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The One Thing You Won't See on TV at the State of the Union
Townhall.com ^ | January 25, 2011 | Dennis Prager

Posted on 01/25/2011 5:02:20 AM PST by Kaslin

Tuesday, when you see President Obama give his State of the Union address, you will see four things: the president entering the hall, the president ascending the rostrum to be greeted by the vice president and the speaker of the House, the president giving his speech and the reactions of members of the Congress and others in the hall.

Here is the one thing you will not see and probably have never seen. You won't see what is behind the president and above the vice president and the speaker of the House. And because you won't see it, you won't know that you are missing something of surpassing importance.

Think about it for a moment. Why do television cameras never pull back and give a wide-angle view of the president delivering his speech? That is certainly routine for TV: It is considered uninteresting to TV viewers to have a fixed view of a subject.

Why, then, have almost no Americans ever seen what is located above the president, the vice president and the speaker of the House?

I discovered the answer when I attended President Obama's speech on health care to a joint session of Congress.

I saw chiseled in the marble wall behind the speaker and vice president, in giant letters, the words "In God We Trust."

My immediate reaction was to wonder: Why had I never seen that before? I have, after all, been watching presidential State of the Union addresses for about 40 years.

Here is my theory -- and I say "theory" because I cannot prove it.

A generation of Americans has been raised to regard any mention of God outside the home or church as a violation of the deepest principles of our country. To the men and women of the left-leaning news media, in particular, "In God We Trust" is an anachronism at best, an impediment to moral progress at worst. The existence of those giant chiseled words so disturbs the media that, consciously or not, they do not want Americans to see them.

I do not for a moment believe that there is any conspiracy here. In some ways, I actually wish there were. I wish a handful of media executives had gotten together and conspired to instruct their various cameramen to avoid a wide-angle view of the president.

But, alas, no such conspiracy is necessary. The words "In God We Trust" emblazoned in giant letters behind the president of the United States just don't sit well with the secular media. So you won't see them.

We have been led to believe that America is supposed to be a secular country. But that was never the case. We were founded to be a God-centered, God-based country with a nondenominational government. And that is what those chiseled words affirm.

Yet millions of Americans -- religious and secular alike -- would be stunned to see what every member of the House sees almost every working day.

When I mentioned this to some congressman after I addressed the Republican members of the House two weeks ago, they told me that just as remarkable is the fact that when the president is speaking in the House chamber, he is facing a giant sculpted image of Moses holding the Ten Commandments.

Imagine how this scene would go over in American homes -- behind the president of the United States are the words "In God We Trust," and in front of him is Moses carrying the Ten Commandments.

This would astound and even confuse an America raised to believe that the words "separation of church and state" are in the Constitution, that those words prohibit the government from acknowledging even a nondenominational God and that no speaker at any public high school graduation ceremony may say "God bless this graduating class."

That is why, I am convinced, no camera tonight will give you a long or wide view of the president. It might change more than Americans' views of the presidential rostrum. It might change Americans' views of America.


TOPICS: Editorial
KEYWORDS: dennisprager; ingodwetrust
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To: Kaslin
/I do not for a moment believe that there is any conspiracy here. In some ways, I actually wish there were. I wish a {handful of media executives had gotten together and conspired to instruct their various cameramen to avoid a wide-angle view of the president.

But, alas, no such conspiracy is necessary. The words. . .just don't sit well with the secular media. So you won't see them. ]

Clearly, Prager appears PC sensitized against using the word 'conspiracy' at least in ascribing motives.

And personally and just as clearly, think, he is wrong. Too bad the dilution here; but otherwise, appreciate the 'heads up' on his observations.

21 posted on 01/25/2011 5:28:21 AM PST by cricket (Osama - NOT made in the USA. . . .Obama, not made in the USA either.. .)
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To: MindBender26

What is paranoid about this article?


22 posted on 01/25/2011 5:28:49 AM PST by Flavious_Maximus
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To: MindBender26

I agree, or at that, just an issue to drive up false outrage. It took all but a few seconds to google past SOTU images and the image of In God We Trust is all over the place, at that, it seems to be a standard archive image. The only reason we may not see it a lot is with the angle, you have to shoot either from very far back or close looking up, an unusual shot.


23 posted on 01/25/2011 5:31:01 AM PST by mnehring
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To: Kaslin
The other thing he neglects to mention is the photo-op and "Human Shields" setup where the State Run Media has no doubt been instructed at EVERY OPPORTUNITY to zoom in on Democrats sitting next to Republicans, strictly so that The Messiah can be viewed to be "The Great Uniter"....

The POS that we have USURPING and illegally occupying the White House is just the State of the Union we have today.

I've never watched a "speech" from this ass from back to 2006 (when the propoganda machine cranked up and promotoed him 24/7 for two years prior to the election, and nearly a Billion Dollars was spent on the Campaign, the bulk of which has NEVER been traced to the REAL money-men behind his rise to The Throne).

24 posted on 01/25/2011 5:33:10 AM PST by traditional1 ("Don't gotsta worry 'bout no mo'gage, don't gotsta worry 'bout no gas; Obama gonna take care o' me!)
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To: Kaslin
The One Thing You Won't See on TV at the State of the Union

What is "A Competent President?"


