Next manufactured controversy: NBC omits “under God” from Pledge of Allegiance during U.S. Open

Who owns NBC? Let’s see now:

[NBC] is currently part of the media company NBCUniversal, a joint venture of Comcast and General Electric. As a result of the merger, Zucker left NBC and was replaced by Comcast executive Steve Burke.

I think we can safely refer to them as the corporate media and not some “godless librul” organization. So. Corporate NBC aired a live broadcast of the U.S. Open, and started with some school children reciting the Pledge of Allegiance.

Via Daily Caller:

At the beginning of NBC’s Sunday broadcast of the final round of one of the four major golf tournaments in the world, an introduction aired that included images from the nation’s capital while the Pledge of Allegiance being recited by school children in the background. The problem: Conspicuously missing were the words “under God”. [...]

Later in the broadcast, one of the commentators apologized to viewers, but still managed to not say “under God”.

That’s really a “problem” that called for an apology? The commentator explained it wasn’t intentional and that “it was not done to upset anyone.” I’m curious to know how many people would have even noticed had he not brought attention to it. And why did the article say “NBC omits” when, according to them, it was the kids? (I used their title in the blog headline)

And why did the Daily Caller comment on how the commentator “still managed to not say ‘under God’”? Ohhh, I get it now. The on-air guys conspired with the dirty rotten Marxist hippie tots to de-god the United States at a major golf tournament! It was all a diabolical plot!

The Pledge of Allegiance didn’t include the words “under God” until 1954.  I’m still not sure why we have to actually pledge our allegiance to a flag, in unison, in the first place, but that’s just me, and that’s what we do.

Inadvertently omitting two words is not worth the 24/7 ginned-up controversy that this is bound to trigger. And if the children were taught to recite it that way for some reason, which they must have been since it was apparently a group omission (hence, intentional), you can only imagine the backlash. “Indoctrination!” the tea baggers will wail. Except these kiddies are no less patriotic than any others.

I hope I’m wrong, but I can just hear ClusterFox huffing and puffing and demanding all sorts of explanations and additional apologies from NBC, the kids, the school, the parents, Bill Maher, Glee, the Geico gecko, and anyone else they can think of… right now! Of course, they’ll ultimately blame President Obama.

  • Centrist

    You SURELY don’t expect anyone with even a “smitten of intelligence” to believe that do you?

  • Billy Pilgrim

    I’m sure NBC will blame it on George Bush.

  • kowalski65

    Jaym, you don’t sound very teachable. Very rigid in your thoughts. But let me caution you not to confuse modernity with “advanced wisdom.”
    And your definition as to what constitutes a “Christian nation” is pretty arbitrary. “If we’re not forced to be Christians, this is not a Christian nation (!?!?!)” That is weak! Depending on your definition, America is OR is not a Christian nation. It IS insofar as the majority of Americans claim the Christian faith as their own. But constitutionally, we CANNOT BE a Christian nation, and our socio-political legacy – especially in recent times – certainly negates the idea of America being a Christian nation. Our national government policies and our cultural institutions no longer square with the teachings of Scripture, so NO WAY can America be said to be a Christian nation.

  • http://thepoliticalcarnival.net/ GottaLaff

    Don’t let the door hit ya….

  • http://thepoliticalcarnival.net/ GottaLaff

    Don’t let the door hit ya….

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_7S6PN6NYYGOJW6H6YYMZSAYWIU Gordon

    Sure wandered into another loser site.  Lord, I think I just dropped 3,000 brain cells.  Sorry, got to go…

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Pete-Clark/100000167558130 Pete Clark

    Tell me you didnt just use the word WISDOM,and South park in the same sentance…Idiot…LOL

  • Anonymous

    Yeah… the punctuation was the least of what she was ridiculing.

    It probably was the suggested terrorism, as a hint.

  • Anonymous

    You get called what you deserve based on how you portray yourself to the world. I only bestow respect upon those with intellect and wisdom, and I’ve never seen either from someone on the right.  You know what else is typical? Having twelve lovely, innocent, kind and gentle Conservatwits on Twitter and Facebook tell me to commit suicide.  Don’t play the “hate” game- the world knows that nastiness and vitriol have a permanent home on the right.

    I love how you interpret the first amendment wrong, just like so many Christian conservatives do daily misinterpreting passages out of the bible incorrectly, then stick your head in the sand while squawking the same tired falsehoods.  The religious freedoms clause stops government from forcing a particular religion upon citizens, thus the part of the equation you arrived at- choose your own. However, when official aspects of our nation- our money, our pledge- go *against* that choice, only a coma patient could not understand that to be contradictory to all who are not of that faith.

    Put a kids way: Pick your favorite football team. You’re allowed to love that team to death- they mean everything to you.  But, every time you gather for another game, or go out to celebrate a holiday, the event is kicked off with the highest of praises to the BEST football team ever, the “Zion Zebras”. When you go to buy some food for the event, it has “In Zebras We Trust”- even when you don’t believe in Zebras, or believe in a different type of Zebras. Worst yet, everyone at your favorite football team’s game goes on and on about how they won due to the Zion Zebras. Yep…. that wouldn’t bother you at all, and you wouldn’t seek to redress the problem in your nation. Let those who love the Zebras love them in THEIR private time and place. When you’re at your team’s game, there should be no mention of the Zebras, in a rational and advanced society.

    Again: If this is a Christian nation… why are all of us who are not Christians rounded up and placed in prison? (Hint: Because we have no state religion, thus this is NOT a Christian nation.)

  • dl

    I notice that this is the first post to call the opposing side a name.  Typical.

