Yes we can...

... but should we?

Thoughts on Notre Dame

As I walked back from Starbucks with a co-worker this morning, our conversation turned to the President's speech at Notre Dame. He suggested that instead of applauding the President before and after his speech, it would have been an appropriate compromise to applaud him as he entered the area (giving honor and respect to the office of President), but to remain silent before, during, and after his speech.

Abortion on Demand

From an AP article:

Sunsara Taylor, a New York City resident and a member of the abortion-rights group Abortion on Demand, said outside the school's gates that "there was a voice missing" in the controversy over Obama's visit.

"If women don't have a right to decide if they have a child, women aren't free," she said. "We need to expand abortion access and abortion rights and lift the stigma. Fetuses are not babies and women are not incubators."

Hopefully, President Obama disagrees with "Abortion on Demand" and their policies.

Notre Dame and President Obama

If you haven't already heard, President Obama has been invited by the president of Notre Dame (Fr. Jenkins of the Congregation of the Holy Cross) to give the Commencement Address at this year's graduation. President Obama will also be receiving an honorary degree.

Needless to say, this has caused a bit of an uproar in the Catholic sphere. Here's a lengthy blog roundup of posts on the issue (chronologically).

Friday, March 20th
The University of Notre Dame to Honor Obama (InsideCatholic)

Saturday, March 21st
POTUS at Notre Dame (Young Fogeys)
Archbishop Chaput encourages people to write to Notre Dame president over Obama commencement invitation (Te Deum laudamus!)

Monday, March 23rd
McInerny on Notre Dame’s “vulgar lust” (WDTPRS)
270 per hour (Ten Reasons)
Wha...? (Ignatius Insight Scoop)

Tuesday, March 24th
Fr. Jenkins Plans On Teaching Obama (InsideCatholic)
Obama at Notre Dame: What if? (Young Fogeys)
More from McInerny on UND and Pres. Obama (WDTPRS)
Bishop D'Arcy to boycott Notre Dame commencement (InsideCatholic)
Bp. D’Arcy (where U. Notre Dame is) speaks (WDTPRS)
Notre Dame Scandals: Reactions on March 24th (Te Deum laudamus!)

News: David Ogden, deputy attorney general

This is appalling:

Obama has picked a man called David Ogden to be deputy Attorney-General. Ogden has made his legal career from representing pornographers, trying to defeat child protection legislation and undermining family values. As FoxNews reported this week, he once represented a group of library directors arguing against the Children's Internet Protection Act, which ordered libraries and schools receiving funding for the Internet to restrict access to obscene sites. And on behalf of several media groups, he successfully argued against a child pornography law that required publishers to verify and document the age of their models, which would have ensured these models were at least 18.

The Family Research Council has more examples of his contribution to upholding American and western values. In one such case, he expressed the view that abortion was less damaging to a woman than having children[.] ...

In another, co-authored brief, he argued that it was an unconstitutional burden on 14-year old girls seeking an abortion for their parents to be notified -- because there was no difference between adults and mid-teens in their ability to grasp all the implications of such a decision[.]

[H/T to Gretchen]

Forced payment for forced abortions

Because of President Obama's rescinding of the Mexico City Policy, US taxpayer money will now be given to organizations which force abortions on women in China who already have one child.

Some promises are not worth keeping

Obama: "There will always be people, many of good will, who do not share my view on the issue of 'choice'. On this fundamental issue I will not yield and Planned Parenthood will not yield."

Audience Member: "[T]he recent Bush-Supreme Court's decision really took away critically important decisions from women and put them in the hands of politicians, and as a result of this we're expecting, and have already seen, so much anti-choice legislation at the State level. What would you do at the Federal level, not only to ensure access to abortion, but to make sure that the Judicial nominees that you will inevitably be able to pick are true to the core tenets of Roe v. Wade?"

Obama: "Well, the first thing I'd do as president is sign the Freedom of Choice Act."

Now, from a grammatical and rhetorical point of view, Obama has not promised (in this speech) to sign the FOCA as his first presidential act. He does appear, though, to promise that signing the FOCA will be his first presidential act toward a) ensuring access to abortion, and b) selecting pro-choice nominees for the Supreme Court.

Mr. President(-elect), don't keep this promise.

Vote for Freedom

I'm not going to be silent on my blog about this matter any longer.

What is true freedom?

It is not freedom from restraint, to do whatever you choose. That is the freedom Satan offered Adam and Eve -- and through them, all humanity -- in the Garden of Eden: "God said? No, God is wrong. You will know right from wrong. Don't listen to God, listen to me. And then you'll be like God, and you can listen to yourself." (cf. Gen. 3:1-5)

It is freedom to do what is right. That is the freedom a human has in Jesus Christ. Satan abhors what is right, which is why he hates God, Jesus Christ, the Catholic Church, Catholics, and all Christians. True freedom comes from the truth: if we are disciples of Jesus Christ, we shall know the truth, and the truth shall make us free. (cf. John 8:31-32) And what has the Church known since the beginning? "Thou shalt not kill a child by abortion, neither shalt thou slay it when born." (Didache 2:2)

Don't listen to the misinformation which Pelosi and Biden spread: the issue is not ensoulment, the issue is biological. Biology was not St. Thomas Aquinas's strong suit. When a sperm and an ovum combine, there is a new human life, full of potential to be honest, but it is already human. It won't become something other than a human. No matter what you call it -- a fetus, a zygote, a proto-human, etc. -- it is a human being. Even honest atheists will agree to that.

Barack Obama voted against legislation to protect infants born alive after attempted abortions. That's right: if you attempt to abort your child, and the abortion fails, and the child is born alive, Obama would rather let that person die. People like Gianna Jessen, who was born alive after a failed saline-injection abortion.

The so-called "Freedom of Choice Act" (FOCA) touts itself as supporting freedom. But it does just the opposite, and if Barack Obama has his way, millions of Americans will have their freedom stripped away: 1) Those states which have passed legislation limiting abortion, where the people have spoken, will lose that legislation. 2) Obama supports public funding of abortion via our tax dollars, whether or not we support abortion. 3) And, of course, there is no freedom for the unborn.

This is what FOCA says:

(a) STATEMENT OF POLICY- It is the policy of the United States that every woman has the fundamental right to choose to bear a child, to terminate a pregnancy prior to fetal viability, or to terminate a pregnancy after fetal viability when necessary to protect the life or health of the woman.

(b) PROHIBITION OF INTERFERENCE- A government may not--

(1) deny or interfere with a woman's right to choose--

(A) to bear a child;

(B) to terminate a pregnancy prior to viability; or

(C) to terminate a pregnancy after viability where termination is necessary to protect the life or health of the woman; or

(2) discriminate against the exercise of the rights set forth in paragraph (1) in the regulation or provision of benefits, facilities, services, or information.

It's the powerful destroying the powerless who have no voice. That is an unjust war.

Do yourself a favor: read this letter from Bishop Serratelli (of the diocese of Paterson, NJ). You can also read it with Fr. Z's commentary.

I'm not voting for Obama. I'm voting for McCain. I'm voting against Obortion. I'm voting for the candidate who promises to give life a chance.