Tea Party "Buycott" This Tuesday to Support John Mackey and Whole Foods

The Nationwide Tea Party Coalition today announced that it will kick off a series of Tea Party "Buycott" events to support Whole Foods CEO John Mackey, who supports free market health care reform.

The first events will be held this Tuesday, September 1, 2009 in St. Louis, Missouri, and Dallas, Texas. You can read the story here.

Rules for Conservative Radicals Book Cover Unveiled

Here's the cover for my new book, Rules for Conservative Radicals, which will be published next week. Thanks to the very talented graphic designer Illustr8or. You can purchase it here now, and it will ship next week.

I had a great conversation yesterday with Sanford Horwitt, author of the definitive biography of Saul Alinsky, Let Them Call Me Rebel. Turns out Alinsky didn't think much of Martin Luther King, but had a surpringly good opinion of George Romney, Mitt's father. As Governor of Michigan, George Romney was an early supporter of the civil rights movement in 1963 and 1964.

I also discovered something very interesting about Hillary Clinton and her view of Alinsky. It's hidden in her 1969 thesis on Alinsky, which I've read.

Bill O'Reilly Agrees With Me: CBS was Dishonest In Its Reporting About Town Halls

Bill O'Reilly picked up on the dishonest reporting last night by Katie Couric and the CBS Evening News about the Town Halls.

His talking points tonight featured the offending CBS clip I objected to in my blog yesterday.

Here's the clip from the O'Reilly Factor Tonight. Just click on Talking Points.

Katie Couric and the CBS Evening News Dishonestly Report "Town Hall Outrage Tied to GOP"

CBS Correspondent Ben Tracy interviewed me for about three minutes yesterday on the topic of the grassroots nature of Town Hall Health Care Takeover protests.

Mr. Tracy's four minute report, "Town Hall Outrage Tied to GOP", ran on the CBS Evening News with Katie Couric last night (Wednesday, August 12), and it included a seven second clip of my three minute interview. You can watch the full four minute clip here.

Most disturbingly, my seven seconds were followed by two factoids that implied the town hall protests against the Health Care Takeover Bill were orchestrated by some secret, well funded conservative cabal. I had debunked these factoids in my full interview, but Ms. Couric and Mr. Tracy chose not to include my remarks in their full report, because my remarks did not support their false narrative.

Indeed, the CBS News website contained the following subtitle to describe the clip:

"The outbursts at town hall meetings are supposedly spontaneous. But Ben Tracy reports there are indications these tirades are closely organized events by conservative groups."

Here's Mr. Tracy's set up comment and my seven second clip from the report as it aired:

TRACY: Those fighting the health care bill contend the outrage is not organized.

LEAHY: "It's a million or so independent individual voices exercising their right to free speech," said Michael Patrick Leahy of the National Tea Party Coalition.

Here are the two factoids that came next in Mr. Tracy's report:

TRACY: (1) Yet websites such as Recess Rally which is planning a nationwide health care protest, lists Freedom Works as part of its coalition. That's an organization headed by former Republican Congressman Dick Armey, whose lobbying firm works for the health care industry.

(2) Also, a conservative group in Connecticut posted an online memo called "Rocking the Town Halls." The playbook outlines tactics to give congressmen, "a reality check from we the people." The memo advises to "watch for an opportunity to yell out … the goal is to rattle him."

In the parts of my interview which Mr. Tracy and Ms. Couric chose to delete from the final broadcast, I easily debunked these factoids:

1. Freedom Works is one of about a dozen loosely knit groups supporting the nationwide Recess Rally to be held to voice opposition to the Health Care Takeover bill at noon local time on Saturday, August 22 at the local offices of the 435 members of the House of Representatives. The heavy lifting on all the local protests, as well as the planned Recess Rally, is being done independently by millions of individual Americans around the country. The listing of an organization on the Recess Rally web site means one thing: the group supports the goals of the event.

2. The "nefarious" Connecticut based website is a completely insignificant group within the grassroots movement to oppose the Health Care Takeover. It's just a few people. Their Facebook profile has a grand total of 5 Facebook friends.

Mr. Tracy then relied upon the assertions of a pro Health Care Takeover protester to hang his hat on the shiboleth that the Republican Party is sending out marching orders to the Health Care opponent protesters:


HEALTH CARE TAKEOVER SUPPORTER:"It seems like the Republicans have all these talking points that have been delivered through Glenn Beck, Bill O'Reilly, and Sean Hannity, that's not true," said Pepper Mashay.

