Did Mike Pintek REALLY Host Larry Pratt on KDKA?

If you were listening to Mike Pintek a few days ago, you were privileged to hear this:

Yea, that would be the same Larry Pratt profiled in Rolling Stone magazine.

Some highlights of the profile.  In a comparison between the Gun Owners of America with the NRA we can read this:

"The NRA describes itself as a religion, and Larry Pratt is the snake handler," says Tom Diaz, a former analyst at the Violence Policy Center, a Washington-based gun control group, and author of two books on the gun lobby. "The NRA debates using arguable premises of the American system: What is the meaning of the Second Amendment, of self-defense? Pratt unconnects from all that, and appeals to the least informed, most paranoid people." In parallel with his frequent national media appearances, Pratt aggressively pursues smaller radio audiences to peddle conspiracy theories and recycled John Birch Society propaganda from the 1960s. In recent years he has argued that the Aurora, Colorado, mass shooting was an inside job and that the Justice Department was pursuing charges against George Zimmerman to stir up racial animosity, trigger social chaos, and "build their own communist society."

Then there's this (are you paying attention, Mike?):

As with Pratt's frequent appearances on cable television over the years, no mention was made by the Times of his fringe political and religious beliefs, or the dark corners of American gun culture and rightwing politics to which these beliefs have led over the years. But these links between mainstream and fringe have long been at the core of his role in rightwing politics.

"Larry Pratt has served over the years as an extremely important bridge between the more rabid parts of the gun rights movement and the radical right," says Heidi Beirich, director of the Intelligence Project at the Southern Poverty Law Center. "The fact that he's been linked to so many different extremists for so long — including Klansman and Christian Identity leaders — together with his roaming around on the militia circuit for God knows how long — it should put him beyond the pale."

And this is what the SPLC has to say about Larry Pratt (again, Mike. ARE YOU PAYING ATTENTION?):

Larry Pratt stands at the intersection of guns and Jesus, lobbying for absolutely unrestricted distribution of firearms while advocating a theocratic society based upon Old Testament civil and religious laws. A pivotal figure in the rise of right-wing militia, or “Patriot,” groups, he spoke at the notorious 1992 “Gathering of Christian Men” in Estes Park, Colo., where 160 neo-Nazis, Klan members, anti-Semitic Christian Identity adherents and others arguably laid the groundwork for the militia movement that would explode in 1994. He believes that white Christians must arm themselves for self-protection in the inevitable social implosions and riots that are soon to come.

But back to Rolling Stone:

On the afternoon of the Oklahoma City bombing, Pratt was in Washington, D.C., demonstrating in front of FBI headquarters for its role in the Waco tragedy. Three days later, Pratt spoke before a gathering of 600 Christian Identity adherents and assorted radicals convened by Pete Peters at the Lodge of the Ozarks in Branson, Missouri. Pratt addressed the "Biblical Mandate to Arm" and seemed to justify McVeigh's act of terror, at the time the bloodiest in American history. According to an account by Michael Reynolds in Playboy, Pratt told the gathered, "The government behaves as a beast. It did in Waco, and we have somebody, whoever it might have been, whatever group it might have been, assuming they can't rely on the Lord to take vengeance."

Mike, that's the guy you had on your air the other day.

She's Not Teh Only Crazie Conspiricist

From New York Magazine:

Lynn Cheney has a theory about why Monica Lewinsky wrote a long Vanity Fair essay about her experience with Bill Clinton: It’s because the Clintons wanted it. Cheney explains her suspicions. “I really wonder if this isn’t an effort on the Clintons’ part to get that story out of the way,” Cheney, announced on an interview on Fox News. “Would Vanity Fair publish anything about Monica Lewinsky that Hillary Clinton didn’t want in Vanity Fair?”

She's not the only one with teh crazie conspiracy.

I was listening to KDKA's Mike Pintek today and a caller called in and asked about what The Cheney/Vanity Fair conspiracy and he said  that "there may be some truth" to it.

Way to go, Mike.

For the record, Vanity Fair responded:

This highly sane and well-substantiated allegation demanded a response from the highest levels of Vanity Fair. So the Erik Wemple Blog put the question to Beth Kseniak, the magazine’s executive director of public relations. Her response: “Seriously?”

Again, way to go, Mike. You do your profession proud.

Mike Pintek and Ann Coulter, BFFs - seriously?

