I was already fed up and done with modern mainstream media.
But what I just saw today on the television? Oh my dear God. What is being put on the airwaves right now is a whole new low.
This is lower than anything I have seen Trump do.
Yeah.
Even lower.
I do not watch cable television anymore. The only media I really consume nowadays is streaming (Netflix) or YouTube with some form of AdBlocker.
Sidenote, if you are scrolling through the internet, get an AdBlocker. Not only does it enable you to watch YouTube videos without ads, it just generally makes the internet a better place. Do not just take my word for it, listen to the FBI that also urges you to use an AdBlocker on your computer (www.ic3.gov/...).
Anyway, the reason I go through those hurdles is because I hate and despise advertisements of any and all forms. I am a stubborn person, and I have always resented being forced to watch an ad for some crap I do not care about. I have been this way since I was a kid watching my cartoons on Saturday mornings — don’t screw with my viewership of Elmo.
My parents, on the other hand, do still consume cable television, and as such the house is inundated with ads. I happened to be around when my mom was watching The View this morning. I have had issues with The View, as I have talked about before (www.dailykos.com/...), but they are fighting for the right things. Their hearts are in the right place, which matters more than anything else to me. However, because this was cable television, the show broke for a commercial break.
This is when I saw a political ad from “Randall Terry for President.”
I do not know who this psychopathic son of a bitch is, but he is going to Hell for the creation of his political ads.
What I saw, on the TV, middle of the morning, live was an ad showing graphic images of dead fetuses and babies. And oh — not just graphic images of whole dead fetuses and babies, but MUTILATED corpses of dead fetuses and babies that were NECROTIC.
I have seen a lot of shit in a short lifetime. I have seen police reports with pictures, dashcam videos of all sorts of horrible crimes, and many other despicable things from growing up in a police household and being an Assistant State’s Attorney. But this? This takes the fucking cake.
Just so no one can call my bluff, here is a link to the psychopath’s TV Ads on his website:
www.terry2024.com/...
I think 95% of the people on the planet can agree that someone like this Terry is an existential threat to democracy and other things. The bastard needs serious professional help. Seriously though — what provokes someone to even think of looking up photographs like that?
What’s more, you and I know that what Terry presents IS NOT how abortions work. I will bet even Terry knows that he is lying.
I am not depraved enough to sit, stare at those photographs, and do the investigational work to source those images — but I am willing to bet that most (if not all) of those photographs are either fakes or are totally unrelated to abortions.
I would say that is a very safe god-damned bet.
Now, this guy is bad enough. But what in the hell is wrong with ABC and any other station that airs Terry’s ads? I kid you not, as ABC aired Terry’s ad, they had a disclaimer. A disclaimer! I, thankfully, cannot find any clips of the live broadcast that includes the Terry ad, but I did find ABC’s disclaimer posted independently online: abc7chicago.com/…
I find it funny how ABC will:
1) Take Randall Terry’s ad money that he paid for the time slot,
2) See the advertisement and air it,
3) Throw their hands in the air and say there is nothing they can do about it because “big government” is forcing them, and even
4) Sane-wash Terry’s ad slightly — by labeling him as just an “anti-abortion rights advocate.”
Reality check.
We have courts and lawyers out there for a reason. Even if the FCC states that a station is "prohibited from censoring or rejecting political ads that are paid for and sponsored by legally qualified candidates," those lawyers and courts exist to create a venue for — wait for it — CHANGING THE LAW.
Shit, if you go to the FCC’s website (something that took me ~3.5 minutes by the way), you will find this page: www.fcc.gov/…
On that page is stated:
“Stations are prohibited from broadcasting material that promotes certain lotteries; advertises cigarettes, little cigars or smokeless tobacco products; or perpetuates a fraud. Some advertisements also may violate regulations that fall under the jurisdiction of other federal agencies, such as the Food and Drug Administration or the Federal Trade Commission.
Additionally, federal laws prohibit or limit obscene, indecent or profane language. Obscene broadcasts are prohibited at all times, while indecent or profane broadcasts are prohibited during certain hours.”
Well, golly gee. I passed 1L in Law School, and I would say that this language alone is sufficient grounds to contest Terry’s “rights” to air this ad. I have seen worse foundations for lawsuits — just saying.
“Political speech,” I promise you, is not a carte blanche. Were this so, how long until we have a political ad that is showing pedophiliac pornography in the middle of the day on television that is labelling Democrats as pedophiles? We already have images of mutilated baby corpses on TV being pinned on Democrats. Nothing is sacred here, clearly.
Forget about “where.” WILL we draw the line anywhere???
This all boils down to moral rot and corporate greed/laziness.
ABC could have stopped the broadcast of the ad if it wanted to — if it had the morals to do so. The balls.
ABC could have responded to Terry with a “No.” It could have called Terry’s bluff and entered a lawsuit, tying up the issue in court for months, maybe even making it up to the Supreme Court. I dare the SCOTUS to justify these ads. I dare them. Even if ABC lost the lawsuit, they could still block the ad through the remaining FOUR WEEKS of this election cycle. How much could Terry really sue them for anyway? Surely, ABC’s executives alone could’ve afforded it any lawsuit or losses, no problem.
If ABC really wanted, they could have turned this into a true political issue to lobby in Congress: “Stop obscene disinformation in politics.” Or maybe, “ABC for more responsible media.” Something like that. Fight it.
But no.
“Money talks, merit walks.”
What the hell are we doing?
