Important News from MoveOn.org website:

During this year's Super Bowl, you'll see ads sponsored by beer companies, tobacco companies, and the Bush White House.(1) But you won't see the winning ad in MoveOn.org Voter Fund's Bush in 30 Seconds ad contest. CBS refuses to air it.(2) Meanwhile, the White House and Congressional Republicans are on the verge of signing into law a deal which Senator John McCain (R-AZ) says is custom-tailored for CBS and Fox,(3) allowing the two networks to grow much bigger. CBS lobbied hard for this rule change; MoveOn.org members across the country lobbied against it; and now our ad has been rejected while the White House ad will be played. It looks an awful lot like CBS is playing politics with the right to free speech.

Of course, this is bigger than just the MoveOn.org Voter Fund. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) submitted an ad that was also rejected.(4) But this isn't even a progressive-vs.-conservative issue. The airwaves are publicly owned, so we have a fundamental right to hear viewpoints from across the ideological spectrum. That's why we need to let CBS know that this practice of arbitrarily turning down ads that may be "controversial" -- especially if they're controversial simply because they take on the President -- just isn't right. To watch the ad that CBS won't air and sign our petition to CBS, go to:

http://www.moveon.org/cbs/ad/

If you want to skip the ad and just sign the petition, go to:

http://www.moveon.org/cbs/?id=2279-2148547-if35nAcMLkPMnlvyjrgUMg

We'll deliver the petition by email directly to CBS headquarters. You also may want to let your local CBS affiliate know you're unhappy about this decision. We've attached a list of the CBS affiliates in your state at the bottom of this email. Remember, a polite, friendly call will be most effective -- just explain to them why you believe CBS' decision hurts our democracy. CBS will claim that the ad is too controversial to air. But the message of the ad is a simple statement of fact, supported by the President's own figures. Compared with 2002's White House ad which claimed that drug users are supporting terrorism,(5) it hardly even registers.

CBS will also claim that this decision isn't an indication of political bias. But given the facts, that's hard to believe. CBS overwhelmingly favored Republicans in its political giving, and the company spent millions courting the White House to stop FCC reform.(6) According to a well-respected study, CBS News was second only to Fox in failing to correct common misconceptions about the Iraq war which benefited the Bush Administration -- for example, the idea that Saddam Hussein was involved with 9/11.(7) This is not a partisan issue. It's critical that our media institutions be fair and open to all speakers. CBS is setting a dangerous precedent, and unless we speak up, the pattern may continue. Please call on CBS to air ads which address issues of public importance today.

P.S. Our friends at Free Press have put together a page which explains simply how CBS and the FCC rule change are integrally linked. Check it out at:

http://www.mediareform.net/media/
P.P.S Here are the CBS affiliates in your state:

WCBS-TV, New York: (212) 975-4321
WRGB-TV, Niskayuna: (518) 346-6666
WTVH-TV, Syracuse: (315) 425-5555
WWNY-TV, Watertown: (315) 788-3800
WBNG-TV, Johnson City: (607) 729-8812
WIVB-TV, Buffalo: (716) 874-4410
WROC-TV, Rochester: (585) 288-8400

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ACT FOR CHANGE ACTIVISM UPDATE ... Block Bush Backroom Favors

A special message and two actions to take from Working Assets' President, Michael Kieschnick:

President Bush's State of the Union address Tuesday evening was an unusual combination of taunting and pandering.

How audacious it was to say we invaded Iraq in order to enforce UN resolutions. And how did Bush get from last year's State of the Union with its recitation of thousands of tons of various chemical weapons to this year's pallid but still overstated reference to "program activities" relating to weapons of mass destruction? And which special interest demanded that bizarre reference to steroids in professional sports? (By the way, we don't like them either, but is that really a national priority right now?)

Perhaps the only uplifting moment was the applause that came in response to the pending sunset of certain parts of the PATRIOT Act. Working Assets, in the months to come, will be fighting against much that was highlighted in the speech, but there are two pieces of unfinished business that deserve your immediate attention:

Fix the Omnibus Spending Bill

Urge your senators to keep fighting to defend the public interest by blocking the omnibus spending bill until the five worst provisions are amended. Click here to take action!

http://act.actforchange.com/cgi-bin7/DM/y/eXGR0FFlNw0JsG0jZ40AL

Finish the Job on Weapons of Mass Destruction Investigation

Urge your senators to call on the Senate Intelligence Committee to hold open hearings and ask straightforward questions of White House officials under oath as to whether they had bad information or they themselves misled the American people on weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. Click here to take action!

http://act.actforchange.com/cgi-bin7/DM/y/eXGR0FFlNw0JsG0jZ50AM