The "fair & balanced" Fox News media is doing all in its power to keep hate alive in its ongoing attacks on the NY City elementary school principal who dared to remove red state America's hymn, "God Bless the USA" from a graduation ceremony. And while the Fox Nation race baiting was bad enough, Fox TV has doubled down in their zeal to promote this "nationwide controversy" (thank you Fox News) by creating a false reality. This morning, Fox & Friends showed what they claimed was an rally of students who support the singing of Lee Greenwood's patriotic schlock that has become a second National Anthem for red stateAmerica. Thing is that it wasn't an organized student protest. It was a press event engineered by GOP Congressional Rep. Bob Turner who is running against incumbent Democratic Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand. The kids were a prop for a publicity stunt. As a famous, fictional New Yorker once said, "It's not a lie if you believe it."
Alysin Camerota began by reporting how a NY City school "became the center of a nationwide controversy when their principal refused to let the students sing 'God Bless the USA at graduation." Camerota didn't explain the principal's reasons for doing so. She said that the kids, who were "not backing down," held a rally. She showed video of kids singing "God Bless theUSA." What captured my attention immediately was the presence of campaign signs for Bob Turner, the tea bagging Republican who, in the 2010 election, won a congressional seat in Anthony Wiener's house district. That, as you will see, was the key to some googling that unravelled the Fox & Friends deception.
Camerota enthused that this was a "beautiful rendition;" but "that song though" (she paused dramatically) "is " (she emphasized the next words) "still banned." She claimed "the rally comes as the principal, Greta Hawkins, reportedly ignores a request from Republican congressman Michael Grimm, a Marine veteran for a meeting so that he could give the kids a book on Lee Greenwood." OH SNAP, Camerota just reinforced the material on Fox Nation's latest race baiting thread about Greta Hawkins. As with the Fox Nation thread, Camerota showed a photo of Hawkins just to let you know that she's African-American who, according to the Fox Nation folks, are just a bunch of lazy, unpatriotic vermin. Camerota noted that the school hasn't stated why that meeting can't take place.
What you didn't learn from Fox & Friends
- The "rally" was staged as a press event by GOP Congressional Representative Bob Turner who is running for the US Senate against incumbent Dem. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand. Not only did he stand with the children while they were singing but one of his campaign signs was held up during the performance.
- The aggrieved ex-Marine Congressman, Michael Grimm, is under investigation. One assumes that if Fox were covering a Democratic member of congress who was protesting something that they might add that detail?
- The aforementioned Michael Grimm, who was unable to attend the rally, had one of his reps distribute copies of Lee Greenwood's book to those in attendance. (Greenwood has donated 115 copies to Grimm.)
- Turner was heckled by local adults.
- A local woman criticized Turner for "using children as an instrument."
In the service of propaganda, Fox & Friends is now creating an alternate reality. You just can't make this shit up - oh, right, you can if you're the "fair & balanced" news channel!
Really? According to the Village Voice:
“…The rising tensions over the last week all came to a head yesterday afternoon when Turner showed up to sing with some of the students. Despite previously arranging to sing the song on the school’s Neptune Playground, the congressman was refused entry as school security said a rental company was picking up supplies from a carnival and would not be able to move. One of Turner’s staff angrily argued with the school’s security for several minutes before saying, “Fine we’ll just do it on the sidewalk!”
A random group of children were gathered in group, with Turner’s staff asking them “Don’t you want to be on TV?” Each child was given an American flag, a sheet with the lyrics to the Lee Greenwood song and a copy of Greenwood’s book Does God Still Bless the USA?
As 20 or so students started to sing the opening stanza, the two factions of parents began arguing loudly. On the one side was Luz Lozada, one of the parents from the Facebook group; on the other was Jorge Rosado, husband of PTA president Deena Rosado…"
http://blogs.villagevoice.com/runninscared/2012/06/bob_turner_god_bless_usa.php