Uncle Jay Explains: Dec. 22, 2008

(Compiler's note: Click on the title above for access to a real classic)

Wall Street's Final '08 Toll: $6.9 Trillion Wiped Out

AOL: Growing majority worried over Obama's eligibility

An unscientific poll being conducted by America Online reveals more and more people are having second thoughts about Barack Obama's eligibility to occupy the Oval Office.

Those who raised questions about his vague history before the election largely drew scorn from the mainstream media, which cited an online image from Obama's campaign that purportedly proved his U.S. citizenship with a Hawaiian "Certification of Live Birth."

But the latest results from the America Online poll reveal that nationwide only 41 percent of the participants now believe there is no issue to be investigated.

Fifty-three percent nationwide, and majorities in 45 states individually, say "yes" when asked if there is "any merit" to the controversy surrounding his citizenship. Even in Obama's own state, Illinois, the opinion is split 47-47 percent on the issue.

WND has reported on nearly 20 lawsuits that have been filed in various courts around the nation, including several that have reached the U.S. Supreme Court.

They all in various ways allege Obama does not meet the "natural born citizen" clause of the U.S. Constitution, Article 2, Section 1, which reads, "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."

Some of the legal challenges have alleged Obama was not born in Hawaii, as he insists, but in Kenya. Obama's American mother, the suits contend, was too young at the time of his birth to confer American citizenship to her son under the law at the time.

Where's the proof Barack Obama was born in the U.S. or that he fulfills the "natural-born American" clause in the Constitution? If you still want to see it, join more than 200,000 others and sign up now!

Other challenges also have focused on Obama's citizenship through his father, a Kenyan subject to the jurisdiction of the United Kingdom at the time of his birth, thus making him a dual citizen. Such cases contend the framers of the Constitution excluded dual citizens from qualifying as natural born.

Several details of Obama's past have added twists to the question of his eligibility and citizenship, including his family's move to Indonesia when he was a child, his travel to Pakistan in the '80s when such travel was forbidden to American citizens and conflicting reports from Obama's family about his place of birth.

His campaign posted the image of a "Certification of Live Birth" online when the questions first arose, but critics have dismissed that as irrelevant, since at the time Hawaii granted such documents to parents whose children were born outside the state.

The America Online poll shows in South Dakota and Wyoming both, the opinion runs 65-40 that Obama's eligibility needs to be investigated, but those figures are topped in Mississippi, where fully two-thirds of the people believe the truths need to be revealed.

Of the more than 102,000 votes nationwide, the split is 53 percent believing there is an issue to investigate, 41 percent saying no, and six percent undecided.

Even left-leaning Washington state came in at 53-42-5 confirming there's merit to the issue, and in California it was 50-45-5. North Dakota and Texas both turned in 61 percent of the votes citing an issue to review.

The only states where majorities believed there was no issue were Connecticut (42-50-7), Vermont (44-46-10), Rhode Island (42-52-6) and New York (45-49-6). Participants from the rarified air of the District of Columbia agreed with the minority 29-68-3. However, that was down from 71 percent in D.C. who believed, only days earlier, that there was no merit.

Among the comments posted on the America Online poll site was this warning: "If Mr. Obama were to become president, yet not respect the Constitution and customs of this country, then he is not my president. Without legitimacy, his rule will be resisted, damaged and impaired. This can only cause harm to this country."

The poll linked to a commentary that said, "There is virtually no chance that the USSC actually wants to look at this case for real. The best case scenario for the plaintiffs here is that Obama was born out of the country and is somehow covering it up. But even in that case, what you'll find is that the key stipulated fact is that Obama's mother is an American citizen.

"IF he was born out of country and IF some court wants to make an issue of it, then it might just simply enable the fastest constitutional amendment in American history. There is no chance the election will be overturned over it. Again, mom was a citizen," said the commentary.

Critics, however, say that Obama's mother was too young to automatically pass citizenship to her son at his birth.

Another commenter at the poll site said, "In his oath of office, the president must swear 'to uphold and protect the Constitution of the United States.' How can Mr. Obama satisfy this requirement, yet violate the 'Natural Born' requirement?"

Said another, "All of this controversy would go away if Obama would just produce a birth certificate. He is fueling this by refusing to do so, and by fighting the issue in court. That refusal alone should make people suspicious."

On a similar note, a recent WND poll asked readers, "Are you satisfied Obama is constitutionally eligible to assume the presidency?" A full 97 percent of nearly 7,200 voters said "no."

The top three answers were:

• No, if I can't get a driver's license without an original birth certificate, how can Obama become president without one?

• No, and Americans should continue to dog him about it through his term

• No, there's a reason why he's unwilling to disclose his original birth certificate

The next hearing before the justices at the U.S. Supreme Court on the dispute is scheduled Jan. 9, when a conference will be held on a case raised by attorney Philip Berg.

