NBC Apologizes to Lawmakers for Omitting 'Under God' in Pledge

NBC has issued a formal apology to members of Congress for opening its broadcast of the U.S. Open championship with a montage that included children reciting the pledge without the words "under God" and "indivisible."

In a letter to 108 U.S. lawmakers, Kyle McSlarrow, president of Comcast and NBC Universal, said that the channel's effort to produce a patriotic piece was undermined by "a serious error in judgment" by a "small group of people" who have been "reprimanded."

"To be absolutely clear, this was not an ideological decision by the company and it was not discussed with or approved by any senior NBCUniversial official," McSlarrow wrote.

"We have made quite clear -- internally and externally -- that the employees who made this decision were wrong," he said. "Not only were countless citizens justifiable upset, but also the actions of this small group cast a negative light on NBCUniversal, NBC, and NBC Sports, as well as our partners at the United States Golf Association.

"It was an inexcusable mistake in judgment and it will not be repeated."

The letter sent last week came in response to a missive from Reps. Randy Forbes, R-Va., and Mike McIntyre D-N.C., co-chairmen of the Congressional Prayer Caucus, sent to NBC Chief Executive Officer Stephen Burke last month after NBC issued an on-air apology for the altered pledge.

That note was signed by 108 members of Congress.

"Although we are aware that NBC has apologized for the omissions, we are concerned that the video was allowed to air with the altered Pledge of Allegiance in the first place," they wrote. "We live in a society where there are increasing efforts to remove all mention of religion from public life, and we remain dedicated to defending against such attempts."

Bailey Comment: I'm curious about what religion if any this this small group of people belong to? Surely there is no Muslims among them?

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/07/13/nbc-apologizes-to-congress-for-omitting-under-god-in-pledge/#ixzz1S4Kg3ICl

House Turns Out the Lights on Bulb Ban

The House of Representatives voted to preserve a scheduled phase out of incandescent light bulbs Monday evening.

The Better Use of Light Bulbs (BULB) Act, would have rescinded efficiency standards for incandescent bulbs included in a 2007 energy bill.

233 members voted yes and 193 cast nay votes. But the House required a supermajority to approve this particular package. In this case, it would have needed 285 yea votes to pass.

Rep. Rob Bishop (R-UT) voted present.

The measure gained support after the 2010 elections, as tea party Republicans seized on the prohibition as an example of government overreach.

The bill's sponsor, Rep. Joe Barton, R-Texas, says that the increased efficiency standards have the government picking winners and losers in the lighting market.

"To take off the market something that's cheap, effective, and average use costs two or three cents a week to use seems to me to be overkill by the federal government," Barton said of the move away from incandescent bulbs. Supporters of the bill also claim that the compact fluorescent light (CFL) bulbs designed to replace incandescent bulbs are too expensive and don't work as well as their 19th century competitor."Here's the bottom line, those of us at a certain age, under a compact florescent bulb, we don't look as good as an incandescent bulb," said Rep. Michael Burgess, R-Texas, "The American people should be able to choose what type of light bulb they use in their home. They should not be constrained to all the romance of a Soviet stairwell when they go home in the evening."

Democrats were quick to point out that the bulb ban wasn't their idea. "Our current (Energy and Commerce) Chairman Mr. (Fred) Upton (R-Mich.) introduced the bill to set the standards. our former Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) supported it along with many other republicans, and finally President George W. Bush signed these standards into law," noted Rep. Mike Doyle, D-Penn.

The energy efficiency law Doyle cites passed the House with more than 300 votes in the House and over 80 in the Senate.

Upton co-wrote the light bulb language in that energy bill with former Rep. Jane Harman, D-Calif. Action on the BULB Act was seen by some as a concession to the loser of the Energy and Commerce Chairmanship, Rep. Joe Barton, R-Texas, who highlighted Upton's light legislation during their leadership contest last year. Barton has since thanked Upton for taking action on the proposal.

The Obama administration issued a statement announcing its opposition to the repeal, saying it would "result in negative economic consequences for U.S. consumers and the economy."

The statement of administration policy issued by the Office of Management and Budget cited Department of Energy figures that say the law "could collectively save U.S. households nearly $6 billion in 2015 alone." That's because even though CFL bulbs cost more off the shelf, they last longer and use less energy than incandescent bulbs, and could ultimately save the consumer money over the light's lifetime.

The legislation, considered under an expedited rules procedure, required a two-thirds majority for passage.

Despite its failure in the House, a way forward in the Democratically-controlled Senate is uncertain. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Chairman Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., supports the current efficiency standards and is unlikely to support action on a similar measure in committee.

Fox News Producer John Brandt contributed to this report

Read more: http://politics.blogs.foxnews.com/2011/07/12/house-turns-out-lights-bulb-ban#ixzz1RyVQ908S

Obama Says Economy Has 'Long Way to Go'

Hiring slowed to a stagnant pace last month, pushing the unemployment rate up for the third consecutive month and raising questions about whether the economy has what it takes to climb out of its post-recession slump. 

President Obama, addressing the bleak report outside the White House Friday, acknowledged the economy still has a "long way to go" to fill the jobs hole left in the wake of the 2008 recession. "Our economy as a whole just isn't producing nearly enough jobs for everybody who's looking," Obama said. 

Bailey Comment: Duh!! Mr. President you finally got it (maybe)? Try cutting up your government credit card and coming out into the real world. It's easy to spend money when it's not coming out of your own pocket!

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/07/08/unemployment-rate-rises-to-2-percent-in-june-as-hiring-stalls/#ixzz1RhhGBIke

Texas to Execute Killer Despite Pleas

President Obama, the State Department and Mexico ask Texas to halt the impending execution of a Mexican national convicted of rape and murder, citing a U.N.-enforced treaty. Bailey comment: "Do you believe that Mexico would do the same thing for America"? This sounds like another Casey Anthony deal to me!http://www.foxnews.com/

Obama Violated ACORN Funding Ban With Housing Grant to Offshoot, Watchdog Says

A conservative watchdog group is accusing President Obama of violating a funding ban that he signed into law that prohibits the flow of federal money to the now-defunct community activist group ACORN or any of its affiliates.

Judicial Watch says that in March, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) issued nearly $80,000 in grants to Affordable Housing Centers of America (AHCOA), which the groups says is an offshoot of ACORN.

"This was an ACORN affiliate at the time of the funding ban and it has not changed in sum or substance since then," Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton told Fox News in an interview. "The funding ban was violated and the administration is calling these new entities. It just doesn't pass the laugh test."

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/07/06/obama-violates-acorn-funding-ban-with-housing-grant-to-offshoot-watchdog-says/#ixzz1RMxnMzD4