[1424] in peace2
Super Bowl Ad Out Of Bounds
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (perpetual skew line)
Wed Feb 6 00:32:27 2002
Date: Wed, 6 Feb 2002 00:33:23 -0500 (EST)
From: perpetual skew line <paladin@sub-zero.mit.edu>
To: <peace-list@mit.edu>
Message-ID: <Pine.LNX.4.33.0202060030320.23695-100000@sub-zero.mit.edu>
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Expensive Drug War propoganda taking money from treatment programs. Yay
Bush...
SUPER BOWL AD OUT OF BOUNDS
http://act.actforchange.com/cgi-bin7/flo?y=eFIp0BBaNc0ChP0TUi0AD
If you watched the Super Bowl, you probably saw two dramatic ads that link
illegal drug use and terrorism -- including the terrorist attacks on
September 11. Super Bowl Sunday has become as famous for the slick
commercials run between plays as for the actual game played on the field,
and by any measure these particular spots sent a powerful message.
Unfortunately, that message is misguided, and the millions being spent to
promote it are a sad waste.
Don't get us wrong: Addictive drugs like cocaine and heroin are destroying
lives and families in America every day. It is also true that drug sales
generate profits for overseas cartels and terrorists often sell drugs to
finance violence. However, it makes no sense for the government to buy the
most expensive airtime there is to air spots that seem designed mainly to
link the popular War on Terrorism with the unpopular War on Drugs.
Only a third of federal anti-drug money is earmarked for prevention and
treatment programs -- even though waiting lists for treatment programs are
so long as to be cruel. Yet out of these limited funds, the White House
spent $3.2 million to air two 30-second commercials.
The ads were created under the auspices of President Bush's drug czar as
part of a $10 million campaign. In the first ad, a litany of a terrorist's
expenses concludes with a question: "Where do terrorists get their money?
If you buy drugs, some of it may come from you." The second ad splices
images of teenagers claiming drugs are "just fun" with other teens taking
the blame for atrocities committed in other countries. "I helped murder
families in Colombia," says one kid, "I helped the bomber get a fake
passport," claims another.
While such shocking statements may hit viewers in the gut, they will do
little, if anything, to end either drug abuse or drug-related violence. By
almost any measure, the United States' War on Drugs continues to be an
abject failure, and the reasons are pretty simple: The profits from the
illegal sale of drugs, like cocaine and heroin, are so large that drug
cartels can overwhelm the billions of dollars spent on seizing drugs and
counter-narcotics operations overseas.
The White House's Super Bowl ads represent the continuation of a failed
policy that does not serve our kids, fight terrorists or help to liberate
those living under the scourge of governments corrupted by drug money.
Instead, they represent a missed opportunity to channel millions of
dollars into drug prevention and treatment programs that work.
E-mail President Bush to express outrage that millions of dollars were
spent on misguided Super Bowl ads when important treatment and prevention
programs are underfunded.
http://act.actforchange.com/cgi-bin7/flo?y=eFIp0BBaNc0ChP0TUi0AD
Melissa Simpson Manager
ActForChange.com
http://www.actforchange.com
