The MSM drooled all over itself when some barely known NBA player said he was a homosexual. Pres. Obama gave him a call. Ain’t that sweet?
Will the MSM take up this story too?
From the Washington Examiner.
NFL champ skips WH visit because Obama said ‘God bless’ Planned Parenthood
Retired Baltimore Ravens center Matt Birk, who won a Super Bowl with the team last year, skipped the team’s visit to the White House due to President Obama’s support for Planned Parenthood.
“I have great respect for the office of the presidency but about five or six weeks ago, our president made a comment in a speech and he said, ‘God bless Planned Parenthood,’” Birk, a former Minnesota Viking, told a local Minnesota sports blog. “I’m very confused by [Obama’s] statement,” he explained. “”For God to bless a place where they’re ending 330,000 lives a year? I just chose not to attend.”
Kirk said he’s a pro-life Roman Catholic. “Planned Parenthood performs about 330,000 abortions a year,” he said. “I couldn’t endorse that in any way.”
Obama spoke at the national Planned Parenthood conference this year.
“As long as we’ve got to fight to make sure women have access to quality, affordable health care, and as long as we’ve got to fight to protect a woman’s right to make her own choices about her own health, I want you to know that you’ve also got a president who’s going to be right there with you, fighting every step of the way,” he said. “Thank you, Planned Parenthood. God bless you. God bless America.”
What an appalling thing to say. What an abomination.
I wonder if POTUS will call this fellow and compliment him for taking his principled public stand.
UPDATE:
For another take check out The Motley Monk’s comments over at The American Catholic.
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“God bless you” to biggest abortion provider in the world…typical Obama, the slayer of children.
God bless Matt Birk, a man of integrity who walks the walk and talks the talk. He has participated in our local March for Life and was a guest speaker, also. We need more heros like him.
Plus, he was an awesome center for the Super Bowl champion Baltimore Ravens! No brag, just fact.
Good man! Means of mass distraction obviously that much salted. Needed : more salt, more light, more cityonahill, in public and private life.Pope Francis off the cuff:maybe politics is so awful BECAUSE lack of catholics in public life.
Now, if our Cardinals would just do the same.
Kudos to Matt Birk! Unlike many bishops, Mr. Birk is not afraid to stand up to the diabolical dictator…er president. Of course the mainstream media will not make much mention of this. The world celebrates debauchery, not acts of courage for the unborn. May God bless Mr. Birk. +JMJ+
As the Motley Monk said, this is the vocation of the laity. This is what Vatican II means about getting the laity involved.
Matt Birk was a much better football player than Jason Collins was ever a basketball player
And to boot he attended Harvard without losing his faith! Good man!!!
What a man!!! awesome.
my brother is one of Matt’s younger brother’s close friends. Nice men from a very nice family. I had no idea that Matt was such a great Catholic and he did it so gently and quietly. No fanfair, just the right thing to do. He didn’t draw attention to himself and that, to me, is most touching of all. He did it because it was right. Don’t get me wrong, the Media has a terrible double-standard when it comes to this thing, but still, go Matt! We love you Bud. :)
It is awesome that Mr. Birk has taken a stand. May God Bless him and all those who stand for life!
The Twin Cities media gave adoring attention to over-rated Vikings punter Chris Kluwe and his vocal position favoring same sex marriage. Matt Birk, the former Viking, will likely get zero attention from the local media on his pro-life position.
Tim Thomas, goaltender for the Boston Bruins, did the same two years ago.
I do hope his taxes are in order.
George Weigel argued that this utterance met the definition of blasphemy: http://www.firstthings.com/onthesquare/2013/05/tribulation-compounded-by-blasphemy
Of course it is blasphemous and this president is no Christian, so it figures.
Too bad Cardinal Dolan didn’t do the same thing at the Alfred E. Smith Dinner.
The mainstream media may have ignored this good man but the heavenly media of angels and saints must be singing for joy over Matt Birk’s humble and courageous faith.
Today is the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart. It is a good day to step up penance and reparation for these blasphemies and other crimes against the Hearts of Jesus and Mary.
I hope that Mr. Birk has a very good tax lawyer, because the IRS is about to pay him a visit.
Thanks be to God! May Matt Birk continue to be the Lord’s witness till the end of his days on earth and rejoice eternally with Him in heaven.
Would that the whole team were on fire enough to follow such a lead!
Why have the American Bishops lost their tongue?
Thank you, Mr. Birk. Every time someone commits a principled act like this one, it lights a candle.
The fact that a guy doesn’t want to see the President doesn’t make him a hero. I would have refused to cross the street to see Bush Jr., but I wouldn’t expect anyone to throw laurel wreaths at me for it. Actually Bush was our town (during this first term) and I was offered a decent seat, but had no interest in going. He had a nice car and a nice airplane, but that would be the extent of my interest. Nevertheless if I thought that anyone would care about my little protest I would be foolish. Blackwell spoke and my niece’s graduation and I walked out; I certainly don’t think that makes me special, just principled. Same with Birk. He stood on his principles, just like millions of other people every day of the week. Not. A. News. Story. At. All.
Oh, frjim, you so rarely fail to disappoint. So dependable. So sad.
Actually, wmeyer, I’ve been away for a while until a few days ago. But you are right, dependability is a trait of mine. It is unfortunate that the awareness that people have different opinions than you makes you sad.
