"Rules for Conservative Radicals" Shows How "Buycotts" and Tea Parties Can Change the Political Landscape

My new book, Rules for Conservative Radicals, which launches today, shows how "buycotts" and tea parties can change the political landscape. In it, I take the Alinsky viewpoints expressed in Rules for Radicals, and put a moral, ethical, conservative spin on them. The problem that conservatives have with Alinsky is that, for him, the ends justified the means. I’m suggesting that we take the successful Alinsky rules, we update them, apply them to new social networking technology, and implement them in the Judeo-Christian tradition.


The timing of today's book launch couldn't be more perfect, either. The recently publicized boycott of the Whole Foods grocery chain seems to have backfired. An attempt by left wing propagandists to punish Whole Foods for CEO John Mackey’s op-ed piece in the Wall Street Journal championing free market health care reform has landed flat. The Nationwide Tea Party Coalition has gained the upper hand in the arena of public opinion by launching a nationwide “buycott” to support Whole Foods with consumer purchasing power. As national spokesperson for the Nationwide Tea Party Coalition, I pointed out that we're taking the Alinsky boycott tactic and we're turning it on its head. We're making a positive statement of support, showing that fiscally conservative Americans have purchasing power, and we are more than willing to exercise it in support of great companies like Whole Foods and great CEOs like John Mackey.

The St. Louis and Dallas Tea Party organizations are sponsoring “buycott” events at Whole Foods stores in St. Louis, Missouri and Dallas, Texas this evening. You can watch live coverage from the St. Louis event on Fox News tonight. Greta Van Susteren will be interviewing Dana Loesch of the St. Louis Tea Party early in her program that starts at 10 pm Eastern Time.

Those of you interested in purchasing Rules for Conservative Radicals, can buy it on www.amazon.com now.

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

Lou Dobbs vs. Bill O'Reilly on the Birth Certificate Transparency Issue: Take the Online Poll at the TCOT Report

You can take the Lou Dobbs vs. Bill O'Reilly online Poll on the Birth Certificate Transparency Issue at the TCOT Report here.

Meme Wars Part 2: "Birthers", "Transparency Dodgers", "Transparency Champions", and Left Wing Propagandist David Weigel of the Washington Independent

After my blogpost yesterday posing some legitimate questions in response to Dr. Chiyome Fukino's ambiguous restatement of the basis upon which the State of Hawaii issued President Obama's 2007 Certification of Live Birth, left wing propagandist David Weigel, who masquerades as a real journalist for the Washington Independent, made these false charges against me.

Weigel added another false charge later, claiming that I am trying to advance conspiracy theories.

To the contrary, I am simply calling upon President Obama to live up to his promise of transparency. That's it. Nothing more.

For the record, I will state again so that perhaps Mr. Weigel can accurately describe my position on this: there is no evidence whatsoever to support the "birther" claim that President Obama was born in Kenya. None.

Mr. Weigel is obviously a transparency dodger, however, because he refuses to exercise even an ounce of curiosity and follow up Dr. Chiyome Fukino's ambiguous statement of yesterday.

Here's a Journalism 101 question that makes Mr. Weigel and his fellow left wing propagandists quiver in their boots when they contemplate asking it of Dr. Fukino:

Dr. Fukino, you say you reviewed the vital records of the State of Hawaii in making your determination that the 2007 Certification of Live Birth was issued in accordance with Hawaii statutes. Did you review an actual physical hard copy of the 1961 Certificate of Live Birth, signed by the attending physician, or did you simply review the digital forensics of the process by which the record currently existing in the State of Hawaii Birth Record Database for President Obama was created?

And here's one Mr. Weigel ought to consider asking Press Secretary Gibbs:

Mr. Gibbs, why doesn't the President simply put this entire birth certificate issue to rest once and for all and authorize both the Kapiolani Medical Center and the State of Hawaii to release all original documents in their posession related to his 1961 birth?

The simple and transparent release of these records would end this issue.

As American citizens, we have a right to ask that a President who promised transparency be held accountable to that promise.

Dr. Chiyome Fukino Issues Another "Transparency Dodger" Statement on President Obama's Birth Certificate

Dr. Chiyome Fukino, Director of the Health Department of the State of Hawaii, issued another public statement yesterday, July 27, 2009, on the issue of the validity of the Certification of Live Birth the Hawaii Department of Health issued to President Obama in 2007, which has been displayed prominently throughout the internet. Here's the statement:

"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," Health Director Dr. Chiyome Fukino said in a brief statement. "I have nothing further to add to this statement or my original statement issued in October 2008 over eight months ago."

You can read the full story here, and the October 2008 statement here.

Dr. Fukino's statement adds no new information to the discussion, and is only slightly less finely parsed than her October 31, 2008 statement. It earns her the title of "transparency dodger" and will inevitably require a more detailed statement in the future because of what it fails to reveal.

Apparently, Dr. Fukino continues to refuse questions from the press on the topic, which does nothing but make skeptics want more answers.

Dr. Fukino could do us all a service by adding more information that will move this inquiry towards a final conclusion. Here are the questions Dr. Fukino needs to answer:

1. When you say you have "seen the original vital records maintained on file by the Hawaii Department of Health verifying Barack Obama was born in Hawaii and is a natural born citizen" does that mean you viewed a physical hard copy of the original hospital issued 1961 Certificate of Live Birth or does it mean you have reviewed the electronic records upon which the 2007 issued Certification of Live Birth was based ?

2. Will you formally request of the President of the United States that he authorize you to reveal every detail of information included in the original vital records of his birth maintained by the State of Hawaii Department of Health ?

3. Can you name the hospital in which President Obama was born ?

4. Can you tell us the name of the attending physician at President Obama's birth according to the vital records maintained on file by the Hawaii Department of Health?

5. If you reviewed a physical hard copy of the original hospital issued 1961 Certificate of Live Birth, will you release that document to the public upon receipt of authorization by the President ?

6. If you viewed only the electronic records of the original 1961 hospital records of President Obama's birth, can you tell us what became of the original physical hard copy of that document ? Was it discarded and destroyed ? Is it stored in a warehouse ? If it is stored in a warehouse, can you authorize its release?

The issue of what Dr. Fukino actually viewed to make the determination that the President was in fact Hawaii born is quite relevant, since the State of Hawaii switched all of its birth records from hard copy to digital in 2001.

Almost all news commentators, including Chris Mathews of MSNBC recently, have assumed that Dr. Fukino's October 31, 2008 statement meant she had physically viewed the original hard copy of the President's 1961 birth certificate. Yesterday's statement seems to indicate it is more likely that Dr. Fukino viewed an electronic record and not a physical hard copy, but it is still not definitive.

The liberal blog TPM agrees with me that Dr. Fukino made a very serious public relations error when she failed (until last month) to disclose that the Department of Health went digital only in 2001. Here's what they said in a blogpost yesterday:



"A lot of time and effort could have been saved if Hawaiian officials had said from the beginning that the long
forms for every person born in Hawaii from 1908 to 2001 were discarded in 2001."

