Late Tuesday, JCPenney had its credit rating downgraded to junk status. The American Family Association immediately seized on it, reposting an AP story that seemingly indicated the drop is due to Ellen DeGeneres being its spokeswoman.
NEW YORK - JC Penney's turnaround plan, which highlights "gay" activist Ellen DeGeneres, took a hit Tuesday when Fitch Ratings dropped its credit grade for the retailer into the "speculative" range -- a range better known as "junk."
Fitch downgraded the department store chain's default rating from BBB-minus, the last notch on the investment-grade scale, to BB-plus, the highest speculative-grade rating. The drop reflects an increase in risk as the company overhauls its business over the next 12 to 18 months, according to Fitch's statement.
Something about that story didn't pass the smell test. Sure enough, the folks at People for the American Way
found out that the AFA engaged in some extremely creative editing.
The actual AP story mentions nothing, nada, zip, bupkis about JC Penney's connection to Ellen.
The really outrageous thing about this is that the AFA's version of the story is no doubt the one reaching the "Christian cocoon" in which most of Don and Tim Wildmon's followers live. They have no shame.