I caught a few minutes of Mike Pintek's show on KDKA yesterday.  I was lucky enough (I suppose) to snag a few minutes of his interview with Ann Coulter.

Why would anyone take Ann Coulter seriously these days?  Let's examine some of the ways she's invalidated herself.

Well there's this:

Slash-and-burn columnist Ann Coulter shocked a cable TV talk-show audience Monday when she declared that Jews need to be "perfected" by becoming Christians, and that America would be better off if everyone were Christian.

And this:

I think the government should be spying on all Arabs, engaging in torture as a televised spectator sport, dropping daisy cutters wantonly throughout the Middle East and sending liberals to Guantanamo.

And finally this:

If we took away women's right to vote, we'd never have to worry about another Democrat president. It's kind of a pipe dream, it's a personal fantasy of mine, but I don't think it's going to happen. And it is a good way of making the point that women are voting so stupidly, at least single women.

THAT'S who Mike Pintek invited onto his air yesterday.  I'll ask it again: In light of the above, why would anyone take her seriously?

Seriously, Mike.  Why?

In any event, they were talking about the recent NBC reporting about the ACA:

President Obama repeatedly assured Americans that after the Affordable Care Act became law, people who liked their health insurance would be able to keep it. But millions of Americans are getting or are about to get cancellation letters for their health insurance under Obamacare, say experts, and the Obama administration has known that for at least three years.

It all has to do with which policies were "grandfathered in" and which comply with ACA regulations.  From NBC again:

Buried in Obamacare regulations from July 2010 is an estimate that because of normal turnover in the individual insurance market, “40 to 67 percent” of customers will not be able to keep their policy. And because many policies will have been changed since the key date, “the percentage of individual market policies losing grandfather status in a given year exceeds the 40 to 67 percent range.”

That means the administration knew that more than 40 to 67 percent of those in the individual market would not be able to keep their plans, even if they liked them.

Mike and Ann were discussing how Obama "lied" by withholding this information until now.

Except that it was reported a few years ago.  Here - THREE YEARS AGO.

Ann made the comment to the effect that had this been a republican president, the Democrats would be saying it's an impeachable offense.

No, Ann.  An impeachable offense would be:

• Okaying torture
• Lying to Congress to justify an illegal invasion
• Sidestepping the FISA court

All of which were committed by the previous republican president.

Why would anyone take Ann Coulter seriously?  And more importantly, Mike, why would you?

KDKA's Mike Pintek Supports Marriage Equality!

Yea, you read that right.

I got a chance to hear KDKA's afternoon drive guy, Mike Pintek (an unapologetic conservative) talk about marriage equality for an hour or so this afternoon.  The frame was (basically) found in this KDKA story:

Now that one county in Pennsylvania will issue marriage licenses to same sex couples, the question is who will marry those folks?

It turns out that there’s one mayor right here in this region who would be happy to do the honors.

“The government has no place in deciding who you can love as a person, and I would just welcome the chance of performing a same-sex ceremony,” Braddock Mayor John Fetterman told KDKA political editor Jon Delano on Friday.

Fetterman says some rights trump the law.

“Whether that’s civil disobedience, or breaking the law, it’s doing the right thing,” adds Fetterman.

A member of FreedomToMarry.Org, Mayor Adam Forgie of Turtle Creek supports same-sex marriage, but he won’t marry gay couples yet.

In discussing Mayors Fetterman and Forgie, Mike Pintek presented his own views (which are shockingly close to mine).  Basically, he said that:

• it wasn't the government's business to dictate who could or couldn't get married
• two consenting adults (of whatever gender) should be free to get married
• he never heard ANY good explanation about how two "gay guys" (his term, not mine) getting married affected anyone else's life or marriage

And so on.

He even deflected the silly "but marriage is for procreation" argument from at least one caller.

Let's give credit where credit is due.  As disagreeable as Mike Pintek could be on any number of other issues, on this one he's absolutely right (and good for him on this!).

Mike Pintek is in favor of marriage equality.

Mike Pintek and FAIR

Mike Pintek's on KDKA right now, interviewing Bob Danes - a guy from Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR).

I wonder if Mike will be asking Danes about how the Southern Poverty Law Center has designated FAIR as a Hate Group.

UPDATE:  Apologies to Bob DANE, Communications Director for FAIR.  I got his name wrong above.  It's DANE and not DANES.