We can summarize the facts to date as follows:

There is absolutely no evidence to support the "birther" claim that Obama was born in Kenya.

There is significant secondary evidence (the 2007 Certification of Live Birth, Contemporaneous 1961 Newspaper birth announcements) to support the argument Obama was born in Hawaii.

However, though primary evidence of his birth in Hawaii is thought to exist in hard copy form in Kapiolani Hospital (which he claims as his birthplace) this data has not been released.

The State of Hawaii Department of Health Statements, rather than shedding light on the source of primary evidence in their possession, have fueled suspicions that information is being withheld. And, in fact, some relevant information has been withheld.

Meme Wars: "Birthers", "Transparency Dodgers", and "Transparency Champions"

Establishment Republicans tremble when the left attacks anyone who questions the facts surrounding Barack Obama's birth certificate by trotting out the "birther" meme.

As commonly used, a "birther" is a right wing nut case who believes that Barack Obama was born in Kenya, is not eligible to be President, and that a vast conspiracy exists to keep this evidence from the public. Orly Taitz and Philip Berg are the most prominent "birthers". Though this group has certainly been industrious in filing lawsuits on this issue, none of the lawsuits have gone anywhere. This is primarily the case because there is absolutely no credible evidence to support the contention that President Obama was born in Kenya. Not a stitch.

This doesn't mean that the President has answered all questions related to the documentation surrounding his birth. And it also doesn't mean that citizens, journalists, and politicians don't have the right to ask those legitimate questions.

There are three groups of people involved in the birth certificate discussion: "birthers", "transparency dodgers", and "transparency champions." Look for the left to start falsely labeling legitimate journalists and "transparency champions" as "birthers" very shortly.

And look for many Establishment Republicans to head for cover, intimidated by the false charges of the left, and making "political calculations" rather than simply seeking the truth.

Investigative journalism, anyone ?

Lou Dobbs, the "Birther" Meme, and the Death of Investigative Journalism in the Left Wing Traditional Media

CNN President Jon Klein wants CNN program host Lou Dobbs to drop any further investigations of the facts surrounding President Obama's failure to produce an original hard copy version of his birth certificate. Mr. Klein seems intent on labeling his own employee with the false and misleading "birther" meme.

A "meme" is a term used to describe a phrase or word, much like a bumper sticker, which can be spread virally in the interconnected world of the modern media that instantly communicates a message. A phrase by itself is not particularly significant, but when it is spread virally it can be used to stop political discourse.

Inserting "memes" into the flow of news information so they will go viral is a common tactic used by left wing propagandists employed as "hosts" at cable networks such as MSNBC and CNN. The term "teabagger", for instance, is a pejorative "meme" inserted into the political discourse by MSNBC's Rachel Maddow, and spread by colleagues David Shuster and Keith Olbermann, as well as CNN's Anderson Cooper.

The "birther" meme has been around since before the 2008 election, and is used to create the impression that anyone who asks any questions about President Obama's failure to produce a "Certificate of Live Birth" is a right wing nutcase. And while it's true that several gadflies who follow the issue, such as Phillip Berg and Dr. Orly Taitz, have little credibility due to their insistence on presenting "evidence" of a Kenyan birth that is thoroughly unreliable, it is a great disservice to attach the pejorative "birther" meme to legitimate journalistic investigations, such as those conducted by Mr. Dobbs.

Earlier this week Klein sent Dobbs an email which, according to Talking Points Memo said the following:

"It seems this story is dead" Klein wrote, "because anyone who still is not convinced doesn't really have a legitimate beef."

You can read the full Talking Points Memo story here.

Klein's argument seems to follows this logic:

1. State of Hawaii Department of Health spokesperson Janice Okubo confirmed in a June 6, 2009 interview with the Honolulu Star Bulletin reporter June Watanabe that all hard copy originals were transferred to a paperless electronic record system in 2001. Watanabe's June 6 story stated the following:

Okubo explained that the Health Department went paperless in 2001.

"At that time, all information for births from 1908 (on) was put into electronic files for consistent reporting," she said.

Information about births is transferred electronically from hospitals to the department.

"The electronic record of the birth is what (the Health Department) now keeps on file in order to provide same-day certified copies at our help window for most requests," Okubo said.

You can read the full article here.

(Note: In his email to Dobbs, Klein states unequivocally that all hard copy birth certificates kept on file by the State of Hawaii were discarded in 2001 when the state went paperless. However, Watanabe's story does not address what became of these original records. While it is possible that the policy of the state of Hawaii was, in fact, to discard (and dispose of) the original hard copy birth certificates, Klein has no evidence to support that contention. While it is true that the old hard copies were no longer used as part of the official records of the state, Klein ASSUMES that the original documents were discarded. Perhaps so. But perhaps they were not discarded, and were instead stored in a physical warehouse.)

2. The hard copy document of Obama's "Certification of Live Birth" released by the campaign was an authentic document, verified by relevant state officials in an October 31, 2008 statement.
(Note that a "Certification of Live Birth" is quite different from a "Certificate of Live Birth". A "Certificate of Live Birth" is the original long form document signed by the attending physician at the time of birth. A "Certification of Birth" is a short form document produced, in theory based on the verification of the data provided in the original "Certificate of Live Birth".)

It's hard to say whether Klein's statement that the matter should therefore be closed is made out of bias, laziness, or a simple desire to obfuscate, but a myriad of investigative questions on the topic remain. If CNN were actually a legitimate journalistic organization, Mr. Klein would not be pressuring Mr. Dobbs to drop his investigation.

Here are several compelling reasons why Mr. Dobbs should continue his journalistic efforts on this topic:

On October 31, 2008, Dr. Chiyome Fukino, the Secretary of Health for the State of Hawaii, issued the following statement:

Therefore, I as Director of Health for the State of Hawaii, 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.

You can see a copy of that original statement here

On November 3, 2008, I emailed a list of twelve clarifying questions about that statement to Janice Okubo, spokesperson for the State of Hawaii Department of Health, and to Dr. Fukino. Neither Ms. Okubo nor Dr. Fukino ever responded to those questions, nine of which I've included below:

1. Did you personally view an actual physical copy of the long form original birth certificate from August 4, 1961 signed by the attending physician at a Honolulu hospital?

2. What was the name of the hospital ?

3. What was the name of the attending physician ?

4. Besides holding an actual hard copy of the original August 4, 1961 birth certificate signed by the attending physician at a specific hospital in Honolulu, are there any other means by which, as you say "the state of Hawaii can have Barack Obama's original birth certificate on record in accordance with the state's policies and procedures regarding maintaining "original birth certificates on record"?

5. Was the original birth certificate on record submitted as part of the 1911 Hawaii Birth Certificate program, which allowed parents of children residing in Hawaii who were over one year of age to submit alternate birth documentation to the Department of Health and still be called "an original birth certificate."?

