Health Insurance
The United States is the only wealthy, industrialized nation that does not have a universal health care system. Source: Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences
In 2010, the percentage of Americans without health insurance was 16.3%, or 49.9 million uninsured people. Source: US Census Bureau
Of the 83.7% of people with health insurance in 2010, coverage was 55.3% employment-based, 9.8% direct-purchase, and 31.0% government funded (Medicare, Medicaid, Military). (Overlap reflects coverage by more than one type of health insurance). Source: US Census Bureau
The primary reason given for lack of health insurance coverage in 2005 was cost (more than 50%), lost job or a change in employment (24%), Medicaid benefits stopped (10%), ineligibility for family insurance coverage due to age or leaving school (8%). Source: National Center for Health Statistics
More than 40 million adults stated that they needed but did not receive one or more of these health services (medical care, prescription medicines, mental health care, dental care, or eyeglasses) in 2005 because they could not afford it. Source: National Center for Health Statistics
Medicaid, which accounted for 15.9% of health care coverage in 2010, is a health insurance program jointly funded by the federal and state governments to provide health care for qualifying low-income individuals. Source: US Census Bureau
Medicare, a federally funded health insurance program that covers the health care of most individuals 65 years of age and over and disabled persons, accounted for 14.5% of health care coverage in 2010. Source: US Census Bureau
Medicare operates with 3% overhead, non-profit insurance 16% overhead, and private (for-profit) insurance 26% overhead. Source: Journal of American Medicine 2007
Since the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) was created in 1997, the percentage of children ages 0-17 with health insurance has increased from 86% to 93%. Source: National Center for Health Statistics: December 2011
2.5 million young adults have gained health insurance as a result of the provision in the Affordable Care Act that allows them to remain on their parents insurance plans until age 26. Source: National Center for Health Statistics: December 2011
Health Care Expenditures
Health care expenditures in the United States were nearly $2.6 trillion in 2010, an average of $8,402 per person. Source: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
In 2009, national health care expenditures were paid by households 28%, private businesses 21%, state and local governments 16%, and federal government 27%. Source: Centers for Medicare &
Medicaid Services
75% of all health care dollars are spent on patients with one or more chronic conditions, many of which can be prevented, including diabetes, obesity, heart disease, lung disease, high blood pressure, and cancer. Source: Health Affairs
Half of health care spending is used to treat just 5% of the population. Source: Kaiser Family Foundation, May 2012
Since 2001, employer-sponsored health coverage for family premiums has increased by 113%. Source: Kaiser Family Foundation, May 2012
The share of the economy devoted to health care has increased from 7.2% in 1970 to 17.9% in 2009 and 2010. Source: Kaiser Family Foundation, May 2012
The U.S. spends substantially more on health care than other developed countries. As of 2009, health spending in the U.S. was about 90% higher than in many other industrialized countries. The most likely causes are higher prices, more readily accessible technology, and greater obesity. Source:
Kaiser Family Foundation, May 2012
Infant Mortality
In 2005, the United States ranked 30th in infant mortality. Singapore has the lowest rate with 2.1 deaths per 1000 live births, while the United States has a rate of 6.9 deaths per 1000 live births. Infant mortality is considered an important indicator of the health of a nation.
Source: CDC, NCHS Data Brief, Number 23, November 2009
Approximately 30,000 infants die in the United States each year. The infant mortality rate, which is the risk of death during the first year of life, is related to the underlying health of the mother, public health practices, socioeconomic conditions, and availability and use of appropriate health care for infants and pregnant women. Sources: CDC and National Center for Health Statistics, 2008
The main cause contributing to the high infant mortality rate in the United States is the very high percentage of preterm births. One in 8 births in the United States were born preterm, an increase of 36% since 1984. Source: CDC, NCHS Data Brief, Number 23, November 2009
Life Expectancy
Life expectancy at birth in the United States is an estimated 78.49 years, which ranks 50th in highest total life expectancy compared to other countries. Source: CIA Factbook (2011)
Lack of health insurance is associated with as many as 44,789 deaths per year in the United States. Source: Harvard Medical School Study, American Journal of Public Health, December 2009
People without health insurance had a 40 percent higher risk of death than those with private health insurance, a result of being unable to obtain necessary medical care. Source: Harvard Medical School Study, American Journal of Public Health, December 2009
Bankruptcy
Nearly two-thirds, or 62%, of all bankruptcy filings in the United States in 2007 were due to illness or medical bills. Source: American Journal of Medicine, June 2009
Among the medical bankruptcy filers in 2007, most were well-educated, owned homes, employed in middle-class occupations, and three-quarters had health insurance. Source: American Journal of Medicine, June 2009
Monday, May 13, 2013
Zara Clothing Stores Shaming Land Whales and Pork Beasts?
