Clear Channel Bans Ads For Harry Shearer's CD Over Anti-Bush Image

Clear Channel, the radio station and billboard powerhouse, has banned an ad for Harry Shearer's new CD "Songs of Bushmen" because it depicts George Bush with a bone through his nose, the New York Post's Page Six reports:

The outdoor advertising arm of notoriously conservative Clear Channel has banned signs for "Songs of the Bushmen" because the cover depicts the president with a bone through his nose. "Their tone turned from genial salesperson to angry schoolmarm - 'This is unacceptable,' " Shearer, the voice of Mr. Burns and Flanders on "The Simpsons," told Page Six. "And it's not like this is a dangerous time to criticize George Bush."

Last October, Clear Channel's Palm Beach arm refused to air an ad for VoteVets during Rush Limbaugh's show because the ad "would conflict with the listeners who have chosen to listen to Rush Limbaugh."

Disclosure: The ad is running on the Huffington Post, and Harry Shearer is a regular contributor to the site.

Comments

[esquire07]

The bone in the War Criminals nose could be a bone of one of the untold Iraqi children who have been killed becuase they have the misfortune of living in a Quasi-nation that sits atop of vast Oil fields.

Impeach. Hang.

[toobias]

all the fat cats who benifited and will benefit from the invasion of Iraq and the drilling in anwar should use this pic.of the chimp as a thank you,and what took you so long to try and brainwash and bankrupt the folks

[dplaser]

corporate right wing radio.. its so prevalent.­. its so subliminal­... ever listen to FOX news radio.. totally obsessed with local crime and non issues.. never ever speak ill of their lord and master.. Bush.

Its disgusting .. Most people don't even have a clue how they are being deceived

[KyotoProto]

Time to rein in the Reign of Anti-Terror. Time to divest the disaster capitalists. Time to behead the filthy rich, we cannot afford their excesses anymore, can we?

How about nationalizing energy across the board? Can we afford profit motives which do nothing to protect us, but further us down this road to extinction?

The Century of the Ugliest American is going to be a short one at this rate, isn't it?

If this is the best governance that we can come up with then I say hurry up global warming. This species obviously doesn't deserve any better outcome than the dinos, does it?

[pixy242a]

aren't bushmen hunter gatherers ? the bone through the nose would imply cannibals -- not sure.

[tea in the harbor]

You may be right, but if they wanted to imply cannibalism they could have used the Book of Morman, as a reference to the Donner Party, or an English Naval Insignia, in whose history canibalism was accepted in the event of shipwreck, there was no need to besmerch an African tribe, who are blameless in this Corporate Coup!

[HalleBurton]

Censorship, the best publicity money can't buy.

[plargo]

What a childish, disrespectful, borderline racist image.

I hate Bush with every fibre of my being, but this is just obnoxious and stupid.

And Clearchannel can accept or reject any fu**ing ad it wants to. Get over yourselves.

[Donnat]

spineless hacks cower before their corporate masters. is this something new?

[bazokbros]

I agree that if another political pundit used a similar image of Barack Obama, this would be the lead story in all media outlets, including HuffPo. Al Sharpton and others would be on every possible news channel calling outrage to this. I believe in free speech, but with free speech comes certain responsibilities. I don't believe free speech means doing or saying whatever you want without consequence.

What happens is GOP surrogates use this image as a reverse racism mantra and it ends up benefitting the Right instead of satarizing them.

[SatinPanties]

Why is there a piece of garbage attached to that bone?

[Podewumun]

Because even feral dogs wouldn't eat something that rank?

[SatinPanties]

LOL

[SadSong]

Bush had that bone placed in his nose so Barney will play with him.

[MoeJava]

Are you sayin' Barney is finally - at long last - not supporting the Invasion of Iraq?
If so, all GWB has is Laura, and I heard she was still taking up the sixth floor of the Mayflower in DC.
Those were the last two people supporting Bush... and now there are none?

[CelticMajic]

What would the comments be if this were Mr. Obama's face with a bone in his nose?

[edwarvir]

CelticMajic if Senator O should suddenly lose all of his integerity and not
keep his promise to bring our sons and daughters home from IRAQ and
start turning our country back into the right direction we will do the same
to him I am sure, however we were not talking about him we were laughing at
the Bushman Stay on point.

[CelticMajic]

Now that he has backtracked on FISA, disagreed with SCOTUS on the death penalty and agreed with the SCOTUS on the individual right to keep and bear arms are you ready to "do the same thing to him"?

[dezzertguy]

I recall that Mayor Washington of Chicago had a portrait of him in drag removed from a gallery. The government does interfere in personal expression. In this case, a commercial entity has decided something is to rude to show. As a private entity, they have that right. They should know their customers. As citizens, we have a right to be rude and crude. But, a business and a gallery, should be able to make their own decisions.

[tbrnotb]

Spoken like a true capitalist lackey.

[Redrover666]

Would it be OK if we posted a billboard with a bone through Obama's nose?

[dezzertguy]

So you are a Marxist? Maybe, if you do not read or care about anything.

[whiskeytangofoxtrot451]

Well, of course they have the right to refuse to run ads for whomever they chose. Just as I have the right to call them right wing tools for doing it.

[zippywpinhead]

exactly- don't cry censorship, just boycott them and lambaste them for their decisions

[bigfro]

Satire is protected under Us Law. Political discrimination isn't.

Harry Shearer is not the type of dude to take things sitting down. Watch the succesful lawsuit double his profits.

[Redrover666]

Discrimination? Against what? They're a private enterprise.

This reminds me of Air America. No one wanted to listen to far-left crap. they went bankrupt, now the left wants to force Americans to listen by invoking equal time.

Far left loons like you can sell anything you want. America doesn't necessarily have to buy it.

[NTO08]

Unfortunately for them, they are using public radio spectrum. Licenses of their stations can be challenged.

[zippywpinhead]

there's no basis for a lawsuit- CC is not obligated to broadcast every single ad that someone submits. I personally don't like the way they play political favorites and try to reflect that (to the extent I can), but that is a far cry from a legitimate civil action...

[Tenley]

Careful. Anyone wanting to tick off HuffPo and get free publicity could submit all sorts of ads knowing they'd be refused and then file lawsuits. Think photos of aborted babies, etc.

[Tulka2]

Well, Harry, this is a tortured pun. A man who would make a pun like this is capable of much worse. Only half kidding when i say that i saw the great movie, "The Gods Must be Crazy" and the South African bushmen in that film were wise and good. This country would be much better off if the bushman hero of that film had been president for the last eight years. The pun is much more insulting towards the good people of the South African bush than it is of G.W. Bush.

[soupson52]

Amen, Tulka

[jsinclair]

I can't stand Bush, but it's really a terrible cover.

[Tenley]

Agreed. It's been repulsing me since it started running on HuffPo and I had no clue what it was advertising. I actually thought it was bad HuffPo art or something.

[Knowbetter]

Harry's great, but this artwork doesn't make me want to buy the CD.

Shoulda collaborated with Groening on the art, maybe?

[SadSong]

You might be on to something there, this CD cover might end up like the old Butcher cover of the Beatles, worth allot of money, I'm thinking I better buy some right away as an investment.

[HalleBurton]

He could have used a picture from Bush's trip to Africa where he was dancing. Talk about embarrassing. Elaine Benis, move over.

[TripperDay]

Well...

If you* owned a billboard company, would you want to run an ad that criticized Obama?

* By "you", I mean average HuffPo user like myself, who isn't really gay for Obama, but wouldn't turn down a cuddle and a backrub from him either.