Implausible denial

'Outrageous' is the word that immediately comes to mind.

Breaking News: "Viacom, NBC-owned cable channels become next to reject UCC's ads"

Now a bunch of cable networks owned by NBC and Viacom have rejected the UCC ad: USA, Telemundo, Nick@Night, TV Land, MTV, VH1, Comedy Central, Bravo and even the gay oriented LOGO network! Independently owned Discovery and Univision have aslo decided not to run it.

Reasons provided include that the ad takes "a position on controversial issues or may be deemed as disparaging to another religion" or is of a "political nature".

Funny how the commercial and cable networks will run ads from the Swift Boat Veterans or the Mormon Church. Funny how some of these networks run religious programming that is disparaging of virtually all religions and viewpoints other than conservative fundamentalism. Funny how these networks will give unlimited time on their Sunday morning boradcasts to representatives of right wing religious organizations with extreme political viewpoints...

Funny how the cable networks will run comedy programming with liberal references to negative stereotypes of 'fags', 'wetbacks', 'niggas' and Scientologists and endless vulgar references to every imaginable body function... Yes Comedy Central, I'm referring to you. How can the network that runs The Daily Show, Chapelle's Show, Mind of Mencia and Southpark (all of which I enjoy, by the way) reject something as wholesome as a humorous UCC ad on the grounds that it is too political or controversial?

Here's what UCC representative Ron Buford had to say today about the networks' "heartbreaking" rejection:

"This is `sorry, cable trouble' all over again," said Buford, who is African American, harkening back to the 1950s when some television stations refused to run network news that positively portrayed the Civil Rights Movement.

"There could not be a more concrete example of what happens when our media is in the hands of a few corporate elites who simply don't agree with you. They can simply turn you off. Click, goodbye," said Buford, who insists that the UCC's commercials are neither "political" nor "advocacy," but a sincere attempt by the church to address the oft-ignored feelings of rejection and alienation that many people say they have experienced from organized religion.

Oh, this makes my blood boil. Hat tip to the UCC's Chuck Currie again, writing this time on Street Prophets.