"Voter suppression" billboards removed by Clear Channel

Via The Plain Dealer

Wow.

The above billboard, paid for by an anonymous "private family foundation" was placed in poor and predominantly Black or Hispanic neighbourhoods in Cleveland, Cincinnati and Milwaukee.

The Plain Dealer reports that The Lawyers' Committee For Civil Rights contacted Clear Channel (the media company in Cleveland) about the ads, explaining that the signs the signs, "stigmatize the African-American community by implying that voter fraud is a more significant problem in African American neighborhoods than elsewhere," and the billboards "attach an implicit threat of criminal prosecution to the civic act of voting."

As of October 15, Clear Channel — owned in part by Mitt Romney’s former firm Bain Capital — was refusing to remove the billboards, blaming a rogue salesperson for allowing anonymity to be stipulated in a contract. Jim Cullinan, vice president of marketing and communications for Clear Channel Outdoor, told the Washington Post, " once we put them up and signed a contract, we had to live with the anonymity."

According to an update from Media Post, the Clear Channel people have changed their minds about that, agreeing to remove the ads because the billboards actually do violate their policy of "not accepting anonymous political ads" — contract or not. Some sources state that the anonymous advertisers were given the choice to identify themselves publicly or have their campaign removed. Showing the typical lack of personal responsibility typical of trolls everywhere, they chose anonymity.

Clear Channel wasn't exactly showing an amazing change of heart. They didn't have much of a choice. In Cleveland, City Councilwoman Phyllis Cleveland and State Sen. Nina Turner held a rally in front of one billboard installation on October 11 to demand the removal of the ads. There were also petitions at sumofus.org, change.org and signon.org, and the effort was coordinated by online civil rights organization colorofchange.org.

People's World reports that billboards in Cincinnati, managed by local media company Norton Outdoor, are still up. (Norton's mission statement claims, "We are equally committed to being a good corporate citizen in every community in which we do business")

Clear Channel, in a gesture intended to calm the PR crisis, has donated 10 billboards around the Cleveland area for this message:

GoDog! Buns: The jokes just write themselves

Some Buzzfeeder posted a GoDog! display and described the bun as a European "method of hotdog". But the company is actually in Wisconsin.

Get a Grip-Not a mess! 

Teach an old dog new tricks! 

NEW...INNOVATIVE...FUN 

Frequently Asked Questions: 

Q:    How in the heck do you get the condiments in? 

A:     It doesn't take any longer to put condiments "IN" the bun than it does the old fashioned way!        Simply squirt, squeeze, pump, spoon or pour the desired condiments down the "inside" wall of the         opening...allowing it to run down the "inside".Catsup, Mustard, Pickle Relish, Mayonnaise, BBQ Sauce, Melted Cheese, Chili Sauce, Sweet n Sour Sauce, Pizza Sauce etc. Add thin slice Pickle, Finely Chopped or small slices of Onions and Peppers.
... 

Not just for Hotdogs! Any Sausage will work. Bratwurst, Italians, Kielbasa, Cheddar Dogs, Jalapeno Dogs, Polish Sausage. 

Try BBQ  Chicken, BBQ Beef, BBQ Pork. Sloppy Joe, Chicken Salad, Ham Salad, Tuna Salad! 

Don't stop there...use your imagination! 

"dontgetanyonya"

Don't get any on ya.

Even the product description is... ummm...

GoDog™ Standard Size 6" long / 1.35" diameter opening
(fits any regular size store bought hotdog)
$14.40/case + $12.95 Shipping & Handling

GoDog™ Brat Size 7" long / 1.5" diameter opening
(fits the bigger size products)
$14.40/case + $12.95 Shipping & Handling

The cheesiest ad you will see today

AdFreak shared this new provocation by Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine:

It's going to be placed along the highway in De Pere, Wisconsin, where Green Bay Packers cheeseheads will see it on the way to Lambeau Field on Oct. 2 for a game against the Denver Broncos.

That's right, they want Wisconsinites to give up cheese.

From PCRM's release:

"Foods served at Lambeau Field’s eateries are typically loaded with cheese and other high-fat dairy products. Offerings include Hall of Fame Curds, which are deep-fried Wisconsin cheese curds; Cheesehead Beer Cheese Soup, made with cheddar cheese, beer, and then topped with more cheese; and nachos piled with cheddar cheese and sour cream. Americans today eat three times as much cheese as they did in 1970—almost 33 pounds per person in a single year.

'Our greatest concern is for children who are fed cheese products by their well-meaning parents,' says PCRM nutrition education director Susan Levin, M.S., R.D. “Cheese is loaded with fat, cholesterol, sodium—and calories. It ought to come with a warning label so consumers understand the health risk."

Oh, really?

In case you aren't familiar with these guys, they are actually an animal welfare organization in disguise. I have long considered them another front for PETA, although the relationship is arm's length, with PETA only providing them some funding.

There is no doubt that too much cheese is bad for your health. And Wisconsinites are overweight. But that's not really why PCRM wants people to stop eating cheese.

From Quackwatch:

"The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) is a nonprofit association that claims to promote "optimal diet for prevention of disease," says there is evidence that humans don't have a specific requirement for protein, and teaches that "too much dietary protein from animal sources is detrimental to health."  PCRM's reference to "animal sources" is key to understanding its true purpose. Its leader, Neal Barnard, MD, has been identified as medical adviser to the radical animal rights organization People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), and PCRM may be substantially funded by it."

Which is certainly their prerogative. But why not be more honest about their motives? Because a billboard that says "the dairy industry is cruel to cows" does not appeal to people's self interest. Instead, PCRM goes after the consumption of animal-based foods with dire warnings about health consequences.

Personally, I am much more concerned about cruelty to humans than cruelty to animals. What would you think if I went on a rant about inhumane child labour in the cultivation of chocolate, coffee or bananas, but then I suddenly told you that I wanted you to stop buying those things because I'm worried for your health? You'd question my motives. (And probably ask me why I didn't consider Fairtrade tropical goods.)

Anything is bad for you in excess. Factory farming is disgusting and cruel. And PCRM is not a very "responsible" advertiser, IMHO.