As you know, over the week-end, during the sacred period when people watch football, eat and drink too much, and open gifts that will get returned during a mad mall frenzy, Bill Maher had the audacity to tweet about how Fox god, Tim Tebow, was screwed (Maher used another colloquialism) by his brother by another mother due to the Denver Broncos humiliating loss to the mediocre Buffalo Bills. For Fox News, this was BLASPHEMY of the highest order. Fox Nation, a place for those who believe in tolerance (not), immediately posted a lede about "Pig Maher's" egregious offense to Tebow and his brother by another mother. Not surprisingly, "The Five's" good and tolerant Christians Tim Tebow fans rushed to Tim's defense and in so doing showered Bill Maher, atheists, and pro-choicers, all anathema to Fox and its audience, with anything but Christmas Christian love.
Monday, Jesuit educated Eric Bolling began by saying that Tebow "drives atheists crazy." (Eww, bad atheists.) Actually I was speaking to some Catholics, on Christmas, and they find Tebow's very public Christianity very annoying. Joker Bolling cited how "liberal clown" Bill Maher was "begging for attention" with his tweet which really "ticked off" Bolling who tweeted that Maher is "disgusting, vile trash." Bob Beckel, The Five's token liberal, praised Bolling for his response which, according to Beckel, Maher "deserved." Beckel expressed his disgust that this occured during a celebration of "our lord and savior." (Your lord and savior, Bob). But then, good Christian Beckel, who wouldn't take the name of his lord in vain during the Christmas season, said he was tired of defending "this son of a bitch." (Baby Jesus claps his hands)
Greg Gutfeld provided his trademark sophomoric "humor" when he suggested that Maher hates the good looking Tebow because Maher "looks like a thumb with a face like an aadvark." Attorney and former Victoria's Secret model, Kimberly Guilfoyle, gushed that Tebow is "beautiful." Andrea Tantaros snarled that Tebow's mom, when told that fetus Tebow was going to be mentally handicapped, didn't have an abortion. Tantaros wanted to know what atheists and pro-choice people "have wrong with this." She added that they can still have abortions. She continued her rant about how Tebow should be able to celebrate the gift of life "because her mother embraced the right to choice." (LOL, the Christian/Catholic right, for whom Fox News is a mouthpiece, is dedicated to eliminating that right) Tantaros ended her sentence, "I guess she didn't choose the right choice." (Right, pro-choice atheists really care what Mrs. Tebow did, please) When Bolling said that Maher wants to remain relevent during the show's hiatus, Tantaros chimed in that he's "a pathetic human being." Beckel said that "bringing Christ into any of this is abhorrent" and defended Tebow as a "remarkably religious man who has a relationship with his lord and savior and it should be left at that."
There should be no question as to why Bob Beckel is the token liberal on this show as he is a devout Christian and for Fox News, Christianity seems to be high on the list of qualifications for Fox employment. With only a few exceptions, the majority of the mainline pundits are Christians with the majority being Catholic. With the departure of Alan Colmes from a full time position on Hannity, there is only one *Jew, Chris Wallace, who is an anchor. While one of my Fox apologist critics says that my mention of the Christian/Catholic tilt at Fox is prejudicial, the reality is that Fox News does not represent the diversity of religious views in this country. It is, clearly, a vehicle for the political and anti-choice agenda of the religious right and the US Catholic Bishops, as shown by Fox's Catholic NY archdiocese litigator Peter Johnson Jr. who, on three occasions, aggressively supported the position of the Catholic bishops on the health care contraceptive mandate.
Fox's animosity towards atheists is palpable but not surprising given that Fox is all about creating cultural wedge issues in order to divide Americans and stir up hatreds - which seems to be the hallmark of the homophobic (Catholic Archbishop George just compared gays to the KKK) and anti-choice Christian right for whom and of whom Fox News exists. Bill Maher's tweet, which was amusing given that the Christian right seemed to connect Tebow's win with divine favor, was used to, once again, attack atheists. The panel consisted of one non-Catholic Christian (Beckel), two Catholics (former altar boy Gutfeld and the divorced and remarried Guilfoyle) and Tantaros who appears to be Greek Orthodox. And that's fine but their bias isn't. Wouldn't it be refreshing to have an actual atheist on that panel rather than a bunch of biased Christians! Praise Tim Tebow.
*Correction: Noted Fox apologist (paid?) "Johnny Dollar" informs me that Geraldo Rivera and Jamie Colby are Jewish. Meanwhile, the rest of the gang, for the most part, are Christian with a strong conservative Catholic presence. Their big (biggest?) draw is the very traditional and Catholic Bill O'Reilly whose stand against Dr. Tiller must have made his bishop very, very proud.
How can you continue to feel persecuted when mankind no longer celebrates the munching of christian types by lions?
In light of that fact, you honestly must feel that ‘things’ for christians are generally on the upswing, eh?
In spite of all that nasty business about all the deaths in the name of Jay-sus throughout history and the pedophilia plague in the priesthood you and the others of your cult should be feeling pretty lucky about now.
But that’s just my opinion.
Just another example of what passes for debate and conversation when you question a far-right talk radio host and disagree with his agenda.
And if by “defending yourselves,” you mean the kind of hatred that comes from the homophobic, anti-choice Christian right (some of it directed against “apostate” liberal Christian churches), for which Fox News provides a mouthpiece, I stand by my accusation of intolerance. While Maher is a satirist, you guys are serious and have a national “news” network in your pocket. And therein lies the difference.
Very Truly Yours,
News Hounds Priscilla