Outrage after Obama compares ISIS to the Crusades in comments at National Prayer Breakfast

[napkinz]

Feb 5, 2015
By Nedra Pickler

"Unless we get on our high horse and think that this is unique to some other place, remember that during the Crusades and Inquisition, people committed terrible deeds in the name of Christ," Obama said. "In our home country, slavery and Jim Crow all too often was justified in the name of Christ."

"So it is not unique to one group or one religion," Obama said. "There is a tendency in us, a simple tendency that can pervert and distort our faith."

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory/obama-dalai-lama-due-prayer-breakfast-28741352


Conservatives can't handle the truth, freak out:

Reaction to the remarks was swift and fierce. Conservative firebrand Michelle Malkin led the charge.

"ISIS chops off heads, incinerates hostages, kills gays, enslaves girls. Obama: Blame the Crusades," she wrote on Twitter.

Another conservative pundit, Dereck Hale, also vented his outrage on Twitter.

"I am shocked, shocked that the guy who sat in Jeremiah Wright's church for 20 years would defend Islamic violence by attacking Christianity," tweeted Hale.

"So Obama's not interested in fighting radical Islam today because of stuff Christians did in the 11th Century," Conservative media watchdog Matt Philbin tweeted.

http://www.aol.com/article/2015/02/05/outrage-after-obama-compares-isis-to-the-crusades-national-prayer-breakfast/21139559/

[louis-t]

1. This one's gonna leave a mark. Heads exploding everywhere.

He's right, though. Hale's tweet helps Obama a little, "Jeremiah Wright's church for 20 years". "Wait, I thought he was Muslim?"

[napkinz]

3. remember Bush's quote ...

[11 Bravo]

37. That'll be a mess to clean up, but fortunately it will be mostly just blood ...

and bone chips … very little brain matter.

[napkinz]

41. conservative heads exploding ...

these guys are very sick

[TwilightGardener]

2. If I were President, I would simply utter nothing about religion--

mine or anyone else's. It's always fraught with pitfalls.

[napkinz]

7. why deny the truth?

to spare the feelings of right-wing Christian zealots?

[TwilightGardener]

12. Why appear at a National Prayer Breakfast?

Is he a preacher? Yes, I understand that this is something Presidents are made to do for political reasons, because the masses want our leaders to appear all Christian-y and faithful--but if I were President, I would set the precedent and seriously just stay away from the topic as much as possible. I wouldn't delve into what is and isn't Islamic, I wouldn't make any proclamations about Christianity, I would just avoid the whole mess because there's no reason to weigh in.

[guillaumeb]

48. absolutely agree

Is Obama the President or the Grand Leader of All Things Religious in America?

As a former lecturer on Constitutional Law, what does President Obama NOT understand about separation of Church and State?

Many on the right will still believe he is a Muslim, radical Christian, Kenyan, Indonesian, Hawaiian terrorist anyway.

[amandabeech]

73. There probably would be equal controversy if the President had not attended the NPB like previous

presidents.

But I agree with you, it's best if presidents say as little about religion as possible. Sometimes, though, a president must say something, and it should be as bland and non-controversial as possible.

There's a good reason why the founding fathers sought to separate government and religion, and that reason shows itself in today's comments.

[Fred Sanders]

81. What was in today's comments was well needed push back against Islamaphobia in America.

Not to mention the religious right wanting to destroy secularism. Remain silent?

Hell, no. The Constitution guarantee of free religious beliefs, any religion, needs protection, it is under massive and open attack.

[napkinz]

83. I love how the right-wing claims there's a "War on Christianity"

and how Christians are being persecuted by secularists, and how Islam is a threat to America.

We're in the Twilight Zone!

[Fred Sanders]

84. Old propaganda ploy to cover for what they want -"accuse others of what you do" - which is wanting Maria Law in America.

[napkinz]

87. yep ...

[amandabeech]

85. If the president wishes to make controversial statements, I would advise him to pick his time and

place well, which he did not do this time.

Right now, we have international crises in the Middle East and in Ukraine. There is also difficulty in getting a DHS spending bill passed. Personally, I'd like to dissolve DHS, but that not going to happen soon and we need a budget.

These statements get people riled up and divert attention from the practical job of governing in a difficult time.

