Lame News for November 16, 2004

ABC Apologizes for Steamy Football Intro
ABC apologized Tuesday for a steamy intro to "Monday Night Football" after receiving complaints from viewers and the NFL.  The spot featured a naked Nicollette Sheridan jumping into the arms of Terrell Owens.

Before the Philadelphia-Dallas game, ABC showed Owens and Sheridan in an empty locker room in an attempt to spoof the network hit "Desperate Housewives." Sheridan, who stars in the show, was wearing only a towel and provocatively asked Owens to skip the game for her.

After she dropped her towel, he agreed to be late for the contest and hugged her. Then the shot panned out to two more stars of "Desperate Housewives," Teri Hatcher (news) and Felicity Huffman, watching the scene unfold on a television and commenting on desperate women.

"We have heard from many of our viewers about last night's MNF opening segment and we agree that the placement was inappropriate," ABC said in a statement. "We apologize."  The NFL called the intro "inappropriate and unsuitable for our `Monday Night Football' audience."

"While ABC may have gained attention for one of its other shows, the NFL and its fans lost," NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said.  The Eagles said they appreciated ABC apologizing for the segment.  "It is normal for teams to cooperate with ABC in the development of an opening for its broadcast," the team said. "After seeing the final piece, we wish it hadn't aired."

ABC has broadcast "Monday Night Football" with a 5-second delay this season, a precaution after Janet Jackson (news)'s wardrobe malfunction at February's Super Bowl.

Here's the best line in the whole story: The NFL called the intro "inappropriate and unsuitable for our `Monday Night Football' audience."  Ha ha ha, give me about 30 minutes to stop laughing.  Football fans don't want to see a naked Nicollette Sheridan jumping into the arms of Terrell Owens.  How many people watch Monday Night Football these days, about 13 million?  How many do you think complained?

The head of the conservative Family Research Council has sent an email message to his followers asking them to send letters to FCC Chairman Michael Powell demanding that stations that aired Saving Private Ryan last Thursday be fined for violating the agency's decency rules. In the message, FRC President Tony Perkins said, "There is no question that the show violated the federal indecency and profanity prohibitions and now I need your help to get FCC Chairman Michael Powell to enforce the law against ABC." Perkins said that while the movie is one of his all-time favorites, ABC should have used "technology" to remove the offending language. "No one would argue that the 'F' word is a central part of this epic film," he said. Under the network's contract with DreamWorks, the film's producers, Ryan may not be edited in any way.

The head of the "Family Research Council" has "followers"?  Funny, that's a term usually reserved for followers of a religion.  The best part is the quote from Leader Tony Perkins that's his problem seems to be with the "F" word.  Watching 200 people get their skulls blown into tiny pieces is OK, but heaven forbid someone drop an f-bomb while they're being shot at.  How much do you want to be that even Grand Leader Perkins would be shouting a few expletives if someone was shooting at him.  Visit the Family Research Council website at www.frc.org, watch how they defend "Family, Faith, and Freedom".  Thank you for saving us from ourselves.  And you were really creepy in "Psycho".

As reported in the tirade in today's blog:

The operator of a Web log called BuzzMachine.com said Monday that he had learned that just three people had composed letters to the FCC protesting a "sexually suggestive" Married ... With Children episode that led to a record $1.2-million fine against Fox, the network that aired it. After filing a Freedom of Information Act request, Jeff Jarvis said that he had received a reply from William H. Davenport, chief of the FCC's Investigations and Hearings Divison, said that the 90 letters that the FCC received concerning the program came from only 23 individuals. Twenty of the letters were virtually identical, he said, either photocopied or emailed to the FCC. Jarvis commented: "So in the end, that means that a grand total of three citizens bothered to take the time to sit down and actually write a letter of complaint to the FCC. Millions of people watched the show. Three wrote letters of complaint. And on the basis of that, the FCC decided to bring down the heavy hammer of government censorship and fine Fox an incredible $1.2 million for suggesting -- not depicting but merely suggesting -- sex on a show that had already been canceled because the marketplace didn't like it anyway." A Fox spokesman told today's (Monday) New York Post that the company plans to address the issue in its response to the FCC.

1. Powerful and continuing expressions of nationalism. From the prominent displays of flags and bunting to the ubiquitous lapel pins, the fervor to show patriotic nationalism, both on the part of the regime itself and of citizens caught up in its frenzy, was always obvious. Catchy slogans, pride in the military, and demands for unity were common themes in expressing this nationalism. It was usually coupled with a suspicion of things foreign that often bordered on xenophobia.

2. Disdain for the importance of human rights. The regimes themselves viewed human rights as of little value and a hindrance to realizing the objectives of the ruling elite. Through clever use of propaganda, the population was brought to accept these human rights abuses by marginalizing, even demonizing, those being targeted. When abuse was egregious, the tactic was to use secrecy, denial, and disinformation.

