Connect with us

Father Of Child Told To Not Pray Just Happens To Be Publishing Fox News Religion Reporter’s Book

Published

on

It is a small world after all.

A week ago a video showed up on YouTube featuring a five-year old girl who — on camera — says she was at school, about to pray before eating her lunch when an unnamed school official told her she wasn’t allowed to pray in school. In the video, the girl is sitting between her mother and father, and the mother actually chastises the child for not telling her sooner.

The school, by the way, staunchly denies this ever happened, and the family reportedly has pulled her out of school so she cannot identify the teacher/administrator who supposedly denied her the right to pray. The school also says it has no policy against prayer.

Fast forward just a few days later, and Fox News’ religion reporter, Todd Starnes (image, top), writes an article,”Dad: Teacher Told My Kid to Stop Lunchtime Prayer.” (The parents, by the way, titled the video, “Lunch lady said I can’t pray,” but why would Starnes let facts get in the way of an opportunity to demonize teachers?

But as Kyle Mantyla at Right Wing Watch — which reported on the video earlier in the day –noted yesterday afternoon, it turns out Todd Starnes has something in common with this five-year old.

As we noted this morning, school officials are denying the incident took place, but now that the story is gaining some national attention, local media outlets have begun reporting on it and revealing interesting things … such as the fact that this young girl’s father, Marcos Perez, just so happens to be the Vice President of Sales at the Christian publishing house that is publishing Todd Starnes’ next book:

School officials have not interviewed the girl, who has been pulled from kindergarten at Carillon by her parents, who said they intend to home school her.

Her father is vice president of sales at Charisma House, a Lake Mary-based Christian book publisher. The company is currently promoting the book “God Less America: Real Stories from the Front Lines of the Attack on Traditional Values,” by Todd Starnes.

Imagine that.

No one at the school says they told the girl to not pray, and all of a sudden Todd Starnes has another column — and more “material” for his upcoming book, God Less America: Real Stories From the Front Lines of the Attack on Traditional Values.

Not only that, but Starnes neglected to note his relationship with the subject of the article. It was only after reader comments at the foot of the article, including one by blogger Joe Jervis, pointed out the sheer “SUPER AMAZING coincidence,” did Starnes’ editor finally show up to add the half-hearted disclaimer you can see now at the top of the article under the photo. That disclaimer merry reads: “Marcos Perez is employed by Charisma House – which is publishing Todd Starnes’ next book.” Perez, based on the editor’s note, could be a secretary, janitor, accountant, or the Vice President of Sales. There’s a big difference there, don’t you think?

To verify that Starnes did not mention the relationship, we pulled up a Google cached version from March 31. We also have a screenshot, which shows there was no disclaimer originally:

starnes

This is one more example of Starnes having gone into the workings of a public school and “terrorized” them. Fortunately some schools learn to fight back against Starnes. Right Wing Watch calls Starnes a serial fabricator and “notorious for ginning up these sorts of fake controversies.”

Starnes in the recent past has suggested President Obama is secretly gay, suggested Obama only wants gay athletes on the US Olympics teams, exploded because President Obamas 9/11 proclamation did not include the word “God.” Starnes has claimed same-sex marriage will lead to one-man one-cat (or dog) marriage and a rise in sexually-transmitted diseases, and he responded to the news that NBA center Jason Collins is gay by tweeting, “The NBA is turning into GLEE,” and “Have any professional athletes announced they are heterosexual today?” Starnes called a transgender woman a “burly man wearing a dress,” and upon hearing the U.S. Supreme Court ruled DOMA unconstitutional, Starnes tweeted, ”Supreme Court overrules God,” and ”Won’t be long before they outlaw the Bible as hate speech.”

Previously:

Fox News’ Religion Reporter: Grammys Wedding Of Gay And Straight Couples Was ‘Intolerance, Bigotry And Hatred’

Georgia School: ‘Vicious’ Fox News ‘Christmas Card Censorship’ Report ‘Terrorized’ Us

 

 

There's a reason 10,000 people subscribe to NCRM. You can get the news before it breaks just by subscribing, plus you can learn something new every day.
Continue Reading
Click to comment
 
 

Enjoy this piece?

