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Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Today's Celebration of the Written Word





From Fairies and Fusiliers, 
by Robert Graves (1918):


“WHAT do you think
The bravest drink
Under the sky?”
“Strong beer,” said I.

“There’s a place for everything,           5
Everything, anything,
There’s a place for everything
Where it ought to be:
For a chicken, the hen’s wing;
For poison, the bee’s sting;                10
For almond-blossom, Spring;
A beerhouse for me.”

“There’s a prize for every one
Every one, any one,
There’s a prize for every one,           15
Whoever he may be:
Crags for the mountaineer,
Flags for the Fusilier,
For English poets, beer!
Strong beer for me!”                          20

“Tell us, now, how and when
We may find the bravest men?”
“A sure test, an easy test:
Those that drink beer are the best,
Brown beer strongly brewed,              25
English drink and English food.”

Oh, never choose as Gideon chose
By the cold well, but rather those
Who look on beer when it is brown,
Smack their lips and gulp it down.          30
Leave the lads who tamely drink
With Gideon by the water brink,
But search the benches of the Plough,
The Tun, the Sun, the Spotted Cow,
For jolly rascal lads who pray,              35
Pewter in hand, at close of day,
“Teach me to live that I may fear
The grave as little as my beer.”





Hit tap: Bradford Pear

Petition to use Lean Six Sigma across Fed. Govt



WE THE PEOPLE PETITION THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION TO:

Join with Congress to strategically drive performance improvement capabilities (e.g. Lean Six Sigma) across Fed. Gov't.



Add your signature to this petition to help make Federal Government more efficient. With 5000 signatures, we'll get an official response from the White House. 

  • Newt Gingrich is pushing for Lean Six Sigma and I think he is on to something. 
  • I personally know the authors of this petition, Max and David Allway. 
  • I have personally seen the lean Six Sigma method of process improvement produce dramatic results in Federal Government applications. 
  • I may not know much about politics, but I do know process improvement and I firmly believe this will help bring about much-needed change. 
  • Employ Lean Six Sigma experts in this "Target-Rich" environment (fat, wasteful) and everybody wins--more jobs, more awareness and accountability, and leaner, more effective government. 

Please go to the Lean Six Sigma PETITION, sign it, and help spread the word via Facebook, Twitter, email, blogs, etc.

My Trusty War Horse, CERUS

CERUS on the Skyline Drive

I named my motorcycle CERUS after the mythical Greek war horse. Most people do not recognize the name of CERUS, so I thought I'd explain why I put that name on my license plate, and what the name means. 

(I know: the name's no good if you have to explain it. But just read on, and see if you don't agree that CERUS is the perfect name for a warrior's iron steed.)

In ancient Greece, King Adrastos was the warrior-king of Argos, and CERUS was his mount.  The name CERUS means "fit," and legend has it that CERUS was faster than the wind. What is more, Argos was home-port of Jason and the Argonauts whose quest was the Golden Fleece. Anyone who loves Golden retrievers can appreciate that coincidence....

Perfect!

Now,  in his kingly stable Adrastos also had a an immortal horse. A gift from Hercules, this half-god, half-horse creature one day saved King Adrostos in the battle of Thebes. A lightly edited version of that war is recounted below for the curious reader. Suffice to say, I will save the name of the immortal god-horse, Arion, for a custom-built motorcycle. Meanwhile, my stock Road King is my trusty mount, and the name CERUS suits him fine.

Finally, I will anticipate some readers calling for the revocation of my man card for the somewhat effeminate practice of naming my vehicles. I realize that naming vehicles is a girl thing. And that's the point: The tradition of naming my vehicles goes back to when my oldest daughter was very young.

I bought a used car and the air freshener smelled like strawberries. Allison, then 4 years old, dubbed the Accord, Candy Car. If she asked nicely, Candy Car would respond to Allison's requests to open or close the windows, or change the radio station (all via electronic controls out of her sight).

The next vehicle was a Honda Odysee. Allison's sister Madeline was about 4 years old. After a little explanation from Allison and me, Madeline agreed to name the Odysee Homer.

When I bought my Road King via a vendor in Baghdad, I thought about a fitting name my girls would appreciate. I suppose it was the epic journeys which Homer described that planted the Greek war horse idea in my mind.


Ancient Greece map
Map showing ancient Greek cities of Argos and Thebes


CERUS: Greek name meaning "fit." In mythology, this is the name of the horse belonging to Adrastos that was swifter than the wind.