6. On what date was the original birth certificate on file registered ?

7. Did Senator Obama personally authorize Dr. Fukino and Dr. Onaka to view his "original birth certificate on record." ? If so, when and how ?

8. Did Senator Obama personally authorize Dr. Fukino and Dr. Onaka to issue the statement of October 31, 2008 ? If so, when and how ?

9. Have Dr. Fukino and Dr. Onaka had any communication with Senator Obama or did they meet with him in person on any occasion in the last 30 days or in the last year ? If so, were those communications or meetings negotiations related to statements to be made about his birth certificate ?

Based on Ms. Okubo's June 6, 2009 interview with the Honolulu Star Bulletin, it would appear that the answer to Question 1 above is that no, Dr. Fukino did not view an actual physical copy of President Obama's long form original "Certificate of Live Birth" at any time. To my knowledge, this June 6, 2009 interview of Ms. Okubo was the first time that any spokesperson from the State of Hawaii Department of Health officially acknowledged that it no longer maintains hard copy records of original "Certificates of Live Birth" as part of its officially authorized records documentation, verification, and creation process.

The remaining eight original questions remain unanswered. I would add the following eight new questions to the list of questions I would like to see answered:


1. For the Hawaii Secretary of Health, Dr. Chiyome Fukino, who issued the finely parsed official statement of October 31, 2008 which left the impression that she had seen the hard copy of the original birth certificate: Why did you not simply and honestly declare in your October 31, 2008 statement that you had not seen the hard copy of the original birth certificate, and that your statement verifying the authenticity of the "Certification of Live Birth" was based upon a forensic review of the process by which the data about President Obama's birth in the State of Hawaii's birth records was included in the data base, and that this process was consistent with the state's policies and procedures?

I note that almost all contemporaneous news reports used the language of Dr. Fukino's statement to report incorrectly that she had actually seen a physical copy of the original "Certificate of Live Birth" as issued by the hospital and signed by the attending physician. Dr. Fukino did nothing to correct this widely reported false assumption.

2. For President Obama: You have publicly stated that you were born at what was then called Kapiolani Maternity and Gynecological Hospital, these days known officially as Kapi'olani Medical Center for Women & Children, in Honolulu. Officials at that hospital state that they maintain original hard copy and microfiche copies of all birth records back to the 1950's. In order to comply with your promises of "transparency" will you now authorize the hospital to release their copy of your original birth certificate?

3. For the Hawaii Secretary of Health, Dr. Chiyome Fukino: Can you make public all electronic records you used and the documentation process you went through to confirm that President Obama's birth records were kept in the State of Hawaii birth records data base in accordance with the state's policies and procedures?

4. For the Hawaii Secretary of Health, Dr. Chiyome Fukino: Will you request that officials at Kapi'olani Medical Center for Women & Children now transfer a copy of their original records related to the birth of President Obama to you, and will you publicly release those records?

5. For officials at Kapi'olani Medical Center for Women & Children: Will you send a letter to President Obama, requesting him to authorize you to publicly release his original birth records, as it is a matter in the public interest?

6. For the Hawaii Secretary of Health, Dr. Chiyome Fukino: Can you confirm with one hundred percent certainty that the original birth certificate of Barack Obama upon which your electronic records were based was in fact a "Certificate of Live Birth" issued by Kapi'olani Medical Center for Women & Children, and not a substitute certificate submitted within a year of the actual birth, as allowed for by Hawaiian Statues which were in place from 1959 to 1978?

7. For the Hawaii Secretary of Health, Dr. Chiyome Fukino: Were the original documents of birth records held by the Department of Health discarded in 2001 or were they placed in a warehouse? If they were placed in a warehouse, can they be found and produced? If they can be found and produced, will you produce and make public the original "Certificate of Live Birth" of President Barack Obama?

8. For Maya Soetero-Ng, half-sister of President Obama: Is it factually true that you were born in Indonesia in 1970, and were subsequently issued a "Certification of Live Birth" by the State of Hawaii's Department of Health, and that this document is of exactly the same type and form as the "Certification of Live Birth" that the same department has issued to your half-brother, President Obama?

I, for one, would like to know the answers to these questions, and hope that Mr. Dobbs will continue his investigations until we all receive these answers. Mr. Dobbs does not deserve to be falsely labeled as a "birther". A more accurate description of him would be simply this: he's an investigative journalist and a transparency champion.

Obama's Wednesday Press Conference: One of the Most Self Destructive in American Political History

It looks like President Obama need not fear Republican members of Congress causing his "Waterloo". He seems to have accomplished that objective all by himself with his comments Wednesday, which were delivered at what may have been one of the most self destructive press conferences in American political history.

First, he called a highly respected Cambridge police officer stupid. No, wait, Press Secretary Gibbs yesterday said he didn't call the police officer stupid, he merely said he "acted stupidly."

This after he acknowledged he didn't have all the facts on the incident, but he did know that Professor Gates was one of his friends.

Then, he impugned the integrity of every doctor in the country by implying they were so craven they would improperly require tonsillectomies because they were so greedy. The Ear Nose and Throat Surgeons of America politely told the President they were "disappointed" by these comments.

You can read all the details at the TCOT Report here.

Great job, Mr. President, taking away any momentum that may have been developing for your proposed Federal Health Care Takeover.

MemeSNBC : The Place Where the Left Wing Media Creates and Inserts False Assertions into the Political Discourse

If you would like to find out where the Left Wing Media creates and inserts its false assertions (also known as "memes") into the political discourse, please visit www.MemeSNBC.com

The Religion of the Left and its Creed

The Left can best be understood by conservatives more as a religion than a political movement.

After a lifetime of observing the thoughts and tactics of the Left, I offer this draft summary of "The Creed of the Left". I would appreciate comments on the usefulness of this creed from any and all political perspectives, and will modify it based on suggestions made by readers of this blog.

The Creed of the Left

We believe in the highest truth that man’s destiny is to create heaven on earth in the form of a socially just society, in which “all citizens are granted an unconditional claim upon that society collectively to be accorded the minimum resources necessary for a life of dignity and a genuine sense of belonging”, and where "the needs of the disadvantaged" are given preference over the needs of the advantaged. (Source of quote: Professor Bernard Chazelle)

We believe in the dualistic nature of man, in which all men and women choose to be one or the other-either forces for good or forces for evil.

We believe that a just society is to be formed in the political contest between the good and the evil, and that we who are good will ultimately prevail because we are morally and intellectually superior to the evil.

We believe that the good, because we are good, have a responsibility to use any means necessary to destroy the evil, because a just soiciety can not be created until the evil are either destroyed or converted to the good.

We believe in the sacredness of our planet, Mother Earth, which the evil will attempt to harm by their every action, and that the good must prevent this harm through any means necessary. We believe that global warming is caused by man’s activity that produces too much carbon dioxide, and that any scientific evidence that shows a contrary position must be ignored and ridiculed.