TRACY: Democrats are now trying to play defense by sending out health care fact check cards to supporters with their own talking points.

Here's the other part of my three minute interview that hit the CBS cutting room floor:

1. These protests are simply a nationwide self organizing project involving millions of independently acting Americans.

2. The only wealthy group or individual who is funding protesters at town hall meetings is George Soros, who just put $5 million into pro Health Care Takeover astroturfing efforts.

If the executives at CBS are wondering why their evening news ratings are in the tank, here's a clue:

People don't trust the integrity of the information that your reporters and your anchor Katie Couric present on the CBS Evening News every night.

Town Hall Protests are a Nationwide Self-Organizing Project of Average Americans

No surprise that the leaders of the Democratic Congress, whose last original thought came as they leafed through their well worn copies of the works of Karl Marx and Vladimir Lenin in those halcyon college days when they loved protests, are reduced to claiming that the effusive town hall protests of late are "manufactured."

It's embarassing to watch these disconnected, intellectually dishonest sound bites who now hold the levers of power try to concoct some fantasy about the nature of the opposition to the Health Care Takeover they've been trying to ram down America the past few weeks.

Every local town hall protest is comprised of a loosely knit group of American citizens who don't want a pointy headed bureaucrat in Washington telling them what they can and cannot do in managing their own health care.

That's it.

No big conspiracy.

And yes, protesters organizing in one city actually communicate with protesters organizing in other cities.

Call out the Brown Shirts !

Oh, wait, that's the other non-original thought the Washington based leadership of the Democratic Congress and White House have already acted on. Only now they're wearing the Purple Shirts of the Service Employees International Union, and beating up black conservatives in St. Louis.

Why is Congress Losing the Moral Authority to Govern?

Here's a start:

1. Tennessee Blue Dog Democrats Jim Cooper and Bart Gordon Refuse to Hold Town Hall Meetings OR Communicate Their Plans

2. Democrat Congressman Scott SCREAMS at a Constituent, a Doctor, Who Has the AUDACITY to Ask a Tough Question on Health Care

3. Congress Buys 3 Private Jets For Its Exclusive Use for $200 Million -- During Record Deficits

Send in your reasons why Congress is losing the moral authority to govern!

Hawaii Democratic State Senator Intends to Introduce Legislation That Would Allow Disclosure of 1961 Obama Certificate of Live Birth

Hawaii State Senator Will Espero, a Democrat, told The TCOT Report that he intends to introduce legislation to allow disclosure of President Obama's 1961 Certificate of Live Birth.

You can read the full story here.

"Birther" Attorney Orly Taitz Asks Court to Go on Kenyan Fishing Expedition Based on Unverified, Unsourced Digital Image

The internet was abuzz today as images of a "purported" Kenyan Birth Certificate of President Obama flew around the blogosphere. My public position before this little viral outbreak was that there is absolutely zero credible evidence to support the claim that President Obama was born in Kenya. After looking into the facts surrounding the origins and dissemination of this digital image, I see absolutely no reason to change my position.

Let's start with the originator of this little adventure in internet viral communications, Dr. Orly Taitz, Esquire. Ms. Taitz called me on the phone in late 2008, to follow up on an article I had written about the facts of President Obama's early life (which later became a few chapters in a book I wrote on the President). In that conversation, I tried to explain to her the factual elements surrounding his early life in a logical and thoughtful manner. Even at that early stage of her adventures, Ms. Taitz showed little interest in anything I told her. She kept pressing me for details and facts that might support his Kenyan birth. I told her I had investigated it thoroughly, and that there was absolutely no credibility in any claim that I had examined to date on that matter.

I give Ms. Taitz credit for persistence, because she hammered on that theme for much of the forty five minutes or so we spoke. I give her no credit for discernment, however, and that pattern appears to continue with the sudden appearance of this digital image that purports to be a photo of President Obama's birth certificate. I won't post a copy of the image here, because I don't attach any weight to its credibility. However, a quick google search will allow you to find the image on your own.

Let's examine how this image came into the public arena.

