When the right wing brays about American exceptionalism, they are not, I suspect, bragging about record obesity and diabetes rates among American youth. Yet, America's patriotic newsroom seems to be promoting the kind of unhealthy eating which contributes to the rising cost of health care. As a result of bi-partisan legislation, American schools are now required to provide healthier school lunches. But never wasting an opportunity for partisan politics, Fox & Friends is using this positive step towards good nutrition in order to slam our First Lady whose healthy kids initiative was a basis for the law. America's morning propaganda show now features stories about public school students who are "starving" because the FLOTUS' "food police" are forcing schools to provide smaller and healthier portions and this, of course, is a violation of American freedom! Yesterday, Steve Doocy rushed to the defense of "starving" students whose school is eliminating junk food from its vending machines!!!!!! Oh, no......
After the introductory throbbing music which accompanied a cartoon rendering of school lockers and the big, bold "Trouble with Schools" graphic, Doocy reported that "the federal initiative to overhaul school lunches not only leaving kids starving for food, they might actually be starving for knowledge." He explained that school convenience stores, like one in South Carolina, "are seeing their profits plummet" and because of that decline, the school isn't able to raise as much money, as they did in the past, for tutoring programs. Doocy was actually bouncing as he introduced the chairman of the South Carolina school district which will be losing its junk food access.
Doocy summed up Fox & Friends "understanding" that the "school store, under these new federal restrictions, the school stores used to sell snacks, now they can't, how's that impacting tutoring." (Doocy didn't mention that the GOP held South Carolina legislature is also considering a state bill to ban junk food.) Debbie Strickland said that the rule isn't currently affecting tutoring but, rather, fund raising abilities for programs including after-school tutoring. Doocy interrupted her in order to reinforce the propaganda message that this egregious violation of freedom is all the fault of the feds. He said that it was his "understanding that with these new federal requirements, at the end of the year when you start totaling things up, it's gonna cost your school district a million dollars more to make the changes." The agitprop chyron: "Fed Up, Gov't Steps In, School Profits Plummet."
As Strickland said that food sales are down in the cafeteria, the chyron brought home the nice, greasy, high fat bacon: "Hungry for More, Students 'Starved' By New Government Standards." After she said that the decline in profits has resulted in less money for locally sourced healthy food, Doocy noted that the school was trying for healthier options but (propaganda alert) "the feds stepped in and, you know, the food police came in and made you change everything." In providing the propaganda call, Doocy shouted, "you're not pro-junk food, but you're a parent, and you're not pro-obesity but your son runs cross country and at the end of the day he comes home and says what to his mom?" On cue, Strickland responded "I'm hungry, mom." She complained that the school lunches aren't providing him with enough food.
Doocy claimed that he has talked to other parents "who say the same thing that the new requirements leave the kids hungry because they don't like the choices, or there's not enough there." He asked Strickland what she would say to the feds because "right now it ain't working." She recommended that the feds provide flexibility to local school districts. Doocy agreed "they're local school districts, they should be dealt with locally."
Oh, those nasty feds ("Michelle Obama's food police?") - trying to starve American kids by taking away their junk food! Seriously, folks, it's not the elimination of cheetos that will leave Americans "starving for knowledge." It's Fox & Friends!
In classes around noon sometimes, I’d hear the sounds of a hundred kids in a different lunch shift all singing The Animals’ “We Got to Get Out of This Place” wafting up from the cafeteria.
I would have killed for anything edible, whether junk food or Michelle’s salads and vegetables.
The cafeteria Catholic mouthpieces emphasis certain words when spewing their rhetoric.
Let’s start with Goofy Doocy. Listen as he says the word “federal” and " a million dollars more." He shifts his tone of voice higher to emphasis “federal” and when talking about money he slowly says “a million dollars more.” It’s a ploy to get their elderly viewers enraged about the Obama Administration. Listen to these frauds next time, and take notice of certain words spewed by these clowns.
The masses can use the same trick against these frauds when calling talk radio shows, or talking to conservatives in the street.
Use these examples. The words to emphasis-in high tone-will be in brackets:
“Why are conservative hosts [ignoring] the [beheadings] in Saudi Arabia?”
“Are you still [angry] that Fox “News” [threw] Cliven Bundy [under the bus]?"