reply to post by skunknuts
Here's another good one:
factcheck.org...
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Clueless “Columbo”
January 18, 2010
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Q: What’s up with "Columbo" and his questions for Obama?
A: The interrogator in a chain e-mail gets his facts fouled up and makes false accusations.
FULL QUESTION:
Have you seen this one making the e-mail rounds? I’ve seen that you’ve disproven at least one or two items contained in this "Colombo"
e-mailing. Can you debunk any of the rest on your Web site?
Thank you very much for your good work
Subject: Sorry to bother you
Remember Colombo?
Ah, sorry to bother you Mr. Obama, Sir. . …
Excuse me Mr. Obama, I mean President Obama, Sir. Um . . I know you’re busy, and important and stuff. I mean, running the country is very
important and — ah — I hate to bother you, Sir. I will only take a minute. Ok, Sir?
See, I have these missing pieces that are holding me up, and I was wondering, Sir, if you could take time out of your busy schedule and help me
out. You know, no big deal, just some loose ends and things.
⬐ Click to expand/collapse the full text ⬏
Hey, you have a nice place here! The wife sees houses like this on TV all the time and says, boy, she wishes she had digs like this, you know? Is
that painting real? Really? Wow!
I saw something like that in a museum once.
Oh, sorry Sir. I didn’t mean to get off the track.
So if you could just help me out a minute and give me some details, I will get right out of your way. I want to close this case and maybe take the
wife to Coney Island or something. Ever been to Coney Island Sir? No? I didn’t think so…
Well, listen, anyway, I can’t seem to get some information I need to wrap this up. These things seem to either be "Not released" or "Not
available." I’m sure it’s just an oversight or glitch or something, so if you could you tell me where these things are I have them written down
here somewhere — oh wait. I’ll just read it to you.
Could you please help me find these things, Sir?
1. Occidental College records — Not released
2. Columbia College records — Not released
3. Columbia Thesis paper — "Not available"
4. Harvard College records — Not released
5. Selective Service Registration — Not released
6. Medical records — Not released
7. Illinois State Senate schedule — Not available
8. Your Illinois State Senate records — Not available
9. Law practice client list — Not released
10. Certified Copy of original Birth certificate — Not released
11. Embossed, signed paper Certification of Live Birth — Not released
12. Record of your baptism — Not available
13. Why your wife, Michelle, can no longer practice law as an attorney? (Insurance Fraud?)_
14. Why your wife has 22 assistants, when other First Ladies had one?
15. Why were you getting "foreign student aid" as a college student?
16. Which countries "passport" did you have when you visited Pakistan in 1981?
Oh and one more thing Mr. President, I can’t seem to find any articles you published as editor of the Harvard Law Review, or as a Professor at
the University of Chicago. Can you explain that to me, Sir?
Oh, but hey — listen! I know you’re busy! If this is too much for you right now — I mean — tell you what. I’ll come back tomorrow. Give
you some time to get these things together, you know? I mean, I know you’re busy. I’ll just let myself out. I’ll be back tomorrow. And the day
after. . …
What’s that Mr. President? Who wants to know these things?
We the People of the United States of America! You know, the ones that vote.
FULL ANSWER:
In the old television series "Columbo," the rumpled Los Angeles police lieutenant played by actor Peter Falk solved crimes by asking penetrating
questions based on his own keen eye both for evidence and for holes in the suspect’s story. But the fake "Columbo" in this widely forwarded
message misstates facts and makes baseless insinuations.
Birth Baloney
Probing for some evidence that Obama perhaps isn’t actually a U.S. citizen, the fake detective asks "Why were you getting ‘foreign student aid’
as a college student?" But Obama got no such aid. That question repeats a claim made in an April Fools’ Day hoax that we exposed last May. He also
asks, "Which countries [sic] ‘passport’ did you have when you visited Pakistan in 1981," suggesting that Obama must have traveled on a non-U.S.
passport. But as we reported June 5, Americans routinely traveled to Pakistan using U.S. passports in 1981, and a conservative blogger’s claim that
Obama necessarily used a foreign passport is false.
"Colombo’s" most blatantly false claim is that Obama has "not released" any "Embossed, signed paper Certification of Live Birth." That’s
simply not true, as we reported Aug. 21, 2008. We posted high-resolution digital photos of Obama’s "Certification of Live Birth" showing quite
clearly that it is indeed embossed with the official state seal of Hawaii and also bears the signature of Hawaii state registrar Alvin T. Onaka (who
uses a signature stamp for these things). As we reported, that document is legal proof of Obama’s citizenship, meeting the requirements for
obtaining a U.S. passport from the State Department.
Nevertheless, "Columbo" asks for more. He wants a certified copy of an "original" birth certificate, presumably meaning whatever form was filled
out at Kapi’olani hospital when Obama was born there on Aug. 4, 1961. Such a document may well exist, but it would be in the file drawers of the
state of Hawaii, and the state does not release those. Since 2001, the only document the state gives to those who want proof of their birth is a
"certification" like the one Obama released. But we have excellent evidence that Obama’s "certification" accurately reflects whatever the state
has on file. Dr. Chiyome Fukino, director of the state’s Department of Health, states that she has seen the "original vital records" and that all
is in order. She said in an official press release:
Fukino, July 27, 2009: I … have seen the original vital records maintained on file by the Hawai‘i State Department of Health verifying Barack
Hussein Obama was born in Hawai‘i and is a natural-born American citizen.