WH: No Religious Cover-up at Georgetown

More fake incidents to gin up outrage since the right wing has NO solutions only complaints.
Most of which are quite petty.

Drudge Called.

Do you cover actual news here @ ABCNEWS or just report on any old junk thrown out by the right-wing fringe? Because CNSNews or Matt Drudge posts it, does that make it news to be covered here? You really think most Americans care about teleprompters, backdrops or bows? Get a clue and get out of the DC echo chamber!

Who cares?

Obama has no business getting an honorary degree from ND when his views on abortion are anti-Christian. He can get his degrees from secular universities that have no morals.

” I know from reading his book that he has no idea about being a Christian.”
Jane – There is a big difference between being a Christian and doing Christianity – I suggest you discover the meaning of the former…

Impeach Obama!

Could we please cover up more religious symbols? No wonder America is losing it’s religion! It’s because this kind of inane crap is treated as a legitimate issue.

Why would anyone complain about his story? No government figure should be publicly endorsing any religion while in office.

I am so sick and tired…the man can’t win..every little thing he does or doesn’t do…some idiot has something to say..He can’t even blow his nose any more without someone having something negative to say…People stop trying to find something to complain about..OK he is in office and a lot of people donot like it…So..if u dislike him..then don’t vote for him the next time…but give him a chance..STOP critizing so dog gone much. He is truly in a no win situation…Have you heard the saying..( DAMN if you or DAMN if you don’t) (Either way DAMNED )This is going to be a long 4 years.

“He says JESUS is not the WAY but he is a way….” – dkenna
That’s absolutely right. What are you complaining about?

If he didn’t like the religious symbols then why speak at a catholic school?

I think its funny how some of the people commenting on here feel no outrage at the notion of a piece of plywood covering the face of the symbol of their lord. I’m not even christian and i think its an outrage.

Please put a cover over Obama and leave Jesus alone.

I agree with the previous post – why DOES Obama keep appearing at religious institutions? What is his point? If it isn’t provocation, boy, then he sure is a very POOR diplomat, isn’t he?
You will see, my friends and countrymen, the “Agenda” is creeping along now, but freedoms to think differently than the “Administration” are swiftly being eroded. I am grateful that a black man has finally achieved the Presidency. The basis for my admiration stops there.

“Decisions made about the backdrop for the speech were made to have a consistent background of American flags, which is standard for many presidential events. Any suggestions to the contrary are simply false,” White House spokesman Shin Inouye told ABC News.
===============
Obama can have the stage decorated however he wishes, and its up to Georgetown to agree to it or not.
But what Inouye says is pretty blatantly untrue. The IHT covered up by a piece of plywood wasn’t in the way of any flag.
Then again, the WH told a blatant untruth about not bowing to the Saudi King, and they weren’t called on it.
Is it important? Probably not. Pretty telling, though.

I am so sick and tired…the man can’t win..every little thing he does or doesn’t do…some idiot has something to say..He can’t even blow his nose any more without someone having something negative to say…People stop trying to find something to complain about..OK he is in office and a lot of people donot like it…So..if u dislike him..then don’t vote for him the next time…but give him a chance..STOP critizing so dog gone much. He is truly in a no win situation…Have you heard the saying..( DAMN if you or DAMN if you don’t) (Either way DAMNED )This is going to be a long 4 years.
Posted by: Vera | Apr 16, 2009 3:37:02 PM
GET USED TO IT WE HEARD IT FOR 8 YRS ABOUT BUSH AND HIS HURRICANE MACHINE AND IRAQ AND WIRE TAPPING AND VALERIE PLAME AND BUSH DONT LIKE BLACK PEOPLE BUSH LIED BUSH TORTURED BUSH MADE MY HEAD HURT BUSH IS AND IDIOT.

I don’t know why religious symbols at a religiously affiliated university should be offensive. Georgetown is a great school. I don’t know why Obama would need to hide the fact that he was speaking there. If they wanted a consistent background, they should have put up a black screen or a blue screen background instead of covering religious symbols. I remember when John Ashcroft covered up a statue’s naked bosom and people were upset. It is just as neurotic to cover a religious symbol at a religious university. 10 to 1 says Obama had nothing to do with this decision, but someone made the decision. People want to know what they were thinking.

No Cover-Up.
And Obama didn’t bow to the Saudi king either.
Who are you going to believe–Obama or you lying eyes?

So are these schools inviting him so that afterward they can invent some make believe slight against them? These complaints have to some of the most immature petty and pathetic imaginable. Georgetown, Notre Dame seriously, grow up.

I have never been so sick of garbage news in my entire life. ABC has become The National Enquirer.

Oh, just stop with the ridiculous innuendo and subliminal b.s. Obama gave an excellent speech explaining our economic situation and why such drastic actions had to be taken to save the economy, in excruciating detail just so even the simpletons among our countrymen could understand it, yet you persist in trying to put some other meaning behind his appearance. Everyone knows Georgetown is a Christian and Catholic University. Why would he appear there to give this speech, if he didn’t want to be at that forum?

“So are these schools inviting him so that afterward they can invent some make believe slight against them? These complaints have to some of the most immature petty and pathetic imaginable. Georgetown, Notre Dame seriously, grow up.”
Its not the schools, its the right wing knuckledraggers looking for something to be outraged at.

