Is Ted Cruz eligible to be President? He was born in Canada.

[Raphael]

It's not quite as simple as that. She left the US before she was 18 meaning she didn't reside in America for the requisite minimum of 5-years following her 14th birthday before going abroad and giving birth to a son who's father was not a citizen. According to US law at the time of Obama's birth:

"When one parent was a U.S. citizen and the other a foreign national, the U.S. citizen parent must have resided in the U.S. for a total of 10 years prior to birth of the child with FIVE of the years after the age of 14."

Current law says 2-years after the age of 14, but I don't know if that statute is retroactive.

Obama was born before her 19th birthday, so the minimum 5 years had not even been reached yet. BUT from what I can read that rule only applies if the child is born "outside the geographical limits of the United States and its outlying possessions", and all the evidence available, that isn't plainly photoshopped, points to him being born in Hawaii.

(otherwise every child in America born to a mother under the age of 19 where the father is not a US citizen would not be a Natural Born citizen, and while you guys have some whacky laws I don't think you have one that stupid)

[robrecht]

You know what I mean.

No, I really don't. I did not follow all the birther theories. Is there some kind of proof that Obama was not born in Hawaii? A few years ago Donald Trump was alluding to some incredible things his researchers were supposedly finding but to my knowledge he never produced any of this.

[Mountain Man]

Obama was born before her 19th birthday, so the minimum 5 years had not even been reached yet. BUT from what I can read that rule only applies if the child is born "outside the geographical limits of the United States and its outlying possessions", and all the evidence available, that isn't plainly photoshopped, points to him being born in Hawaii.

(otherwise every child in America born to a mother under the age of 19 where the father is not a US citizen would not be a Natural Born citizen, and while you guys have some whacky laws I don't think you have one that stupid)

This all assumes Obama really was born in Hawaii, but nobody has ever laid eyes on his physical birth certificate. All we have is a multi-layer PDF file of questionable authenticity.

To be fair, it could be genuine, but there are enough oddities in the file to create reasonable doubt.

[shunyadragon]

You know what I mean.

No I don't!

[shunyadragon]

This all assumes Obama really was born in Hawaii, but nobody has ever laid eyes on his physical birth certificate. All we have is a multi-layer PDF file of questionable authenticity.

To be fair, it could be genuine, but there are enough oddities in the file to create reasonable doubt.

False assumptions. This is actually the way birth certificates are stored in many states. The reference I cited verified that Obama's Original Certificate of Live Birth without question.

[rogue06]

Obama was born before her 19th birthday, so the minimum 5 years had not even been reached yet. BUT from what I can read that rule only applies if the child is born "outside the geographical limits of the United States and its outlying possessions", and all the evidence available, that isn't plainly photoshopped, points to him being born in Hawaii.

(otherwise every child in America born to a mother under the age of 19 where the father is not a US citizen would not be a Natural Born citizen, and while you guys have some whacky laws I don't think you have one that stupid)

You underestimate us

Entire books have been written on idiotic laws that are still on the books.

[shunyadragon]

This all assumes Obama really was born in Hawaii, but nobody has ever laid eyes on his physical birth certificate. All we have is a multi-layer PDF file of questionable authenticity.

To be fair, it could be genuine, but there are enough oddities in the file to create reasonable doubt.

After the 911 catastrophe the Home Land Security required all states to have a centralized data system for all birth and death records. This ended the old paper copy records of individual counties. ALL old paper copies from the county were placed in digital central systems using PDF files. The problem was that the 'paper' records of individual counties was not 'secure' and acquiring an illegal 'Birth Certificate was not difficult by paying off a local Clerk. Central digital files in each state are more secure. Original County records are archived in secure state facilities, and not available to the public.

