Fox News is a strong advocate for Texas education - but the education that they're supporting is the one that teaches students a right wing version of US history - one which lauds the red baiting Sen. Joe McCarthy, requires that the "violent" nature of the Black Panthers be taught alongside the history of the Civil Rights movement, takes Thomas Jefferson out of the Enlightenment, and depicts America as a "Christian Nation." This revisionist history, fully supported in a week long Fox & Friends series in 2010, is now official. But all isn't well for Jesus' patriotic BFF's. Recently a Texas mom, in checking her son's school papers, was stunned and amazed that the correct answer, to a question about the reason for terrorism, was OMG that not everybody approves of America's foreign policy. The text is part of a curriculum that Texas right wingers are upset about. So where better to take her sense of patriotic victimhood than - you guessed it - Fox & Friends!
The segment, last Thursday, was part of the Fox & Friends patented series "The Trouble With Schools," - "trouble" not in any objective sense but defined as anything that conservatives object to - in other words, right wing propaganda. Sitting next to a smirking Jesse Watters, Alisyn Camerota immediately framed the issue with the patented Fox word "outrage": "A school quiz given to 5th graders in Texas is sparking outrage. The quiz asked students why the US might be a target for terrorism. Even worse, is that the correct answer was "b" the one that seemingly blames the US for terror attacks." Bizarro World Alert - the treasonous answer was "Decisions made in the US have had negative effects on people elsewhere." This is wrong? WTF? Oh, right, she's a conservative, Christian outraged mom and this is Fox & Friends!
In classic Watters style, he totally twisted the test when he asked the outraged mom, *Kara Sands, what she thought when she saw the answer "that America was blamed for 9-11 and that we deserved the attack." (See bizarro world alert above) The chyron framed the propaganda: ""Terrorism Test, 5th Grade Quiz Blames US for Attacks." As Kara Sands said she was angry, the chyron reinforced the message: "Texas Mom Outraged, 5th Grade Test Raises Eyebrows." Sands tossed her pretty, lil head around as she claimed that her son checked the bad answer because that's what he need for a perfect score. Camerota added that the boy "knew" that the teacher was looking for that answer.
As the chyron read "Questionable Quiz, Asks Why US Might Be Target for Terror,"Sands described a video, used in the curriculum, that says that "we don't use our power the right way." (Ya think!) As she claimed that the video says that the US is a bully (Ya think!) the chyron doubled down on the agitprop: "Target for Terrorism, Quiz Answer, US Decisions to Blame." (Ya think!) Sands wanted to know "how are you showing this to kids." To Watters scripted question of whether this is the only bad thing being taught, Sands leaned into the camera and said "no." She then went into a litany of the curriculums that she doesn't approve of. As the chyron said "Shocking Lesson Plans, Mom School Teaching Gov't Dependence," she recounted how her twins have been singing a pro-environment song after watching a pro-environmental movie. She whined about how the schools are attacking natural gas and oil and how the schools are teaching that food and medicine are rights when we know they're "personal responsibility." (So go starve and die in the gutter cuz it ain't Kara's problem) The chyron reinforced the "outrage": "Texas Mom Outraged, 5th Grade Test Question Raises Eyebrows."
Watters muttered "unbelievable." Sands added that this curriculum has been changed. (Oh, thank you Jesus). To Watters' question of what she expected at the next school board meeting, she said that they won't be bringing out the pitchforks but parents want to "take back our schools" and get C-Scope out. The chyron reinforced the "controversy": "Curriculum Controversy. TX Mom Upset With Lesson Plans." Kara made a pouty face when she recounted how, when she spoke with a school administrator, this woman said the un-American video is right. Without having seen the video, Watters said "she's wrong." And remember how Gretchen Carlson is always bitching about how one person spoils it for everybody. Well, Kara admitted that she's the only parent who complained.
Please tell me that this Fox & Friends was some kind of satire. Please.
*Her Twitter profile: "Christian. Mom. Texan. Reagan Republican/Buckley Conservative. Political Junkie, Consultant & Fundraiser. Extremists on both sides are equally dangerous"
If the Texas wingnut and her Faux fiends want to blame anyone, they need to start with the Texas school textbook commission.
Then again, he also seems to conveniently ignore the fact that most professions lean politically towards the side that they feel is more accommodating towards the workers- And the only two groups not walking out on the right are the Military, and the police in far-right states.
Both for the same reason.
Even if this insanely stupid “Gubmit Deepindince” crap is to be believed (wonder where she got that from?), how does that equate to terrorism?!
Terrorists who aren’t expendable numbers care about two things: Money and control. Everything else? If it’s not in their best interest to cartoonishly bully about _____, they don’t even bat an eye.
That’s actually one thing the IRA and the Taliban have in common- You get their shock troops foaming at the mouth just by existing where they can see it, but their leaders will shrug at you blowing up their house of worship with their whole family in it… unless it helps them to exploit that.
Terrorism experts have been trying to explain this to the Fox right at every turn, and this woman shows how well that’s working out for them.
