Did 'Birther' coverage spell the end for Dobbs at CNN?

Accuracy in Media (AIM) reveals some interesting information on Media Matters in this June 2007 article, titled "Hillary's Hit Man Strikes Again".

And in this most recent article: CNN's War on Lou Dobbs (I probably should have read this first:)

Doesn't look good for free speech.   From the article link by Rhonda "accuracy in media" it squarely  places the blame on left-wing dislike of any criticism of the President and their intention to stifle any reasonable debate.

Journalism and free speech took a hit again.  I tend to agree with Rhonda, why spend all this money, when u can just produce the certificate and put matters to rest.

I view articles from media matters with suspicion.

Just to set the record straight, I have never been a fan of Lou Dobbs and I have a remote control to take care of that.  I also think that the birth certificate issue detracts from the real issues.  Having said that, why is it so hard to produce a long form birth certificate?

It appears true from everything I have read, Hugh. Here's a comprehensive read: Obama birth certificate lawsuits.

Gee, he and Dan Rather seem to have plotted a similar career course when they say anything against a sitting president?

As usual,  Barry sums up in ten words what is the crux of the matter;  the Artiste has real talent,  and I mean that!  :)  ;)

Rhonda:  I did not put "Opinion"  on this as I do not offer my opinion,  which I am holding in reserve.  I am only showing what the Washington Post and Media Matters have to say.  The latter state their opinion,  but I do not say I am in any agreement with them;  I only show what piece I came upon which prompted me to post this.  Very fishy.  

"Media Matters" is a biased organization with an agenda supporting ILLEGAL immigration.

Media outlets such as "Media Matters," "America's Voice," "The Southern Poverty Law Center" and others such as the National Council of La Raza, and the Center for New Community, are working hard to subvert our laws and system of immigration that is in place, and it appears to be working.  The resignation of Lou Dobbs shows that their efforts are achieving successes in undermining the laws of the United States and freedom of speech supposedly guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution, by working to silence those who dare to speak out against the status-quo.

The Washington Post and most other "Mainstream Media" is in the back-pockets of the financial elite and therefore is also biased.

The TRUTH is... the nations of the world are alligning towards one-world governance and total control by financial globalists, corporations and Central World Bank dominance over the world's resources and financial markets, thereby effectively erasing all national borders and individual sovereignty, enslaving us all.  Alternative media reports these truths while mainstream media keeps quiet or supports the lies while distracting from the truth and issues that should be front page headlines.

In my opinion, Lou Dobbs is a true Patriot for reporting on important issues that affect all Americans (and the world) while the corporate elitists, bankers and their supporters should all be labeled as TRAITORS and punished as such.

Additionally, Obama should be required BY LAW to provide proof that he is indeed a natural-born native American and furnish his birth certificate, if he is to remain President of The United States of America.   Otherwise, impeachment should be in order.

WAKE UP AMERICA!

Fabulously incredible, This joker, who used to be taken seriously by some, manages to engender a passion, as a pastime on CNN's dime, attempting to disgrace One of America's largest ethnic citizenry and he Gets credit for only one preposterous remark. This only goes to show that unless a particular body of people feels personal and collective resentment, they nay advocate exclusively for their own. Ever hear "First they came for the Jews, then they came for me" It seems to apply here. Many times Mr. Dobbs was confronted by news folks and questioned on the veracity of his reporting, only to respond that if he said it, it was true. Not so, because the reporters has concrete facts which disproved Dobbs allegations ans weird theories. In fact Dobbs said that CNN also was in line with his reporting. Fox news told Geraldo Rivera that Dobbs would not be working there. One really never knows, though because lately our population is acting very strangely. I feel for our people, (Black, White, Hispanic and others as well). Remarks and not facts, are meant to show extreme prejudice. We will agree on one issue with a sense of patriotism, only to find that our misguided agreement just eliminated our only possible ally. That is what is going on today. Our laws and practices, including the God thing, have been a tool used only to protect certain conditions and keep the carrot visible until one who is not preferred reaches that poit, and then the stick or the whip is there to prevent forward or upward motion. Whatever motivates you today against your people, will tomorrow be motivated against you and yours. Lou  Dobbs will have a place to go and the person who is jumping into his position, is only going to circle the wagons on everyone. The  "beyond the Beltway on pressing policy issues and the real people they impact. " Certainly it is not rocket science to understand that quote. He will speak in a language that will exlude tha layman and consider that real people are the only ones who will be considered. The viewers should not too happy just yet. WE can vote or help elect someone, once they are there it is for a while. All of us tell the truth, It is up to each one of us to understand, what is it true about.

