Tebow Super Bowl Ad – What is the Big Deal?

The most highly anticipated Super Bowl ad prior to the big game was the Focus on the Family clip that included Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow and his mom.  For weeks, all the talk has been that this is a Pro-Life ad and that CBS is negligent in allowing the ad to run.  Now that the ad has run, I really don’t see the problem.  My wife and I looked at each other last night and almost in unison said, “What’s the big deal?”  You can judge for yourself.

Planned Parenthood decided to create their own ad with a couple of athletes.  I have no idea if they actually saw the ad (Tebow ad) before it aired, but their ad seems a little out of sorts, in my opinion, but everyone has the opportunity to create their own ad and post it on Youtube.

If Planned Parenthood really wanted to diminish the value of the ad they would have just let it run.  By focusing attention on the ad they guaranteed that millions would be sure to watch it, just to see what all the hubbub was about.  I would say that Focus on the Family really got their money’s worth in advance publicity and continued exposure of the ad on Youtube with over 120,000 hits since yesterday.  Gloria Allred will also push the ad to epic status.  I’m not sure that was what she was going for, but it’s all publicity for her.

An article from Elizabeth Hovde in the opinion page of the The Oregonian newspaper ran last week outlining the “controversy.”  Here is a snippet:

The idea that a mom of a famous athlete is going to be in an ad praising her choice to carry her child to full term has wrongly infuriated some people, including Gloria Allred. The pro-choice heroine and lawyer is busy trying to paint Pam Tebow a liar, saying because the Philippines outlaws abortion, she finds it hard to believe that doctors would recommend the procedure. (Never mind that Pam Tebow was an American who knew that in her home country abortions were routine procedures in 1987. And never mind that plenty of women had abortions in America long before they became legal. Has Allred forgotten her own arguments for and our own nation’s history with abortion? Abortions can be obtained, regardless of the law.)

Allred is threatening to file a complaint with the FTC and the FCC if the ad airs without disclosing that abortions were illegal in the Philippines at the time Pam Tebow made her choice. She is making a huge mistake attacking a woman for making statements that Allred can’t possibly disprove. And she’s revealing herself to be anti-choice in deciding that Pam Tebow’s choice isn’t worth hearing. 

I for one am all for ads just like this one that are tastefully done.  No where in the ad was there some call to action or chiding others for having abortions.  CBS has discretion to accept or reject whatever ad they choose.  They are a somewhat left leaning network in their news division but the marketing people obviously know the makeup of the country and decided to let this ad run.  By rejecting an ad from a gay dating site they also revealed that they knew this would cause problems.  I’d say they made a smart business decision but we’ll see when the ratings come in. 

Of course, this is just my opinion.

Rob’s Rant

John Stewart Skewers CNN Fact Checking SNL Skit

I just thought this was funny.

Companies Shaken Down by Al Sharpton and His National Action Network

This list is directly from The Electric Stove from Allman in the Morning on 97.1 FM Talk:

Al Sharpton’s platform for his assault on Rush Limbaugh’s NFL ownership bid was the National Action Network (NAN), which is bankrolled by corporate America.

The following companies were identified this year by NAN as sponsors:

American Honda, Anheuser Busch, Colgate-Palmolive, Comcast, Entergy, Ford Motor Company, Home Depot, Johnson & Johnson, Macy’s, PepsiCo, Pfizer and Wal-Mart. Sponsorship reportedly cost $50,000.

NLPC is asking these companies to end their support for Sharpton and NAN. Here’s how to contact them:

American Honda
phone: 1-800-999-1009 (Mon.-Fri., 6:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m., Pacific Time)
Fax: 310-783-3023 (24 hours)

Anheuser Busch
email: crg@anheuser-busch.com
1-800-342-5283

Colgate-Palmolive
1-800-468-6502 (Consumer Affairs)
1-212-310-2000 (Corporate Headquarters)

Comcast
Email: complaints@comcast.com
1-800-COMCAST (1-800-266-2278), (24 hours a day, 7 days a week)

Entergy
1-800-368-3749 x: 4 (Customer Service)
1-504-576-4000 (Corporate Headquarters)

Ford Motor Company
1-800-392-3673 (Mon.-Fri., 8:00a.m.-5:00p.m. Local Time)

Home Depot
1-800-553-3199 (M-F 8 a.m. – 8 p.m. ET, Sat: 9 a.m. – 6 p.m. ET, Sun: 12 p.m. – 6 p.m. ET

Johnson & Johnson
1-732-524-0400 (Corporate Headquarters 7:30 a. m.-5:30p.m. ET)
Fax: 1-732-214-0332

Macy’s
Click here for many phone numbers.

