Because nothing says love of country like meaningless bling.

You have to keep in mind that Fox News is nothing more than the propaganda arm of the Republican party. It’s the GOP’s Pravda. So you always have to look deeper whenever you see any story on Fox, and look to the motivation – what made them put this story on? Being “news” is not an option.

In this case, rather than use any of the white American medalists as a poster girl for un-patriotism, Fox chose the black one, Gabby Douglas, who just happens to be the first African-American woman to win an all-around gold medal in the Olympics. Racism isn’t always subtle.

Fox also artfully chose a black Tea Party loyalist to be the one delivering the hate, so as to cover their behind. Fox does this a lot. I’d been called numerous times to go on Fox in order to debate someone else gay about some topic blasting gays. You see, so long as they get someone gay, or black, to deliver the bigotry, it doesn’t count as hateful, in their eyes.

Back to the bling.

Fox News is concerned that America’s athletes aren’t wearing enough American flags, or piercing their noses with copies of the Constitution, or something. Republicans have a bit of a fetish for patriotic bling, but less so for patriotism itself. They love the flag, but don’t particularly love what the flag stands for (they can’t stand our system of government, particularly the judiciary, but really any branch that stands in their way). They claim to “love” the troops, but then when a service member runs for president they mock him for having received a purple heart (a medal he got for being wounded in battle and saving his fellow service members).

In other words, Republicans are much more into objects of democracy than democracy itself. It’s why they’re far more concerned about kids saying prayers in school than they are the same kid getting a school lunch, or keeping the kid away from automatic rifles (lest that interfere with the child’s constitutional right to die in a meaningless blaze of gunfire at the movies).

So, to Fox, it doesn’t matter that these athletes have given their all, since childhood, for this one chance to represent their country at the Olympics. That’s not patriotism. What’s patriotic is stopping by the local gun shop and buying a $2.00 flag pin along with an uzi, before heading home to beat your wife, and disown your kid for being gay.