We believe in the perfectability of man through the use of centralized government, which knows best how to accomplish this through the collective political process rather than through the exercise of individual rights .

We believe it is the duty of the good to contribute to the creation of the just society on earth, that it is the inevitable march of history, and that the use of any means to accomplish this end is morally justified.

We believe that heaven is not exclusively a spiritual state to be experienced by the individual after death, but is also the just society to be experienced by those living here on earth in the future, and that by our actions today on earth, we preserve our own claim for posterity to a position of honor in that just society.

We believe that there is no unique excellence within the Constitution and Government of the United States of America, and that the march towards the just society is led by international organizations such as the United Nations.

An Open Letter to Major Stefan Cook: Follow Your Lawful Orders

Dear Major Cook:

I read with great interest the news of your recent lawsuit, in which you argue that as a reservist in the United States Army you are not obligated to follow the lawful orders issued to you by your military commanders to be deployed to Afghanistan.

The news article on this topic is here.

Your attorney argues that since President Obama has not proven he is a natural born citizen he is not authorized to serve as President, and therefore none of his commands as Commander-in-Chief are legitimate.

Your attorney is completely wrong in this assertion, and is putting you in serious jeapordy. For the sake of the country, your personal future, and your family, please withdraw your suit and accept your legitimate orders to deploy.

While I agree that President Obama has not met the burden of proof necessary to prove that he is a natural born citizen, there are two methods to properly make this challenge. Disobedience of a lawful order is not one of those methods.

The first method for such a challenge was available to Congress when it convened in January, 2009 to count the electoral votes cast in the 2008 Presidential Election. Federal law clearly outlines a method for legitimate challenge to the President's eligibility to serve that could have been exercised at that time. Objections to the legitimacy of any electoral vote count from any state could have been voted on by the full joint session of Congress had at any time a single member of the House and a single Senator risen together to request such a vote.

As not a single Congressman or Senator raised such an objection at that time, no vote was taken, and upon the President's swearing in at the Inauguration, every action he took subsequently under the legitimate authority of the Constitution was valid.

This means, Major, that your orders are legitimate.

The second method of challenge is to go through the Federal Court, not for the purpose of challenging the legitimacy of a single act, but rather to challenge that the burden of proof to establish natural born status has not been met by the President.

Several such cases are lumbering through the courts now. While none of them have outstanding prospects for success, they are legitimately brought for consideration. Your case, in contrast, is not legitimately brought, and has no chance for success.

My suggestion to you is as follows: Get a new attorney, drop your case, and accept your orders.

Nine Ways Conservative Radicals Can Take Action Today to Restore our Republic

The average conservative citizen has a number of ways to help restore our republic. My suggestion: assess your strengths and weaknesses, determine where you can make the biggest contribution, and focus on a project in one of these nine areas.

Once you've picked a project, follow through. Stick with it until it achieves its objectives.

1. Melt the Phones

(a)Call your United States Senators to tell them you oppose the socialist "Cap and Tax" Legislation the House of Representatives barely passed.

Here's a particularly creative variant on the "melt the phones concept", courtesy of Phil Valentine: www.GiveTheSenateSomeBalls.com.

(b) Call your Congressman and Senators to tell them you oppose the Obama-Pelosi-Reid government takeover of our health care system.

2. Evangelize to the Under 30 Generation

(a) Join the Mustard Seed Project
(b) Become certified as a Conservative Radical Evangelist and instructor.

3. Organize Locally (City and County Level) to Stop Higher Taxes

(a) Example: Tucson, Arizona

4. Restore the Constitution

(a) Become active in The Bill of Federalism Project

5. Take Back Congress for Fiscal Conservatism in 2010

(a) Volunteer to work for a local fiscal conservative in the Republican and/or Democrat Primary in your district

(b) Join the organization www.fixcongress.org.

6. Boycott Advertisers Who Support Socialist-Statism and Conservative Bashing

(a) Join the www.FireDavidLetterman.com Project.

(b) Help develop and implement the plan to www.FightLeftWingMedia.com

7. Take Over Your Political Party Power Structure

(a) The Republican National Committee
(b) The Democrat National Committee

You can take the first step by signing up at www.ThePrecinctProject.com


8. Hold them to their own standards

(a) Blog and tweet about Obama Administration hypocrisy

9. Become a part time Conservative Investigative Journalist

(a) Sign up at The TCOT Report

Inspired by Letterman? Senator John Kerry Insults Governor Palin

For those of you wondering why many of us think that David Letterman's disgraceful comments of June 8, 2009 about Governor Palin and her daughter require more than a belated apology, consider this:

The failure of CBS to hold Mr. Letterman accountable for his comments in any way sends a signal to politicians and media figures everywhere: It's ok, apparently, to continue this onslaught of coarse and crude comments about Governor Palin.

Case in point:

Yesterday the ignoble Senator John Kerry hurled a gratuitous insult the Governor's way.

An Excerpt from the Website of Sue Hassett, the Self Published Author Suing Elisabeth Hasselbeck

Here's an excerpt from a website that purports to be of Sue Hassett, the woman suing Elisabeth Hasselbeck for plagiarism.

I am 45 years old I am from Cape Cod Massachusetts. I am almost a hundred percent Irish. I have been a self employed floor installer for 25 years. For the past 5 years I have been unable to work because of such a servere case of Celiac Disease that left me struggling for my life. My struggle did have to be this hard, I was misdiagnose for almost 20 years. My reason for writing this book is to help other people so their struggle does not have to be so hard or go on so long. Gluten free living can be a very healthy way to live. Cooking is a big passion in my life and I want to help others with that as well. The most important thing of all about the Down sydrome, Epeleptic, Autistic and children with Celiac Disease who I can help through this book as well as through my cooking.

A gold star to the blogreader who accurately identifies the total number of spelling and grammar errors in the paragraph above.

UPDATE:

Sandra Robins offers her analysis of the plagiarism claims here. Her conclusions: items cited as examples of plagiarism look much more like facts "in common knowledge".

CURIOUS FACTS

The attorney representing Ms. Hassett contributed $1,000 to Senator John Kerry in 2004, according to a search done at the Huffington Post FEC Records search site.

I'm beginning to wonder if this suit is just a case of a lone opportunist, or might be part of the pattern of ongoing left wing attacks against conservative women.

ADDITIONAL CURIOUS FACTS

The ISBN Book Number of the edition of Ms. Hassett's book, the one she claims to have sent to Ms. Hasselbeck in April of 2008, is different from the ISBN Book Number of the edition of Ms. Hassett's book currently available at Amazon, which lists a publication date of April 2009. The publisher, Xlibris, is a pay for service printer and publisher used by self publishing authors.

It does not appear that Ms. Hassett marketed the April 2008 edition of her book.

