Am I the Only Feminist Who Doesn't Have a Problem with This?

UPDATE: Upon learning of this from AH, I officially reverse my position. Pull the damn thing. Or open up the ad space to everyone, though AH also makes a good point about the public health implications of this specific ad (see comments.)

ORIGINAL: I...just don't have a problem with this. I'm a self-identified feminist and I'm pretty damn left, but part of my hippie liberal beliefs is that everyone has the right to say whatever the hell they want. I don't think it will come as any surprise to people that there are two sides of the abortion debate. In fact, I think everyone knows what the two sides are, what their arguments are, and that they're trying to persuade people to agree with them.

All ads are opinion pieces. "You should buy this." "You should believe that." Granted CBS screwed up in the past by denying other "advocacy" ads--that was wrong. But what I would prefer is for everyone to have the opportunity to express their opinion if they can raise the cash to do so (as long as everyone is charged the same amount.) What's the old saying? "I don't agree with what you're saying, but I'd defend with my life your right to say it."

I'm well aware of the argument that pay-to-speak situations like commercials gives rich folks more rights to free speech than the rest of us, but here's the thing--I'd rather rich people decide with their money what messages they pay to deliver than a huge entertainment network deciding what we can and cannot discuss. The latter seems to have much more insidious possibilities to me.

Why are pro-choice groups giving the ad's storyline free media instead of working together to collect enough donations to buy an ad of their own? (That said, Focus on the Family, you didn't think that $2.5 to $2.8 million would be better spent in, say, Haiti?)

This Is Not a Small Mistake

Jon Stewart--whom I watch nightly--pointed out recently that Fox News has grossly exaggerated the attendance at a recent health care rally by using older footage of a better attended rally. Sean Hannity admitted that Stewart was right and apologized for the distortion...sort of...



Is it just me, or was that a little glib for someone who just tried to manipulate the political system by outright lying on what is supposed to be a news broadcast. He acts like Jon is picking on them for a production mistake. And while it may have been an inadvertent switch (I kind of doubt it) the effect of the footage was to drastically distort the truth of the story being reported. Given the implications there, I think the apology should have taken a tone that was closer to reverent and farther from snide.

Then again, I may just be carrying over some Republican rage from having recently watched this:



No wonder I left Georgia.