http://news.yahoo.com/s/eo/20060103/en_tv_eo/18055

Did anyone else see the xmas "South Park" with the Virgin Mary statue "bleeding" from its, uh, private parts?  I wasn't thrilled with it myself.  I wasn't "offended," so much as I thought it was too long on tasteless and too short on funny.  This is a common disparity on "South Park."  Sometimes they're spot-on satirical, sometimes they're just gross and juvenile on the level of Hustler magazine.

Anyway, pious people everywhere should do themselves a favor and NOT WATCH "South Park."  So the big blowhard right wing Catholic League sees this Virgin Mary spoof and wigs out!  You may have seen the Catholic League's media spokesman on television.  He's this howling old hysteric named Bill Donahue.  The Catholic League lives for stuff to find offensive.  All they do is bellyache about how crass the culture is and how Catholics are getting disrespected.  They really should have sent a Christmas card thanking Parker and Stone for giving them another red herring to pound their fists about.  But noooo....they leaned on Comedy Central, and CS did the worst possible thing: they knuckled under to the religious right.  Comedy Central presents a lot of inane trash 2B sure, but they often present trenchant social commentary on programs such as The Daily Show and the Colbert Report.  CS has now shown they can be bullied by right-wing bully groups, and the right-wing bullies will be back for more.  Bad precedent, Comedy Central, bad precedent indeed!
:(

http://news.yahoo.com/s/eo/20060103/en_tv_eo/18055

Did anyone else see the xmas "South Park" with the Virgin Mary statue "bleeding" from its, uh, private parts?  I wasn't thrilled with it myself.  I wasn't "offended," so much as I thought it was too long on tasteless and too short on funny.  This is a common disparity on "South Park."  Sometimes they're spot-on satirical, sometimes they're just gross and juvenile on the level of Hustler magazine.

Anyway, pious people everywhere should do themselves a favor and NOT WATCH "South Park."  So the big blowhard right wing Catholic League sees this Virgin Mary spoof and wigs out!  You may have seen the Catholic League's media spokesman on television.  He's this howling old hysteric named Bill Donahue.  The Catholic League lives for stuff to find offensive.  All they do is bellyache about how crass the culture is and how Catholics are getting disrespected.  They really should have sent a Christmas card thanking Parker and Stone for giving them another red herring to pound their fists about.  But noooo....they leaned on Comedy Central, and CS did the worst possible thing: they knuckled under to the religious right.  Comedy Central presents a lot of inane trash 2B sure, but they often present trenchant social commentary on programs such as The Daily Show and the Colbert Report.  CS has now shown they can be bullied by right-wing bully groups, and the right-wing bullies will be back for more.  Bad precedent, Comedy Central, bad precedent indeed!
:(


I think it's a tasteless joke, but the Church is a bunch of hypocrites anyways.

"Well, that's the great thing about Catholicism, Dougal. It's so vague, and nobody really knows what it's all about." - Father Ted Crilly

http://news.bbc.co.uk/olmedia/230000/images/_232550_dermot_morgan150.jpg

but the Church is a bunch of hypocrites anyways.


Instead of just saying it, why not give me an example?  I have a good feeling that, again, somebody doesn't have a clue as to what the hell they're talking about.

Instead of just saying it, why not give me an example?  I have a good feeling that, again, somebody doesn't have a clue as to what the hell they're talking about.


I won't get into molesting priests because that's just some people in the Church, not the whole Church or even a big part of it. 

But, The Catholic Church has sects that support abortion, and while I strongly believe in the concept of forgiveness I KNOW many Catholics take it to advantage.

Great. now I will have to wait until the season comes out on DVD to see it.  ::)

And the right b1tches about political correctness!

http://news.yahoo.com/s/eo/20060103/en_tv_eo/18055

Did anyone else see the xmas "South Park" with the Virgin Mary statue "bleeding" from its, uh, private parts?  I wasn't thrilled with it myself.  I wasn't "offended," so much as I thought it was too long on tasteless and too short on funny.  This is a common disparity on "South Park."  Sometimes they're spot-on satirical, sometimes they're just gross and juvenile on the level of Hustler magazine.