The religious right has been trying to destroy secularism since the enlightenment, but I don't see that they're gaining victories anywhere in the West, including the US.

Furthermore, I don't think that his statements concerning Christianity will change the minds of those who reflexively hate Islam. From what I can tell from the internet, those folks are now even more enraged and less likely to examine their views.

We differ significantly on how the president should handle these issues. I don't believe that either of us will change each other's mind. I won't be posting again on this topic.

[Johonny]

5. In our home country, slavery and Jim Crow all too often was justified in the name of Christ.

Last time I check we passed Jim Crow laws as recently as last year so anyone that thinks horrible ideas disguised in the name of christ ended in the 11th century didn't listen to Obama. Heck THIS YEAR people are defending anti-vaxxing in the name of Christ. So pretty much Obama is right and they hate him for it. Go figure.

[napkinz]

8. yep

[guillaumeb]

51. thanks

incredible post. where did you get the last image?

[napkinz]

76. it says on the image facebook.com/sancophaleague

nt

[KingCharlemagne]

92. I would merely add Balzac's observation that 'behind every great fortune lies

a great crime.' In this case, two great crimes.

[mb999]

25. Jesus Saves

This terrorist organization seems to justify their actions in the name of Christ.

[napkinz]

44. something FOX "News" will never acknowledge

[BeyondGeography]

6. Second term, baby...Might as well tell as much truth as possible

And what he said is not only true, it's constructively true.

[napkinz]

14. and the Republicans thought he would be "humbled" by the loss of the Senate

nt

[leftynyc]

9. While true

It's fucking meaningless and looks to be downplaying what is happening TODAY. It was a stupid thing to say unless he's calling for an enlightenment in the Muslim world.

[napkinz]

19. what's wrong with reminding America of its history?

genocide, slavery, Jim Crow

I forget, Americans can't handle the truth.

[leftynyc]

22. Let's trot out the

magical balance fairy - because that's always helpful. Is it really so hard to stick to what's happening TODAY? Apparently so.

[napkinz]

27. when you have the right-wing TODAY blaming Islam and all Muslims, and whipping up hate

and spouting "America is a Christian Nation" ... then I'm all for what the president did

[Fred Sanders]

68. Exactly right, time to fight back the xenophobia blowing up in the right wing. Fox leads the charge.

[markpkessinger]

75. +1 n/t

[napkinz]

139. and again, right out of CURRENT EVENTS ...

Muslim Woman Claims Harassment on Delta flight

posted by JI7

see http://www.democraticunderground.com/10026192125


And then there's American Sniper ... provoking hate and inciting violence against Muslims (with reactions to the movie such as, "Yeah, let's kill all those ragheads!&quot

[Violet_Crumble]

140. It's not just the right-wing TODAY doing that...

I suspect those who are so mortally offended by what Obama said are those who want people to focus on only one thing, and that one thing is that Muslims are collectively responsible for what ISIS does.

[napkinz]

141. the reason I emphasized "today" is because another member wrote:

leftynyc: Let's trot out the magical balance fairy - because that's always helpful. Is it really so hard to stick to what's happening TODAY? Apparently so.

"

My point was that the President was pointing out not only long-ago atrocities in the name of Christianity -- like the Crusades and Spanish Inquisition -- but was in fact also STICKING TO WHAT'S HAPPENING TODAY ... as in RECENT American history, such as slavery and Jim Crow.

In the modern era, we've had the KKK, lynchings, Jim Crow, threats against and murder of doctors by so-called "pro-lifers," threats against and murder of gays and lesbians.

[Violet_Crumble]

142. I know and I totally agree with you n/t

[napkinz]

145. as you said, there are those claiming "Muslims are collectively responsible for what ISIS does"

but those same people would never claim that Christians are collectively responsible for what the KKK does.

Imagine trying to get Elisabeth Hasselbeck and her "friends at FOX" to grapple with that one

[Fred Sanders]

143. Christians in America setting their hair on fire over the speech reveals them to be not very good

Christians.

[napkinz]

146. posted by Cali_Democrat

Elizabeth Hasselbeck attacks Obama for "invoking the name of Christ — our savior!"

see http://www.democraticunderground.com/10026190315

[markpkessinger]

74. Nobody here is condoning the actions of ISIS . . .

. . . and the President's remarks were aimed at people who smear the whole of the world's 1.5 billion Muslims based on the actions of an extremist minority. Let's not set up a false dichotomy between endorsing the actions of groups such as Isis and opposing broad-brush bigotry.