Jake: What’s the matter? Didn’t get on the press plane to Mexico so you thought you’d stir the pot alittle? Got to quite googling those kooky web sites.

Outrage du-jour by the right-wing Jake. You fell for it.

This is not the “United States of Jesus.”
It IS the “United States of America.”
All religious people across the globe should be in mental institutions on Thorazine.
Religious people WILL destroy us all!
Posted by: jim | Apr 16, 2009 3:53:43 PM
—-
Thankfully, this is also not “The United States of Jim,” and hopefully more people will be right thinking than “Reich” thinking with regard to his rather Final Solution-like suggestion for “All religious people.”
Also, religious people may not be the ones to “destroy us all.” Sounds like your self-destructive hatred may finish you off before any “religious people” would even think of getting to you.

Paranoia Paranoia Paranoia! ABC should stop feeding off Drudge.

LEFTIES ARE A LITTLE NERVOUS TODAY! No CIA info released by BO, covering up Jesus, More bad jobs news,more bad housing news, more idiots calling everybody not on the left rightwing radicals, Political profiling, thought police, jeesh can it get any worse for BO oh yeah that Tea party thing!

Get used to it!: Bush just might be an idiot, and Obama just might be an idiot as well… However, not reacting to a national disaster in a timely manner, invading a country with no provocation, stepping on all of our rights by using illegal wiretapping, and ignoring treaties set forth by the international community (which we agreed to)cannot be compared to the covering up of 3 letters for a speech.

Barb writes: “Yes people picked on Bush but not in his first year or two and NOT W/O CAUSE….He is the one who put us into the mess we are in…Pres. Obama is trying to get us out! He’s been in for three months…Most of you who are criticizing him have been since day one….you don’t want to give him a chance, you don’t like him so you bash him.”
You have a short memory, Barb. They most certainly did criticize Bush from even before he took office. Remember the slogan “selected not elected”? All those baseless claims about Bush stealing the election? Just exactly like all the baseless claims about Obama really being born in Kenya, not having a birth certificate, etc., etc.–fit for the location the Spanish speaking folks call “Basura” (Trash).
It’s either petty criticism of a president is out of bounds or any president is subject to it. You don’t get to say “Bush is a bad guy so he deserved to be spit on every day of his presidency–but Obama is a good guy so don’t let even a speck of lint touch his collar.” (At least not with rational adults who consider fairness a basic value.)

Ryan C Thank you for the correction…didn’t see her byline there.

3 months into this administration and he has 250,000 people (who have never protested before ) showing up to peacefully protest big government. I think BO will go down in history as the most dividing president.

thinkbefore youspeak: Which president are you talking about? Both Bush and BO fit your points.

To the “journalist” who wrote this…
Seriously Karen as someone who worked in the Bush whitehouse and went to Georgetown you don’t think that maybe you’re a little too close to the subject you’re writing about? At the very least you could have exercised a tiny bit journalistic ethics and disclosed your biased position. Very unprofessional ABC News.

Give me a break, this sounds like Fox News garbage. ABC what are you thinking by publishing this inflammatory, sensationalistic drivel? First that insufferable Rick Klein and now this former Bush propaganda writer? Or doesn’t objectivity sell well enough?

People must be realizing that obama is trying to hide soemthing when stories like this come to the forefront of the news. It is a good tactic to hide the truth in irrelevent stories.

To the person who thinks this is “crap” and said let’s have some “real news”..you’re conveniently forgetting that your president claimed to be a Christian while campaigning. He wouldn’t be embarassed by symbols in the background if he were truly a bondservant of the Lord Jesus Christ. Clearly, the display of his conscience on abortion and homosexuality would tell me he’s not about promoting godly ways.

Captain Hook, Amen. Usually I just blow off these slights and insults, but for once I am taking a stand. My comment about St. Paul’s Cathedral was meant in the context of Princess Diana’s funeral which was broadcast throughout the whole world.

Because it needs to be said again. Consider the source of the article…
“(Karen)Travers graduated in 2000 with a degree in American government from Georgetown University”….. “Travers worked as a White House producer, traveling on all of President George W. Bush’s domestic and foreign trips.”
ABC News should be very embarrassed at letting this go out under the pretense of unbiased reporting.

My concern in this is why was it covered up? With everything I’ve seen of our President he says one thing and walks another…and that my friends is scary. Because this just isn’t about God it’s about a whole lot more. Wake up America he’s not what he appears to be watch and really listen. He’ll have us in the same mess or worse than President Carter did by the time he’s out of office. And God help us all if that becomes fact.

We have a president that is that “bad”, that we have to cover Jesus’s name. How horrible and beyond sad. Then we have that gay cabinet member who Obama picked, who criticized the pope! And he critcized the Knights of Columbus! What an ignorant naive sickie.I’m so glad I’m not part of that party….

Whoops, I guess Princess Diana’s funeral was in Westminster Abbey.

Oh boy some people this country like to keep the laughs a coming Who cares.So if the President stood a back drop of a garbage dump would garbage worker be offended. Grow up American.

Its another story like the pooch drama.
Religion and Politics should not mix.
but since they do, these things are going to happen….. and then we have to hear about it … good god save us all from the drama

Captain Hook: Let me quess….you want all the religion in school that you can get right? A little bible reading before school starts? A little prayer to start the day? A little devotion to put everybody in the right frame of mind?

