Obama the Kenyan, Warren the Cherokee
Now there’s a bit of a furor about a blurb from Obama’s literary agent in 1991 that listed him as Kenyan-born, as well as a 2004 AP article from the days of his Senate race against Jack Ryan that does the same.
Most of the pundits discussing this have made it clear that they’re not birthers; they think Obama was actually born in Hawaii. I agree, although I know some readers of this blog have a different opinion. But even if a person believes as I do, the subsidiary issues are quite fascinating, and the parallels with the case of Elizabeth Warren and her claims of Cherokee heritage are obvious.
Each incident raises the same issues: who initially made the claims, and why? Was it Warren herself, and Obama himself? What would have been the benefit to each of them at the time? Or—particularly in Obama’s case—was it a mere error by others (such as his literary agent, who claims to have been the unwitting culprit and to have been in error)? And if so, why was the mistake not corrected till recently?
Roger Simon and Ace both claim that such biographical notes are always vetted by the authors who are their subject matter, even when composed by others. So was Obama just sloppy in not making the correction, or was it to his advantage back in 1991 to have been thought of as interestingly exotic and foreign-born, and to his disadvantage once he decided to run for the presidency (the blurb was only corrected in 2007)?
Will this matter in the 2012 election? I’ll go out on a limb and say “don’t think so.” Only denizens of the blogosphere will deeply care. Nor will it change opinions, even among them. Those who already distrust Obama will continue to do so, and those who like him will go on liking him. But it’s an interesting demonstration of how often the “facts” released by the media are incorrect and yet go unchallenged, and it also reflects what an advantage it is in certain circles to be considered non-American or native American, until it becomes a disadvantage.
It has been said before, by many, Barry has never been vetted in any normal sense. I am not a “birther”, but how was not this found and dismissed in 2008? If it does not fit the narrative, it does not get reported.
The dinosaur media is failing us in too many instances.
The CEO of yahoo resigned over the misrepresentation on this resume about a computer science major. The call for his head was remarkable in light of others misrepresentations that apparently are swept aside.
Typically one submits a draft bio that may then be tweaked (e.g., for length) by an editor, who then submits the edited version to the subject. No editor would ever make a substantive (and in this case, fundamental) change in a bio without consulting its subject. It’s inconceivable.
so he is either from kenya, and so “deserved” the affirmative action help he got to go to those schools, as his family were not rich enough to pay for it.
or he is not from kenya, and lied to get federal aid, and affirmative action perks
you tell me which because it cant be both
What disturbs me the most is that this is the sort of thing that should have come to light- at the very latest, the summer of 08. It’s a little silly that we’re only talking about it now.
Warren and Obama’s habit of emphasizing a fake racial history is kind of weird. I wonder if it’s a symptom of the left’s desire to give racial preference to one group of people over another? Did Warren and Obama feel their worth was increased by twisting facts around?
I published a couple of children’s books in the 1990s, so I can speak from at least a little experience as to how these bios get written. I didn’t have an agent; my editor wrote my bio, but I doubt very much that an agent would have done it differently. Of course, the editor did not conduct her own independent research to find out my biographical details. Instead, she sent me a form. i filled in the blanks with info as to where and when I was born, where I lived, kids, hobbies and such, and sent it back. A while later, the editor sent me the copy she’d created from the form. I looked it over and approved it — fixing a misspelling of my home town, as I recall — and had a second chance to check it over when the books were in galleys. If it had stated in error that I was born in Kenya, I PROBABLY would have noticed.
This wasn’t the agent’s error. Obama told the agent that he was born in Kenya — and if he didn’t, and it WAS her error, then he had a chance to fix it and chose to let it stand. Even if he was too lazy to double-check the bio copy before it was printed, he had plenty of chances thereafter, as the erroneous info was apparently on the agent’s website as late as 2007. Do we really think Obama never looked himself up in the printed brochure — which would certainly have been sent to him — or later, online to see how his name looked in lights? Of course not. No writer with an ordinary writer-sized ego — and Obama’s is at least as sizeable as most — could possibly resist. That bio said what it said because that’s what Obama wanted it to say.