… then let us make a small request. The New Civil Rights Movement depends on readers like you to meet our ongoing expenses and continue producing quality progressive journalism. Three Silicon Valley giants consume 70 percent of all online advertising dollars, so we need your help to continue doing what we do.

NCRM is independent. You won’t find mainstream media bias here. From unflinching coverage of religious extremism, to spotlighting efforts to roll back our rights, NCRM continues to speak truth to power. America needs independent voices like NCRM to be sure no one is forgotten.

Every reader contribution, whatever the amount, makes a tremendous difference. Help ensure NCRM remains independent long into the future. Support progressive journalism with a one-time contribution to NCRM, or click here to become a subscriber. Thank you. Click here to donate by check.

News

‘He Sued to Block Kids From Getting SNAP’: Trump Torched for Biblical Defense of Children

Published

on

President Donald Trump came under fire on Thursday after using the Bible to call for protecting children during an event with First Lady Melania Trump.

The event, an executive order signing, was “aimed at expanding opportunities for education, career development, housing, and other resources for young people transitioning from foster care to adulthood,” according to the White House.

“The Bible tells us that one of the measures of any society is how it cares for vulnerable children and orphans,” President Trump told the assembled audience in the East Room of the White House.

“So important, it is so big in the Bible, so, as we make America great again, we are going to protect American children in foster care.”

READ MORE: ‘Concepts of a Plan’: White House and GOP Under Fire for Health Care Cost Crisis

Critics were quick to chastise the president, whose administration has been fighting all the way to the Supreme Court to block funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).

“You literally fought in court to strip families of food assistance,” declared California Governor Gavin Newsom.

“Your ICE agents pepper sprayed a baby last week,” charged House Homeland Security Committee Democrats.

“He sued to block kids from getting SNAP benefits just days ago,” wrote The Lincoln Project.

The Friendly Atheist’s Hemant Mehta posted a headline that read: “USAID cuts may lead to more than 14 million deaths globally, including 4.5 million children under 5 by 2030, researchers say.”

READ MORE: Trump Stumbles Over ‘God Bless America’ Lyrics at Veterans Day Ceremony

 

Image via Reuters 

 

Continue Reading

News

‘Concepts of a Plan’: White House and GOP Under Fire for Health Care Cost Crisis

Published

on

It took congressional Democrats more than a year of work — plus several years of prior policy development — to create the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare. Now, Republicans are scrambling to fix it after passing President Donald Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill,” which stripped away the subsidies that helped make buying insurance on the exchanges affordable.

And they have just weeks to make it happen, before the new premiums go into effect on January 1.

The House is back in session after Speaker Mike Johnson kept Republicans in their home districts for almost two months during the federal government shutdown. Now, Republicans and the Trump White House are starting to decide what, if anything, they will do to keep premiums — already published — from doubling or even tripling in certain cases.

“President Donald Trump’s Domestic Policy Council and senior health officials have been meeting privately for preliminary conversations on how to address the expiration of health insurance tax credits, according to a White House official and another person familiar with the talks,” Politico reported on Thursday. “Conversations about a White House alternative to Affordable Care Act subsidies, which will expire at year’s end, are in the ‘early ideation phase,’ said a third person familiar with the talks.”

READ MORE: Congressman Conway? Top Trump Critic Reportedly Eyeing House Bid

Capitol Hill is in a similar state.

Noting that “the clock is ticking,” NBC News reported that “Republicans, under pressure from Democrats after the government shutdown revived the health care clash, have not coalesced around legislation or even an abstract idea, and are only now starting serious discussions about putting proposals together.”

“As the party scrambles to craft an alternative, multiple Republicans are vying for Trump’s endorsement of ideas that could alleviate skyrocketing costs that are just around the corner,” NBC added.

Democrats want a three-year extension of Obamacare subsidies and tax credits, Speaker Johnson has said that is a nonstarter.

Some Republicans are starting to speak out.

