It's Sunday, a special day for all those Jesus loving/atheist hating Christians who watch Fox News - so what better day to rev up that sense of Christian outrage and get those Christian victimhood juices flowing than another tale of Christian persecution at the hands of secular forces. In the ongoing apocalyptic fight between the forces of Christian goodness and atheist evil, on Fox News known as "The Fight for Faith," the newest battle, involves an Arkansas pizza parlor which is offering a Sunday discount to those who bring in a church bulletin. But no good deed goes unpunished and, once again, the nasty Freedom From Religion Foundation is invoking that nasty Civil Rights Act to say that this practice is unconstitutional. What? You can have pepperoni but no Jesus with your pizza?!
Anna Kooiman reported on the sad story, originally brought to us by Christian culture clubber Todd Starnes, of how a Christian pizza parlor is being "slammed" for their church bulletin pizza discount. She commented that "an atheist group is hoping to bring an end to the savings because they say the discount discriminates against any religion that's not Christianity." Anna looked happy as she informed us that the pizza parlor owner is "ready to fight back." She introduced Steven and Amy Rose who were accompanied by their lawyer from "Advocates for Faith and Freedom" which, earlier this year, got involved in a Christian victimhood story, promoted by Todd Starnes, that was totally debunked.
Kooiman invoked the common right wing trope about how the faith discount is no different from other discounts and asked the Rose's to speak about their situation. In creating sympathy for the owners Kooiman asked them, "do you hate anybody?" Steven Rose denied that they did and spoke about how when the Faith and Freedom folks "reached out to them" they were emphatic that any response to the complaint wasn't "out of meanness." He noted that the discount "wasn't meant to exclude" anybody. Providing more validation, Kooiman said they weren't saying that only those who were baptized and who "declared the love for Jesus Christ" could get the discount. She added that anybody could get the bulletin from a neighbor.
Kooiman read the statement from the Freedom From Religion Foundation which cited the Civil Rights law and asked about the Rose's legal rights. The attorney said everything is hunky dory because the sign outside the restaurant says "all are welcome" and that proves that they are in compliance with the Civil Rights law on public accommodations. On cue, he kept with what is the patented Fox script in lamenting about how this is "part of the radical, secularist, atheist agenda." On cue, Kooiman said "you bring up a great point."
Kooiman referenced the recent dust up, pimped on Fox News, about how "atheists came out against, the discount, offered by a North Carolina restaurant. She didn't mention that the restaurant eliminated the prayer discount. She told the story, also pimped on Fox, of a poor Christian girl who got in trouble for saying "God bless you" when a classmate sneezed. And in keeping with Peter Johnson Jr.'s treatment, she didn't tell the whole story.
Kooiman brought home the propaganda bacon with a question that was really an editorial comment. In promoting one of Fox's chief memes (persecuted Christians) she asked "Do you think there's a war on Christians, here in the United States?" In providing the scripted response, Amy agreed and spoke about the "outpouring" of love, for her and her husband, from those, around the country and the world, who want them to "stand up for what you believe in and that's what we feel that we are doing."
Onward Christian soldiers, Fox News has your back. And BTW, is it me or does Anna Kooiman make Elisabeth Hasselbeck look like a Rhodes Scholar?
But that wouldn’t help Fox’s agenda now, would it?
Btw, the cake decorator in Portland, Oregon that refused to bake a cake for a gay wedding went belly up shortly after his “stunt”. Hopefully these two will follow suit as well. Such a persecuted bunch of fools. I’m waiting for some business to give cost breaks to Islamic mosque worshippers to try the same nonsense. Not gonna happen.