In today's updates, the Nebraska birther bill may be circling the drain, even though one of the dafter birtherstani manages to out herself trying to support it. We have a temper tantrum for the 13th of March, and a PUMA darling showing up at the Pest and eFail. Tennessee State Senator Mae Beavers may need to learn to research her bills in the future.
The Pest and eFail, once again, openly promotes sedition and violent revolution, all the while threatening anyone who dares hold an opinion other than theirs. A tentative ruling in Taitz v Dunn. And it looks like Georgia State Senator Mark Hatfield has a slight problem with telling the truth.
10 March - Looks like the de Vattelist birther bill in Nebraska may end up as DOA as the ones in other states. The sponsor didn't even show up.
"The bill's sponsor, state Sen. Mark Christensen of Imperial, didn't appear in person before the Legislature's Government, Military and Veterans Affairs Committee but said in written testimony that he didn't want his proposal to be perceived as a political attack on the president. An aide said the bill was strictly intended to guarantee that presidential candidates are confirmed as eligible for office.
"He doesn't want this to be a sideshow," said Dan Wiles, the aide who read the senator's testimony to the panel. "He wants to know if we can craft some kind of process to give people the security that we've done our job" of verifying candidates."
And it's chances?
"State Sen. Bill Avery, who chairs the committee, said the Nebraska bill, LB654, would die there."
With some commentary about the chances of it ending up in the courts:
"Several lawmakers on the panel questioned the bill's purpose, and noted that federal appellate courts might simply refuse to hear the case after lower courts ruled.
The proposal would "be obligating us to a court challenge, where we'd have to spend thousands of dollars," said state Sen. Scott Price of Bellevue. "You want the state to have to defend this, with the hope that the Supreme Court might make a ruling.""
One supporter though.
"Nellie Ristvedt, of Crete, said the legislation would likely trigger a federal lawsuit that she hoped would rise to the U.S. Supreme Court.
"This isn't about any one person," Ristvedt said. "It's about the constitution being followed. It's about the rule of law, and that is my only concern.""
Note the name......
10 March - Oh look. The birthers and their friends are going to have a public temper tantrum on 13 March.
"To vent in a manner that cannot be overlooked by anyone! This first wave of action is something the people can really grasp, and in no way shape or form does it condone any ill-action, rather, its about civility, and its akin to a sit-in. You can take it for anything you wish, but it is in our educational directive and charter that SUA wants America to observe, learn, and understand that the time is now for action."
So how are they going to do this??
"Sarah Palin called the Obama Administration’s actions as the “Road to Ruin”! Like most of the USA now, we at Stand Up America think it is a great way to express yourself and learn what is really happening to our country, so what can we do? Well, it seems the normal methods do not work because of entrenched political machinery, moneyed interests, power seeking for power’s sake, and a media that is just plan in the tank.
In the past, petitions were signed, marches on Washington and elsewhere were held, Tea Parties were created, letters were written, calls were made, new representatives were elected, yet, the road to ruin is still there, and the Obama Administration has the pedal to the floor, the speedometer is pegged, and there are no brakes. All our efforts have for the most part FAILED!"
So you should be used to failure by now, right?
"So how do we make our voices known? How do we finally succeed? How do we send a clear message that cannot be twisted by the media, misinterpreted by politicians, or co-opted by Obama apologists? Well, we have come up with one interesting new way. Are you game? It won’t cost you any money short of a gallon of gas. It won’t take much of your time, only about an hour. It won’t mean travel to distant cities. It won’t mean crowds to wade through, and it won’t interfere with your life too much.
What it will be is FUN, and a great way to vent your frustration, without being labeled, or maligned!"
So what great idea show-stopping do you have planned??
"Sunday, March 13th, 2011 – 4 PM Eastern, 3 PM Central, 2 PM Mountain, and 1 PM Pacific time;
• We want everyone to get into their cars, trucks, motorcycles, RVs, Semis, box trucks, and any other vehicle, and drive to your nearest highway or main route;
• Don’t go far, just enough to get in a safe position to pull over to the shoulder, and park, engine running, headlights and flashers on;
• Why? To take a cell call, or make one or several. After all, law enforcement recommends that you pull over to the side to take your call or text.