ADRASTOS (Ἄδραστος): Greek name meaning "inescapable" or "not running away." In mythology, this is the name of a king of Argos.

JASON (Greek: Ἰάσων, Iásōn; gen.: Ἰάσονος) was a late ancient Greek mythological hero from the late 10th Century BC, famous as the leader of the Argonauts and their quest for the Golden Fleece. He was the son of Aeson, the rightful king of Iolcus. He was married to the sorceress Medea.

The ARGONAUTS (Greek: Αργοναύται, Argonautai; Georgian: არგონავტები, ArgonavTebi, (Laz language: Argonatepe)) were a band of heroes in Greek mythology who, in the years before the Trojan War, accompanied Jason to Colchis (modern day west of Georgia) in his quest to find the Golden Fleece. They sailed from the Greek port city of Argos, thus, they were the Argonauts.

ARION (Ancient Greek:'Ἀρίων, Ἀρείων, gen.: Ἀρίωνος, Ἀρείωνος): In Greek mythology, Arion or Areion is a Greek name meaning "martial; war-horse." This is the name of the horse Hercules gave to Adrastos; it was an immortal horse which Poseidon fathered with his sister, Demeter (goddess of the harvest) while both were disguised as horses. Arion's right feet were those of a human. It ran with incredible speed, and, according to the Latin poet Sextus Propertius, spoke with a human voice.



King ADRASTOS of ARGOS wars against THEBES and is SAVED by his HORSE

After the death of Oedipus, two brothers, Eteokles and Polyneikes, agreed to rule Thebes for one year, in turn. But the end of the first year, when Plyneikes should have started his turn, Eteokles refused to surrender the throne.

Polyneikes was forced into exile and went to King Adrastos of Argos. Upon his arrival, Polyneikes quarreled with Tydeus of Aitolia, another fugitive. Adrastos parted them and married them with his daughters, fulfilling an oracle, which had been given to him, that he would marry his daughters with a lion and a boar. Indeed the shields of the two exiles carried a lion and a boar.

In order to reinstate Polyneikes to the throne, Adrastos launched a war against Thebes. The seven battle chiefs were King Adrastos himself, plus Amphiaraos, Kapaneus, Hippomedon, Parthenopaeos, Tydeus, and the would-be king of Thebes, Polyneikes.

With auxiliaries from Arcadia, Messene and other cities from Peloponnese, Adratos' party marched towards Thebes. There was a battle near the Ismenian hill with the Thebans, who were assisted by the Phokians and the Phlegyae. Adrastos won the battle, and the Thebans were forced within their walls.

Adrastos then attacked the city, each chief selecting one of the seven gates of the city to fight. Thebes was in great danger and was probably saved from the prophet Teiresias, who made the prophesy "that the city would be saved if Menoekeos, son of Kreon, would give his life to God Ares".

When the youth learned this, he went out from the gate and slew himself, giving his life without a second thought. That gave courage to Thebans, who fought with great enthusiasm.

When Parthenopaeos was killed by a stone from Periklymenos, Adrastos ordered his troops back. It was the turn of the Thebans now to attack, when Eteokles challenged in combat his brother Polyneikes, from which the outcome of the war would have been decided. Unfortunately for the armies, the brothers slew each other and the war started again.

The sons of Astakos of Thebes fought bravely, Melanippos killed Tydeus. His other son Leades killed Eteoklus and Amphidikos killed Hippomedon.

Amphiaraos in his turn, in order to avenge the death of Tydeus, killed Melanippos. He was close to being pierced by the spear of Periklymenos, when the ground opened under him and took him together with his chariot and horses. The spot, on which the event happened, was shown to the days of Pausanias.

Amphiaraos worshipped as god at Thebes, Oropos and Argos and for many centuries was giving prophetic answers to peoples questions.

When Adrastos lost Amphiaraos, "the eye of his army," and all the other chiefs had been killed, he was forced to leave and he was saved by his immortal horse Arion, the offspring of Poseidon.

Friday, September 23, 2011

For Dakota Meyer, President Serves Homebrew

Photo from Obama Foodorama

The blog "Obama Foodorama" has recently posted a story about the special homebrew President Obama served Marine Dakota Meyer a day before the Medal of Honor presentation. How could you not love a story about the Medal of Honor, the White House, and Homebrew?

