Tag Archives: Reality television

January 19, 2013 · 1:26 AM

“My God, What Have We Done?”: White House Staffers React to Insane Online Petitions

Death Star Petition

My favorites were the petition for a Death Star and a petition to stop petitions…

Mother Jones

It’s not all laughs for the White House staffers who deal with petitions demanding Obama build a Death Star or create a Joe Biden reality TV show, but they don’t mind.

As White House officials were busy pondering new gun violence prevention measures, preparing for the coming debt ceiling showdown with Republicans, and meeting with Afghan President Hamid Karzai, the Obama administration on January 11 also issued an official decision: the US government would not construct the DS-1 Orbital Battle Station, commonly known as the Death Star from Star Wars Episode IV.

This was no joke. Well, almost no joke. “The Administration does not support blowing up planets,” the official White House statement read. “Why would we spend countless taxpayer dollars on a Death Star with a fundamental flaw that can be exploited by a one-man starship?” The response also address the dubious claim that such a large-scale federal undertaking would be a tremendous boon for the American economy. (The Galactic Empire has since issued a press release mocking the Obama administration for its decision.)

This official declaration was compelled by the White House’s own rules. Under its We the People initiative, anybody with internet access can petition the White House on any matter, and if a petition gains 25,000 signatures, the president—or his people—have to respond. Well, that’s how it worked until Tuesday. After being hit by all sorts of, shall we say, nonserious petitions like the Death Star one that reached the 25,000-signature benchmark, the White House has raised the bar. From now on, a petition will require 100,000 signatures in order to win White House attention. (When WTP debuted, the threshold was a measly 5,000.) But that fix may still not block the frivolous—the Death Star request drew over 34,000 signatures, and other ludicrous posts have managed to surpass the 100,000 mark—and some White House officials connected to the We the People project say (on background, of course), What were we thinking?

Continue reading here…

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December 11, 2011 · 12:47 PM

Lowe’s, Bank Of America, And Others Pull Ads From Muslim Reality TV Show After Pressure

Unfortunately, Muslim hatred, i.e., hatred of Islam, is prevalent in American society and politics…

Think Progress

The TLC reality TV show All-American Muslim chronicles the lives of a group of Muslims in Dearborn, Michigan. The show has been well-received for its fair and realistic portrayal of the Muslim American experience in the United States. Watch a trailer for the show here.

But a reality TV show that lets Americans relate to the lives of Muslims in the United States is an offensive idea to those who want to demonize Islam. The Florida Family Association (FFA) launched a campaign earlier this year to get companies to pull their advertising from the program. FFA claims that 65 of the 67 companies targeted have done this, including home improvement giant Lowe’s and megabank Bank of America:

The Florida Family Association, a Tampa Bay group, has led a campaign urging companies to pull ads on “All-American Muslim.” The FFA contends that 65 of 67 companies it has targeted have pulled their ads, including Bank of America, the Campbell Soup Co., Dell, Estee Lauder, General Motors, Goodyear, Green Mountain Coffee, McDonalds, Sears, and Wal-Mart.

One of the companies that FFA claims pulled commercials, Amway, told the Washington Post that such reports were “misleading” and that it has done no such thing. Lowe’s told the paper that it did indeed pull advertising. “We understand the program raised concerns, complaints, or issues from multiple sides of the viewer spectrum, which we found after doing research of news articles and blogs covering the show,” said Katie Cody, a spokeswoman for Lowe’s.

The Islamic Circle of North America is urging concerned citizens to call Lowe’s and protest their withdrawal of advertising: “We urge the American Muslim community and our friends, family, neighbors and all people of conscience to call Lowe’s CEO Robert Niblock at (704) 758-2084 or Executive Support Mr. Andrew Kilby at (866) 900-4650 and respectfully complain about this decision.”

UPDATE

Lowe’s issued this statement on Facebook confirming that it pulled the ads:  “Lowe’s has received a significant amount of communication on this program, from every perspective possible. Individuals and groups have strong political and societal views on this topic, and this program became a lighting rod for many of those views. As a result we did pull our advertising on this program.”

UPDATE

The Florida Family Association, the right-wing group responsible for manufacturing a campaign against All-American Muslim, says this about the show:

Clearly this program is attempting to manipulate Americans into ignoring the threat of jihad and to influence them to believe that being concerned about the jihad threat would somehow victimize these nice people in this show.

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May 1, 2011 · 6:32 AM

White House Correspondents Dinner: Obama Takes On Trump, Birthers, The Media, And More (VIDEO)

The President was in top form last night.  Saturday Night Live’s Seth Meyers had the room in stitches with jokes about Donald Trump.

