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President Obama’s first major speech on immigration contained several factual errors.
He concluded his remarks at American University with the moving story of Emma Lazarus, the woman who wrote the sonnet, “The New Colossus,” for the Statue of Liberty, in 1883.
President Obama said Lazarus was “inspired by what she saw and heard, she wrote down her thoughts and donated a piece of work to help pay for the construction of a new statue – the Statue of Liberty which actually was funded in part by small donations from people across America.”
There’s just one problem — the story is incorrect. According to the National Park Service, the Statue of Liberty was a gift from the people of France. The NPS told FOX News Radio French donors gave money to the Franco-American Union, a non-profit organization that gave the statue to the United States.
The statue’s pedestal, however, was paid for by contributions through an American branch of the Franco-American Union.
According to the Park Service, Lazarus’ poem was sold at auction by the pedestal committee for $1,500.
READ OBAMA’S ENTIRE SPEECH HERE
The sonnet was engraved on a bronze plaque and affixed to the inner walls of the pedestal in the early 1900′s.
The president also misquoted her sonnet. According to New York Magazine, he recited the line as “yearning to be free.” instead of “yearning to breathe free.”
He's an embarrassment to America
I agree Cliff, President BO is an embarrassment, you would think he would know the history of the Statue of Liberty……He hates America for all the reasons we love it……. and he and his crew are bringing it down., that's why it's are place to vote them out…
Actually the statue was a gift from France commentating the 100th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of the Constitution.
Mr. Obama from the speech "But our borders are just too vast for us to be able to solve the problem only with fences and border patrols. It won’t work."
Maybe if he took the time to speak to Mr. Netanyahu instead of blowing him off he could get some tips on how to secure a border with a fence. Even when your neighbors would like nothing better than to wipe your country off the face of the earth.
I listened in amazement to this speech. Who wrote this, they and he are more off than on in their story. Emma Lazarus taught Jewish immigrants to read and write English so they would not be a drain on our country. Her family had been here since colonial times. They were Jews!!! No mention of that huh? I read nothing about her supporting health reform or what ever. These people are just embarrassing! I am so ashamed that he is our example to the rest of the world and no I didn't vote for him.
I am sure that these 'facts' will be repeated in numerous speechs eventually becoming 'fact' as first noted by another famous politician in Germany in the 30's who used the same tactic.
We have never been a "Christian" nation as some define it. We are a nation built on the ideals of Judeo-Christian teachings. However, we have never been a theocracy. God has blessed many in this nation, however, we are not His chosen people.
As for Presidental statements, they reflect not only the convictions of the speaker but also the culture. The cultural shifts of the past 30 years have made statements such as President Regan's unacceptable. Of course the validity of this or the President's statement is debatable.
Is Mr. "Gotta Br Right All the Time" Obama going to ADMIT his miistakes in front of the same tv cameras or not? Why isn't the media beating him down into admitting he is WRONG? Why is the media letting him get by with so many lies and such? Please answer that.
He also botched the Poem!!!
Here is the original:
Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.
“Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!” cries she
With silent lips. “Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me.
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”
Continued on next posted comment….
Obama botched poem – continued:
Here is what Obama read:
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand, she wrote,
A mighty woman with a torch…
From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome…
“Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!”…
“Give me your tired, and your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to be free…
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”
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(Hat tip Don F.)
I'm also surprised that no one has commented about Obama's last news-making encounter with OUR Statue of Liberty, shortly after his "taking" office. In his vainglory, he terrified the citizens of New York City by having Air Force One, accompanied by a pair of F-16s fly extemely close to ground by our Statue of Liberty as one of his first of an infinite number of self-inflating photo-ops. And as he gave his first press conference to an Islamic news medium, a matter of fact, one can only imagine to whom he sent the symbolic 'victory" photos.
Now, I hear they're fixin' to put a mosque at ground zero.
God Bless the USA
WELL, AT LEAST HE DIDN'T BLAME IT ON PRESIDENT BUSH, OR CLAIM THAT IT WAS PAID FOR BY THE 3.5 MILLION JOBS SAVED, OR CREATED, OR IMAGINED, LAST YEAR. IT'S A START PEOPLE. GIVE THIS LIAR A CHANCE TO “CHANGE” AND WE MAY ONLY “HOPE”
After hearing so many factual errors from this president from the healthcare bill, immigration policies, cap and trade bill and the financial reform bill, one wonders if he is simply uninformed or is choosing to mistate the facts in order to get what he wants.