Michell'O: Barack's "Home Country" is Kenya

Sure, she meant his ancestral country or whatever. Still, it sounded pretty birtherish:

I'm sure she's not a birther and believes, like most of us, that the President was born in the United States. It's still alarming that she doesn't even blink at calling anything other than the United States her husband's "home country."

Far as I know, the only Americans with an excuse for referring to another country as the "home country" are immigrants and Texans.

Oh, on the Homophobia Comment: Pat at the link says the First Lady is blaming the spread of AIDS on homophobia.

Yes and no. That video is clipped from a longer discussion about how refusals to wear condoms and take HIV tests has led to an explosion of new cases. Stigma associated with the disease has led individuals to hide or ignore it, lest others accuse them of homosexual activity. That's especially true in the black community here in the U.S. and in Africa.

In sub-Saharan Africa, about 6 percent of the adult population has HIV and that ranges upward to 15% percent in some countries. In Swaziland, over half of the population aged 20-29 has the virus.

So when the First Lady says that homophobia exacerbates HIV infection, she's saying it leads individuals to refuse to take HIV tests, not that homophobia actually causes the disease, like in some insane reverse-Falwell.

Birtherism Update: I don't want to get into the debate again so I'll just link this long post discussing the issue last July. The conclusion:

In short, my message is for the waverers: don't fall for Birtherism. First, the President is a natural born citizen; he proved it the only way current Hawaii law allows. Second, under no circumstances should you support a movement that wants the courts to start overthrowing lawful elections and, in fact, I want you to join me in condemning the very notion. Third, don't make this the Republican version of the "selected not elected" movement. It was ridiculous from the Left after Bush v. Gore. We really need to move on to the stuff that matters.

It's amazing how much the issue hasn't changed since then.

posted by Gabriel Malor at 09:42 PM

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