A programming reveal

 Occasionally I run into people who still believe the "news" part of Fox News, and I'm always astounded. It's fascinating to me how easily people are taken in by even the most obvious propaganda, the more outlandish the better.

In those moments it becomes clear to me how Stalin and Hitler and every other murderous goon in history was able to sell what he sold to the citizenry. It seems if the citizenry wants to believe something badly enough, no matter how ridiculous, it will believe it.

Like, that Fox "News" is actually a legitimate news source, and not, you know, an American version of Tass or Pravda.

The boys and girls at Fox proved it again the other day, when they deliberately manipulated reality during a broadcast of a San Francisco Giants game. To recognize Pride Month (for which the official Fox position is "Ewwww"), the Jints had transgender "Jeopardy!" champion Amy Schneider throw out the first pitch.

That's not what Fox viewers saw, however.

What they saw was NASCAR driver Kurt Busch throwing out the first pitch. It actually happened a year ago, but Fox didn't bother telling its viewers that. They just used it to promo an upcoming NASCAR race.

That was their cover, anyway, even if it was skimpier than a Sports Illustrated swimsuit  model's duds. And of course it wasn't "news." It was in fact exactly the opposite of "news." 

Look. I get it. The folks who run Fox News don't like transgenders. They think they're creepy and out to take over women's sports. They also aren't fond of those awful gay people, who want to corrupt our children with their awful gay-y ways. It's why they spend so much time reporting on nefarious teachers "grooming" schoolkids for gayhood, even if  it's almost entirely mythical.

I just wish they'd be upfront about what they're doing, and who they are.

I wish they'd all just come out and say what some of them pretty much already do -- namely, that they don't like transgenders and gays, and that they think they're all going to burn in hell, and that they're not legitimate members of American society but sick aberrations who should be marginalized at best.

At least that would be honest. 

If not exactly news.