I think part of what bugs me about the birthers is not just the stupidity of conspiracy theorizing in general, but the fact that the Christians who indulge in it (including, shamefully, Catholics) remind me of nothing so much as anti-Catholic conspiracy theorists. The sheer malignant uncharity, the complete credulity accorded any rumor that might vindicate that uncharity, is what strikes me. It\u2019s like the anti-Catholics who grab some line from some Church Father to \u201cprove\u201d he believed in sola scriptura, then resolutely shut their eyes to the full context of the passage which makes it obvious he believed no such thing. There\u2019s a willed dishonesty about it that smells like a day old fish. Case in point, this little exchange from my comboxes between two readers:<\/p>\n
Okay, for those who think \u201cbirthers\u201d are conspiracy nuts \u2013 here\u2019s what the media isn\u2019t reporting:<\/em><\/p>\n
1)Obama\u2019s paternal grandmother was recorded as saying that she \u201cwas in the delivery room in Kenya when he was born August 4, 1961.\u201d<\/p>\n
This particular lie was started when conspiracy theorists posted a truncated recording of an interview with Obama\u2019s grandmother. There was confusion in the translation, where his grandmother thought she was answering the question, \u201cWere you in Kenya when he was born?\u201d But the translator thought he was asking, \u201cWere you there when he was born here in Kenya?\u201d<\/p>\n
Here is an example <\/a>of the misleading presentation, where they only play the recording up until the miscommunication, leading the listener to believe that she said he was born in Kenya.<\/p>\n
But, if you actually listen to the full recording, you find out that the mistake was corrected immediately after that YouTube video leaves off. You can find the FULL recording here<\/a>:<\/p>\n
2) Hawaii has legal statutes permitting the issuance of a certificate of live birth for children born on foreign soil provided that the parents had declared the State of Hawaii as their legal residence for at least one year immediately preceding the birth or adoption of such child.
(]\u2013>[\u00a7338-17.8])<\/p><\/blockquote>\nThe media has reported on this, and has debunked it. <\/p>\n
From the Director of Communications of the Hawaii Department of Health:<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you were born in Bali, for example,\u201d Okubo explained, \u201cyou could get a certificate from the state of Hawaii saying you were born in Bali. You could not get a certificate saying you were born in Honolulu. The state has to verify a fact like that for it to appear on the certificate.\u201d
From here<\/a>.<\/p>\nAnd, as you know, the certificate presented by the Obama campaign said he was born in Honolulu.<\/p>\n