And now I’m wondering whether the reason we can’t see his transcripts is that they’d show that he identified himself in some official way to his colleges as a foreign student.
when George Patton took over U.S. forces in North Africa, he planned a tank battle against Rommel’s Afrikakorps and decimated them after reading Rommel’s book on tank warfare. As he viewed his troops overwhelming the German Panzers, Patton, in praising Rommel, is quoted as saying, “Rommel, you magnificent bastard, I read your book!”
and yet, those who want to win this, dont want to read the bookx the opposition has written and understand them…
for 5 years i have been saying… be like patton against rommel, and win.. and everyone has mostly taken the tack of.. no no, dont tell me, let me guess, and figure it out… (and then cherry pick history erasing whole swaths if they dont fit the model, rather than adjust the model)
It is said that if you know your enemies and know yourself, you will not be imperiled in a hundred battles; if you do not know your enemies but do know yourself, you will win one and lose one; if you do not know your enemies nor yourself, you will be imperiled in every single battle.
refusing to read their texts on what they want, what they are interested in what methods, and so on… is not kowing the enemy
refusing to accept the history that defined you, is not knowing yourself.
is it any wonder we are in the position of worrying about totalitarianism at all if the people who are most interested cant no longer accept the merit of the past and apply it?
that they cant focus on whats actually critical.. but they focus on that which is designed to use up their time, their thoughts, and distract them from the key things that they should be paying attention to.
they are constantly befuddled and confused by the magician in front of them, and yet, entertained by it too… despite the fact this is leading to the death and genocide (as defined by the progenitor of the term lempkin) of many..
是故百戰百å‹ï¼Œéžå–„之善者也；ä¸æˆ°è€Œå±ˆäººä¹‹å…µï¼Œå–„之善者也。
For to win one hundred victories in one hundred battles is not the acme of skill. To subdue the enemy without fighting is the acme of skill.
yup.. we are very much subdued since nothing he has done has been even opposed in our discussions!!! we are all erudite academics pretending to be Marx and dictate the gaps and essentials (from arse or ether, i am not sure)
obama says he is a blank slate, you all discuss it.. and yet, you dont “get” it. you have not enough reach to climb out of the crab bucket nor do you care to create that reach (its too much fun fiddling while rome burns)
Be extremely subtle, even to the point of formlessness. Be extremely mysterious, even to the point of soundlessness.
oh.. he is being formeless. why? because a form can be attacked… its why feminism failed in germany when it became a party. when its a self contradicting nothing, its strong because its formless and the dummies wont take a good look at it honestly. but the minute it becomes a party, it has to take form, it has to declare its for x, and against Y.. it cant say i am for x and for y.. and for anything and everything… as it does when its formless (and the dips dont catch on either!)
now… if trotsky invented perpetual war, and its a core facet of marxism .then your at war with the marxists who do nothing but make war. a war against capitalism, a war against the jews, a war against poverty, a war against racism, a war against church bakes…
want peace? then get rid of all socailists.. as they decalre that peace is the state of no opposition to socialism.. (ie. the perpetual war is over and everything is owned by those few who orchestrate hatred against themselves to get power to act on the others)
All warfare is based on deception. Hence, when we are able to attack, we must seem unable; when using our forces, we must appear inactive; when we are near, we must make the enemy believe we are far away; when far away, we must make him believe we are near.
paint exit on the entrances
make eugenics but call it right to your body
put off births for genetic damage, but call it liberating and working your career.
the argument to sell you
the ulterior motive crucial to be accepted
and yet…
the victims want to be victims and do not want to learn the mechanics of it.
Victorious warriors win first and then go to war, while defeated warriors go to war first and then seek to win.
the nasty stuff didnt start till they won..
if they didnt win, then the nasty stuff would still be suppressed to prevent losing.
