It is a sad commentary on the state of our nation, particularly the press, that the Birthers continue to have a national voice. Faux News is particularly guilty of covering this non-news “news” story. 

Birthers believe that we have an illegitimate President. They claim that he was not born in the United States. Instead, they argue, Barack Obama is Kenyan, where his father is a native.  Even when presented with the facts, including documents, which show clearly that Barack Hussein Obama II was born in Honolulu, Hawaii on August 4, 1961, the Brithers jump to conspiracy theories with claims ranging from faking the certificate to a mass government conspiracy involving Hawaii's Department of Health. 

The problem with all of the Birther theories is that none of them can explain how back in 1961 it was foreknown that the fake birth certificate or the mass government conspiracy would happen and that somehow (I'm supposing with the help of a soothsayer or a crystal-ball) someone had the foresight to print in the Honolulu Advertiser the birth announcement of Barack H. Obama in order to back it all up:

Like I said, the whole thing is a sad commentary on the state of our nation.  It can also be seen as a strong statement about Obama the Presidential candidate for 2012. The best thing they have on him, the thing to which they constantly return, is their doubt as to whether he is actually a citizen of the United States. They have no proof. As a matter of fact, the birth certificate which they claim has yet to be released can be found by a simple Google search (many of the photos found are actually from news organizations that have confirmed it's authenticity) or (under a soon to be passed bill from Hawaii) an official copy can be purchased from the Department of Health in Hawaii for $100.

But that isn't enough for Birthers. Why? Mostly because they just don't want it to be true. I have to believe that it is also partly because President Obama isn't white and doesn't have a name like George, Bill, or Ronald (maybe we should give the President a nickname like “The Gipper”... how about “The Hoper” - probably not).  You can bet that if our current President was white and had a name like Mark or Jeff or Hillary, the proof that we currently have would be more than enough. Actually, no one would have even asked for it.

It would seem that many of those who want to be the Republican Presidential nominee realize that, if they hope to win (probably both the nomination and possibly the Presidency), they need to be identified with the Birthers to some degree.  The most resent person to jump on the Kenyan bandwagon is Donald Trump who recently said on Faux News that he would make the issue of  “Barack Obama’s birth certificate a pivotal part of his bid.”  

It's a sad commentary indeed.  Worse yet, many of those who are doing it consider themselves Christian, yet seem to have no problem allowing cognitive dissonance to cause them to bare false witness against their neighbor (and yes, biblically, Barack Obama is your neighbor).

I wish I could say to the Birthers and to their most recent lead cheerleader, Donald Trump, “You're fired!,” but I'm pretty sure Donald's got the phrase trademarked, so I'd just like to say, “Stop the idiocy.” 

Don't get me wrong, I am a BIG Obama supporter.  I've even been called an Obama apologist.  I just happen to think that people who shout and yell that they are disappointed in Obama just haven't been paying attention before the election or they came late to the game.  Not to mention, the realities of Washington (completely messed up and dysfunctional when it comes to serving the will of the people) are such that bold actions are no longer as possible as they once were.  The most effective civil servants in Washington, in recent times, have been the ones who take a centrist approach (I'm not saying it's a good thing, just a reality).

While the swelling rhetoric of Obama certainly played a big role in his election, it would be shortsighted to miss that it was clear, decisive, strategic thinking that put him in a position to be a candidate at all. Being disappointed in him for his record thus far is like being disappointed in Jon Stewart for having a rally to support civility and then being too civil (hmmmm, maybe that's a bad example).

So, yes, I'm a big Obama supporter (possibly to a fault).  And, yes, I think that  clear, decisive, strategic thinking is ultimately what it takes to 'win' out on Capital Hill, but I happen to think that some things are worth fighting for.  I happen to think that there are some principles that should not be compromised.  Unfortunately,  the budget President Obama is presenting to congress crosses a line for me and I'm bummed. O-bummer.  

The budget being presented (to quote a recent Huffington Post article), “attacks programs that assist the working poor, help the needy heat their homes, expand access to graduate-level education and undermine that type of community-based organizations that gave the president his start in Chicago.” I completely get that he is trying to overcome the largest deficit in our history.  As a minister, I just happen to have a problem with him trying to do it on the backs of the lower and middle class. Go figure.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., once said, “A man can't ride your back unless it's bent.”  Approximately, 75% of the people in the US fall into the categories of lower and middle class. These are the people whose backs must bare the burden of this proposed budget.  But this shouldn't be a game of numbers, which is what placing the deficit recovery burden on the lower and middle classes does.  This should be a game of dollars.  Considering that the upper class in the United States, the top 25%, own approximately 75% percent of the wealth, the solution needs to fall more squarely on their shoulders... but it doesn't, because they own Washington and don't have to bend their backs. 

We, the working (and want to be working) class, must take a message from our brothers and sisters in Egypt.  When will we stop bowing down with bent backs for the wealthy to ride as we labor?  When will we cast aside the yoke of the lower and middle classes that the wealthy and well-to-do are only all to glad to use to steer us towards their will?

In the book of Matthew, Jesus says, “Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” Those on the right love to quote scripture when in gives them an upper hand, but it is time to claim the gospel reality back.  I do not want a church state, but I do want Christians to claim the gospel reality that lightens the burdens of the weary, gives hope to the hopeless and a hand up to those who have fallen down.

Mr. President, we the people, respectfully reject your budget. I personally refuse to believe (being the good Christian that you are) that you really think the solution to the deficit burden should be placed on the backs of those already weary with work, weary with finding work, weary with unmanageable hospital bills, weary with worries of sending kids to college and paying for our own retirement - worries so great that our backs are already bent from the strain of reality in such a way that it is hard, almost unbearable, to continue to bow our backs up every time the powerful try to break them and along with them our will.  

We need you Mr. President.  We need you to be our voice.  With the state of our great nation this is no longer a negotiable point.  This is a line that must not be crossed.  A budget that takes further advantage of those who suffer the most is not acceptable.

We need you Mr. President, but here's the thing: as much as you have done for us (and I do see what you have done), we are Americans - we will bow our backs up again if we must, but we elected you so it would be easier, not harder. Please do not forget that.  Please do not forget us.  I promise you, either way, we will not forget.

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