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Random Thoughts
Nov. 24th, 2008 03:00 pmIt's been a slow day at work, so I've had a bit more time to think about my posts today.
Obama and the wing-nuts
You may have heard about various wingnut attempts to claim Obama is ineligible to be President. (Link from![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
pyropyga). If you go to the winger sites, one finds various cites to obscure 18th century laws and deep discussions of the meaning of "natural-born" citizen.
Here's your answer: Wong Kim Ark. In 1898, the Supreme Court held that the 14th Amendment to the Constitution defined "natural-born" to mean "born in the US." Specifically, they held that a Chinese man born of a pair of Chinese resident aliens (not even citizens) was a US citizen by birth. The court held that the 14th Amendment specifically modified the 1866 Civil Rights Act, which was an attempt to define citizenship. One may argue that Wong Kim Ark was wrongly decided, but repealing it will override a century of settled legal precedent.
Somalia
The Chicago Tribune today had a lengthy article about US operations in Somalia. They wrap their case around whether one local Somali supposedly captured by a warlord and interrogated aboard a US ship, then imprisoned in Somalia. I don't know or particularly care if this particular Somali is a good guy or a terrorist. But I do care that our current and immediate actions supporting an Ethiopian occupation of Somalia are causing a power vacuum in the region. Piracy and terrorism go with power vacuums like shit and stink.
One of the few good things President Bush did was let the Palestinians have their election. Yes, Hamas got in on the West Bank. That's good, because now they have to actually govern. The first rule of getting a government to do what you want it to do is that a government actually exists. Not only exists, but has some control over its people and borders. Once that happens, diplomatic levers (to include the 5-inch type seen on US Navy warships) become much more effective.
Obama and the wing-nuts
You may have heard about various wingnut attempts to claim Obama is ineligible to be President. (Link from
pyropyga). If you go to the winger sites, one finds various cites to obscure 18th century laws and deep discussions of the meaning of "natural-born" citizen. Here's your answer: Wong Kim Ark. In 1898, the Supreme Court held that the 14th Amendment to the Constitution defined "natural-born" to mean "born in the US." Specifically, they held that a Chinese man born of a pair of Chinese resident aliens (not even citizens) was a US citizen by birth. The court held that the 14th Amendment specifically modified the 1866 Civil Rights Act, which was an attempt to define citizenship. One may argue that Wong Kim Ark was wrongly decided, but repealing it will override a century of settled legal precedent.
Somalia
The Chicago Tribune today had a lengthy article about US operations in Somalia. They wrap their case around whether one local Somali supposedly captured by a warlord and interrogated aboard a US ship, then imprisoned in Somalia. I don't know or particularly care if this particular Somali is a good guy or a terrorist. But I do care that our current and immediate actions supporting an Ethiopian occupation of Somalia are causing a power vacuum in the region. Piracy and terrorism go with power vacuums like shit and stink.
One of the few good things President Bush did was let the Palestinians have their election. Yes, Hamas got in on the West Bank. That's good, because now they have to actually govern. The first rule of getting a government to do what you want it to do is that a government actually exists. Not only exists, but has some control over its people and borders. Once that happens, diplomatic levers (to include the 5-inch type seen on US Navy warships) become much more effective.