If your enemy is secure at all points, be prepared for him. If he is in superior strength, evade him. If your opponent is temperamental, seek to irritate him. Pretend to be weak, that he may grow arrogant. If he is taking his ease, give him no rest. If his forces are united, separate them. If sovereign and subject are in accord, put division between them. Attack him where he is unprepared, appear where you are not expected.
the weak minorities are having babies at a 300% rate over the strong…
how so?
In the practical art of war, the best thing of all is to take the enemy’s country whole and intact; to shatter and destroy it is not so good. So, too, it is better to recapture an army entire than to destroy it, to capture a regiment, a detachment or a company entire than to destroy them.
and subversion and taking over from inside is the ONLY thing you can do once nuclear weaposn are on the table.. the war doesnt stop, the war changes… you cant confront them… so your rot them out from the inside.
all you have to do is convince the women
and as marx said, and the romans/greeks and the bible, the rest will follow.
but those are all dead white guys, why would we know what they said and transmitted to us in the future to know was important
Mrs Whatsit said:
“And now I’m wondering whether the reason we can’t see his transcripts is that they’d show that he identified himself in some official way to his colleges as a foreign student.”
I think that’s a distinct possibility along with the possibility that his grades weren’t so hot. I also think that the list of courses he took might be very revealing and detrimental to his image.
To my earlier point, from Breitbart.com
“All material she used in our proposals came directly from me and my writing partner. She edited our rough-draft proposals and gave us feedback, but the final versions were all ours.
I was asked to write the bio in the third person.”
This is exactly my experience as well.
You just can’t make this stuff up, folks!
The report out today from Breitbart.com is that it appears that at least three of the five recipes by author “Elizabeth Warren, Cherokee” found in her cousin’s supposed Indian cook book, “Pow Wow Chow”–and offered by the Warren campaign a few days ago as some sort of “proof” of Warren’s Cherokee ancestry– were plagiarized from the recipes printed in the New York Times from the famous chef at a very expensive New York city restaurant.
Meanwhile, they’re killing Warren’s cousin’s book “Pow Wow Chow” on Amazon.com with hilarious reviews –30 some odd so far.
Hey, Wolla Dalbo, thanks for the heads up on the Amazon reviews. They’re hilarious.
It appears Warren and Obama are both from the little known Facade Tribe. A band of self absorbed warriors who were prolific at making shit up.
It appears Warren and Obama are both from the little known Facade Tribe. A band of self absorbed warriors who were prolific at making shit up.
That’s Ward Churchill’s tribe, too.
“And now I’m wondering whether the reason we can’t see his transcripts is that they’d show that he identified himself in some official way to his colleges as a foreign student.”
I’ve been fixated on the college transcripts since he won the Iowa caucus in 2008. He’s definitely hiding something rather embarrassing at the best or seriously damaging at the worst. This is the guy who is the smartest person to inhabit the White House, the super cool and super intelligent messiah that sends tingles down the legs of the MSM. Even Al Gore released his lackluster transcripts. BHO, the Einstein messiah hides his…. something smells.
Obama the narcissistic Martian comes closest to describing BHO.
The simple fact is, there’s an existing newspaper notice identifying his birth in Hawaii at the time and place he was purported to be born.
a) If it’s a fake, it’s hard to believe no one has called it out yet, as the thing’s been around for at least a couple years to be vetted by people who DO do those things unlike the MSM.
b) If it’s “lying”, then it is very hard to offer a reason WHY. He already had citizenship — there’s exactly ONE job that his birthplace is significant enough that one might argue for a “fake” — and that’s the one he has. BUT — if you consider his background, particularly that of his parents and grandparents… do you REALLY want to argue that they thought his chances of becoming the PotUS 50 years later was going to be signficant…? These people are the progenitors of the eeevil racist Amerikkkk a meme. Even as America was shifting steadily away from racism, they are of the exact same crowd that created the entire NOTION of Victim Classes. The idea that they would believe that within 50 years the USA would even consider electing a black PotUS is highly improbable.
