Month: February 2018

A Super Bowl ad for Dodge Ram trucks that included a voice-over from civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. received widespread criticism from the public for its alleged exploitation of MLK’s legacy. However, at least one segment of King’s family seems to support it.

That segment includes the MLK Estate, which the Chicago Tribune noted had to approve the ad before it could be aired:

“As caretakers of their father’s estate, Dexter King and Martin Luther King III had to clear the way for the executor to give Ram the go-ahead to use excerpts from their father’s little known sermon, ‘The Drum Major Instinct.’”

While it remains unclear if Dexter and MLK III personally authorized the ad, the Estate did issue a statement to Slate in defense of its decision to approve it.

“When Ram approached the King Estate with the idea of featuring Dr. King’s voice in a new ‘Built To Serve’ commercial, we were pleasantly surprised at the existence of the Ram Nation volunteers and their efforts,” said Eric D. Tidwell, the managing director of Intellectual Properties Management, Inc., which is the “exclusive licensor” of the MLK’s Estate.

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Established in 2015, “Ram Nation is a grassroots volunteer corps of Ram owners and like-minded people willing and ready to come together to haul supplies, deliver equipment, clear debris, distribute food and water and even make donations that help people in their communities and around the world,” according to a news briefing from that year.

Continuing his statement, Tidwell noted that “the overall message of the ad embodied Dr. King’s philosophy that true greatness is achieved by serving others. Thus we decided to be a part of Ram’s ‘Built To Serve’ Super Bowl program.”

Writing for The Daily Wire, conservative commentator Ben Shapiro seemed to agree with this line of thinking, pointing out that the “message of the ad is that meaningful lives are those led helping others, and that a Dodge Ram might be able to help you do that. Is that really so terrible?”

I agree with Shapiro, but our voices represent only a few. Many people, including some members of MLK’s own family, appear to disagree strongly.

In fact, both the King Center, a non-profit reportedly established by MLK’s wife, Coretta Scott King, and Bernice King, MLK’s daughter, have made it clear they do not approve of the ad.

“Neither @TheKingCenter nor @BerniceKing is the entity that approves the use of #MLK’s words or imagery for use in merchandise, entertainment (movies, music, artwork, etc) or advertisement, including tonight’s @Dodge #SuperBowl commercial,” the center tweeted during the game.

Many media pundits and contributors responded similarly:

Are they right, or are they making a big stink over nothing, especially given the ad’s purpose to promote volunteerism? You tell me.

Please share this story on Facebook and Twitter and let us know what you think about this controversy and which side you support.

What do you think about the ad itself? Scroll down to comment below!

An Outback Steakhouse in Cleveland, Tennessee, is the center of a major controversy after employees there asked a uniformed officer to leave due to Outback’s “gun-free zone” policy.

Andrew Ward, an officer with the Tennessee Wildlife Management Agency, wrote about his experience in the restaurant Friday on Facebook.

“Well we had a first tonight…. while I was at work tonight (in uniform) I stopped by Outback Steakhouse to eat supper with my wife,” Ward wrote in the post that is no longer public.

“I was approached by the manager and asked if I would put my gun in my truck. I let her know that I couldn’t because I was in uniform. She then went and made a call and came back and we were asked to leave because Outback is a gun free zone.”

Here’s a partial screenshot from WTIC-TV:

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While Ward said that he doesn’t “blame the manager … this is ridiculous and we will never go back there ever again.”

The chain has apologized for ejecting Ward from the restaurant, saying that it goes against policy.

“We’ve always allowed uniformed law enforcement officers to carry their side arms inside our restaurants,” a statement from the restaurant to WTIC-TV read.

“A manager made a mistake and we have discussed this with her. We have contacted the guest personally and apologized.”

However, the reason the restaurant gave Ward and his wife is a telling one.

“Outback has contacted us and has apologized for the incident,” Ward wrote.

“There was another customer that was ‘scared for her life’ who was seated across from us. This customer also stated that she was afraid because ‘police are shooting people‘ and this customer went on to demand to be escorted to her vehicle out of fear of being shot. Again I don’t blame the manager in this situation.”

