4 ms·

I stopped reading at "Barack Hussein Obama." That name is the clearest signal of ideological intellectual dishonesty that I've yet found.

dangrossman 13y ago
Is it not customary to use someone's full name when naming them in a lawsuit? Or are you not aware that this is the US President's legal name?
- deleted 13y ago
  [deleted]
- jemfinch 13y ago
  It's customary to use the name someone uses for himself. He refers to himself as "Barack Obama". What's Larry Klayman's middle name? It's not in the docket. What's Keith B. Alexander's middle name? It's not in the docket. What's Lowell C. McAdam's middle name? It's not in the docket. And each of those names are more common (and thus more likely to be ambiguous) than Obama's. Outside of his swearing in (where middle names are customary even when they're not typically used in self-reference), the only time anyone says "Barack Hussein Obama" is when they're ideologues.
- evanmoran 13y ago
  To be fair in the very same sentence they name several people without full middle names: "Plaintiffs hereby sue Barack Hussein Obama, Eric Holder, Keith B. Alexander, Lowell McAdam, Roger Vinson". Emphasizing Hussein seems pretty intensional. EDIT: In fact, looking further: Eric Himpton Holder, Jr. probably isn't legal without the Jr. And Clyde Roger Vinson was missing the entire first name. Lowell C. McAdam and Keith B. Alexander, clearly have middle names, even if I can't find them in a 5 second google search. Basically they used the common public names for everyone but Obama.
- corwinstephen 13y ago
  Somehow I have a feeling jemfinch really didn't know that was his middle name.
- ubernostrum 13y ago
  Obama has been subject to some rather curious use of and emphasis on his middle name by his political opponents, largely in connection to implicit or even explicit conspiracy theories that he's secretly a Muslim. If you ever hear someone do it, you'll notice immediately -- the "Barack" and the "Obama" will be quieter and come out very quickly, while the "Hussein" will be spoken loudly, clearly, slowly, and often with emphatic pause before and after, to draw attention to it. This has the lingering effect of tarnishing the credibility of anyone who uses his full name even for innocent purposes. For a while during the 2008 campaign it was a bit of a meme to do the same to McCain ("John SIDNEY McCain") and imply that he was secretly Australian, as a way of pointing out how ridiculous the whole thing was.
  - LekkoscPiwa 13y ago
    It's Obama's own fault. During the election campaign when the audience was more sympathetic to minorities issues, anti-war, etc. he used to actually proudly state his middle name. I.e. when visiting Arab counties during his first term he used to emphasize 'Hussein' like in each and every speech he gave. Then when back at home, especially talking to more right-wing minded electorate he doesn't mention it at all, and when somebody asks pretends to be seriously offended. You can's have it both ways Mr. Peace Nobel Price Spying Americans.
howard610 13y ago
Yes ... it's terrible and bigoted for a LEGAL DOCUMENT to use a person's full name. That is what you really should care about in this story. Thanks for your contribution!
LekkoscPiwa 13y ago
like it's not his real name?

dangrossman 13y ago

Is it not customary to use someone's full name when naming them in a lawsuit? Or are you not aware that this is the US President's legal name?

deleted 13y ago
[deleted]
jemfinch 13y ago
It's customary to use the name someone uses for himself. He refers to himself as "Barack Obama". What's Larry Klayman's middle name? It's not in the docket. What's Keith B. Alexander's middle name? It's not in the docket. What's Lowell C. McAdam's middle name? It's not in the docket. And each of those names are more common (and thus more likely to be ambiguous) than Obama's. Outside of his swearing in (where middle names are customary even when they're not typically used in self-reference), the only time anyone says "Barack Hussein Obama" is when they're ideologues.
evanmoran 13y ago
To be fair in the very same sentence they name several people without full middle names: "Plaintiffs hereby sue Barack Hussein Obama, Eric Holder, Keith B. Alexander, Lowell McAdam, Roger Vinson". Emphasizing Hussein seems pretty intensional. EDIT: In fact, looking further: Eric Himpton Holder, Jr. probably isn't legal without the Jr. And Clyde Roger Vinson was missing the entire first name. Lowell C. McAdam and Keith B. Alexander, clearly have middle names, even if I can't find them in a 5 second google search. Basically they used the common public names for everyone but Obama.
corwinstephen 13y ago
Somehow I have a feeling jemfinch really didn't know that was his middle name.
ubernostrum 13y ago
Obama has been subject to some rather curious use of and emphasis on his middle name by his political opponents, largely in connection to implicit or even explicit conspiracy theories that he's secretly a Muslim. If you ever hear someone do it, you'll notice immediately -- the "Barack" and the "Obama" will be quieter and come out very quickly, while the "Hussein" will be spoken loudly, clearly, slowly, and often with emphatic pause before and after, to draw attention to it. This has the lingering effect of tarnishing the credibility of anyone who uses his full name even for innocent purposes. For a while during the 2008 campaign it was a bit of a meme to do the same to McCain ("John SIDNEY McCain") and imply that he was secretly Australian, as a way of pointing out how ridiculous the whole thing was.
- LekkoscPiwa 13y ago
  It's Obama's own fault. During the election campaign when the audience was more sympathetic to minorities issues, anti-war, etc. he used to actually proudly state his middle name. I.e. when visiting Arab counties during his first term he used to emphasize 'Hussein' like in each and every speech he gave. Then when back at home, especially talking to more right-wing minded electorate he doesn't mention it at all, and when somebody asks pretends to be seriously offended. You can's have it both ways Mr. Peace Nobel Price Spying Americans.

howard610 13y ago

Yes ... it's terrible and bigoted for a LEGAL DOCUMENT to use a person's full name. That is what you really should care about in this story. Thanks for your contribution!

LekkoscPiwa 13y ago

like it's not his real name?