The Legitimacy of the Obama Presidency...

It is funny in that perverse kind of a way to watch Republicans dodge, but not really, questions of Obama's citizenship and subsequent legitimacy with respect to being president. The latest Republican to play the double talk game is none other than House Speaker John Boehner. It is equally funny in that perverse kind of a way that Republicans still imagine that this is an issue that is going to be a major vote getter for them in the 2012 presidential elections.

Nah, Boehner hedged his bets as he is often seen doing on tobacco. Boehner's argument is in essence that he believes Obama is a citizen and a Christian. Now, according to Boehner, if the good ol' state of Hawaii says that Obama was born there then that is good enough for him. On the is Obama a Christian or a Muslim front Boehner is much more non-committal and merely says that he takes the president on his word. After all, in Boehner's mind President Obama has stated he is Christian so that will have to do for now.

The real funny here is that rather than being unequivocal in stating that the question of Obama's citizenship and religion is a non-issue, a dead issue, Boehner goes on to say that the American public is entitled to believe whatever they want. This is indeed true, Mr. Speaker. If Americans want to believe that no US man ever landed on the moon and that it was all a big hoax constructed in a studio in Hollywood somewhere as an elaborate ruse to fool the Russians that they had lost the space race, then they are entitled to believe that too. Similarly, if Americans want to believe that there are a couple of aliens on ice at Roswell or in Area 51, then they can do that too.

The fact that democrats lost so much ground at the mid-terms was not because they did, or continue to do, a woeful job in government. Rather it is a reflection of the inability of democrats to remobilise the 2008 base that swept Democrats into power and Obama into the White House. There is no guarantee that the Democrats will make the same mistake twice. The balancing factor here is that the current state of the economy and Obama's difficulties in following through on some of his election campaign rhetoric means that it must be easier for Republicans to mobilise their base, including the fringe represented by the Tea Party.

But, as the Speaker of the House, the responsible move would have been to be unequivocal that Obama is a citizen, this is no longer an issue and Republicans will not be using it to question the legitimacy of the President. One would have thought that Republicans would have believed that Obama's domestic and international track record since 2008 provides more than enough problems for the Democrats that there is no need to resort to fear-mongering about citizenship and Obama's supposed Muslim faith.

All that said, I remain an interested observer.

Arnold Schwarzenegger Drops a Cool USD 200 Million...

Ah, the lives of the rich and famous!

I like Arnold Schwarzenegger. He is in many ways the embodiment of success and to all intents and purposes representative of "living the American Dream". I am almost certain that there are many who disagree with me, but after all it is my blog and I can hold whatever opinion I like :)

I have always admired those who choose to go into public service. There is no higher calling than public service, and this is true irrespective of your political stripes; it simply does not matter whether you are labor or liberal, democrat or republican, green, socialist, democratic socialist or whatever. This is also irrespective of the few bad apples who see public service as a means of feathering their own nests, they are a minority in the big scheme of things.

So, it was with interest that I read about an interview that Arnold Schwarzenegger gave to an Austrian newspaper where he said that he estimated that being Governor of California cost him USD 200 million. But, what was most enlightening was that he felt it was more than worth it.

Schwarzenegger is a renowned family man, so it was not a surprise to read that the biggest challenge for him was managing his family time. A loss of family time is often an excuse that is used not to enter public service or to leave it once one has been in it for some time. In many ways that is why public service is such a high calling. It is not only the individual elected, or appointed, to office that make sacrifices in order to serve the greater public good, the family of that individual also must sacrifice.

It will be interesting to see what moves Schwarzenegger makes now. Does he go back to movies? Does he hit the lecture circuit? Does he just kick back and relax? Or does he start lobbying for a change to the Constitution in order that he, and other non-US born citizens can run for President?

Although, the "Birthers" might argue that it does not really matter anymore as that Kenyan born, Indonesian passport holding interloper from Chicago (aka Barack Hussein Obama) has already usurped the Office of the President of the United States of America. But, seriously though, non-US born citizens cannot become President of the US without there being a constitutional amendment to permit it.

Whenever, I think about Arnold Schwarzenegger becoming president of the US I have to have a little chuckle. I always remember that Sylvester Stallone movie, Demolition Man, where he has been cryogenically frozen and upon being refrozen he learns that Arnold Schwarzenegger had been president. How prophetic would that be?

