That the "fair & balanced" Fox News plays to those who think that all you need to know about the 6,000 year old earth is in the bible was underscored, Tuesday night, when the "moderate and reasonable" Megyn Kelly actually, with a straight face, reported that -wait for it - some Florida parents want to tear out the pages, in an advanced placement history textbook, which discuss Islam! And this isn't the first time that Fox News has featured an agenda driven discussion about this text which, if certain Florida residents had their way, would be burnt in the town square because, OMG, it actually devotes a chapter to Islam and doesn't provide Christianity with the same amount of space. And now that these Christian parents, who fear creeping Sharia, are brandishing their pitchforks, Fox has their back. Kelly's "news" segment was amusing, however, as it showed that in cultivating ignorance, Fox News has some very fertile fields!

Given that Fox News is the place where you can "bash Islam with impunity," it's not surprising that Megyn Kelly would promote the Fox fear of Islam narrative. When she hosted her alleged afternoon news show, she did not dispute David Horowitz's claims that Huma Abedin is connected to Islamic terror. She validated an anti-Islamic movie made by the paranoid Steve Emerson. She openly supported the man who made the anti-Islamic movie which sparked riots in Cairo. And recently, on her new show, she allowed another anti-Islamic guest to claim that the Pres. Obama is ignoring the Islamic "war on Christians."

So it's not surprising that she and Trace Gallagher (with whom she shared a chuckle about how SNL would be mocking Sandra Fluke which, of course, they didn't) discussed Florida parents who are protesting what they believe to be an anti-Christian book. Fox has already fanned the flames of anti-intellectual, Christian ire when Todd Starnes appeared, on Hannity and Fox & Friends, to whine about how this egregious text is an example of "Islamic indoctrination" in our public schools. Pissed off parents are preparing to protest outside school district headquarters. And in order to make sure that their message got out, Megyn Kelly gave them with a nice shout out on Tuesday night's Kelly Files. 

Kelly reported that hundreds of people are very upset about a Florida history because OMG it "dedicates an entire chapter to Islam and zero chapters to any other religions." The chyron, "Controversial Textbook, Hundreds Of Parents Prepare Protest," framed the message as a patented Fox "controversy." Wearing her I-am-so-pissed expression she tossed to Gallagher who reported that the protest had been called off because the school board meeting was cancelled over security concerns. (And I thought Christians were peaceful?!)Without mentioning that the book is an advanced placement text, Gallagher cited examples of this supposed Muslim bias such as OMG a description of the Koran and  Muslim civilization. He reported that the protesters are "demanding that the student be allowed to rip out the pages until the district gives the students equal material." While the visual showed a section of the book "Byzantine Christianity," Trace quoted a local who claims that "Christianity has been delegated to a footnote." Trace reported that a local mom started a Facebook page about this blasphemous book and the page had just "lit up."

Kelly wanted to know what the response would be if "there were a textbook just devoted to Christianity and no mention of the others" - a ridiculous comment given that there is no such thing as Christian history because, unlike the centuries of Muslim civilization, European civilizations were secular with Christianity being a component (and in many cases a negative one!). Gallagher noted that the district "isn't backing down." He played video of a school department spokesperson while the visual showed the heading for a chapter (not a footnote) "The Holy Roman Empire and the Church." After the woman explained that Christianity is mentioned throughout the book, Trace "explained": "In other words no need to go deeper into Christianity, Judaism, Buddhism..." After playing video of a representative from the Council on American Islamic Relations, a group reviled by the anti-Islamic right, who said that the students are "standing up against intolerance," Trace noted that this insurgency is "popping up all over the place."

Once again, we see why Fox viewers are uninformed. Neither Trace nor Megyn mentioned that the book discusses the Ten Commandments, the Reformation and - wait for it - radical Islam. But if, as asked by a columnist for Florida Today, "the goal is to promote critical thinking, then a book should equip kids with background necessary to compare and contrast world cultures." Nah, as Fox News seems to suggest, it's so much better to tear out the offending pages so kids won't learn about reality. Kinda like what's done on Fox News!