Tag Archives: discovery-channel

August's slow-news period would have seemed to me to be a prime period for some sort of Birther flare-up, but just past the deadline comes the news that Lieutenant General Thomas McInerney has signed an affidavit in support of Lt. Col. Terry Lakin. Lakin — a Birther cause-celebre — is facing a court martial after refusing to report for deployment to Afghanistan because he doesn't believe President Barack Obama is eligible to be President of the United States. It's one of the more unfortunate instances of Birther Kool-Aid overdose. And now, McInerney has jumped aboard. Dave Weigel reports that McInerney is — or at least was — “a serious person”: “He's a West Point graduate who ran the Alaskan air command during the Exxon Valdez disaster.” Of course, he also contributes to Fox News as a military analyst. Per Media Matters: McInerney has been interviewed on Fox News at least four times in the last year, most recently on the August 29 edition of Fox News' America's News HQ. During that time, he has appeared in taped reports on five editions of Fox News' premiere “news” program, Special Report.* He has also written occasional columns for FoxNews.com's Fox Forum. Between January 1, 2002, and May 13, 2008, McInerney made 144 Fox News appearances. McInerney's support for Lakin's cause does seem to be a bit at odds with his written contributions to Fox Forum. That is not to say he's not critical of Obama — he is a fierce one. But none of his work belies any fascination with the Birther fetish. Here, he seems to address Obama as the legitimate leader of the country. He does the same in his most recent offering — though it's pretty confusing piece, with grave misunderstandings about counterinsurgency strategy, that seems to argue that Obama should just fire everyone involved in the war effort and then, maybe, resign himself. Nevertheless, McInerney is a full-blown Birther fanatic, now. Here's his statement: For the foregoing reasons, it is my opinion that LTC Lakin's request for discovery relating to the President's birth record in Hawaii is absolutely essential to determining not merely his guilt or innocence but to reassuring all military personnel once and for all for this President whether his service as Commander in Chief is Constitutionally proper. He is the one single person in the Chain of Command that the Constitution demands proof of natural born citizenship. This determination is fundamental to our Republic, where civilian control over the military is the rule. According to the Constitution, the Commander is Chief must now, in the face of serious — and widely-held — concerns that he is ineligible, either voluntarily establish his eligibility by authorizing release of his birth records or this court must authorize their discovery. The invasion of his privacy is utterly trivial compared to the issues at stake here. Our military MUST have confidence their Commander in Chief lawfully holds his office and absent which confidence grievous consequences may ensue. added by: TimALoftis