Anyway, pious people everywhere should do themselves a favor and NOT WATCH "South Park."  So the big blowhard right wing Catholic League sees this Virgin Mary spoof and wigs out!  You may have seen the Catholic League's media spokesman on television.  He's this howling old hysteric named Bill Donahue.  The Catholic League lives for stuff to find offensive.  All they do is bellyache about how crass the culture is and how Catholics are getting disrespected.  They really should have sent a Christmas card thanking Parker and Stone for giving them another red herring to pound their fists about.  But noooo....they leaned on Comedy Central, and CS did the worst possible thing: they knuckled under to the religious right.  Comedy Central presents a lot of inane trash 2B sure, but they often present trenchant social commentary on programs such as The Daily Show and the Colbert Report.  CS has now shown they can be bullied by right-wing bully groups, and the right-wing bullies will be back for more.  Bad precedent, Comedy Central, bad precedent indeed!
:(


All violence against women was taken off the air by Ted Turner on his TBS, TNT and TCM networks here a few years ago for quite a long period of time.  Sure was wrong of those  right-wing bullies to suggest to Ted Turner the ole "b i t c h slap"  to the corner mouth of a woman delivered by a man wasn't exactly the proper material to show to a general audience on TV.

Those holier-than-thou Catholics have their own messes to deal with and it's not only pedophile priests..A Roman Catholic priest here in Southern NJ was accused of stealing funds from his own parish...and using the pilfered money to gamble at Atlantic City casinos! Does this 'man of the cloth' not know the commandment that says THOU SHALT NOT STEAL?

Next time one puts money in the collection plate at any Roman Catholic church, keep this thief in mind.

And the right b1tches about political correctness!

Well, that's the irony.  If you watch any number of South Park episodes, you'll see them rank on liberal ideologies far more than conservative ones.  The reason is not because Parker and Stone are conservatives, but because they're satirists.  The subjects of South Park center around school. Public education is dominated by liberal ideas and methods.  The hypocrisy and ineffectiveness of public school is fertile ground for satire. 
Parker and Stone also poke fun at the liberal and "politically correct" hypocrisy in family and civic life. 
However, the conservative writer Brian C. Anderson makes a specious argument in his book South Park Conservatives: The Backlash Against Liberal Media Bias.  He's trying to sell the popularity of South Park among young adults as an indication that young people are fed up with liberalism.  Are they fed up with "liberalism" as a whole?  Or are they fed up with impotence and rigidity of so-called "political correctness"?
Consider the most popular presenter on Comedy Central, Jon Stewart of the Daily Show.  Unlike South Park, the Daily Show is a satirical news broadcast.  Jon Stewart takes on corporate behavior, national politics, economics, religious controversy, and foreign policy.  These are all areas in which conservatives currently exert more influence than liberals.  If Mr. Anderson was correct, you would see a "backlash" against Jon Stewart from the same demographic.  Not only is there no backlash, but there is a great embrace of Stewart among people in their teens and twenties, many of whom say Stewart is their most trusted news source.
This is not as absurd as it may seem.  Even though Jon Stewart calls the Daily Show a "fake news show," he offers more trenchant commentary on world affairs in five minutes than a Bill O'Reilly or a Tucker Carlson does in a whole hour!  Furthermore, much of the "news" you see on FOX, MSNBC, and CNN is quite fake indeed!
But I digress...
The creators of South Park are not political idealogues at heart, they are satirists to the core.  They take no prisoners.  They'll make fun of gullible church-goers just as fast as they'll make fun of politically correct school administrators.  The problem is the pious--both churchly and patriotically--have no sense of humor or irony.  In short, they can't take a joke!
::)

Why the h*ll do TV networks listen to the Religious Right/Christian Coalition anyway! It's not like the Catholic League or the Rev. Don Wildmon and his bunch can shut down the networks..or are the networks afraid of a BOYCOTT against their show's advertisers like Wal-Mart, Procter and Gamble, or McDonald's?

To the Religious Right..Get a life, and a sense of humor while you're at it!