Ms. Taitz apparently filed this image as an exhibit to a Motion she filed with the Federal Court for something called "Rogatory Discovery." Attorneys probably can give a better definition of the term, but to me it looks like a legal term to authorize a fishing expedition. The motion was filed electronically by Ms. Taitz. with the court at about 10 pm Saturday night, August 1. Shortly thereafter, Ms. Taitz published the motion in its entirety, as well as a copy of the digital image in question on her web site. You can see this filing and the image here.

The most significant omission in Ms. Taitz filing is the following: she fails to indicate how this digital image came into her posession. Think about it for a moment. Ms. Taitz is asking a Federal Judge to authorize a fishing expedition for documents pertaining to President Obama's birth that might exist in the Governmental files of the Republic of Kenya, and she fails to offer any evidence as to the origin of the digital image upon which this request is based ? If I were the judge, that is the first of many questions I would ask Ms. Taitz when she comes before me next in court.

But the most telling aspect of all this little episode in modern viral communications is the following: Ms. Taitz filed the motion and then published the text of the motion and the accompanying image to her website over the weekend, a time when the court was not in session, knowing she would not have to immediately respond to the judge's inquiries as to the origin of the digital image.

She also knew that within seconds of the publishing of this digital image to her website, it would begin spreading virally throughout the internet.

This is, at the very least, an exercise in poor judgement on Ms. Taitz part. I think the judge presiding over her case may not be so charitable in his assessment of her actions.

What Demographic Data and Public Information Requests Might Reveal in the Obama Birth Certificate Transparency Issue

If my estimates are correct, there were approximately 195,000 live births in the state of Hawaii during the twelve years starting in 1960 and ending in 1971 (see table above). These were the twelve complete years subsequent to statehood in which the Certificate of Hawaiian Birth Program was in existence. That's the program that provides the theoretical loophole in which someone could have been born outside the state of Hawaii, yet still be in posession of a legally issued Certification of Live Birth.

If the State of Hawaii Department of Health maintains information on the source of the original documents used to create records in their data base of birth records, this information may be publicly available through a simple inquiry as provided by current state Freedom of Information act statutes.

Question 1 for the Department of Health: Do you keep information on the source of the original documents used to create records in the official data base.


Question 2: Can you provide a statistical diagnosis, by year, of the origin of all birth record documents by all the legally authorized methods ?

(Note: if the blogpost by Bob Owens below accurately describes all the options available in 1961, they would be as follows:)

(1) Hospital provided Certificate of Live Birth
(2) Born in Hawaii but not attended by a physician or midwife, parents sent in a birth certificate by mail, or provided in person to be filed
(3) "Delayed Certificate” filed with a statement before a government bureaucrat by one of the parents within the first year of the child’s life.
(4) Lieutenant Governor approved document based on testimony of an adult of child who had surpassed the age of one without a certificate, then a original certificate of Hawaiian birth could be issued upon testimony of an adult — including the adult child himself
(5) Under Act 182 H.B. NO. 3016-82, proof has been submitted to the director of health that the legal parents of such individual while living without the Territory or State of Hawaii had declared the Territory or State of Hawaii as their legal residence for at least one year immediately preceding the birth or adoption of such child.

Assuming such information is available, and assuming that the information requests would be honored by the State of Hawaii Department of Health, what would the results tell us ?

If 100% of the 195,000 official state records of births in Hawaii during these twelve years fit into Category 1 (Hospital Issued), then the case will be closed on the issue of President Obama's birth.

But what if some significant number -- as little as say 1% -- fit into the "other" categories ? Under such an assumption, in 1961, for instance, approximately 140 live births would have fit into this category.

Such results would merely serve to heighten the importance of birth certificate transparency on the part of President Obama.

The best solution, as Andrew Sullivan suggests, is to simply have the President release the 1961 Certificate of Live Birth, because it's easily done and it will put the matter to rest.

Bob Owens Offers Four Ways Those Born in Hawaii in 1961 Could Have Secured a "Certification of Live Birth"

Bob Owens, a blogger at Pajamas Media, offers new insights into the Obama Birth Certificate Transparency issue, below. You can read his full post here.

"There were four different ways to get an “original birth certificate” on record in 1961, and they varied greatly in their reliability as evidence. We’ll refer to these as BC1, BC2, BC3, and BC4.

BC1: The original birth certificate could be issued by the attending medical professional at the birth, typically a physician or midwife. They were required to certify to the Department of Health the infant’s name, birth date, identity of the parents if known, and other information. This is how most births were and are recorded, and by far the most likely way Barack Obama’s birth was documented.