Tommy Sotomayor once again brings clarity to what assholes fat women can be. These fat heffers are on the rag because Zara clothing stores are not catering to pork beasts and land whales and a lot of fat sows are up in arms about it. Tommy masterfully puts them in their place.
Spanish fashion chain Zara, now the world's largest retailer, is being accused of missing a "huge opportunity" in the Unites States by refusing to offer fat-assed clothing to women.
I have to applaud Zara because they know that women should not be fat and they are doing the responsible thing by not enabling them.
Tuesday, May 7, 2013
Jodi Arias: Guilty or not Guilty?
We all have seen from the O.J. Simpson case and the Casey Anthony case that juries can be really fucking stupid. They are not only stupid when it comes to acquitting guilty people but there also even more stupid when it comes to convicting innocent people. We don't have to worry about that in the Jodi arias case because that filthy little skank is as guilty as anyone can be.
Do you think the jury in the Jodi arias case will be as stupid as he O.J. and Casey Anthony jury or do you think they will figure out that Jodi Arias is as guilty as sin?
If Jodi arias is found guilty and you could be the executioner of her sentence and the sentence was a death sentence how would you put her to death? Before you decide here are some crime scene photo of her victim Travis Alexander.
Chris Christie Had Lap Band Surgery
A few weeks ago Bigger Fatter Politics was on the verge endorsing Chris Christie for president but now in retrospect we believe that his fatness and fattitude played a huge role in our almost endorsement. It is now clear that the man is a sellout. If Christie really wanted to lose weight he would eat less and move more. Deep down he wants to be fat so this latest move to have gastric/ghastly banding will have some serious repercussions to his psyche. Christie will lose his edge.sweep and identity. The normally large and in charge Governor Christie will become common little man. His commanding stature and bearing will be gone. As his impressive size wanes so will his approval rating. He can kiss the fat vote goodbye. As Hillary beefs up for her Presidential run/waddle Christie is already losing momentum, ie, weight increases momentum.
There are Other Options
Christie's handlers probably never told him about HAES (Health At Every Size), FATT (Food All The Time) and EATT (Eat All The Time).
They are probably under the mistaken impression that a fat man cannot be a natural vote getter. It seems those idiots forgot about Gov. Christie's huge approval rating and the fact that he won the NJ governorship as a Republican in Democratic New Jersey.
Mark my words, as Chris Christie's weight drops he will plummet proportionately in the polls. Every man from guys like our own Internet reporter Belly Boy and Joe sixpack to Joe the plumber like guys like Chris Christie. Think about it, who was the most liked man on the television show Cheers? It wasn't Cliff Claven nor was it Sam Malone. The most popular character was Norm Peterson. Let's take the show Saturday Night Live. The most popular stars of that show undoubtedly were John Belushi and Chris Farley. I hate to break it to the angry fat girls in the fat acceptance movement but the truth is Americans love fat men but they do not like fat women. There is no mystery here. Fat men simply are much more pleasant than fat women. It is a scientific fact, fat men are jolly and charming.
Bigger Fatter Politics may not agree completely with Chris Christie's politics but we are a fan and a friend; so while we may not endorse him and his presidential run we still like the guy and not just because he's fat. Time will tell how much of his lead he will lose as his weight evaporates. Will he lose his sweep the way Al Roker did?
Politics is a cross between entertainment and combat sports. I've already named some of the great fat people in the entertainment field but I feel I should name a few more – WC Fields, John Candy, Ruben Studdard, Jackie Gleason, Barry White, Luther Vandross, Jason Alexander, etc. etc. etc. now let's move to sports. Everybody loved and loves William the refrigerator Perry, Eric Esche who is better known as the Butterbean, Roy big country Nelson, wrestler Mick Foley, Haystacks Calhoun, Andre the Giant and who doesn't love all those Japanese sumo wrestlers? Americans love big fat man. We big fat men command respect. People grovel at our largeness. America is fat and for the fat man in the White House who is used to throwing his weight around, America will throw its weight around in a world that seriously needs to get knocked off its high horse and in the case of the middle east its high camel.
"I'm da biggest, so I'm da boss!"
