Free Speech -- Unless You're a Christian Vegetable!

From Michelle Malkin's Hot Air vent -- NBC television has announced they will strip any religious references in the recently-licensed for broadcast Veggie Tales. According to Ms. Malkin, the franchise has been around since the early 90's and has built its brand on being explicitly Christian. But no more, thanks to the morons at NBC, the same lefties who are planning to air the 'Madonna crucifies herself' concert sometime in the near future, apparently uncut.

Here's an article posted at Veggie Tales website:

Two weeks ago, VeggieTales made its debut on national television. After 13 years and 50 million videos sold, many people are familiar with Bob & Larry and their brand of "Sunday Morning Values, Saturday Morning Fun!" But putting VeggieTales on TV has got some people asking, "Hey, what's the big idea?"

Some think that because of its teaching of Judeo-Christian values, VeggieTales should not be allowed on TV -- or at least should be restricted to a time slot or channel for religious programming. Others feel that VeggieTales should be on TV and in the exact same format that is familiar to millions of families. Well, VeggieTales is on TV and is not in the same format as the DVDs -- and that's created a bit of a stir! Keep reading to hear how this all happened.

When we were presented with the opportunity to reach a mass television audience, we knew that certain religious references would not be allowed on a children's block under current TV network guidelines. And we recognized that we were not going to change the rules of network television overnight.

Sounds to me like the 'opportunity' to reach a mass television audience equals big dollars for the VT franchise. Sounds like somebody is selling out for those dollars.

Although I applaud their efforts in producing and growing the series, I don't think we can afford to back off any more!

The left has turned broadcast programming into a voice for their cause, they've removed anything decent and clean on television. Whatever happened to "Leave It To Beaver" and "Father Knows Best" or "My Three Sons?" Even the "Brady Bunch" had good wholesome values.

In light of this, "Can Big Idea continue to fulfill its mission of enhancing the spiritual and moral fabric of society through creative media?" became the question we had to answer. Can VeggieTales make a difference on Saturday morning? We think so.

Too many TV programs introduce kids to amoral and cynical behaviors that parents find unsuitable. Big Idea's VeggieTales, LarryBoy and 3-2-1 Penguins! are instead telling kids it's cool to stand by your principles, to tell the truth, to forgive others and a host of other valuable life lessons.

So-called childrens' networks like Disney produce garbage like "That's So Raven," about a teenage girl who frequently lies to her parents and friends to get her way, which usually involves a 'hot' boy. She rarely has any conscience, unless she's busted by someone, and then is forced to confess. I see this theme -- which is, of course, the legacy of lefties like Bill Clinton, lie until you get caught, and then continue to lie -- repeated again and again in children's television.

Recognizing that we are making a difference to Saturday morning TV by bringing programming that is "absent of bad and has a presence of good" to homes across America, would we still prefer to air the un-edited versions of VeggieTales on TV? Absolutely! It's there where we're able to share a Bible verse and encourage kids by telling them God made them special and He loves them very much. For now, we're hoping a new cross section of kids will fall in love with Bob & Larry, go deeper into VeggieTales and eventually fall in love with the God who made them. It's the same "big idea" we've worked on for over 13 years.

We are grateful for the overwhelming support from our fans that have grown up watching VeggieTales. Many of you have written to cheer us on -- we appreciate you! If the television ratings are any indication, we are finding a new audience of children who are enjoying our shows and hearing our message for the first time! Our thanks to NBC for helping bring VeggieTales to this new audience.

We proudly continue to serve the Christian community in many ways, including hundreds of books published, a 52-week Sunday School curriculum, our soon-to-be-released Bible storybook, and a continuing Vacation Bible School program. This November, Gideon: Tuba Warrior, a VeggieTales adventure based on the legendary biblical story of Gideon, releases on DVD. Please know our commitment to introducing kids to God continues.

I'm disappointed in the further selling out of Christianity. We should take a lesson from our fellow 'religion' -- islam -- and stand our ground. We should no longer tolerate the leftist media whittling away at our personal freedom of religion granted by the Constitution.

At least you won't see any Christian Extremists burning down NBC affiliates. Doesn't sound like a bad idea, tho, especially if they air the madonna concert. I might watch it if she crucifies Roseratu.