August 22nd, 2009

CU Episode 108: Shatner Hair

on this week’s show: design principles for your bulletin which turn out to be confusing, the cu pick of the week, cu metro, and more!

  • Steve

    The forged Kenyan birth certificate? Really, guys? I’m disappointed that such low-quality conspiracy theories were peddled in this episode.

  • Steve

    Here’s a nonpartisan take on the forged certificate: http://www.snopes.com/politics/obama/birthers/kenyacert.asp

    Oddly, it reads “Republic of Kenya” and dated Feb. 17, 1964, even though Kenya didn’t become a republic until Dec. 12, 1964, and that’s not even the most obvious forgery error!

    Please, people, keep the criticism of Obama to the issues: abortion, embryonic stem cell research, etc, not **** that was made on some nerd’s Photoshop.

  • http://www.catholicunderground.com Fr. Chris

    Many thanks for the course correction, Steve. It’s definitely good advice to keep our criticism to the issues, that’s what we should be about. Anything else is just tabloid-casting. I appreciate your speaking up.

    Fr. Chris

  • http://fatherryan.tumblr.com Fr. Ryan

    @Steve – While I appreciate your listenership – it’s rude and presumptive to call our discussion of a legitimate topic of national news (and the dozen or so court cases surrounding it) a conspiracy theory and to express your disappointment in our coverage.

    There’s an interesting psych study I’ll have to re-find that showed that people tend to shut down their cognitive processing when they perceive that a matter is political…

    Why are we afraid to criticize? Perhaps that’s a question that needs asking. Criticism doesn’t imply the absence of charity or justice! The CU gang has happily criticized ourselves, the US Bishops, US Policy, other politicians and authority figures and a hundred other things.

    Fearlessness is a virtue that is required by the pursuit of truth – not vague dogmatism or an uncritical defense of a person who may or may not be worthy of filial devotion?

    Remember that the criticism of President Obama’s policies and personal integrity do not end at two issues – no matter how important they are. All people in power must be closely scrutinized in a democracy – this is the moral obligation of every voter.

    Thx
    FrR

  • Jonathon Fisk

    For you to bring up any doubt about Obama’s citizenship amazes me completely. Who is pushing these rumors to the forefront? Racists and bigots.

    Just because Lou Dobbs and Fox News treats is as “legitimate topic of national news”, does not mean it is true.

    I searched the web for some good Catholic Podcasts this morning, and I guess I’ll have to keep on looking.

    You want an example of another “man of God” pushing the myth that Obama is not a citizen? Check out this:

    http://crooksandliars.com/david-neiwert/gospel-hate-arizona-pastor-steve-and

    Please argue the issues, and stop spreading lies, rumors and myths. Scrutinization goes both ways. To blindly accept the views of one source, without fact-checking or seeking confirmation is not only wrong, it is laziness.

    Sheesh. I know the Church is conservative, but come on……

  • http://www.actsoftheapostasy.blogspot.com LarryD

    Man – five comments on this CU episode, and they’re about a birth certificate and not my blog? It might make me feel unappreciated, but since I come from a large family, I’m used to it and it doesn’t bother me anymore. :-)

    Thanks for the “Pick of the Week” honors! Being read by anybody is great, but when a couple of “anybodys” are priests, that is all the more gratifying. I’ll try to keep the quality up there. Thanks for reading, and I hope to see you visit more often!

    I’ll be adding your site to my catablogue.