GA judge orders Obama to appear in court over birthers suit

[Joe Momma]

Georgia judge orders President Obama to appear in court over 'birthers' suit

A Georgia judge has ordered President Barack Obama to appear in court in Atlanta Thursday for a hearing on a complaint that says Obama isn’t a natural-born citizen and can’t be president.

Orly Taitz, the California attorney who brought the legal challenge to Obama’s name on the March Georgia presidential primary ballot, says this is what she has been working for over the last three years.

“This will be 100 times bigger than Watergate,” she said Saturday morning, referring to the scandal that brought down President Richard Nixon in 1974.

“There are high ranking judges and federal officials who are involved in this cover up. The ramifications of this trial will be enormous.”

Taitz said she expects the president’s legal team to fight his appearance in the Georgia court.

“But he’s in a catch-22,” she said. “If he is appealing this decision, then he looks guilty. The whole nation understands this man is a fraud.”

Taitz has led the “Birther” movement that insists Obama is not a natural-born U.S. citizen. She is also familiar to Georgia courts.
...
A Georgia resident made the complaint, which is intended to keep Obama’s name off the state’s ballot in the March presidential primary.
...
The hearing is set for Thursday before an administrative judge. Deputy Chief Judge Michael Malihi on Friday denied a motion by the president’s lawyer to quash a subpoena that requires Obama to show up.

I'd totally forgotten this was still being pressed in the court system...

[Sidewinder]

Obama's mother is a natural-born American citizen, so doesn't that mean Obama inherited her nationality, and is an American citizen, according to international law?

[Grumman]

Obama's mother is a natural-born American citizen, so doesn't that mean Obama inherited her nationality, and is an American citizen, according to international law?

Sure, if you let little things like "facts" and "logic" get in the way of Orly Taitz's stupidity.

[Gerald Tarrant]

OK, first I'm not a birther; I'm satisfied that Obama was born in Hawaii. But the thing the Birthers are talking about is this

No person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the Office of President; neither shall any Person be eligible to that Office who shall not have attained to the Age of thirty-five Years, and been fourteen Years a Resident within the United States.

Article 2 of the US constitution. Qualifications for the Presidency. The most common reading is that Natural Born citizen means born in the US. Although quite a few people include areas under the jurisdiction of the US like Military bases (McCain was born in the Panama Canal Zone for instance, but since it was administered by the US at his birth most people just call that sufficient.) If President Obama were not however born in the US, then he would be ineligible for the Presidency which is what the birthers believe.

[Darth Fanboy]

Orly Taitz, having failed in other courts, needed to shop around? Isn't this like, total bullshit?

EDIT:

Never mind, it's someone else getting involved in this bullshit and she's just just getting press because of name recognition.

[PainRack]

OK, first I'm not a birther; I'm satisfied that Obama was born in Hawaii. But the thing the Birthers are talking about is this

No person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the Office of President; neither shall any Person be eligible to that Office who shall not have attained to the Age of thirty-five Years, and been fourteen Years a Resident within the United States.

Article 2 of the US constitution. Qualifications for the Presidency. The most common reading is that Natural Born citizen means born in the US. Although quite a few people include areas under the jurisdiction of the US like Military bases (McCain was born in the Panama Canal Zone for instance, but since it was administered by the US at his birth most people just call that sufficient.) If President Obama were not however born in the US, then he would be ineligible for the Presidency which is what the birthers believe.

Did you even read the thing in full? It says Citizen of the United States. Obama is a citizen of the United States.

[Terralthra]

OK, first I'm not a birther; I'm satisfied that Obama was born in Hawaii. But the thing the Birthers are talking about is this

No person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the Office of President; neither shall any Person be eligible to that Office who shall not have attained to the Age of thirty-five Years, and been fourteen Years a Resident within the United States.

Article 2 of the US constitution. Qualifications for the Presidency. The most common reading is that Natural Born citizen means born in the US. Although quite a few people include areas under the jurisdiction of the US like Military bases (McCain was born in the Panama Canal Zone for instance, but since it was administered by the US at his birth most people just call that sufficient.) If President Obama were not however born in the US, then he would be ineligible for the Presidency which is what the birthers believe.

Did you even read the thing in full? It says Citizen of the United States. Obama is a citizen of the United States.

It says a "Citizen of the United States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution". This was to allow for those who were citizens of the new nation to be elected President, since at the time it was ratified, it was impossible for anyone to have been born a citizen and be over 35.

[Shadow6]

Did you even read the thing in full? It says Citizen of the United States. Obama is a citizen of the United States.

No person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the Office of President;

The second provision was obviously put there so that they could have a president in the first place, what with there being no natural born citizens eligible at the time of the formation of the country. If being a citizen was all that was required, why specify natural born citizen in the first case and then any citizen in the second?

[Simon_Jester]

OK, first I'm not a birther; I'm satisfied that Obama was born in Hawaii. But the thing the Birthers are talking about is this

No person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the Office of President; neither shall any Person be eligible to that Office who shall not have attained to the Age of thirty-five Years, and been fourteen Years a Resident within the United States.

Article 2 of the US constitution. Qualifications for the Presidency. The most common reading is that Natural Born citizen means born in the US. Although quite a few people include areas under the jurisdiction of the US like Military bases (McCain was born in the Panama Canal Zone for instance, but since it was administered by the US at his birth most people just call that sufficient.) If President Obama were not however born in the US, then he would be ineligible for the Presidency which is what the birthers believe.

No, a natural born citizen does not have to be born on US soil. See here. This argument is still based on making up bullshit about what laws say.

