NBC Squashes Bob the Tomato's Free Speech
Should there be a wall of separation between Christianity and television viewers?

Enough is enough.  NBC is censoring Veggie Tales star, Bob the Tomato.  All our plump little friend wants to say is,  "God made you special and He loves you very much," but the censors at NBC are worried that Bob's love for God might offend some viewers.  Let's see now, showing Madonna's special in November, where she's hoisted up on a cross for the sole purpose of mocking the crucifixion of Jesus Christ is not deemed offensive to anyone, yet a tubby tomato that mentions the God of the Bible must be censored?  Brent Bozell, President of the Parents TV Council, says the early word from producers is that, "NBC has grown increasingly fierce about editing something out of 'Veggie Tales' -- those apparently unacceptable, insensitive references to God and the Bible."
 
Squashing the free speech of pious produce is bad enough, but it has recently come to light that NBC executives lied about their reasons for putting a gag on Bob.
 
Lie #1--Denial
According to Broadcasting & Cable, NBC claimed they had to "clip off the beginning and ending tags, which are Bible verses, but they were also arguably the easiest cut to make."  The American Family Association says that's not so: "The creator of Veggie Tales, Phil Vischer, said NBC's excuse for censoring the Bible verses was not true. Vischer said, 'Well, that's kinda funny, because as the guy required to do all the editing, I know that statement is false...The show wasn't too long, it was too Christian. The show was already cut down to the proper length, so timing had nothing to do with it.'"

Lie #2--NBC is Fair & Balanced 
When the formerly proud peacock network was exposed for Lie#1, their spokesperson gushed, "NBC is committed to the positive messages and universal values of Veggie Tales. Our goal is to reach as broad an audience as possible with these positive messages while being careful not to advocate any one religious point of view." 
 
The plot thickens… 
 
Was NBC unaware that Veggie Tales teaches Judeo-Christian values when they offered Big Idea a Saturday morning slot?  You bet your turnips they knew!  They were fully aware that veggie hosts Bob the Tomato and Larry the Cucumber teach kids Bible stories that include Jesus' birth and resurrection, Moses in the basket, Gideon the warrior, and Queen Esther's courage.  The stories always end with a Bible verse.  Except on NBC.
Continued 

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