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As "Father" Jenkins continues to grovel for his thirty pieces of silver, Notre Dame has now lost $14 million in donations.

Two threads by me.

Fr. Jenkins to Graduating ND Students: "There is Much to Admire and Celebrate in the Work of Obama"

SOUTH BEND, Indiana, May 13, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The president of the University of Notre Dame, Fr. John Jenkins, has issued a letter to graduates addressing the controversy that has exploded over the school's invitation to President Obama to deliver this year's commencement address and receive an honorary degree. In the letter Jenkins expresses his admiration for President Obama and his record.

"There is much to admire and celebrate in the life and work of President Obama," wrote Fr. Jenkins. "He's a remarkable figure in American history and I look forward to welcoming him to Notre Dame."

(To see full text of Fr. Jenkins' letter: http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/may/09051305.html)

The University has been the center of a firestorm of controversy, drawing criticism from 74 U.S. bishops and 360,000 petitioning Catholics, ever since it was announced that Obama would appear on campus for graduation on May 17.

Instead of attending the official commencement ceremonies, pro-life graduating seniors protesting the invitation will attend a meditation led by Fr. Frank Pavone of Priests for Life in the university's Grotto of Our Lady Lourdes. A rally on Notre Dame's South Quad, organized by ND Response and featuring several speakers, is expected to draw thousands of peaceful pro-life protesters. . .

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Notre Dame Alumni Withhold Nearly $14 Million for Honoring Pro-Abortion Obama

South Bend, IN (LifeNews.com) -- Notre Dame alumni who are upset with the university's decision to allow pro-abortion President Barack Obama to give this coming weekend's commencement speech and to give him an honorary degree continue to withhold their donations to the Catholic college.

In total, pro-life alumni and donors who feel disenfranchised by Notre Dame's decision have decided to withhold nearly $14 million in gifts they normally would have given.

David DiFranco, a Michigan businessman and 1995 Notre Dame graduate, told LifeNews.com on Wednesday that the ReplaceJenkins.com web site for disgruntled alumni has received over 1,400 pledges to withhold donations within a month since its launch.

“Most of the donors were at least loosely aware of the University’s trend away from its Catholic identity," DiFranco explained.

"But the invitation of President Obama to speak and to receive an honorary degree, combined with the weak responses presented by Father Jenkins as a defense to those who have criticized the decision, is what drives most alumni to our site," DiFranco added. . .

Ted Turner has clearly lost whatever common sense he may have once had.

Thread by topher.

Ted Turner Claims China Doesn't Use "Draconian Steps" in One-Child Policy...

WASHINGTON, D.C., May 12, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Last week, during a radio interview on the Diane Rehm Show, Ted Turner, the billionaire founder of CNN, claimed that China has not used "draconian steps" in its one-child policy, but rather simply "encourages" people to limit the number of children per family to one. (To listen to the interview, go to: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fTME9ahQBWM)

However, as recently as this past month a researcher with the Population Research Institute (PRI) confirmed during a trip to China that coercive measures, including forced abortion, imprisonment, crippling fines, and kidnapping are routinely used by the Chinese government in the effort to enforce their one-child policy. This fact has been verified by numerous other independent human rights organizations and researchers over the last several decades.

In 2005 Amnesty International released a report that stated that, in China, "Serious violations against women and girls continued to be reported as a result of the enforcement of the family planning policy, including forced abortions and sterilizations."

Turner said during the recent interview that the word "control" in the term "population control" raises "a lot of bad connotations," since "people don't want to be controlled." But, he said, he believes in family planning "as long as it's voluntary."

"The Chinese, and I think wisely, instituted a one-child policy," he continued. "And they put in penalties, tax penalties and so forth, for people who have more than one child. But they're still a billion and half people in China, and, if you've been over there, it's so over-crowded you can barely turn around."

Turned continued on to claim that "they've done it without draconian - as far as I can see - draconian steps. They do encourage people to have one child."

At that point Diane Rehm interjected that "they've done more than encourage on several occasions."

"Well, I'm not intimately familiar with everything," Turner responded.

John Smeaton, director of the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children (SPUC), responded to the comments by accusing Turner of basically "denying the Holocaust" in claiming that China has not used "Draconian steps."

"The Chinese regime's 30-year record of infanticide, forced abortion, forced sterilization, torture, imprisonment and other crimes is so voluminous that Turner's comments are analogous to denying the Holocaust," he said. . .