The ale, made by White House's first-ever homebrewing chefs using honey harvested in the first-ever White House beehive, is called White House Honey Blonde Ale. Chef Sam Kass first created a honey ale for the President's Super Bowl party. This summer, the blonde and a honey porter were created.

I would like to give that White House Honey Porter a try someday...

More information about Sergeant Meyer's heroism and the brew the President served him is available HERE.

Hit Tap: ADM IV

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

On being the most extreme version of ourselves


Germans are lined up in Munich to buy the iPad2 in this March file photo.
This is the cover story for the Sept. 19 weekly edition of the Christian Science Monitor.
AP Photo/John Kehe illustration


I’m not sure Apple even thinks about the competition. They’re uniquely themselves without worrying about anyone else. When I worked for Steve there was little discussion about the competition. The aim was for us to be the most extreme version of ourselves. When you adopt that approach, it causes you to think about things in a different way.


Keith Yamashita, from “The Apple Effect” in Sept 19th's Christian Science Monitor





In an earlier post, I introduced a concept called Doane's Razor. In a nutshell, the idea is to evaluate the merit of a proposed law, policy decision, or behavior you are trying to influence, consider:


Would the world be a better place if everyone (insert a description of the behavior in question)?

I believe Mr Gilliss was using Doane's Razor when, in response to Mr Yamashita's comment in the epigraph above, he posed the following question for discussion on Krista Tippett's blog: 

How should we be “the most extreme version of ourselves” in our own work lives? If more of us lived out this philosophy on the job and perhaps in our personal lives, would we be better off for it? I’m thinking, “Yes!” (within reason, of course). *grin*

--Trent Gilliss - senior editor - On Being, radio producer, journalist, writer - American Public Media


I strongly encourage all readers to think about this question, navigate to Krista Tippett's blog, On Being, and leave a thoughtful comment. Your comments here are also most welcome!

Being Blog • Extreme Self:




Here is my comment:
I believe in self-actualization as a means to happiness, not as an end unto itself. The peace, joy, and love for self and others that results from true happiness is the goal. Focusing on "extreme" self-actualization would be problematic if the motives were questionable. Extreme Apple seems to have worked out well, but extreme Enron? Extreme Barry Bonds? Extreme Martha Stewart? Extreme Bernie Madoff? Will the world be better if we all take steroids? Engage in insider trading? Drive faster? Work harder? As a cancer survivor I know what happens when cell growth gets extreme. I am convinced that super-sizing myself would be a mistake. As a disciple of Christ, I'd rather attempt to develop along the lines of a better example.
Returning to Doane's Razor for a conclusion, I suggest the idea is to concentrate not on becoming extreme versions of ourselves, but on becoming the best versions of ourselves.

Here is a link to the original Christian Science Monitor article.

Thursday, September 15, 2011

Working to Maintain Your High-Quality Viewing Experience on PhilosFX












Introducing Xenu, whose portrait and technical rendering appear above and on Xenu's website. I want to tell you about how I used Xenu's Link Sleuth (TM) to easily find and fix broken links here on PhilosFX.  I am always keeping an eye out for new tips and tricks to maintain a high quality experience for my readers.

One thing that disappoints or even irritates most blog readers is broken links. Don't you hate broken links? It's so discouraging when a link goes to a dead end. When I find a broken link, I may send the author a note. More often than not, I just move on to the next blog.

I want all my links to work forever, but this goal is somewhat out of my control as time goes on. All I really know is that the links worked when I added them. But the source may have changed, or the author may have moved or deleted the content. I have thousands of links here in PhilosFX. How can I ensure they all work and your experience is rewarding?

Searching though the Internet for an answer to this question, I stumbled upon an article posted on 12 Most by   on Jun 17, 2011. The article is here: 12 Most Basic Things You Can Do For Your Web Site Without Modifying It And in particular, the specific tool recommended for finding and fixing broken links is here Find broken links on your site with Xenu's Link Sleuth (TM)

I downloaded the free software and scanned my blog. Here are the results of Xenu's Link Sleuth (TM) scan.

URLs: 9533
Duration: 13:47
Good: 98.32%

Frankly, I was surprised to see so many links! Wow. And with so many things that can change in a year, I was pleasantly surprised to see that over 98% of the links here are still valid. Of course, the opposite is also true: 1.68% of the links were broken. That's about 160 links that had to be reset.

