Obama: Citizen of the World
Greg Ransom: BARACK OBAMA IS A CITIZEN OF KENYA as well as a citizen of the United States, according the Rocky Mountain News and other sources. There's reason to believe that Obama is also a citizen of Indonesia. He calls himself a "citizen of the world", and in some sense, he is. That's a good line. Whether Obama is actually a ...Posted in Outside The Beltway | OTB on August 10, 2008 07:41
Army Linguists Net $150,000 Bonus
The Army is looking at paying incredibly large bonuses to people fluent in Arabic and other strategically important languages. The Army may begin paying a retention bonus of as much as $150,000 to Arabic speaking soldiers in reflection of how critical it has become for the US military to retain native language and cultural know-how in its ranks. Only one other job ...Posted in Outside The Beltway | OTB on August 5, 2008 14:15
On Being a Citizen of the World
Said an American politician, speaking to an international audience:"I speak today as both a citizen of the United States and of the world. I come with the heartfelt wishes of my people for peace, bearing honest proposals and looking for genuine progress." I mean can you imagine? Didn't this politician know that he was an American? What kind of ...Posted in Outside The Beltway | OTB on July 27, 2008 22:48
Conservatives for Obama II
When I saw the headline "Hunter: This conservative activist is backing Obama" on memeorandum yesterday, I was intrigued. Duncan Hunter, arguably the most conservative of the 2008 Republican presidential aspirants was endorsing a liberal Democrat?! When it turned out the "Hunter" in question was Larry Hunter, a fellow of whom I'd never previously heard, my interest waned. After all, ...Posted in Outside The Beltway | OTB on July 18, 2008 09:27
John McCain’s Presidential Eligibility Redux
Gabe Chin, a University of Arizona law professor, has re-opened the "Is John McCain a natural-born citizen" debate with a new paper arguing that persons born in the Panama Canal Zone did not technically become automatic citizens until eleven months after his birth. Adam Liptak examines this closely in today's NYT and gets a wide variety of legal ...Posted in Outside The Beltway | OTB on July 11, 2008 07:46
Barack Obama, Natural Born U.S. Citizen
One of the more bizarre controversies that refuses to die this campaign is the subject of Barack Obama's birth certificate and whether in fact he is a "natural born citizen" of the United States and thus eligible to become president pursuant to Article II of the Constitution. First, as A.J. Strata explains in elaborate detail, the electronic copy of Obama's birth ...Posted in Outside The Beltway | OTB on July 6, 2008 18:13
McCain Still the Same on Immigration Reform!
John Hawkins, who initially supported Duncan Hunter for president and came to nominally support John McCain after exhausting all other possible Republican choices, has now announced the withdrawal of his support. Why? "John McCain is a liar. He's a man without honor, without integrity ..." That seems rather harsh. What happened to give him that ...Posted in Outside The Beltway | OTB on May 23, 2008 11:17
Voter ID and Proof of Citizenship
Missouri is trying to join Arizona in requiring people prove that they are U.S. citizens before allowing them to vote. The battle over voting rights will expand this week as lawmakers in Missouri are expected to support a proposed constitutional amendment to enable election officials to require proof of citizenship from anyone registering to vote. The measure would allow far more ...Posted in Outside The Beltway | OTB on May 12, 2008 09:20
Universal Childhood Suffrage
Pascal-Emmanuel Gobry argues for abolishing the minimum voting age and letting kids vote "when they decide they want the vote." Matt Yglesias seconds the emotion. Gobry's argument is long and largely defies excerpting. It boils down to: Setting maturity at 18 is arbitrary. Kids will grow up and face the consequences of current policy decisions, so should have some say over ...Posted in Outside The Beltway | OTB on May 11, 2008 09:00
Wilders Film ‘Fitna’ Incites Muslims
Dutch parliamentarian Geert Wilders has debuted a new film that compares Islam to fascism. No rioting has yet ensued. Iran and Indonesia on Friday condemned a film by a Dutch lawmaker that accuses the Koran of inciting violence, while Dutch Muslim leaders urged restraint. Islam critic Geert Wilders launched his movie on Thursday evening. Titled "Fitna", an Arabic term sometimes translated ...Posted in Outside The Beltway | OTB on March 28, 2008 09:09