Hey for all the crybabies….he is presiednt with the job comes the criticism…ask Bush,clinton and the rest…so stop whining and take like you dished it out…you hear that millie and dave

I can see the bush supporters now, wide eyed and foaming at the mouth. How did this country end up with these kind of people? You would have thought by now that they would have more important things to be concerned about. I guess they never got over being shut out of the White House for eight years.(Obama wins again!)

The President was invited to speak at Georgetown. He was not invited to preach at Georgetown. When the President speaks it is customary to have the podium placed in front of an array of flags, primarily the flag of the United States of America and the Presidential flag. So it was done at Georgetown. For the ignoramuses who carp about the President and his family hosting a Passover seder at the White House, first of all, when Jesus sat with his disciples at the so-called “Last Supper,” they were celebrating the seder on the second night of Passover. Have you forgotten that Jesus himself was a Jew? And that the time the Romans crucified Jesus there were no Christians? Second of all,does anyone question whom you invite to dinner or for what purpose? The White House is the HOME of the President of the United States throughout his term at office. He enjoys the same rights as you to invite whomever he wishes to dine with his family and other guests at any time for any occasion.

Why Georgetown, a Catholic University would ask Obama to speak is beyond me. No Catholic University should be asking him to come to anything.

linda n caro: “freedom of religion” not “freedom from religion”.

Did you lefties hope that Bush would succeed or fail? Because I hope that BO fails so this country will succeed.

Obama is the anti-christ.

There must be something about Christianity that turns people into blattering idiots. I look at these posts and wonder how in world we as a species managed to evolve sufficently to dominate the planet (at least, for the time being). If our ancestors had thought like Christians, we would have all been eaten before reaching the age of procreation. Perhaps, with time, we will evolve out of this anti-rational/neo-neanderthal Christian phase to a higher, more enlightened, understanding of our place in the universe.

Karen Travers stepped up her game this week. Last week she reported on the White House dog.

Can you imagine the right-wing nutters reaction if President Obama had actually given a speech beneath the plaque with “IHS” inscribed on it. They would be screaming bloody murder about how the President thinks he is Christ.

Ed–”arkie vet – The president was not exercising his religious freedoms – he was delivering a speech on economics. Of all the buildings in DC, why did he choose a religious venue?”– ed, don’t misintrepret what i said. I was responding to a poster whose statement indicated that the president should forego his religious beliefs in thename of separation of church and state.. I disagree..

Ryan C–”Wow you find out something every day, arkievet apparently is an abomination hated by the lord.”– and you draw that conclusion based on what??

Like Ryan C said: “More fake incidents to gin up outrage since the right wing has NO solutions only complaints.”
They’re really grasping at straws these days, anything to try to fabricate some controversy. If the IHS had been left visible, they would have attacked him for that, saying he’s equating himself with the messiah. Either way, they’d call him the anti-Christ.
Having sat silent for 8 years while Bush wreaked havoc, now they attack Obama daily for everything and for nothing, even when they’re self-contradictory.

feelingtogetherness:Exactly…especially when the schools are funded by tax dollars.

GK_1970, the Islamists are iconoclasts and would not have any statues of Mohammed or anyone else in their mosques. Somebody please correct me if I’m wrong about that. Their mosques are decorated with beautiful calligraphy and non-iconic art. I’ve never been in one but read some about their beliefs. Still, like I said before, whatever unique symbols may be present, I would defend them not to have to cover them up. I seriously doubt they would do such a thing anyway in deference to anyone even their own under any circumstances except possibly for repair.

The constitution says nothing about seperating church from the government.
The government should not be a part of the church.

Besides, the Continental Congress only opened with prayer and even then most argued against it. The constitution which demands separation of church and state does not mention god whatsoever, and the ENTIRE constitution is a business contract that punched the divine King George in the face.

Yes .A lot of anger toward the Christians and the conservatives.Hmmmmm!
I dont here the liberals defending there Christianity…Oh yeah.There are no Christian Dems.

This stuff is drivel……….where was the outrage over torturing? Nitpick crap.

where was the torture????

Come on Sean….Show me where it is…..

Posted by: thinkbeforeyouspeak
Get used to it!: Bush just might be an idiot, and Obama just might be an idiot as well… However, not reacting to a national disaster in a timely manner, invading a country with no provocation, stepping on all of our rights by using illegal wiretapping, and ignoring treaties set forth by the international community (which we agreed to)cannot be compared to the covering up of 3 letters for a speech.
Get used to it all right. Obama says one thing and does quite another when it comes to just about everything. Ever since he was inaugurated, Barack Obama has been running around shunning his Justice Department, running around the country blocking all lawsuits that are ones that are brought against the National Security Agency and the Bush administration alleging that the NSA was illegally spying on the emails and telephone communications of Americans. He has been arguing that those programs are too secret to allow courts to look into, let alone adjudicate the legality of them. And so, he’s been protecting from disclosure these very abuses.
WAKE UP AND SMELL THE …
And yet, last Friday, the Obama administration, the Justice Department, filed the first response to this lawsuit, one claiming that the Bush administration illegally spied on Americans, and what Obama said was, number one, that the program that the lawsuit is alleging occurred. The activities that it’s alleging are too secret, and grave national security harm would result if the court looked at this program and ruled on whether it was illegal, and thus demanded its dismissal.
And then the Obama administration invented a brand new radical argument that not even the Bush administration had espoused that says that the government is completely immune from any lawsuits for illegal spying, unless they deliberately or willfully disclose to the public what it is that they learned. So they basically said government officials are immune, when they break the law, from lawsuits, except in the narrowest of cases. And so, the Obama administration sought to bar any lawsuits against Bush officials for illegal spying, after they spent the last eight months assuring the public that Bush officials would still be held accountable even though telecoms were immune.

