Fox News commentator and columnist Todd Starnes is pissed.
In a new rant published by Charisma News, Starnes complains that a little local library in Cordova, AK (population 2,285) is refusing to carry his latest hate manifesto book God Less America: Real Stories From the Front Lines of the Attack of Traditional Values.
Starnes, of course, has a rich history of saying really awful things about gay people. In 2012, Fox News sent him to cover the Brooklyn Gay Pride celebrations, during which he complained about “a gaggle of angry lesbians” and “militant gays” as he fired off a string of homophobic tweets. In 2013, he referred to a transgender woman as a “burly man wearing a dress,” and claimed Christian soldiers were being unfairly “punished” when the Air Force announced plans to crack down on homophobic. And earlier this year, he responded to Michael Sam‘s historic coming out by saying: “We are no longer allowed to have fun and enjoy sports or entertainment programs. How sad.”
In his latest rant, Starnes says one of his readers, a man by the name of Kanji Christian, tried donating God Less America to the Cordova Public Library earlier this year.
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“The folks at the library said it would take a while for them to approve the book,” he writes. “A few months later, Kanji dropped by, hoping to find his donated copy of God Less America on the bookshelf. But the book was nowhere to be found.”
When he asked about it, the librarian allegedly told Kanji it wasn’t “something the community would be interested in.”
Shocked and offended, Starnes decided to take matters into his own hands.
“I called the public library,” he said.
Bullying employees of a small town public library over the phone. Classy.
Starnes demanded to speak to the librarian who rejected his book. She got on the phone and told him: “We have a really small library. Real estate on our shelves is very valuable.”
“That’s understandable,” he whines. “I’m just glad the Cordova Public Library has ample room on their shelves for the works of Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton, Jimmy Carter, Al Gore and President Obama. No wonder they don’t have room for the bad boy of the literary world.”
Bad boy of the literary world? Really?
“I can’t say I’m all that surprised that the public library refused to accept my book,” Starnes says. “[T]hat’s how the tolerance and diversity crowd operates. They don’t burn books–they just ban them.”
When they’re written by horrible homophobes like yourself, Mr. Starnes, then yes. Yes, we do.
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Graham Gremore is a columnist and contributor for Queerty and Life of the Law. Follow him on Facebook and Twitter.
Trippy
Ugh. I’ve read a lot of his rants on JoeMyGod (who often covers the loony right wing) and in all honesty, this post doesn’t go far enough in showing just how intolerant and hate-filled Todd Starnes actually is.
It would surprise me not one bit to learn that Starnes is a self-hating closet case. He literally oozes homophobia from every pore. He reminds me of the Larry Craigs of the world.
If his ugly manifesto is so dang important, then he’s free to post it on his personal website. In the meantime, he has no “right” to insist that a library stock his work for public consumption.
Dakotahgeo
When Looney Tunes Starnes gets educated and uses common sense, he might get some notice, but I suspect very little. He simply doesn’t deserve any notice. He’s just another right wing extremist booger in the handkerchief of life. Blow him out!
Cam
Two things.
1. Is the story true because I didn’t see any evidence that anybody had reached out to the library. But they LOVE to play victims.
2. If it is true, the guy didn’t donate the book to actually DONATE it, he wanted to set up a fight. Who donates books to a library and then goes back to make SURE that they placed them? I’ve donated many many books to libraries and they say right on the box that some books will be used and others won’t, I love how FOX tries to play the victim and pretend that the only times this happens is to conservatives.
RIGay
Well… there is always the gift shop at the Creationalilst Museum. I am sure there is space on the shelf next to the white Jesus statues.
Trippy
@Cam: Agreed! And very true. I didn’t think of it before, but about 8 years ago I donated over 50 hardback books to a local library and I never even thought to go back and check to see if they had been shelved. In all honesty, I didn’t care. If the library sold them at their annual $1 book sale, I’d have been just as happy. At least they ended up somewhere other that a landfill.
As usual, your comments are dead on. Starnes, and maybe FOX, was probably HOPING the library refused his book. In doing so, they gave him another platform for yet another homophobic attack on “the culture.”
southernsara
So the tiny library in a small town in Alaska prioritizes PRESIDENTS over his sorry butt and he feels slighted? Get over yourself, dude.
NoCagada
WHat would one expect from a “man” who probably hasn’t seen his own penis in years?
Desert Boy
Never heard of him.