Question for Mike Pintek

I got to hear a large chunk of today's program and Mike, TO YOUR CREDIT, you shouted down a caller who tried to bring up the by now long debunked "issue" of President Obama's birthcertificate.

You treated the birther with all the credibility his position required (which is none).

Bravo, sir.  Good for you.

Here's my question:  Considering your own past-birtherism (for instance 4 years or so ago, you danced the birther dance like the best of them), when did you change your mind?

You can email me if you'd like - I'd love to find out how you did it, what made you re-enter reality.

I'll post your answer at the blog.

More On Mike Pintek and Climate Change: Milloy Edition

Short blog post today.

I caught a few minutes of Pintek on KDKA last night. The section I caught dealt with a new poll out by the Pew Research Center (read about it here) and as an "expert" the ever-ernest Pintek had on Steven Milloy, who runs a website called junkscience.com.

So who is this Steven Milloy when he's at home? (Subtle Beatles reference in that last sentence - don't worry about it if you don't get it.)

According to sourcewatch.org:

Steven J. Milloy is a columnist for Fox News and a paid advocate for Phillip Morris, ExxonMobil and other corporations. From the 1990s until the end of 2005, he was an adjunct scholar at the libertarian think tank the Cato Institute.

I don't recall Pintek mentioning any of that, though I could be wrong. Pintek is nothing but fair and balanced when it comes to climate change (Subtle sarcasm in that last sentence - don't worry if you didn't hear it.)

Sourcewatch also says:

Milloy also runs the Advancement of Sound Science Center and the Free Enterprise Action Institute. Those two groups—apparently run out of Milloy’s home—received $90,000 from ExxonMobil.

Yea, Milloy's an objective expert on climate change. Of course.

A Brief Pintek Note

From Mike Pintek's facebook:

American Legion Commander protests Obama Administration classifying Vets as potential Terror Threats

Presumably the discussion revolves around the DHS report I blogged on this morning.

Turns out that Fox "News" reported that the report was requested by the Bush administration.

Mediamatters.org takes apart Joe Scarborough on a similar charge:

Joe Scarborough distorted a DHS intelligence assessment to allege the Obama administration is warning that returning war veterans "are to be feared." In fact, the assessment, citing a Bush administration report, warned of a possible resurgence among extremist groups that "will attempt to recruit and radicalize returning veterans."

They explain further:

In fact, the document, issued to law enforcement officials, warned of a possible resurgence among extremist groups that "will attempt to recruit and radicalize returning veterans in order to exploit their skills and knowledge derived from military training and combat." The assessment further stated: "The willingness of a small percentage of military personnel to join extremist groups during the 1990s because they were disgruntled, disillusioned, or suffering from the psychological effects of war is being replicated today." DHS cited a 2008 FBI report -- authored during the Bush administration -- as evidence that "some returning military veterans from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have joined extremist groups."

So tell me again how the Obama administration is classifying vets as terror threats?

Tonight on Pintek

From Mike Pintek's Facebook announcement for the 9 O'Clock hour:

And at 9... Dr. Jamie Glazov...born in the Soviet Union...explains why the Left hates America and loves tyrants

Huh?

Some highlights. I was taking notes so these aren't exact quotations. Glazov started by discussing the disease of anti-Americanism that is currently running the country. And went on to "explain" it by saying that the America that the left loves isn't the America that exists.

I am not sure what that means, though. He also said that the Left is trying to perpetrate a revolution. Though he didn't really explain himself there much either. That might be more Pintek's fault than Glazov's though.

The range of Glazov's irrationality is stunning. Chas Freeman, Nixon's chief interpreter in China, G.H.W. Bush's Ambassador to Saudi Arabia during Operation Desert Storm, is a "radical leftist."

The big stuff, Glazov left for "the left." Did you know that:

Leftists hate America. They're people that benefit from freedom but yet hate freedom.

Oh and The Left was "happy" about Ground Zero. And loved Adolf Hitler until the Third Reich invaded Stalinist Russia.

Glazov also said that The Left hates humanity but is perpetrating a revolution because it wants paradise on Earth. But in order to MAKE a new Earthly paradise, The Left has to destroy what's already ON Earth.

So therefore The Left has an Agenda to "destroy" America and Western Civilization.

Mike didn't challenge him much on any of this, by the way.

I was sad to hear all this. If the events of the past week are any indication, when you feed teh crazie, you shouldn't be surprised when the fringe erupts violently.

