Re: A New Era
 

Was Joe Kennedy born in the States?

Re: A New Era
 

But they all came to America before the USA existed. So weren't they citizens as soon as it was possible to be (yes, still immigrants--different question)? Isn't Obama the first child of a non-citizen to become president?

Re: A New Era
 

wiki sez Boston Mass. And that his parents were born here, too.

Re: A New Era
 

You're next Chester A. Arthur.

Re: A New Era
 

And that is likely the answer to my question. Chet Arthur, first son of a non-citizen to be prez.

Re: We will never agree on this and therefore it is pointless to talk about!
 

If the DC City Council can't run a party, then statehood seems like a stretch.

Re: A New Era
 

From the wiki entry, he also appears to get Obama off the hook for that "wasn't born in the U.S." argument.

FWIW, I imagine that Obama senior under the immigration laws of Arthur's time would have become a citizen pretty easily (well, other than for the fact he was black).

caption, please
 

Re: A New Era
 

If you believe this, however, the dad was a citizen by the time Arthur became President.

(follow link within link to top of page).

Re: A New Era
 

But how long was Barack Sr. in the country? Four years? Would that have been sufficient, even in the early 19th c.?

Re: A New Era
 

So, again BHO looks like the first son of a non-citizen to be prez.

As to believing anything within that link, their implied reliance on questionable court precedence interpreting the 14th Amendment, which wouldn't apply to Chet's birth, leaves me somewhat sceptical.

Re: A New Era
 

Looks like 5 according to Ellis Island website. So looks like I'm wrong there. On the other hand, marriage would have given him a good shot today . . . bailing on his kids, though, not so much.

Re: A New Era
 

I agree . . . it looked more like someone trying to pimp his "stunning" discovery. It sheds no light on whether CAA was born in the U.S. since, as BHO shows, your parents don't have to be citizens.

Re: A New Era
 

Also, he was still married to his first wife. So his marriage to Ann would have been invalid ab initio, especially for immigration purposes.

Re: caption, please
 

"Sorry, man. The yellow dickies are only for people that won the Electoral College, not a plurality of the popular vote."

Re: caption, please
 

how about "a little fucking global warming would have been nice today AND would have helped Obama highlight the point. shit, there's not a square inch of exposed cleavage in the place."

Re: caption, please
 

Gore: "Bill, I'm doing my part. Haven't you heard about my house? *Major* polluter."

Re: caption, please
 

<Sigh.> Bill, I cannot begin to comprehend the meaning behind your last statement or the subtext and innuendo you intended to convey. Can you please explain: "Stick with me--bitches galore and I got the key to many a lockbox?"

TM

Re: caption, please
 

Hillary's gonna be traveling all the time now. Be my wing man?

Re: caption, please
 

Damn, I was wondering where all that weight I lost went!

Re: caption, please
 

"Enough about me! What have you been doing for the last eight years?"

Thurgreed/NotBob/Weed/CDF - Jailers.
 

It comes in the context of a blurb from Tom Ricks about GOPers saying "hey, don't send Gitmo detainees to MY state," which is neither here nor there, but I liked it more for Ricks' anecdote.

Re: Thurgreed/NotBob/Weed/CDF - Jailers.
 

I'm thinking Alaska. Sarah Pallin has earned them.

Normally Texas would be an option, but we want that Senate seat.

Treasury
 

Can someone please explain to me why we are even entertaining this guy? There must be someone else out there that (a) paid their taxes, and (b) doesn't know what the fuck is going on with the economy. Summers would be fine by me.

Re: Treasury
 

Larry thinks girls can't do math (or something like that), so he's out.

Re: Treasury
 

Yea, he got a bad rap on that. Total bullshit.

Re: Treasury
 

Perhaps because pretty much everyone on both sides of the aisle believes he is qualified?

Re: Treasury
 

For starters, Republicans think he's as conservative as they possibly could get right now, so they don't want to block him.

Re: Treasury
 

Since when is that a factor?

There are plenty of people that are qualified (or stated alternatively, no one is really qualified in this environment). I would just like to have someone running treasury that didn't have the tax issues he has.

Re: Treasury
 

qualified and desirable are two different things. I'm sure Obama could find a qualified socialist, and you'd be happy to have Geithner.

FWIW, his big benefit is that he's actually been working on this stuff for the last 6 months. On the other hand, he's one of the people responsible for the "solutions" we've seen over the last 6 months.

Re: Treasury
 

I hear you, but why are they really relevant?

Re: Treasury
 

Wasn't he the one big proponent of "saving everyone" and isn't the current thinking that the failure to save Lehman was a big, big mistake (I'm not sure I agree--I think coincidence is a genuine possibility).

Re: Treasury
 

The IRS is within the brief of SecTreas. So he's "in charge" of enforcement of laws he violated. And his explanation isn't credible, but similar explanations will be exceedingly had for IRS to refute while he is SecTreas.

Re: Treasury
 

Why not? What I heard sounded credible to me.

Re: Treasury
 

DEA and the FBI are within the executive branch, so W was in charge of the laws he (allegedly) violated in his cokehead days. So what? What reason is there to think that it will change IRS enforcement at all?

Re: Treasury
 

It would be much more credible coming from anyone less financially sophisticated. That said, the fact that the IRS waived penalties for him and others who made the same goof suggests it's not uncommon nor unreasonable.

Re: Treasury
 

Must have missed something. What did he say that was credible? "I'm an idiot for filling out my own taxes while employed for a quasi-governmental organization outside the jurisdiction of the USA"? "This is further evidence that the IRC is too complex and we need reform now"? If there was a mea culpa of some sort, (a) I missed it and (b) he should have paid a penalty, in at least a nominal amount ($100/year or something).

Re: Treasury
 

Bush was elected (and Obama violated them too, as did Gore, Kerry, and Clinton, and presumably many others who didn't 'fess)

Re: Treasury
 

Didn't he pay the interest and penalties due? What need does the IRS have to refute explanations, if the explanations are not a bar to penalties and interest? It's not like they were treating this as criminal tax evasion.

Re: Treasury
 

There is a difference b/t elected and appointed officials.

And, I don't necessarily share Club's view, but I can appreciate it.