The Religious Right is a bunch of hypocrites anyway...Especially with the likes of Dr. James Dobson,who advocates hitting kids as discipline and says that SpongeBob SquarePants is soooooo gay...and then we have Mr. Pat Robertson with his wacko world views who wants to KILL Venezuela's President(?)....and his CBN 700 Club which bilks his viewers into giving ol' Greedy Pat their hard-earned cash!!

The Religious Right is a bunch of hypocrites anyway...Especially with the likes of Dr. James Dobson,who advocates hitting kids as discipline and says that SpongeBob SquarePants is soooooo gay...and then we have Mr. Pat Robertson with his wacko world views who wants to KILL Venezuela's President(?)....and his CBN 700 Club which bilks his viewers into giving ol' Greedy Pat their hard-earned cash!!

Dr. James Dobson is the kinda guy who has a cupboard full of kiddie porn, and when he gets caught, he'll claim it's for "research purposes."  That's how creepy he comes across to me.  As for Rat Pobertson, 'nuff said!
;D

Dr. James Dobson is the kinda guy who has a cupboard full of kiddie porn, and when he gets caught, he'll claim it's for "research purposes."  That's how creepy he comes across to me.  As for Rat Pobertson, 'nuff said!
;D


Sort of like Patrick Swayze in Donnie Darko?

I couldn't resist.  ;D

http://www.boingboing.net/2006/01/09/south_park_bloody_ma.html

I guess Comedy Central didn't bow to the Catholic League after all.  Another case of a Christian organization claiming victory when they really didn't (see the Ford gay ad publication deal from last month)

I won't get into molesting priests because that's just some people in the Church, not the whole Church or even a big part of it. 

But, The Catholic Church has sects that support abortion, and while I strongly believe in the concept of forgiveness I KNOW many Catholics take it to advantage.




What Catholic "sect" supports abortion?  ???

Are you talking about the Latvian Orthodox that George Costanza joined?  ;D

Silly bird.  There is no official "sect" of Catholics that supports abortion.  Just misguided individuals.

Does this 'man of the cloth' not know the commandment that says THOU SHALT NOT STEAL?

Next time one puts money in the collection plate at any Roman Catholic church, keep this thief in mind.


You make a solid point there.

There has never been a Jew, Presbyterian, Methodist, Evangelist, Lutheran, or Pentecostal leader who ever stole money from his church or had sex with its kids.  ::)

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Unfortunately for the world, he was killed off after just a few weeks in the job :(


You have been watching too many Godfather sequels.  :P

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Yet, it's perfectly fine for the WWE to show 2 women catfighting or one getting slapped by a man?  What a hypocrite!
I don't think any of Turner's networks show WWE shows..Spike TV does though,WWE Raw..oh well it's testosterone-fueled SPIKE TV...

Yet, it's perfectly fine for the WWE to show 2 women catfighting or one getting slapped by a man?  What a hypocrite!


A...Ted Turner was WCW not WWE.  He has no control over WWE's content. So once again, you bit off a piece you can't chew.
B... Take a look at what I just wrote for the Newspaper, and after you read it, please feel free to call me a hypocrit again.


                                        Finding Christians, in the least likely of places

The atmosphere of the World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) is not at all that pretty, especially in the eyes of a Christian. With the raunchy material, which includes perverseness, sex appeal and profanity it is hard to believe that anything even relevant to Christianity could take place within the confines of the WWE.  Not pleased with the non-Christian direction the WWE has taken certain professional wrestlers such as Steve Borden, better known as Sting have thus far refused to work for the business.  I myself feeling that such tactics that the WWE uses today insults my values and morals as a Christian, have since stopped watching the program.  I felt that the professional wrestlers working in the WWE must not be Christians, or at least not that strong of Christians.  Then Eddie Guerrero died here over the weekend and I found out for yet another time in my life that things are never as they seem.
After the death of Guerrero, I was urged by a friend to visit WWE.com and watch and listen to what the other professional wrestlers had to say about him.  According to many of them, Guerrero almost always put his friends and family ahead of himself.  Chris Benoit through tear jerking straight from the heart words spoke of  how Guerrero was always  there for him in time of need.  John Layfield spoke of how when no one else believed in him, Guerrero did and during times of struggle Guerrero would read him scripture.  Almost every single professional wrestler who spoke on behalf of Eddie Guerrero said something in reference to God and/or Heaven.  Booker Huffman better known to the rest of the world as Booker T ended his words on Guerrero by saying,

