There hasn’t been a group of people so misguided in their beliefs since the “NASA faked the moon landings” wackos emerged. Birthers continue to pound the conspiracy drum, shedding a light on their total lack of cognitive thinking. Recent polling suggests that 11% of Americans don’t believe President Obama was born in the United States, with 42% of Republicans on board the Crazy Train.
Sad.
Need ammunition to make the Birthers shut up? How about 8 different arguments to back you up?
Myth 1: Obama wasn’t born in the U.S.
This is the big one. It may also be the most easily refuted. First of all, during the presidential campaign, Obama released a certification of live birth, which is the official document you get if you ask Hawaii for a copy of your birth certificate. There are allegations that what Obama released is a forgery, but state officials have repeatedly affirmed its authenticity and said they’ve checked it against the original record and that Obama was indeed born in Hawaii.
If that wasn’t enough, two Hawaiian newspapers carried announcements of Obama’s birth in August 1961. (Read the Honolulu Advertiser’s item from Aug. 13, 1961, nine days after Obama’s birth, here.) The traditional joke that Birther debunkers make is that his grandparents must have placed those announcements because they knew that he’d want to run for president nearly five decades later. The truth, though, is that the notices are even stronger pieces of evidence than that. Obama’s family didn’t place them — Hawaii did, as it does for all births. The announcements were based on official records sent to the papers by the state’s Department of Health.
As for myself, I needn’t look any further than the following video, which depicts Orly Taitz, the main woman in charge of driving the crazy train:
