Werd.

Tangential thought -- if any number of these POS bills actually passed... does anyone doubt that it would cost many more thousands $$ in legal fees for a serious national candidate to, at minimum, canvas every law and comply with it -- let alone contest those that might be unconstitutional? Legal expenses that might later be asserted were for the purpose of 'hiding documents'?

The birthers are yet again providing more fuel to the debunkage.

The related question is: which candidate would want to challenge these laws in court to begin with? You think Barack Obama's going to want to? It's a sticky tactical issue. Before reaching it though, one of these POS bills has to be actually signed by a governor. I'm skeptical that would happen in Arizona.

I think someone would have to challenge if, for example, a state did not accept another state's COLB. Just for example.

Maybe Obama will choose a Veep running mate from the state with the smallest, shortest, most limited COLB there is (I don't know which state this is -- maybe it's Hawaii!), and the least access to an 'original long form.' Perhaps, on top of that, a home-birthed, adopted Veep. With immigrant parents. Then the challenges could be conducted in the Veep candidate's name.

I presume Obama (and Biden, presumably) would supply whatever their home states provide, i.e., Hawaii COLB for Obama.

If and only if a secretary of state rejected that, or a person with standing (i.e., in most states, another candidate) challenged it, would there be an actual lawsuit.*


* I predict candidate Obama is going to be subject to eligibility challenges, regardless of any birther bill.

I've been assuming this, too.

I suppose such a challenge would almost have to be Vattelist in nature, as Obama Sr.'s nationality is a fact not in dispute. (Unlike the POSFKBC's.)

It'll be interesting!

It'll be over quickly as Ankeny provides the path..

I predicts:

• Not one of these birther bills passes and is signed into law.
  
  
• President Obama not only doesn't release a long-form birth certificate, he doesn't even make the COLB available for public inspection again. Why would he? Didn't he learn his lesson?

That's what happened in my dream, anyway.

Well, the PA COLB is awfully short. It has: DOB, File #, Date Filed, Date Issued, County of Birth (not even city), Subject, Sex. That's it. No parents, no parents' races, no time of birth. The one from 1963 adds City and parents names, but nothing else. Filled out by hand, no photo copy even.

So, maybe Obama needs a VP from PA. One with Irish roots. Hmmm... where to find one....

I don't think Obama will be able to find one. Maybe we could push for a national search, headed by Dick Cheney.

Have any of the states that allowed Roger Calero onto the 2008 ballot introduced any birther-esque legislation?

'Cause frankly, they would seem to be the states most in need of establishing a better qualification procedure.

Only CT where Calero got 10 votes. The others DE MN NJ & NY

How up-to-date is the spreadsheet?

It's badly out of date - I'm going to try to revise it this weekend but other commitments mean I might not make it until Monday.

I have finally been able to find the time to catch up on the Birther Bills Spreadsheet

A few headlines:

Excluding HW, bills have been introduced in 16 states - AR,AZ, CT, GA, IA, IN,LA,ME,MO,MT,NE,NH,OK,PA,TN,TX.

One of these (ME) would not in fact have applied to Presidential Elections but the birthers don't seem to have grasped this.

Of these bills have failed or almost certainly failed (i.e.it would take extraordinary parliamentary procedures to resurrect them this year) in 9 states - AR,AZ,CT,GA,IA,IN,ME,MT,NH.

In 2 further states - NE & TN there bills that are highly unlikely to proceed further. Indeed I may be splitting hairs by not including them in the previous paragraph.

There remain truely live bills in 5 states- MO(which will probably pass), OK(which will probably pass next week if the House finds the time),LA,PA & TX(these last 3 being at early stages)

There's a good article in the New York Times summing up this legislation, though not in as much detail as what Welsh provides us with. Anyway, it's the NYT's assessment as I recall that the Oklahoma bill will probably pass.

Wikipedia has an article dedicated to birther legislation.

If it needs "improvement"....

Over/under on all remaining birther bills quietly shuffling off to die?

MO SB282 is a tough bill to kill - it contains other stuff all parties want. I still think OK SB9! will get through. Both these are vey mild in their bither bits,

It might actually make other bills look less contrversial and smooth their passage.

http://coloradoindependent.com/86495/bi ... -committee

Colorado Kills Birfer Bill With a Stake Through the Heart - None of that Arizona shit here.

Reading the birther bill list, I hear Rip Torn:

Dead
Dead
Dead
also Dead

Any word on the OK bill?

I don't know if you saw my previous post :

http://www.thefogbow.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=59&t=5361&start=125#p242532

(Note - there is no point 4 - that was a typo)

It's changed quite a bit - I'm not sure it can be classified as "Birther" any more.

Beyond that no more news - it hasn't been to house or senate yet - I expect it'll be end of this week begining of next before it does.

Just a bit of a stocktake -

After the demise of the Birther efforts in MO & OK there are now 'live' bills remaining in 4 States - AL LA NE & PA.

However the bills in AL & NE are as good as dead.

The Committee Chair in NE indicated after the public hearing he wouldn't be letting it out of Committee and even the sponsor didn't even identify it as a priority.

AL has already had 24 of it's 30 legislative days and its bither bill still hasn't had a hearing, it's not on the committee agenda for Wednesday(Legislative Day 26) and AL has a bicameral legislature.

LA is about halfway through it's legislative session so that bill is still a possible but there's no hearing scheduled yet so it's not looking promising.

It doesn't look like PA will be having a hearing on its bill in the next month but PA is a full time legislature so it could be months before anything happens.

FWIW I now don't think any of them will pass this year.