This is a huge story in my opinion. There are plenty of “professional sports figures gone bad” every day in the news, someone taking a principled stand about being Pro Life and Catholic gives my sons a real life example of an athlete doing what is right. Kudos to Mr. Birk.
Good for him.
I’d do the same thing, but nobody would notice. I’d know though.
“Not. A. News. Story. At. All.”
Yeah, guess that’s why MSN, Yahoo, Earthlink, Huffpo, theblaze, dailycaller, yardbarker, espn, bringmethenews, newsbusters, baltimoresun, clashdaily,…. and dozens of other *news outlets* didn’t pick up the story, right frjim?
Predictably you mention GWB (who is *not* the sitting president) in this *news story* about the most pro-infanticide *current president* ever and a loyal son of the Church – who happens to play for a team that just won one of sports’ biggest championships – and his refusal to meet with the secular world’s annointed “savior”. (gag)
Nah! No story here, folks.
Move along!
MSM
“The fact that a guy doesn’t want to see the President doesn’t make him a hero”.
Father Z was making an observation about our media throwing “laurels” on a homosexual basketball player. But you already knew that.
But hey, at least it was an opportunity to bash George Bush, who Hasn’t.Been.President.For.5.years.
This is good news– every now and then someone stands tall and does a good thing. However, an even more powerful witness would have been to stand outside the White House with a picket sign while the rest of the team was inside. The bad guys are “in your face” and the good guys have to do it that way too, at least sometimes.
I am wondering if the dependable frjim might have walked out also on Bp. Paprocki as did the Jesuits in the next story???
” Nevertheless if I thought that anyone would care about my little protest I would be foolish. ”
Well …..frjim4321 you have finally said something on this blog that I agree with.
Except for the Lord’s command to love our neighbor and pray for their eternal salvation I could care less about your “little protests ” as conveyed on this blog commentary.
frjim4321 said:
“Not. A. News. Story.”
THE
REAL
GOOD
NEWS
The Good News is…
In fear and joy
That apprentices are
Still altar boys.
And Tabernacles on
Sacrificial altar
Rebound the sounds
Of David’s Psalter.
The entire year
Our missals hold
Celebrating cerebrally
The new and the old.
Sarcophagus seasons
Of abstinence and fast
Absolves the flesh
Buries sins past.
And liturgy’s vernacular
Constantly feigned
Pales ‘fore Precambrian
Death’s Latin had reigned.
For truth nails eternal
In Catholicity
Through minutes of centuries’
Mediocrity
…and I say, “Birk by Birk”!!
[Birk by Birk!]
“God Bless …anything,” It has become a trite meaningless phrase coming out of that mouth. In this case, it truly is an abomination.
” God bless PP” ? He should hold one of their tiny babies in his hand, get on his knees and
beg for forgiveness for using Gods name in this way.
@frjim: As far as being news, with all the coverage for homosexual and abortion rights, what’s good for the goose is good for the gander, even though this is a drop in the bucket compared to the the coverage the others get from the MSM. It’s not just about praising Birk for doing what he thinks is right. I wouldn’t go to the White House either and don’t expect anyone to care or want to read about it. This story is about the fact that someone( in this case) well known is still willing to say no, that we are all not sheep and so thrilled to get our picture taken with Mr. O that we will give up our values to do it.
You have to admit that, coming from a president who refuses to invoke God’s blessings at Thanksgiving or at Christmas, to ask that God blessed PP is beyond sickening.
Not to mention narcissistic. Doesn’t invoke God for ordinary blessings upon the country, but when it comes to his cash cow pet constituency and agenda, sure, by all means, he says, may God bless that! Yeah sure, may God bless all our little favorite projects in the culture of death, is what he is all about. It took guts for this football player to do what he did publicly and may God bless him!
I am always amazed at how the progressives love to read and bash traditional blogs. They must have tremendous anger to vent. I, for one, prefer not to creep on their blogs. I, too, would turn down an invite to any pro-death White House and no one would care. Some things are non-negotiable. Kudos to this football player!
Lin, I’ve been feeling exactly the same way lately. Recently I returned to another Catholic forum that I gave up a couple years ago because I got absolutely disgusted with the same “progressive/liberal & damn proud of it” and bitter homosexual trolls. I cannot imagine how deeply angry they must be to spend so much time and energy venting their spleens at us. They are pathetic people who need prayers but I’ll confess that I can’t force myself to do that very often.
Wasn’t there another NFL player who refused the obligatory White House visit last year or the year before? I believe he cited mere political disagreement but he caught all kinds of flak for daring to refuse to pay homage to the “glorious leader”.
There’s a healthy (albeit small) tradition of atheletes refusing to meet with the president:
http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Sports/2012/0124/Tim-Thomas-Six-other-athletes-who-snubbed-the-White-House/Dan-Hampton
Remember George W. Bush joking about Manny Ramirez (his grandmother died again?): http://youtu.be/E_1EQxznJ2Q?t=2m58s
When a president stages an event like this, he should expect some no-shows.
Thanks Giuseppe – I must have been thinking about James Harrison of the Steelers. Of course it was major news here in Pittsburgh, and I really do recall Harrison saying that he disagreed with the president’s politics and didn’t want to be a hypocrite by going to the White House. But since I’m one of the half-dozen citizens that doesn’t like football, I might be mistaken. ; )