Todd Starnes of Fox New broke the story. A kindergartner in an Oviedo elementary school was ordered not to pray when she bowed her head at lunch.
“A teacher saw her and told her, ‘you’re not allowed to do that,’” he said. Perez said his little girl replied, “But it’s good to pray.” The teacher alleged[sic] replied, “It’s not good.”
WOW! It appears there is an assault on Christianity in America afterall! Someone should really write a book about it... along with other stories of Christianity's front line assault! It's pretty damning. But just a few things that you might want to know about this Todd Starnes breaking story...
1. The school has no policy against private prayer. No school does. It would be illegal. Also, there never has been an issue with private prayer at this school or any other.
2. The school investigated. No one said they talked to the girl about praying and there were no witnesses. The girl, when she speaks, is a beautiful child and 5-year-olds don't lie.. but they can be manipulated and coached. All I'll say is listen to the child's youtube. (Yes, the father had the kid make a youtube video about it.)
3. The "reporter" who broke the story, Todd Starnes, has fabricated stories suggesting Obama might be gay and the Bible might be outlawed as "hate speech". Oh, and did I mention he is also promoting a book entitled "Godless America: Real Stories from the Front Line of Attack on Traditional Values"?
4. The father of the girl? Marcos Perez. That might be somewhat relevant in that he is in charge of sales at the Christian book company, Charisma House, that publishes "Godless America". In other words, HE IS DIRECTLY RESPONSIBLE FOR PROMOTING TODD STARNES' BOOK ON CHRISTIAN ASSAULT. You know, the same guy who broke the story?
The initial report from Todd Starnes did not include the disclaimer (that has since been added) that the guy whose daughter this allegedly happened to has a direct interest in Todd Starnes. And why should it? Our local media ran with it without checking... along with other outlets now that this story has gone national. (Seriously, Google it and you'll get a lot of stories.)
Quick note: If you have to resort to manipulating your child to do your job, get a new line of work. I feel for the poor kid. I find it incredible that this incident, which has never happened to anyone else before, happened to the kid of the guy promoting Todd's book on Christian assault.
But let's assume for a moment that through an extraordinary coincidence that is exactly what happened. The girl was told "its not good" to pray by some mystery rogue teacher, or cafeteria worker, or whomever. Here's the thing: That person DOES NOT represent the school!
As a parent, I would tell the principal and expect the person to be schooled and even disciplined, and that would be that. My first thought wouldn't be--LET'S MAKE A YOUTUBE VIDEO FEATURING MY KID. But that is what happened. (Again, I'm sure this is a coincidence, but notice that his youtube video description talks about how "our traditional values and religious freedoms are under assault". Sounds similar to a title of a book I know! He also gave his email for "media inquiries" at media321x@gmail.com--how convenient.)
All of these dubious facts didn't stop the Liberty Institute from taking legal action against the school, nor the right-wing rage machine to kick in high gear. Nor the sheeple followers to no doubt rush out to buy Todd's book.