About us Login Get email updates
County Fair
Print

Fox News scrubs any mention of school death threat in kids-sing-for-Obama story

September 25, 2009 8:19 am ET by Eric Boehlert

Great catch by Raw Story.

Foxnews.com posted an item about the right-wing crusade yesterday to vilify young school children in N.J. who sang the praise of the president Obama during a Black History Month event. In that original report, the Fox update noted [emphasis added]:

The tension at B. Bernice Young Elementary School escalated to such a degree Thursday that the school was placed temporarily on lockdown after its principal received death threats over a YouTube video that showed nearly 20 children being taught songs lauding the president, though back-to-school night events continuing as planned Thursday night at the school.

Soon after though, the Fox news report had been scrubbed of any mention of looming violence; it had been scrubbed of any notion that right-wing crazies apparently called the school and were threatening to kill the principal.

Expand All Expand 1st Level Collapse All Add Comment
    • Author by worrierking (September 25, 2009 8:24 am ET)
      10  
      What's more dangerous? Children being indoctrinated to believe that equal work means equal pay or the life of a school principle being threatened.

      Fox made the right call. We should not allow our kids to be exposed to concepts like equality and fairness.
      Report Abuse
    • Author by epkklk851 (September 25, 2009 8:35 am ET)
      7  
      Yes, and Fox's negative attentions caused the district page to crash. I tried to check out the school or the district in the afternoon and both pages were crashed, and are still crashed as of this morning (I wanted to send a message of my support). The people of this school district and the school don't deserve this treatment, they held a Black History Month event with the author of a book about the newly-elected, first Black President, and they sang songs about him. This is not a crime and it isn't treason and the White House had nothing to do with it! This is so disgusting.
      Report Abuse
    • Author by raine315 (September 25, 2009 8:53 am ET)
      8  
      Yesterday Michelle Malkin had a link to the ORIGINAL youtube account the video appeared on. The person had taken the vid down was she got wind that it was snatched up by wingnuts for their evil use. Anyway I went to her YouTube page and left her a few positive words on her page- told her I enjoyed her other videos and not to let the haters get to her- it was a short simple message. OH BOY- soon after that I started to recieve HATE messages- stuff like I am a whacko and i will burn in hell. Fox News and other conservative talkers do not realize the type of SICK & TWISTED people they cater to.

      I hope the school asks for recieves extra police protection :(
      Report Abuse
      • Author by epkklk851 (September 25, 2009 9:21 am ET)
        4  
        Wow, I have often thought of signing up for some of those sites so I could leave comments, but I was afraid of something like that happening to me. Sorry to hear my fears are true. But I don't they were wrong, think the person who posted the video or the school for doing the singing, the people who are being so ugly and hateful, they are the ones who are wrong.
        Report Abuse
      • Author by mjsomme (September 25, 2009 9:45 am ET)
        12  
        I agree with everything ou wrote except for: "Fox News and other conservative talkers do not realize the type of SICK & TWISTED people they cater to."

        They know exactly who they are catering to. Those people are their core audience.
        Report Abuse
        • Author by epkklk851 (September 25, 2009 10:24 am ET)
          1  
          Yes, and Glennie is afraid of them. He lives in lily white Connecticut, one of the lowest crime rate states in the country, and yet he had a six foot security wall built around his home because of angry audiences and he has not one, but two trained attack dogs to patrol his yard, and then there are all the loaded guns he keeps and I am sure he has a security system, too. Such a friendly guy. Me, I live in a working class neighborhood, I don't own a gun or a dog, and I forget to turn the security system on most nights.
          Report Abuse
          • Author by magnolialover (September 25, 2009 10:28 am ET)
            3  
            I've got 2 dogs, but if anyone broke into my house, the dogs would likely lick the invaders to death if anything.

            I do have a security system, that hardly ever gets turned on.

            The doors are most often un-locked, and windows open (when the weather is nice).

