Move over Henry VIII. Roger Ailes, who sits at the right side of Cardinal Dolan, has become the new "defender of the faith" - Christian that is! And while his "fair & balanced " network has no problem attacking atheists, Muslims, those who say "happy holiday,' and anybody else whose religious views do not comport with Fox Christian orthodoxy, Fox takes great umbrage at any perceived attack on Christians. Ailes sees "efforts to drive religion from the public square" as a "wall threatening to cut America off from its Judeo-Christian roots." Thus, for Fox News, the "Ground Zero Cross" has been a big f-cking deal for the past three years during which Fox hosts have expressed their patented outrage in braying about the evil atheists who are engaged in a court battle to keep the "cross" out of the publicly funded 9-11 museum. And if Megyn Kelly's recent show is any example, it's still a big f-cking deal!
Some history: In July 2011, on her "news" show, America Live, Martha MacCallum freaked out about the lawsuit. The same day, Eric Bolling, on The Five, was outraged about how this "symbol of hope" was being opposed by those who are "anti-God." During two segments, in September 2011, Megyn Kelly, on her former "news" show, America Live, claimed that those who oppose the cross are making Christians upset. That same day, Brian Kilmeade, on Fox & Friends accused the atheists of being "troublemakers." In August 2012, Megyn Kelly mocked her guest, David Silverman, and, in misrepresenting the case, claimed that atheists "want something to reflect their belief that religion is a big hoax." Later that month, Eric Bollling said that the group filing suit against the Cross is "disgusting" and should be shut down. Fox revved up the outrage machine, last week, after the American Atheists went to court to appeal a lower court's decision against them.
On Thursday night, Megyn Kelly, again, interviewed David Silverman, and again, engaged in her trademark sneers, eye rolling, mockery, and misrepresentation of his positions. To Silverman's argument that the cross is a Christian symbol, blessed by a priest, which doesn't belong on public property, Kelly reprised the Fox argument that it is "historical." When Silverman noted that his group has asked for a plaque that says that atheists died on the site, she engaged in her trademark snark: "You want them to create a plaque that says atheists died here, too. That was not there. That was not found in the wreckage at Ground Zero."
She smiled as she continued to mock the atheist position: "Is it a little disingenuous to claim that atheists in your group are suffering dyspepsia and headaches as a result of seeing that cross included at the museum? That’s not disingenuous, that’s true? What is dyspepsia, what happens when they see it?" Rather than focus on the First Amendment ramifications of the case, Kelly focused on the very small segment of the court papers which reference physical ailments suffered by the plaintiffs
Fact Check - The final complaint document does NOT MENTION DYSPEPSIA.
Onward Christian soldiers, Fox "News" has your back!
(5/12/18 Update: Video no longer available)