Burdens of Proof

To hear Joseph Farah tell it, he's the world's most diligent detective/investigative journalist since John Stossel fused his soul with Sam Spade through an arcane voodoo ritual (what, you don't read the news?)

Yes, when it comes to Obama's citizenship and eligibility for the Presidency, no documentation is too questionable, no proof too inscrutable, no witnesses too incorruptible for our brave Mr. Farah. It doesn't matter how many conservatives have decided to give up on the birth certificate strategy, or that the national news media has declared the story dead. For Farah, it's (supposedly) about the truth and serving the public good.

And in some ways, he's actually right. It is good to have transparency. It is bad when the leader appears-- for whatever reason-- to be hiding things.

But here's the rub: If Joe Farah wants to be taken seriously as a "make your case, show your work, let's follow the paper trail" journalist on Friday, he really can't be putting this crap out on Thursday:

A remark that Jesus' cousin, whose name he couldn't remember, "was really nice," helped convince Todd Burpo that his son's experience during a near-fatal illness was something beyond extraordinary. 

In the new book "Heaven is for Real," Todd and Sonja Burpo, along with Lynn Vincent, recount the amazing story told by their son, Colton Burpo. 

"Did you know that Jesus has a cousin? Jesus told me his cousin baptized him," Colton tells his father one evening, as related in chapter 12 of the book. 

Todd, a pastor, agrees. 

"The Bible says Jesus' cousin's name is John." 

But he then scolds himself, reminding himself not to offer information. 

"I don't remember his name," Colton said happily, "but he was really nice." 

"John the Baptist is 'nice'?!" Todd writes. "Just as I was processing the implications of my son's statement – that he had met John the Baptist – Colton spied a plastic horse among his toys and held it up for me to look at. 'Hey, Dad, did you know Jesus has a horse?"

Yes, while Farah is all too-willing to assume that every person vouching for Obama's citizenship is lying out their ears, apparently if your 4-year-old has a near-death experience and describes seeing Jesus and his rainbow horse, that's somehow irrefutable proof.

Convenient?