Like the Chef, Chris Christie has been so far in his life a big man with a big appetite who makes no apologies for it. America does not need an apologist when it comes to foreign policy. Chris Christie's I'm fat and fuck you attitude harkens back to the very successful cowboy diplomacy of Ronald Reagan. Reagan pretty much told Gorbachev that we, the US is stronger than the Soviet Union and bigger than the Soviet Union and if you try to screw with us you won't win. That's the kind of leadership America needs. There are times when the world needs to know that might really does make right. A fat Chris
Christie could have shown the world that not only does might make right but fat makes right as well. Walking softly and carrying a big stick may have worked for Harry S Truman but we are not living in the 1950s. Truman never had to deal with the Muslim threat and when it comes to Muslims using the big stick repeatedly is all they understand because unlike the Russians, Muslims are stupid. Unlike the Russians, Muslims are cowards and they have very little to back up their rhetoric. A Chris Christie with fattitude would call them on that. Chris Christie could go to a summit meeting with these Muslim malcontents and devour a large pepperoni pizza with sausage and extra cheese right front of them and while he is making short work of that pizza he could say to them "think of me as the United States and think of this pizza is you. In other words, as easily as I can eat this pizza the United States of America can chew you up and crap you out so watch your step". If Chris Christie did that those baby raping camel blowing wifebeating Muslims would be shaking in their turbans. Had Christie been president during the Bush years we would not have needed to use shock and awe to subdue Iraq; Chris Christie's mere presence is shock and awe.
Christie Had Better Not Bite Off More Than He Can Swallow!
You can see from the diagram to your left the dangers of gastric banding surgery. Chris Christie is a glutton and as much as he tries to modulate his eating eventually he will slip into glutton mode and the massive influx of food, eg, burgers, fries, pie, fried chicken, double cheese pizzas, Buffalo chicken wings, Doritos, tacos, candy bars, cookies, doughnuts and meet salads will cause a bottleneck to occur at the site of the band. If this happens Gov. Christie could choke to death.
There are other problems with gastric banding that will plague the governor. The stomach works by chemically and mechanically breaking down the food. Gov. Christie stomach has a working overtime to accomplish this very important task in the digestive process. With the band in place his powerful stomach will rebel which will cause the governor to vomit but it gets worse. Because the food that the governor eats will reach the small intestine and a less processed state the governor will experience a lot of gastric discomfort and by the time the food reaches the governor's large intestine it will be incompletely digested so the governor will be starting up a storm and will be instances where he will crap his pants.
As a natural glutton Chris Christie will figure out ways to circumvent the restriction in his stomach. Like the majority of weight loss surgery victims Gov. Christie will resort to satisfying his food lust with liquefied foods. Christie will be eating a lot of pudding, milkshakes, sweet tea, regular Coca-Cola, lattes and various alcoholic beverages. In no time at all Gov. Christie will be at his normal 6000 to 7000 calorie range and any weight may have lost with the gastric band he will quickly regain and if he's anything like gorgeous girl glutton Carnie Wilson he will put it on very quickly. When that happens the sharks in the media will be ridiculing the governor and the fat jokes that are funny now will become cruel barbs. Any self-esteem that Christie had while he was fat large and in charge will soon evaporate.
Gov. Christie needs to understand one thing and one thing only, the very thing that Republicans live by. Gluttony is good!
Chris Christie Secretly Had Lap Band Stomach Surgery To Rapidly Lose Weight
New Jersey Governor Chris Christie's weight is frequently the butt of jokes or criticism, to which he usually responds with good humor. It's occasionally cited as holding back a potential presidential run. But now, he's told the New York Post that he had lap band stomach surgery on February 16th in an effort to quickly lose weight.
He says he agreed to the surgery at the urging of his friends and family, and because he's looking out for his four children. Christie's pre-surgery weight was estimated at somewhere between 300 and 350 pounds.
Sources told The New York Post that he's lost some 40 pounds since the surgery.
He says its not about a Presidential run though, telling the Post “It’s so much more important than that."
Christie went to great lengths to keep the procedure secret, registering under a false name for the surgery, and having his doctor make house calls instead of going into his office.
He even turned to advice from Jets coach Rex Ryan, who underwent similar surgery and lost over 100 pounds, and ended up using the same surgeon, NYU's Dr. George Fielding.
Though Christie denies the move has anything to do with his Presidential ambitions, it's definitely going to increase speculation that he's looking to run, because his weight quickly became a campaign issue when he was sounding out a run in 2012.
He says he agreed to the surgery at the urging of his friends and family, and because he's looking out for his four children. Christie's pre-surgery weight was estimated at somewhere between 300 and 350 pounds.
Sources told The New York Post that he's lost some 40 pounds since the surgery.
He says its not about a Presidential run though, telling the Post “It’s so much more important than that."
Christie went to great lengths to keep the procedure secret, registering under a false name for the surgery, and having his doctor make house calls instead of going into his office.