PepsiCo
Phone 1-914-253-2000 (Corporate Headquarters)

Pfizer
1-212-733-2323 (Corporate Headquarters)

Wal-Mart
1-800-925-6278 (Customer Service)

 I doubt all of the companies support the actions of Al Sharpton, but they might want to know if their customers object to this support.  I’m sure they throw him some money just to get him to go away – kind of like what parents do with their kids from time to time, “fine, have a piece of candy and go away for five minutes.”

Of course, this is just my opinion.

Rob’s Rant

Cavuto Slams White House Communications Director

I don’t watch Neil Cavuto on a regular basis, but he always seems to cut through the BS and really hit home runs.  In the clip below he slams White House Communications Director Anita Dunn on her dislike for Fox News.

Is Fox News really biased outside of the opinion shows?  I hardly think so.  The  fact that more Americans trust this network to give them the real story shows that they are on the right track.

Let’s examine the opinion shows:

• Glenn Beck – Somewhat conservative but very independent thinking.  He’s no Republican.
• Bill O’Reilly – I can’t tell what his leanings are – he really seems independent to be, but I know most lefties will disagree.
• Bret Baier– Independent and balanced.
• Greta Van Sustren – Independent and balanced.
• Sean Hannity – Conservative and very right leaning.  Very biased on the right.
• Geraldo Rivera – Liberal.
• Sheppard Smith – Liberal, very biased on the left. 

Where is the vast right wing bias?  Even with the opinion shows thrown in, I don’t see the big deal. 

Of course, this is just my opinion.

Rob’s Rant

Black Players May Boycott Rush’s Rams

Being from St. Louis, I am always curious what is happening to our local teams.  I don’t happen to be a Rams fan, but I always want them to do well.  The family that owns the team has been looking for a buyer since the death of Georgia Frontiere in 2008.  They just don’t have a passion for an NFL team.  Strange but true.

The Rams have been a dog of a team for several years going through coaches and players like poop through a goose.  Now a group headed by Dave Checketts and radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh is exploring buying the beleaguered Rams organization.  Speaking as an NFL fan this seems like a great match.  Checketts owns several sports franchises including the St. Louis Blues Hockey team.  Limbaugh is a long time NFL fan and regularly takes up broadcast time during the football season discussing games.  Both of these guys probably have a better handle on running a team than the collective knowledge base of the current ownership AND coaching staff.  From the team results for the past several years I think my comments are justified.

When I heard the rumors that Rush might be part of a group to buy the Rams, I knew there would be some kind of “controversy.”  It seems a group of black players has issues with a possible sale to Limbaugh.  From Sports Illustrated online:

Mathias Kiwanuka loves his former defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo, but the Giants’ defensive end says he will never play for Spagnuolo’s Rams if Rush Limbaugh purchases the team. Kiwanuka and the Jets’ Bart Scott made it clear Thursday that they would never play for the Rams or any team owned by the controversial conservative radio host.

“All I know is from the last comment I heard, he said in (President) Obama’s America, white kids are getting beat up on the bus while black kids are chanting ‘right on,'” Kiwanuka told The Daily News. “I mean, I don’t want anything to do with a team that he has any part of. He can do whatever he wants, it is a free country. But if it goes through, I can tell you where I am not going to play.” Read more: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/morning-jolt/10/09/friday.10.09/index.html#ixzz0TXXWKeTL

So much for everyone getting along.  Mr. Kiwanuka, if you are that short sided, stay in New York. 

I say “Go for it,” Rush.   Don’t worry about the whiney fringe that doesn’t understand the economics and business side of professional sports.  It’s results on the field that count and if you have an involved ownership that has the best interests of the team as the primary motivation, who cares who writes the checks.  The Rams need all the advise they can get.  Last time I checked they were 3 and 17 in their last 20 games.  Sounds like overhaul time to me.