• Hook up a boat trailer, a snow mobile hauler, or anything to make the line look miles and miles long, bring your tractor-trailer;
• Set up a long motorcycle run to a STOP;
• Get your car club involved to show off those great hot rods and collectibles;
• Imagine others driving by wondering “what the heck”? Wave to everyone;
• Get ten friends to do the same; or go to an over pass and hang temporary signs saying – “Time to stop!” Just imagine the imagery! But be SAFE!
• Once pulled over to the side, place calls or texts to your friends, take pictures, send tweets, flood Facebook with messages and photos, along with several million others on other highways across the land.
• Stay one hour if you can, get your friends to do the same, line up all your vehicles in a safe manner as far off the side as you can, and hit your horns.
• One hour gives the media a chance to react, a chance to get footage. Imagine the traffic reports!
• Hang a sign inside your back window, or use temporary soap to write a message safely on the window;
• Be a part of millions of people saying: “Stop the madness, we are pulling over and just stopping!”
I suspect they're going to find themselves rather disappointed at the turnout....
"Imagine the image, when every news outlet in the USA must take notice.
Helicopters recording the event, YouTube filling with videos from every spot in America, with one message: “Just Stop”! Imagine seeing 300 cars pulled over for miles in California, in Texas, in New Jersey…etc.
Imagine the evening news and cable stations saying, “What the heck is going on?”
I suspect they will have more important things to report on. Like a story about a water-skiing chipmunk or something like that.
11 March - Back during the primaries, right-wing journalist (and PUMA) Joan Swirsky was quoted a lot by the PUMA crowd. Which shouldn't make it surprising that she ended up with an article at the Pest and eFail.
"My title alluded to an itch – one itch – but this is really about the chronic, relentless, agitating, but also motivating itches that affect the entire left and also Obama’s putative boss, George Soros.
Barack Obama’s itch started – if any part of his biography is to be believed – with the Marxists who raised and mentored him, inculcating in him bedrock leftist doctrines that include a deep loathing of America and its natural and glorious outgrowth, individual freedom.
Obama’s anti-Western itch continued during his schooling among Muslims in Indonesia, and was further inflamed by the far-left classmates he befriended in the American colleges he attended, with the religious leader whose anti-American and anti-Semitic “theology” he imbibed for over 20 years, and in the street-agitating career he chose as a community organizer."
Sounds like someone is channeling her inner Pamela Geller.
"GOD – at least the God of Christians and Jews. It’s bizarre – and inaccurate – that in his 2009 speech in Turkey he declared that America is no longer a Christian country. According to a Pew study, nearly 80 percent of Americans are Christian, 1.6 percent Jews, and 0.6 percent Muslim"
While the United States' dominant religion is Christianity, the United States does not have a state religion, nor is it based on Christianity. So no, it is not a "Christian country".
"When Sarah Palin burst on the national scene in 2008, the left went into paroxysms of uncontrollable itching…even an armory of Prednisone would not have touched their out-of-control symptoms! They recognized Palin as a mortal threat and attacked her – and, to their shame, her children – relentlessly. The net result was that Palin’s popularity exploded and her influence grew exponentially as she directly influenced many of the races that resulted in the trouncing and bouncing of Democrats from Congress in the 2010 midterms."
And we'll just ignore the fact that Palin's approval rating is at 28%
11 March - More about Nebraska Birther Bill hearing before the committee.
From the 10 March 2010Lincoln Journal-Star
"Christensen's version of a so-called "birther" bill (LB654), which was discussed Thursday by the Legislature's Government, Military and Veterans Affairs Committee, is one of several across the nation stemming from claims that President Barack Obama failed to meet the constitutional requirement that the president be a "natural born citizen."
Christensen's bill not only would require presidential and vice presidential candidates to provide a certified long-form copy of their birth certificates to Nebraska's secretary of state, it also would require candidates to provide copies of their parents' long-form birth certificates.
In order for a person to qualify to be a presidential candidate in Nebraska, the bill would require an affidavit in which the candidate swears, "On the day I was born, both my birth father and my birth mother were citizens of the United States of America."
