San Francisco Bay Area Chapter GLAAD Media Briefs -- September 24, 1993 by Al Kielwasser Presidential Porno The Christian Action Network (CAN)--a heterosexual supremacist group--has been sending "clips of pornographic films" to the White House. Whining that these "pornographic films" had the "stamp of approval" of the National Endowment for the ARTS (NEA), CAN hopes to convince Bill Clinton to fire the endowment's acting chair, Ana Steele and, ultimately, abolish the NEA altogether. The 15 minute videotape being distributed by CAN is composed of excerpts from three films shown at the 1991 Pittsburgh International Gay and Lesbian Film Festival. The CAN peep show depicts two men masturbating in a bathtub, a woman masturbating, and a man (wearing only his leather boots) handcuffed to another man. The NEA did not, in fact, contribute a single cent towards the making of these films, but only authorized grants to support the Pittsburgh festival (as part of a meager $17,500 grant that also included lesbian and gay film festivals in New York and Los Angeles). Acting NEA chair Ana Steele recently reversed a censorious Bush administration decision to deny grants to these lesbian and gay film festivals. During last year's presidential election, CAN also produced an anti-Clinton TV ad that showed carefully edited shots of a New York gay march, while the announcer said: "Bill Clinton's vision for a better America includes job quotas for homosexuals, giving homosexuals special civil rights, allowing homosexuals in the Armed Forces. Al Gore supports homosexual couples adopting children and becoming foster parents. Is this your vision for a better America?" Contact Bill Clinton and advise him to rebuff the efforts of such hate mongers. Write to President Bill Clinton at The White House, 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., Washington, DC 20500, tel. 202-456-1414. And if you'd like your very own videotape of "government-sponsored pornography," send requests to the Christian Action Network, P.O. Box 606, Forest, VA 24551. What's Ailing CNBC? Roger Ailes has been named president of CNBC, the cable television talk-show and business news network. Available on 4,000 systems nationwide, CNBC reaches 48.5 million cable subscribers. As part of his new job, Ailes will also be in charge of another NBC cable channel, "America's Talking," scheduled to premiere in 1994. We should all be alarmed. Even a quick glance at Roger Ailes right-wing resume is cause for concern. Ailes was media adviser to Presidents Nixon, Reagan and Bush. He put together the exceedingly racist "Willie Horton" campaign ads for the 1988 presidential election. He is--and will continue to be--the executive producer of The Rush Limbaugh Show. According to NBC President Robert Wright, Roger Ailes is "one of a kind in the television business. He represents a unique combination of promoter, entrepreneur and, above all, a highly talented television producer." Would you care to add "mercenary bigot" to that list, Mr. Wright? Certainly, nothing in Roger Ailes resume suggests that he has the ability or the will to provide fair and accurate coverage of women, people of color, the poor, or the lesbian, gay and bisexual communities. Contact Robert Wright and CNBC today to share your concerns. Write to Robert Wright, President, National Broadcasting Company, 30 Rockefeller Plaza, New York, NY 10021, tel. 212-664-4444; CNBC, 3000 W. Alameda Ave., Burbank, CA 91523, tel. 818-840-4488. Johnson Wax: Incredibly Dull! It appears that the Johnson Wax company has finally bowed to the forces of bigotry. The company had been the target of a boycott launched by Christian Leaders for Responsible Television (CLeaR-TV, an arm of the American Family Association), which targeted Johnson Wax for sponsoring "pro-homosexual" television programs that featured "lesbian innuendo." In the latest letter from Johnson Wax, company spokesperson Thomas Conrardy states: "I am happy to report that CLeaR-TV has lifted the national boycott against SC Johnson Wax, following a meeting we had with representatives of CLeaR-TV. We are confident that the mutual understanding will strengthen our ability to avoid programs that are not in good taste or inconsistent with our own values." Johnson Wax has come to an "understanding" with an organization that is committed to promoting hatred towards lesbian, gays and bisexuals. CLeaR-TV and the AFA do little more than spew the bigotry that continues to make lesbians and gays the most frequent victims of hate crime in the United States. Has Johnson Wax made any imminent plans to meet with representatives of lesbian and gay media advocacy groups? Send your inquiries and caustic comments to Thomas R. Conrardy, Director, Consumer Resource Center, SC Johnson Wax, 1525 Howe Street, Racine, WI 53403-5011, tel. 414-631-2000. Secrets Behind the Songs Did you know that the Beatles 1965 hit "You've Got to Hide Your Love Away" was a queer love ballad? So says reporter and pop culture critic Adam Block, in an essay in The People's Almanac Presents The Book of Lists: The 90s Edition, published by Little, Brown & Co. and due out this month. An excerpt from that essay also appears in the September 5th edition of Parade Magazine, a nation-wide supplement included in the Sunday editions of many newspapers. John Lennon wrote "You've Got to Hide Your Love Away" after spending a weekend with his gay manager, Brian Epstein. Block also reports that, according to lead singer Bono, the U2 song "One" is "about a boy with AIDS, addressing his father." All proceeds from the single's release went to AIDS charities. The lyric, in part, sings: "You act like you never had love/and you want me to go without/We're one, but we're not the same!/We've got to carry each other, carry each other. However, Block observes that "shorn of its context, few have heard the song as the singer did." Send comments to Walter Anderson, Editor, Parade Magazine, 750 Third Ave., New York, NY 10017. The only way to cure homophobia is to confront it! To notify the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation/San Francisco Bay Area Chapter of defamations, or to request GLAAD membership information, call our office at 415-861-4588; South Bay Hotline 408-235-0229; East Bay Hotline 510-273-9146; fax 415-861-4893. Our mailing address is GLAAD/SFBA, 514 Castro St., Suite B, San Francisco, CA 94114. Items for this weekly column should be sent to the attention of Al Kielwasser at GLAAD.