At the fear factory

You really get some great exclusives when you have a whole beat devoted to the imminent demise of civilization as we know it, huh? Let's see how we got to the headline:

It’s a battle of Christians versus Christians in Brandon, Miss. where city officials oppose efforts by a prominent church to erect a giant cross because it violates a zoning ordinance. But the pastor of the church said elected officials are also afraid the cross might offend Muslims.

Good so far?

The First Baptist Church of Brandon petitioned the city to install a 110-foot tall cross on its property alongside Interstate 20. The project is sponsored by “Crosses Across America,” a non-profit group that builds giant crosses along the nation’s highways.

“They were led by the Holy Spirit to seek a location in Mississippi,” Pastor Scott Thomas told Fox News. “92,000 cars a day travel along the Interstate 20 corridor. Those are people who need hope, who need inspiration.”

So where does the Muslim Peril come in?

The Federal Aviation Administration and the Mississippi Department of Transportation signed off on the plan, but the church hit a snag when they took their request before the city’s planning commission. They voted 4-3 to not recommend construction.

Mayor Butch Lee told Fox News the cross is considered an auxiliary structure and under the law the cross can only be 20 feet high.

Oh, come on. Surely somebody down there is writing backwards and going to church on Friday and stuff.

... The final decision on the cross rests with the board of alderman and Pastor Thomas said the outlook is bleak. He said he suspects there’s more to their objections than just the size of the cross.

“They asked other questions that indicate to me that there’s something else that concerns them,” he said. “They asked, ‘what if the Muslims, the Buddhists want to build a sign?’”

And that's it? Well, OK -- one more thing:

But Mayor Lee said the planning commission’s decision has nothing to do with Muslims or non-Christians. He also rejected accusations on social networking websites that the no-vote was an attack on Christians.

“Hogwash,” he said. “I can assure you that our planning commission and our city board are without doubt, 100 percent born-again Christians – everyone one of them. I will stand by them whatever they decide.” 

Like most of his kind, he's probably been trained to lie to infidels whenever it helps advance the cause. But you're still left wondering -- does somebody at The Fox Nation have a crash book for what you do when some poor loyal follower actually reads the little bitty print under the headline?