He even turned to advice from Jets coach Rex Ryan, who underwent similar surgery and lost over 100 pounds, and ended up using the same surgeon, NYU's Dr. George Fielding.
Though Christie denies the move has anything to do with his Presidential ambitions, it's definitely going to increase speculation that he's looking to run, because his weight quickly became a campaign issue when he was sounding out a run in 2012.
Monday, May 6, 2013
Weight Gain Drugs vs "Natural" Foods
There are a lot of weight gain strategies. A tried and true one is to eat like a pig but what about a more high tech solution? Some of the best appetite enhancement drugs are the psychiatric meds and Abilify tops the list. (Deadly Abilify Side Effects) If you don't mind life threatening and permanent side effect Abilify can increase your weight by a whopping 50 pounds a month but if you prefer a more natural weight gain nothing beats good old fashioned Doritos. Fat girls LOVE Doritos! Don't believe me? Check this out!
Now do you believe me?!
Nearly all psych meds are obesogenic but they can make you crazy but since fat girls are already nutty drama queens what will a few more crazy symptoms hurt; however, if you are a male gainer it sucks being crazy so eat Doritos with dip and Hidden Valley Ranch dressing.
EAT!
EAT!
$$$ Free Money For Fat People $$$
$$$ FREE Money For Fatlings $$$ By Coach Gaines
 |
Coach Gaines is the author of EAT EAT EAT You Big Fat Pig, Fat Girls are Sluts, Hoggin: A Guide for College Freshmen, Advanced Hoggin: How to Land the Biggest Sow, Fat Girls and Feeders, Care and Feeding of Your BBW and SSBBW, Feederism a Beginner's Guide and his Pulitzer Prize winning documentary: Fat Girls and Feeders |
CHA CHING! $$$$ Compliments of Uncle Sam $$$$
One
of the nicest things about porking fat women is that many of them are
simply too fat to work. That means that they are home all day just
waiting for a feeding and a fucking from yours truly. One secret that
the old fat acceptance with their victim mentality will not tell you is
that you can get free money, housing and medical benefits simply for
being too fat. When I hear the vitriol from the angry hens like Kelly
Bliss in the old fat acceptance movement I hasten to remind them just
how fat friendly society and Uncle Sam have become. Fat
Bastard is currently on SSDI and SSI due to the disabling condition of
his obesity but little did he know that simply being fat would
qualify him for disability long before the heart disease, diabetes and
bad knees kicked in. Cha Ching! This
is another example of how the old fat acceptance through their
intellectual dishonesty and their warped ideology have dropped the ball
and further harmed fat people. At the next NAAFA convention, if there
even is one this year, Fat Bastard and I will be serving a HUGE plate of
crow to NAAFA's big wigs.
Bon Appetite NAAFA!
Gluttonous Fatlings are indeed becoming a protected and special class. Unlike Blacks who had to march and be killed just to receive basic human rights, all fatlings need to do is get fatter and whine since they have already become the majority. Fatlings did not even need a dynamic leader and martyr like Dr Martin Luther King. The only debt of gratitude that is owed by the fat community is big thank you to the food industry for serving their needs and never forgetting that the customer is always right, the medical community for all the advances that enable fat people to grow fatter and fatter and fatter and to Uncle Sam for accommodating the needs of all fat Americans regardless of color, creed or national origin and Bill Fabrey of Ample Stuff. USA USA USA USA! May the Belly God Bless America!
$$$ Social Security Disability and Morbid Obe$ity $$$
There was a time when Morbid Obesity was specifically listed in the social security impairment book, or blue book, as a disabling condition. Individuals filing for social security disability (SSD) or supplemental security income (SSI) benefits were evaluated according to a social security height/weight chart and, if their statistics met the blue book definition of obesity, they could be awarded benefits based on that condition alone.All that changed in 1999, when Social Security no longer recognized obesity as an inherently disabling condition. The logic was that many obese individuals are able to lead productive lives and hold gainful employment. Today, you can still be awarded disability benefits for obesity, Cha Ching but only if you can demonstrate through medical records that your obesity is causing other physical symptoms severe enough to prevent you from working.
Is There a Fat Friendly Doctor In the House?
In
other words, you must show, not only that you are obese, but that you
are unable to work, either due to the existence of other related medical
conditions such as arthritis, musculoskeletal disorders, diabetes,
decreased pulmonary function (extreme difficulty breathing), etc., or
due to the fact that your obesity is in itself so severe it limits you
from performing work and other activities of daily living, such as
driving a car, bathing, walking, etc. Cha Ching!