[napkinz]

149. "President's remarks were aimed at people who smear the whole of the world's 1.5 billion Muslims"

exactly!

[TheKentuckian]

126. No it doesn't except to the simplest of simple minds who also think the Crusades were a nothing.

Would you trade ISIS or the Inquisition for a crusade? Or do you want ISIS to come to such a stature where they could rock their versions now? Fuck no, you know better than what you say here.

How are the Crusades and the Inquisition "downplaying" anything? It is like saying someone calling 10 people getting killed a Holocaust is downplaying the 10 people being killed rather than actually downplaying the Holocaust.

[leftynyc]

128. Slow down there

If you want to pretend that something that happened hundreds of years ago has the EXACT SAME effect on our lives as something that's happening right now, you're the one whose thinking is simple minded. WTF do the crusades or inquisition have to do with TODAY? BTW, I'm not trying to protect Christianity - both Christians and Muslims have been killing MY people for many, many years. I'm talking about what the fuck he was hoping to accomplish? The fact that he said nothing untrue is completely meaningless.

P.S. Lay off the coffee and perhaps you wont sound like someone looking for a fight.

[TheKentuckian]

131. It isn't pretending it is not conflating proximity with effect.

I'd say that at this point it is no contest that the Crusades have more impact on more lives and the very shapes of our societies, religions, cultures, and even genetics than these bands of marauders in the middle east we are talking about today.

Typically, if you are aware of an event the further back in time it is the more important it is and just because an event occurs in the present doesn't change it's impact footprint. In 2,000 years it is most probable that the Crusades will still be of more historical importance. Maybe not but most likely.

The present is nothing but the fruits of the past and the future is nothing but what we make of it from here.

All of this is probably beside the point anyway and our hand in predictably setting up just such fucks to assemble and cause discord is hardly ancient history, Operation Enduring Clusterfuck rocks on.
I think that is what causes all the anger and teeth gnashing is knowing our own stupid fuck policies grew this mess and fear our response will just ramp up up the crazy but wanting that visceral resolution, or to live up to "you broke it, you bought it", or paternal hero syndrome, or whatever is too attractive not to keep trying to roll the dice.

[leftynyc]

132. So what's

your answer to isis? Just let the countries being effected deal with it (which I would be fine with, the same way I'm fine with Russia and the Ukraine duking it out amongst themselves). My point was I don't need a history lesson from the President or you on this issue and the people who are getting massacred TODAY don't need it either.

[napkinz]

138. Bill Moyers makes the connection ...

posted by eridani

Bill Moyers: The Fiery Cage and the Lynching Tree, Brutality’s Never Far Away

http://www.commondreams.org/views/2015/02/06/fiery-cage-and-lynching-tree-brutalitys-never-far-away

Sure enough, there it was: the charred corpse of a young black man, tied to a blistered tree in the heart of the Texas Bible Belt. Next to the burned body, young white men can be seen smiling and grinning, seemingly jubilant at their front-row seats in a carnival of death. One of them sent a picture postcard home: “This is the barbeque we had last night. My picture is to the left with a cross over it. Your son, Joe.”

The victim’s name was Jesse Washington. The year was 1916. America would soon go to war in Europe “to make the world safe for democracy.” My father was twelve, my mother eight. I was born 18 years later, at a time, I would come to learn, when local white folks still talked about Washington’s execution as if it were only yesterday. This was not medieval Europe. Not the Inquisition. Not a heretic burned at the stake by some ecclesiastical authority in the Old World. This was Texas, and the white people in that photograph were farmers, laborers, shopkeepers, some of them respectable congregants from local churches in and around the growing town of Waco.



Here is the photograph. Take a good look at Jesse Washington’s stiffened body tied to the tree. He had been sentenced to death for the murder of a white woman. No witnesses saw the crime; he allegedly confessed but the truth of the allegations would never be tested. The grand jury took just four minutes to return a guilty verdict, but there was no appeal, no review, no prison time. Instead, a courtroom mob dragged him outside, pinned him to the ground, and cut off his testicles. A bonfire was quickly built and lit. For two hours, Jesse Washington — alive — was raised and lowered over the flames. Again and again and again. City officials and police stood by, approvingly. According to some estimates, the crowd grew to as many as 15,000. There were taunts, cheers and laughter. Reporters described hearing “shouts of delight.”