So sad Mike Pintek doesn't also realize this.

Pintek Tonight

Like Fred Honsberger, Mike Pintek has a Facebook page. And also like Fred, Mike announces the day's topic to his Facebook friends.

Here's today's anouncement:

What genetic mutation motivates a person to wallow in paranoid delusions and then decide to kill to defend his warped world? A criminal justice expert who studies these scumbags tackles that one...

Plus, Washington Times columnist Frank Gaffney warns that the Obama administration is giving away US Sovereignty...

Obviously, the first part's about The Shooter. But what of the second? I didn't hear the show and so I have no idea exactly what they said (or how they said it) but I wonder if Pintek's thought this fully through.

Here's the thing, Mike: There are crazy unbalanced people all over the place. Fueling their crazie only makes things worse.

Some fuel for teh crazie? Washington Times columnist Frank Gaffney.

Point one:

Another question yet to be resolved is whether Mr. Obama is a natural born citizen of the United States, a prerequisite pursuant to the U.S. Constitution. There is evidence Mr. Obama was born in Kenya rather than, as he claims, Hawaii. There is also a registration document for a school in Indonesia where the would-be president studied for four years, on which he was identified not only as a Muslim but as an Indonesian. If correct, the latter could give rise to another potential problem with respect to his eligibility to be president.

Point two:

When [Obama] uses the word "respect" in the context of a waist-bow to the King of Saudi Arabia for example and talks about respectful language. Which is code for those who adhere to Sharia that we will submit to Sharia.

And Pintek said he was going to talk to Gaffney about how the Obama administration is "giving away US Sovereignty." Presumably they discussed this column from the Washington Times:

How many Americans are aware that some, let alone an actual majority, of the Supreme Court's justices believe that this country should be ruled by something other than the Constitution of the United States, laws made pursuant thereto and treaties clearly consistent with it? Assuredly, few of us know that such an assault on our sovereignty is afoot; in all likelihood, fewer still would support it.

The same would likely apply to Harold Koh's embrace of myriad other controversial transnationalist initiatives. He favors U.S. submission to the International Criminal Court, enabling that tribunal to have the right tomorrow to take up the sort of foreign prosecutions of Americans contemplated by Spain's Judge Garzon today.

Richard Poplawski was determined to protect his constitutional rights.

Another Pintek Update

Last December 16 (widely regarded as Beethoven's birthday, by the way), I wrote:

I wonder if Mike Pintek is still "not convinced" that President-Elect Obama is a US Citizen. I wonder if KDKA asked him.

Because when he was on the Quinn and Rose show in August the mighty Mike Pintek is quoted as saying:

That brings us to -- back to Obama. Obama, he takes off, he's in Hawaii now. He claims that's his home. We wonder. I still keep wondering about his birthplace and his birth certificate. I'm still not convinced that he actually was born a natural-born citizen. I'm still not convinced about that. But we may never be able to prove that either without a real, honest-to-God birth certificate.

Got some e-mail from astute reader Rita:

Pintek had Obama Birth Certificate is fake Philip Berg Nutcase on in 7PM hour

That didn’t take long – he already has this nutcase on peddling his lies about Obama’s birth certificate and his hope that the Supreme Court will side with him.

I didn't hear the show so I have no way of knowing whether Mike's now "convinced" but I do know that Philip Berg was successfully sued for legal malpractice:

U.S. District Judge J. Curtis Joyner's 10-page opinion in Holsworth v. Berg is packed with criticism of the conduct of attorney Philip Berg of Lafayette Hill, Pa.

"Other attorneys should look to Mr. Berg's actions as a blueprint for what not to do when attempting to effectively and honorably perform the duties of the legal profession," Joyner wrote.

And:

Joyner blasted Berg for filing the fraud claim, calling it an "irresponsible decision" because the claim was "utterly barren of any scintilla of legal principles."

I wonder if Mike asked him about that. Or about this:

Philip J. Berg, Esquire, former Deputy Attorney General of Pennsylvania and political activist, an attorney with offices in Montgomery County, PA and an active practice in Philadelphia, PA today, on the 1st anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Bush vs. Gore which "anointed" Bush as President writes to three (3) U.S. Supreme Court Justices, Justices O'Connor, Scalia and Thomas requesting that they agree to "Voluntary Disbarment" for failing to "recuse" themselves in said case and other violations.

Or about Berg's 9/11 conspiracy theories.