Personally I am irked by the sudden required birth certificate syndrome. I have what I believe to be a great idea.

Someone, not myself, because i do not know how to do it, but I know it can be done.

Set up a web page with each and every president and vice president and even runners for the job.

Show all presidents birth certificated on it from the first to the last. Authentic ones and verified only. Also it may be a good idea, to dispel any potential problems, to try and get the people who are alive now to personally have a chance to voluntarily submit theirs.

Many people are heavily full of themselves and claim no immigrant past, so we may want to know if they have native descendants. (Indian)

They can then be linked to any or all pages on the net including youtube, Facebook, Twitter etc. If I don't receive a response on this with someone willing to do it, I will consider collaborating with someone on it.

One remark I have is that no president, before Obama, has been asked this question. Certainly this entertains some sort of bias.

Lou Dobbs has quit because he is being stalked and sniped at including his family.  We will see more about this as time progresses.  I like him.  I do not think he discussed this birth issue all the time whatsoever.  No one who adores the O wants it ever mentioned ..even once is all the time to a lefty...facts are still facts..  I believe he is not and he is still hanging himself so it did not protect him from his own demise.

Lou Dobbs and the Birth certificate is a hand me down story he chose to pick up and would bet that if it were a Hispanic person and not Obama, He would have been the first on it. No one is stopping anyone else from posting what they believe is the truth. Things are not helped any when the leaders of this country, do not provide the real facts to the people. The president of the United States of America, Once elected, does not have to dignify him/her self to anyone by showing personal documents of any sort, which are certainly already examined before his candidacy. It is in our constitution that no one who is not a residing member of this country, for x amount of years, can seek and hold office. If it ever turns out that Obama is not a citizen, We will need to fire everyone responsible for having anything at all to do with having to check that detail. Further more They would have to face felony charges and possible incarceration. Now that, is something to report.

The hand me down story of the truth. Even Camille Paglia has a problem about it.

Yes, Obama does have to show his documents when there is room for doubt. And there is room.

This idea of yours is pure self-inspired fantasy without any legal basis.

"If it turns out that Obama is not prezz"....hey, sound like you do get it, that it is still a possibility and that it will remain a possibility until we resolve his birth with the long-form certificate and resolve whether he actually became a citizen of Indonesia when his mother did and his step-father adopted him.

Did I miss any of the conspirasist claims?
Claims that the certification of live birth is meaningless

Some people claim that the certification of live birth produced by Obama does not prove that he is a natural born citizen because, they claim, foreign-born children could acquire Hawaiian certification of live birth (COLB), so that Obama's possession of such a certificate does not prove that he was born in Hawaii; or that the information in such a certificate only has to be based on the testimony of one parent. These claims were refuted with the following explanation: The law allowing foreign-born children to obtain Hawaiian COLBs didn’t exist until 20 years after Obama was born, while Obama’s published COLB says his birth information was recorded four days after his birth in 1961, and explicitly states that he was born in Honolulu.[43]

[edit] Claims about travel to Pakistan using a non-U.S. passport

Others suggest that Obama could not be a natural-born citizen because he traveled to Pakistan at a time when there was a ban on United States passport holders entering that country, which means he must have traveled using a non-U.S. passport. The OC Weekly comments that these assertions are not true:

The Pakistan "travel ban" is a complete fabrication based on zero evidence and completely contradicted by State Department records and a 1981 New York Times article.[43][44][45]

[edit] Obama's paternal step-grandmother's version of events

Another incorrect but popularly reported claim is that his father's step-mother, Sarah Obama, told a reporter that she was present when Obama was born in Kenya.