The odds of you finding a broken link on PhilosFX are small, but if you do find one, please report it to me so I can fix it. Meanwhile, try Xenu for yourself if you have an application for it, as I think it works well. I'll run Link Sleuth periodically to maintain your high-quality viewing experience here at PhilosFX.


Monday, September 12, 2011

Lao Tzu - Tao Te Ching

Buy This Poster: Mantis Design

This 2,500 year-old manuscript is mentioned in two of my favorite books:

  • Pirsig, R (1974). Zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance.
  • Nepo, M. (2000). Awakening: Having the life you want by being present to the life you have.
Read the traditional wisdom so eloquently expressed in this ancient manuscript, and you will understand why it has endured the test of time. 

I am almost embarrassed that it took me 50 years to find and read this powerful text, and grateful to the authors and caretakers for the hours that went into copying, translating, illustrating, and adding supporting documentation at the website which made it accessible to me.

Complete text and photos is available here: Lao Tzu - Tao Te Ching

More: Wiki




12 Most Memorable Moments From the Tenth Anniversary of 9/11


My thoughts are inspired by a post on a site called "12 Most." Posts from multiple authors cover a wide variety of topics. The 12 Most Memorable Moments From the Tenth Anniversary of 9/11 caught my eye.

What were YOUR most memorable moments? I'll lead off with my own top 12, in chronological order. Add yours in the comments, please!

  1. Prayer Service in the Pentagon Auditorium sponsored by the Chaplains. 
  2. DoD Memorial Service in Pentagon Center Court. The SecDef, Leon Panetta, got a little verklempt as he described the proudest day of his 40-year career, whacking ObL. He accepted a 9/11 flag from the 9/11 memorial commission.
  3. 10th Annual ASA (M&RA) / DCS, G-1 Commemoration Ceremony at the E-Ring end of Pentagon's 4th Corridor.
  4. Visiting the 9/11 Memorial Chapel, built as part of Project Phoenix.
  5. Visiting the Pentagon 9/11 Memorial, especially LTG Maude's bench 
  6. Visiting LTG Maude's grave and the Pentagon Memorial in Arlington National Cemetery
  7. Watching a 9/11 TV special with neighbors and sharing personal stories
  8. Reading my hometown paper's account of my 9/11 experience
  9. Participating in the Arlington Police, Fire & Sheriff 9-11 Memorial 5K
  10. A special moment of remembrance with my daughter at Lake Thoreau featuring red, white, and blue candles and 29 rose petals, one for each of the people from my office who died 
  11. Participating in the Unity Walk, during which: I heard a Muslim call to prayer in a Hebrew Synagogue; I saw a turban-tying demonstrating in a Sikh Temple; I heard a Christian choir sing Amazing Grace at a Muslim Mosque; I got a photo of Karen Armstrong; I chanted with the Hare Krishnas at the Khalil Gibran Memorial Park; and I walked with Gandhi's grandson to the Mahatma Gandhi memorial.  
  12. Pausing at 6:46 pm to participate in ONE: The Event's global prayer for peace. Did you feel the love?
I am grateful and humbled to be alive. 9/11 plus 10 years and we are finally moving from fear toward love. It takes both compassion and vigilance to ensure peace and security for the next generations. I feel a sense of balance returning.

Remembering those who lost their lives,
those who gave their lives, and
those who risked their lives
for our freedoms
9/11 +10


Keep Moving Forward, Continued



It's OK to make mistakes, as long as we learn from them and keep moving forward.

Hat tip: Karen

Related posts:

Sep 20, 2010
and make big shadows I can move in. Let everything happen to you: beauty and terror. Just keep going. No feeling is final. Don't let yourself lose me. Nearby is the country they call life. You will know it by its seriousness. ...
Sep 02, 2010
Keep moving forward boldly and with faith." I took that as a sign. Back to work! Beers, RA, and Beers, VG (2005). The one year mini for men: Daily inspiration from God's word anytime, anywhere. (See the entry for August 11. ...
http://philosfx.blogspot.com/

Thursday, September 8, 2011

Philographics



Two dozen distinct philosophies described in simple graphics. It's like a Philosophy 101 text in flashcards.

With which of these 24 do you most closely identify?