The Birthers...Are Back!

The Birthers are those individuals who believe that Barack Obama is not qualified to be president of the United States of America because he is not a natural born citizen. Unfortunately for the Birthers, their most recent trip to the Supreme Court of the United States found that there claims were unfounded and were not sustainable, and SCOTUS dismissed the case. You can read about these latest developments at the Birthers website.

Here are some other interpretations of the ineligibility of Barack Hussein Obama II to be President of the United States (POTUS).

Change you better believe in!

Squatter-in-Chief

Usurper.

Welcome to Kenya...Birthplace of Barack Hussein Obama.

Obama the little Indonesian boy.

Barry Soetoro: The Indonesian Citizen.

A Typical Indonesian Family?

It seems that the Birthers are not sure where exactly the President was born or what citizenship he was born with. However, what is clear, they are certain that it was not the United States of America. It could have been Kenya, it could be the United Kingdom, and it may well be Indonesia. In any event, the confusion places the burden of proving his eligibility to become president fairly and squarely on the shoulders of Barack Hussein Obama II.

I am wondering how it was possible to pull off such a large-scale fraud of the people of the USA. Surely, Obama would have been vetted to the "nth" degree prior to him nominating for the presidency, and being nominated by the Democratic Party, right? Are the birthers for real? And do they have legitimate concerns.

Someone wake me up when it is December. Hopefully, there will be an answer to these most pressing questions and concerns.

Ho hum...

Public Service Email Accounts for Personal Affairs: Inappropriate...

What was this bloke thinking? Seriously, a department-wide email to track down a girl! Steve Tucker decided that the girl he met at a party might be the girl of his dreams, but the night ended in a manner he did not like. Presumably, he did not get her contact details or she did not want to hand them over. The girl, who has yet to be identified  by anything other than "Olivia" who is tall and olive skinned, was supposedly staying with a colleague. So, the decision was made to send a department-wide email.

The department, Immigration and Citizenship, email system was utilised in order to track Olivia down.

Funnily enough, Tucker sensed that there would be repercussions for this 'inappropriate' use of the email system, but explained that despite any misgivings about the inappropriateness he felt it was a risk that he had to take. Well, that risk apparently is now being investigated by the relevant internal authorities at the department.

From my very vague recollections of employment law, this is unlikely to see Mr. Tucker fired. He is likely to be reprimanded for the inappropriate use. Let's face it, this is a slap on the wrist offense at best. He has not used the system to bag fellow colleagues or to send porn. He has used the system to track down a girl.

Nevertheless, that said, it would be interesting if DIAC did sack the bloke. I wonder if he would pursue an unfair dismissal claim?

Dutch Indonesian Footballers...

I was thinking of posting something of Dutch footballers (soccer players to the rest of us) while I was watching the 2010 World Cup final the other week. The commentators on the broadcast that I was watching mentioned a number of times that there were plenty of Dutch footballers with Indonesian blood pumping through their veins. In the final, the names of Robin van Persie, John Heitinga, and Giovanni van Bronckhorst were mentioned a number of times.

However, this post actually came to life as I was reading an article in The Jakarta Globe earlier tonight.

It was interesting to read that the Indonesian Football Association has a plan in place to recruit Dutch players with an Indonesian ancestry to play for the Indonesian National Team. At face value, sounds like a good plan, and why not? However, politics and bureaucracy means that this is nothing more than pie in the sky dreaming.

Indonesia's citizenship and naturalization laws and regulations are notoriously difficult to navigate. On paper, it can be argued that becoming an Indonesian citizen is easy. Nothing more than filling in the paperwork and going through the motions. Personal experience tells me that this is not the case.

However, this post is not about me, but about football players who may be tempted, or not, to change their stripes from the Oranje of Holland to the Red and White of Indonesia. One of the biggest obstacles to the idea of dual citizenship is that Indonesian politicians do not seem to be able to get their collective heads around the idea that someone can hold two passports yet be a devoted patriot to one. Sometimes, practical considerations, such as family or work, dictate  dual citizenship.

I am sure that there are some fringe players who cannot secure a regular gig in the Dutch national side that might be tempted by the prospect of playing consistent international football. However, the established stars like van Persie are not likely to be suiting up in the red and white of Indonesia.