When the flames died away, Washington’s body was torn apart and the pieces were sold as souvenirs. The party was over.

Yes, it was hard to get back to sleep the night we heard the news of the Jordanian pilot’s horrendous end. ISIS be damned! I thought. But with the next breath I could only think that our own barbarians did not have to wait at any gate. They were insiders. Home grown. Godly. Our neighbors, friends, and kin. People like us.

see http://www.democraticunderground.com/10026191915

[Fred Sanders]

144. Massive terrorism in America has been committed by Christians. Slavery for starters.

[jwirr]

10. Those rwers must have really been angry. Good for him.

[napkinz]

17. conservative heads are exploding ... check out the "internets"

[spanone]

11. michelle malkin....bwahahahahahaaaa

[napkinz]

18. ...

[Kath1]

119. Ugh!

Sorry, but I cannot take her.

[Waiting For Everyman]

13. It was a boneheaded thing to do.

I used to think he was smarter than this. He just handed ISIS a blank check. He tossed in the trash any moral authority he might have had, even to verbally condemn these atrocities, much less do anything about them.

I saw it on tv, I really couldn't believe my ears.

He might as well have said, "sure, we all make mistakes". MY head is exploding! This shit is sickening:

In reference to his specific quote in the OP...

This shit by ISIS sure as hell IS unique to some other place right now, and that is what we're talking about! Is there an ADD virus loose in the world, or what? Can he not follow a subject long enough to hold on to a point? Or does he think he's a college professor teaching ISIS and the rest of us sitting around in a little classroom somewhere?

Wow.

[BeyondGeography]

15. Middletown Press headline: At prayer breakfast, Obama says ‘no god condones terror’

http://www.middletownpress.com/general-news/20150205/at-prayer-breakfast-obama-says-no-god-condones-terror

Some crazy shit right there.

This is Episode #244 of, "OMG, Obama said wut?!?!?!?" And then the full statement is read, context emerges and...I think we'll all be ok.

[Waiting For Everyman]

20. I heard it on live tv.

I didn't need anyone to tell me it was a huge needless blunder. That was obvious.

[leftynyc]

23. I agree

It was stupid and if the audience didn't sigh loudly in disgust, I'm amazed at their restraint.

[Cali_Democrat]

16. LOL

U mad, bro?

[Waiting For Everyman]

26. Reminds me of a saying...

"A nod's as good as a wink to a blind horse."

[gcomeau]

60. You have to be kidding me.

By reminding people this is not the first time people have committed atrocities in the name of religion he LOST moral authority to speak about any currently happening? Because generally, it's the other way around. The people who tell the truth about this stuff are the ones with the moral authority to address it.

WTF is going on in your brain to make the leap from A to B there????????

[Waiting For Everyman]

66. Think it over and maybe it'll come to you.

[gcomeau]

69. Pretty sure I'm not the one who hasn't already thought it over. -eom

[loyalsister]

21. I just saw it on FB and my response was

Dr. Tiller - gunned down in church in front of his family, the Westboro crowd picketing funerals, Rev. Jim Jones convincing people to commit suicide, countless abortion clinic bombings and killings by "pro-lifers" etc ad nauseam.

[napkinz]

29. bingo!

(notice no one on the right ever uses the term CHRISTIAN terrorism)

[loyalsister]

35. I remember a West Wing episode compared modern terrorists to the KKK of the 50s and 60s

An elderly lady I knew told me about when the KKK would wear their robes in church.

Went to wiki to clarify Jonestown numbers (913), and noticed this tidbit "it was the largest single loss of American civilian life in a deliberate act until September 11, 2001."

[napkinz]

39. the name Scalise just came to mind ...

[Rex]

24. Wow! Tell the truth and watch RW extremists freak out! Oh noes...history! Ahhhhh!!!

I swear this country is so fucked up sometimes. Can't take a little truth from our leader? Then maybe these moronic repukes need to shut the fuck up and read a book or two! His comparison is SPOT ON. Does he validate what ISIS is doing? Of course not. All the morons freaking out must either not know any history or just don't give a shit and believe USA can do no wrong.