Johnson and Johnson, David Letterman, and Corporate Community Responsibility

Johnson and Johnson, the consumer goods giant that claims to be in support of American families, continues to dodge responsibility for its steady advertising on the David Letterman show since June 8 when Letterman made the offensive comments about Governor Palin and her daughter.

Yesterday, Johnson and Johnson completely failed to respond in a meaningful way to the thousands of emails and phone calls sent by members of the Fire David Letterman Movementasking them to issue a statement that they would not advertise further on Letteman until CBS held him to the same level of accountability they held Don Imus.

It's pretty clear that the company at present has no intention of responding. Perhaps they think that the loyalty of their customers who find Letterman's comments offensive something that isn't an important consideration.

Which is another reason why we should re-double our efforts today. Those of you interested in specific action steps can go to our website, www.FireDavidLetterman.com, sign up for the Facebook Group, and can see the action plan for today there.

The products Johnson and Johnson advertises on Letterman are:

Listerine
Aveeno
KY Brands

In addition to making the calls to Johnson and Johnson executives, please make a point of stopping by your local grocery store and letting them know you won't be purchasing these or any other Johnson and Johnson products for the duration.

For those of you tracking the shallow nature of Johnson & Johnson's commitment to "family values" consider the following: I have verified that the national organization they referenced in their emails of their commitment to "family values" on television -- The National Council for Families and Television -- wants nothing to do with the Letterman controversy. That small organization focuses merely on providing information on health issues to production professionals in the television industry involved in the creation of prime time programming.

It would be nice to see Johnson & Johnson actually act in a way that is consistent with the principles and values they claim to represent !

Why the Fire David Letterman Movement is Targeting Johnson and Johnson Today, Monday June 22

If you read the corporate credo prominently displayed on the corporate web site of Johnson and Johnson, you might have guessed that they would have been the first major sponsor to drop advertising on the David Letterman Show.

You would be wrong, though.

Embassy Suites, Southwestern Airlines, and Hellman's beat them to the punch.

And Johnson and Johnson has maintained a steady advertising presence on Letterman between June 10, when Letterman made his offensive comments about Sarah Palin and her daughter, and this past Friday, June 19. Johnson and Johnson has continued to advertise three key "family friendly" products during this period: Listerine, Aveeno, and KY Brands.



Here's what the company calls its corporate credo:

We believe our first responsibility is to the doctors, nurses and patients, to mothers and fathers and all others who use our products and services...We are responsible to the communities in which we live and work and to the world community as well.

Apparently, Johnson and Johnson considers their steady advertising on David Letterman part of being responsible members of the community.

The offensive comments were made by Letterman on June 8.

According to the website Watchful Raven, Johnson and Johnson advertised on Letterman on June 10.

It appears that Mr. Letterman's comments didn't bother the advertising executives at Johnson and Johnson, because they advertised on his program the next day, Thursday, June 11, and the day after that, Friday, June 12, and continued advertising on the day of his second "heartfelt" apology, Monday, June 15.

Here's how Johnson and Johnson responded to emails this past week asking the company to stop advertising on Letterman:

"Johnson and Johnson takes a firm stand regarding the quality of television programming in which its commercials appear and supports the National Council for Families and Television...

With the help of our advertising agencies, a conscientious effort is made to screen all programs prior to broadcast. As a result of our screening, we have frequently withdrawn ads from television shows in the past and we will continue to monitor programming in the same manner in the future...

Your concern will be directed to network personnel. However, the most effective comment on programming is direct action by viewers. Therefore, we would urge you to communicate your feelings directly to the network... "

If that response doesn't sound enough like a corporation passing the buck, consider the significance of the national organization it cites as the group it supports -- "The National Council for Families and Television". Sounds like that must be a large organization working tirelessly to maintain standards on television, right ?

According to this website, that might not be quite right.

It's a little organization with an annual budget of $350,000 run out of a storage room in the Los Angeles office of the Leo Burnett Advertising Agency. OK, I have no proof that it's run out of a storage room, but it's hard to find an actual website for the organization, so you make your own conclusions.

Better yet, send me the link for the website, and I'll post it here.

Here's how the one website I could find with any information about the organization describes it:

The National Council for Families and Television is an advisory board comprised of television producers, writers, and programming executives; advertisers; educators. [It] aims to enhance the quality of life for families and children by positively affecting the creation and uses of primetime television entertainment. [It] conducts seminars, symposia, and invitational weekends where television creators meet with experts to discuss issues that are important to the American family.

This agency, in its stated purpose, is only focused on primetime television, which is earlier than the Letterman Show. So the executives at Johnson and Johnson are sending out generic emails to concerned citizens that represent little more than a condescending pat on the head.

All of the above goes to explain why www.FireDavidLetterman.com is going to focus its energies today, Monday, June 22, 2009 on sending a message to the executives at Johnson and Johnson.

Here's the message:

We are asking Johnson and Johnson to make a public statement on Monday, June 22 that the company is stopping ALL advertising on the Late Show with David Letterman immediately until CBS has held Mr. Letterman to the same degree of accountability to which the company held Don Imus.

Until Johnson and Johnson makes such a public statement, our message to them is clear. We won't buy their products and we will make a point of going into every grocery store in the country and telling that same message to the manager of the local grocery store.

Here's the phone numbers and email addresses.

Main Number: 1-888-222-0182 (Johnson and Johnson Healthcare Products)
Kristina Chang, Public Relations, 973-385-4370, kchang12@conus.jnj.com
Steve Schonberg, Edelman PR, 212-704-4494, stephen.schonberg@edelman.com

Drop me a line here and let me know what you hear back !

UPDATE

Our campaign appears to be working today. Johnson and Johnson's website is now experiencing "technical difficulties."

Here's what the site says now:

"JNJ.com is experiencing technical difficulties. Please try the site again later. We apologize for any inconvenience that you may experience as a result of this service disruption."

Letterman Sends a Message: I'll Tell a Joke about Sarah Palin Any Time I Want

Last night David Letterman told us exactly what he thinks of the www.FireDavidLetterman.com Movement. Our purpose is to persuade CBS to hold Mr. Letterman to the same standard of accountability for the offensive comments he made about Sarah Palin and her daughters that they held Don Imus to for his offensive comments a few years ago.

Remember, Don Imus made the offensive comments, apologized, and after the apology CBS fired him. We think CBS did the right thing then.

Mr. Letterman has apologized to Governor Palin and her daughters, and the Governor has accepted the apology. Many in the mainstream media think this closes the book on the issue.

We don't, and have mounted a very successful campaign to get advertisers to drop sponsorship of Letterman.

We can count 3 advertisers so far that have dropped him, and one that may have dropped him.

Off the Letterman sponsorship list now:

(1) Hellman's
(2) Embassy Suites
(3) Southwest Airlines

Off the Letterman sponsorship list, for now at least, in addition, is the Olive Garden Restaurant chain, though we are awaiting word from them as to whether they are dropping him temporarily, permanently, or until Letterman is held more accountable by CBS.