I wonder if Rush will have to stop rooting for his beloved Steelers.  We’ll see.

Of course, this is just my opinion.

Rob’s Rant

The Angry Mobs Are Taking Over!

I just had to post this.  Brings perspective to the idea that “Angry Mobs” are taking over the Town Hall meetings.

I guess the marching orders from the liberal groups and the DNC is that these citizens are uninformed by the usual “right wing” characters: Rush, Beck, Hannity, O’Reilly, etc., etc.  I expected something more original from the left.  Same old stuff – demean the protesters, call them bigots and racists and get your buddies in the media to help spread the lies.  Guess that’s just wishful thinking on my part to move past the tired old tactics.

Of course, this is just my opinion.

Rob’s Rant

John Hughes: A Film Genius For Our Time

As we all come of age, there are certain movies that define that point in time.  Some movies come and go, but others seem to stick around forever.  John Hughes was one of those rare geniuses of Hollywood that made an indelible mark on film making.  Unfortunately he has passed away way too soon at the age of 59.

Those of you who don’t know the work of John Hughes you have either been sleeping for 25 years or don’t watch movies.  Either say, maybe this list will ring a bell:

• Ferris Bueller’s Day Off
• Home Alone Series
• Vacation Series
• Breakfast Club
• Pretty in Pink
• Weird Science
• Uncle Buck
• Great Outdoors
• Planes, Trains & Automobiles
• Etc., Etc., Etc.

I thought I’d depart from the regular politics to post a few video montages of his work.  The first highlights some of the best movie moments, the second is set to Baba O’Riley.

I have no idea if any of his files earned an Oscar, but I doubt it.  It really doesn’t matter – they were all great films.  A true test of a great director is if his or her films are still showing up on cable and in the rental bin.  You can’t turn on the TV any week and not see one of his movies playing .  You just have to stop and watch.  

I didn’t realize it until I looked at his body of work that I’m not sure I would have a vocabulary if not for John Hughes movies.  My favorite line? 

Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.
– Ferris Bueller

Of course, this is just my opinion.  Feel free to share your favorite line. 

Rob’s Rant

Palin Took Out Michael Jackson?

We all know that Al Sharpton has a couple of screws loose, but this one is really out there.  To me this exchange takes the cake.

Evidently Mr. Sharpton has a radio program.  This fact astounded me, but the bigger befuddlement is that people actually listen to this guy.  Rev. Al had a caller that started off praising Michael Jackson and that she loved his music, etc., etc.  So far so good.  The conversation went further to bring up a possible reason that Gov. Palin stepped down from her Governorship in Alaska.  The notion was that she must have “done something” to Michael Jackson and there is a coming scandal. 

Not only is this ludicrous, but Rev. Sharpton just let it go as a possibility.  No radio host can totally control the rantings and wild theories of the callers, but in this case ther ewas NO discussion, NO questions, NO probing.  I guess that is what we can expect from our favorite opportunist.

Of course, this is just my opinion.

Rob’s Rant

Sharpton Plays the Race Card

This is an old story.  The Rev. Al Sharpton is constantly telling the world that we’re all racists.  The Michael Jackson memorial service was nothing different.  The whole speech was geared to create a victim of Jackson.  Why is he the victim?  He made massive amounts of money doing what he did best – sing and dance.  To assign him this status to blame everyone else (but Jackson) for his demise is total crap.

Those of us who are informed about current events know that Al Sharpton is an opportunist that has to have a camera in front of his face at all times.  The term narcissist comes to mind.

Of course, this is just my opinion.

Rob’s Rant

Michael Jackson RIP – Good Riddance ***UPDATE***

I consider my Dad one of the most insightful people on the planet.  He is one of my heroes.  His wisdom and knowledge have been imparted to me and I’m sure I will never be the person he is, but there is always hope. 

We talked this morning about several current events – Cap and Trade, the coming Health care boondoggle along with the death of Michael Jackson.  I told him that I didn’t want to be morbid or callous, but that I really didn’t care much about the passing of Mr. Jackson.  We both agreed that the world is a better place without Michael Jackson.  Before I start to get hate mail from all the fans of Wacko Jacko, let me explain myself.

