Lowes & Kayak Pull Ads from New TLC Reality Show ‘All-American Muslim’ — Liberals Outraged, Want to Force Them to Advertise on Controversial Show (video)
Posted By Vicki McClure Davidson on December 15, 2011
I’ve not heard of the Florida Family Association before and find it highly doubtful that they have any significant clout to actually be able to intimidate and dictate to home-repair/building giant Lowes (and now Kayak) where they can and cannot place their television ads.
I’ve also not ever heard of ultra-liberal congressman Ted Lieu in California, who is so enraged that Lowes decided to stop advertising on the new TLC network low-ratings-grabber “All-American Muslim,” he wants to spearhead some idiot boycott against Lowes.
I’m wondering why there isn’t a TLC show titled “All-American Buddhist”? Or “All-American Hindu”? If TLC had one titled “All-American Christian,” the anti-Christian leftists who are now screaming at and boycotting Lowes would instead be screaming at and boycotting TLC. And they would be crowing about any advertisers they were able to bully into canceling their ads. But that’s neither here nor there.
Doesn’t Rep. Lieu have any real elected duties to perform? Like maybe working with the governor to prune the Golden State’s entitlement programs that are sucking the state dry, or working to help California out of the economic, unemployment sewer it’s in rather than trotting around and grabbing TV news cameras to denounce and try to financially hurt an American business that is exercising its First Amendment rights? Just my opinion.
For the record, however, the new Muslim propaganda reality show is not doing very well in the ratings — even among many American Muslim viewers, it appears. Jon Stewart has called it “boring.” It can’t be very “reality-based” if real-life, hot topics like jihad, Sharia law, honor killings, fatwas, anti-Semitic philosophies, terrorism, intolerance, the maiming of or brutality against Islamic women who dare to disobey men, and hate of infidels aren’t at least mentioned. Sharia law is taking over Dearborn, Michigan, which is where this show is filmed. Surprise, surprise. This was posted at Big Government several months ago:
Once again Dearborn shows itself to be a pro-Sharia city that oppresses Christians. Who can forget the Christians who were arrested for passing out leaflets at a Muslim festival last July? Or the lawsuit that challenges the official cooperation by the city of Dearborn, Michigan with Islamic interests, and makes a stunning allegation: that under the recognized “Shariah” law in the city, there have been “honor killing” murders that have been “covered up”?
From Peter Bella at Washington Times, The contrived Lowes’ ‘All American Muslim’ controversy:
Progressive heads are exploding all over the nation. They are fomenting their anger at Lowes, one of the big box stores, for making a business decision to pull their advertising on the TLC program “All American Muslim”.
Allegedly Lowes pulled the advertising due to complaints from some marginal so-called family values group in Florida. A group of conservative fear mongering exploding heads.
Lowes pulled their ad based on what Lowes thought was good for Lowes. That is all that counts. The free market will determine whether they were right or wrong.
Lowes mistake? They apologized, or tried to. They owed no one an explanation for making business decisions. The apology gave the perception that Lowes did something wrong. Throwing gasoline on the fire of contrived controversy.
Business advertising has one purpose. To sell. If a company does not think advertising in a particular venue will sell products or services they have no obligation to waste their money.
It is their money. Something the exploding heads do not understand.
Marginal political agenda groups think they should decide how other people’s money is spent. Groups, like the Florida Family Association and MoveOn.org create phony controversies to support their narrow minded agendas. They are assisted by marginal politicians like California Congressman Ted Lieu.
Congressman Lieu seems to believe there is some criminal or civil wrong that must be remedied by legislation. Evidently he has never heard of free speech. Maybe he should read the Constitution he swore to uphold and protect.
Groups like Florida Family Association, MoveOn.org and politicians like California Congressman Ted Lieu do not understand one important concept. In America we have free speech not forced speech. We have free markets not forced markets.
From Atlas Shrugs, Antoher Show Pulls Ads Off “All-American Muslim”:
Was it the media controversy? Or perhaps the boring story line? The coerced conversion to Islam? The banishment of the newly converted husband’s dog? Or perhaps it was the Hezb’Allah-supporting (the same Hezb’Allah killing our CIA agents in Lebanon and Iran) Husham Alhusayni — the main spiritual leader of the Karbala Center in Dearborn, who is featured in All American Muslim, which airs on The Learning Channel (TLC). In the program, Hezbo-linked Alhusayni is seen presiding over marriages within Muslim families in Dearborn, whose day-to-day lives are portrayed as they interact in English. (Read the whole ugly thing here).
Whatever the case, Kayak has pulled its ads off the dead-in-the-water show.
The media ought to calm down and stop nailing Lowes to cross. Basta!
Another company pulls advertising from TLC’s ‘All-American Muslim’ The Cutline (hat tip Leo H)
On the heels of a controversial decision by Lowe’s Home Improvement to pull its advertising from TLC’s “All-American Muslim” following protests from a conservative group, another company has decided to do the same–though it claims it was not because of the backlash.
In a letter of apology to customers, an executive at Kayak.com, the online travel site, explained the decision to stop advertising on the new reality show.
“When we decided to give our money to TLC for this program, we deemed the show a worthy topic,” Robert Birge, Kayak’s chief marketing officer, wrote in the letter posted on the site. “When we received angry emails regarding our decision to advertise, I looked into the show more thoroughly.”
Birge continued:
The first thing I discovered was that TLC was not upfront with us about the nature of this show. As I said, it’s a worthy topic, but any reasonable person would know that this topic is a particular lightning rod. We believe TLC went out of their way to pick a fight on this, and they didn’t let us know their intentions. That’s not a business practice that generally gets repeat business from us. I also believe that it did this subject a grave disservice. Sadly, TLC is now enjoying the attention from this controversy.
[...]
The Lowe’s decision to pull its ads sparked a backlash from Muslim groups and supporters of the show. The company apologized on Facebook, which led to an avalanche of vitriolic comments. (Ted Lieu, a state senator from California, told the Associated Press that he would help initiate a boycott if Lowe’s did not apologize.)
Birge admitted that the “decision comes across as bending to bigotry,” and “it also appears that we did not support people who deserve support as people and as Americans.”
“For that,” he wrote, “I am profoundly sorry.”
Birge added: “Mostly, I just thought the show sucked. Based on our dealings with TLC and the simple assessment of the show, I decided we should put our money elsewhere. Apologies again.”
In this next video, Dr. Jasser, AIFD President, joins Eric Bolling on “Follow the Money” on Fox Business Channel to discuss the issues behind the recent call by Islamists and the Left to boycott Lowe’s for their free speech decision to withdraw ads from TLC’s new reality program.
H/t Bare Naked Islam.
TLC’s All American Muslim and Lowes Boycott
Leftist extremists want to sue Lowes, force it to advertise on “All-American Muslim,” and Hollywood celebrities are also boycotting Lowes… Sean Penn and Susan Sarandon will make their caulking purchases somewhere else, thank you very much.
OK, you can stop laughing any time now. The mental image of Michael Moore bending over to do some DIY home repairs is not a pretty one.
UPDATE: More congressional idiocy and meddling in free market decisions… reported by Commonsense & Wonder, What elected officials think is important…shop Lowe’s – Congressmen Hansen Clarke, Gary Peters and John Dingell sign letter to Lowe’s chairman.
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