Posted on: Tuesday, =
July 28,=20
2009
Hawaii =
officials=20
confirm Obama=92s original birth certificate still =
exists
By Dan=20
Nakaso
Hawai'i's Health Department confirmed yesterday that it =
has=20
President Obama's original Aug. 4, 1961, birth certificate =
in=20
storage, but the announcement is unlikely to satisfy =
conspiracy=20
theorists who insist Obama was born in =
Kenya.
"We don't destroy vital records," Health Department =
spokeswoman=20
Janice Okubo said. "That's our whole job, to maintain and =
retain=20
vital records."
The Health Department's director reiterated yesterday =
that she=20
has seen Obama's birth records.
"I, Dr. Chiyome Fukino, director of the Hawai'i State =
Department=20
of Health, have seen the original vital records maintained =
on file=20
by the Hawai'i State Department of Health verifying Barack =
Hussein=20
Obama was born in Hawai'i and is a natural-born American =
citizen,"=20
Fukino said in a statement. "I have nothing further to add =
to this=20
statement or my original statement issued in October 2008, =
over=20
eight months ago."
Fukino tried on Oct. 31 to put an end to the belief among =
so-called "birthers" that Obama was not born in Honolulu's =
Kapiolani=20
Maternity & Gynecological Hospital. The birthers insist =
that=20
Obama was not born in the U.S. and is therefore ineligible =
to be=20
president.
Despite Fukino's statement yesterday =97 and several =
court rulings=20
and statements by Hawai'i's Republican governor, Linda =
Lingle, the=20
issue continued to resonate from Capitol Hill to the=20
blogosphere.
A congressional resolution introduced yesterday by Rep. =
Neil=20
Abercrombie, D-Hawai'i, commemorating the 50th anniversary =
of Island=20
statehood was temporarily postponed because birthers =
objected to a=20
clause noting Obama was born in Hawai'i, said Dave Helfert, =
an=20
Abercrombie spokesman.
The line "Whereas the 44th President of the United =
States, Barack=20
Obama, was born in Hawaii on August 4, 1961;" appeared to be =
construed by birthers as a thinly veiled attempt to get =
Congress to=20
affirm Obama's U.S. citizenship, Helfert =
said.
As the issue came to a vote yesterday, Minnesota =
Republican=20
Congresswoman Michele Bachmann rose to object, saying there =
was not=20
a quorum present.
The House later voted unanimously 378-0 to approve the=20
resolution. Bachmann voted in favor of the=20
resolution.
ORIGINAL FORM EXISTS
Mainland media has also continued to focus attention on =
the=20
birthers. CNN's Lou Dobbs last week demanded Obama's =
original birth=20
certificate. That was followed by CNN/U.S. President Jon =
Klein=20
telling staffers of "Lou Dobbs Tonight" that the issue is a =
"dead"=20
story, according to a Los Angeles Times =
report.
In an e-mail, according to the Times, Klein wrote that =
CNN=20
researchers had determined that Obama's 1961 birth =
certificate no=20
longer exists because Hawai'i officials had discarded paper=20
documents in 2001 =97 a claim denied yesterday by Isle =
health=20
officials.
In 2001, Hawai'i's paper documents were reproduced in =
electronic=20
format but "any paper data prior to that still exists," =
Health=20
Department spokeswoman Okubo said.
Okubo would not say where Obama's original birth =
certificate is,=20
but said "we have backups for all of our =
backups."
"Our Certificate of Live Birth is the standard form, =
which was=20
modeled after national standards that are acceptable by =
federal=20
agencies and organizations," Okubo said. "With that form, =
you can=20
get your passport or your soccer registration or your =
driver's=20
license."
One thing that remains unclear is whether Obama has a =
copy of the=20
original 1961 Certificate of Live Birth, or if he would even =
be=20
allowed to see it if he asked.