Here you go Christian Conservative. Go read the constitution and read Article 6! DO IT NOW! Then come back.
No religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States.
– Article VI

Jay, I don’t know what church you’re talking about. Every time I go to church, I see computers and monitors and sound systems and projectors and televisions. You act like Christians live in a different world. We own cars and work normal jobs. You need to take some deep breaths and calm down. You obviously don’t have a rational thought process going on right now.

Most of founding fathers were Diests!They hated organized religion.

Last Friday evening, in a motion to dismiss Jewel v. NSA, EFF’s litigation against the National Security Agency for the warrantless wiretapping of countless Americans, the Obama Administration’s made two deeply troubling arguments.
The DOJ claims that the U.S. Government is completely immune from litigation for illegal spying — that the Government can never be sued for surveillance that violates federal privacy statutes.
This is a radical assertion that is utterly unprecedented. No one — not the White House, not the Justice Department, not any member of Congress, and not the Bush Administration — has ever interpreted the law this way.

Paleeezzzeeee, stop the madness!!

Yes, Christian Conservative: because you think Obama is a Muslim and think that is a problem alone means that you are dissolved from the argument.

“THERE IS NOTHING IN THE CONSTITUTION THAT SAYS ANYTHING ABOUT SEPERATION OF CHURCH AND STATE!”
“Congress shall make no law respecting the establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof”
Hugo Black:
“The “establishment of religion” clause of the First Amendment means at least this: Neither a state nor the federal government can set up a church. Neither can pass laws which aid one religion, aid all religions, or prefer one religion over another. Neither can force nor influence a person to go to or to remain away from church against his will or force him to profess a belief or disbelief in any religion. No person can be punished for entertaining or professing religious beliefs or disbeliefs, for church attendance or non-attendance. No tax in any amount, large or small, can be levied to support any religious activities or institutions, whatever they may be called, or whatever form they may adopt to teach or practice religion. Neither a state nor the Federal Government can, openly or secretly, participate in the affairs of any religious organizations or groups and vice versa. In the words of Jefferson, the clause against establishment of religion by law was intended to erect “a wall of separation between church and State.”

GK-1970, you talk about gagets. The simple manipulation of modern gagets do not make for modern thoughts. You can own a computer and still act, speak and think irrationally. Conservative Christians, in particular, show no inclination to grow emotionally or intellectually. They choose to live by antiquated standards based in mythical delusions, and insist that everybody else do the same.

Why is it that anytime one of these rightwing websites make a charge, ABCNEWS does a story on it? It is one of the most frustrating thing about reading their web page!

SEAN!says
but no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States.
The last sentence is a separation. COME ON MAN! RRREEEEEAAAAADDDDD!!!!!!!!!! PLEASE!
Wow! That is reaching my friend.
Mary had a little lamb.His fleece was white as snow.
What can you interprit out of that???
If you have to bounce the letters around to come up with something like that,it isnt right.
Its the same thing as lieing to make a point.

“Thank you Ryan C!
Even though you tried to argue against me, you argued for me”
Sean I believe that we are on the same side on this issue.
My response was the Conservative Christian

We dont insist that everyone be the same.We hope that they can.Being Christian isnt a fight to make us right.Its a fight to help others to do the right thing,and enjoy doing good.

SEAN!
Where does it say wall???????????????

To Mr. C.C.
When that line in Article VI is combined with the Amendment I of the Constitution it strongly supports the idea of seperation between Church and State. I just assumed you would be familiar with the first amendment so I wanted to give a less known example.
Would you really like an explication of “Mary Had a Little Lamb?”
One can only assume that this is your actual reading level.

John Jay, Alexander Hamilton, and James Madison are the “Founding Fathers”, they wrote the US Constitution, and they were all Christians.
Now if we want to expand our definition to mean any of the major players of the Revolutionary War…the Answer is still no but a little more vague.
Benjamin Franklin certainly wasn’t, and in his epitaph referred to God as his author.
George Washington was the leader of a Parish of the Episcopalian faith.
Being a diest isnt being Christian.