3. Identification of enemies/scapegoats as a unifying cause. The most significant common thread among these regimes was the use of scapegoating as a means to divert the people’s attention from other problems, to shift blame for failures, and to channel frustration in controlled directions. The methods of choice—relentless propaganda and disinformation—were usually effective. Often the regimes would incite "spontaneous" acts against the target scapegoats, usually communists, socialists, liberals, Jews, ethnic and racial minorities, traditional national enemies, members of other religions, secularists, homosexuals, and "terrorists." Active opponents of these regimes were inevitably labeled as terrorists and dealt with accordingly.

4. The supremacy of the military/avid militarism. Ruling elites always identified closely with the military and the industrial infrastructure that supported it. A disproportionate share of national resources was allocated to the military, even when domestic needs were acute. The military was seen as an expression of nationalism, and was used whenever possible to assert national goals, intimidate other nations, and increase the power and prestige of the ruling elite.

5. Rampant sexism. Beyond the simple fact that the political elite and the national culture were male-dominated, these regimes inevitably viewed women as second-class citizens. They were adamantly anti-abortion and also homophobic. These attitudes were usually codified in Draconian laws that enjoyed strong support by the orthodox religion of the country, thus lending the regime cover for its abuses.

6. A controlled mass media. Under some of the regimes, the mass media were under strict direct control and could be relied upon never to stray from the party line. Other regimes exercised more subtle power to ensure media orthodoxy. Methods included the control of licensing and access to resources, economic pressure, appeals to patriotism, and implied threats. The leaders of the mass media were often politically compatible with the power elite. The result was usually success in keeping the general public unaware of the regimes’ excesses.

7. Obsession with national security. Inevitably, a national security apparatus was under direct control of the ruling elite. It was usually an instrument of oppression, operating in secret and beyond any constraints. Its actions were justified under the rubric of protecting "national security," and questioning its activities was portrayed as unpatriotic or even treasonous.

8. Religion and ruling elite tied together. Unlike communist regimes, the fascist and protofascist regimes were never proclaimed as godless by their opponents. In fact, most of the regimes attached themselves to the predominant religion of the country and chose to portray themselves as militant defenders of that religion. The fact that the ruling elite’s behavior was incompatible with the precepts of the religion was generally swept under the rug. Propaganda kept up the illusion that the ruling elites were defenders of the faith and opponents of the "godless." A perception was manufactured that opposing the power elite was tantamount to an attack on religion.

9. Power of corporations protected. Although the personal life of ordinary citizens was under strict control, the ability of large corporations to operate in relative freedom was not compromised. The ruling elite saw the corporate structure as a way to not only ensure military production (in developed states), but also as an additional means of social control. Members of the economic elite were often pampered by the political elite to ensure a continued mutuality of interests, especially in the repression of "have-not" citizens.

10. Power of labor suppressed or eliminated. Since organized labor was seen as the one power center that could challenge the political hegemony of the ruling elite and its corporate allies, it was inevitably crushed or made powerless. The poor formed an underclass, viewed with suspicion or outright contempt. Under some regimes, being poor was considered akin to a vice.

11. Disdain and suppression of intellectuals and the arts. Intellectuals and the inherent freedom of ideas and expression associated with them were anathema to these regimes. Intellectual and academic freedom were considered subversive to national security and the patriotic ideal. Universities were tightly controlled; politically unreliable faculty harassed or eliminated. Unorthodox ideas or expressions of dissent were strongly attacked, silenced, or crushed. To these regimes, art and literature should serve the national interest or they had no right to exist.

12. Obsession with crime and punishment. Most of these regimes maintained Draconian systems of criminal justice with huge prison populations. The police were often glorified and had almost unchecked power, leading to rampant abuse. "Normal" and political crime were often merged into trumped-up criminal charges and sometimes used against political opponents of the regime. Fear, and hatred, of criminals or "traitors" was often promoted among the population as an excuse for more police power.

13. Rampant cronyism and corruption. Those in business circles and close to the power elite often used their position to enrich themselves. This corruption worked both ways; the power elite would receive financial gifts and property from the economic elite, who in turn would gain the benefit of government favoritism. Members of the power elite were in a position to obtain vast wealth from other sources as well: for example, by stealing national resources. With the national security apparatus under control and the media muzzled, this corruption was largely unconstrained and not well understood by the general population.

14. Fraudulent elections. Elections in the form of plebiscites or public opinion polls were usually bogus. When actual elections with candidates were held, they would usually be perverted by the power elite to get the desired result. Common methods included maintaining control of the election machinery, intimidating and disenfranchising opposition voters, destroying or disallowing legal votes, and, as a last resort, turning to a judiciary beholden to the power elite.

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