READ MORE: ‘Out of Touch’: Eric Trump Blasted for $500 Million Bitcoin Brag

U.S. Rep. Jeff Van Drew (R-NJ), a former Democrat, “warned, ‘not only is it morally bankrupt, it’s political suicide’ for Republicans to let the subsidies expire without an alternative in place.”

U.S. Senator Rick Scott (R-FL) prefers a vehicle like health care saving accounts that he claimed will lower costs by driving up competition. President Trump appeared to favor that approach, when he attacked health insurance companies in a social media post earlier this week.

Some are warning that bypassing the Obamacare exchanges could damage or destroy them.

“A tweet is not a health care plan,” Larry Levitt, executive vice president for health policy at KFF, told NBC. “If people could use these Trump health care dollars to buy insurance not regulated by the ACA, it would likely cause the ACA to collapse and upend protections for pre-existing conditions.”

Meanwhile, critics are blasting Republicans on Capitol Hill as well as the Trump administration for waiting so long before starting to try to create a plan.

Responding to the NBC News report, journalist Justin Baragona observed, “we’re still on ‘concepts of a plan’ here.”

“They’ve had 10+ years to work on this and have nothing,” wrote Laura Belin, a reporter for a progressive website. “Time to stop taking their supposed health care policy work seriously.”

The White House is in ‘early ideation’ phase on ACA subsidies,” wrote The Bulwark’s Jonathan Cohn. “An issue already hitting millions of insurance buyers And that Democrats (not to mention analysts, journalists etc) have been saying needs attention for more than a year.”

Michigan Democratic State Senate Majority Whip Mallory McMorrow, a candidate for the U.S. Senate, wrote: “After Republicans refused to extend ACA subsidies, 4 Michigan insurers are dropping out of the ACA marketplace altogether. That’s 200,000 Michiganders who just lost their plans. Others are just going to cancel their plans. Which means more uncompensated care. Which means *everyone’s* healthcare costs will be higher.”

READ MORE: Trump Stumbles Over ‘God Bless America’ Lyrics at Veterans Day Ceremony

 

Image via Reuters 

Continue Reading

News

Congressman Conway? Top Trump Critic Reportedly Eyeing House Bid

Published

on

George Conway, the prominent attorney, Trump critic, and ex-husband of former Trump White House senior counselor Kellyanne Conway, may be considering a run for Congress.

According to a report at CNN and a post by New York Times congressional correspondent Annie Karni, Conway is eyeing a run for retiring Democratic U.S. Rep. Jerry Nadler’s New York district.

CNN reported that Conway, 62, is “actively considering running for Congress from New York City, a source familiar with the matter tells CNN.”

Karni reported, “the Conway pitch being — what the House will need next year is an aggressive lawyer with an investigative background just going after Trump.”

READ MORE: Melania Trump to Appear With President as Epstein Files Take Center Stage

Conway is a former Republican who became an independent in 2018. He has a law degree from Yale, and successfully argued a case before the U.S. Supreme Court, obtaining a unanimous ruling. He is a co-founder of The Lincoln Project and currently co-hosts a podcast at The Bulwark.

Should Democrats retake the majority in the House of Representatives, it’s likely there will be numerous investigations into President Donald Trump and his administration — not to mention possible efforts to impeach the unpopular and controversial Commander in Chief.

Conway would have good company in a primary.

“Jack Schlossberg, former President John F. Kennedy’s grandson, entered the race this week,” CNN noted.

The Daily Beast adds that “much of the buzz around Conway stems from his personal life. While he and his 58-year-old ex-wife, Kellyanne, tried to make their marriage work amid his dramatic political realignment, the couple frequently made headlines. As Kellyanne served as senior counselor to Trump from 2017 to 2020, her husband routinely sounded off on her boss and advisers—including Stephen Miller, whom Kellyanne referred to as one of her ‘best friends’ in the current administration earlier this month.”

READ MORE: White House Eyes Major Blitz as GOP Voters Blame Trump for Failing Economy

 

Image by Presia Debauch via Flickr and a CC license

Continue Reading

Trending

Copyright © 2020 AlterNet Media.