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No, I certainly don’t either, although they certainly could have been somewhat more sensible from the sound of things. This is how far we’ve come in this country: We’ve vilified police officers to the point where patrons actually fear them sitting in an Outback, as if they’ll just open fire indiscriminately.

This is where we are as a society, viewing those charged with protecting us not just as threats, but as psychopaths who enjoy inflicting death. That’s a truly sobering thing to consider.

“Folks we need to turn our attention to people like this who try and push their agenda on all those around them. When an entire restaurant full of other happy people were completely fine with my presence,” Ward wrote in the conclusion to his Facebook post.

“As a country we need to stand up for each other as so many who have shared this post have done. I am truly humbled by the support we received.”

Indeed, there was plenty of support, with over 216,000 shares as of Tuesday morning, though there must have been a backlash, too, considering Ward has changed the post’s settings.

To appease one anti-police customer, Outback now has 216,000 individuals who have stood up for Officer Andrew Ward and shared his story. How many hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of people have seen it in one way or another? And who’s going to feel more secure in an Outback because of it? How many people are going to be more likely to go to the restaurant?

Perhaps next time a restaurant wants to disrespect an officer — a man or woman of the law who needs to carry their firearm with them — by asking them to leave, they’ll think of just what happened to this Outback and think again.

Please like and share on Facebook and Twitter if you agree.

What are your thoughts on what happened to this officer? Scroll down to comment below!

Before the Harvey Weinstein scandal, “woke” Hollywood liberals had no idea that rape was a bad thing. After Harvey, they still don’t know that, but pretend that they do. Well, some of them do. When it comes to child-molester Woody Allen or child-rapist Roman Polanski, Hollywood is still living in denial. Quentin Tarantino, who made an assload of money with Weinstein, also defended Polanski’s rape of a 13-year-old girl, because he is just an awful human being.

In 1977 film director Roman Polanski drugged 13-year-old Samantha Gailey and sodomized her. He was arrested and convicted of sexual assault but skipped the country before sentencing. He now lives in France, shielded from extradition to the US, and celebrities love him.

Last October fellow film director Quentin Tarantino was on Howard Stern and was asked how Hollywood could support a rapist like Polanski.

“He didn’t rape a 13-year-old. It was statutory rape. That’s not quite the same thing. He had sex with a minor. That’s not rape. To me, when you use the word rape, you’re talking about violent, throwing them down—it’s like one of the most violent crimes in the world. You can’t throw the word rape around. It’s like throwing the word ‘racist’ around. It doesn’t apply to everything people use it for. He was guilty of having sex with a minor,” said Tarantino.

Wait, didn’t Tarantino call all cops murderers and then “apologize” by saying it’s because they are all white supremacists? Seems like he throws the word racist around, but he was probably defending himself against people who take issue with his gratuitous use of the N-word.

Robin Givens pointed out that Polanski had drugged the girl with quaaludes and alcohol and that she wasn’t a willing participant.

“No, that was not the case at all. She wanted to have it and dated the guy and…,” protested Tarantino.

Givens interrupted with, “She was 13!”

“And by the way, we’re talking about America’s morals, not talking about the morals in Europe and everything,” said Tarantino.

This has nothing to do with morals, something Hollywood lacks, it’s about the law and in California it is illegal for a man to drug and rape a 13-year-old girl. Just because something may be acceptable in Europe, and I’m not convinced that what Polanski did was legal over there either, doesn’t mean it can be done in the US.

“Wait a second. If you have sex with a 13-year-old girl and you’re a grown man, you know that that’s wrong,” interjected Stern.

“Giving her booze and pills,” added Givens.

“Look, she was down with this,” proclaimed Tarantino.

After a long argument, Tarantino stated that it’s not rape with, “these 13-year-old party girls.”

This is just a long way of saying Tarantino is a piece of shit. He was also aware that his producer Harvey Weinstein was guilty of sexual misconduct with actresses including his own girlfriend, but decided to stay silent so he could continue making movies.

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