In his monologue last night, David Letterman sent us a message.

He told a joke about Sarah Palin.

The joke was par for the course for Mr. Letterman, about men dressing up like the Governor in a parade. The joke itself was not of the kind he told earlier, the one that launched this entire episode.

But it struck me that Mr. Letterman and his writers made a very conscious decision to include a joke about Governor Palin last night.

Why, I wonder, didn't he think it might make more sense to simply not refer to the Governor at all in his show for awhile? After all, he delivered his second "heartfelt and sincere apology" only 4 days ago.

My personal thoughts on the matter are as follows.

Mr. Letterman was sending us a message, and the message was as follows:

You can protest and try and boycott my advertisers all you want. I don't care. I'll tell any kind of joke I want about Sarah Palin any time I want.

If my assesment is correct, it's only a matter of time before Mr. Letterman crosses the line yet again. All the more reason for www.FireDavidLetterman.com to continue our efforts to boycott Mr. Letterman's sponsors.

Up next in our boycott efforts: Johnson & Johnson, Kellogg's, and several more !

Another Advertiser Abandons Letterman: Southwest Airlines Confirms it will No Longer Advertise on the Late Show

You can read the full story at www.FireDavidLetterman.com.

The source here is a series of emails sent by the Southwest Airlines Vice President of Communications and Strategic Outreach.

So, unlike the Olive Garden, where a Manager of Media Relations is not authorized to speak for the company, we're pretty sure that a Vice President of Communications and Strategic Outreach is authorized to speak on behalf of Southwest Airlines.

Olive Garden Equivocates on Letterman

Apparently, the Olive Garden Manager of Media Relations is not an authorized spokesman for the company.

That role seems to be reserved for the DIRECTOR of Media Relations.

In any event, that's what Olive Garden wants us to believe now.

Hard to keep track of Olive Garden's definite response to the calls by www.FireDavidLetterman.com for advertisers to drop sponsorship of Letterman until he's held fully accountable for his disgraceful statements.

The latest, according to Olive Garden's DIRECTOR of Media Relations appears to be a finely parsed statement along the following lines (I'm using my own words here):


We didn't cancel our ads on Letterman for the rest of 2009. We are merely following our original schedule, which didn't include any planned advertising after June 15, 2009 anyways. We might advertise later in 2009 on his show but we might not. Depends. Sort of. Maybe.

Politico has a great follow up story you can read here.

Update:

I just left a message on the voicemail of the Olive Garden Director of Media Relations asking him to contact me and give the exact statement of the company on this issue. I promised him in my message to post his response verbatim at our website, www.FireDavidLetterman.com .

Hellman's and Olive Garden Drop Letterman Sponsorship: First Two of Targeted Top Ten Advertisers to Drop Letterman

Olive Garden stops further advertising on David Letterman for 2009 and Hellman's cancels all online advertisements on Letterman.

Story at www.tcotreport.com

Online Fire David Letterman Rally to target #3 on the list of Targeted Top Ten Advertisers to Drop Letterman starts Monday. Details at www.FireDavidLetterman.com

Who do you nominate to be targeted as the #3 Advertiser to Drop David Letterman?

Online Fire David Letterman Rally Saturday June 20

For those of you online who couldn't make yesterday's Fire David Letterman Rally in New York City, here's a chance to let CBS know how you feel.

Go to www.firedavidletterman.com and sign up to attend online.

Fire David Letterman Rally Tuesday in NYC at Ed Sullivan Theater

Please attend the Fire David Letterman Rally.

It will be held this Tuesday, June 16, at 4:30 pm, on the sidewalks outside the Ed Sullivan Theater in New York City, located at 1697 Broadway. The rally will begin an hour before David Letterman tapes his Tuesday show.

For more details, please go to www.firedavidletterman.com

The Differences Between Don Imus and David Letterman

(1) Imus actually apologized for his inappropriate comments.

(2) Imus comments were off the cuff. Letterman comments were planned and rehearsed.

(3) CBS fired Don Imus.

(4) MSNBC fired Don Imus.

(5) Imus verbally attacked women over 18. Letterman verbally attacked a 14 year old girl.

(6) CBS boss Les Moonves "deeply upset & revulsed" by Imus, silent on Letterman.

Fire David Letterman -- Sign the Sponsor Boycott Letter

More details available here:

www.firedavidletterman.com

By subscribing to this list, you are adding your name to a letter that will be sent to CBS and all sponsors of David Letterman's Late Night Show stating that you will not purchase any product sold by a sponsor of his program until CBS fires him!

Sign up here to join now:

Name:


Email:

David Letterman Should be Fired for His Sexist Attacks on Sarah Palin's 14 Year Old Daughter

Yesterday the mean and nasty David Letterman tried to talk his way out of the self-inflicted controversy caused by his sexist attack on Sarah Palin's 14 year old daughter.

Here's the big lie he told to justify his latest coarse behavior:

“We were, as we often do, making jokes about people in the news and we made some jokes about Sarah Palin and her daughter [Bristol]... and now they’re upset with me…” Letterman says on tonight's show. "These are not jokes made about her 14-year-old daughter. I would never, never make jokes about raping or having sex of any description with a 14-year-old girl.... Am I guilty of poor taste? Yes. Did I suggest that it was okay for her 14-year-old daughter to be having promiscuous sex? No." Saying he hopes he's "cleared part of this up," Letterman extended an invitation to Palin to come on the show as a guest.

Even if he was initially misinformed as to the identity of the daughter who attended the Yankee game with Governor Palin (all reports agree, it was 14 year old Willow, not 18 year old Bristol), Letterman sets yet another low standard for televised vulgarity.

It's ok, apparently, to make jokes about raping an 18 year old girl, but not a 14 year old girl in his warped mind?

Time for CBS to fire this 62 year old vile man who thrives on sexually intimadating and threatening 14 year old girls in public.

And time for fair minded conservatives to BOYCOTT every sponsor of Letterman's Late Night Show. His time has come and gone.


UPDATE:

Here's a link to some of Letterman's sponsors.

Rules for Conservative Radicals

I offer these 15 Tactical Rules for Conservative Radicals , which I recommend for consideration by all Conservative Radicals, in addition to 9 of Saul Alinsky’s Tactical Rules that are as relevant for today’s Conservative Radicals as they are for today’s Left Wing Radicals.

The Conservative Radical’s Tactical Rules

1. It is better to be 85% right and quick than 100% right and slow.

2. Do what you can right now with the technologies, resources, and time immediately available to you.

3. Use free and cheap technologies at every opportunity

4. Observe Ronald Reagan’s 11th Commandment – do not engage in personal attacks of fellow conservatives in public forums. Anything you say will be ammunition for the left. Personal disputes among fellow conservatives are best handled privately.

5. When communicating through any public forum on the internet--Twitter, blogs, websites – remember that anything digital lives forever, so refrain from the use of profanity, personal attacks, or statements that are factually unsupportable.