“The Donald”, on the other hand, was not amused…

Huffington Post

President Barack Obama exercised his revenge Saturday after weeks of attacks from his would-be Republican challenger Donald Trump, joking that the billionaire businessman could bring change to the White House, transforming it from a stately mansion into a tacky casino with a whirlpool in the garden.

With Trump in attendance, Obama used the White House Correspondents’ Association annual dinner to mock the reality TV star’s presidential ambitions. The president said Trump has shown the acumen of a future president, from firing Gary Busey on a recent episode of “Celebrity Apprentice” to focusing so much time on conspiracy theories about Obama’s birthplace.

After a week when Obama released his long-form Hawaii birth certificate, he said Trump could now focus on the serious issues, from whether the moon landing actually happened to “where are Biggie and Tupac?”

“No one is prouder to put this birth certificate matter to rest than ‘the Donald,’” Obama said, referring to Trump’s claims the same day that he was responsible for solving the issue.

For Trump’s decision to fire actor Busey instead of rock singer Meat Loaf from his TV show earlier this month, Obama quipped: “These are the types of decisions that would keep me up at night. Well handled, sir.”

Trump chuckled at some of the earlier jokes, but was clearly less amused as comedian Seth Meyers picked up where Obama left off.

“Donald Trump often talks about running as a Republican, which is surprising,” said the Saturday Night Live actor, entrusted with providing some of the comedy for the evening. “I just assumed he was running as a joke.”

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April 26, 2011 · 2:03 AM

Jon Stewart Ridicules Donald Trump’s Early Poll Result Hype: ‘Premature Ecalculation’

Mediaite

Jon Stewart returned from a week off to catch up on the continued media hype surrounding Donald Trump’s unlikely publicity tour in which he has shamelessly flirted with a presidential run. And while all the skeptics in the world can claim that his White House campaigning has been about promoting his own brand (or reality TV show), early poll results indicate that likely GOP voters see Trump as a front runner. About those early poll results though…Mr. Stewart seems to think that we may be getting ahead of ourselves.

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April 21, 2011 · 3:13 AM

Gingrich: Trump Is P.T. Barnum Of The Barnum And Bailey Circus

Pot, meet kettle…

Think Progress

The fictional platform of reality TV star Donald Trump has the GOP establishment baffled on how to deal with his improbable popularity. As GOP insiders and the conservative base warm to what party veterans see as a “joke candidate,” likely GOP presidential candidate Newt Gingrich opted for a more theatrical approach. Asked today by radio host Sean Hannity what he thought of Trump and his birther conspiracy, Gingrich described Trump as the “P.T. Barnum” of the “Barnum and Bailey Circus”:

GINGRICH: Well look I think that he is a little bit wild. A little bit..some have compared him to P.T. Barnum and the rise of the Barnum and Bailey Circus. He is one of the great showman of our lifetime. He is very clever at getting news media attention. And he’s in his “Apprentice” candidate phase. That’s fine. He brings a level of excitement and life — a lot more folks will talk about the Republican ticket in the next few weeks because of Donald Trump. I’m all for him being an active Republican, then at some point he’s got to settle down…But for the moment it’s a bit like watching American Idol. We have the newest guest star.

Listen here…

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November 24, 2010 · 8:38 AM

‘America By Heart,’ New Sarah Palin Book: What You Need To Know

Here’s The Huffington Post’s take on Sara Palin’s recently released book: America By Heart:

Huffington Post

Sarah Palin’s new book, “America By Heart: Reflections on Family, Faith and Flag” hits the shelves Tuesday, in an event that is sure to enliven an otherwise slow political week.

The release of her book marks the start of a whirlwind book tour for the former Alaska Governor, a bus trip that will bring Palin to key cities in the South, Southwest and Midwest. Notably absent from that list are key liberal bastions, areas where the former vice presidential candidate and potential 2012 contender would more likely be subjected to protest.

The book is just the latest in an ongoing effort by Palin to take the media by storm, an action that many see as a preparation for an impending run for president. Palin’s reality TV show, “Sarah Palin’s Alaska” launched earlier this month on TLC to huge viewership numbers. She’s also a regular face on the Fox News network, though she recently opened up to the New York Times, and has filmed an interview with ABC News that will air next month.

Needless to say, many believe that the release of a new book, particularly at this time, is a clear sign that she is steeling herself for a shot at President Obama in 2012. Advance looks at her book show that the “mama grizzly” devotes portions of her text to criticizing Obama and his agenda.

But that’s not all she writes about. Take a look of some other key excerpts below and vote on the best.

See slide show…

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