Lizz Winstead on the Susan G. Komen/Planned Parenthood Fracas

You might not know Lizz Winstead by name, but you know of her. She's a comedian, writer, feminist, activist and. . .oh, yeah. . .co-creator of The Daily Show. As I watched the commentary of the Florida Primary on my Twitter feed, I watched Winstead's live reaction to the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure decision to defund Planned Parenthood.

If you follow politics at all, you know that Planned Parenthood is a lightning rod of controversy, with constant attacks from the right wing. This is because PP provides abortion services. Though this is only a small part of their mission, they are public enemy #1 to many on the right. There are a couple of ironies here. One being the fact that family planning (contraception, for instance) reduces the need for abortions. But the bigger irony is that PP provides breast cancer screenings and promotes awareness, especially for poor women. Komen's mission is also part of Planned Parenthood's. And by pulling their funding, poor women will be more at risk for breast cancer! Unbelievable. This is far from my issue, but come on.

Janet Jackson's Boob Not Worth $.5 Million

Image from source, Reuters

We had friends over for the Super Bowl in 2004, and were having a beer and chili-fueled good time by the time halftime rolled around. We had recently gotten the HDTV installed on our 55-inch TV, and were marvelling at the picture when--gasp!--something happened.

I didn't know what it was at first, because I was exploring the acreage on the other side of the screen. But a couple of the guests saw what they thought was Janet Jackson's breast. They weren't sure. . .thought she might have had a pasty on. The total discussion of the matter might have lasted ninety seconds. By the end of third quarter, nobody in the room probably would have even remembered the event. . .were it not for the circus that ensued the next day.

Ultimately, CBS was fined around a half a million dollars by the FCC for indecency. For a half-second booby flash. Nobody who watched with me, in fact no one I've ever talked to about it, thought that made any sense. Fortunately, we were not alone.

[Excerpt]

Court overturns CBS fine over Janet Jackson flash

The U.S. government's campaign against television indecency was dealt a blow on Monday when a court overturned a $550,000 fine against CBS Corp television stations for airing a glimpse of pop singer Janet Jackson's breast during the 2004 Super Bowl broadcast. . .

Read more at: Reuters