WCW was just as bad.
 Your point?  I was calling Turner a hypocrite, not you.  If you're trying to find someone to "prove" your point, Turner's not exactly the best choice ::)


Ted Turner took something off the air that needed to be taken off the air.  My point using him is that "free Speech" has it's limitations.

How is that?  If anything it's proof that free speech DOESN'T have its limitations.  Turner has the right to decide what he does or does not want to air since he owns the stations....thus exercising HIS right to "free speech". 


Glen Gilberrti aka Disco Inferno  was scheduled to wrestle against Miss Jaclyn during a WCW televised event.  The match was cancled by Ted Turner as he saw it a promotion of violence against women.  My question therefore to the person who started this topic was, should Turner be prosecuted for censoring the material? After all it was fake, Gilberrti wasn't going to actually phsycially hurt Jaclyn nor was she going to actually hurt him for the manor. They were both professionals.  Now I personally agree with Turner that "faking" Gilberrti beating up Jaclyn was a step to far over the line and it could be seen as a promotion for violence against women.  So I go along with Turner in taking that off the air and not allowing that on his program.  However, him doing so is going against the "Freedoms" that the orginator of this topic was trying to desperatley to protect.

No it isn't.  Turner is a PRIVATE individual who made the decision ON HIS OWN, he wasn't pressured into it by some "group".  The PERFECT example of "freedom of speech".....


He was to pressured.  He didn't have to make the decision he did, but he was pressured into it.  WCW was his milion dollar baby at the time.  One of his biggest money makers, you think that the threat of lawsuits and trying to get WCW off the air wasn't being pressurized? Come on now?  I woulda known the answer to that in kindergarden.

Wait, just a few posts ago, you said TURNER made the decision on his own....now he was pressured?  Which is it?  Besides, I thought Time-Warner owned WCW when it was sold and the reason they sold it was it was losing money to WWF (now WWE)?  I remember reading something about how Turner wasn't happy about it, but there was nothing he could do because he no longer owned WCW.


The event I'm talking about took place in 1996.  Well he made the decision on his own.  His neigh or yea was the only one that mattered. However, he was pressured into saying neigh to the ideas WCW had and yea to the ideas against what WCW had in mind.  Ted Turner did sell out, and he regreted it later.  Rumor has it from  inside pro wrestling sources he's trying to get back into the business but his history is keeping him out for now.

So he made the decision on his own, but he didn't.  I see now ::)


You put a gun to someone's head and tell them to make a decision.  If they say B they get shot.  If they say A they don't get shot.  Either way it's still there decision, but a Slight persuasion is at hand.  ::) is easy for the guy with the guy to do.  The other guy, it's not so easy.

Whatefver.  You said at first that HE was the one who was "limiting freedom of speech", then you try to blame it on some unknown "pressure".  You don't know what the f cuk you're talking about.  Pull some more stuff out of your ass and see if it stinks just as bad...


I started watching pro wrestling in 1988.  I know what I'm talking about.  People have strings and such that they can pull.  Ted Turner's WCW was threatened, so he made a decision to take away that threat. The decision stands as I put it.  You can't handle being wrong about something that's your problem not mine.

And yet, you STILL didn't name the "threat"?  How can I admit to being wrong when I have no way to verify WHAT I'm wrong about?  I'm wrong because you say so?  Oh, okay, I'll accept that...BTW, how is this MY problem? 


