Would you eat your dinner on the toilet?

Adfreak featured these hard-hitting ads, created by two students at the University of North Texas, Johnathan Wenske and Kris Haro.

The copy reads, "Would you eat here? By law, breastfeeding mothers are not protected from harassment and refusal of service in public, often forcing them to feed in secluded spaces such as public bathrooms. Contact your state and/or local representative to voice your support for breastfeeding mothers, because a baby should never be nurtured where nature calls."

From their Behance page:

Welcome to the When Nurture Calls campaign. This aims to protect a mother's right to breastfeed her baby in public by striving to pass the bill HB1706, which will protect breastfeeding mothers from harassment and discrimination when they choose to nurture their child in public.  To start off, there would be print ads placed on the back of bathroom stalls. These ads create a "reflection" of the stall facing it, and show mothers who have been harassed to the point where they feel they have no other option but to nurture their baby in the restroom as to not offend anyone.

It's an old argument, in lactivist circles, but the proposed media placement of these ads is brilliant, personalizing the message in a really powerful way.

You can support the campaign at whennurturecalls.org.

Sin tax on strip clubs to fund rape kits

Via Google Image Search

Here's one for you to think about: Houston's city council has passed a new tax on strip clubs within the city, adding a fee of $5 per patron to their cover charge.

The author of the ordinance, Councilwoman Ellen Cohen, put the motion forward as a way to subsidize the processing of the city's massive backlog of rape kits for sexual assault victims.

“We have to do something to help the 4,000-plus women, children and men who have been sexually assaulted,” said Councilwoman Cohen. “I think we’ve waited long enough.”

The victims certainly have waited too long for justice that has been delayed due to tight law enforcement budgets. But the tax also makes an official link between the above-ground sex industry and sexual assault, which is troubling for some (especially those who make money from it).

According to the Houston Chron:

A study Cohen relies upon to make the link states: “Are sexually-oriented-businesses, alcohol, and the victimization and perpetration of sexual violence against women connected? An exhaustive review of the literature says yes.” 

Several paragraphs later, though, the same study states: “However, no study has authoritatively linked alcohol, sexually-oriented-businesses, and the perpetration of sexual violence.”

Sin taxes are popular and profitable tools of social engineering when it comes to vices like cigarettes and alcohol. But whether you like them or not, do you think that consumers of legal sexual entertainment should be legally compelled to adjust their karma by paying to help sexual assault victims?


The Texas rape kit issue is a government funding issue. Last year, at the State level, Wendy Davis, D-Fort Worth, introduced a bill that would require a police department to submit a rape kit to a crime lab within at least 10 days, and complete the DNA analysis no later than 90 days after the sexual assault was reported. But it has since been stalled by police departments' inability and/or reluctance to do the inventories that would inform the legislators.

Councilman C.O. Bradford also called the nexus into question. He said that according to Houston Police Department, apartment complexes are the most common location for sexual assaults, and that sexually oriented businesses are 10th.

Still, said Bradford, a former police chief: “Victims have waited too long.”

Indeed they have. But is this what they were waiting for? Or did they want their government to pay to fix the problem?

Via Texas Tribune

Tip via Consumerist
Related: Houston Strip Club Accused Of Racism

Domino's praised by Big Agriculture for still crating pigs

While McDonald's, Burger King, Wendy's have followed Chipotle's lead in phasing out the use of nasty gestation crates in their pork supply chain, apparently Domino's will not follow suit. This despite the fact that both consumers and animal welfare professionals are pressuring them to do so.

While this is a potential PR black eye for the hold-out, Domino's has earned a new fan in The Texas Farm Bureau.

Michael Barnett, via Twitter

From their blog:

"It’s about time one of the major fast food franchises showed some backbone to the animal rights activist group. Other fast-food companies—including Burger King, McDonald’s and Wendy’s—have caved to their demands, fearing HSUS will stir public outcry and reprisal if they don’t."

Interestingly, the writer, Director of Publications Mike Barnett says "I’m not defending nor condemning their use. I truly don’t know enough about pork production to make that judgment." He defers to the American Veterinary Medical Association's recommendation that "to address animal welfare in the long term, advantages of current housing systems should be retained while making improvements in design to overcome problems identified."

In other words, the AVMA believes that current cage systems need to be improved, but that there are some advantages to separating sows from their fellow pigs when breeding them in factory farms.

Mr. Barnett doesn't really care about that, however. He's just happy that Domino's didn't play "follow-the-leader in these fast-food follies."

