Inspecting the Berth (certification)

So after some comments were posted to my last entry, I decided I would start doing some detective work on my own. This is primarily to see if there is anything that smells fishy at this port - other than the fish. So far this is what I have learned:

• Apparently Hawaii does not readily release copies of the original Birth Certificates any longer, but instead - for most purposes - issues these Certifications, basically stating that this is the correct information as stated on the birth certificate. Other states may be doing this as well now - it has been a while since I have requested a copy of my own certificate. Also, I do not know whether that includes any addendums/ammendments to the birth certificate or not.
• If the image is correct, and the information contained on it is correct, then there should be no question as to Obama's origin. It clearly states that he was born on Oahu in Honolulu.
• Having one parent not be a natural born citizen would not be an issue, nor would they even have to be a citizen, I believe. (Sorry to "Ted" who posted the comment). Illegal aliens give birth in the United States every day, and it is often stated that they could become president one day. Whether there is a legal problem here or not I am not sure, but I do not believe that there is. If anyone has any information to refute this, please let me know.

So, with that out of the way, there are only two possible problems with Obama's birth.

1. The document is a forgery. There are many claming this. I will need to do some more research on this. It is hard to tell because it is a low-resolution JPEG that is posted on Obama's Fight the Smears site. JPEG images are netorious for introducing "artificats" that make it harder to tell what is clear and look for signs of digital manipulation.
2. Someone in Hawaii was complicit in forging the information. Since a Certification such as this is simply a computer printout that is stamped with the date requested, etc. then you would just need to have the wrong information in the computer or someone change it to change the printout.

Now, I do not believe either of these to be the truth, and tend to believe that Obama was born in Hawaii as it says on the document (as opposed to Krypton as Obama stated in jest). It does raise the question as to why one would not just simply release a copy and put this issue to bed.

There have been a number of possibilites suggested other than his elegibility. One that actually sounds plausible is that he is trying to hide a family secret, such as he had a different father listed at birth. It would be possible to make an ammendement to the certificate without altering it. In this case it would then, theoretically, also be reflected in a certification document.

The reason is not really that important, unless it does show dishonesty in meeting the threshold of "Natural Born Citizen". I think I am only smelling fish at this berth, but I am going to do a little more checking before I close this case.

As always, however, I reserve the right to change my mind at any time. I am the captain here, and it goes how I say it goes.

Obama's Berth Certificate/Certification

I do not have an opinion one way or another on this issue, but there is a new blogger named Hank Rand that did a very detailed post on the raised issues regarding Obama's birth.

If you have not been following this, there have been questions as to whether or not President-Elect Obama qualifies as a "Natural Born Citizen" to qualify to be President of the United States. Most articles I have seen do not address the actual questions, and Hank lays out the questions pretty clearly -- if everything he states is true.

The most interesting thing I learned was that Hawaii has/had both a Certificate of Live Birth and a Certification of Live Birth. The former is what we would know as a birth certificate. The second basically validates a birth certificate and is not nearly as official or contain as much information. The latter is what Obama posted on his website. The interesting point is that in the past Hawaii would issue the Certifications based on certificates elsewhere if the parent was a resident the previous year. In other words, you could live in Hawaii, move out of the state or country temporarily, send back you certificate and still receive a Hawaiian certification.

Whether this means anything or not might be a moot point, but it is still interesting.

The full post is here.