The life of Michael Jackson is a tragic one.  He and the other Jackson’s had a horrible childhood at the hands of their father.  He rose to become one of the most prolific entertainers the world has ever known.  His musical accomplishments are well known and indisputable.  Yes he was a Pop icon.  Yes he did great things for music.

As a father, all I can think of is his proclivity to molest small children.  Did these psychological problems stem from his horrible childhood – maybe – but that never excuses someone from these activities.  Society obviously judged him differently than other pedophiles.  The only difference with Michael Jackson and similar individuals currently sitting in prison (or former wards of the state) is that he had the money to pay off the families.  Like we know from the OJ case, just because you are not convicted in a court of law doesn’t mean you’re not guilty.  Sane people know the truth regardless of a court ruling.

All you fans of Michael Jackson take your time to mourn, but also remember all the disgusting things he has done and shattered lives that he has caused.  Mr. Jackson is lucky that those things were not done to my children as I’m not quite as magnanimous as others might be. 

 

***UPDATE***

Over the weekend Representative Peter King from New York made some great statements regarding the coverage of Michael Jackson.  Here is the original statement:

And here is Rep King backing up his statement on CNN:

Good for you Rep. King for standing up for your statements.  If you say something you should be ready to back it up and not pander to what everyone in the media expects or wants to hear.  I happen to agree with Rep. King, but it is refreshing to hear a politician back up his statements.

Of course, this is just my opinion.

Rob’s Rant

Wanda Sykes is Lovin’ on Limbaugh

I love it when comedians try to be funny by trashing conservatives. 

The annual Correspondents’ White House Association Dinner always turns into a roast of the Press and some of the people in attendance.  The current President of the United States gets up and does some standup and this years event was no different.  It’s usually pretty funny and it is an annual tradition.  This year the proceedings took a strange turn.

While President Obama was very funny and self-deprecating, the “Comedian” Wanda Sykes took some time to continue the roast.  Of course we expect some good natured ribbing of the current administration, but none of that transpired.  Instead, Ms. Sykes took part of her time to trash Rush Limbaugh about his statements that he “Wanted the President to Fail”.  Either she ignored the real facts of his interview with Sean Hannity or she is being disingenuous.   I’ll go with the later.

She also compared him to Osama Bin Laden and mentioned that he (Rush) was suppose to be the 20^th hijacker in the September 11 terrorist attacks but missed his flight being too high on Oxycontin.   She also hoped that his Kidney’s failed.  We also witnessed President Obama laughing at this diatribe.  Classy, real classy.

Am I being too hard nosed on this?  Am I devoid of a sense of humor?  Hardly.  What do you think would be the press reaction to President Bush laughing at someone on stage suggesting they hoped that Jeneane Garafalo had a heart attack.  Or that Alan Colmes would get cancer.  Or if Al Franken would die in a horrible car accident.  I believe this would be front page news on every paper and on every website.

 

Wanda Sykes at the White House Correspondents Dinner:

 

Rush Limbaugh’s comments to Sean Hannity (in context):

 

The only reason I bring up this type of thing again and again is that the former President (Bush) went through Hell during his administration from the same yea-hoos (the press) in the crowd that night.   What was suppose to be a funny and good natured event turned ugly.  Does Ms. Sykes have nothing else to kid about?  She is moderately funny and is talented but this begs the question – why wasn’t she actually funny during this event?  I guess she drank the Kool-Aid before she took the stage.

Of course, this is just my opinion.

Rob’s Rant

Happy Earth Day From Moses

I’m trying very hard to do my part on Earth Day 2009!  I’m using double the paper at work and pumping gas during daylight hours.

OK, I really don’t care much about Earth Day because I think every day is Earth Day.  The real environmentalists are the ones that know that no matter what we do, we can’t kill the earth.  The best we can do is take care of what we have but don’t take things to an extreme that take us back to the 12th century (hmmm…sounds like the Middle East).