If your obesity is aggravating (or the cause of) medical conditions such as asthma, cardiac arrhythmia, edema, arthritis, etc., then you would file for disability based on the condition that is listed in the blue book (not obesity).
If you are morbidly obese but do not suffer from any other serious medical condition, you may still qualify for SSD/SSI benefits in the form of a medical vocational allowance, commonly referred to as a Med-Voc. A Med-Voc allowance is awarded to individuals that can show that their condition, while not listed in the blue book, is so severe that it prevents them from performing any form of gainful employment. Cha Ching! Med-Voc allowances rely heavily on a physician’s statement of your residual functional capacity (RFC), a form detailing exactly what activities you can and cannot perform in light of your medical condition.
RFC assessments are made by physicians who provide
input on SSD and SSI cases for the social security administration.
However, a claimant can obtain such an assessment from their own
physician and submit this. Fat freindly doctor and Cha Ching!
If you are planning on filing for disability based on obesity alone,
you should ask your physician to fill out an RFC for you, or you may be
asked to attend a consultative exam (CE) with a social security doctor,
who will assess your impairment and the extent to which it limits your
physical activity.
In the case of morbid obesity, an RFC will most likely be required by the disability examiner evaluating your claim, and it’s better to have the form completed by your own Fat Friendly treating physician rather than one who works for the social security administration (SSA).
Note:
an RFC form is freely available from this site and can be downloaded at
the bottom of the homepage for www.disabilitysecrets.com
Just take in the majesty of this man and all other gluttonous fatlings. If some fat phobic jock or some Goody Two Shoes like anorexic kill joy MeMe Roth complain that tax dollars are being spent to accommodate simply say to them, "Shut the fuck up douche canoe!" I knew Kate Harding was good for something.
Fat Bastard Being Fat and Majestic!
Obligatory Image of a Sexy Plump Porkable Poker.
Afternoon delight is not just about ice cream; it's about man cream. I love it. When fat girls don't have to work they have plenty of time to play. There are millions of these hot sexy SSBBWs waiting at home for a fat admirer to deliver the sausage.
If your obesity is aggravating (or the cause of) medical conditions such as asthma, cardiac arrhythmia, edema, arthritis, etc., then you would file for disability based on the condition that is listed in the blue book (not obesity).
If you are morbidly obese but do not suffer from any other serious medical condition, you may still qualify for SSD/SSI benefits in the form of a medical vocational allowance, commonly referred to as a Med-Voc. A Med-Voc allowance is awarded to individuals that can show that their condition, while not listed in the blue book, is so severe that it prevents them from performing any form of gainful employment. Cha Ching! Med-Voc allowances rely heavily on a physician’s statement of your residual functional capacity (RFC), a form detailing exactly what activities you can and cannot perform in light of your medical condition.
In the case of morbid obesity, an RFC will most likely be required by the disability examiner evaluating your claim, and it’s better to have the form completed by your own Fat Friendly treating physician rather than one who works for the social security administration (SSA).
Just take in the majesty of this man and all other gluttonous fatlings. If some fat phobic jock or some Goody Two Shoes like anorexic kill joy MeMe Roth complain that tax dollars are being spent to accommodate simply say to them, "Shut the fuck up douche canoe!" I knew Kate Harding was good for something.
Fat Bastard Being Fat and Majestic!
Obligatory Image of a Sexy Plump Porkable Poker.
Afternoon delight is not just about ice cream; it's about man cream. I love it. When fat girls don't have to work they have plenty of time to play. There are millions of these hot sexy SSBBWs waiting at home for a fat admirer to deliver the sausage.
Saturday, May 4, 2013
Death to the Birthers
Birthers and Donald Trump Can Go Fuck Themselves
I Fat Bastard stopped being a Republican in 2006 but what really sealed
the deal was McCain picking the moron slut Sarah Palin. While the GOP remains the
party of greed and gluttony they are now overshadowed by the sex
sandals, lies and racism. The party of Reagan is no more and this
Birther shit has really pissed me off. The GOP (Group Of Perverts) is
trying to fire up the racist and moron vote with this latest ugly
reincarnation of the Birther movement now led by that flaming asshole
Donald Trump aka Ronald Rump because he is such an ass face. As a
response to Rump's latest load of lies Bigger Fatter Blog is presenting
conclusive evidence that like the song says, our president Barack Obama
was BORN IN THE USA!
This evidence comes from many sources and was compiled by the CONSERVATIVE Pulitzer Prize Winning St Petersberg Times and FACT CHECK. This was all explained in August of 2008.
Here's the 411 on Obama's place of birth.
This evidence comes from many sources and was compiled by the CONSERVATIVE Pulitzer Prize Winning St Petersberg Times and FACT CHECK. This was all explained in August of 2008.
