Two things you don’t talk to friends about- Religion and Politics. That is, if you still want them to be you’re friends.
CBS is kicking this age-old adage through the uprights and throwing caution to the wind.
In a move that will be sure fan the flames (are we using enough metaphors here) of the proverbial “culture wars,” the network approved the airing of a controversial pro-life (or is it anti-abortion?) Super Bowl ad. The ad features the Heisman Trophy-winning Tim Tebow, and his mother Pam Tebow.
Hut! Hut!
ABC News gives us the overhead coverage on the pro-life plug…
Paid for by the conservative Christian group Focus on the Family, the ad tells the story of Bob and Pam Tebow, who was pregnant with their fifth child when the couple travelled to the Philippines on a missionary trip.
As you can image, some people aren’t please with the networks call. WaPo keeps us in the know…
After learning of the ad late Monday, Women’s Media Center (speaking on behalf of the National Organization for Women, the Feminist Majority Foundation and other organizations) asked CBS to pull the ad. It also questioned how and why the network, which used to forbid “advocacy” advertising
Tim Rutten at the LA Times is saying this isn’t the time or the place for anything but football…
Whatever its motives, CBS has made a bad call…You don’t talk politics at the Thanksgiving table, and you really ought to be able to watch a football game without being confronted with another person’s views on abortion…
Meanwhile the NYTimes Editorial says any censorship is worrysome…
CBS was right to change its policy of rejecting paid advocacy commercials from groups other than political candidates…viewers can watch and judge for themselves. Or they can get up from the couch and get a sandwich.
William Saletan from Slate says this ad has a “grisly” truth behind it…
Pam’s story certainly is moving. But as a guide to making abortion decisions, it’s misleading…Placental abruption has killed thousands of women and fetuses.
After all, it can’t be much fun to be a culture warrior if the opposing culture is constantly wimping out, denying you a chance to show your true mettle. Grind him, test him—he’s ready.
Frances Kissling and Kate Michelman says the Pro-Choicers could learn a thing or two…
Instead of trying to block or criticize the Focus on the Family ad, the pro-choice movement needs its own Super Bowl strategy. People want to be inspired, and abortion is as tough and courageous a decision as is the decision to continue a pregnancy.
HuffPost is going so far as to cry foul…
A commercial featuring Tim Tebow and his mother Pam that is likely to air during Super Bowl XLIV may be rife with inaccuracies, according to power lawyer Gloria Allred
Get in on the debate at The Fifth Down at the NYTimes…
Should a network allow an issue ad during the Super Bowl? That’s the debate topic of the day at the Fifth Down. (We’ll talk football most of the rest of the week, promise.)
But we here at USDemocrazy want to know what YOU think?
As a woman and super-bowl viewer, I find the racy Go Daddy.com commercials much more offensive than a platform commercial regarding abortion.