I received an email from a member of my family today about the upcoming election. She wrote:
"Tom Bauerle on WBEN was just talking about the association between Obama and Hitler. I'm not alone here. Hopefully more people will look into things. Obama won't even produce his original birth certificate to prove he wasn't born in Kenya (to be President of the USA you MUST be born in the US). And he lied on his bar exam that he never used an alias (he used one twice during the Weatherman era). And why did he use an Indonisian passport in the 1980s to go to the middle east - why didn't he have an American passport? Why does it sound like I'm being racist because I see what is happening here? Think about this and do a little homework - prove me wrong here and I'll switch my vote. (maybe)"
So here's my homework, which I've been doing all along, and consists of information that I've reviewed over the past few months, not all of which I emailed to her. I figure she can do without sarcasm. :)
Regarding Obama producing his original birth certificate, he did. See:
http://www.factcheck.org/askfactcheck/has_obamas_birth_certificate_been_disclosed.html
It’s high time that particular lie was laid to rest.
Concerning Obama's citizenship versus alleged citizenship in Kenya, that started with an article in the Rocky Mountain News that was incorrect. The paper removed the incorrect information and the editor publicly apologized, but that didn't stop the Internet rumors challenging Obama's eligibility to become President. See:
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/aug/06/things-you-might-not-know-about-barack-obama/?partner=yahoo_headlines
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/aug/15/eight-word-gaffe-ripples-across-web/
More information can be found at:
www.factcheck.org, The British Nationality Act, 1948. 1948. 24 August 2008 and "The Constitution of Kenya." 1963 (revised, 2001). The Parliament of Kenya. 24 August 2008.
Concerning Obama using an alias during the Weatherman era, Obama was eight years old then. I can't locate any information on what alias this eight-year-old boy was using. (Ian, who is now 8, has started to ask people to call him Michael, after Uncle Michael, which is not Ian's legal name. I highly doubt it is either malicious or deceitful. He just loves his Unko Myko. I guess Heaven forbid he ever runs for President.) See:
http://blackamericans.com/blogs/news/archive/2008/10/06/palin-claims-obama-hangs-around-with-the-weathermen-only-one-problem-when-the-weathermen-were-active-obama-was-8-years-old.aspx
There is also an interesting blog entry at:
http://www.eons.com/blogs/entry/1151889
Concerning Ayers, who, from what I understand, is now living a somewhat respectable life in Chicago:
"...nobody died as a result of bombings in which Ayers said he participated as part of the Weather Underground, at the New York City Police Headquarters in 1970, in a men's lavatory in the Capitol building in 1971 and in a women's restroom in the Pentagon in 1972. The deaths to which [Hillary] Clinton (in the Clinton-Obama debate) referred were of three Weather Underground members who died when their own "bomb factory" exploded in a Greenwich Village townhouse on March 6, 1970. Ayers was not present. Also, two police officers were murdered in connection with the robbery of a Brinks armored car by Weather Underground members in 1981. That was about a year after Ayers had turned himself in and after all charges against him had been dropped (emphasis added)."
http://www.factcheck.org/elections-2008/taking_liberties_in_philadelphia.html
Are we to forever hold against people the actions they took in their past? If so, I, for one, am doomed.
Concerning the word alias. It is defined by Merriam-Webster as "otherwise known as". A different definition is found at http://dictionary.die.net/alias which shows an alias could be a 'false name'. My name is Serena. I am otherwise known as Kelly. I have also, throughout the course of my lifetime, been called See, Raquel, and Rocky, along with a whole mess of rather uncomplimentary names by Ian's father. If I was asked if I ever used an alias, with the connotation of using a 'false name', I would answer no. I've had a ton of nicknames and things people have affectionately (or otherwise) called me over the years, and none of them would I consider a 'false name'. I simply cannot find any information pertaining to the aliases Obama allegedly used. I'm not saying he didn't, I'm simply saying I can't find any unbiased information concerning this issue.
I'm sick of the mud-slinging and the spin. They ALL lie. I can't make any comment about Hitler. He was before my time. I wonder, though, if McCain were as charismatic as Obama, would we be comparing him to Hitler also? Or would that be 'different'?
If the concern is Obama’s charisma and his ability to excite the crowds he speaks to, perhaps it is because he talks about fixing things we need fixed, and by ‘we’, I mean people in my financial situation, people in my life situation. I’m a single mom, working full-time while carrying a full-time course schedule to get my education, carrying more debt than is even remotely healthy, and worrying what the future holds for my prodigy. People in my situation NEED better healthcare, NEED to stop pouring money into the wars overseas, NEED secure jobs, and taxes, well, that's another issue.
McCain said that Obama "has voted 94 times to either increase your taxes or against tax cuts." First, that's still wrong. Second, if we use McCain's standards and look at his own record, McCain has voted 477 times to either increase taxes or against tax cuts. Interesting, no? Find the well-researched blog entry here: http://mitabor.blogspot.com/2008/10/more-mendacity.html. Obama is proposing tax cuts for 95 percent of families with children. Only families with more than $250,000 annual income would see an increase. More info here:
http://www.factcheck.org/elections-2008/spread_the_tax_hooey.html
Should we even mention the price of gas? It was, what, $1.59 when Bush took office? Of course, the fact that the price of gas went up probably has nothing to do with the fact that we have an oil family with his oil friends in the White House. Pure coincidence, there.
We have differences in opinion.
I believe, no matter who becomes our next President, the economic mess our country is in will not be able to be fixed in four years. And each party will be mud-slinging at the other while campaigning for the next Presidential election for their failure to be able to mend the failing economy. UGH! Times have been getting tougher for a while now, and I don't think the end is in sight. I listened to the debates, watch the news, listen to NPR, and read the Wall Street Journal daily. I think Obama has the better plan.
I love my country. For the past eight years, though, I have had serious issues with how the Republican President has run things. Four years ago, when Kerry was running for President, I opined that I didn’t think our economy could stand another four years of Republican policy. Judging by the state of the economy, I was right. And I still don't think this country can survive four more years of Republican policy. My finances sure can't.
I respect the fact that there are those that disagree with me. Expressing my point of view is my constitutional right, as well as my right to vote for the person I think will do the best job of running this country.
As they say, Heaven help him. I sure wouldn't want his job.