Ladbrook
If every author donated his/her book(s) to a local library for public use we’d have a few hundred libraries roughly the size of the Superdome. Librarians have to make decisions based on space, subject, quality, and local interest. Starnes is a self-absorbed, self-entitled idiot if he thinks he can bully some tiny library into stocking his pseudo-religious musings.
And just for google search purposes, I’d like to add the following statement and would encourage others to do the same on a variety of sites:
Todd Starnes, noted bigot and Fox News commentator, recently admitted that he has an incredibly small penis, can’t achieve an erection, and suffers from same-sex attraction.
Stache99
@Trippy: Joe usually does a little follow up with someone like starnes and his colorful history for perspective and maybe some laughs.
Stache99
@Ladbrook: Does he really need to admit any of that for us to already know. Please.
RevJames
🙂
Theonewhoismany
I already have a clear picture in my head of Mr. Kanji Christian. I will not comment on the book as I have never read it, but I shall say this. Since Mr. Christian clearly is a right-of-center (far right loon) he most likely wants to eliminate public sector jobs and lower or abolish taxes. Someone should point out to this man, who probably only uses books to prop up tables with uneven legs, that taxes pay for libraries and the people who work in them. If he were simply to change his politics, it would go a great deal in increasing resources to the library and then it would have capacity for more books, employees to maintain them and a variety of viewpoints which would make everyone more well rounded. I am guessing if someone explained this line of thinking to him he would start shrieking about some nonsense that only makes sense to troglodytes.
alterego1980
“I can’t say I’m all that surprised that the public library refused to accept my book,” Starnes says. “[T]hat’s how the tolerance and diversity crowd operates. They don’t burn books–they just ban them.” — I find this to be one of the most hypocritical statements ever by a conservative/republican. They have attempted, and in many cases succeeded, to ban several books they thought supported a liberal/gay “agenda” in some way. Not to mention supporting conservative textbooks that omit and change basic social history in favor of their own causes (creationism, etc). What a tool…
scott609
This moron compares himself to all these world leaders who have done great things to better the world. What has he done besides try to make a buck by spreading his hate filled monologues and sowing division and strife. He doesn’t belong on the same shelf with any of them, not even in the same building. I think the Dewey Dec System has a filing code for his work. It is usually out back, marked “Dumpster”.
What an arrogant twit.
I'm Black, and HIV-Positive.
Fox News Channel is truly the Devil’s Spawn. Did you see them last night mocking the family of Michael Brown after his killer was found to be “only acting in self-defense” by a grand jury!?
jsmu
Yet another psychotic Faux News beeyotch who simply can’t adjust to the fact that he desperately wants it up his fat and hideous ass.
jwtraveler
I feel certain that Mr. Starnes has been at the forefront of the national campaign AGAINST library censorship.
Saint Law
He looks like his face should be on a wanted poster for a paedo serial killer.
PLAYS WELL WITH OTHERS
Any one wanna lay odds on how many times this vile, ugly, comb over bald smcubag has “accidently” found himself at the local cruise area????????
tricky ricky
what this story doesn’t say is the library is in ALASKA. he actually called ALASKA to find out why his book wasn’t on the shelf. I’m kind of surprised he didn’t sic a Palin on them. it’s a tiny town with a little library with limited shelf space and they try to have books people actually want to read and not something to salve some fat heads ego. the utter gall of this petty little man comparing his trite right wing trash book to books of substance written by actual historically important people is astounding.
tricky ricky
@Saint Law: people often mark his back with an m in chalk
tricky ricky
@scott609: he’s a good deal of the time promoting lies about the supposed persecution of Christians. one of them being the daughter of someone associated with the publishing of this very same book down in Florida. they created an incident where she was punished for praying a before lunch or something like that. Todd started spouting off in the child’s defense in righteous outraged indignation trying to make the incident a cause celeb. it backfired miserably.
jwtraveler
@PLAYS WELL WITH OTHERS: Why is it an insult to imply that some hateful person is gay? What makes you think that homophobes are secretly gay? It sounds like a little internalized homophobia on your part. Some people are just ignorant, frightened and hateful. That’s it.
SouthwestSun
I don’t think a man is secretly gay because he doesn’t like gays. There is no such litmus test… Remember that it was not that long ago that almost all gay books were banned from libraries. Today most major libraries have an LGBT section. While I support everyone’s right to freedom of speech, I don’t blame the library for considering his book a low-priority for their circulation.