1996? 1996?  How many times do I have to repeat myself?  I was 11 or 12 at the time, it was almost 10 years ago.  You think I'm gonna cut out magazine articles thinking one day someone is going to challenge what I've said? No, not back then I wasn't going to.  I remember damn good and well what happened.  Why else would Turner have cancled that part out?  Hell watching Jaclyn and Gilberrti go at it probably would've boosted the ratings like no other. It makes no sense to just make that choice outta the blue.  You think Ted Turner cares what kind of a message he's sending to young people world wide who watch his  programming? NO, he dont' care. He cares about the dinero coming in. 

Wow, Harmonica and Crazymom are like arch enemies!  ;D

I like both of them  :)

WHAT WAS THE THREAT?  WHO THREATENED HIM?  If you remember "damned good and well what happened", why are you not saying it?  I googled every combination of Ted Turner, WCW, 1996, lawsuit, violence against women and threats and got jack squat about Turner pulling the match.  What I DID find is that DI's contract was cancelled until he AGREED to wrestle Miss Jacquelin in 1997, which contradicts what you said.  THAT'S what I'm trying to clarify.

Make up your mind.  First you say he had guts not showing certain things, then he was pressured to do it and now he doesn't care what kind of message he's sending?  Which is it?


I'm not the one saying he has no guts.  I'm the one of the ONLY ONES on this board sticking up for Turner when he took something crude and raunchy off of his program. Everyone else is saying, why'd he do that for? It's a free country!  Do whatever you want!  To me it takes more guts to do something right that has more of a consequence than a reward. Unfortunately Turner didn't do it for the right reasons, so I can't back him up 100%.  He cares about MONEY, that's my made up mind.  Good/bad  Ted Turner comes down to money.

Wow, Harmonica and Crazymom are like arch enemies!   ;D

I like both of them  :)

If inane quarreling were tennis, they'd be Wimbledon!
:D

You were the one who brought him up, why should anyone else stick up for him?  Always the martyr....


I was making my point that sometimes freedom of speech goes to far.  But you dont' agree with that. Television should be able to put on the air anything they feel. Well alright. Ok.

Why?  Because HE took something off of HIS channel?  IMO, that's the PERFECT example of someone exercising HIS "freedom of speech" not that he took it too far.  As Voltaire said "I may not like what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it"....


Freedom of speech to do or say something good. To put morality and values ahead of raunchiness and crude sexual appeal.  Sad world when you have to fight to do something right. 

If inane quarreling were tennis, they'd be Wimbledon!
:D


LOL! Good one.

Free speech is free speech, whether it's good or bad.  If you want the good, you have to accept the bad.  It's as simple as that.


No it's not as simple as that. There are lines to be drawn, and lines not to be crossed.  You fight for the theory of do what you want, when you want. Good. I don't.

I'll remember this the next time you start in on how people want to "eliminate Christianity"....if you don't want to lose your right to speak about it, you have to accept that the opposing side has THEIR right as well.  Just remember, what YOU perceive as "Good", someone else may perceive as "bad".

And, that's all I got to say about that...


That's not what I'm talking about.  I'm saying there is a certain amount of violence, a certain amount of crude humor, a certain amount of sex, and a certain amount of other extremely offense material that should be allowed on television, that is accessable to anyone and everyone.  Once those boundaries are crosses, I have a problem with it.  And No, I shouldn't be the one to decide what those boundaries are, but I'm smart enough to know that my five year old nephew shouldn't be able to flip through the channels at a decent time of day and see a woman's bare breast on E! or USA. 

While I agree nudity should not be shown during "daytime" hours, they have as much right to show it as you do to ask them NOT to.  One man's art is another man's porn....


Sounds like a quote from Pamela Anderson.

Actually, it came from the priest who taught us Art History in Italy. :o


Well The bow tie killer said, "it's not murder...I just getting my kicks".  Thankfully perspective isn't found everywhere.

There can sometimes be a fine line between parody and offensive.  And in this case, I think SP went over the line.

This simply crossed over from an attempt at being funny and became grossly offensive to people of a religious belief.  And to me the belief is of no importance, it was not funny.

I would no more try and defend their right to do this, then I would of somebody who made a joke involving Mohammed sleeping with a pig.  Rude and offensive is rude and offensive.

