Caution: This Friday Media Scroll contains mentions of the Pledge of Allegiance, God (with a capital G!) and the Rosary. Reader discretion advised.

From The AP: The school board in North Dakota’s most populous city reversed course Thursday on its decision to stop reciting the Pledge of Allegiance at its monthly meetings, following complaints from conservative lawmakers and an angry backlash from citizens around the country. Seven of the nine members of the Fargo Board of Education, including four newcomers who took office in June, voted last week to cancel a previous board edict that was approved a couple of months before the election. The new board agreed with member Seth Holden, who said the pledge did not align with the district’s diversity and inclusion code in part because the phrase “under God” does not include all faiths.

IMHO: The Fargo School Board actually made an excellent argument – for school choice. If parents truly want their kids schools run by folks who have a problem with the Pledge they should have the option of sending them to schools that reflect their point of view. Ditto for parents who believe otherwise. School vouchers that attach education spending to the children rather than entrenched systems seems like a good idea to me. That’s pro choice, pro free speech, pro child and pro diversity.

From The Babylon Bee: Pope Francis issued a papal bull Thursday authorizing the production of a new HM-18X Assault Rosary. The pope detailed key features of the innovative new rosary in his edict, including rapid-fire decades, an extended crucifix clip, and a laser sight for as yet undisclosed reasons.
Note: Before CNN fact checks this and labels it “fake news” or papal bull…(something else), let’s be clear that the above “report” is satire. Here’s the real story that inspired it:
From The Catholic News Agency: An article published Sunday in The Atlantic magazine suggests the rosary has become a symbol of violent, right-wing extremism in the United States…The magazine later changed the article’s headline from “How the Rosary Became an Extremist Symbol” to “How Extremist Gun Culture is Trying to Co-Opt the Rosary.” Among other edits to the text, an image of bullet holes forming the shape of rosary was replaced with a picture of a rosary. These editorial changes, nonetheless, left the article’s thesis that there is a connection between the rosary and extremism intact…“The rosary has acquired a militaristic meaning for radical-traditional (or “rad trad”) Catholics,” writes Daniel Panneton of the sacramental used in prayer by Catholics for centuries. 

John W. Kennedy is a writer, producer and media development consultant specializing in television and movie projects that uphold positive timeless values, including trust in God.