The McClatchy newspapers gave an explanation of how the false story about Obama's step-grandmother began. The tape relied on by Berg and others is cut off in the middle of the conversation, before the passage in which she clarifies her meaning: "'Obama was not born in Mombasa. He was born in America,' the translator says after talking to the woman. ... Another response later says, 'Obama in Hawaii. Hawaii. She says he was born in Hawaii.'"[46]

Sarah Obama shed more light on the controversy in a 2007 interview with the Tribune Company. In the interview, Obama's paternal step grandmother stated that six months after Barack Obama Sr. and Ann Dunham got married, she received a letter (at her home in Kenya) announcing the birth of Barack Obama Jr., who was born Aug. 4, 1961.[47]

[edit] Alleged Kenyan birth certificate

On August 2, 2009, Orly Taitz released and attached to court documents what she alleged to be an authentic Kenyan birth certificate. Legal documents submitted describe the document as an "unauthenticated color photocopy of certified copy of registration of birth".[48][49] The document was almost immediately revealed to be a forgery. It purports to have been issued by the "Republic of Kenya", when in fact, such a state did not yet exist at the time of Obama's birth as indicated on the document (Kenya was a Dominion of the British Crown until 1963).[50][51] Additionally, Mombasa, the city indicated on the certificate as Obama's birthplace, was, in 1961, part of Zanzibar, not Kenya.[51][52] Subsequently, evidence was unearthed that the alleged Kenyan birth certificate is a modified version of a 1959 Australian birth certificate found on an online genealogy website.[53][54] The Washington Independent website cited an anonymous blogger[55] as having taken credit for the forgery and posting four photos substantiating the claim.[56] Examples of actual 1961 Kenyan birth certificates have also been revealed, which look substantially different from the document Taitz submitted to the court.[57]

Oh here's all the court cases that have been rejected on the issue:

Some of the conspiracy theorists, such as Farah, have alleged that Obama has decided "to spend sums estimated in the hundreds of thousands of dollars to avoid releasing a state birth certificate that would put to rest all of the questions."[111] Farah did not provide a basis for his estimate of the expenditures. At least one attorney representing Obama in the litigation has stated that he is working without pay.[112]

[edit] Berg v. Obama et al

On August 21, 2008, Pennsylvania attorney Philip J. Berg, a Democrat and former deputy state attorney general, filed a complaint alleging that Obama was born in Kenya, not Hawaii, and was therefore a citizen of Kenya or possibly Indonesia, where he lived as a child.[113][114] He alleged that the "Certification of Live Birth" on Obama's website is a forgery.[115]

U.S. District Judge R. Barclay Surrick dismissed the complaint in October 2008, finding that Berg lacked standing to bring the case and that his attempts to gain standing to pursue his claim were "frivolous and not worthy of discussion."[116][117] Bypassing the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, Berg filed a petition for a writ of certiorari before judgment in the United States Supreme Court. On December 10, 2008 the Supreme Court denied Berg's request for an injunction against the seating of the Electoral College, scheduled for December 15.[118] On December 15, 2008, the petitioner refiled the application for injunction.[119] Two days later, Berg's appeal was denied without comment by Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy.[114] Berg's previously denied request for an injunction was refiled with Justice Antonin Scalia on December 18, 2008.[119] On January 12, the Supreme Court denied the petition for certiorari. The application for stay addressed to Justice Scalia and referred to the Court was also summarily denied on January 21, 2009.[119]

On November 12, 2009 the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, dismissed the Berg v. Obama et al case "because there is no case or controversy."[120]

[edit] Martin v. Lingle

On October 17, 2008, another lawsuit was filed in a state circuit court of Hawaii[33] by Andy Martin, who was earlier declared by the US Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit as a "notoriously vexatious and vindictive litigator who has long abused the American legal system."[121] Martin's lawsuit sought to order the state to release a copy of Sen. Obama's long-form birth certificate.[33] The short-form birth certificate that the Obama campaign posted online states his place of birth as Honolulu, Hawaii.[33]

The court denied Martin's petition, saying that Martin lacked "a direct and tangible interest in the record."[122] The court cited Martin's lack of legal standing to obtain another person's birth document.[123]

