The President's Commencement Controversy

It seems illogical to use Catholicism as a premise for an argument essentially advocating exclusion. Acceptance, forgiveness, inclusion. These are--or should be--the central tenants of our religion. Of course, so is the dignity of human life.

I do not think Mr. Obama is an advocate of the act of abortion--any more so than past speakers were advocates of, for instance, capital punishment. And from what I gather there was not much protesting of capital punishment-supporting speakers. Or was there?

If you believe that life begins with conception, then both abortion and capital punishment are clearly human-killing strategies. I don't understand the dichotomy that embraces or disdains (as we should) one and not the other. If you rejected presidents who did not conform strictly to church teachings, you would have never had any president at that podium.

Notre Dame University ought to be ashamed to have someone who is for abortion come to talk at a university with Our Lady's name. This is an outrage. What have Catholics become to renounce the teachings of the Church. It is time for that university to remove the name "Notre Dame" which in French means "Our Lady" to Liberal University. God have mercy on you all!!!

It is so hypocritical of the Notre Dame Catholics to criticize our president.
They are intolerant, when their blueprint for life, the bible, teaches tolerance, and love for our fellow men.
They are giving religion a bad name.

ND_09,

I am sad, too, that your graduation day has been ruined. Don't blame the critics and protestors. Blame Jenkins. Jenkins knows what he has done. He admits he welcomes the controversy. He says he hopes your graduation day will "open the dialogue." My offshpring graduated from ND 7 and 9 years ago. If Obama had been "honored" with an honary degree in law as Jenkins intends to do, neither my son nor I would have attended graduation. And I would have given ND hell about it, too.

It's the "honor" that offends. As you know, Catholics cannot receive communion if they honor someone who promotes infanticide or abortion as Obama has done. But you know this. The Observer has clarified this Catholic tenet for the students on campus this week.

God bless you, ND-09. Send a letter or voice mail to Jenkins. He caused your problem. He can fix it.

Didn't BO do really well with Evangelicals and Roman Catholics?

Is that irony...or something else?

"China Called Gietner Today to remove the Dollar as the National Currency! Thanks Obama.. always wanted my Dollar to be worthless."

Hmmm when did we become so dependent upon China for our debt...

"I noticed you left the precipitous drop in the stock market since (a.) The One's nomination, (b.) The election, (c.) The Inauguration."

Because its an idiotic right wing meme that fear of Obama raising taxes led to the economic collapse ignoring actual facts to create a mythic timeline.

But it works on the gullible like yourself.

"Outside of the 60%+ (and dropping) approval ratings, I'm curious where you get the data for your assertions."

Consumer confidence figures are available from several pollsters as are favorable/unfavorable, right direction/wrong direction.

Real Clear Politics even has a collection of these polls and if you can't find them there you can try

So let me repeat.

Consumer confidence and positive direction for the country numbers have been rising since Obama took office.

His job approval rating is around 60%.

His favorable rating is in the high 60's nearly 70%.

And in the face of those facts, you claim Obama is unpopular and that the honeymoon is over.

Who told you that?

Oh yeah the right wing media.

Extremism out of hand! People should just relax and shut up. Geez, the President of the United States offers to give the commencement speech at Notre Dame and some riled up Catholics are trying to make a tasteless and disrespectful oint. He should just blow them off.

"You aren't persuading anyone to your misinformed side when you cry about Bush"

In case you have noticed...it's related:

Banking fall-out and lack of regulation from previous administration - the "ownership society"

Iraq

Gutanamo Bay

Afghanistan

Iran - thanks to previous saber rattling

New Orleans and Galveston still messes from Katrina and Ike

And we're not supposed to mention Bush?

Not to bring into play what was inherited by the past administration is like someone being in the ICU but you can't bring up how they got there!

"I was tring to stay out of the blame game but you started it.. so I offer the Proof. CRA act of 1977 wikipedia it!"

LMAO! The CRA requires federally regulated and insured financial institutuions to demonstrate they are investing in their communities. Only Commercial banks must follow CRA rules. The investment banks do not follow CRA rules nor do many of the "non-bank" lenders who are responsible for the majority of the sub-prime loans. The got to enjoy a gap in the regulatory system and were not subject to federal regulation or the CRA.

btw - If Bush wanted to "fix" it (the horrible things Clinton did) - he had 6 years of a Republican controlled House and Senate with a Republican sitting President, but "fixing it" didn't work with the home ownership society he campaigned for and was so proud of!