What else can people complain about? You just don’t like our president and are looking for things to accuse him of doing. What fools….he can and will do more for you. You are listening to the wrong prophet. We have not had a president of his intelligence in years. If you would read his programs and understand his commitments, instead of listening to the wrong people. I heard a woman at the so called tea party say he is to blame for this mess. What a crock and she is obviously misinformed. I didn’t see her with her teabags while the previous administration spent us into a recession. He is not in favor of taking your guns….just trying to control where they are coming from and who has them. It is sad when the criminals have better power than the police. No one needs an ak47 or assault weapon in their homes. A gun or rifle is fine but what is out there is killing our young people. I would not want to live next door to someone who has onean ak47. When the second ammendment was put forth there was no ak47 nor assault weapons and maybe if there were, there would be some ammendments against that. We will never know.How come your prophets never mentions the fact that he is not taking the allowance to furnish the White House as other presidents have. He is using his own money and Michelle is buying her own china even though she has an allowance for that. This is an indication to his character. He needs to spend to get us out of this recession, all economists agree. He is not afraid to act i.e. the latest pirate situation. He is strong in spirit and in mind and is secure within himself and that is why he pays no attention to certain naysayers who spend all of their air time bashing him.

Why do Libs insist on manipulating everything to make there point?

“Would you really like an explication of “Mary Had a Little Lamb?”
One can only assume that this is your actual reading level.” Insult aside, the real story behind “Mary Had a Little Lamb” is very moving. Read it sometime. You might learn something you didn’t know. Edward Rowe Snow wrote an account about Mary Sawyer and the little lamb she saved and nursed, did follow her to school, followed her everywhere, moved me to tears when it ultimately followed her to the barn and was gored by a bull and died in her lap. There are some conflicting accounts, however, but I’m inclined to believe Snow’s.

Talmag!
How about if the guys attacking me have ak47′s and I have a shot gun.Would you want to be my neighbor?
People were allowed to own canons on there properties back then.I would say that is pretty intense.

That was Edward Rowe Snow.
What is your interpretation?

One of them is lying – Obama or the Christian School – you decide!

“One of them is lying – Obama or the Christian School – you decide!”
Neither is lying.
The White House denied that there was any effort to specifically cover up religious imagery or symbols and noted that on the wall directly behind the president there are two religious paintings and there is other imagery throughout the hall.
“Decisions made about the backdrop for the speech were made to have a consistent background of American flags, which is standard for many presidential events. Any suggestions to the contrary are simply false,” White House spokesman Shin Inouye told ABC News.
“In coordinating the logistical arrangements for the event, Georgetown honored the White House staff’s request to cover all of the Georgetown University signage and symbols behind the Gaston Hall stage in order to accommodate a backdrop of American flags, consistent with other policy speeches,” said Julie Green Bataille, associate vice president for communications at Georgetown.
Both of those statements are consistent with one another.
Its the right wing media that is lying.

” That was Edward Rowe Snow. What is your interpretation?” Yes, I have nine volumes of his, and cannot find that one book. Google in quote “Mary had a little lamb” “mary sawyer” +bull. Other than ultimately donating the proceeds of bits of wool wound on cards for the preservation of Boston’s Old South Church, I think the story pretty much speaks for itself insofar as it may have been altered due to oral tradition in the 1800′s. John Roulstone, a nephew of a local minister who was at the school that day, and penned at least the first three verses. I admit you threw me with interpretation. I just tend to believe the essentials of the account. Christianity seems to figure fairly prominently, but when I read the account, I knew none of that other than Snow seems to have been a practicing Christian of some type. What was your interpretation?

“The Declaration clearly says our rights come from a Creator.
The Bill of Rights simply identifies what those specific rights are.”
Wrong again.
9th Amendment.
The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.
“Knowledge of the founders and the formulation of this nation leaves no question about the Judeo-Christian values that establishes the foundation of this nation..”
A representative democracy organized as a Republic is part of Judeo-Christian values?

Posted by: arkie vet | Apr 16, 2009 5:15:55 PM: The Founding Fathers did not build a secular government because were against Christianity.
As you suggest, many were in fact devout Christians. However, our Founding Fathers were very aware of the dangers of church-state union. For example, the colony of Virginia had officially established government sponsored churches and taxed everyone to support these churches, even if they were not members. People who disagreed could be thrown in jail.
So, Jefferson, James Madison and other Founding Fathers ended Virginia’s established church. They helped pass the 1786 law called the “Virginia Statute for Religious Liberty” – it guaranteed religious freedom for everyone.
Jefferson and Madison’s viewpoint about religious freedom is also reflected in our Constitution and the Bill of Rights. Had an officially Christian nation been the goal of the Founding Fathers, that concept would have been clearly spelled out in the Constitution. It is not.
The U.S. Constitution is a totally secular document. It contains NO mention of Christianity, any specific faith, or even Jesus Christ. In fact, the Constitution refers to religion only two times in the 1st Amendment, which bars laws “respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof,” and in Article VI, which prohibits “religious tests” for public office.

“If you want to believe that the founding fathers based the design of our government on certain religious values you can go right ahead.”
The argument is not about Freedom OF Religion but Freedom FROM Religion. The US Constitution gurantees the former but not the latter. If I’m wearing a cross around my neck you don’t have the right to tell me to cover it up because you don’t like to look at religious symbols. There are reasonable limits – if it has a 150W strobe light in it you could object on the grounds it’s giving you epileptic seizures, fer example. But not simply because you hate/fear/despise Christian symbols.

Told ya to vote for Hillary!
Then Told ya to vote for McCain!
Now ya wake up!

At least they didn’t do that annoying blurry thing like they do to cover up stuff (logos, brand names, who knows what else) on reality shows and documentaries.
The Ones’ puppeteers, uh, ‘handlers’, probably just want to make sure that he doesn’t have something behind him like George Bush did with the “MISSION ACCOMPLISHED” banner…because, look at how badly beaten the U.S. was in Iraq.
“IHS” would indeed offend atheists, Roman emperors, Muslim terrorists, Liberals, etc.