I'm guessing not.

The comments are now open. Keep it on-topic (if you go off topic, I reserve the right to delete you) and keep it rational (same here - if you go teh crazie, you'll be deleted.)

UPDATE E-mail from the Lovely Rita:

To be fair Mike was playing a bit of the skeptic, but not by much. Mike said he had thought the matter had been put to rest until a caller earlier in the week brought it up and said it was going to be in front of the Supreme Court. Mike then contacted Berg. Mike mentioned he had Berg on several times when he was doing radio for a Baltimore station.

Berg claimed the justices were going to consider his case today, and then again next week (I believe next Friday though Monday was also mentioned). Berg also was saying if this fails they are going to try to challenge Obama’s executive decisions in court. Berg also claimed he has suit with

Retired U.S. Airforce Colonel Hollister against Barry Soetoro a/k/a Barack Hussein Obama demanding to know Obama’s real name and if he is constitutionally qualified to be President. Plaintiff, Gregory S. Hollister, is a resident of Colorado Springs, Colorado and Hollister has “standing” and needs a decision so he knows whether or not to follow any Order of Soetoro a/k/a Obama. http://nationalwriterssyndicate.com/content/view/840/2/

Berg was all over the place still claiming the birth certificate is fake. That Republican governor Linda Lingle, for reasons he didn’t entirely explain why a Repub would do it, has locked access to the record. Also trotting out that Obama was really born in Kenya and his Kenyan grandmother has stated she saw him born. That he lost his citizenship when his Indonesian step-father adopted him. That the immigration papers have not been produced when Obama came back to the states with his mother.

Mike had him on from 7PM to 8:30PM. Berg claimed he had been or was going to be on 9 shows yesterday. Mike got a lot of callers thanking him for putting this fruit cake on. Nary a caller disputing Berg. I didn’t call in but got the fun of being derided for instant accessing Mike with the message that this was a new low for KDKA, that Berg is a fruit cake and asking how many times does Hawaii officials have to claim the birth certificate is real! Berg had some wacky explanations on how Hawaii hadn’t really verified the certificate was real.

Berg also offered a million dollars on Mike’s show to anyone who could prove conclusively that Obama is a natural-born U.S. Citizen. When Mike questioned him if he had a million he admitted he didn’t but was sure his supporters could raise it. He claims his supporters have sent 50,000 to 60,000 letters to each Supreme Court Justice wanting them to pursue this case.

Berg was certainly peddling the idea that his case was going to be seriously heard and that the country was heading in to a constitutional crisis.

Thanks for posting the info that Mike has this whack job on. Sad that KDKA is continuing to mislead the gullible that Obama is not the legitimate president. I’m not a big Marty Griffin fan, but he at least has won some respect from me for telling callers and emailers that this Obama is not a citizen is crap. And Marty has also won my respect in some local issues lately especially taking the PA Unemployment people to task for citizens not being able to contact them via phone.

Pintek Update

Astute reader AS wrote:

I thought you'd be interested in what I heard last night on the Mike Pintek show.

He devoted at least 15 minutes to Michelle Obama's rear end. He talked about her butt, saying "she's got back." He even had a health expert from UPMC on to talk about the health of people who have big butts. Of course, he played that disgusting "Baby's Got Back" song.

He claimed he was talking about it because a Salon commentator wrote an essay about Michelle Obama's behind. I found the article and he completely misrepresented what the commentary said. The essay was more about a black woman gaining a positive body image now that another black woman is the First Lady.

If he was trying to be funny, he missed the boat. He sounded racist, misogynistic and petty.

I also think UPMC officials should be blushing for allowing one of their experts to participate.

Gee, I don't remember radio talk show hosts commenting about Laura Bush's chest.

For the first time, I called a radio station to complain.

I wasn't listening so I have no way of verifying this. I searched for the Salon.com article and this is what I found. My guess is that it's what Pintek was discussing. If not then does that mean that there are TWO Salon.com articles about the next First Lady's behind?

Questions? Comments? Remarks? Drop me an e-mail.

More On Pintek

A few questions:

In their discussions leading up to his triumphant return to KDKA's airwaves, I wonder if the good folks AT KDKA asked Mike Pintek about this:

On The War Room With Quinn & Rose, guest host Mike Pintek opened the show by saying, "You need to know that Barack Obama is a monster and a liar who would be very much at home in Communist China, where killing babies is an industry." Pintek went on to claim that Obama "believes so firmly in abortion, he is so radical in his support for abortion and infanticide that he believes that if a woman chooses abortion, she's entitled to a dead body no matter what."

