There should be no question as to why Fox News viewers are not well informed. For example, on this morning's Fox & Friends, we were treated to a Steve Doocy comment which was made during his chat with Todd Starnes about how, based on anonymous sources, the Daughters of the American Revolution have abandoned Jesus. While it's quite possible that Doocy didn't really know the information, the fact that it seems to dovetail with the Christian right's bogus, revisionist historical claim that America was founded as a Christian nation makes one wonder if it was part of the script - an ongoing script that is a reflection of Roger Ailes' fear and loathing of secularism. So while we don't know if Steve Doocy is an idiot or plays one on TV, we do know that the only place where Doocy got this morning's goody- American revolutionaries "put In God We Trust" on "our money and our walls" - was from his ass!
This morning, Fox radio's professional Christian and observer of thongs and chaps at gay pride parades, Todd Starnes told Steve Doocy that a number of anonymous members of the Daughters of the American Revolution have complained to him about how the group has supposedly excised all mentions of Jesus from their religious materials and have ordered the group to stop praying in Jesus name. Meanwhile, in the DAR official handbook and national by-laws, there is a suggested protocol for the initiation ceremony which references God and, contrary to Starnes claim that members no longer pledge to support the Constitution, has a section in which the chaplain says this during the welcome ceremony for new members: "CHAPLAIN: Do you promise faithfully to uphold the Constitution of the United States of America, God being your helper?"
But the problem, for Starnes, is the alleged elimination of Jesus because in Starnes world, "if you're not praying to Jesus, then who are you praying to?" (Obviously Starnes feels that Judaism, Islam, and other non Jesus-centric faiths are heathen?) Steve Doocy shared Starnes concern and proffered the following historical "fact."
"We should point out that the Daughters of the American Revolution, these are direct descendants of the people involved in our revolution and our quest for independence and they were the ones who put "in God we trust" on the walls and on the money."
Fact Check -According to the US Treasury, the motto was "placed on United States coins largely because of the increased religious sentiment existing during the Civil War." They note that "the use of IN GOD WE TRUST has not been uninterrupted" and that the motto "was first used on paper money in 1957, when it appeared on the one-dollar silver certificate." So Doocy is full of shit because the words, "In God We Trust," had nothing to do with those who fought in the American Revolution who didn't put it "on the walls and on the money."
BTW, Starnes' attack on the DAR is now spreading, like a plague, through the right wing blogosphere. The article on Glen Beck's, "The Blaze," has some particularly virulent comments, directed to the "daughters of Satan," from those who love Jesus. One, by "Body Bag" identified all the women on the DAR Executive Committee.
If anything happens to these women, Todd Starnes and Fox News will share in the blame. Oh, right, Todd Starnes' god is a vengeful one, so it's all good...Jesus must be very happy that those nasty, godless women are being properly chastised by his good friends at Fox News - "real journalism fair & balanced" - Ya Think!