More: Philographics on the Behance Network

I first learned of this project while sifting through recommended articles for a topic I curate on Scoop.It
http://www.scoop.it/t/technicolor-omphaloskepsis


Happy fun cloud will kill you now


Happy fun cloud will kill you now




Funny article about the coming tech apocalypse. The CLOUD is taking over!

For does not all this cloud talk sound vaguely familiar? Does it not all point to ideas surrounding, say, impossibly perfect sci-fi utopias, Popular Mechanics magazine covers, geek psychobabble, all the way up to the grand dystopian idea known as the Singularity, that twinkling, apocalyptic moment when our top futurists say artificial intelligence will finally surpass human brainpower, humanity will eat itself alive and the world becomes one giant iPad 1,000? Of course it does.             --Mark Morford

Read more: HERE



Hat tip: Sally

Symphony of Science | The Quantum World

I just stumbled upon this video and wanted to share it immediately. Watch and be amazed. Full source credit, lyrics, and detailed author information is all below. I could NOT watch this just once!




Uploaded by  on Sep 6, 2011
A musical investigation into the nature of atoms and subatomic particles, the jiggly things that make up everything we see. Featuring Morgan Freeman, Stephen Hawking, Michio Kaku, Brian Cox, Richard Feynman, and Frank Close.

"The Quantum World" is the eleventh installment in the ongoing Symphony of Science music video series. Materials used in the creation of this video are from:

http://symphonyofscience.com for downloads & more videos!

Richard Feynman - Fun to Imagine
BBC Visions of the Future - the Quantum Revolution
Through the Wormhole with Morgan Freeman
Into the Universe with Stephen Hawking
Brian Cox TED Talk
BBC What Time is it
BBC Wonders of the Universe
BBC Horizon - What Is Reality


Special thanks to everybody who's donated to keep the project alive and to those who helped track down the materials used in this video.

Lyrics:

[Morgan Freeman]
So, what are we really made of?
Dig deep inside the atom
and you'll find tiny particles
Held together by invisible forces

Everything is made up
Of tiny packets of energy
Born in cosmic furnaces

[Frank Close]
The atoms that we're made of have
Negatively charged electrons
Whirling around a big bulky nucleus

[Michio Kaku]
The Quantum Theory
Offers a very different explanation
Of our world

[Brian Cox]
The universe is made of
Twelve particles of matter
Four forces of nature

That's a wonderful and significant story

[Richard Feynman]
Suppose that little things
Behaved very differently
Than anything big

Nothing's really as it seems
It's so wonderfully different
Than anything big

The world is a dynamic mess
Of jiggling things
It's hard to believe

[Kaku]
The quantum theory
Is so strange and bizarre
Even Einstein couldn't get his head around it

[Cox]
In the quantum world
The world of particles
Nothing is certain
It's a world of probabilities

(refrain)

[Feynman]
It's very hard to imagine
All the crazy things
That things really are like

Electrons act like waves
No they don't exactly
They act like particles
No they don't exactly

[Stephen Hawking]
We need a theory of everything
Which is still just beyond our grasp
We need a theory of everything, perhaps
The ultimate triumph of science

(refrain)

[Feynman]
I gotta stop somewhere
I'll leave you something to imagine

Wednesday, September 7, 2011

ONE: The Event, Redux

This is a follow-up to my earlier post about the ONE Event taking place on 9/11 which featured a promotional video. That video uses an analogy of radio waves to explain emotions. The video implies that cranking up the Love waves will drive out Fear. Please consider and, if so motivated, comment on the following reflection.



God is still speaking...





Remembering the anniversary of 9/11 by sharing this reflection from the United Church of Christ Stillspeaking ministry.



ONE: The Event



WHO: Everyone (even recalcitrant haters)

WHAT: A global outpouring of post-9/11 Love, Healing, and Unity

WHEN: There are activities scheduled on 9, 10, and 11 Sep culminating in a global group hug 10 years and 10 hours after the first plane hit the north side of the North WTC Tower, at exactly 10:46 pm Greenwich Mean Time (that's 6:46 pm EDT).

WHERE: Emanating from Seattle and encircling the planet

HOW: Watch the video. You can learn more here: ONE: The Event. You can sign a petition if yo are so inclined. You can Like the event on Facebook if you wish. You can form or join local groups. Watch for or start local activities that parallel those taking place in Seattle and around the world.

WHY: To move from Fear to Love, and to go beyond surviving to thriving.

Tuesday, September 6, 2011

I am curating four topics on Scoop.It!