            I live in a middle class neighborhood. No big deal. My neighbors all watch each other's places, and we all get together, have some drinks and cookout once in awhile. It's a good place like that.
            Report Abuse
            • Author by themidnightreview.com (September 25, 2009 10:35 am ET)
              4  
              That is the America Glenn Beck hates. If you are complacent, you are not safe...

              You must fear for your life, your future, your guns, and you must watch his show to find out who are the bad guys and who are the good guys...
              Report Abuse
            • Author by epkklk851 (September 25, 2009 10:38 am ET)
              2  
              Yeah, my neighbors are okay, too. They come from all kinds of backgrounds and work for a living. I've left the doors unlocked, too. What is wrong with us, we actually have faith in those around us, we must be fascists or socialists or something.
              Report Abuse
          • Author by worrierking (September 25, 2009 12:48 pm ET)
            3  
            Where Glenn lives, you can be stopped by the police based on your looks and on the age and condition of your car. It has nothing to do with race, and everything to do with being a member of a suspect class, like those who work for a living.
            Report Abuse
      • Author by bilbo_dies (September 25, 2009 1:51 pm ET)
        1  
        Fox News and other conservative talkers do not realize the type of SICK & TWISTED people they cater to.

        Uh, actually they do know. They just don't care because: ratings are ratings, and that is what matters.

        Besides, as long as you can deny any culpability, if someone goes crazy and kills someone, it won't hurt you.(from a profit standpoint)
        Report Abuse
        • Author by tangaroa (September 25, 2009 5:39 pm ET)
             
          They know that if they stop catering to all the sick and twisted people they wouldn't have an audience and wouldn't be in business.
          Report Abuse
    • Author by John Carter (September 25, 2009 9:42 am ET)
         
      Was the school placed on lockdown or not? Did they get the perp?
      Report Abuse
    • Author by mk3872 (September 25, 2009 9:44 am ET)
      5  
      Behold the conservative crusades against all Black History Month mentions of Barack Obama or any presidential songs about anyone other than Saint Ronald Reagan.

      BTW, if any violence were to occur at the school, Fox News would blame the teacher who wrote the song.
      Report Abuse
    • Author by mikelartist (September 25, 2009 9:54 am ET)
      4  
      Let's not forget. Gun crazy - wingnut Tim McVeigh was whipped into a frenzy by the right wing noise machine. How many children did he kill?
      Report Abuse
    • Author by DellDolly (September 25, 2009 9:58 am ET)
      4  
      At least FoxNews blurred the faces of the kids in the video. Because they knew it wasn't right to show their faces, unlike the jokers here yesterday who said there wasn't anything to be gained by protecting the identity of the kids any more.
      Report Abuse
      • Author by themidnightreview.com (September 25, 2009 10:37 am ET)
           
        Their views are not obscured in the youtube video...
        Report Abuse
        • Author by DellDolly (September 25, 2009 12:00 pm ET)
             
          Do you think you're telling me something I didn't know? The reason people were saying yesterday that there was no reason to attack people who linked to the YouTube videos was because we were objecting to the unblurred faces.
          Report Abuse
      • Author by srichardson (September 25, 2009 11:48 am ET)
           
        Did they blur their faces the first time they showed the video? Besides, who cares if they blurred the faces (after the first time). They put out the name of the school over and over again. They totally contribute to the hate in this country and this is another perfect example. What is it going to take for you right wingnuts to stop supporting and making excuses for Beck, Hannity, Limbaugh, etc? Will it take another OKC bombing? And for those who told the one lady she was going to hell because she wrote words of support to the lady who originally put the video on youtube, "READ YOUR BIBLE!" Don't just read it, actually do what it says. I think all those people are in for a big surprise when they meet their maker. The Lord says, Not all who say my name will make it into heaven. I will tell them I did not know you.
        Report Abuse
        • Author by DellDolly (September 25, 2009 12:04 pm ET)
             
          Every time the video is linked to, it continues to endanger the kids. Every time the video is viewed without the faces blurred, it continues to put them at risk.

          It's good that one offending group finally blurred the kids' faces. It matters. I never said that the other actions they did were okay, or that blurring their faces in any way makes up for those other offensive actions.

