Last night, GE-owned NBC pulled out all the propaganda stops on “3o Rock” to help Al Gore, the face of Global Warming Climate Change and all things red green, burnish his image as an appealing everyday guy with a sense of humor about himself.

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Don’t be fooled by the self-effacing humor or Gore’s willingness to engage in gentle self-mockery. As the leader and symbol of this socialist-wolf-in-sheep’s-clothing movement, GE/NBC understands that Gore’s popularity can only aid in the passing of legislation beneficial to GE. And Gore’s “30 Rock” enablers also understand that the more appealing he is, the more appealing his leftist ideas seem…

“Gee, why would such a nice guy want to hurt America?” (more…)

It all seemed to start so simply, as I watched this week’s “SNL” and saw an NBC in-house commercial bragging about how all this week’s Thursday night comedies will be packed with environmental propaganda, including an appearance from Al Gore on “30 Rock.” So I hopped on my Facebook account and wrote the following response before heading out for the next 10 hours:

“So NBC’s bragging that all their Thursday comedies will be pro-green propaganda this Thursday, so much that Al Gore’s gonna guest on ‘30 Rock”?! Ugh. OK I’ll do my part – by throwing out my television. (Not a fan of Al, in case you can’t tell. Find the story of why i hate him buried amid my blog topics at americasfunniestreporter.com.)”

Three friends commented quickly afterwards in support of me. But then, two others – a former boss from a Chicago magazine named Jane, and an acquaintance who’s a public school teacher living in Whittier – chimed in to express their disagreement. Caught in the middle was one of my best friends and co-host of my weekly Internet talk show “Grand Theft Audio,” Jake Belcher. (more…)

NBC gives new meaning to the phrase “green screen” next week, spreading a pro-environmental message across five of its prime-time entertainment programs – AP News.

When Arthur Miller wrote “The Crucible” it was rightly seen as a brilliant allegory to the House Un-American Activities Committee.  It was a brilliant piece of drama about the Salem Witch Trials of the late 17th Century with obvious corollaries to the political climate of post-World War II America.  And no matter where you fall on the political spectrum you must recognize the play as a classic in the canon of American drama.

My admiration for much of Miller’s work gives me enough confidence to say that he would view the current efforts to ham-handedly inject political statements into television sitcoms as absolute crap.  It takes a deft hand to send a message without it seeming like you are sending a message… and the writers of “The Office” and “30 Rock,” as glib as they may be, are no “Arthur Millers”.

I love “The Office.”  I’m one of those apostates who actually like the U.S. version better than the original (must be my knee-jerk patriotism at work).  But I saw my very first example of lousy (and I mean REALLY lousy) writing this season when they tried to force the issue of “Volunteer-ism” into the storyline. (more…)

NBC’s “Law and Order” is in its 20th season. The economy is weak, so they have devolved to converting White House talking points into weekly shows. Last week, “Doped” was a farcical equivalent of “Damien Thorn meets Karen Silkwood.” Pharmaceutical companies and Doctors are worse than drug cartels. The killers in the previous week’s episode on such cartels were more sympathetic than the health professionals. 

In the opening scene, a woman with 4 children is driving the wrong way down the West Side Highway (like the Diane Schuler Taconic Parkway horror this summer). Speaking on her cell phone erratically (no “hands free!”), the kids get concerned. She decides it is time to use nasal spray for her allergies, which had been spiked without her knowledge. Flash forward and viewers see two mangled vehicles resulting in seven deaths.  (more…)

“Why can’t we ignore [global warming]? Because it’s the biggest crisis we’ve ever faced.” — Al Gore, April 24, 2009, Testimony before the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Climate Change Legislation.

Next week NBC is entering their “Green Week” of programming, infusing environmental messages across many of their prime-time shows. But the campaign does not only include entertainment programs – the eco-messaging will also be spread through NBC News’ Nightly News, Meet the Press, and the Today Show.

My question for the NBC News organization is this – will you be discussing the biggest global warming story of the year?

Early this year a study from Oregon State University, entitled Reproduction and the carbon legacies of individuals, contained the single biggest decision that anyone could make to dramatically lower their carbon footprint. And that decision? Have fewer kids.

The results of the report are actually mind boggling for anyone somewhat informed on environmental policy. The study investigates how the reproductive choices of an individual affects their “carbon legacy”, or said differently, the CO2 emissions attributable to a person’s offspring. What they found was that a US citizen’s decision of having a child adds 5.7 times the expected CO2 emissions for that citizen. Yes, 5.7 times!! This is due to the domino effect of your kids having kids, which have kids, and so on.  (more…)

What do you call it when the federal government pays a private company some money so that the private company will stump for the federal government’s agenda?  Payola.  Under the FCC rules and regulations, “When a broadcast licensee has received or been promised payment for the airing of program material, then, at the time of the airing, the station must disclose that fact and identify who paid for or promised to pay for the material.” 

So what do you call it when the federal government steers money to a major broadcast network so that the major broadcast network will stump for the federal government’s agenda? 

That’s precisely what’s happening over at NBC this week.  According to the Associated Press: 

NBC gives new meaning to the phrase “green screen” next week, spreading a pro-environmental message across five of its prime-time entertainment programs.  “30 Rock,” where Al Gore takes a cameo role, leads the way. Environmental themes were also added to the scripts of “The Biggest Loser,” “The Office,” “Heroes” and “Community.”  NBC Universal’s three-year “green” campaign has largely focused on off-camera issues like making company facilities more eco-friendly. News and information programs have also been enlisted to do stories on environmental issues, but except for one “30 Rock” episode two years ago, the campaign hasn’t touched the prime-time lineup. 

Now, it’s clear that NBC has pushed this “green agenda” for years.  And that makes sense – General Electric owns NBC, and General Electric is at the forefront in terms of producing “green products” like energy efficient lightbulbs.  In May 2005, GE launched its $90 million “Ecomagination” advertising campaign, designed to demonstrate “GE’s commitment to address challenges such as the need for cleaner, more efficient sources of energy, reduced emissions and abundant sources of clean water,” according to GE CEO Jeff Immelt.  (more…)