And if the joke was involving Mohammed and a pig, how many people now screaming that it was ok would be screaming that the producers of the show were anti-Islamic?  To me, both would be wrong.

IMO 3/4 of what South Park does is "offensive" to someone.  Personally, I don't see the appeal of the show, but others do, as is their right.  I know some people don't see the appeal of shows I like, but that's MY right.  I'm so sick of EVERYTHING having to be "PC".  Pretty soon, we won't be able to tell ANY joke, watch ANY program, see ANY movie, listen to ANY music, do ANYthing because it will be deemed "unPC" and "offensive" to someone ::) 


Oh, it is their right to do whatever they want, as long as it is legal.  And I defend their right to make offensive jokes.

But actions have consequences.  They should not be surprised if people react with outrage, which is their right as well.

IMO 3/4 of what South Park does is "offensive" to someone.  Personally, I don't see the appeal of the show, but others do, as is their right.  I know some people don't see the appeal of shows I like, but that's MY right.  I'm so sick of EVERYTHING having to be "PC".  Pretty soon, we won't be able to tell ANY joke, watch ANY program, see ANY movie, listen to ANY music, do ANYthing because it will be deemed "unPC" and "offensive" to someone ::) 


Since "South Park" airs on cable and at like 9 o'clock I respect their rights to show stuff, even though a lot of it I just simply tasteless. I'm not offended by it, I'm merely disgusted.  There's also a difference between saying "The Church is ignorant" and having the Virgin Mary's "bottom" bleed.  I don't understand who that could appeal to. 

Well, I was raised Catholic and I find most jokes about Catholics funny.  Yeah, this was was pretty tasteless, but I think people were putting more into it than was intended.  Catholics are reknown for bleeding statues, images in water stains, etc. and worship these things as if it was Mary herself, which IMO is ridiculous, but hey, to each his/her own.  Tasteless as it was, I found it slightly humorous.....then again, I readily admit I have a rather warped sense of humor ;D


That's true, they do believe in a lot of magic. 

I didn't see the episode, but that sounds pretty tasteless.  South Park is often hilarious, but sometimes it's too un-PC and gross, even for me.  Offending groups doesn't bother me, it's the perversion and violence.  They should be able to show it, but I wish people didn't like it so much.  But they do, so they shouldn't lose it.

Well, I was raised Catholic and I find most jokes about Catholics funny. 


This is very close to a debate some of us had in here last year: the difference between a RACIAL joke and a RACIST joke.  All racist jokes are racial, but not all racial jokes are racist.

It is one thing to use something like the Catholic Church as a topic in humor, even if it is at the expense of said church.  It is quite another to be "mean" about it.  They could just as easily have had the blood come from somewhere else on her body, and had the joke come across.  Instead, they took it just a little to far, and people responded.

Myself, I do not watch SP, nor anything else on Comedy Central.  I find most of the shows immature, crass, and rather stupid.  About the only time I watch is if they show a movie that catches my interest, or the classic shows like Who's Line Is It Anyways.  I am much happier watching something on Discovery, Sci-Fi, or the Hitler Channel (sorry, the History Channel).  In fact, it is rare for me to ever take my TV off of History or Discovery (not counting my 30 minute morning news session on CNN-HN or an interesting guest on Fox News).

It is funny, I have over 70 channels on my TV, but only watch 3 with any regularity.

Well, I was raised Catholic and I find most jokes about Catholics funny.  Yeah, this was was pretty tasteless, but I think people were putting more into it than was intended.  Catholics are reknown for bleeding statues, images in water stains, etc. and worship these things as if it was Mary herself, which IMO is ridiculous, but hey, to each his/her own.  Tasteless as it was, I found it slightly humorous.....then again, I readily admit I have a rather warped sense of humor ;D

What SP did was gross, but is it any more ridiculous than those who claim an image of the Virgin Mary is lacrimating?  Is it any sillier than than seeing the image of Christ or Mary in a coffee stain or a prune danish?
:D

I don't think it would have.  A woman doesn't bleed out of her eyes or ears every month.   
Unless she picks the wrong boyfriend!
:o