Six other U.S. presidents besides Obama, whose father was born in Kenya, had foreign-born parents: Thomas Jefferson, whose mother was born in England; Andrew Jackson, whose parents were born in Ireland; James Buchanan, whose father was born in Ireland; Chester Arthur, whose father was born in Ireland; Woodrow Wilson, whose mother was born in England; and Herbert Hoover, whose mother was born in Canada."
From the 10 March 2010Omaha World-Herald
"But LB 654 goes further than many other proposals and further than current interpretations of what the Constitution requires.
The U.S. Constitution requires the president to be a “natural-born citizen,” as well as 35 years old and a 14-year U.S. resident.
Christensen’s bill requires that candidates produce documents showing they are U.S. citizens by birth and that both of their parents were U.S. citizens at the time of the candidate’s birth."
There was some people against the bill:
"Sen. Scott Price of Omaha questioned why Nebraska should pass a law so it could be challenged in court, thus forcing the state to bear the expense of fighting a lawsuit.Richard Hedrick of Lincoln opposed the bill, saying it was unnecessary and designed to pacify the so-called “birthers.”
However, both articles mentioned one supporter (bold face mine)
"Nellie Ristvedt of Crete supported the bill, citing legal sources that define “natural born” as being born on U.S. soil to citizen parents.
By that definition, she said neither GOP candidate John McCain nor Obama were qualifed as candidates. McCain was born in the Panama Canal Zone, although to U.S. citizens.
Ristvedt said “natural born” hasn’t been clearly defined by the courts, which have rejected repeated challenges of Obama’s citizenship.
She said LB 654 would provide the basis for a lawsuit to clarify the term.
“The issue is the rule of law,” she said."
and
"Nellie Ristvedt of Crete testified in support of the bill, saying "this issue is not going away."
"I was given nobody on the last ballot that I knew was constitutionally eligible," she said. "It's not about one person. It's about a process.""
Why do I cite this particular person? Funny you should ask....
11 March - One of the more lunatic birthers out there is the one who shows up at Free Repubic and other places under the name "Butterdezillion". She also has her own blog as well. She's been one of the ones claiming problems with the wording on the Democratic Party's state certificates and that the birth index was changed or forged. Her "evidence" is usually on par with Polland/Polarik, and like him, she tends to use a long word salad in an attempt to make her claims look more convincing.
She also wrote this PDF which repeats both her claims and other birther myths over 11 pages to try and show why the de Vattelist Nebraska bill is "needed". (The last page is 26 links, 7 of which are to her own blog, 10 to other birther sites, and 4 to government sites
And on 11 March, she posted this:
"This is the written testimony that I read (with a few modifications because info had already been given by previous comments), followed by the gist of the Q&A I received afterwards, as best I remember it, and last of all a report on the outcome of the hearing.
The senators were each given a copy of my written testimony and a printed version of the booklet ...
(Snip)
I’m Nellie (redacted) and I’m representing myself."
I think it's safe to say that "Butterdezillion" is Nellie Ristvedt. And another birther hiding behind a handle gets exposed to the light of day.
Oh, and she admits the whole point of the bill is to force a lawsuit.
"Q: So you are basically asking the Nebraska legislature to pass a law that invites a lawsuit we will have to pay to defend, so that “natural born citizen” will be defined?
A: Yes, that’s basically what needs to happen. It’s the only way the issue can be resolved. But Nebraska has an attorney general whose job is to deal with Constitutional issues. Right now he’s challenging the Constitutionality of the healthcare reform. That’s his job, to deal with important Constitutional issues. As it is, Nebraska taxpayers are having their federal tax dollars spent to argue these eligibility cases anyway, in defense of Obama. If we had one decision on “natural born citizen” it could prevent all these other lawsuits from having to happen and would save everybody money in the long run. Our military vets should not be spending 3 million of their own personal money just to find out eligibility, when it is really the state’s responsibility to have a process where that is ensured. And whatever cost the state would incur would well be worth it, because then normal people could know that the process could be trusted, and that they have a way to hold the government accountable to the rule of law."
Not sure where she gets the "military vets should not be spending 3 million of their own personal money" claim, unless she's talking about inmate Lakin's future loss of benefits and pension.
