Birth Certificates

The birthers have been competing with health care for the news cycle this week. There was the nutcase at the townhall meeting in Delaware, Chris Matthews' bravura performance as he insisted on calling a whacko a whacko, and the shameful performance by Lou Dobbs in fueling this conspiracy theory. A lot of these people, including Dobbs, seem to be hanging their argument on the theory that the birth certificate that the President has produced and posted is somehow a short form and incomplete. The crazy lady in Delaware listed a whole bunch of things that are on hers that don't appear on Obama's including the hospital where she was born and the doctor's name. Lou Dobbs referred to a "long form" document. 

With all this noise I decided to have a look at what we have around the house in the way of birth cerficates. I don't have mine. I had an official copy with raised seal but had to provide it to someone for some purpose or other years ago and haven't had a need for it since. Mr. Yenta has his. We were both born in New York State in the same year - 1949. Our copies would never make it with these people. Document reproduction was not very good in those days and both were just barely legible even though they include the raised seal, making them "official". . I do believe that mine listed the hospital. His doesn't. No doctor's names on either of them. I also have my son's. It's the only copy we've ever had and it's what he's used for everything he's ever needed one for. It has less information than the president. It has the date of birth. No time listed. The president's has the time on his. It lists my name and Mr. Yenta's, but makes no mention of our ethnicity. It lists the state New York and town of his birth and is signed by the town official in charge of those things and there's a local regisration number and the seal.  No hospital, no doctor. I'd like to ask Mr. Dobbs if that makes my son "undocumented" as far as he's concerned, because if so, I'd suspect that the same would apply to millions of native born Americans. Or is this only a problem with African-American presidents?
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And That's The Way It Is

It's not so much that Walter Conkrite will be missed. It's more that he's been so much missed since he's been gone from our living rooms on a daily basis. RIP, Mr. Cronkite

United Breaks Guitars

No time to embed. Getting ready for work, but Blog de Ford has a video by a musician who turns his pain into art - and viral revenge.

It's About the Country! And Stuff.

Image by Getty Images via Daylife

Poor, misunderstood Sarah.

The response in the main stream media has been most predictable, ironic, and as always, detached from the lives of ordinary Americans who are sick of the “politics of personal destruction”. How sad that Washington and the media will never understand; it’s about country. And though it's honorable for countless others to leave their positions for a higher calling and without finishing a term, of course we know by now, for some reason a different standard applies for the decisions I make. But every American understands what it takes to make a decision because it’s right for all, including your family.

She did this for her country. Presumably because Sarah Palin being governor of just one state past the end of the month was damaging to the USA. I guess. Your guess is as good as anyone's. As of this morning there's still no one who seems to have any idea what she was talking about, except that not quitting would be the quitter's way out. Sarah Palin is no quitter, except for quitting her job, of course.

Sarah will keep busy. She has a book to sell and fortune to be made of her fame before it goes stale. What she does not have, as far as her lawyer is aware, are federal indictments coming up any time soon. Best not speculate about any rumors floating around out there or he'll sue your ass. Even though the Alaska constitution guarantees free speech. I'd have thought that the federal Bill of Rights had that covered, but apparently up there they rely on Alaska's constitution for such things. Repeating such rumors is probably defamation of character, unlike, say, referring to Barack Obama as "palling around with terrorists" which is just artistic license.

The important thing is that no one who is not up for re-election should stay in office because they'll inevitably goof off and not do the work. That new standard is going to create some sticky situations in the case of any office involving term limits. If you follow the logic, it goes like this:

• If you're a lame duck you should leave office.
• If you're limited to two terms, which is common enough, your second term is all lame duckitude, so if re-elected you should quit.
• Campaigns are expensive, exhausting and they eat your soul. So, why bother standing for re-election if you're quitting.
• If you're not standing for re-election then you're now a lame duck, ala Palin, so you need to quit.

Seems to me that logic is going to cause quite a few politicians to wonder, "Why run in the first place?" Well, clearly so that you can be plucked from obscurity to run for national office and thereby develop a national fan base and massive earning potential, also. You betcha!