Slavery and the near genocide of the native people...but YEAH...let's freakout because Obama told a little truth among a country neck deep in bullshit and hype.

[napkinz]

34. "Does he validate what ISIS is doing? Of course not."

Right. And they KNOW he wasn't validating what ISIS is doing ... but they need to feign outrage.

[Rex]

50. I'm watching it happen right now on DU. Obama says it - bad.

I really don't understand how honest people can come to the conclusion that he was validating what ISIS is doing! HELLO...this is the guy that GOT OBL! This is the guy droning the shit out of Pakistan right now.

I LOVE the fact that Obama brought up a moment to reflect on...shame to see some turn it into outrage at truth and history.

[napkinz]

57. I just saw a thread claiming

DUers who talk about Christian and Jewish atrocities in history is somehow "condoning the burning to death of a man in a cage"

[Rex]

62. Yeah bringing up history, is now validating ISIS and their actions! Doncha know!?

I know it is Thursday, but did I miss the memo that we changed Stupid Day from Friday to Thursday? I think the ultra-nationalists here are going crazy over people talking about - gasp - not so good things from OUR history. Do they even know that the POTUS was the originator of the message? Do they even care or is it just another thing to get mad about. Was the POTUS wrong?

Obama will do his best to kill every last person in ISIS...how the hell anyone came to the opposite conclusion, just boggles my mind napkinz!

[napkinz]

64. I can't believe how many RECS that thread is getting.

To say if we discuss past atrocities perpetrated in the name of religion is to condone what ISIS is doing ... CONDONE????

good grief!

(as one member said, this is a straw man)

[napkinz]

110. and the insanity continues ... just read another reply

"Any attempt (by Obama) to minimize or equivocate what those devils did is beyond sickening"

[Douglas Carpenter]

28. I suppose he could have announced that we are in a clash of civilization in a life or death struggle

between civilized man and savages. But I don't think those words would have helped. One thing that must be avoided at all cost is any notion that this is a war against Muslims. That is exactly how ISIS would want it to be seen. I think the President choose his words very well this time.

[napkinz]

46. "clash of civilization in a life or death struggle" ... which is how Bush portrayed it

9/11 George Bush - This Crusade Is Gonna Take A While (Sept 17 2001)

[hrmjustin]

30. It is a reasonable statement but the Crusades are kind of old and not exclusive to Christians.

Last edited Thu Feb 5, 2015, 05:04 PM - Edit history (1)

There are recent atrocities he should have used But his point is still valid.

[napkinz]

31. he did speak about recent history ...

"Unless we get on our high horse and think that this is unique to some other place, remember that during the Crusades and Inquisition, people committed terrible deeds in the name of Christ," Obama said. "In our home country, slavery and Jim Crow all too often was justified in the name of Christ."

[BeyondGeography]

32. That was 50 years ago...c'mon

[hrmjustin]

33. Fair enough but he could and should have included the Balkins.

[closeupready]

38. .... ? because the Balkans is 'in our home country'...? WTF?

[hrmjustin]

40. No because he was making the point that Christians commit atrocities as well.

[closeupready]

43. Oh, I see - I agree. You mean, Christians murdering muslims in the Balkans.

During the Bosnia war. Yes.

[LeftinOH]

36. What's so outrageous about what he said?

He merely pointed out that throughout history "there is a tendency in us [humans] to pervert and distort our faith." And the excesses of the historical Crusades and the excesses of today's ISIS are examples of that.

....which is perfectly straightforward and truthful. Nothing outrageous here - except to RW'ers who see & hear through their own twisted filter.

[napkinz]

55. because in the minds of right-wingers, only "muslins" are terrorists

Murica! USA! USA!

[MannyGoldstein]

45. Wait... the President agrees with Manny?

http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=6182131

WTF?

[countryjake]

52. +1000

The irony, it hurts.