6. Publicly engage with the left only when there is a clearly identified goal that has a reasonable likelihood of being accomplished through the engagement.

7. Privately engage with the left when you are confident you are dealing with a person of honor and good will whose personal integrity has not been compromised by Saul Alinsky’s moral nihilism.

8. When engaging with the left let no falsehood go unchallenged.

9. When dealing with the left, look for opportunities to persuade open-minded opponents of the merits of conservatism.

10. When evangelizing to open minded members of the left, be a friendly teacher guiding your students towards conservatism, not an argumentative and arrogant haranguer bent on demonstrating your intellectual superiority.

11. Seek out opportunities to collaborate with like-minded conservatives through self organizing projects.

12. You earn a seat at the table of a self organizing project by showing up, doing the work, and collaborating effectively with your project colleagues.

13. Successful self-organizing projects are characterized by:

(a) rapid response consensus development of goals and tactics
(b) transparent real time communication between project colleagues
(c) rapid implementation of tactics by a core group of the most engaged project colleagues
(d) whose personal conduct is guided by the principles of project servant-leadership.

14. Once you have earned a seat at the table, you have a right to participate in the development of a consensus. But if you don’t show up to participate, you lose the right to complain about decisions made by the group in your absence. The process drives forward relentlessly on a 24-7 time clock

15. When conflict arises within your self organized project, and the conflict is not resolvable, leave the project, start your own new project with those who are of like mind, and wish your former project colleagues Godspeed.

Copyright 2009 by Michael Patrick Leahy

To be included in my new book Rules for Conservative Radicals, to be published by C-Rad Press on July 31, 2009

9 Tactical Rules from Saul Alinsky that are as relevant for today’s Conservative Radicals as they are for today’s Left Wing Radicals

1. Never go outside the experience of your project colleagues

2. Wherever possible, go outside the experience of the opposition

3. Ridicule is man’s most potent weapon.

4. A good tactic is one that your project colleagues enjoy.

5. A tactic that drags on too long becomes a drag

6. Keep the pressure on

7. The major premise for tactics is the development of operations that will maintain a constant pressure upon the opposition.

8. Pick the target, freeze it, personalize it, and polarize it.

9. Make the opposition live up to their own book of rules.

Note: I have changed the word “people” in rules 1 and 4 to the words “project colleagues”, and the word “enemy” in rules 2 and 9 to “opposition”.

Source: Rules for Radicals by Saul Alinsky, 1971

Obama Has "Created or Saved" 140 Million Jobs! (Orwellian Translation: He's LOST 3.5 million jobs since the end of 2008)

President Obama's Orwellian use of the English language continues to astound.

Obama doesn't merely "create" jobs -- he "creates or saves" them.

What exactly does that mean ?

It means he counts as a "victory" a job that isn't lost.

Total civilian employment in the last quarter of 2008 was 144 million. Total civilian employment in May 2009 was down to 140.5 million.

Obama Orwellian Translation:

Even though I can't run a lemonade stand, I know how to count. I will claim victory by claiming I've "created or saved" 140.5 million jobs. It would be too embarassing to admit that my foolish and irresponsible stimulus policies have actually LOST 3.5 million jobs !

A very weak argument against the Bill of Federalism

A blogger associated with the John Birch Society has criticized the "riskiness" of the Bill of Federalism, which calls on state legislatures to petition Congress to hold a Constitutional Convention to consider ratification of 10 amendments to restore the original intent of the Constitution.

Here's the preferred strategy this blogger recommends:


Our strategy for lowering taxes and reducing the size and cost of government is to create enough grassroots pressure to force Congress to adhere to the Constitution as it is now

As Dr. Phil might ask, "How's that working for you?"

Colin Powell Claims He's Still a Republican -- But on What Basis?

The highly over-rated Colin Powell continues to clog up the airwaves.

This past Sunday he made the rounds of the Sunday shows, proclaiming loudly that he's still a Republican.

A Republican who voted for John F. Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson, Jimmy Carter, and Barack Obama.

A Republican who believes the country wants higher taxes and more government services.

A Republican who publicly endorsed Barack Obama over John McCain.

You know what they say.

If it walks like a duck and sounds like a duck.... it probably is a duck.

Colin Powell doesn't walk like a Republican or sound like a Republican. He walks and talks like a Democrat. An Obama endorsing Democrat.

There's the door, Mr. Powell !

Michael Steele Gives an Uninspiring Speech in Kingsport, Tennessee

RNC Chairman Michael Steele gave a speech in Kingsport, Tennessee recently.

Here it is, in all its uninspiring glory.

Mr. Steele advised the gathered Republican faithful to "stop looking backwards," an apparent repetition of earlier themes Mr. Steele has articulated with little success.

The RNC Chair also continued his ill advised attempts to try and co-opt the Tea Party Movement.

“Why do you think they were so outdone by a little thing called a Tea Party?” Steele asked the crowd. “And how disrespectful is it that when the president’s spokesman is asked whether or not the president was following this (series of anti-spending events around the country), he was dismissive. ... They ignored it ... the arrogance of power.”

It's not hard to understand why Eric Odom respectfully suggested that Mr. Steele attend, but not speak at, the April 15 Tax Day Tea Party in Chicago. A lot of us wish Mr. Steele had come to that tea party -- and listened to what's really going on in the heartland of the country.

Libel Dispute Resolved by Mutual Accord: I Remove Lawsuit, Blogger Removes Word

I am pleased to report that blogger Stephanie Grasmick has agreed to remove the false and misleading word from the headline of her May 13, 2009 blogpost which caused me to file a libel suit against her on May 18, 2009. I, in response, have withdrawn my complaint against her.

The word in question, “fraud”, has a clear and distinct meaning, and it is my belief that by removing that word from her headline Ms. Grasmick is acknowledging her error.

I hasten to add that after our private dialogue on the matter, I am completely convinced that Ms. Grasmick included that word in the headline out of misunderstanding, and not out of any desire to misrepresent the facts.

I found Ms. Grasmick in our private dialogue to be gracious, intelligent, fair minded, and unfailingly polite.

I believe that had Ms. Grasmick and I taken the time to have a more detailed discussion of the matter subsequent to her private notification to me of her intent to publish the story, and the actual publication of the story, she would have written the headline in such a manner as to accurately reflect the facts.

Her public persona, in which many of her posts were filled with profanity and insults, coupled with the anonymous nature of her authorship at the time, led me not to trust that she would be fair in her reporting of the story. That, coupled with the relatively short period of time between the private notification and the actual publication created this public miscommunication, which has now been resolved to our mutual agreement.

I believe that her conduct in resolving this matter so quickly should demonstrate to all that Ms. Grasmick is a fair-minded and honest person.

An Update on Recent Developments

For those of you following developments related to a story recently posted on a blog operated by Ms. Stephanie Grasmick:

Ms. Grasmick posted this comment today:

"I have been in touch with Mr. Leahy, and it is my sincere hope that we can resolve this matter through clear-minded and thoughtful dialogue, and at a minimal cost to the American taxpayer."