“Georgetown honored the White House staff’s request to cover all of the Georgetown University signage…”
What is the point of having the speech given at your university, if you can’t prove it in the future? There are no photos you can show that indicate the speech was given at your school, it could just as well have been made on that sound stage where NASA faked the moon landing decades ago (just kidding!).
But this is another example of 0bama making everything about himself. The man is a flaming egomaniac, and I believe that he is a dangerous one.
Everyone tends to think of someone at that level as being mentally well-adjusted. But with shrinks pointing to the fact that 0bama was abandoned by his father, his mother, and his step-father, and raised by his grandparents, and pointing out the negative impacts of such an upbringing, you really do have to stop and wonder about this guy.
In addition, today he had an article printed in a Mexican newspaper, translated into Spanish, in which he again apologized to Mexico for the way this country has “treated its neighbor”. There was no corresponding English version of it printed anywhere; he was obviously trying to slip this one under the radar of the U.S. population.
This man does have some sort of complex, and it is going to have very bad effects on this country if he gets his way for the next 4 years.

How can you call yourself a Christian and not accept Jesus? What a lie.

Another tempest in a teapot. I’m beginning to think that some of you are keeping your eyes open only to find something to criticize.

Center One wrote: “The U.S. Constitution is a totally secular document. It contains NO mention of Christianity, any specific faith, or even Jesus Christ.”
Obviously you haven’t read Article VII of the U. S. Constitution. The last sentence states (emphasis mine):
“Done in Convention by the Unanimous Consent of the States present the Seventeenth Day of September in the YEAR OF OUR LORD one thousand seven hundred and Eighty seven and of the Independence of the United States of America the Twelfth In witness whereof We have hereunto subscribed our Names…”
“Year of our Lord” is a DIRECT reference to Jesus Christ. If our founding fathers had intended for there to be a complete separation of Church and State why did they include this phrase?

I WONDER..WERE THESE SO CALLED CHRISTIANS THIS IRATE WHEN THE CATHOLIC CHURCH COVERED UP THE FACT THAT THEIR PREISTS WERE RAPING LITTLE BOYS?
WERE THESE SO CALLED CHRISTIANS THIS IRATE WHEN THEIR HARD EARNED 10% EARNINGS WERE USED TO PAY THESE PEOPLE OFF???
NOW THATS A FARCE!!

This is the same guy who had to have a cardboard sign put on his podium to let everyone know he was the “President Elect”. I agree with many posters here who said, if your going to be speaking there, why cover up the background. You still have your presidential seal on your podium, and you can still put flags in stands behind you without covering up the schools walls. And for those who said it should be covered up because of separation of State and Church, then if they feel that strongly about separation, then he should do his speeches in public halls or TV studios.

Bill said “How can you call yourself a Christian and not accept Jesus? ” You can’t.

Amorethanpolite said “ABC News should be very embarrassed at letting this go out under the pretense of unbiased reporting.” They let George Stephanopolis report (a Democratic lapdog, if there ever was one) – why not someone who worked for Bush?

Jim Pivonka, when you visit someone’s house do you request that they remove something that offends you? No, if you are offended you leave. When the President of the United States visits a religious institution EVERYONE understands that the institution will likely have religious symbols. It is INAPPROPRIATE for the President to request that those religious symbols be covered up. If he is offended by the religious symbols HE CAN LEAVE and speak from another location.
Can you imagine what an uproar this would be if President Obama had spoken at an Islamic university and demanded that they cover up their religious symbols?
Now then as was mentioned previously, the U. S. Constitution does NOT separate the state FROM religion. It guarantees Freedom OF Religion. What part of “…or prohibiting the free exercise thereof…” do you not understand. It is Georgetown University’s Constitutional Right to have religious symbols. What President Obama did was to violate the Constitution by specifically ordering a Christian institution to cover up its own religious symbols. President Obama CHOSE to visit Georgetown University. He has no right to tell this university to cover up its religious symbols. PERIOD!

It seems like to me, most people on this blog miss the whole issue.
This is a Catholic organization – what right does he have to interfere with Catholic belief? I am sure he would not ask the Saudi King or any muslim group to cover up a symbol of their faith. What he did was wrong – end of story. Worse is that a Catholic organization would deny their faith in such an overt manner. I am not sure which is worse.

jlpillinois wrote: “Worse is that a Catholic organization would deny their faith in such an overt manner.”
I totally agree! Religious institutions should stand up for their Rights…for their FAITH.

This administration is a comedy of errors.

Please Hillary get away this trainwreck before you get blamed.
Hillary 2012

Okay, after doing some research by looking at photos of the hall without the back drop and with the back drop, I can tell you the following. The back drop with the flags that they’re talking about is actually a Light Blue Temporary Wall (looks about 8 ft high)in the Back Ground with Flags in Stands spread out in front of the Light Blue Backdrop. Over the top of the Back drop, in the pictures with Obama, you will see a dark peak shaped like ^. The Gold Lettered IHS is in the Middle of this peak. Since the IHS letters were in the peak well above the back drop, I really don’t understand why in the space over the back drop, the only thing that was covered was the letters IHS. That Lite Blue temporary wall provided enough back drop where covering the IHS was not necessary. You really have to look at pictures with and without the back drop to see for yourself. The only thing that I can think of, is that one of Obama’s favorite photo shots is a picture taken from the floor shooting up at him. This kind of picture would have shown the IHS letters. I say using a back drop was fine, but covering up things over or around the back drop would leave me to believe they didn’t want the IHS to show up in any photo shots. It appears the back drop was there for Video recording of this event.