Hawai'i's disclosure law (Hawai'i Revised Statutes =
338-18) states=20
that "it shall be unlawful for any person to permit =
inspection of,=20
or to disclose information contained in vital statistics =
records, or=20
to copy or issue a copy of all or part on any such record =
...=20
"
The law further states that the Health Department "shall =
not=20
permit inspection of public health statistics records, or =
issue a=20
certified copy of any such record or part thereof, unless it =
is=20
satisfied that the applicant has a direct and tangible =
interest in=20
the record."
Those who have "direct and tangible interest" are =
generally=20
limited to the person named in the record, the spouse, =
parent,=20
descendant, or personal representative, or by someone who is =
involved in marital, parental or death litigation involving =
the=20
named person's vital record or other legal reason =
established by a=20
court order, and various official agency or organization=20
representatives, including the state director of health, =
according=20
to the law.
FORMAT CHANGED
The standard "Certification of Live Birth" that Hawai'i =
health=20
officials now issue =97 and was posted on Obama's campaign =
Web site =97=20
has less information than was required on the "Certificate =
of Live=20
Birth" that Eleanor Nordyke was issued for each of her twin=20
daughters on Aug. 5, 1961.
Nordyke was in labor at Kapiolani Maternity & =
Gynecological=20
Hospital the same time as Obama's late mother, Stanley Ann =
Dunham,=20
Nordyke said. She gave birth to twins the day after Obama =
was born,=20
Nordyke said, and her daughters later attended Punahou =
School with=20
Obama.
The modern-day birth certificates issued to anyone =
seeking their=20
Hawai'i birth records have spaces for the names and races of =
the=20
parents, as well as information such as the time of=20
birth.
Nordyke's 1961 birth certificates required much more =
information,=20
such as the ages, occupations and birthplaces of the babies' =
parents.
There was a box to determine whether the mother's address =
was "on=20
a Farm or Plantation," and the signature =97 but not the =
name =97 of the=20
"attendant" was required, as well as boxes to determine =
whether the=20
attendant was an "M.D.," "D.O.," "midwife" or=20
"other."
Birthers have failed to get state and federal courts in =
Hawai'i,=20
New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, California, Georgia and =
Mississippi=20
to force Hawai'i officials to produce a copy of Obama's =
birth=20
certificate, with many of the courts agreeing with Lingle's=20
administration that birth records are =
confidential.
In October, the Hawai'i Supreme Court denied a writ of =
mandamus=20
on behalf of Internet columnist Andy Martin. The court ruled =
that=20
Martin did not have a "direct tangible interest" in seeking =
Obama's=20
birth certificate.
In December, the U.S. Supreme Court =97 without comment =
=97 declined=20
to hear arguments in another case alleging Obama did not =
meet the=20
Constitution's citizenship requirements.
FIRST MENTION
In November 2008, The Advertiser reported that the first=20
published mention of the future president appeared in a =
Sunday=20
Advertiser birth announcement that ran on Aug. 13,=20
1961:
"Mr. and Mrs. Barack H. Obama, 6085 Kalanianaole Hwy., =
son, Aug.=20
4."
The identical announce- ment ran the following day in the =
Honolulu Star-Bulletin.
Birthers wave off those birth announcements, saying that =
Obama=20
family members 48 years ago could have phoned in false =
information=20
to both newspapers.
Such vital statistics, however, were not sent to the =
newspapers=20
by the general public but by the Health Department, which =
received=20
the information directly from hospitals, Okubo =
said.
Birth announcements from the public ran elsewhere in both =
papers=20
and usually included information such as the newborn's name, =
weight=20
and time of birth.
"Take a second and think about that," wrote Robert Farley =
of the=20
St. Petersburg (Fla.) Times' Pulitzer Prize winning Web site =
PoliticFact.com on July 1. "In order to phony those notices =
up, it=20
would have required the complicity of the state Health =
Department=20
and two independent newspapers =97 on the off chance this =
unnamed=20
child might want to one day be president of the United=20
States."
Last week, Jon Stewart of "The Daily Show" had fun with =
the topic=20
of Obama's birth certificate, suggesting that it's part of a =
much=20
larger conspiracy.
"Not only is Barack Obama our first black president," =
Stewart=20
said. "But he's our first non-American =
president."
=95 =95 =95
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