For the Christian right, who see their world rapidly changing, the "culture" war has taken on an almost apocalyptic fervor. For Fox News, the constant outcry of these aggrieved Christian is given pride of place in the writings and TV commentary of Todd Starnes, a devout southern fried evangelical Christian who has become Fox's main mouthpiece for homophobia and general fear and loathing of blacks, Muslims, and "militant" gays. Todd "Toddles" Starnes is on a mission from God to smite the forces of the godless who have taken over American culture especially in the military. In the quest to further the cause of the aggrieved Christian, so beloved by Fox News, there is no unsubstantiated anecdote or lie that Starnes can ignore. So where better for Toddles to pontificate about 2013's top culture war stories about aggrieved Christians than on Fox & Friends, Fox's special morning show for aggrieved Christians!
Yesterday, Toddles appeared on Fox & Friends where he discussed the most awful things that happened to Christians during 2013. Keep in mind that the hosts, Mike Jerrick, Clayton Morris, and Juliet Huddy seemed to take his comments seriously.
1) Obamacare - Todd claimed that the HHS birth control mandate forces churches (Lie - churches are exempt) and Christian colleges to obey the evil government's mandate to provide slut pills (he didn't mention birth control but we know what he was talking about) for their female workers. The visual explained it in Fox terms "Obamacare: Battle Over Religious Liberty." The chyron: "Outrage Over Obamacare, Battle Over Religious Liberty."
2) Martin Bashir - Starnes, in "joking" about "strong border security," impugned Bashir's presence in the US and added that he needs to go back to England. Starnes, who had no problem with Limbaugh's three day slut shaming of Sandra Fluke, asked "what kind of a man says this kind of stuff about a lady." The chyron: "Bashir's Bash." He didn't mention that Bashir apologized.
3) The War on Christmas - Starnes said that the 2013 Fox "War on Christmas bunker" was "going full guns." Toddles provided a litany of examples to show that this year, it was worse than every. He recounted how VA hospitals haven't allowed Christmas cards to be distributed to patients. The story that Starnes spread all over the hate-o-sphere related to a Texas veterans hospital that rejected religious themed cards from a kids Christian academy but NOW ADMITS THAT IT WAS A MISTAKE. Toddles didn't mention that. He referenced a GA vet's hospital that has banned Christmas carolers from singing religious songs. What Toddles didn't say is that this was done out of respect for the diverse faiths of the patients. The friends followed up with some "humorous" comments.
4) The Battle Over Religious Liberty in the Armed Force - The chyron stated, as "Fox Fact" that "The Battle Wages On, Religious Liberty in the Armed Forces." Toddles bragged about his "exclusive" stories of how the military is being taught that evangelical Christians and Catholics are "religious extremists. Politifact rated this claim as "mostly false" because the only documented instance was one training program that the army says was a mistake and done by an individual, not the command. The chyron reinforced the propaganda: "Free to Worship? Religious Liberty in Military Under Scrutiny."
Toddles complained about how the military was telling its trainees that the American Family Association and the Family Research Council are hate groups - a designation given to them by the SPLC for their virulent homophobic lies. His claim, that, thanks to his expose, the army has cancelled these "diversity" trainings, is another lie because the Army Secretary has only ordered that the programs be suspended "to allow for the centralized creation and dissemination of an official curriculum." What Starnes doesn't know or isn't saying is that the suspension of these programs was praised by the ACLU!
5) Duck Dynasty - Toddles was almost orgasmic about the return of his fellow Christian homophobe is returning to the show. He said the controversy speaks to one central issue whether "gay rights trump religious rights" which the Duck Dynasty "elevated to the national platform." (I guess Toddles thinks that you have a religious right to a reality TV show?)
Meanwhile, in the real world....