Here's the 411 on Obama's place of birth.
Born in the U.S.A.
August 21, 2008
Updated: November 1, 2008
The truth about Obama's birth certificate.
Summary
In
June, the Obama campaign released a digitally scanned image of his
birth certificate to quell speculative charges that he might not be a
natural-born citizen. But the image prompted more blog-based skepticism
about the document's authenticity.
And recently, author and suspected pedophile Jerome Corsi, whose book attacks Obama, said in a
TV interview that the birth certificate the campaign has is "fake."
We beg to differ. FactCheck.org staffers have now seen, touched, examined and photographed the original birth certificate. We conclude that it meets all of the requirements from the State Department for proving U.S. citizenship. Claims that the document lacks a raised seal or a signature are false. We have posted high-resolution photographs of the document as "supporting documents" to this article. Our conclusion: Obama was born in the U.S.A. just as he has always said. BORN IN THE USA!
Update, Nov. 1: The director of Hawaii’s Department of Health confirmed Oct. 31 that Obama was born in Honolulu.
We beg to differ. FactCheck.org staffers have now seen, touched, examined and photographed the original birth certificate. We conclude that it meets all of the requirements from the State Department for proving U.S. citizenship. Claims that the document lacks a raised seal or a signature are false. We have posted high-resolution photographs of the document as "supporting documents" to this article. Our conclusion: Obama was born in the U.S.A. just as he has always said. BORN IN THE USA!
Update, Nov. 1: The director of Hawaii’s Department of Health confirmed Oct. 31 that Obama was born in Honolulu.
Analysis
Update Nov. 1: The Associated Press quoted Chiyome Fukino as saying that
both she and the registrar of vital statistics, Alvin Onaka, have
personally verified that the health department holds Obama's original
birth certificate.
Fukino also was quoted by several other news organizations. The Honolulu Advertiser quoted Fukino as saying the agency had been bombarded by requests, and that the registrar of statistics had even been called in at home in the middle of the night.
Since we first wrote about Obama's birth certificate on June 16, speculation on his citizenship has continued apace. Some claim that Obama posted a fake birth certificate to his Web page. That charge leaped from the blogosphere to the mainstream media earlier this week when Jerome Corsi, author of a book attacking Obama, repeated the claim in an Aug. 15 interview with Steve Doocy on Fox News.
The Obama birth certificate, held by FactCheck writer Joe Miller
You can click on the photos to get full-size versions, which haven't been edited in any way, except that some have been rotated 90 degrees for viewing purposes.
The certificate has all the elements the State Department requires for proving citizenship to obtain a U.S. passport: "your full name, the full name of your parent(s), date and place of birth, sex, date the birth record was filed, and the seal or other certification of the official custodian of such records." The names, date and place of birth, and filing date are all evident on the scanned version, and you can see the seal above.
The document is a "certification of birth," also known as a short-form birth certificate. The long form is drawn up by the hospital and includes additional information such as birth weight and parents' hometowns. The short form is printed by the state and draws from a database with fewer details. The Hawaii Department of Health's birth record request form does not give the option to request a photocopy of your long-form birth certificate, but their short form has enough information to be acceptable to the State Department. We tried to ask the Hawaii DOH why they only offer the short form, among other questions, but they have not given a response.
The scan released by the campaign shows halos around the black text, making it look (to some) as though the text might have been pasted on top of an image of security paper. But the document itself has no such halos, nor do the close-up photos we took of it. We conclude that the halo seen in the image produced by the campaign is a digital artifact from the scanning process.
We asked the Obama campaign about the date stamp and the blacked-out certificate number. The certificate is stamped June 2007, because that's when Hawaii officials produced it for the campaign, which requested that document and "all the records we could get our hands on" according to spokesperson Shauna Daly. The campaign didn't release its copy until 2008, after speculation began to appear on the Internet questioning Obama's citizenship. The campaign then rushed to release the document, and the rush is responsible for the blacked-out certificate number. Says Shauna: "[We] couldn't get someone on the phone in Hawaii to tell us whether the number represented some secret information, and we erred on the side of blacking it out. Since then we've found out it's pretty irrelevant for the outside world." The document we looked at did have a certificate number; it is 151 1961 - 010641.
Blowup of certificate number
Some of the conspiracy theories that have circulated about Obama are quite imaginative. One conservative blogger suggested
that the campaign might have obtained a valid Hawaii birth
certificate, soaked it in solvent, then reprinted it with Obama's
information. Of course, this anonymous blogger didn't have access to
the actual document and presents this as just one possible "scenario"
without any evidence that such a thing actually happened or is even
feasible.