[edit] Donofrio v. Wells

Leo Donofrio, an attorney from New Jersey,[124] filed suit to challenge the eligibility of Obama, Republican presidential candidate John McCain (see details here) and the Socialist Workers Party candidate Roger Calero.[2] Donofrio asserted that all three candidates were ineligible: Obama due to having dual US and British nationality at birth (the latter via Obama's father), McCain due to being born in the Panama Canal Zone, and Calero due to allegedly still having Nicaraguan citizenship.[125]

Donofrio was not among those who claimed Obama might have been born outside Hawaii.[126] Also, Donofrio did not challenge the fact that Obama is a U.S. citizen and instead challenged only whether Obama is a natural-born citizen.[67]

The case was referred to the Supreme Court by Justice Clarence Thomas. When the case reached the United States Supreme Court on December 8, 2008, the Court declined without comment to hear the case.[125]

[edit] Wrotnowski v. Bysiewicz

On October 31, 2008, Greenwich resident and health-food-store owner Cort Wrotnowski filed a suit in the Connecticut Supreme Court challenging the authenticity of presidential candidate Obama's Hawaii birth certificate. The suit was dismissed after initial hearings.[127]

Wrotnowski appealed to the US Supreme Court on November 25,[128] contending that the British citizenship of Obama's father made the president-elect ineligible to assume office. Leo Donofrio, whose earlier case against Obama's eligibility had been turned down, assisted Wrotnowski's Supreme Court appeal.[129] The request for stay or injunction was denied without comment on December 15, 2008.[128][130] Thomas Goldstein, who has argued numerous cases before the court and covers Supreme Court cases, commented that "The law has always been understood to be, if you are born here, you're a natural born citizen. And that is particularly true in this case, when you have a U.S. citizen parent like Barack Obama's mother".[130]

[edit] Keyes v. Bowen

Alan Keyes and Markham Robinson, chairman of the American Independent Party and a California candidate for president elector, filed a lawsuit on November 14, 2008 requesting that Obama provide documentation that he is a natural born citizen of the United States.[131][132][133][134] Keyes also said in an interview that he would not be in favor of amending this requirement of the Constitution.[135]

In another lawsuit, plaintiffs, including Keyes, showed the court a copy of Obama's birth certificate.[136] The Hawaii health department denied that request citing confidentiality laws, and a state court dismissed the suit.[137] Keyes asserts that statements by Obama's Kenyan grandmother "raise doubts as to whether Barack Obama is in fact a natural born U.S. citizen, eligible to be president. "[60] In one interview, Obama's grandmother indicated that she was present when he was born, though she did not name the location and a male voice identified by Alex Koppleman of salon.com (an online magazine focused on American liberal politics) as that of a younger Obama relative indicates that Obama was born in Hawaii and corrects the earlier statement to indicate that she was not present.[138][139]

On March 13, 2009, California Superior Court Judge Michael P. Kenny issued a tentative ruling dismissing the case. The Court sustained, without leave to amend, Secretary Bowen's and Obama's demurrers on Keyes' petition for writ of mandate and granted Obama's motion to quash the subpoena. Keyes was found not to be entitled to the records he sought, thereby declaring the case moot.[140][141]

[edit] Hollister v. Soetoro

On March 5, 2009, a lawsuit filed by Philip Berg on behalf of Gregory S. Hollister, a retired Air Force colonel, against Barack Obama (referenced as "Barry Soetoro", the name given at the time of his enrollment in an Indonesian elementary school[citation needed]). The suit was dismissed in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. The presiding judge, James Robertson, said the case was a waste of the court's time, calling Berg and another lawyer "agents provocateurs" and their local counsel, John Hemenway, "a foot soldier in their crusade." He ordered Hemenway to show cause why he should not pay the legal fees for Obama's attorney as a penalty for filing a complaint "for an improper purpose such as to harass."[142]