11 March - TN State Sen. Mae Beavers is getting noted for her appearance on Reality Check Radio where she mentioned she hadn't really researched her bill.
"The host then asked the obvious follow-up: why put a term into the bill, if you don't know what it means? Beavers responded, "Well, we are following some of the bills that have been filed in lots of other states, and you know how it is, you file your bill and, you know, you prepare before you go to committee."
File first, understand later?
Beavers went on to state more clearly, "I'm not entirely sure what long form means." She seemed genuinely surprised by the news that not all states even print long-form birth certificates anymore. "I only know about Tennessee," she explained. As for her motives for introducing the bill, Beavers didn't declare herself as an outright birther, but she noted, "I think people have raised questions about [Obama's birth] enough to make everybody wonder." Although the state of Hawaii has produced a certificate of live birth for Obama that has been been widely distributed, Beavers said proof of Obama's citizenship must have gotten buried in her inbox: "I get emails all the time with things in them, you know; I can't honestly tell you that I read all of them, because I get so many."
Beavers' long-form slip-up fits a trend of Republican state lawmakers amping up extreme right-wing legislation with dubious supporting evidence. As we reported last month, South Dakota state Rep. Phil Jensen floated a measure banning Islamic that would have also undone child custody protections, and another bill that could have provided an opening for the killing of abortion providers. Alabama state Sen. Gerald Allen borrowed his own anti-Sharia bill from Wikipedia, and when asked by a reporter what Sharia actually is, said, "I don't have my file in front of me." Texas state Rep. Leo Berman, who introduced both an anti-Sharia bill and a birther bill, recently explained that he got most of his political information on YouTube because "YouTubes are infallible."
Beavers did not respond to multiple requests for comment."
11 March - And the Pest and eFail continues their tradition of open sedition and racism, with another article by "One Pissed-off Vietnam Vet"
"Had Lincoln caved in, had he accepted a house divided (as he was being pressured from every direction, from friends and even his own political party) the world would be a far different place than it is now, and not for the better, I believe. Who can know the outcome of World War I without an united America?"
Harry Turtledove?? He's written a rather long series about such things.....
"...after many, many thousands of brave young men were removed from our gene pool, after Shiloh and Gettysburg, Argonne and Belleau Wood, Iwo Jima and Omaha Beach, Bloody Ridge and Pusan, Khe Sanh and Chu Lai, Baghdad and Kabul, after all of that, after all of our dead, the Constitution remained intact. Utterly amazing.
Until 2008. All one Secretary of State had to do, one out of fifty, was to vet the presidential candidates. None of them did that. Not one. Had they done so, Obama never would have been on the ballot."
"Wahhh! They let the uppity black man run for President!! Who does he think he is anyway???"
"Here’s the deal. Everyone who had a hand in putting this yo-yo in office and keeping him there has broken the law. They face a felony conviction. I mean jail time. Bye-bye, pension"
Little hard to put 69,456,897 people in jail.
"Members of law enforcement, F.B.I., C.I.A., Homeland Security, and others, are all looking at jail time because they knew the truth but kept quiet. Some, like faux Attorney General Eric Holder and members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, are facing life in prison. Janet Napolitano, of Homeland Security, and all members of both political parties (such as Howard Dean and John McCain) who knew that Obama was, and is, a fraud will share the same fate. Just think of it: the 111th Congress that turned a blind eye to it all can convene in the exercise yard. Our media turncoats will be reporting on the latest gossip from the big house."
He's got quite the little list......
"Sorry, it ain’t going to happen. No way, shape, nor form. We’re taking over and you people are O-U-T. Gone forever. Permanently. You tried, you lost. "
Oooh, threaty.
"The Constitution will remain intact."
Says the person trying to take a giant steaming dump on it and everything it stands for.
"You all have a chance to leave (I humbly suggest NOW), and, while you’re leaving, take ALL your Muslim friends with you."
Wow, threaty AND racist! Does that include the Muslims who were BORN in the United States, many of whom have served in the military?? What about your fellow veterans who happen to be Muslim?? They don't count??
So much for that whole "freedom of religion" thing.