We also note that so far none of those questioning the authenticity of the document have produced a shred of evidence that the information on it is incorrect. Instead, some speculate that somehow, maybe, he was born in another country and doesn't meet the Constitution's requirement that the president be a "natural-born citizen."
We think our colleagues at PolitiFact.com, who also dug into some of these loopy theories put it pretty well: "It is possible that Obama conspired his way to the precipice of the world’s biggest job, involving a vast network of people and government agencies over decades of lies. Anything’s possible. But step back and look at the overwhelming evidence to the contrary and your sense of what’s reasonable has to take over."
In fact, the conspiracy would need to be even deeper than our colleagues realized. In late July, a researcher looking to dig up dirt on Obama instead found a birth announcement that had been published in the Honolulu Advertiser on Sunday, Aug. 13, 1961:
Obama's birth announcement
The announcement was posted by a pro-Hillary Clinton blogger who grudgingly concluded that Obama "likely" was born Aug. 4, 1961 in Honolulu.
Of course, it's distantly possible that Obama's grandparents may have
planted the announcement just in case their grandson needed to prove
his U.S. citizenship in order to run for president someday. We suggest
that those who choose to go down that path should first equip
themselves with a high-quality tinfoil hat. The evidence is clear:
Barack Obama was born in the U.S.A.
Update, August 26: We received responses to some of our questions from the Hawaii Department of Health. They couldn't tell us anything about their security paper, but they did answer another frequently-raised question: why is Obama's father's race listed as "African"? Kurt Tsue at the DOH told us that father's race and mother's race are supplied by the parents, and that "we accept what the parents self identify themselves to be." We consider it reasonable to believe that Barack Obama, Sr., would have thought of and reported himself as "African." It's certainly not the slam dunk some readers have made it out to be.
When we asked about the security borders, which look different from some other examples of Hawaii certifications of live birth, Kurt said "The borders are generated each time a certified copy is printed. A citation located on the bottom left hand corner of the certificate indicates which date the form was revised." He also confirmed that the information in the short form birth certificate is sufficient to prove citizenship for "all reasonable purposes."
–by Jess Henig, with Joe Miller
Fukino also was quoted by several other news organizations. The Honolulu Advertiser quoted Fukino as saying the agency had been bombarded by requests, and that the registrar of statistics had even been called in at home in the middle of the night.
Honolulu Advertiser, Nov. 1 2008: "This has gotten ridiculous," state health director Dr. Chiyome Fukino said yesterday. "There are plenty of other, important things to focus on, like the economy, taxes, energy." . . . Will this be enough to quiet the doubters? "I hope so," Fukino said. "We need to get some work done."Fukino said she has “personally seen and verified that the Hawaii State Department of Health has Sen. Obama’s original birth certificate on record in accordance with state policies and procedures."
Since we first wrote about Obama's birth certificate on June 16, speculation on his citizenship has continued apace. Some claim that Obama posted a fake birth certificate to his Web page. That charge leaped from the blogosphere to the mainstream media earlier this week when Jerome Corsi, author of a book attacking Obama, repeated the claim in an Aug. 15 interview with Steve Doocy on Fox News.
Corsi: Well, what would be really helpful is if Senator Obama would release primary documents like his birth certificate. The campaign has a false, fake birth certificate posted on their website. How is anybody supposed to really piece together his life? Doocy: What do you mean they have a "false birth certificate" on their Web site? Corsi: The original birth certificate of Obama has never been released, and the campaign refuses to release it. Doocy: Well, couldn't it just be a State of Hawaii-produced duplicate? Corsi: No, it's a -- there's been good analysis of it on the Internet, and it's been shown to have watermarks from Photoshop. It's a fake document that's on the Web site right now, and the original birth certificate the campaign refuses to produce.Corsi isn't the only skeptic claiming that the document is a forgery. Among the most frequent objections we saw on forums, blogs and e-mails are:
- The birth certificate doesn't have a raised seal.
- It isn't signed.
- No creases from folding are evident in the scanned version.
- In the zoomed-in view, there's a strange halo around the letters.
- The certificate number is blacked out.
- The date bleeding through from the back seems to say "2007," but the document wasn't released until 2008.
- The document is a "certification of birth," not a "certificate of birth."
The Obama birth certificate, held by FactCheck writer Joe Miller
Alvin T. Onaka's signature stamp
The raised seal
Blowup of text
You can click on the photos to get full-size versions, which haven't been edited in any way, except that some have been rotated 90 degrees for viewing purposes.
