science degree and is minimally competent at graphics, I have yet to see any verifiable and reproducible information from Techdude that actually indicates a forgery. This is especially significant concerning the claim that the name of the original bearer of the certificate (Maya, apparently) could be discerned from the image. Techdude has yet to post step by step instructions by which any reasonably skilled person in graphics could reproduce his findings.
Instead, what seems to be happening is that Techdude makes his claims and, as "support" for them, goes into laborious detail using very technical language and images with boxes and numbers. Most people simply skim these explanations, regarding them as beyond their expertise, and simply accepting his ultimate conclusions. Yet, when other non-pseudonymous graphic experts actually take the time to sludge through his explanations, they find them vacuous and insufficient to point toward Techdude's ultimate conclusions. Although I in no way regard myself as a graphics expert, I have reached the same conclusion when I have actually taken the time to go through his dense analysis. At the end, I ask myself, "Is there something I'm missing?" Yet, for a significant period of time, I have simply assumed that the missing analysis is there and Techdude has either not yet posted it or I am simply unable to understand it. As time goes on, I am becoming convinced that nearly everyone on the Atlas blog and on the TexasDarlin' blog is doing the same thing. Each person thinks to himself or herself, Well, I don't understand it, but it looks impressive and very technical, and all of these other people are convinced, so apparently his explanations have satisfied them. The result is that each person simply assumes that the others understand and have independently verified. It's like the free rider problem in economics.
Dr. Langbert, I'm writing you personally because, having read your blog, it is apparent that you are an intelligent man and a respectable scholar. I believe that we are similar in that we are both respectable professionals who are careful in their analysis and not simply internet hotheads. I myself am both a computer scientist and a lawyer. I am concerned that we are possibly being hoodwinked. I do not think it wise to try to bring an allegation of forgery in either the media, the political process, or the law until there is sufficient proof of forgery. Although I personally would very much like to see Obama disqualified from the Presidency (as I find his policy positions repugnant, to say the least), I can honestly say that neither Techdude nor anyone else has sufficiently shown forgery. Unlike others, I am in no way declaring the authenticity of the COLB, but neither has it been proven in authentic. If this email registers with you, I could go into more careful detail as to the holes I see and the seeming psuedoscience of it all.
While it might be argued that if Obama ultimately produces a physical copy as a result of this campaign you are waging, then there will be no harm done, I respectfully disagree. If the MSM were to actually pick this story up and Obama were to produce an authentic physical copy identical to the picture, and the analysis on which you and others are relying were to be exposed as junk science, then the result is far worse than having never brought up the story. Those who opposed Obama on this ground would look like idiots, hurting the credibility of his opposition. Moreover, as an associate professor who actually has a career at stake in terms of intellectual integrity, I honestly fear what the consequences might be for your career if this whole thing flops as badly as I fear it might. I myself am operating under a psuedonymn (Drake is not my real name) for this very same reason. I don't need my reputation to be tarnished or my publications not to be taken seriously as the result of this.
Regardless, I am not trying to tell you what to do. My concerns are simply that I am beginning to fear more and more that this is a hoax, and I worry that it may ultimately aid Obama. It seems to me that you are the most intellectually respectable and credentialed role player in this, and therefore I thought I'd email you about my concerns, both out of interest as to your thoughts regarding my criticism and a slight concern for your career.
I look forward to (hopefully) hearing back from you. Kind regards,
Drake
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