[edit] Cook v. Obama

On February 1, 2009, Stefan F. Cook, a Major in the United States Army Reserve, contacted lawyer Orly Taitz via e-mail, asking to be part of her lawsuit. On May 8, he volunteered to serve for one year in Afghanistan beginning on July 15, 2009.[143] The Army accepted his offer and ordered him to report on that date.[143] On July 8, however, he filed suit, with Taitz as his lawyer, seeking a temporary restraining order and status as a conscientious objector, arguing that his deployment orders were invalid because Obama was not a natural-born U.S. citizen, and therefore ineligible to serve as commander-in-chief of the armed forces.[144] His orders were thereupon revoked; an Army spokesperson stated, "A reserve soldier who volunteers for an active duty tour may ask for a revocation of orders up until the day he is scheduled to report for active duty."[143] Accordingly, Cook's case was dismissed as moot on July 16.[145][146]

In the lawsuit, filed in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Georgia, Cook asserted that he "would be acting in violation of international law by engaging in military actions outside the United States under this President's command. [...] simultaneously subjecting himself to possible prosecution as a war criminal by the faithful execution of these duties."[144] In April, before Cook volunteered for deployment to Afghanistan, he had been included in Taitz's list of people she said she represented as plaintiffs, in a letter raising the citizenship issue.[147] A retired Army two-star general and an active reserve US Air Force lieutenant-colonel subsequently joined the Georgia case as plaintiffs alongside Cook. The government, in its reply, stated: "The Commanding General of SOCCENT (United States Special Operations Command Central) has determined that he does not want the services of Major Cook, and has revoked his deployment orders."[148] An Army CENTCOM spokesman rejected as false claims that the revocation validated Cook's claims: "This in no way validates any of the outlandish claims made by Maj. Cook or his attorney. The idea that this validates those charges about the president's fitness for office is simply false."[149]

After the case was filed, Taitz alleged that Cook had been terminated from his civilian job with a defense contractor, after the situation at his company had become "nutty and crazy".[150]

Cook received significant media coverage on July 16, 2009 from Fox News's Sean Hannity.[143][151][152][153][154] Hannity said in his second of two reports:

We told you Tuesday about an Army reserve soldier who challenged his deployment orders on the grounds that President Obama has not proven he is a U.S. citizen. Major Stefan Frederick Cook, who was supposed to deploy to Afghanistan in the coming days, has had his orders revoked. According to his lawyer, "They just said 'order revoked.' No explanation. No reasons. Just revoked." Major Cook and his lawyer expressed joy at this outcome and took it as an admission on the part of the military that the president is not in fact a legitimate citizen by birth.[152][153]

Hannity was criticized for publicizing the "birthers" movement.[153][154] News Hounds wrote:

Fox News had added legitimacy to the irrational and baseless conspiracy-theorist 'birthers' who continue to insist, despite evidence to the contrary, that Barack Obama was not born in the United States and [is] thus an illegitimate president. One such effort came from Sean Hannity, reporting on a soldier challenging his deployment to Afghanistan on the grounds that Obama is not eligible to be president. Hannity had failed to note in his report the availability of Obama's birth certificate and how the birther claims have been completely investigated and debunked. Hannity gave an update to the Afghanistan story last night (7/15/09) and took it a step further by suggesting, along with the plaintiff, that the subsequent revocation of the soldiers [sic] deployment orders indicated that his allegations were proved true. But Hannity omitted key details that point to a scam by the soldier. ... Had Hannity bothered to do the simplest of Google searches, he would have also uncovered this key piece of information from that day's Georgia Ledger-Enquirer [sic] newspaper.... So, Maj. Cook filed a request to serve the Commander-in-Chief in Afghanistan on May 8, well after Obama had assumed the presidency, but now, about two months later, is claiming that Obama is not qualified to be president. And instead of going through the administrative process to revoke his orders, which would seem to be a pro forma matter, he sued in federal court. —News Hounds,[153] citing The Ledger-Enquirer[143]

After the lawsuit was reported in the Columbus Ledger-Enquirer, the newspaper reported receiving "the highest volume of traffic ever by a single story in the history of ledger-enquirer.com, including written threats against the newspaper", with nearly half a million new readers and hundreds of e-mails. The threats prompted an increase in security around the courthouse where Cook's case was heard, as well as precautions being taken to protect the author of the newspaper's reports on the case. Executive Editor Ben Holden noted: "The chatter had the feel of a righteous cause – almost a religious cause – because some people hate this president."[155]