Follow-the-leader in responding to consumer demand for less cruelty in the animal food supply chain? Whatever you say. The same blog also vilifies market farmers who advertise "hormone-free" meat (“Really? I know I have hormones. My girlfriend has hormones. You have hormones. Don’t you think cows have hormones?” Mr. Barnett writes) and wishes starvation on "food activists", "tree huggers" and "bureaucrats". (I won't take a shot at his defence of "pink slime" in the beef industry, however, as I also took issue with the media hype around the issue — but from a different angle.)

Big Agriculture is attempting to buttress Domino's resolve. The publication Farm & Dairy and Drovers Cattle Network echo the Farm Bureau's call to buycott Domino's:

There is also an "Ag Pizza Party" event on Facebook, with 1,245 people confirming their support of Domino's so far.

I'm not a Domino's consumer anyway (local mom & pop joints FTW) so they probably don't care what I think about their supplier choices. But what I find interesting is the way that the reactionary forces of industry are rallying to fight the online fight to improve animal welfare conditions on farms. 

In the end, pizza fans will decide.

Peeing on an electric fence is this week's hot political metaphor #FdAdFriday

It's based on a Will Rogers quote

Roland Sledge, candidate for Texas Railroad Commissioner, says, “Isn't it about time we elected political leaders that have sense enough not to pee on electric fences.”



Indeed it is.

Via Buzzfeed

PETA wants Texans to rename their town along vegan lines

No shit:

Amarillo Texas -- PETA today [Nov 14] sent a letter to Pat Carson, the mayor of Turkey, Texas, urging him to change the name of his town to "Tofurky" in time for Thanksgiving. In the letter, PETA points out that turkeys suffer virtually every day of their lives, right up to and including their slaughter, and that eating turkey and other meats is an invitation to serious health problems. Tofurky, on the other hand, is a delicious and "meaty" comfort food, and it comes without the suffering endured by turkeys. To sweeten the pot, PETA has offered to provide the entire town with a full-course vegan holiday feast if the name change goes through. 

"Thanksgiving is murder on turkeys," says PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman. "By changing its name to 'Tofurky,' Turkey would send a clear message that delicious, savory mock meat is an easy way to celebrate without causing suffering—and give a bird something to be thankful for."

What's really awesome about this stunt is not the disingenuousness of the appeal, it's the reactions of the insulted townsfolk:



Nice troll, PETA.

Now, I'm sure you're wondering who Bob Wills is:



Tip via Newser

Texas gun school spot may be the year's most idiotic ad

Everything's bigger in Texas. Even the assholes.

“If you are a socialist liberal and/or voted for the current campaigner-in-chief, please do not take this class,” Mr. Keller said in the ad. “You’ve already proven that you cannot make a knowledgeable and prudent decision as required under the law. Also, if you are a non-Christian Arab or Muslim, I will not teach you the class. Once again, with no shame, I am Crockett Keller.”

For some people, this kind of hate speech would be the kiss of death. But to this Texas gun instructor, it's just common sense:

“Why would I teach people who have sworn the annihilation of the United States and who can lie, cheat, steal and murder Americans in order to further Islam?” Mr. Keller said. “Why would I arm someone like that? Why would I enable them to carry a weapon legally? I don’t want to be a part of that. I’m sorry those flight instructors didn’t have the same hindsight to know that these guys were up to no good, and they shouldn’t be teaching them, and they should have refused.”

Where's his head? I think it's up under his gun...

The Texas Department of Public Safety is investigating if this warrants him losing his licence due to breaking anti-discrimination statutes.


Via AdFreak and the New York Times

Melodrama? In my PSAs?

I frequently snark against over-dramatic PSAs, but in this case it actually makes sense:



Thes PSAs, from the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT), is aimed at the Hispanic community in that state. Taking the form of "telenovelas" (Latin American soap operas). the campaign deals with the consequences of drinking and driving with all the over-the-top acting you would expect, in context.



KHOU reports: "According to TxDOT, telenovelas have worked in other countries in getting important messages across.  An episode where a character gets a mammogram or participates in a census can get a viewer to do the same."



While TxDOT admits they had some reservations about being perceived as playing with ethnic stereotypes, they say they have had no complaints from the Anti-Defamation League, the League of Latin American Citizens, or the Greater Austin Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.

“I don’t think they’re offensive,” said Celia Israel, a board member with the chamber.  “I think it would be perceived as a fun way to help us make a very serious point ... We’re just grateful that they are doing some advertising in Spanish.”

36 percent of all DUI fatalities in the state last year involved a Latino driver who was under the influence of alcohol. It has become a leading cause of death within the community.