Happy Birthday, Mr. President

Today is President Obama's 48th birthday. In his honor, let's all enjoy a pineapple upside down cake while we listen to a little Don Ho and then watch a good surfing movie -- all in honor of his birthplace of Hawaii.

Yes, Hawaii.

I had largely ignored all the brouhaha being created by this "birther" movement -- the movement that is alleging that Obama's election is invalid because he was really born in Kenya -- because the whole thing just seemed ridiculous. I'm generally not a big proponent of conspiracy theories, and this one seemed so incredibly ludicrous that I couldn't imagine anyone taking it seriously.

I had forgotten about Lou Dobbs. This "journalist" has helped give the birthers momentum by allowing their theories to air on his show as legitimate concerns rather than crackpot ridiculousness.

When Ann Coulter is calling people in your movement "cranks", you know you have a problem.

Bill Maher's warning this weekend really hit home for me, and I think it's important for people of reason to work to put an end to this nonsense. The fact of the matter is that a birth certificate exists showing that Barack Obama was born in Hawaii. No matter how "exotic" Cokie Roberts may try to tell us Hawaii is, the fact is that it's still one of our states and being born there makes one a citizen of this nation. I have a hard time swallowing that Barack Obama has spent 48 years crafting this grand scheme to "steal" the White House.

Conservatives, you lost the election. Deal with it. Rather than sitting around whining and picking apart every thing the president does (like whether his choice of beer is "American" enough) and dreaming up these grand fantasies that would render his election invalid, why don't you spend the next couple years getting your shit together and coming up with a viable candidate who could avenge your lost. And a little hint from me to you -- that viable candidate is NOT Sarah Palin.

Meanwhile, have a happy birthday, Mr. President. I hope it is one filled with even just a moment or two of peace and quiet where you can spend time with your loved ones, enjoy a piece of cake, and reflect on how far you've come in your relatively short time on this earth. You deserve at least that much -- if not more.