25 posted on 01/25/2011 5:38:51 AM PST by JRios1968 (This is me, in a nutshell: "Let me out of here...I'm trapped in a nutshell!!!!")
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To: mnehring

Thank you so much for your research...

Sure does change the purpose of the article, doesn’t it?


26 posted on 01/25/2011 5:38:53 AM PST by 3D-JOY
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To: Kaslin

Here is the one thing you will not see and probably have never seen.


I think Dennis is a little bit on the paranoid side or is stirring the pot on purpose. jmo.


27 posted on 01/25/2011 5:44:20 AM PST by deport
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To: 3D-JOY

The funny thing is, I knew he was wrong from remembering last year’s Obama SOTU and mentioning to my wife who was watching with me the irony of that statement above Zero- it was like, don’t trust this guy, just trust God.

It could be a good life lesson- don’t trust politicians- they are glorified used car salesmen; even in their own house, we are reminded just to trust God.


28 posted on 01/25/2011 5:45:45 AM PST by mnehring
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To: mnehring

bttt


29 posted on 01/25/2011 5:46:38 AM PST by Matchett-PI (Trent Lott on Tea Party candidates: "As soon as they get here, we need to co-opt them" 7/19/10)
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To: Flavious_Maximus

What is paranoid?

“The words “In God We Trust” emblazoned in giant letters behind the president of the United States just don’t sit well with the secular media. So you won’t see them.”

As a member of that media for over 40 years, and having covered Popes, priests, rabbis, a 1000 congregations and Christmas, Easter and other service, I can tell you that assigning such a reason to not seeing a certain TV shot is pure BS and complete paranoia!


30 posted on 01/25/2011 5:46:49 AM PST by MindBender26 (Fighting the "con" in Conservatism on FR since 1998.)
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To: Flavious_Maximus

What is paranoid?

“The words “In God We Trust” emblazoned in giant letters behind the president of the United States just don’t sit well with the secular media. So you won’t see them.”

As a member of that media for over 40 years, and having covered Popes, priests, rabbis, a 1000 congregations and Christmas, Easter and other service, I can tell you that assigning such a reason to not seeing a certain TV shot is pure BS and complete paranoia!


31 posted on 01/25/2011 5:46:54 AM PST by MindBender26 (Fighting the "con" in Conservatism on FR since 1998.)
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To: Kaslin

Bump


32 posted on 01/25/2011 5:50:36 AM PST by tutstar
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To: Kaslin

You may think this is not a conspiracy, but Obama had Georgetown University hide religious symbols when he spoke there a couple of years ago: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/04/16/georgetown-university-hid-religious-symbols-white-house-request/


33 posted on 01/25/2011 5:53:53 AM PST by Spartan79 (Malo periculosam libertatem quam quietam servitutem.)
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To: Kaslin

What you will not see in the speech is any honesty.


34 posted on 01/25/2011 5:58:04 AM PST by SECURE AMERICA
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To: traditional1
Speaking of photo-ops, did you hear that the family of Christina Taylor-Green (the 9 year old killed by Jared Loughner) have been invited to sit with Michelle Obama during the SOTU?

This new development has made it really difficult for me to decide which is more disgusting, Obama’s funerally or portraying a dead 9 year old’s grieving parents as cheerleaders for your BS speech.

35 posted on 01/25/2011 5:58:56 AM PST by liberalh8ter
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To: Kaslin
"Here is the one thing you will not see..."

Actually, what I won't see is the whole miserable SOTU address. I cannot, and will not, endure listening to this POS and his lies.

36 posted on 01/25/2011 6:09:53 AM PST by Mich Patriot (...politics is the second oldest profession...it bears a striking resemblance to the first." RReagan)
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To: Spartan79

I remember that. They were cowards to do so


37 posted on 01/25/2011 6:10:25 AM PST by Kaslin (Acronym for OBAMA: One Big Ass Mistake America)
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To: Ev Reeman

The truth is he didn’t inherit and financial and economic mess when he took office. He was part of the mess created by the rats. There was nothing wrong with the economy when the Republicans wer in charge. The economy was thriving and unemployment was practically nonexistent


38 posted on 01/25/2011 6:17:18 AM PST by Kaslin (Acronym for OBAMA: One Big Ass Mistake America)
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To: Vaduz

Sort of the Obama version of the NAACP putting a statue of George Washington in a box.The leadership do not want America they want their own fantasy.I am reminded of Jeremiah 13:23
every time I hear anybody suggest he is a Christian or has any good /honest relationship with God.


39 posted on 01/25/2011 6:33:30 AM PST by StonyBurk (ring)
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To: Logic n' Reason

I will watch Ryan and listen to his rebuttal. As far as the arrogant pos’ SOTU address goes, I was contemplating just to mute my TV. But then I realized that would still make the numbers rise as to how many people are watching the address. So I either turn the TV completely off or watch a movie


40 posted on 01/25/2011 6:35:00 AM PST by Kaslin (Acronym for OBAMA: One Big Ass Mistake America)
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