Ms. Grasmick's statement is accurate, and it is also my sincere hope that we can resolve this matter through clear-minded and thoughtful dialogue.

I will have no further public comment on this matter until this dialogue has been completed.

Quit, Baby, Quit: My Message to RNC Chairman Michael Steele

The RNC has been disastrously ineffective since Michael Steele took over as Chairman of the RNC.

Now, apparently, the man who insulted Rush Limbaugh, appeared to endorse abortion, and thinks the Democrats aren't socialists is threatening to quit as RNC Chairman tomorrow if conservatives don't play nice with him and adopt his silly "reach out to everyone despite what they may or may not advocate" policies.

My advice to Chairman Steele:

Quit, Baby, Quit.

Keith Olbermann Leads Personal Attacks on Me by the Left Wing Smear Merchants

Less than two weeks after I was one of 18 signators on The Nationwide Tea Party Coalition's acceptance of President Obama's invitation "to have a serious discussion" with people in the Tea Party Movement, the left wing smear merchants have begun their personal attacks on me in a predictably vile way.

First came a profanity laced left wing blogger who posted 16 years worth of my personal business and tax records on her blog.

Then today, champion smear monger Keith Olbermann named me "The Worst Person in the World" over runners up Glenn Beck and Bill O'Reilly.

You can see his personal attack on me here.

Without bothering to contact me to check on the facts, Mr Olbemann stated that "over 16 years , [Mr. Leahy] has had a few judgements filed against him for unpaid taxes, small claim court judgements, and civil suits.... nearly $150,000"

Olbermann concluded "So what's the point in protesting taxes if you're not going to bother to pay them anyways," and proceeded to name me the Worst Person in the World.

If Mr. Olbermann were a real journalist, instead of a left wing propagandist, he could have learned the facts of the situation before he exposed himself to the world, once again, as the conservative hating person he is.

Here are the facts:

The left wing blog smear listed a total of 12 distinct judgements covering the period 1993-2009. The total dollar amount of these judgements were $145,264.

$40,806 was from 7 civil judgements. Of these 7 judgements, 4 have been paid in their entirety.

$19,009 was a judgement filed by the State of California in 1993 in Los Angeles County. In 1993 I had not been a resident of California for 2 years, and earned no income in the state of California. Nor was I ever a resident of Los Angeles County. I was not even aware of this judgement until around 2003, at which time I promptly responded to the State of California that there was no basis for this judgement for the reasons I mentioned above.

$85,449 was for 4 Federal Tax Liens. Of these liens, more than half of the amount listed is for penalty and interest. I have, for the past nine years, engaged in a long dialogue with several different offices of the IRS, all towards the purpose of completing a workable installment agreement. Anyone who has had the pleasure of dealing with the IRS knows that this can be a long process, one that is particularly difficult for individuals and small business people. I am pleased to report that after years of attempting to actually hold such an installment agreement, I indeed have received a commitment from the IRS to have the very first meeting for this purpose within the next 30 days.

The broader question here is this:

What kind of country do we live in if anyone who raises their voices loudly against the socialist-statists who currently run our government and the Mainstream Media is rapidly subjected to vicious attacks in the left wing blogosphere ?

In the fall it was Joe the Plumber.

Earlier this week it was Carrie Prejean.

Today it's me.

Tomorrow will it be you, or any one of the 1 million other Tea Party Protesters who object to the out of control spending our Federal Government is currently subjecting us to ?

So, Mr. Olbermann, here's my challenge to you, if you have the courage to accept it.

I will debate you in person, on either Glenn Beck's program or the O'Reilly Factor on the following topic:

Which is worse for the future of the United States of America ? My tax problems, or the $1.8 Trillion Deficit in President Obama's current budget ?

Oh, and one last thing.

If you are to be consistent in your logic, you ought to nominate me to serve in President Obama's Cabinet. After all, Secretary of the Treasury had tax problems that were worse than mine. He knew the law and knowingly violated it.

I'm not running for public office. I'm not offering myself up to be a member of President Obama's Cabinet. And neither you nor any other left wing smear merchant will intimidate me from exercising my right of free speech as an American citizen.

The Embarrassingly Crude and Ignorant Meghan McCain

Add Meghan McCain to the list of those whose departure from the Repubulican Party can't come quickly enough.

Besides her father's fame, Ms. McCain has no reason to be part of the public discussion.

Her recent attempts at pretending to be a blogging pundit have demonstrated only her ignorance and profound desire to impress her liberal friends with her constant public use of profanity.

Last night, Miss McCain, through her public tweets while attending the White House Correspondents dinner, used especially crude and profane language to describe the event. In fact, the only words she could use to describe the event were of a profane nature. This of course brings to mind the old saying that constant use of profanity is merely an indication of a person's limited vocabulary and inability to express in detail a coherent and illuminating thought.

Ms. McCain is apparently so proud of her contribution to the coarsening of society she sent out another tweet loudly proclaiming that she is highly ranked on a public website devoted to listing those public and private figures who use profanity most frequently in public.

Such coarse behavior in public appears to be on the rise, regrettably, and Miss McCain appears to be basking in the glow of those in our society who cheer such an unsavory trend.

Such a circumstance would be unpleasant enough to observe if Miss McCain actually had an original idea worth contributing to the public dialogue. Sadly, Miss McCain's apparent thirst for public notoriety appears to be the only driving force in the embarrassment that is her public record. I've been unable to observe one original thought in anything she's written. Every public utterance from her (those that are not crude and profane) appears to be out of the left wing liberal playbook.

Do us all a favor, Miss McCain, and try to improve your public manners.

And after you've done that, please publicly disavow any affiliation with the Republican Party.

Colin Powell, Cheerleader for the Political Class, Should Join Arlen Specter in the Democratic Party

Colin Powell, the most overrated underperformer in recent political history, once again showed himself to be the opportunistic self aggrandizer he's been throughout his career.

The so-called "moderate Republican" who shamelessly endorsed the candidacy of Barack Obama, the man who is leading us towards a socialist-statist debacle that would make George Orwell apopletic, once again demonstrated that he is the cheerleader for the Democratic political class.

In a recent speech to corporate security executives, Powell proclaimed haughtily "the American people want MORE government, not LESS."

Mr. Powell apparently missed the 1 million Americans who demonstrated against more government at the April 15 Tax Day Tea Parties.

Time to leave the Republican Party officially, Mr. Powell.

We don't need socialist-statists like you in the party.

President Obama and his friends will be sure to welcome you with open arms. Why not ? You've been espousing the same anti free market policies for years.

You belong with the elite political class that controls the Democratic Party, those 30 percent of Democrats who believe in socialism, not capitalism.

Joseph Schumpeter predicted the arch of your career 70 years ago. Do the right thing and make it official now.