SearamblerOne wrote: “Exactly how is this ‘interfering’ with Catholic belief? Are you so shallow in your belief that you cannot practice it without this symbol being visible?”
It is NOT the interfering with a belief. It is the trampling on their Constitutional Right to display their own religious symbols in their own “house.” The fact that Georgetown University voluntarily agreed to the request is another issue–and very problematic in and of itself. I believe Georgetown University was wrong. But the issue before us is that the President of the United States requested that religious symbols be covered up. It’s the principle of the matter! Now the next time that President Obama “asks” he will say, “Well Georgetown University didn’t have a problem with it. Why should you?” If we don’t stand up for our Religious Rights we will lose them.
Would President Obama dare request that the Pope cover up some of Vatican’s religious symbols upon visiting him? Would he dare ask the Pope to wear a suit instead of his traditional garments? Of course not! So why should they ask that religious symbols be covered up from Georgetown University?

Tonya – Go and look at the photos of Gaston Hall with the Back Drop and Without the Back Drop. Then tell me why the IHS would have to be covered because of the Back Drop. +++ How come when someone questions Obama, you have to bring up another negative to support his decision. It’s because you don’t have a logical answer for it. We catholics were outraged whenever we found out about Child Molestation within the church. Was there some churches covering it up? Yes. Was it right to cover it up? No. Is the Catholic Church working on avoiding this in the future? Yes. Is there the same problems in Schools, Sports Teams, Youth Organizations? Yes, and hopefully we will all be working on protecting our children no matter where they go. +++ After you check out the before and after pictures, please tell me why the letters had to be covered. And no Obama doesn’t do his own backgrounds, but the person who does follows his wishes.

Isn’t this simular to the “He didn’t bow” routine. Pictures don’t lie. It’s funny how the explanations come under the heading “White House”, but you never hear it coming from Obama’s lips.

This is NOT a right wing Issue -this is a question of ethics! Bow to a Saudi guy, take your shoes off, disrespect our WWII Vets by not visiting sacred memorial in Europe, and then have a religious symbol removed from an AMERICAN UNIVERSITY? What is sad is that the University complied.
This is indicative that I VOTED for an incompetent man. I am sorry

Posted by: James Danley | Apr 17, 2009 1:39:28 AM – “Year of our Lord” is a DIRECT reference to Jesus Christ. If our founding fathers had intended for there to be a complete separation of Church and State why did they include this phrase?”
“Year of our Lord” is the English translation of “Anno Domini”, often abbreviated as A.D. Another term, “Before Christ” was often abbreviated as B.C. They are both designations used to number years in the Julian and Gregorian calendars.
Rather than using Medieval Latin, our Founding Fathers translated the term into words everyone could understand. “Year of our Lord” was used to clarify the calendar date, not to imply a specific religious belief was part of our Constitution.

Center One:
You are missing the point. President Obama went TO Georgetown University and then asked THEM to cover up THEIR religious symbols.
Are you saying that it’s okay for President Obama to ask Muslims to hide their religious symbols should he visit and make a speech in a mosque? Or ask Jews to hide their religious symbols should he visit and make a speech in a synogogue?
If these religious symbols offend President Obama than he should say away from religious institutions.
Now as for the phrase “In the year of our Lord,” it was YOU who said there was no reference to Jesus Christ in the U. S. Constitution. I pointed out that, in fact, there is. Whether it is “Anno Domini” or “In the year of our Lord,” it IS a very specific reference to Jesus Christ.

Correction! I should have written: “…then he should stay away from religious institutions.”

Obama is pathetic.
Bow to a Saudi tyrant but cover any reference to Jesus.
Every day this man’s mask slips to reveal who he really is.
When voters bought Obama’s rediculous lie about his pastor (never heard the sermons) I knew America was in deep trouble.

I did not think it was possible, but the right-wing anti-Obama loons are even worse than the loony MoveOn.org anti-Bush liberals.
Republicans learned nothing from the ’06 and ’08 election losses. They should be moving to the center, but instead they’ve allowed their far-right idealoques take over the Party.
I used to be proud to call myself a moderate Republican, but I want nothing to do with what the Republican Party is becoming.

Center One – Thank you for that explanation. You answered my question and I stand corrected.

I pray many eyes will be opened before 2012.

Let’s see:
President Obama didn’t bow to the
Saudi King. Lie.
He didn’t order the covering up of
a religious symbol at Georgetown. Lie.
During the campaign when he told
“Joe the Plumber” that he wanted to
“redistribute the wealth” Mr Obama
claimed the statement was taken out of
context. Lie.
I’d say that sums up the
Obama Administration so far!

Candidate Obama was happy to have Jesus symbols around when he was trying to get all of us bitter religious people to vote for him.
Wake up people!