Nevertheless, Indonesians have had a chance to see what van Persie might look like in the red and white when he suits up in the Premier League for Arsenal. My guess is that is as close as van Persie will get to wearing the red and white of his ancestral homeland.

Yet, if the Indonesians are serious about this then it requires that the government get on board and look at putting some flexibility into the current laws and regulations relating to holding more than one passport. Dual citizenship will go a long way to enticing those fringe players into considering a stint with the Indonesian national team. Otherwise, this is nothing more than a couple of old Indonesian men sitting round a table dreaming of world cup glory in 2110 when Indonesia hosts its first ever football world cup.

A couple of other notable Dutch footballers with Indonesian connections include Roy Maakay, Bobby Petta, Denny Landzaat, Michael Mols and Sergio van Dijk.

That is the Arsenal strip, but I am pretty sure that is not Robin van Persie. The body paint though seems to be the way of the future, something about aerodynamics and energy efficiency. Oh well and happy viewing!

Obama's Indonesian Wedding Ring...

As media stories go, this must mean that there is no news of real importance out there in the world of national or international affairs or the design of Obama's gold wedding band is in fact news of both national and international importance. I will leave you to be the judge on this one.

The photos are courtesy of The Huffington Post.

Just about everyone in the world must know that Obama has a black Kenyan father and a white American mother. Most all must also know that he spent some of his formative years in Indonesia. Apparently he still has fond memories of the country, and still speaks a little of the local lingo, Bahasa Indonesia, or just plain old Indonesian to the rest of us.

The New York Times magazine has a story on the "First Marriage" , and the story identifies that Barack Obama's wedding ring is not only gold, but that it is crafted in a traditional Indonesian style.

I wonder whether this gives more fodder to the birthers who seem to still be fascinated with whether or not Obama is qualified to be president as they dither between whether he was born in Kenya or Hawaii and whether the president ever held Indonesian citizenship or not as a boy (courtesy of his stepfather, Lolo Soetoro).

In any event, the fact that the "most powerful man" in the world is wearing a wedding band using an Indonesian design is a bit of an advertising and marketing scoop for Indonesian jewelry artisans everywhere. Perhaps, there may now be a run on wedding bands with an Indonesian design.

Thanks Obama!

Cathleen Santoso -- Australia's Best Female Golfer Since Karrie Webb?

Cathleen Santoso is a 14-year-old who has been playing golf for a mere three years. She is rated as one of the hottest teenage prospects in decades and potentially Australia's best female golfer since Karrie Webb. Considering that Karrie Webb is a Hall of Famer, then this is indeed high praise coming from Jack Newton.

Jack Newton was one of Australia's great golfers until he walked into the propeller of a small aircraft and lost an arm and an eye. Hey, even after that he was still a better one-armed golfer than most two-armed hacks like me.

The reason I am writing this blog post is that I read an article in The Daily Telegraph about her. Having lived in Indonesia for many years the name Santoso jumped off the page and caught my eye. It is an interesting story. Besides I have a fascination for all things Indonesian and Australian, so this combines both of those fascinations and rolls them into one story.

Cathleen Santoso was born in Australia to Indonesian parents. The article does not say whether the parents have taken out Australian citizenship or not. But, a quick Google search reveals that Santoso has won her state age championship event three years running and is in the representative school-age teams for which she qualifies. I have not managed to track down any photos of her in action on the Internet.

Her inspiration, Michelle Wie, of course.

The beauty of multicultural Australia, our talent is bred locally (although not always) but can trace its ancestry to all points on the globe.

Viva Australia.

Is Barack Obama A US Citizen?

Some people just cannot get over the fact that they and their fellow country men and women have elected a black president. This has given birth to something known as the "birther movement". This movement has gained the support of some members of congress who are looking to table a bill, the birther bill, in Congress that would require all candidates for the presidency of the United States of America to provide a birth certificate before being permitted to run.

The whole idea that Barack Obama is not a US citizen is absurd. However, it was one of those things that are great fun to watch. This is in spite of the fact that it is just too bizarre and you cannot help but think that those getting on this band wagon are the proverbial "sandwich short of a picnic basket". It also has the feel of being too bizarre that it just cannot be true, one giant hoax. Even so, it is, as I said, fun to watch.

And, if it is to be funny, then who better than Jon Stewart of The Daily Show on Comedy Central to do it. I am still laughing as I write this post.

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