          And if you think I am a right wing nut just because I noticed that FoxNews blurred faces, you're the nut.
          Report Abuse
          • Author by srichardson (September 25, 2009 12:30 pm ET)
            2  
            I apologize for that. Obviously you are not a right wing nut. This issue is just very irritating for me. I do teach and when these people continue to attack public schools, over and over, it gets frustrating. The above post is meant strictly for those people who will attack Obama and his administration over any issue. And it's obvious that we are headed for some kind of major collision between the two groups. Please accept my apology.
            Report Abuse
        • Author by NiceguyEddie (September 25, 2009 12:20 pm ET)
          2  
          Dude, DellDolly's no right wing nut. Re-read the post in a non-RW/crazy context, and you'll find that you're both on the same page.

          ---------------------------------------------------------------------
          Happens to me sometimes too!
          Report Abuse
    • Author by Wahoo73 (September 25, 2009 10:16 am ET)
        2
      Eric Boehlert and Raw Story are either wrong or they are liars or both. According to my Google search, Fox news posted the following story 18 hours ago, well before either of them posted their reports on this matter: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/09/24/elementary-school-students-reportedly-taught-songs-praising-president-obama/
      Notice that the Fox news story contains both the mention of death threats to the school's pricipal, as well as quotes from other sources about the incident that Eric Boehlert says were omitted.
      How about a retraction from both of you?
      Report Abuse
    • Author by big2xrube6146 (September 25, 2009 10:16 am ET)
      3  
      Lets pray that nothing happens to the children and teachers at this school. All it is going to take is one crazy out there to make bad things happen. Fox and conservative talkers need to wake up and quit turning nothing into a pile of BS.
      Report Abuse
    • Author by themidnightreview.com (September 25, 2009 10:32 am ET)
      3  
      I imagine rising threats of violence, especially with the continuing politicization of everything coming from the right. I won't be surprised if investigations regarding the dead census worker come back to some conservative fanatic who treats Glenn Beck's books like a copy of the bible.

      ---------------------
      The Midnight Review
      Mum Is The Word


      Report Abuse
    • Author by eweston8542983 (September 25, 2009 10:33 am ET)
      1  
      Faux Gnues advice kiddies, when your president appears, hide under your desk.
      As a later thread shows, the death threats have occurred.
      Report Abuse
    • Author by PigFox (September 25, 2009 10:50 am ET)
        1
      What? Here's what I read on their website just now!
      "The tension at B. Bernice Young Elementary School escalated to such a degree Thursday that the school was placed temporarily on lockdown after its principal received death threats ..." It hasn't changed! It hasn't been "scrubbed"!

      Doesn't anyone check the facts before sounding off anymore?

      And the label of "right-wing crazy" is typical of this website.
      Report Abuse
      • Author by lwr-44 (September 26, 2009 9:13 am ET)
           
        the only crazys are the 3 people wrighting this crap,the store is about brain washing kids to grow up like you 3 ,and thats a bad thing ,kids need to look at the world through all eyes,not to grow as potenial voters
        Report Abuse
    • Author by Victor Colorado (September 25, 2009 12:30 pm ET)
      1  
      Fox News lawyers don't want to implicate Fox News any further into the crisis it creates.
      Report Abuse
      • Author by Victor Colorado (September 25, 2009 12:37 pm ET)
           
        Local Fox affiliate still reporting death threat....

        http://www.myfox8.com/wghp-story-obama-song-090925,0,494170.story
        Report Abuse
        • Author by Jay_C (September 25, 2009 1:33 pm ET)
            1
          and so is the original post on foxnews.com.. the wording and heading was changed but it still contains the story about the death threats.. I thinnk raw story pointed to a different article that countained a similar story hoping it looked like they changed it...

          http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/09/24/elementary-school-students-reportedly-taught-songs-praising-president-obama/
          Report Abuse
          • Author by Craig (September 25, 2009 6:04 pm ET)
            1  
            No, Fox changed the article again, after the Raw Story item, restoring much of the original text.
            Report Abuse