“I rarely watch the Bill O’Reilly show on Fox because I’m not a fan of Mr. O’Reilly’s interview style.   However, I received an email saying that Megyn Kelly would be looking into the allegations of Lt. Col. Terry Lakin concerning Obama’s eligibility. Ms. Kelly’s involvement tweaked my curiosity. Because of the tremendous amount of courage and commitment to principle that’s embodied in Lt. Col. Lakin’s refusal to obey orders he believes to be ‘unlawful’, I tuned in last week to see if fairness and objectivity in reporting could possibly emerge out of the morass of misinformation currently dominating the mainstream media.

Being aware that Bill O’Reilly has been consistently (mis) representing the ‘natural born citizen’ issue as merely a ‘citizenship’ issue and portraying everyone involved as a misguided group of nutcases, so I didn’t harbor any expectations that he would experience an ‘ah hah’ moment.  (Mr. O’Reilly relies on the existence of birth announcements placed in local newspapers to prove his case but fails to mention that the birth announcements were most likely placed by the state, not Obama’s family.) However, I did have hopes that Megyn Kelly, an attorney, would at least frame the issue correctly.  Once again, my hopes were misplaced.

I realize O’Reilly and Megyn Kelly are not journalists – they’re commentators/entertainers. And, the ‘natural born citizen’ issue and those attempting to peer behind the curtain have been effectively and maliciously recast by mainstream media misreporting and omission as something meriting ridicule, it’s not surprising to watch entertainers like O’Relly and Beck join in the piling on of the media herd. It’s sort of like a case of school bullying.  Sometimes – once something or someone is portrayed as being a certain way, those with knowledge that could slow or reverse the momentum of attack fail to stand up.  For whatever reason – they want to belong to the click, aren’t willing to risk criticism, want to keep a low profile, or they want to be popular (or at least not unpopular), etc.   They fail to stand up and injustice continues.

I expect this of kids but not of national media figures or news organizations. Even though FOX does lead in the race towards Fair and Balanced reporting among the mainstream media, they have consistently failed regarding the ‘natural born citizen’ issue.  In for a penny – in for a pound, I suppose.

I mention Glenn Beck only because of late he’s hammering away on a quote from Gandhi.

“Use truth as your anvil and non-violence as your hammer. And anything that does not stand the test when it is brought to the anvil of truth and hammered with non-violence, REJECT IT.”

In any event, O’Reilly and Ms. Kelly portrayed Lt. Col. Lakin’s refusal to obey Obama’s orders as a mere attempt to attract attention to the issue.  Ms. Kelly gave no information or opinion about the ongoing controversies regarding the definition of the term ‘natural born citizen’.

This is the issue. The issue that the media (including FOX) have been intentionally ignoring and misreporting is the abundance of legal opinion indicating that in order to be a ‘natural born citizen’ both of your parents must also have been U.S. citizens at the time of your birth.  Regardless of where Obama was born, he fails to meet this part of the test to be a ‘natural born citizen’.”

““Use truth as your anvil…” Isn’t this the truth the media should be focusing on?  Why won’t Obama release his long form birth certificate, college records, bar application, passport information, etc., etc., etc.? Weighed against the interest of soldiers in theater risking life and limb following ‘orders’ that could be ‘unlawful’ – doesn’t Obama’s small privacy concern pale in comparison?  Weighed against the possibility that a Lt. Col. with 18 years of service is risking his career and liberty – doesn’t Obama’s small privacy concern pale in comparison?

“…and non-violence as your hammer”  Let’s see.  Lt. Col. Lakin, CMD Kerchner, Lt. Commander Walter Fitzpatrick, III, Captian Connie Rhodes, Maj. Stefan Cook and many other members of the military have been questioning the eligibility of Obama to serve as Commander In Chief and jeapadizing their own military careers.  Is it reasonable to believe that they would not take such drastice actions without real concern over Obama’s eligibility.  How do these military lives and careers weigh in the balance when compared to merely releasing documents that every other Presidential candidate has voluntarily released?

“These are the times that try men’s souls.” Thomas Paine“