The certificate has all the elements the State Department requires for proving citizenship to obtain a U.S. passport: "your full name, the full name of your parent(s), date and place of birth, sex, date the birth record was filed, and the seal or other certification of the official custodian of such records." The names, date and place of birth, and filing date are all evident on the scanned version, and you can see the seal above.
The document is a "certification of birth," also known as a short-form birth certificate. The long form is drawn up by the hospital and includes additional information such as birth weight and parents' hometowns. The short form is printed by the state and draws from a database with fewer details. The Hawaii Department of Health's birth record request form does not give the option to request a photocopy of your long-form birth certificate, but their short form has enough information to be acceptable to the State Department. We tried to ask the Hawaii DOH why they only offer the short form, among other questions, but they have not given a response.
The scan released by the campaign shows halos around the black text, making it look (to some) as though the text might have been pasted on top of an image of security paper. But the document itself has no such halos, nor do the close-up photos we took of it. We conclude that the halo seen in the image produced by the campaign is a digital artifact from the scanning process.
We asked the Obama campaign about the date stamp and the blacked-out certificate number. The certificate is stamped June 2007, because that's when Hawaii officials produced it for the campaign, which requested that document and "all the records we could get our hands on" according to spokesperson Shauna Daly. The campaign didn't release its copy until 2008, after speculation began to appear on the Internet questioning Obama's citizenship. The campaign then rushed to release the document, and the rush is responsible for the blacked-out certificate number. Says Shauna: "[We] couldn't get someone on the phone in Hawaii to tell us whether the number represented some secret information, and we erred on the side of blacking it out. Since then we've found out it's pretty irrelevant for the outside world." The document we looked at did have a certificate number; it is 151 1961 - 010641.
Blowup of certificate number
We also note that so far none of those questioning the authenticity of the document have produced a shred of evidence that the information on it is incorrect. Instead, some speculate that somehow, maybe, he was born in another country and doesn't meet the Constitution's requirement that the president be a "natural-born citizen."
We think our colleagues at PolitiFact.com, who also dug into some of these loopy theories put it pretty well: "It is possible that Obama conspired his way to the precipice of the world’s biggest job, involving a vast network of people and government agencies over decades of lies. Anything’s possible. But step back and look at the overwhelming evidence to the contrary and your sense of what’s reasonable has to take over."
In fact, the conspiracy would need to be even deeper than our colleagues realized. In late July, a researcher looking to dig up dirt on Obama instead found a birth announcement that had been published in the Honolulu Advertiser on Sunday, Aug. 13, 1961:
Obama's birth announcement
The announcement was posted by a pro-Hillary Clinton blogger who grudgingly concluded that Obama "likely" was born Aug. 4, 1961 in Honolulu.
Update, August 26: We received responses to some of our questions from the Hawaii Department of Health. They couldn't tell us anything about their security paper, but they did answer another frequently-raised question: why is Obama's father's race listed as "African"? Kurt Tsue at the DOH told us that father's race and mother's race are supplied by the parents, and that "we accept what the parents self identify themselves to be." We consider it reasonable to believe that Barack Obama, Sr., would have thought of and reported himself as "African." It's certainly not the slam dunk some readers have made it out to be.
When we asked about the security borders, which look different from some other examples of Hawaii certifications of live birth, Kurt said "The borders are generated each time a certified copy is printed. A citation located on the bottom left hand corner of the certificate indicates which date the form was revised." He also confirmed that the information in the short form birth certificate is sufficient to prove citizenship for "all reasonable purposes."
–by Jess Henig, with Joe Miller
Sources
United States Department of State. "Application for a U.S. Passport." Accessed 20 Aug. 2008.
State of Hawaii Department of Health. "Request for Certified Copy of Birth Record." Accessed 20 Aug. 2008.
Hollyfield, Amy. "Obama's Birth Certificate: Final Chapter." Politifact.com. 27 Jun. 2008.
The Associated Press. "State declares Obama birth certificate genuine" 31 Oct 2008.
Nakaso, Dan. "Obama's certificate of birth OK, state says; Health director issues voucher in response to 'ridiculous' barrage" Honolulu Advertiser 1 Nov 2008.
State of Hawaii Department of Health. "Request for Certified Copy of Birth Record." Accessed 20 Aug. 2008.
Hollyfield, Amy. "Obama's Birth Certificate: Final Chapter." Politifact.com. 27 Jun. 2008.
The Associated Press. "State declares Obama birth certificate genuine" 31 Oct 2008.
Nakaso, Dan. "Obama's certificate of birth OK, state says; Health director issues voucher in response to 'ridiculous' barrage" Honolulu Advertiser 1 Nov 2008.
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