When I came back from China I had an interesting identity crisis, because of a lack of 'legal' identification papers. I had my original notarized birth certificate from Montgomery County, MD. IT was NOT accepted as a 'legal' birth certificate for purposes of ID. I did not have a legal original Social Security card, my driver licence had long expired. My Passport had been unfortunately damaged in monsoon rain in Hong Kong, and it was stained and the picture was loose. It was stamped void by immigration when I came back to the USA in 2006, At this point in time I did not have any legal ID to do anything in the USA. I could not get a bank account or credit card, Social Security Card, get utilities, legally sign a lease, or get a drivers licence, because Homeland Security at that time required three legal forms of ID to get any legal documents. For nine months I was effectively a non-person in the USA. I was not a citizen, resident nor non-resident, not an immigrant legal nor illegal. I finally got a Bank account and a picture Debit Card 'illegally' when the officer illegally used my old drivers licence as ID, because he was competing in a contest to win a trip to the Bahamas. I was working in Chicago as an OSHA supervisor on a historical restoration and used a bicycle for transportation. I was renting an apartment with fellow workers. We coned the landlord into letting me sign the lease despite not having ID. I took a OSHA supervisors course, and the instructor 'illegally' issued me a picture OSHA picture ID and certificate, because the company was hard up for students, and my company was paying considerable for me to take the courses. I finally got a 'Certificate of Live Birth' (copy of PDF file in the State of Maryland data base). and an original Social Security Card with my illegal gotten ID.

Homeland Security has sense relaxed the requirements for getting ID, and allow USA citizens with proper ID to vouch for a person that lacks or has limited ID like I did.

The bottom line is ALL states use central digital data records of birth and death records (PDF files) as originally legally required by Homeland Security. These records are universal in ALL states and not of questionable authenticity. They were also required to have system to verify and confirm records through interstate cooperation and with Homeland Security.

[rogue06]

You underestimate us

Entire books have been written on idiotic laws that are still on the books.

To expound upon this:

Enbigenate imagification
by clickifying on it
0000000000abl.jpg
then clickifying on the
resulting imagification

[robrecht]

Are those real laws?

[Cerebrum123]

Are those real laws?

I know for sure that the ice cream cone one is. The others are likely real as well.

[Faber]

Are those real laws?

Probably if we knew the context, we would understand why those laws were passed. Selling hollow logs is like selling packages that were only half full. Transparent clothing was an excuse to walk around naked in public. We're probably familiar with laws in some eastern mountain states where it's illegal to handle rattlesnakes during a church service. Maybe somebody in Europe not understanding the reason for that law would think the same thing, another ridiculous law.

[Raphael]

I see that Ted Cruz is getting a lawsuit lobbed at him by Houston lawyer Newton Schwartz

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articl...n-birther-suit

The basic argument is because his father was a naturalised American (became a citizen prior to Cruz' birth) and because Cruz was born in Canada (both parents were US citizens), he can't qualify as a natural born citizen.

[KingsGambit]

Probably if we knew the context, we would understand why those laws were passed. Selling hollow logs is like selling packages that were only half full. Transparent clothing was an excuse to walk around naked in public. We're probably familiar with laws in some eastern mountain states where it's illegal to handle rattlesnakes during a church service. Maybe somebody in Europe not understanding the reason for that law would think the same thing, another ridiculous law.

Most of them are inaccurate anyway. Wikipedia actually has a decent write up: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dumb_laws

[rogue06]

Most of them are inaccurate anyway. Wikipedia actually has a decent write up: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dumb_laws

Back when I was still in High School I ran across a list of dumb laws in a magazine article that provided the exact wording of the law and where in the state's criminal code it could be found. A significant number were well over a hundred years old and might have served a purpose back then but were just never removed from the books. Many others were in response to new technologies -- especially cars -- that frightened people. But most seemed to be in response to various fashion trends that were considered scandalous back then but are now either quite tame or downright funny.

[shunyadragon]

Back when I was still in High School I ran across a list of dumb laws in a magazine article that provided the exact wording of the law and where in the state's criminal code it could be found. A significant number were well over a hundred years old and might have served a purpose back then but were just never removed from the books. Many others were in response to new technologies -- especially cars -- that frightened people. But most seemed to be in response to various fashion trends that were considered scandalous back then but are now either quite tame or downright funny.

I believe they are oft called "Hitching Post Laws"