"We’re giving you a chance, a chance that sure as hell you wouldn’t give us. Last warning. Once the bell is rung, once the Call to Arms has been sounded, there will be no place to hide. And once it starts, once the deck of cards start falling, the momentum won’t stop until every last traitor has been dealt with. "
"Dealt with", eh?? From where I stand, I see a traitor. And he goes by the name of "One Pissed-off Vietnam Vet"
"The hand that’s left will be a country that is undivided for the respect, admiration and love for its Constitution. And that land will be the United States of America."
No, if people like "One Pissed-off Vietnam Vet" get their way, what's left will be a one-party theocratic system where might makes right and only those who follow the approved party line have rights. And whatever name it calls itself, it won't be the "United States of America". Not anymore.
Oh, and look:
"Bob1939 says:
Friday, March 11, 2011 at 1:27 PM
... there are many Patriots who are not about to let that happen, and the penalties must be very severe for those driving, tolerating and promoting this fraud on America."
O RLY??
"From the increase in awareness that I have observed right here in The Post & Email over the last six months, I see that the good-guys will win over bad ones."
You assume the blathering in a heavily moderated and censored echo chamber is somehow the "true" desire and spirit of America.
I suspect you are sadly mistaken.
"There is going to be a fight, (the later it is before we start, the more violent it will be), so we should be starting now, to save lives."
Oh look! Sedition! In the Pest and eFail! Who would have thunk it??
"All it takes to run a Country is leaders with principles, normal common sense, honesty, a sense of reality, and perseverance."
None of which can be found in birtherstan. Well, maybe "perseverance", though that's more just simple "stupidity" and "bone-headedness".
"By the way, it would help if the American people had some of the same qualities, you know honesty, integrity, common sense, and perseverance."
We do. Which is why we're not birthers.
"Come-on folks, we have to ratchet-up the pressure now, in all quadrants – articles in TP&E, mass rallies in DC, and elsewhere, letters to our so-called representatives (you know-”the ones who are not doing their jobs”), create Grand Juries, talk to neighbours in the police, or military, etc, etc. We must stop fooling ourselves – “LETS GET IT ON NOW”."
Yeah. Good luck with that skippy.
"Kevin J. Lankford says:
Friday, March 11, 2011 at 12:39 PM
May your words swell into a tsunami of citizens who will sweep this land clean of this
infestation."
"Infestation", eh?
"The magnitude of the number of those complicit is unreal,and no doupt will extend all the way down to the naive who voted for the fraud and will not relent their misinformed and foolish fealty."
My goodness, I do think he means me.
11 March - Tenative ruling in Taitz v Dunn.
"7
Taitz vs Dunn
2010-00381664
1. Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings
The court is inclined to grant this motion. The statutes upon which the complaint is based are criminal statutes. There are no provisions for private enforcement.
2. Motion to Compel Attendance at Deposition
The court is inclined to deny this motion."
No further information at this time.
11 March - Georgia State Senator Mark Hatfield wants to change his birther bill to take place after 2012:
"GA House Bill HB401 presidential eligibility bill will be changed to protect Obama from having to comply in the 2012 presidential election. Effective date to be changed to July 2013, after the 2012 presidential election. This was announced by GA Rep Hatfield on a radio show appearance last night."
Here's the funny thing. When Hatfield said this on Reality Check Radio (MP3 link) he said his birther bill "wasn't about Obama".
Well, it seems like, like many birthers, he lied. Because look at what got posted at "Birther Report".
(Bold face mine)
"ObamaRelease YourRecords said...
From: mhatfield@wayxcable.com
Reply-To: mhatfield@wayxcable.com
To: ##########
Please understand that I am dealing with recalcitrant leadership which will not allow the bill to move through the committee process. We are trying to get the bill dislodged from subcommittee, and this proposal was made in an attempt to get the House leadership to allow the bill to be considered."
So the change is being made just to try and get it passed??
"The bill would not be required to stay in this form, but we have to try something to get the bill moving. If we don't get some movement right away, the bill will be dead for the year."
Oh, so the game plan is to change it long enough to get it out of committee, and THEN add on to it......
"You don't need to convince me that Obama needs to be subject to a law requiring proof of eligibility; I believe it wholeheartedly and have been actively advocating for it for years."
But he said it wasn't ABOUT Obama!!!!
What a surprise - a birther lies.