[napkinz]

94. OK, when did you start advising the president?

[Oilwellian]

115. Juxtaposing the two threads

can give one whiplash if they're not careful. LOL

[uhnope]

47. I'm kind of tired of even giving these obscure RWNJs the time of day

"someone somewhere said something horrible" is becoming a very boring and useless Internet pursuit

[totodeinhere]

49. The thing is the Crusades happened a long time ago. Since then Christianity

has evolved into a more peaceful religion. And of course most Muslims are also peaceful but ISIS is evil. I don't think it is helpful to compare ISIS with something Christians did 900 years ago.

[bigbrother05]

53. "No one expects the Spanish Inquisition" nt

[Nye Bevan]

54. So essentially, Islam right now is where Christianity was hundreds of years ago.

I hope it does not take hundreds of years before their extremists stop committing atrocities in the name of their religion.

[Gore1FL]

56. If they follow the Christian model

We'll need a thousand or 2 more years.

[Douglas Carpenter]

96. Has the west stopped committing atrocities? When did this happen?

[Nye Bevan]

97. Why do the Crusades, which were hundreds of years ago, come up so often in these discussions? (nt)

[Douglas Carpenter]

98. The invasion of Iraq ,the aggression throughout throughout the Middle East. the userpation of

Palestine did not happen hundreds of years ago. American hegemony in the Middle East are not ancient history. What is it about the western mind that believes that killing and maiming countless numbers of people is only technical procedure?

[napkinz]

99. Bush himself called it a CRUSADE

"This crusade, this war on terrorism is going to take a while." - George W. Bush

[Oilwellian]

118. I wouldn't be too sure about the timeline

We have a military in 2015 that boasts it's on a mission for God and has proven they're willing to torture Arabs; kill their civilians; drop chemicals on one of their cities and melt everything alive within it; sodomize their sons and make the parents watch; etc., fucking etc.,...because you know, God.

[kwassa]

120. Hundreds of years ago?

[Nye Bevan]

121. Setting fire to the most revered symbol of a religion?

That's like saying that those who burn Korans are devout Islamists.

There's a reason that folk are constantly bringing up the Crusades in these discussions.

[kwassa]

129. Um, you completely missed the point.

The domestic terrorism of the KKK justified itself as a Christian action. That is violence justified by religion.

As Obama pointed out, slavery and Jim Crow was also justified by a misuse of the Christian religion as well.

The murders of millions in the Holocaust had it's historic roots in Christian anti-Semitism.

There is no need to go back so far in history as the Crusades to make a comparison.

[napkinz]

135. recent events ... if anyone remembers

[LiberalLovinLug]

58. Love it. It's a huge insult to ISIS

But that goes over the heads of the Repubs of course.

I think using the "C" word against ISIS, putting them in the same camp was the point. It was directed towards moderate Muslims around the world.

If they need a reminder of the brutal acts during the Crusades:

http://www.truthbeknown.com/victims.htm

Jerusalem conquered 7/15/1099 more than 60,000 victims (jewish, muslim, men, women, children). [WW37-40]
(In the words of one witness: "there [in front of Solomon's temple] was such a carnage that our people were wading ankle-deep in the blood of our foes", and after that "happily and crying for joy our people marched to our Saviour's tomb, to honour it and to pay off our debt of gratitude&quot

The Archbishop of Tyre, eye-witness, wrote: "It was impossible to look upon the vast numbers of the slain without horror; everywhere lay fragments of human bodies, and the very ground was covered with the blood of the slain. It was not alone the spectacle of headless bodies and mutilated limbs strewn in all directions that roused the horror of all who looked upon them. Still more dreadful was it to gaze upon the victors themselves, dripping with blood from head to foot, an ominous sight which brought terror to all who met them. It is reported that within the Temple enclosure alone about ten thousand infidels perished." [TG79]

[freshwest]

79. Nailed it: ' It's a huge insult to ISIS.' They'll know it, too.

[Fred Sanders]

86. Well said. The instant outrage of the RW is boringly familiar, it has ZERO credibility.

[napkinz]

100. instant outrage ... too many to list but here are a few

[Thinkingabout]

59. If this was the first time republican heads had exploded i may listen to what they say

But it is the same crap over and over. Obama says the worse statements until it is pointed out W said the same or worse and then they jump on another subject. Perhaps he had is trying to say to all of us this is a bad group and there needs to be action. They cut the heads off and got a reaction and now they have smelled flesh. It will happen again and again if they are not annihilated.