[CaptainChewbacca]

The reason the issue persist despite Obama's mother being a citizen is because of her age. She was either 17 or 18 when Obama was born, and at the time he was born the legal definition of 'natural born' required at least one parent who was a citizen and had resided in the United States as an adult for two years. She wasn't old enough to have been in the US as an adult.

Its an odd interpretation, but its their argument.

[bilateralrope]

Lets say Obama does testify. Is there any way he could give a honest answer to any relevant question that isn't some variation of "I don't remember" ?

[VarrusTheEthical]

The reason the issue persist despite Obama's mother being a citizen is because of her age. She was either 17 or 18 when Obama was born, and at the time he was born the legal definition of 'natural born' required at least one parent who was a citizen and had resided in the United States as an adult for two years. She wasn't old enough to have been in the US as an adult.

Its an odd interpretation, but its their argument.

If that's true, then they're full of shit. Obama is a natural born citizen because he was born in Honolulu, Hawaii in 1961. Whatever their argument about Obama's mother may be, he was still unquestionably born on US soil.

Lets say Obama does testify. Is there any way he could give a honest answer to any relevant question that isn't some variation of "I don't remember" ?

He can present evidence, like this.

[LaCroix]

Stanley Ann Dunham (November 29, 1942)
Barack Hussein Obama II (August 4, 1961)
She was 18, almost 19. Definitely an adult.

[Thanas]

The reason the issue persists is because some crazies need something to hang on. First it was the birth certificate, then said birth certificate was not long enough*, then said long form was a forgery, then his mother was not an adult. In a few months it will be that his father was not really his father but that his mother cheated on him and that Barack was actually the child of an affair with an illegal chinese dockworker.


*This is for people who do not recognize a play on words.

[Darth Yan]

Why won't this concept just die? Honestly I remember when this started in 2009.

[VarrusTheEthical]

Why won't this concept just die? Honestly I remember when this started in 2009.

For the same reason that 9/11 conspiracy theories and Moon Landing denialism have not died. These ideas will exist for as long as there are idiots who are willing to believe them.

[Simon_Jester]

Too much effort went into spreading the idea around the far right back in 2008-09. Conspiracy theories are bad enough when there aren't any big organizations going wink-wink-nudge-nudge to get them started. This one had that going for it, so it's practically invincible now.

It's part of the price of propaganda-oriented media networks.

[Mayabird]

Ladies and gentleman: this level of stupidity is why I consider myself an adopted Washingtonian and refuse to capitalize georgia. I feel I should remind people periodically that the place is a corrupt and racist shithole full of imbeciles who would revert to cannibalism if left to their own devices. This idiot for instance represents my former congressional district.

That all being said, of course this stupid shit is going to come out of there. Of course they're not going to drop the issue even when proven completely wrong; I refer you to both the theory of evolution and the Civil War. To hell with georgia.

[PeZook]

This idiot for instance represents my former congressional district.

Broun is on the Comittee on Science and Technology?

Holy shit.

AMERICA!

[Simon_Jester]

Yes.

I think that's a good illustration of why the Republican Party of today is simply not the party of Eisenhower-style technocratic management. Their stance on a given technology-related issue will usually come from either picking whatever gets them the most funding among their donors, the most traction from the drunken hick vote, or failing that by throwing darts at a board to pick "yes," "no," "maybe," or "it's a conspiracy" at random.

[Eulogy]

While I support the notion that Obama does not deserve to be president, that is based on his actions, not his birth or skin colour.

In other words, the judge is full of shit and she is wasting the time and money of everyone involved. But hell, at least one judge is not afraid to go against Obama!

I think that's a good illustration of why the Republican Party of today is simply not the party of Eisenhower-style technocratic management. Their stance on a given technology-related issue will usually come from either picking whatever gets them the most funding among their donors, the most traction from the drunken hick vote, or failing that by throwing darts at a board to pick "yes," "no," "maybe," or "it's a conspiracy" at random.

The party has mutated into an environment that sadly still supports them even though they are not adaptable or have a versatile diet. This is ironically further proof of evolution at work, and completely retarded and ultimately detrimental selection pressures are still selection pressures.

[lance]

Stanley Ann Dunham (November 29, 1942)
Barack Hussein Obama II (August 4, 1961)
She was 18, almost 19. Definitely an adult.

r
Yes, but the requirement was for her to be an adult for X years, or something or another that she wasn't

[Mr. Coffee]

Just out of curiosity, is there anything preventing Obama from telling this judge to go fuck himself with a rake after having a couple of Secret Service agent beat Taitz about the head with a rolled up copy of his birth cert? Or failing that just telling the Judge to piss off? I mean, for fuck's sake, he's got better things to do than responding to some dipshit judge in Atlanta about retarded birther bullshit.

[bobalot]

Just out of curiosity, is there anything preventing Obama from telling this judge to go fuck himself with a rake after having a couple of Secret Service agent beat Taitz about the head with a rolled up copy of his birth cert? Or failing that just telling the Judge to piss off? I mean, for fuck's sake, he's got better things to do than responding to some dipshit judge in Atlanta about retarded birther bullshit.

Wouldn't that be some sort of offence?

I'm surprised that the judge didn't throw the case out.

[bilateralrope]

Lets say Obama does testify. Is there any way he could give a honest answer to any relevant question that isn't some variation of "I don't remember" ?

He can present evidence, like this.

His lawyers can present it without needing Obama to appear in court and Obama can't say anything about its authenticity other than saying that someone else told him it's authentic. Wouldn't that count as hearsay and thus be inadmissible ?

What I'm getting at is that, even if the birthers had a case that needed answering, Obama's testimony will be completely useless.