Let’s see; the economy is in the tank, rising health care costs are pushing Americans out of the system at the rate of a couple of million a year, greenhouse emissions are stranding polar bears and causing hurricanes and several crazy dictators over the world are itching to get their fingers close to a nuclear red button, and the most pressing issue of the day is?

You guessed it – it’s whether the President of the United States is a citizen of the country or not. Rabid protesters are taking to the streets in fly-over states, loony senators are submitting resolutions solely designed to keep the issue alive, and the media is salivating over a topic that needs no preparation and makes for easy ratings.

Is there any merit to the grievances of the wingnut margin? No, but there isn’t supposed to be any. If you think that this is about a piece of paper,  then think again. This is pure racism, now given the legitimacy of a non-racial excuse. The movement in the grassroots( dried up though the grass may be) is of people who just can’t believe that a black family inhabits the White House and all the pent up anger and frustration is being directed in a, crazy as it sounds, politically correct fashion.

That is why, despite the Hawaiian government’s repeated assertion ( the governor is a Republican, by the way) that the President was born when and where he says he did, the conspiracy theorists refuse to give up. If all it took was proof to satisfy them, this issue would have died out a long time ago. But no, the staying power of this meme is a testament to the underlying race issues that have not surprisingly, been brought to the fore by the unexpected election of an African American( and boy, is he African) president.

In a sense, these birthers( now with the meta name of “birfers” ) are doing us a favor. The latent racism that pervaded American society has been given a safe outlet. These racists will not disappear, but at least we know who they are now. And for those people sitting on the fence, the whole birth certificate issue gives them a chance to analyze their feelings. Are they on the side of the birthers? if not, maybe they are a step towards believing in the equality of races, towards tolerance and acceptance. Maybe there’s still some hope for them, while the lunatic fringe, ably assisted by media pimps, hurtle towards a future that is only filled with a multicultural tapestry of disappointment.

UPDATE(just for giggles): Courtesy Balloon Juice commenters, some explanations as to why bithers are going ballistic over Barack.

Just Some Fuckhead

Duh, have you ever seen a thin and athletic Hawaiian?

Scruffy McSnufflepuss

He claims he’s from Hawaii, a “state” whose existence I have every reason to doubt. I’ve never been there. The photographs supposedly taken there make it look like Heaven, another place whose existence there is no reason to believe in. Photographs are easily doctored. And yes, many people say they’ve been to Hawaii, and my brother claims he lives there; but many people are liars, especially my brother.

Until I’ve seen Hawaii with my own eyes, I see no reason why I should accept that there is such a place. In fact, having never seen Obama with my own eyes, why should I believe in his existence, either? “Obama,” like the fictional archipelago of Hawaii, is- very likely- a plot by Muslim extremists to destroy America. In fact, the evidence of that is a lot stronger than the evidence for Obama and this fantasy Hawaii/Heaven place.