[Jefferson23]

61. Good for him and this will piss off more than just christian fundies. lol.

[napkinz]

71. :)

[rtracey]

63. Sooooo?

So Obama compares ISIS to the Crusades. I would compare ISIS to the early English, and Europeans. They burned people at the stake for being a heretic, and for being a presumed witch, along with the nasty shit Mr. Obama mentioned....So he gets jumped on, but when Ben Carson mentions that ISIS and our founding fathers were doing similar, thats ok....yeah

[napkinz]

111. ...

[yellowcanine]

65. He is absolutely correct. Those who deny it do not know their history.

People were burned at the stake, drowned, subjected to the rack, etc. solely because they had beliefs which differed from the state approved list. Sounds like ISIS to me.

[napkinz]

80. "Those who deny it do not know their history"

sadly, some do know their history

and it's fine with them because "Christianity is the one TRUE religion" ... those who suffered atrocities were mere infidels and heathens

[librarylu]

112. And other Christians

It depended on which brand was in power.

[BlancheSplanchnik]

67. fucking pukes. incapable of advanced reading comprehension.

Disgusting that their 4th grade level world view gets attention as if they weren't pathological.

[napkinz]

70. not sure it's only the pukes

seems a few here think the president, in pointing out past atrocities committed in the name of other religions, was "condoning" or "validating" the barbaric acts of ISIS

talk about a straw man

[Fred Sanders]

72. A lot of folk even at DU are ready to press the Obama Outrage button as fast as they can misread a headline.

[BlancheSplanchnik]

78. yeesh.

[BlancheSplanchnik]

77. true, not only the pukes.

I missed the festivities here...just seeing references to it now. Disappointing.

At least they don't have the public spotlight like the CONservative shitstormers do.

[BlueJazz]

82. What he said was truly mild compared to what I would have said. (If I was on a last term)

First thing I'd bring up is "What the hell is this Prayer breakfast thing?" "You people don't do God-Damn thing all year but you have time for this bullshit??"

They're going to hate him anyway, do it just to cause THEM some stress

[Fred Sanders]

88. Associated Press report:

President Obama condemned those who seek to use religion as a rationale for carrying out violence around the world, declaring Thursday that "no god condones terror."

"We are summoned to push back against those who would distort our religion for their nihilistic ends," Obama said during remarks at the National Prayer Breakfast. He singled out the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria, calling the militants a "death cult," as well as those responsible for last month's terror attacks in Paris and deadly assault on a school in Pakistan.

Also a report just now that an Obama ordered drone strike just killed the mastermind of the Paris Charlie attacks.

http://news.yahoo.com/us-drone-kills-senior-qaeda-militant-yemen-aqap-112205061.html

[napkinz]

90. "no god condones terror"

to which the Christian right in this country will say, "But those other gods are false gods, only OUR god is the one TRUE god."

Remember, we're a CHRISTIAN NATION.

How dare the president try to recognize other religions!

[Number23]

89. The truth always hurts when it comes crashing down. His placing IS in its proper place in history

was justified. They are one in a long line of zealots that the world has reviled and will ultimately reject.

[Vogon_Glory]

91. I Think The President Said Something Simple Profound And True

I think the President said something simple, profound, and true. ISIS (and al Qaeda) is not the only religious movement or religiously-inspired to torment, kill, enslave, and plunder their neighbors in the name of the Almighty. Yeah, we westerners (and even Americans from time to time--witness forced Christian conversion and persecution of Mormons) did it, too. It wasn't that the President said it was right for ISIS to do what they do.

[napkinz]

93. and right on cue ...

just reported on The Ed Show

Michele Bachmann condemns the president and says ISLAM is the problem.

[Bluenorthwest]

95. I am equally sick of Obama's Christian faith and with the Muslim faith and all the rest of them

This 'Prayer Breakfast' they do is a prim example, all the comes from it year after year is trouble. Every year the message it sends to millions of Americans is that we do not matter, this event always has anti gay elements and one year they had invited the 'Kill the Gays' guy from Uganda.
I am just sick of them all and their ritualized bigotries. They need to keep their God hobby out of government and Presidents need to lay off the preaching, it is not appropriate to the office nor for any leader of a secular government in an extremely diverse country.

[librarylu]

113. Hear! Hear!

Down with the Prayer Breakfast! Go to Starbuck's or something instead.