My friend Scott turned me on to a new service called Scoop.It. With Scoop.It, one can create a topic area and become a curator of web content having to do with that topic. Scoop.It provides the search engine and literally scans millions of pages per second to suggest content for your topic(s).

I am interested in lots of things: decision analysis, motorcycles, travel, beer, philosophy, etc.  It occurred to me that I can curate my own relevant blog posts, and I can blog about articles I find and curate. I think the synergy between social networks, my own writing, and my research will be good.


Scoop.It's in beta testing right now. I applied for a token offered this blog as my bona fides. They set me up with an account and I created the following topics. Below are the announcements I sent to Facebook, LinkedIn, or Twitter as appropriate. Please check them out and feel free to suggest content.



I am curating a new site on Scoop.it called Value-Focused Thinking. The site is about understanding values and focusing on values rather than alternatives in decision analysis.

Get the values right, or the numbers don't matter!

Keywords: metaphysics of quality, decision analysis, applied management, value-focused thinking, lean six sigma



I am curating a new site on Scoop.it called King of the Road. It's about epic motorcycle journeys like Hoka Hey and Long Way Round--preferably, but not exclusively, on American-made machines.

Surveying the kingdom astride our steel horses

Note: the image is a 2008 Road King just like mine, and the slogan on the poster was my winning entry in a Harley-Davidson poster contest. 


Keywords: Harley-Davidson Road King, Epic Motorcycle Journey, Hoka Hey, Iron Butt, FLHR






I am curating a new site on Scoop.it called The Quest for Brewed Nirvana. I'm into craft-brewed beer. For me, hunting new and unusual beers is a fun way to learn about the variety of brewing styles, ingredients, and techniques around the world. Beer is a great social lubricant, with the power to open doors and tear down walls. One day I shall drain the grail and sing, "Ohhh, sweet mystery of life, I've found you!" 


http://www.scoop.it/t/the-quest-for-brew...



In search of imbibable bliss


Keywords: DC Beer, VA Beer, MD Beer, DE Beer, craft beer, beer wars, beer travels, world beer cup, great american beer festival, CAMRA




I am curating a new site on Scoop.it called Technicolor Omphaloskepsis. It's about combining philosophy and special effects to produce a life others would find worth watching.



http://www.scoop.it/t/technicolor-omphal...
Life: examined, shared, and truly lived.

Keywords: Mark Nepo, philosophy, metaphysics, happiness, national security, special effects, ba-gua, Elvis Costello, cognitive behavior therapy, MENSA

Kicking a Dead Horse? | Birther Issues Continue

I downloaded the President's birth certificate from the White House
website. When I attempted to  insert it as an illustration for this post,
only one layer copied--revealing evidence of the "layering" controversy. 


As an active military officer, I am a-political and I support the President in his or her role as Commander in Chief of the military forces. Furthermore, I am an admirer of the current President's. specifically because of his efforts to find middle ground and get things done. He stands apart from the awful political partisanship that is making a mockery of my country's system of government in the eyes of the world. I have stayed far away from the Birther isssue and from those few brothers and sisters in arms who openly challenged President Obama's authority to serve as CinC.

Until now.

The following post is from George Ure's Urban Survival and was brought to my attention via email. My comments are at the bottom. Your thoughts in the comments section are most welcome.



Birther Issues Continue

The release of the (pick your terms here) purported, alleged, so-called, yada, yada) birth certificate by the White House has turned into a major boner. I mean, this one puts Viagra to shame kind.



Up until now, I had blown off most of the ‘birther stuff’ since Obama is the nominal president and ain’t no removing him, since the PTB run the country away, despite representations contrary wise. We learned that with the Big Bank Free Money Festival on the Potomac.