Q.E.D., there’s no reason to have had him born in Kenya and then “fake” his birth here in the USA. There
s just not.
===============
So, why, then, bupkis, would he make such a big deal over the long-form BC?
I have no idea, other than to dangle a white whale in front of the GOP’s natural born Ahabs…. one thing that occurs to me as a total guess is that, with the father absent, it may well be that the “Father” field on the official long form BC says “Unknown” or some similarly embarrassing thing.
So far, the attention here has been on the literary agents’ bio. But what about that AP article from 2004?
I can’t say that I know from first-hand experience how an organization like AP organizes its information. But, mustn’t it have some kind of fact-sheet on high-profile people, so the reporters and editors don’t have to have to ask things like “Where were you born?” and “How old are you?” over and over again? If they do not have a formal, organization-wide system that keeps basic information like that, surely individual reporters and editors covering certain persons / regions / issues must have some kind of store of basic facts to consult.
So, how long did AP think Obama had been born in Kenya? And how did they get that idea? And why did they change their minds?
And… what an odd coincidence, that Obama’s agents and the AP thought he had been born in Kenya, not (say) America or Paraguay.
For years, I have wondered how in the world people came to believe he had been born in Kenya not in America. The answer now is clear: because that’s what he himself had told people, for a very long time.
The birth announcement thing is very simple, and has absolutely nothing to do with having Presidential aspirations for a newborn (such ridiculing talk of “precognition” i.e. realizing that the newborn will one day have a realistic shot at the Presidency, and preparing for it–a way to shut the conversation down and to divert attention from an examination and discussion of the real issues involved) but, rather, has everything to do with the advantages of being American born and an American citizen vs. foreign born and a citizen of dirt poor, strife torn Kenya.
I have heard two explanations, both making sense:
Number one, this bare bones announcement of birth was put into the paper by his parents/grandparents.
Number two, such birth announcements were routinely printed in the local newspaper when the Hawaiian authorities are notified of a birth, however, at this time the particular practice of the Hawaiian government was, on application by the parents, to list/treat children born outside of Hawaii as if they were born in Hawaii, and to list them as Hawaiian born.
So, why would a parent or grandparent put such a notice in the paper? Well, which would you rather have, you child or grandchild born in Kenya, a Kenyan citizen, and not eligible for all sorts of American goodies, or a brand new American citizen and eligible for all of them?
Likewise, if the Hawaiian government will treat a foreign birth–with all its likely disabilities–as a Hawaiian birth, why not put the paperwork in and get a birth certificate that says, “born in Hawaii,” and a notice in the paper for all your friends and neighbors to see?
The First Lady keeps referring to Barry as a Kenyan while on the stump — and when President.
So, too, the Kenyan government.
IF Barry had a Hawaiian BC — then why the two doctored documents, the weird Social Security # and what of his draft documents?
It’s NOT for us to prove that he was born in Kenya, though signs and witnesses place him there; it’s for him to prove that he’s a Natural Born Citizen.
=====
The weight of the evidence is that his grandmother wanted his birth to be ‘hidden’ — with as low a profile as could be had.
For those unaware: Hawaii, then and now, permits parents and grandparents to phone in live births to the newspapers — who will duly publish such stats. This was and is done all the time. So pointing to such a blurb means absolutely nothing in terms of Barry’s live birth.
That he’s an ‘election-baby’ is biologically obvious: he was born August 4, 1961 — almost nine months to the hour if conceived when the Illinois vote came in to block Richard Nixon — F.M.D.’s most hated politician, at that time.
Beware of “Granny” Warren, as Howie Carr refers to her, or “Fauxcahontus” as Tammy Bruce refers to her. This woman is dangerous, a sort of Obama “Mini Me” but worse. As a MA resident, it is a perfect analogy to the presidential race – anyone but Obama, anyone but Granny Warren.
So…we’re just passing on Occam’s Razor entirely when discussing Obama’s birthplace?
Okay then.