“Exxon Hates Your Children” Ad Spiked in Arkansas, Site of Mayflower Pipeline Spill

By
Greg Diamond
– April 13, 2013Posted in: "The OC", Fresh Juice

I know that this isn’t a local story (except to the extent that we’re part of the globe affected by this global story), but anytime a powerful corporation uses threats of legal action to prevent a satirical ad funded by a large number of small citizen donors from airing on television stations, I think that there’s a pretty clear moral imperative for anyone with access to the media: show more people the ad.

So, Exxon, sponsor of the pipeline spill covering parts of Mayflower, Arkansas in oily diluted tar sands muck, here ya go!

As reported in Daily Kos:

The ExxonHatesYourChildren coalition of three progressive groups created the following ad as part of its satirical campaign against the biggest company in the world. It was supposed to be broadcast on ABC, NBC and Fox affiliates this week in Little Rock, Arkansas. But the ad was pulled moments before airing by the stations when Exxon threatened legal action.

Exxon’s cease and desist letter says the ad is factually wrong, makes a big deal of all the programs it sponsors for young people and its investments in energy efficiency. It claims Exxon agrees that global warming is occurring because of greenhouse gas emissions. But it doesn’t comment on the tens of millions Exxon has spent creating propaganda and making smears of climate scientists and environmental advocates over two decades.

Here is the coalition’s response.

“Exxon is and will always be a bully,” said David Turnbull, campaigns director of Oil Change International. “Instead of engaging their critics appropriately, Exxon uses its billions to hire high-priced lawyers to make scary-sounding but unsupported legal claims to suppress criticism. It’s a window into how they have preserved billions in taxpayer handouts for their industry for so many years.”

Share this is you want to make Exxon sorry that they bigfooted in the very state where they’ve tried to prevent the media from reporting on their oil spill.

Source: http://leaksource.wordpress.com/2013/04/07/thank-you-exxon-mayflower-arkansas-new-oil-lake/

SPECIAL BONUS VIDEO ON HOW AUSTERITY DOESN’T WORK (EXCEPT FOR THE WEALTHY WHO NEED NOT BE AUSTERE):

Follow this link to find it.  It’s really good.  And don’t miss this accompanying story as well.


About Greg Diamond

Somewhat verbose attorney, semi-disabled and semi-retired, residing in northwest Brea. Occasionally ran for office against jerks who otherwise would have gonr unopposed. Got 45% of the vote against Bob Huff for State Senate in 2012; Josh Newman then won the seat in 2016. In 2014 became the first attorney to challenge OCDA Tony Rackauckas since 2002; Todd Spitzer then won that seat in 2018. Every time he's run against some rotten incumbent, the *next* person to challenge them wins! He's OK with that. Corrupt party hacks hate him. He's OK with that too. He does advise some local campaigns informally and (so far) without compensation. (If that last bit changes, he will declare the interest.) His daughter is a professional campaign treasurer. He doesn't usually know whom she and her firm represent. Whether they do so never influences his endorsements or coverage. (He does have his own strong opinions.) But when he does check campaign finance forms, he is often happily surprised to learn that good candidates he respects often DO hire her firm. (Maybe bad ones are scared off by his relationship with her, but they needn't be.)