But that was until a reader – we’ll call him “Joe” - sent me this amazing email which includes (gasp!) source documentation on some serious inconsistencies:

“As you all know, Donald Trump made a big deal about Obama’s birth certificate. As of yesterday, the White House released the birth certificate.
I will tell you right now that I had never given this “birther” issue any credit. I watched the hype and the crazies come out. I completely dismissed the entire ordeal altogether. In fact, it was not until the White House released the birth certificate that it had gained my attention.
I am the studious sort of guy, and I have plenty of time on my hands. So, I took a close look at this document. While I would have thought that this issue would have been closed for good (and, got the crazies to crawl back into their holes), I found two extremely strange inconsistencies that merit some attention.
First of all, the birth certificate that the White House released lists Obama’s birth as August 4, 1961. It also lists Barack Hussein Obama as his father. No big deal, right? At the time of Obama’s birth, it also shows that his father is aged 25 years old, and that Obama’s father was born in “Kenya, East Africa”. This wouldn’t seem like anything of concern, except the fact that Kenya did not even exist until 1963, two whole years after Obama’s birth, and 27 years after his father’s birth. How could have Obama’s father have been born in a country that did not yet exist? Up and until Kenya was formed in 1963, it was known as the “British East Africa Protectorate”. But, this is not the only thing that I found that just does not jive.
The other item that I looked into was the hospital that Obama was born in. On the birth certificate released by the White House, the listed place of birth is “Kapi’olani Maternity & Gynecological Hospital”. This cannot be, because the hospital(s) in question in 1961 were called “KauiKeolani Children’s Hospital” and “Kapi’olani Maternity Home”, respectively. The name did not change to Kapi’olani Maternity & Gynecological Hospital until 1978, when these two hospitals merged. How can this particular name of the hospital be on a birth certificate dated 1961 if this name had not yet been applied to it until 1978?
Go ahead, look it up. I am not talking crazy talk, these are the facts. Like I said, I thought that this was a non-issue until the actual certificate was released. Now that it has been released, of course I had to look into it. I have found these issues, now I know that something is up. If you doubt me, just look at the following resources:
Sure as hell, the hospital part is true, as you can read about the 1978 merger here.

The discussion about the East Africa Protectorate is less decisive, however. Still, Keyna didn’t gain independence until 1963, be preceded in independence by Tanganyika which became Tanzania, Uganda, and then Kenya. Whether it would have been referred to in Hawaii as the Kenya Colony of Great Britain, however is an interesting discussion, for sure.
Don’t mean to throw gas on the debate here, but our reader makes some disturbing points. When coupled with the report on Death by 1,000 Papercuts that “Obama Birth Certificate: Adobe Illustrator Reveals Different Layers” well, things to be not look as sold… Still, we’re just offering cites which is what research if for, after all.

But the hospital merger? That one bothers me. Be interesting to see if other birth certs from that period show the same name, huh? I know a TV engineer out in the Islands who might know some folks up in the newsroom who could pull a few to check. Make an SDX or Pulitzer, I reckon. You on this? Email me the link to the story when it airs is all I ask…



[Begin my comments]

First off, I do not know George Ure. I do not follow his blog, nor am I agreeing with him on all things by focusing on this one thing. I do not know to what Ure's PTB abbreviation refers and I do not care. This post is not an endorsement.

Like Joe, the reader of George's blog, I ignored the birther issue and the people who were trying to make something out of it. We had an election. Senator Obama beat Senator McCain. Move on. 

Furthermore, I am tired of the often ridiculous email slander attacks that circulate, and I normally ignore them. 

But this is truly different. 

It really looks to me like the long form birth certificate is a poor forgery produced and published by the White House in an attempt to silence the annoying questions coming from, among others, one-time presidential hopeful Donald Trump. 

If this "evidence" is a forgery, well, that is an outright lie. That would change everything, in my eyes.

I downloaded the President's birth certificate as a .pdf from the White House website--not from a third party, straight from the source. You can do the same. When I attempted to insert the birth certificate as an illustration for this post, only one layer copied--revealing evidence of the "layering" controversy. 

Not only does the long form birth certificate appear to be a weak forgery from this technical standpoint, but the anachronism errors are damning. 

I get people wanting to protect the President. I get the President wanting to see this issue go away. I also get leaving well enough alone!  I do NOT get making a bad situation worse to silence The Donald.

We all have better things to do than sharp-shoot the one person who is in the best position to lead this country through two wars and out of recession. I feel I should be helping, rather than detracting. Still, honesty is fundamental, and I find my confidence shaken by this news. 

It's not that good people never do bad things. When Nixon lied, he was trying to cover up a burglary. When Clinton lied, he was trying to cover up infidelity. Both of them were essentially trying to cover their asses. President Obama's original response to the Birthers, the so-called short-form birth certificate, is the moral equivalent of CYA. If (and that's a mighty big if) someone manufactured this long-form certificate, that level of deception goes well-beyond ass-covering. 

My $0.02.


Hat tip: Helen