"I am determined, on behalf of the 320 million citizens in the United States, to see that 'our U.S. Constitution' is followed. Specifically, in the case of Soetoro a/k/a Obama, does he meet the constitutional qualifications for president?" Berg said in a statement on his website.

"I am appalled that the main stream media continues to ignore this issue as we are headed to a 'Constitutional Crisis.' There is nothing more important than our U.S. Constitution and it must be enforced," he said.

A partial listing and status update for several of the cases surrounding Obama's eligibility to serve as president is below:

• Philip J. Berg, a Pennsylvania Democrat, demanded that the courts verify Obama's original birth certificate and other documents proving his American citizenship. Supreme Court conferences on the case and its motions are scheduled Jan. 9 and 16.
  


• Leo Donofrio of New Jersey filed a lawsuit claiming Obama's dual citizenship disqualified him from serving as president. His case was considered in conference by the U.S. Supreme Court but denied a full hearing.


• Cort Wrotnowski filed suit against Connecticut's secretary of state, making a similar argument to Donofrio. His case was considered in conference by the U.S. Supreme Court, but was denied a full hearing.


• Former presidential candidate Alan Keyes headlines a list of people filing a suit in California, in a case on which the United States Justice Foundation is working, that asks the secretary of state to refuse to allow the state's 55 Electoral College votes to be cast in the 2008 presidential election until Obama verifies his eligibility to hold the office. The case is pending, and lawyers are seeking the public's support.


• Chicago's Andy Martin sought legal action requiring Hawaii Gov. Linda Lingle to release Obama's vital statistics record. The case was dismissed by Hawaii Circuit Court Judge Bert Ayabe.
  
  
• Lt. Col. Donald Sullivan sought a temporary restraining order to stop the Electoral College vote in North Carolina until Barack Obama's eligibility could be confirmed, alleging doubt about Obama's citizenship. His case was denied.
  
  
• In Ohio, David M. Neal sued to force the secretary of state to request documents from the Federal Elections Commission, the Democratic National Committee, the Ohio Democratic Party and Obama to show the presidential candidate was born in Hawaii. The case was denied.
  
  
• In Washington state, Steven Marquis sued the secretary of state seeking a determination on Obama's citizenship. The case was denied.
  
  
• In Georgia, Rev. Tom Terry asked the state Supreme Court to authenticate Obama's birth certificate. His request for an injuction against Georgia's secretary of state was denied by Georgia Superior Court Judge Jerry W. Baxter.


• California attorney Orly Taitz also has brought a complaint alleging Obama is not a "natural born" citizen and has written an open letter to the Supreme Court asking for the issue to be resolved.


• Pennsylvania attorney James D. Schneller is suing Pennsylvania's secretary of state, Pedro A. Cortes., to prevent transmittal of the certified electoral vote, claiming severe moral consequences and infringement upon even freedom of religion if Obama's eligibility is not established. His case is active before the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania.


• In Washington state, attorney Stephen Pidgeon is representing 12 plaintiffs in a case that claims to have standing under a unique Washington statute that allows any registered voter to challenge the election of someone who, at the time of the election, was ineligible to hold the office. The suit intends to include a subpoena of Obama's Hawaii birth certificate. The case is scheduled for argument before the Washington Supreme Court on Jan. 8.

Last month, WND reported on the potential complications an ineligible president could create.

"Should Senator Obama be discovered, after he takes office, to be ineligible for the Office of President of the United States of America and, thereby, his election declared void," argues the Alan Keyes case pending in California, "Americans will suffer irreparable harm in that (a) usurper will be sitting as the President of the United States, and none of the treaties, laws, or executive orders signed by him will be valid or legal."

With such high stakes potentially at risk, WND earlier launched a letter campaign to contact Electoral College members and urge them to review the controversy.

That followed a campaign that sent more than 60,000 letters by overnight delivery to the U.S. Supreme Court when one case contesting Obama's eligibility for the Oval Office was pending.

A separate petition, already signed by more than 200,000 also is ongoing asking authorities in the election to seek proof Obama was born in the U.S. or that he fulfills the "natural-born American" clause in the Constitution.

WND senior reporter Jerome Corsi had gone to both Kenya and Hawaii prior to the election to investigate issues surrounding Obama's birth. But his research and discoveries only raised more questions.

The biggest question was why, if a Hawaii birth certificate exists as his campaign has stated, Obama hasn't simply ordered it made available to settle the rumors

The governor's office in Hawaii said there is a valid certificate but rejected requests for access and left ambiguous its origin: Does the certificate on file with the Department of Health indicate a Hawaii birth or was it generated after the Obama family registered a Kenyan birth in Hawaii?

Gaza: Hamas gunmen hide in hospitals

Shin Bet chief briefs cabinet on day five of Gaza offensive, says terror operatives hide in hospitals, mosques. IDF: Hamas increases use of densely populated areas for launching pads ....

Obama And That Other Ponzi Scheme

President-elect's name may emerge in Norman Hsu fraud trial.

