Monday, January 07, 2013

Flyover Birtherism

My readers who followed this story more closely can correct me on the details, but I remember how the MSM mocked those challenging Obama’s eligibility to serve as president when, after he presented his “birth certificate registration”, insisted that this wasn’t an actual birth certificate.

Well . . .

It happened that my wife went to the DMV the other day to get a driver’s license, pursuant to which she presented her still-valid out-of-state license, her marriage license, and what she thought was her birth certificate.  This turned out to be, not the birth certificate, but the birth certificate registration.  It had a seal, it contained all the same information, and was all that New York State provided at the time she was born.  It had been good enough to get a passport, marriage license, and driver’s licenses in at least four states, but now . . . wasn’t.  Evidently, the documentation standards have gone up, and nothing less than a birth certificate would do.

I will reserve judgment as to whether the more rigorous standards will accomplish their intended purpose, which I take to be keeping illegal aliens from getting official IDs.  But it is ironic that what Obama presents as evidence of presidential eligibility is not actually good enough to get a driver’s license anymore.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

More whitewash enforcement. Enforce the most miniscule laws on the law abiding so that no one will notice how many people are litterally getting away with murder. If you were hispanic, they would offer you the licence anyway for $200 in cash, no test of documents needed.

Anonymous said...

I don't think that the document that Obama presented was a "birth certificate registration"? I remember it saying "Certification of Live Birth"

Which is the heading of my birth certificate. My birth certificate looks more like the "long-form" he later provided, though my daughter's looks very much like the first one he did (my wife and I commented on how little information it had).

We did get something for Lain as soon as she was born. But unlike with your wife it wasn't an official state document. They made us pony up for an actual birth certificate.

Dr. Φ said...

Trumwill: Sorry it took so long to get back to you on this.

I did a bit of googling around. The Hawaiian "short form" is issued by the hospital. The "long form" is issued by the state government.

I could not for the life of me determine whether or not the "short form" is sufficient for obtaining a driver's license in Hawaii or elsewhere. Nor could I determine what exactly makes a New York "brith certificate registration" different from a "birth certificate" in provenance or content. I will do an update and put these questions to the audience.