Mythbuster

Throughout the 2008 presidential campaign, opponents of Barack Obama have persistently raised questions about the legitimacy of his citizenship. Some fringe hardcore Clinton activists raised the issue early in the primary campaign, trying desperately to dig something up to use against their foe. That furor was eventually put to rest only to be resurrected in the general campaign by right-wing conspiracists. Again, the claims were debunked repeatedly both by the Obama campaign and several independent organizations.

Unable to accept reality, several right-wing bloggers (including some Okie bloggers) continue to perpetuate the myth that Obama’s citizenship is false or unproven. Yesterday, former presidential candidate Alan Keyes and the American Independent Party filed a lawsuit in California Superior Court over the issue, seeking “to stop the state from giving its electoral votes to President-elect Barack Obama until documentary evidence is provided to prove Obama is indeed a natural born citizen of the United States,” NBC-Augusta.com reported.

Okie blogger Jim Martin of Fried Green Onions has posted many times questioning the legitimacy of Obama’s citizenship, raising the issue anew yesterday in a post referencing an Atlas Shrugs post:

Here is the evidence:  FINAL REPORT ON OBAMA BIRTH CERTIFICATE FORGERY CHANGE YOU CAN BELIEVE IN (7/20/08). This provides “reasonable suspicion”.
Here is the ad. Release the vault copy. Period.

The ad claims there are three unanswered questions:

1. Was Barack Obama Born in Kenya?
2. Is He really a Citizen of Indonesia?
3. Does the Constitution still Matter?

The answer to question 1 and 2 is a resounding “no.” The answer to question 3: The Constitution matters to some people, but not to everyone — just ask the current administration. But that has nothing to do with the veracity of Obama’s citizenship.

Although reality and facts don’t seem to matter to those hell-bent on invalidating the popularly elected presidency of Barack Obama, I’ve included here some relevant findings from a couple of different fact-checking organizations. Continued

Just like many other people, I am the recipient of many, many forwarded emails with stories that are deemed to be so important that they “must” be passed on to everyone else I know. Typically, stories include the phrases “not a joke” and/or “this is true” are a tipoff that they are just another viral myth.

After receiving one this morning (from a well-meaning friend), I thought I would start a new ongoing “mythbuster” feature on this blog in which I check out suspect stories and share the results here. The first story to kick this inaugural edition is…

The Budweiser Story
(not a joke)

This is TRUE!

How Budweiser handled those who laughed at those who died on the 11th of September, 2001…

Thought you might like to know what happened in a little town north of Bakersfield , California . After you finish reading this, please forward this story on to others so that our nation and people around the world will know about those who laughed when they found out about the tragic events in New York , Pennsylvania , and the Pentagon.

Continued