"Your efforts would be better spent contacting the leadership of the Georgia House and demanding that the bill be allowed to move."
Yeah, they may get calls from hundreds of wackadoodles and their sockpuppets.
"Nothing short of massive public outcry is going to get their attention it seems. I would appreciate your efforts and continued support of the bill.
Please pass this information on. I don't need people on my own side throwing me under the bus! Thanks!
Rep. Mark Hatfield
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry
March 11, 2011 12:47 PM"
Hatfield seems a bit.....dishonest. Actually, let me take that back.
He's a flat out liar.
And just in case you ever wanted a good example of the maturity level of most birthers...
"Anonymous said...
The bill is unconstitutional no matter when it goes into effect. It will never fly. Just a huge waste of time.
March 11, 2011 12:57 PM"
And the reasoned, rational reply stating why the bill is Constitutional after all is:
"ObamaRelease YourRecords said...
@Anonymous
Shut up, obot!
Obama is unconstitutional...
March 11, 2011 1:00 PM"
Wow, massive KUDOS to you Patrick!
Not only do you provide your usual fine recap, but also you can be credited in this post with connecting the dots on two big birther stories:
1. "Butterdezillion" is Nellie Ristvedt of Nebraska and actively involved in trying to sway the NE legislators to pass their crazy birther bill.
2. Georgia State Senator Mark Hatfield busted lying to Reality Check Radio (and generally to mainstream media inquiries) and revealing his true full-on birther movitivations directed specifically against Obama in his bill attempts, via ORYR's email...
I tip my hat to you, sir! Well done!
Posted by: G | March 11, 2011 at 06:33 PM
You said: "I think it's safe to say that "Butterdezillion" is Nellie Ristvedt."
Well yeah.... Just open the PDF you linked to, and look under "File...Properties". Who is listed as Author?
Posted by: Steve-o | March 11, 2011 at 09:49 PM
One certainly hopes that the Ristvedt family -- and I believe Nellie's husband is a preacher -- will sit the troubled woman down and have a nice, long chat on a Sunday afternoon, after services, and talk her to her senses.
Posted by: Gary Miller | March 12, 2011 at 04:56 AM
Nellie herself is a teacher. Which makes me wonder what other not-so-factual things she may be telling her students.
Posted by: Tarrant | March 12, 2011 at 05:33 AM
Birthers were never very good at math. The United States highway network consists of 4 million miles of roads and streets. Even if they got 100,000 people to do this "pull over to the side of the road" thing, that would be only one vehicle per 40 miles on average. Who would notice?
Posted by: Dr. Conspiracy | March 12, 2011 at 05:37 AM
If birthers were actually able to pull this 'stunt' off (and that is a big IF) to where there were many cars pulled off to the sides of the roads, I would think this would present a hazard to someone that was actually having an emergency. Imagine a car with a blown out tire being unable to pull over to the side of the road because there's a bunch of nutcases taking up all of the safe space?
This should be entertaining if they get any news coverage. My thoughts are that this will turn into another epic fail for them.
Posted by: DaveH | March 12, 2011 at 08:12 AM
Is Butterdezillion perhaps also the Nervous Nellie who was disowned by her daughter and banned from seeing her grandkids?
Posted by: ellid | March 12, 2011 at 07:46 PM
@Ellid - Butterdezillion's Facebook page shows that she still has children in school. Info she posted in her about was that she is married to a minister and a stay at home mom. She was a school teacher. There are links to all of her kids FB pages since they're her friends.
If you go to the website of the church her husband is minister of, her husband's photo is there. He's not that old so she can't be very old either. At the Fogbow, there was a photo someone posted that was supposedly BZ. I don't think the photo was correct based on the way her children look and her husband looks.
Posted by: DaveH | March 13, 2011 at 09:55 AM
Oh, and BZ has since made her FB page to where it doesn't display much information.
Here's a link to the church her husband ministers. His photo is displayed there.
http://www.bethlehemlutherancrete.org/blc/Contact_Us.html
Posted by: DaveH | March 13, 2011 at 09:58 AM
Missouri Synod. Not a surprise in the slightest :(
Posted by: ellid | March 13, 2011 at 03:31 PM