As if being linked to one high-profile criminal case weren't enough, President-elect Barack Obama's name may soon pop up in another federal prosecution, this one involving a massive Ponzi scheme (no, the other massive Ponzi scheme). In addition to the Rod Blagojevich pay-for-play probe, Obama could figure in the upcoming fraud trial of Norman Hsu, the disgraced Democratic fundraiser who was charged last year with operating a $60 million pyramid scheme.

According to investigators, Hsu, a major Hillary Clinton fundraiser, pressured investors to donate money to political candidates with whom he was aligned. In a letter last week to U.S. District Court Judge Victor Marrero, Hsu's lawyer, Martin Cohen, requested a 60-day delay in the start of Hsu's trial, scheduled to open January 12 (Cohen cited the "extraordinary level of negative publicity" generated by the recent arrest of alleged Ponzi schemer Bernard Madoff). In his December 22 letter, a copy of which you'll find by clicking on the title above, Cohen also noted that Hsu was already "notorious for his political activities" and that it was "inevitable" that his client's "connections" to Bill and Hillary Clinton "and other democratic notables--including perhaps the president-elect--will be introduced at trial."

Before becoming a key fundraiser for Hillary Clinton's presidential bid, Hsu co-hosted a 2005 California fundraiser for Obama's political action committee and introduced the Illinois Democrat to Marc Gorenberg, a Silicon Valley venture capitalist who later joined the Obama campaign's national finance committee. Prosecutors allege that Hsu directed his investors to donate money to specific candidates, and then reimbursed them in violation of federal campaign laws. Unswayed by Cohen's argument, Marrero declined to delay the trial, which will begin a week before Obama's inauguration. ....

Another One Bites The Dust: Top Hamas Thug Killed in Air Strike

* Thousands of Hamas combatants have begun infiltrating Gaza City after shedding their uniforms and are taking over civilian apartments.

Nizar Rayyan is one of the most senior Hamas leaders killed by Israel

Hamas spiritual leader forced his kids to die with him

In addition, the IAF bombed the homes of three senior Gaza terrorists.

A senior Hamas leader has been killed by an Israeli air strike on his home in the Gaza Strip, Hamas officials say.

BBC

Nizar Rayyan, the most senior Hamas figure to be killed since 2004, had urged suicide attacks against Israel.

Palestine Today says that Sheikh Rayyan knew very well that his house was a target:

Over the past two days, Israeli aircraft bombed a number of the homes of Hamas leadersin the Gaza Strip, but most of the houses were empty

While aware of that, our Sheikh Rayyan refused to come out of his house and remained firm there with a number of his children.

News of the strike came on the sixth day of Israeli strikes on Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip.

Palestinian medical sources say 391 people have been killed. Israel says it is trying to prevent militants from firing rockets into southern Israel.

Mr Rayyan is the most senior Hamas leader to be killed since the death of Abdel Aziz al-Rantissi in April 2004.

Long reach of Israel

Since its bombing campaign began last Saturday, Israel has attacked Hamas fighters and commanders.

Sites linked to Hamas have also been hit, including smuggling tunnels under the border to Egypt, government buildings and security compounds.

Hamas considered Mr Rayyan to be a political leader, but he often wore a military uniform and was close to the group’s armed wing.

Until now, political leaders have not been killed.

The BBC’s Mike Sergeant, in Jerusalem, says this may further strengthen the determination of Hamas to resist the Israeli air assault.

But it will also be seen as an indication that the Israeli military can target key members of the Hamas leadership - the people Israel says are responsible for the rockets being fired towards Israeli towns, our correspondent adds.

Four Israelis have been killed by Palestinian rockets fired into Israel since Saturday.

Humanitarian warning

On Wednesday, Mr Rayyan had promised that Hamas would hit Israel “even deeper” than it has so far.

On the Hamas-run al-Aqsa television channel, he said Hamas militants were preparing for any Israeli ground incursion, saying “we will kill the enemy and take hostages”.

At least four other people, some said to be family members, were also killed in the air raid on Mr Rayyan’s home in the Jabaliya refugee camp in the north of the Gaza Strip.

The deaths come as the main UN agency operating in Gaza, Unwra, has resumed food deliveries, but warned of a dire humanitarian situation in the territory.

Israel is refusing entry to Gaza for international journalists and has declared the area around it a “closed military zone”, leading to speculation a ground offensive into the tiny coastal strip could be imminent.

Israeli President Shimon Peres said it was not his country’s aim to return to the Gaza Strip.

“The aim is to stop terror. Our aim, if you ask me, is a positive one - to make peace,” he told the BBC.

He said it was up to Hamas to end the conflict.

“It depends upon them. Today, after all the death and all the blood, they fired 17 rockets today. What for? If they really care about their people, stop it.”

Gaza violence goes into sixth day

UN fails to make progress on Gaza

Israel rejects Gaza truce calls

Gaza rockets hit deep into Israel

Gaza aid boat ‘rammed by Israel’