Barack Obama "Birther" conspiracy theory

[jimwalsh]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barack_...iracy_theories

I had never heard of this before an astonishing 41% Virginia's Republicans think President Obama was not born in the United States while just 32% think he was and 27% are still not sure.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...080302219.html

some of the comments on the page beggar belief...

[DrS]

I was reading about this yesterday, and it's astonishing how something that can and has been refuted with ample evidence can get a hold in people's minds. The article I was reading is HERE from the BBC.

[bindeweede]

I was reading about this yesterday, and it's astonishing how something that can and has been refuted with ample evidence can get a hold in people's minds. The article I was reading is HERE from the BBC.

There seem to be loads of Obama conspiracy theories. From today's Hindustan Times. (Don't ask - no idea.)

http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryP...a+conspiracies

[bindeweede]

There seem to be loads of Obama conspiracy theories. From today's Hindustan Times. (Don't ask - no idea.)

http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryP...a+conspiracies

Sorry. The article is a couple of weeks old.

[polomint38]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barack_...iracy_theories

I had never heard of this before an astonishing 41% Virginia's Republicans think President Obama was not born in the United States while just 32% think he was and 27% are still not sure.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...080302219.html

some of the comments on the page beggar belief...

From the Washington post article

and taking it seriously would be like arguing about the color of unicorns

Pink and invisible, no argument there.

[Floppit]

was reading about this yesterday, and it's astonishing how something that can and has been refuted with ample evidence can get a hold in people's minds.

I must admit I don't find it that surprising. Working on the presumption that none of them have the expertise to individually assess the validity of the document, or have their own access to it, they are reliant on being able to instead assess the reliability of the source that is telling them about the document and as they probably have little insight into the structures used to test it's validity they are not able to distinguish the degree of probable reliability of information. They discount the ample evidence because they discount the expertise/honesty of the source. Confirmation bias takes care of the rest. I think the same process is evident in vaccination theories, except perhaps some older people may have access to living memory of pre vaccination levels of sickness - there's a least the possibility of first hand knowledge.

Personally I'm not sure that sceptical thinking (I'm moving over to the 'c' spelling to see if it's more comfy, no red underlining which is less fun and less distracting, except that I just noticed and am typing about it!) can ever be divorced from weighing up who to listen to and the rational reasoning behind why.

[Croydon Bob]

I posted this on the Obama Hypnosis thread but it got buried under pages of posts by a thick yank using multiple names to congratulate himself on his previous posts...

Good news! You don't need to worry about your President's attempts to drag your country into the 21st century. It turns out he isn't eligible to be the Prez! He must have hypnotised you all into thinking he was. Here's his (Kenyan) birth certificate: http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=105764

Bad news! it's an obvious fake that only racist right-wing nutters would fall for: http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/20...earably-stupid

Just like the 9/11 loonies, the Birthers dismiss good evidence as faked and then clutch onto an obvious fake and claim it as evidence. Weird.

[DrS]

Personally I'm not sure that sceptical thinking (I'm moving over to the 'c' spelling to see if it's more comfy, no red underlining which is less fun and less distracting, except that I just noticed and am typing about it!) can ever be divorced from weighing up who to listen to and the rational reasoning behind why.

Yep, agree. It's the evaluation of evidence thing again.

[Croydon Bob]

There seem to be loads of Obama conspiracy theories. From today's Hindustan Times.

Possibly the funniest of them all from that list:

10. Barack Obama is an evil wizard who has the ability to hypnotize millions of people and force them to do his bidding.
The evidence: How else could he have become president when he’s not even a US citizen?

You would have to be very special to believe something like that...

[Croydon Bob]

This would seem to be a fairly definitive "guide to refuting the Birthers":

http://www.salon.com/news/feature/20...faq/index.html

[Graham Lappin]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barack_...iracy_theories I had never heard of this before an astonishing 41% Virginia's Republicans think President Obama was not born in the United States while just 32% think he was and 27% are still not sure.

I live in Maryland, just north of DC and trust me, this is not surprising at all

[expat-USA]

This would seem to be a fairly definitive "guide to refuting the Birthers":

http://www.salon.com/news/feature/20...faq/index.html

hi bob, i did go to this link and the argument -the real argument- boils down to the real thing. we want obama to show us his american birth certificate. i have had to show mine over and over, and i cannot show a xerox or facsimile. i have to show an original or reissued certificate with the official impirnted seal stamped on.
it turns out that hawaii actually does this. but the image of obama´s certificate doesn´t show these. well, i can´t get a job requiring a birth certificate with what obama has shown us.
""I guess the big issue that's being raised is the lack of an embossed seal and a signature," Okubo said, pointing out that in Hawaii, both those things are on the back of the document. "Because they scanned the front … you wouldn't see those things.""
first, an embossed seal would show on the front because it EMBOSSES the paper. with this seal is also the signatory of the individual placing the seal and the date. you see, we need to be able to trace documents to individuals. a generically released document has no accountablility. this is why a document is often required to be notarized.
so, obama´s document has no proof of notarization.
so, we have no embossed seal. no embossed seal -not legitimate.
that is WHY they use embossed seals. even today they would be more difficult to forge. we , at least should be shown a scan of the back and -really- you may consider your politicians above the law, we still make at least a pretense of trying to have them obey the same laws us commoners do.
so bob, let's not jump issues. do you believe the president of the united states should be required to show the same proof that other americans do?
i believe they should. again, if i ever need to show a birth certificate for a serious issue, i guarantee they will not accept what obama has provided.

[panama]

Funnily enough I was looking at this particular conspiracy theory earlier this week. For me the clincher is that the relevant authorities in Hawaii confirm the birth registration but there are more than enough pieces of ancillary evidence to back it up.

Here's Snopes: http://www.snopes.com/politics/obama...ertificate.asp

and the relevant Wiki entry: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barack_...iracy_theories

[skbuncks]

This is one conspiracy theory where I just cant bring myself to care.

skb

[Croydon Bob]

hi bob, i did go to this link

Then why did you repeat a load of lies and nonsense? Hardly anything you said is actually true according to the Hawaii State Govt. Perhaps you know more about their Birth Certificates than they do?

What kind of bizarre conspiracy would choose a candidate who isn't actually eligible to stand when there are hundreds of other potential choices?

Of all the silly conspiracies that various loonies come here to try to promote this is the daftest of the lot.

If it was true that Obama wasn't born in the US then: The birth announcements in local newspapers wouldn't have happened, the Democrats wouldn't have chosen him, the Republicans would have pointed out that he wasn't a valid candidate, etc, etc.

It's really too stupid to argue about, and if you can't see that then I have some magic beans for sale at a very reasonable price. Interested?