So F**king What? Students Pledge Allegiance To The United States In Arabic. Fox Freaks Out

Isn’t this a good thing?

Fox Nation

The rabidly Islamophobic racists at Fox News have found yet another manufactured threat over which to obsess. It seems that a high school in Ft. Collins, Colorado, has taken the radical step of embracing the patriotism of all of its students. The horror of this activity prompted the Fox Nationalists to rush out a story with an alarmist headline saying “School Pledges Allegiance in Arabic, One Nation Under Allah?”

So F**king What?

What we have here is a group of students with diverse national and cultural backgrounds who are proud to be Americans. They are explicitly articulating that pride by pledging their allegiance to the country they love. Where’s the harm in that? Apparently the bigots at Fox are only comfortable with stereotypes of foreigners who are angry or violent or otherwise cast as enemies of the United States. The Foxies simply cannot comprehend the notion of patriotism unless it is expressed by white Christians.

One thing we can rely on with certainty is that Fox Nation is either lying or they are oozing bigotry on many levels. First of all, The question as to whether these students are making an oath to Allah ignores the fact that there are millions of Christians in the world who speak Arabic, which is a language, not a religion. Fox is making an assumption about the faith of these students that is based on prejudice. Which brings up the second point: What’s wrong with Muslims pledging to their God that they will be loyal to America? Would Fox prefer that anyone who believes in Allah reject this country? Or does Fox think that in order to love America you first have to convert to Christianity? Where would that leave Jews, Hindus, Buddhists, Native Americans, atheists, etc.?

While this is just the latest example of the blatant racism that is frequently expressed on Fox News, it is still unnerving to witness this sort of overt hate speech emanating from a major so-called “news” network. And it is more than a little ironic that a man named Al-Waleed bin Talal, a Muslim and a Saudi prince who has not pledged his allegiance to America in any language, is the largest shareholder of Fox’s parent corporation outside of the Murdoch family.

Fox News Fielding GOP Candidates For 2014: Pinheads On Parade

The 2012 presidential election cycle saw an unprecedented exploitation of the media by Fox News. The network employed numerous on-air hosts and contributors who were also prospective candidates for the Republican nomination for president. These included Sarah Palin, Newt Gingrich, Rick Santorum, Mike Huckabee, John Bolton, and Donald Trump. That relationship was wholly unethical by any standard, but Fox refused to comply with the professional standards that any credible news enterprise would maintain.

Now that 2012 is behind us, Fox has begun their campaigning for the next election cycle in 2014. Already at the gate are two Fox News employees who have indicated their interest in running for the senate. Geraldo Rivera announced that he is “truly considering” a run for the GOP nomination for senate in New Jersey. Keith Ablow reported on air his intention to seek the seat in Massachusetts. Setting aside momentarily the ethics dilemma this creates for Fox, these particular candidates would be a boon for professional comedians everywhere.

Geraldo RiveraGeraldo is best known for hosting an epically anti-climactic television spectacle to reveal the contents of Al Capone’s secret safe. After a two hour long buildup it turned out that the safe was empty. Geraldo also hosted a syndicated talk show that featured America’s low-life engaging in televised slap-fights. More recently he caused a stir by saying that “I think the hoodie is as much responsible for Trayvon Martin’s death as George Zimmerman was.” Geraldo later both apologized for, and defended the statement.

Keith AblowKeith Ablow is the disreputable psychiatric analyst Fox employs to make absurd and insulting diagnoses of Obama and other enemies of Fox. In the course of his practice, Ablow has praised marital infidelity as evidence of strong moral character that would enhance America’s leadership. He has suggested that the children of gay parents are at risk of sexual abuse. And he frequently offers public diagnoses of the President and others in violation of the American Psychiatric Association’s code of ethics.

The qualifications of these Fox/Tea Party candidates are embarrassingly sub-par. They would have to rise significantly to be considered mediocre. These hacks have nothing to recommend them as legislators, thinkers, or public servants. All of this makes them perfect candidates for the radically dimwitted right-wingers who watch Fox.

However, for Fox to permit their punditry to toy with electoral politics and remain on the air is an affront to the profession of journalism. Fox is effectively donating valuable airtime to promote their candidacies and the platforms they espouse. What’s more, Fox cannot possibly cover them fairly because their colleagues would be afraid to criticize them for fear of retribution from the executive suites. Roger Ailes has publicly admonished his staff to refrain from “shooting in the tent,” which would make impartial analysis impossible.

This is likely just the beginning. There may be additional announcements of Foxies who think they are poised for positions of power due to the notoriety they get from being on Fox. They may be sorely disappointed. None of the candidates above got anywhere during a year when many people thought the president was vulnerable and Fox was riding high in the ratings. Now that Obama was reelected with a substantial majority and Fox has taken a devastating hit in the ratings, it would be far more difficult for their candidates to make a mark, particularly when they are as insipid as these two.

Still, for the sake of the well being of America’s comedians, we must hold out hope that Steve Doocy or Eric Bolling or Gretchen Carlson will throw their tri-corner hats into the ring. With Sarah Palin and Dick Morris off the air there is a severe drought of comic relief. So, please, won’t somebody think of the comedians?