Or this (linked to from yesterday's post):

On The War Room With Quinn & Rose, guest host Mike Pintek echoed right-wing websites in questioning the authenticity of Sen. Barack Obama's birth certificate, claiming: "I still keep wondering about his birthplace and his birth certificate. I'm still not convinced that he actually was born a natural-born citizen."

Or about how Pintek thinks Global Climate Change is a hoax and is not above spinning the news (aka "lying") to "prove" it.

My understanding is that he's taking the 7-10 slot on KDKA. If that's the case then who's taking Night Talk?

Changes At KDKA Radio

From the ever-reliable Adrian McCoy:

News/talk KDKA-AM (1020) will shake up its programming schedule in the new year, and bring back a voice familiar to the station's regular talk show listeners.

It's a good news/bad news thing. First the good news:

The changes displace current noon-to-3 p.m. host Kevin Miller and evening host John Steigerwald, who were both let go and are now off the air here.

And now the bad:

The station announced yesterday that starting Jan. 5, former KDKA talk host Mike Pintek will return to the station to host an evening talk show weeknights from 6 to 10 p.m.

I wonder if Mike Pintek is still "not convinced" that President-Elect Obama is a US Citizen. I wonder if KDKA asked him.

Pintek's Smears Continue

Local embarrassement Mike Pintek has hit the big time, again. He's been written up on MediaMatters.org, again. For an Obama smear he's made as a guest host on Quinn and Rose, again.

This time he's spreading the "infanticide" smear. Here's what he said (according to MediaMatters):

Back in the 2001, 2003 session of the Illinois state legislature, when he was a state senator, Obama opposed bills that would have required medical attention be given to babies who somehow survived the killing fields of the abortion table and would have given the aborted baby legal rights.

We'll be hearing a lot of this smear in the coming weeks, to be sure. MediaMatters is on it:

As Media Matters for America has repeatedly noted, Obama opposed certain bills amending the Illinois Abortion Law of 1975 while he was in the Illinois state Senate because he and other opponents of the bills said they would pose a threat to abortion rights and said they were unnecessary because Illinois law already prohibited the conduct supposedly addressed by the bills. [links in original]

The campaign has issued a rather extensive rebuttal to this smear (I somehow doubt Mike Pintek will be reading it anytime soon - if ever).

So let's see. The law in Illinois already prohibited the conduct addressed in the bills AND the bills threatened Roe v Wade. As Obama said on the Illinois Senate floor in 2001 (from Factcheck.org):

Number one, whenever we define a previable fetus as a person that is protected by the equal protection clause or the other elements in the Constitution, what we’re really saying is, in fact, that they are persons that are entitled to the kinds of protections that would be provided to a – a child, a nine-month-old – child that was delivered to term. That determination then, essentially, if it was accepted by a court, would forbid abortions to take place. I mean, it – it would essentially bar abortions, because the equal protection clause does not allow somebody to kill a child, and if this is a child, then this would be an antiabortion statute. [emphasis in original]

And a year later:

I think it’s important to understand that this issue ultimately is about abortion and not live births.

And anyway, does Mike Pintek really think that Barack Obama wants to kill children? If so he should just say it up front without the protective veil of this "he opposed bills requiring medical attention to aborted fetuses so therefore he supports infanticide" line.

Factcheck.org States The Obvious

The Birth Certificate is REAL.

In one of the silliest stories of this silly season, more than a few wingnuts have been ranting about Senator Barack Obama's "faked" birth certificate. So far local wingnuts Mike Pintek (here and here) and John Steigerwald and of course, Quinn and Rose (note the "hat tip" in that posting and if have you have the stomach for it, listen here) have further spread this story in one form or another.

In fairness, though, Steigerwald has NOT stated that he believes it himself. He was just saying that others have raised the issue. How "Bagdhad Bob" of him.

Pintek, though, made it onto the MediaMatters.org. Good for him! Nice to see him moving up in the world. Now everyone everywhere can know how much of a wingnut he is. Here's a flash: he also thinks that that whole "global warming" thing is a hoax. How surprising.