    The first amendment provides for freedom OF religion, NOT freedom FROM religion.  A basic misunderstanding my many.  The word is God — choose your own.  

    This country was indeed founded on Christian principals, that makes it a Christian nation that some are trying to change.

    If the founding fathers are irrelevant–then the first amendment is irrelevant.

    The fact is the pledge was edited or rewritten.   And it was intentional.  

  • Mickey

    If stupid and offensive things, like South Park are progress, we should make a U turn right here.

  • http://thepoliticalcarnival.net/ GottaLaff

    You’ll “never watch” a network again, because some kids omitted two words?
    That amazes me.

  • Linwats

    It was totally intentional….they just don’t have the guts to admit it.  I’ll never watch NBC again.

  • Anonymous

    Amazing. This is the first post that has said *in specific* what I’ve been saying in summary for a few years now…

    Conservatives *literally* want us to live in the “leave it to beaver” 50s and 60s, indefinitely- they are scared to death of progress.  Showing a lack of comprehension over South Park is a textbook example of being stuck decades in the past, and having an utter lack of desire or ability to adapt and progress into the future with modern thinking and advanced wisdom.

  • Anonymous

    “Libs don’t get it”? What about Conservatwits not getting it? 

    Guess what makes having “under God” unconstitutional? The 1st Amendment. This isn’t a free speech issue, it’s a  religious freedoms issue.  There is NO place religion should be present in an official capacity. ANY religion, in ANY public aspect. 

    Facts:
    We are not a Christian nation. Having a majority of Christians does NOT have any relevance. The beliefs of the founding fathers does NOT have any relevance. If we were a Christian nation, it would be illegal to  be anything BUT Christian.

    The 1st Amendment’s religious freedoms aspect specifically protects citizens from having Government establish religion in an official capacity.  Having “under God” in the pledge to our flag breaks this very component of the constitution.

    Cons are saying it’s “not offensive” to have “under God” be spoken. Fine… then it will not be offensive to American Christians to rotate between all faiths and lack thereof-  We’ll open up some sporting events with “under God”, others with “under Zeus”, “under Allah”, “under Goddess”, and “under no higher power”.  If we do that, we can stick to having religious linguistics involved in our official capacities.

    Since Christians would NEVER allow that, and they do not reserve the right to force Christianity upon the rest of us, it is proper to REMOVE such language.

    And save your breath, I am not an atheist.

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_4JJAZNQXQS7XXJENVWPF6V53CQ JeffersonF

    “ If you dont want to teach your kids about god…..fine.” Even if they left it out on purpose how is that stopping you from practicing your religion?  Nobody held a gun to your head to watch golf.  Atheism is the fastest-growing “belief” in America, deal with it.  Move to Iran if you want a theocracy.

  • DT

    Man these Libs dont get it.  It is the Pledge of Alligiance.  How does a major network mess that up.  They don’t.  Of course they edited it.  If you dont believe that than you are a moran.   If you dont want to teach your kids about god…..fine.  Stay out of my way when i do and dont change the pledge of allegiance to fit you liberal bias.  Leave it alone.  Is it Obama’s fault they left out under God…….no, but i am sure he would have the same reaction as this joker.  You Libe dont understand how much we conservatives love god and country.  It is a joke to you.  It is somehting you poke fun of at your stupid dinner parties.  You will never get it.  Thank God there are more of us or else this country would be in a whole heap of trouble.

  • Vhietpas

    Where’s your laugh???

  • Anonymous

    I am still prepared to believe that, too.  However, there was more than “…under God…” omitted.   What was omitted was “…one nation, under God, indivisible…”   Were the editors thinking of the Confederacy, too, in omitting “one nation” and “indivisible”?  

    Somehow it may just be one more idiot in corporate media who thought, “We need to cut four seconds somewhere…”…and did.

  • kowalski65

    C’mon, let’s have a little honesty here. NBC clearly made the decision to bowdlerize “under God” – and I don’t give a damn if it was in the original Pledge or not! – to prove some point or stake our some position. The “controversy” here was “manufactured” by NBC.

  • Anonymous

    Hmm, “GottaLaff” rathter than ”Have to Laugh”?  Seems illiteracy is best recognized by…well…the illiterate?  ;-)   Or maybe you don’t realize some folks don’t capitalize properly, or even proof-read before posting.

    Ah well, we must tolerate those that have nothing to add to the discussion, whose only purpose in blog-space is to ridicule other’s posts for less-than-perfect puncuation.

  • Anonymous

    Seems NBC “lost” some important words (to most of us, anyway).  It isn’t very hard to actually recite the current pledge.  My sons have gotten it right since before kindergarten.  In fact, I suspect the kiddos probably actually said “Under God” in the recitation and it was edited out.  And if they did not, then they’ve been coached to say the pledge incorrectly for this spot.  Either way, it was purposeful.

    By accident?  Oh pahleez!  These are professional writers, editors and producers.  This wasn’t a “mistake”.  It was another little dig trying to make a bit more room for such foolishness in the future.  Small steps brought us from “Leave It to Beaver” to “South Park” in terms of offensive language, topics and content.  “Under God” is another small step in a long series of steps seeking to re-make America in the left’s image.

  • http://thepoliticalcarnival.net/ GottaLaff

    “obamas muslim brothers”? “Cardevice”? “nbc”? Either you’re an illiterate
    “humorist” or someone who shouldn’t be commenting here again.

  • Fred

    I’d just like to see obamas muslim brothers drop a cardevice in the nbc garage..and say later, sorry, didn’t mean to offend anyone…

  • http://twitter.com/HryPop HryPop

    The guy looks upset, I guess he dropped his tea bag earrings