I put my first thread on this topic here by mistake, but this one’s supposed to be here.
I just saw the most ridiculously biased, unfactual report on CNN about the recent court decision regarding the pledge of allegiance. It stated the following:
“The federal government has traditionally not been neutral to God. God is mentioned in the Declaration of Independence, the Constitutition, and [some other document I can’t remember.]”
Uh, wrong on several counts. The DofI mentions a “creator” and was drafted prior to either the first amendment or the existence of a United States of America. The only god mentioned in the Constiution is Tiu, the Germanic god of war.
“The President is sworn in on a Bible.”
Sorry, try again. Presidents can be sworn in on whatever they damn well please. Or were the lazy ass researchers at CNN unaware that Pierce was sworn in on a copy of the constitution?
“Sports fans rise to support our country, if not necessarily God [bit fuzzy on the wording here].” This was followed by a clip of some woman singing “God Bless America” at a baseball game.
Boy, how irrelevant is this? What happens at a baseball game is of no concern to the federal government, or is CNN unaware that sports venues frequently hold all sorts of religious events, like Promise Keepers meetings and Christian rock concerts?
And have people already forgotten that singing “God Bless America” during the 7th inning stretch is a tradition that started less than a year ago, and is rapidly dying out already?
In short, a complete hatchet job, tossing together all sorts of tidbits and odd facts (and some total lies) to try to show just how silly the court is for believing that having teachers lead students in reciting an oath which mentions God is equivalent to a state endorsement of religion.
I realize this is nothing compared to what people like Bill O’Reilly and Dr. Laura are going to say about this decision, but at least those are clearly stated as editorial opinions, not alleged to be factual reporting.