BC2: In 1961, if a person was born in Hawaii but not attended by a physician or midwife, then all that was required was that one of the parents send in a birth certificate to be filed. The birth certificate could be filed by mail.

It would obviously be very unreliable and easy to falsify.

The attorney asked the Department of Health what they currently ask for (in 2008) to back up a parent’s claim that a child was born in Hawaii. He was told that all that was required was a proof of residence in Hawaii and pre-natal and post-natal certification by a physician. On follow-up the employee suggested that the pre-natal and post-natal certifications had probably not been in force in the 1960s. Quite literally, Obama’s “official birth certificate” could have been mailed in from anywhere on the planet if this was true.

BC3: In 1961, if a person was born in Hawaii but not attended by a physician or midwife, then, up to the first birthday of the child, a “Delayed Certificate” could be filed. It apparently required no more than a statement before a government bureaucrat by one of the parents within the first year of the child’s life.

BC4: If methods BC1, BC2, and BC3 were not used, and the child surpassed the age of one without a certificate, then a original certificate of Hawaiian birth could be issued upon testimony of an adult — including the adult child himself – if the office of the lieutenant governor was satisfied that a person was born in Hawaii.

If the four ways “official birth certificates” could be issued under 1955 isn’t arbitrary and confusing enough, a fifth way to claim an official birth certificate for a child that claims to have been born in Hawaii who is now an adult was added in 1982, at the time a young Barry Obama was in college.

BC5: Under Act 182 H.B. NO. 3016-82, “Upon application of an adult or the legal parents of a minor child, the director of health shall issue a birth certificate for such adult or minor, provided that the proof has been submitted to the director of health that the legal parents of such individual while living without the Territory or State of Hawaii had declared the Territory or State of Hawaii as their legal residence for at least one year immediately preceding the birth or adoption of such child.” In this way “state policies and procedures” accommodate even “children born out of State” (this is the actual language of Act 182) with an “original birth certificate on record.”

There are five ways to get an “official” birth certificate in Hawaii, a cadre of hardcore believers that are convinced that the president is not eligible to hold the office he occupies, and an executive that doesn’t seem to mind fighting these accusations in court, even as they seem to be winning some converts who are no doubt looking for a scapegoat to the problems facing America today.

These may not be the best theories, or the most tenable, but they are the theories on the rise, and there is little reason to suspect we’ll see the last of them any time soon."

Again, You can read his full post here.

Famous Stonewalling Statements from Nixon Press Secretary Ron Ziegler, Obama Press Secretary Robert Gibbs, and Hawaii Secretary of Health Dr. Fukino

"This is the operative statement. The others are inoperative."

April 17, 1973

Ron Ziegler, Press Secretary to President Nixon



“Therefore, I as Director of Health for the State of Hawai'i, along with the Registrar of Vital Statistics who has statutory authority to oversee and maintain these type of vital records, have personally seen and verified that the
Hawai'i State Department of Health has Sen. Obama’s original birth certificate on record in accordance with state policies and procedures."


Oct 31, 2008





Dr. Chiyome Fukino, State of Hawaii Secretary of Health



Kinsolving: "Good. In consideration of this very good promise of transparency, why can't the president respond to the petitioned requests of 400,000 American citizens by releasing a certified copy of his long form birth certificate listing hospital and physician?"

Gibbs: "Are you looking for the president's birth certificate?"

Kinsolving: "Yes."

Gibbs: "It's on the Internet, Lester."

Kinsolving: "No, no, no — the long form listing his hospital and physician."

Gibbs: "Lester ... This question in many ways continues to astound me. The state of Hawaii provided a copy, with a seal, of the president's birth. I know there are apparently at least 400,000 people that continue to doubt the existence of and the certification by the state of Hawaii of the president's birth there, but it's on the Internet because we put it on the Internet for each of those 400,000 to download. I certainly hope by the fourth year of our administration that we'll have dealt with this burgeoning birth controversy."

May 28, 2009





Robert Gibbs, Press Secretary to President Obama





"I ... have seen the original vital records maintained on file by the Hawaii State Department of Health verifying Barack Hussein Obama was born in Hawaii and is a natural-born American citizen. I have nothing further to add to this statement or my original statement issued in October 2008 over eight months ago."


July 27 2009


Dr. Chiyome Fukino, State of Hawaii Secretary of Health