[edit] Barnett v. Obama

On the afternoon of January 20, 2009, Orly Taitz filed a lawsuit in federal court, Alan Keyes et al v. Barack H. Obama et al against Obama, with Wiley Drake as one of the named parties.[156] On July 13, 2009, the presiding judge dismissed the case without prejudice on technical grounds,[157] and on July 14, 2009, Taitz refiled a "First Amended Complaint" Captain Pamela Barnett v. Barack Hussein Obama[158] on behalf of Alan Keyes, Wiley Drake, Cynthia Davis, Gail Lightfoot, several other local politicians, and various armed service members. Taitz sought a declaratory judgment that Obama is ineligible for office and an injunction to void his actions and appointments as President.[159][160] Two of the plaintiffs, Markham Robinson and Wiley S Drake, subsequently attempted to dismiss Taitz, who refused to sign their substitution-of-attorney documents and instead filed to dismiss the two of them as plaintiffs in the case.

On September 8, 2009, Judge David O. Carter denied the dismissal of Drake and Robinson as plaintiffs, ordered that Gary Kreep of the United States Justice Foundation be substituted as counsel for them, refused to dismiss Magistrate Judge Arthur Nakazato from the case, and set a tentative trial date for January 26, 2010.[161]

At a hearing on October 5, 2009, Carter considered the defendants' Motion to Dismiss and declined to rule from the bench, saying that he would take the matter under advisement.[162]. On October 7, 2009, he released a Minute Order finalizing the previously tentative dates for summary judgement motions and trial, [163] and on October 29, 2009, he dismissed the case.[164]

[edit] Ankeny v. Gov. State of Indiana

In December of 2008, Steve Ankeny and Bill Kruse filed a "Petition for Extraordinary Writ of Prohibition" against the Governor of Indiana to block "any popular votes for Barack Obama and Joe Biden for the appointment as Chief Electors [sic]." A hearing was held, and on March 16, 2009 the Governor's motion to dismiss was granted. The Plaintiffs appealed the ruling to the Indiana Court of Appeals, which upheld it on November 12, 2009. [165]

The appellate decision addressed the question of whether Obama's eligibility was affected by his father's lack of U.S. citizenship, saying that "[b]ased upon the language of Article II, Section 1, Clause 4 and the guidance provided by Wong Kim Ark, we conclude that persons born within the borders of the United States are “natural born Citizens” for Article II, Section 1 purposes, regardless of the citizenship of their parents."[166]

[edit] Citizen grand juries

Some campaigners, led by Georgia activist Carl Swensson, have sought to "finally expose the conspiracy behind President Obama's birth certificate" by forming what they term "citizen grand juries" to indict Obama.[167] The "grand juries" are based on the Fifth Amendment's premise that "no person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury". Although the activists managed to hand out copies of "indictments" to Congressional staff,[168] the courts have not regarded the "citizen grand juries" favorably. In June 2009, a group of 172 campaigners declared themselves to be a "Super American Grand Jury" and voted to charge Obama with treason and accused him of not being a US citizen.[169] Chief Judge Royce C. Lamberth of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia dismissed the "indictment" on July 2 and declared: "[T]here is no authority under the Rules of Procedure or in the statutes of the United States for this court to accept [a presentment]... The individuals who have made this presentment were not convened by this court to sit as a grand jury nor have they been selected at random from a fair cross section of this district. Any self-styled indictment or presentment issued by such a group has no force under the Constitution or laws of the United States."[170]

The birthers are tiresome, and no matter what is presented to them to disprove they will continue the conspiracy theories, perhaps forever! 

It reminds me of the controversial information about the influence of the freemasons in America, and was George Washington really a freemason and did the tenents of secrecy and intrigue influence his decisions as president.  Also the latest theories about Lincoln and was he really suffering from a wasting disease and would have died anyways, if he had not been assinated. And on, and on, and on. 

It's the pedestal effect.  Great people attract those who want to knock them down, and they will go to extreme lengths to do so.  It's a flaw in human nature. : (