“The MSM has lost all of it’s integrity will you be next?” While I would agree to some extent on some news reportage, where is there no integrity with this story? The MSM has nothing to do with the issue other than reporting it, and pretty objectively, accurately and in a straightforward manner to my POV. If they hadn’t reported it, then others would saying something else. And if you don’t agree with me, that doesn’t mean you should just be quiet about it as one poster suggested. Tempest in a Teapot? That would be yesterday’s tea parties heh. You can go to San Francisco and buy your Obama votive candle. For real but old news, head of Obama on the body of St. Martin de Porres. That will help the economy. Maybe somebody should start making Obama stained glass suncatchers. Maybe already have. Yup, there’s a red white and blue one modelled on the famous poster that was the subject of a lawsuit between the artist and AP, haven’t heard anything about the status of that lately.

Yehs, Yehs, this is a complete outrage! Much worse than anything George Bush did. Now let’s all go out and throw teabags at a cardboard cutout of Obama.

Posted by: reaganfan | Apr 17, 2009 2:17:30 PM “President Obama didn’t bow to the Saudi King. Lie.”
I have a question reaganfan: were you upset when President Bush kissed and held hands with the Saudi king a few years ago? Conservatives didn’t make a peep about the proximity of the Bush family and King Abdullah for the past 8 years, but now they are all riled up over Obama’s symbolic gesture of respect.
If you’ve ever traveled outside the United States, you know that different cultures and countries have different protocol and different customs. For example, it’s not necessary to bow to a king or queen unless you’re a subject of the country, but in Muslim tradition a bow is the sign of affection and respect from a younger man to an older man. It wasn’t obsequious. I’d say the biggest mistake was the White House’s media handler’s response, trying to down play that it happened. But it wasn’t Obama’s “lie” – in case you hadn’t noticed, our President has more important things on his desk.
And who’d have thunk conservatives were such sticklers for protocol and symbols? Do you recall President Bush attempting to give Angela Merkel, the Chancellor of Germany, a back rub during the G8 Summit? Obama’s bow is just like this outrage over covering a symbol at Georgetown. Another tempest in a teapot.

Posted by: James Danley | Apr 17, 2009 5:20:23 PM – “That IS a reference to Jesus Christ!”
So any document using “A.D.” or “Anno Domini” or “In the year of our Lord,” is a Christian document? No. It’s simply the accepted designation used to number years in the Julian and Gregorian calendars. Our Founding Fathers were not embracing “OUR” Lord as part of the Constitution. It was the English translation for “Anno Domini”.
What makes me so sure? Back when the Constitution was drafted, a handful of delegates to the Constitutional Convention actually argued for formal recognition of Christianity in the Constitution. They insisted that such language was necessary in order to “hold out some distinction between the professors of Christianity and downright infidelity or paganism”.
That language was not adopted and the Constitution was instead written to give NO special treatment or preference to any religion. Article VI, which allows persons of all religious viewpoints to hold public office, was adopted by a unanimous vote.

a symbol means nothing, what’s in the heart means everything, and by the look at some of these comments your heart is difinitly not in the right place, constant ranting about nothing, pulling at straws, useless!

Give me a break!!! Tell me where I said that the U. S. Constitution was a Christian document. You said there was no reference to Jesus Christ. I pointed out that there IS a reference to Jesus Christ. Just because something has a reference to Jesus Christ does not make it a Christian document.
Our founding fathers did not want to follow in the footsteps of England with its Church of England, where the Church had a direct influence on policy. But our founding fathers also wanted to ensure that the Congress didn’t prohibit the free exercise of religion either.

Why is it that Georgetown takes no responsibility for agreeing and allowing any religious symbols to be masked? Were they forced? Or do they just prefer to be martyrs? Does anyone even care about the speech he gave? Nothing sinister was done and it was a speech given by our President that both parties agreed to. If Georgetown was so appalled, they should have refused. Get over it already.

I think there is much too much posing and image-making concern in politics today.
If a politician is speaking somewhere he is a guest and should accept his surroundings as they are and not be concerned with changing the backdrop to make himself look ‘more American,’ handsomer, more capable, or anything else.
Shame on him, or any other politician who has done this, and shame on the school for complying.

I am appalled at the fact that Georgetown University would allow JHS to be covered up because it was directly behind Obama. First he states that we are not a Christian country and now we have to cover up religious imagery because he doesn’t belive that we are Christians. What is wrong with you? I am totally dismayed at your lack of backbone to stand up and exert your rights in this land of freedom for whom so many have given up their lives.
He may be our president but we no not have to bow to him. That is reserved for our Lord and Savior.

I too am very concerned and upset that our President of the United States goes to a Catholic University to present and allows/requests a symbol or name of Jesus to be covered while he presents. The flag backdrop doesn’t wash with me. If this decision was made by his staff, I would again question who are these people now running our country? Very curious to me that our President can’t be in the same picture with Jesus or a symbol representing Christ. More and more I am beginning to wonder who Obama really is???? Actions speak louder than words – right? What about the decision-makers at the University? You went along with this request by Obama’s staff? Where is your spiritual backbone. This situation would not have happened if you had informed the President and his staff that if the President or anyone with him is uncomfortable, interferes with a good shot of the President, etc., then perhaps they should cancel out. Shame to all of you!!