Following is an excellent oration (well, transcript) from Charlton Heston.  He read this passage from Michael Crichton’s prologue of Jurassic Park on the Rush Limbaugh show in 1995.  I think this says a lot although I would dispute the age and origins of the earth.    

 

You think man can destroy the planet? What intoxicating vanity. Let me tell you about our planet. Earth is four-and-a-half-billion-years-old. There’s been life on it for nearly that long, 3.8 billion years. Bacteria first; later the first multicellular life, then the first complex creatures in the sea, on the land. Then finally the great sweeping ages of animals, the amphibians, the dinosaurs, at last the mammals, each one enduring millions on millions of years, great dynasties of creatures rising, flourishing, dying away — all this against a background of continuous and violent upheaval. Mountain ranges thrust up, eroded away, cometary impacts, volcano eruptions, oceans rising and falling, whole continents moving, an endless, constant, violent change, colliding, buckling to make mountains over millions of years.

Earth has survived everything in its time. It will certainly survive us. If all the nuclear weapons in the world went off at once and all the plants, all the animals died and the earth was sizzling hot for a hundred thousand years, life would survive, somewhere: under the soil, frozen in Arctic ice. Sooner or later, when the planet was no longer inhospitable, life would spread again. The evolutionary process would begin again. It might take a few billion years for life to regain its present variety. Of course, it would be very different from what it is now, but the earth would survive our folly, only we would not. If the ozone layer gets thinner, ultraviolet radiation sears the earth, so what? Ultraviolet radiation is good for life. It’s powerful energy. It promotes mutation, change. Many forms of life will thrive with more UV radiation. Many others will die out.

Do you think this is the first time that’s happened? Think about oxygen. Necessary for life now, but oxygen is actually a metabolic poison, a corrosive glass, like fluorine. When oxygen was first produced as a waste product by certain plant cells some three billion years ago, it created a crisis for all other life on earth. Those plants were polluting the environment, exhaling a lethal gas. Earth eventually had an atmosphere incompatible with life. Nevertheless, life on earth took care of itself. In the thinking of the human being a hundred years is a long time. A hundred years ago we didn’t have cars, airplanes, computers or vaccines. It was a whole different world, but to the earth, a hundred years is nothing. A million years is nothing. This planet lives and breathes on a much vaster scale. We can’t imagine its slow and powerful rhythms, and we haven’t got the humility to try. We’ve been residents here for the blink of an eye. If we’re gone tomorrow, the earth will not miss us.

 Happy Earth Day!

 

Of course, this is just my opinion.

Rob’s Rant

Are You A Racist??

Evidently I am a racist according to that great prognosticator, Janeane Garofalo.   On the hardly watched Keith Olbermann Show on MSNBC, here is what she opined about all of us that attended a Tax Day Tea Party event.

I agree with my friends at The Great Illuminator – keep spewing this crazy talk. This is actually good for the cause and will incite more people to get involved. I can’t wait until the 2010 election. What a slaughter this will be. Should be good fun.

As a parting shot, Lou Dobbs had something to say about the waste of good breathable air (Ms. Garafalo).

Right on Lou! It is good that Ms. Garafalo is sent to the far reaches of the media like MSNBC and Air America. No one actually watches or listens to these programs, they just quote them in blogs.

Of course, this is just my opinion.

Rob’s Rant

********UPDATE************

Here’s a great link to an awesome website that refers to this exact story: http://theblacksphere.blogspot.com/2009/04/racist-garofalo-to-rescue.html.  Enjoy!

Those Damn Dirty Apes Finally Won

This is not so much a rant. Today one of our greatest actors died at age 84. I’m talking about Charlton Heston.

He was in a string of great movies that included The Ten Commandments, Ben-Hur, El Cid and The Planet of the Apes. Another favorite movie of mine is Soylent Green – most people only know the line, “Soylent Green is People”. Very weird movie, but great none-the-less.

His body of work was very diverse and many actors today would not take the kind of risks he did. It seemed as if he just took every role and didn’t really care if anyone liked it or not. Fortunately for him, we liked a majority of his movies.

Later in life he became the grumpy old man with a gun in his affiliation with the NRA. I thought this was his greatest role and he was a perfect match.

Those damn dirty apes finally won.

Rob’s Rant