[sheshe2]

101. Oh, more outrage from the Right!

Who would have thought that could happen.

Great Op napkinz.

[napkinz]

104. faux outrage ... notice how all of a sudden Michelle Malkin cares about gay people ...

Reaction to the remarks was swift and fierce. Conservative firebrand Michelle Malkin led the charge.

"ISIS chops off heads, incinerates hostages, kills gays, enslaves girls. Obama: Blame the Crusades," she wrote on Twitter.

http://www.aol.com/article/2015/02/05/outrage-after-obama-compares-isis-to-the-crusades-national-prayer-breakfast/21139559/


First, President Obama is not blaming the Crusades. And he is not condoning what ISIS is doing.

Second, since when did Malkin become a champion of LGBT rights?

[sheshe2]

105. Malkin...

[napkinz]

109. ...

[potone]

102. Not one of those persons seems to understand what Obama said.

But I don't believe that they are that stupid; they are deliberately misrepresenting what he said. None of them seems to have heard that it is forbidden to bear false witness against thy neighbor in Christianity.

[malaise]

103. He merely stated a fact

Fugg 'em!

[Cali_Democrat]

107. Ever since the 2014 mid terms

Obama has been in fugg 'em mode.

LOL.

[napkinz]

108. you can't state facts to conservatives

[LiberalElite]

106. I'd compare ISIS to the Inquisition nt

[6000eliot]

114. A real journalist would ask these assclowns to point out exactly where and how

the president "defended ISIS." Not to mention asking where he attacked Christianity.

[napkinz]

116. calling Chuck Todd!

[6000eliot]

122. +1!

[napkinz]

125. ...

[LuckyTheDog]

117. Here is my take

Obama tries to make the case that the existence of jihadist groups doesn't make Islam inherently evil any more than the existence of Jim Crow laws or the waging of the Crusades made Christianity inherently evil. Of course, right-wing bloggers and commentators are having conniptions. Apparently, they were hoping the president would declare a holy war against the entire Muslim world and/or issue a condemnation of of Islam and everyone who practices it -- because, I guess, they think that would have been more helpful to our national security.

Here in the sane world, we realize Obama's condemnation of the Islamic State and its fellow travelers could not have been more clear. And, as the bombing and drone campaigns show, the president remains committed to killing terrorists where they live. However, it's really not in our interest to take the bait and buy into the ISIS narrative -- the one that says the conflict should be seen as a holy war between Christianity and Islam and that the two faiths can never co-exist peacefully.

My only quibble with Obama here is that I actually do wish people would stop bringing up the Crusades in relation to this issue. First, they were a LONG time ago. Second, while none of the Crusades were exactly Christendom's finest hour, the history is more nuanced than people realize. To portray them as merely an early form of Western aggression against the East doesn't tell the entire story.

[killbotfactory]

123. Pointing out the obvious that people will do horrible things to people they don't consider people

because they don't belong to their religious or ethnic ingroup.

[napkinz]

124. it's hard to "point out the obvious" to most right-wingers

how do you enlighten people who are averse to history and science?

(for them, climate change is a hoax and the Bible is fact)

[alarimer]

127. Obama tells the truth and Christian assholes lose their minds.

They deserve much worse, our very own Talibornagain.

[napkinz]

133. they don't want to be reminded about

the Crusades, the Spanish Inquisition, genocide of Native Americans, slavery, the KKK, Jim Crow.

(They can't handle the truth.)

[Trillo]

130. Why can't Christians stop such profane vulgarities?

Darrell Waltrip is telling others they're "going to hell" once again, if that's not profane and vulgar, I don't know what is.

President Obama appears to be making an observation about humanity in general, patterned flaws that we as a group express repeatedly over the ages.

[napkinz]

134. ...

https://www.facebook.com/NoTeaParty

[CullenBohannon]

136. sort of bad timing

[napkinz]

137. bad timing?

how so?

[TransitJohn]

147. Fuck the stupid-ass National Prayer Breakfast

I wish we had anyone of courage to not go to that stupid thing.

[napkinz]

148. I don't care much for it either BUT

the president's remarks were spot on and the far-right won't acknowledge the truth of what he said.

America needs to face up to its history of genocide, slavery, Jim Crow.