Anyway, Factcheck.org has the evidence to clearly show that Barack Obama was, in fact, born in the US. In Hawaii. In August of 1961. After Hawaii acheived statehood. That makes Obama a natural born citizen and therefore he meets that constitutionally mandated requirement for the Presidency.

Just like everyone said.

In another hit to his now defunct (as if he ever had any) credibility, smear-meister Jerome Corsi is on the record saying the certificate is "false" to Steve Doocy of Fox "News". Factcheck has a transcript:

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.

All of that, of course is bunk. Here's why. Factcheck.org actually got some first hand knowledge:

Recently FactCheck representatives got a chance to spend some time with the birth certificate, and we can attest to the fact that it is real and three-dimensional and resides at the Obama headquarters in Chicago.

They have a list of charges brought against the certificate:

• 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."

Then they go point-by-point to show how each criticism is, well, complete crap. They even have art. Here's the seal. See? It's raised and everything:


Here's the signature on the date of release:

Heck someone even found the contemporaneous newspaper announcement of the birth:

Of course the wingnuts are still not convinced (and we'd trust these people to drive?). One, and presumably more - as such political deleria is contagious, writes that the newspaper announcement could still be a faked, so proves nothing.

So let's see. IF the birth certificate is a fake, then the vast conspiracy to push this fakery onto an unenlightened public must be huge - and supremely efficient (only to be thwarted utterly by one guy with photoshop, of course). As politicfact has already noted, for this certificate to be faked the conspiracy has to reach deep into:

• The Hawaii Department of Health
• The Cook County (Ill.) Bureau of Vital Statistics
• The Illinois Secretary of State’s office
• The Attorney Registration & Disciplinary Commission of the Supreme Court of Illinois

Tin Hat, anyone?

I wonder if Mike Pintek will be issuing a correction.

Pintek Hits The Big Time!

Local embarrassment Mike Pintek has apparently been sitting in for two other local embarrassments, Quinn and Rose, on their highly entertaining radio show.

Good to see he's not limiting his "foot in mouth" disease to television.

Media Matters has the story:

On The War Room With Quinn & Rose, guest host Mike Pintek echoed right-wing websites in questioning the authenticity of Sen. Barack Obama's birth certificate, claiming: "I still keep wondering about his birthplace and his birth certificate. I'm still not convinced that he actually was born a natural-born citizen."

We've written about this smear before. Here's John Steigerwald's version of the smear and here's Pintek's.

The bottom line comes from Politifact:

At PolitiFact.com, we’re all about original sources. We don’t take anyone at their word or take the reporting of other media organizations as proof. We go to the heart of the story, the source of the truth — original, corroborating documents.

When the official documents were questioned, we went looking for more answers. We circled back to the Department of Health, had a newsroom colleague bring in her own Hawaii birth certificate to see if it looks the same (it’s identical). But every answer triggered more questions.

And soon enough, after going to every length possible to confirm the birth certificate’s authenticity, you start asking, what is reasonable here?

Because if this document is forged, then they all are.

If this document is forged, a U.S. senator and his presidential campaign have perpetrated a vast, long-term fraud. They have done it with conspiring officials at the Hawaii Department of Health, the Cook County (Ill.) Bureau of Vital Statistics, the Illinois Secretary of State’s office, the Attorney Registration & Disciplinary Commission of the Supreme Court of Illinois and many other government agencies.

Indeed Jim Geraghty at the NATIONAL REVIEW ONLINE who says that the rumor is "unlikely":

as it would require everyone in his family to lie about this in every interview and discussion with those outside the family since young Obama appeared on the scene.

And:

I spoke to Ms. Okubo late Wednesday afternoon, and she said she had seen the version of Obama’s certificate of live birth posted on the sites. While her office cannot verify the information on a form without the permission of the certificate holder (Obama), she said "the form is exactly the same" and it has "all the components of a birth certificate" record issued by the state. In other words, she sees no reason to think the version posted on Obama's web site and Daily Kos is not genuine.

That's the NATIONAL REVIEW. Pintek should read more, I guess. For Pintek to be right, all those people would have to by out and out lying.

Which is more likely? The certificate is genuine or all those people are lying and have been lying for years.

Known By The Company He Keeps (Local Edition)

I watched Mike Pintek again last night. He had on one of his favorite conservative pundits, Dr Harvey Kushner, contributing editor to a website called Family Security Matters.

They, of course, were pounding the Edwards story - all while (do I really have to say it?) excusing Senator McCain's similarly checkered marital past. Typical and not at all suprising.