It's okay to play the "blame game" but it is beneficial to know what you are talking about first before you point the finger.

Jecath, I wasn't trying to be sarcastic, I was trying to figure out which side of the abortion debate you're on. If your references were to the fact that the Bible doesn't even address abortion & Catholics (among others) draw their anti-abortion stance from "Thou shalt not kill", that's your prerogative. The fact that many of those same people don't equate the same commandment with captial punishment, collateral damage losses, etc. makes no sense to me.
I have read plenty of spiritual & scriptural references & opinions & have learned there was a time the commonly held belief was that male fetuses didn't gain a soul until they were 40 days old while females didn't get a soul until they were 80 days old.
The bottom line is when we base our beliefs on writings that are inherently incapable of authentication, all we have our beliefs, not facts, & to try to force those beliefs on others is wrong.

This could be a story on banana cream pie versus pumpkin pie, and if a liberal's pie didn't win the contest they would blame it on Bush and 8 years of republicans, then whine about recycling and getting the world's population down to like 5000 people and other crazy BS like that. Want to confuse a liberal? Use facts and logic.

I love how liberals only defense is....that's what you get from Bush, or that's what you get from 8 years of republicans. That's all you have. Even the AP finally declared tonight on their fact check that democrats controlled congress the last 2 years of the Bush administration and congress is who actually write bills and vote on them along with the senate, the president either signs or vetos. You aren't persuading anyone to your misinformed side when you cry about Bush, it's getting old. Find something new, anything to say in response to posts. ANYTHING!

That's what you get after 8 years of Republican destruction.

Posted by: Willem van Oranje | Mar 24, 2009 10:21:04 PM

what are you talking about.. Carter caused this mess with the CRA act of 1977 and then Clinton Made it worse by Expanding that laws power in 1995-1999 .. Restricting banks from being able to expand unless they wrote Bad Loans to well deserving Well Fare people.. know what happen before you blame a party. Look it up.. Democrats caused the problem. Bush tried to fix by taking Iraq in 7 days. then was critized by the lefties. then food for oil. which by the way would of saved the economy.. he was again critized for tring to fix the DemoZ mess.now you want to blame him for 1 trillion to 3 trillion in debt we can't pay back. and China wants their Currency to be top.. sorry buddy.. that was Obamas Watch.. I was tring to stay out of the blame game but you started it.. so I offer the Proof. CRA act of 1977 wikipedia it!

pt- Bush was often protested at commencement addresses.
Laura Bush was invited to speak at UCLA in 2002, and when students protested, she declined. Imagine that happening to Michelle Obama.

>>>>>>>>>>

The difference is the "Students protested". It is the STUDENTS who are graduating. If the STUDENTS protest you speaking at something for the STUDENTS, then yes, decline. But if they STUDENTS want someone to speak at THEIR gradaution, then by all means, accept.

More importantly, are they protesting Obama or the Teleprompter? It is really not necessary to send Obama but the Teleprompter is a must. >>>>>>>>>>

Most presidents and public speakers use one. Bush would have used it more if he could read.

This existance is a mistery, religions claim to have the patent on God, they have it all figure out, a preposterous idea considering the size of the universe.

What major religions are is about dogma and control... and trampling over women's rights.... think about it.

During the inquisition over 10 million persons were killed by the Catholic Church, mostly women who were the deposotories of the healing knowledge, not the men. Western women have never recoverd properly from this hollocaust... The Catholic church has never recant of this iniquious act.

The Catholic Church ban on condoms, abortion, plan B, etc. ends up making life more difficcult for women... think about it.

China Called Gietner Today to remove the Dollar as the National Currency! Thanks Obama.. always wanted my Dollar to be worthless.
Posted by: Tempest
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That's what you get after 8 years of Republican destruction.

Outside of the 60%+ (and dropping) approval ratings

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Actually, his approval rose since last week.
CBSNews Poll: 64 Approve - 20 Disapp (last week it was 62-24; a gain of 6 points)
Gallup: 63-27 (last week 62-27; a gain of 1 points)

China Called Gietner Today to remove the Dollar as the National Currency! Thanks Obama.. always wanted my Dollar to be worthless.
Obama for Change (Socialism)
Great Job America!!!! Change, Change, Change Dollars to Change