I wanted to take a look see at this "Family Security Matters" site. In my search I found this at Hullabaloo. Digby wrote a year or so ago:

I've been getting a lot of emails about this group Family Security Matters which boasts such right wing luminaries as Barbara Comstock, Monica Crowley, Frank Gaffney, Laura Ingraham and James Woolsey among others on its board of directors. It seems like they are just another of the dozens of wingnut welfare programs devoted to throwing good money after bad keeping conservative operatives gainfully employed.

The emails I'm getting say they are busily scrubbing articles all over the place. When you look at what they've left up you have to wonder what could possibly be so bad they have to scrub it.

Then digby shows us an example of something that's been scrubbed. By someone named Philip Atkinson, it talks about the limits of democracy:

The inadequacy of Democracy, rule by the majority, is undeniable – for it demands adopting ideas because they are popular, rather than because they are wise.

And what George W. Bush's only wise choice should have been regarding Iraq:

The wisest course would have been for President Bush to use his nuclear weapons to slaughter Iraqis until they complied with his demands, or until they were all dead.

With an illustration of the "inadequacy of Democracy" sure to follow:

But if he did this, his cowardly electorate would have instantly ended his term of office, if not his freedom or his life.

" Cowardly electorate"? Here's more of Atkinson's political genius:

By elevating popular fancy over truth, Democracy is clearly an enemy of not just truth, but duty and justice, which makes it the worst form of government.

Atkinson's final solution to Bush's "Democracy" problem is simple. Follow the example of Julius Caesar:

If President Bush copied Julius Caesar by ordering his army to empty Iraq of Arabs and repopulate the country with Americans, he would achieve immediate results: popularity with his military; enrichment of America by converting an Arabian Iraq into an American Iraq (therefore turning it from a liability to an asset); and boost American prestiege while terrifying American enemies.

Which, of course, leads to the inevitable:

He could then follow Caesar's example and use his newfound popularity with the military to wield military power to become the first permanent president of America, and end the civil chaos caused by the continually squabbling Congress and the out-of-control Supreme Court.

Finally:

For only an America united under one ruler has the power to save humanity from the threat of a new Dark Age wrought by terrorists armed with nuclear weapons.

For some reason that column was scrubbed by Family Security Matters. I wonder why.

More on Mike Pintek and Climate Change

I was lucky enough to catch some of "The News Mike's Way" on tonight's Night Talk. Let me tell you it was an experience.

Current host Mike Pintek showed a level of scientific understanding not seen in a long long time. He quoted this story from The Times of London. Dr Dennis Wheeler, a British climate researcher who's looking at the data from British ships' log books from the 17th and 18th centuries. Mike found this sentence especially resourceful:

This shows that during the 1730s, Europe underwent a period of rapid warming similar to that recorded recently – and which must have had natural origins.

And then added this quotation from Wheeler:

Global warming is a reality, but what our data shows is that climate science is complex and that it is wrong to take particular events and link them to CO2 emissions.

And followed it with: "That's what I've been trying to tell you!

See Mike's one of those skeptics who thinks the whole "Global Warming" thing's a hoax. He used this article to "prove" that there have been rises in global temperature before the industrial revolution therefore the current rise is natural and not man-made.

Stunning logic.

Too bad Mike Pintek missed this part of the article:

Wheeler makes clear he has no doubts about modern human-induced climate change.

Know where that sentence was hidden? It came right before the sentence he quoted.

Wheeler makes clear he has no doubts about modern human-induced climate change. He said: “Global warming is a reality, but what our data shows is that climate science is complex and that it is wrong to take particular events and link them to CO2 emissions. These records will give us a much clearer picture of what is really happening.”

See?

The fact that Mike Pintek tried to use this data to debunk global climate change is stunning. Just stunning.

Pintek Smears

Tonight on Night Talk, Mike Pintek continued an Obama-Smear with his phone in guest Harvey Kushner, Ph.d.

The Smear?

Obama won't release his birth certificate. Only the birth certificate would prove that he was born in the US. The (not-so) hidden implication is that Senator Obama isn't born in the United States and so therefore ineligible to be President.

When I called into the show to let them know that Pintek was mistaken, I was told that he was aware of the controversy surrounding the certificate and that parts were "whited out."

Guess what? The campaign HAS posted the birth certificate. Here. I'll even post what's found at the Obama website:

Pintek smeared.