Seth MacFarlane

Just in time for May sweeps, the producers of the animated Fox hit series Family Guy decided to devote an entire episode to trashing the Tea Party Sunday.

Liberal creator Seth MacFarlane's goal was surely to offend every right-thinking person in the nation as he depicted the conservative movement as a bunch of racist anarchists destined to destroy America (video follows with transcribed lowlights and commentary).

In this special season of giving, Hollywood is willing to give people what entertainment executives think the country needs: a vicious, bloody takedown of Christmas. The December 11 episode of  “American Dad” on Fox exemplified those with a complete absence of Christmas spirit in an episode titled “Season’s Beatings.”

Father Donovan announced he was running a Christmas play at the mall, so Stan Smith, the conservative Christian CIA agent/idiot dad expected to play Jesus Christ on the cross, since “I’m the most devout member of the church,” and “When it comes to Christianity, that’s the money shot.” Stan is told he’s too fat and is cast as Santa Claus. When he discovered the part of Jesus went instead to the show’s bisexual space alien character Roger, who boasted he’s working on his “savior bulge,” Stan beat Roger senseless.

It really has been amazing watching dovish media members who were perpetually complaining about the terrorist detention center at Guantanamo Bay and the enhanced interrogation of its residents when George W. Bush was president now cheering the assassination of United States citizen turned terrorist Anwar al-Awlaki.

A fine example of this hypocrisy occurred on HBO's "Real Time" Friday when the host who just last year supported a civilian trial for 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed applauded Awlaki's murder while encouraging his audience to join in the merriment (video follows with transcript and commentary, vulgarity warning):

Jay Leno on Friday made an oral sex joke about Delaware Republican senatorial candidate Christine O'Donnell.

His "Tonight Show" guest was "Family Guy" creator Seth MacFarlane, who last week himself made a sexual comment about O'Donnell on HBO's "Real Time" as NewsBusters previously reported.

Leno brought this up with MacFarlane who joked, "I think the second she opened her mouth, it would probably ruin everything."

The "Tonight Show" host responded, "Or make it really good" (video follows with transcript and commentary): 

Appearing as a guest on Friday’s Real Time with Bill Maher on HBO, Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane made a crack about his willingness to have sex with Delaware Republican Senate nominee Christine O’Donnell after host Maher showed a clip of O’Donnell from a Politically Incorrect episode from 1998. After a clip of the GOP candidate in which denied believing in the theory of evolution, MacFarlane declared, "I would, I would wreck that chick."

According to its definition at urbandictionary.com, the term "wreck" was apparently first used in a sexual sense in an episode of MacFarlane’s crude Family Guy show on Fox. Maher laughed while there was only mild laughter from the audience.

Below is a transcript of the relevant portion of the Friday, September 24, Real Time with Bill Maher:

On the April 22 Larry King Live on CNN, which was rebroadcast on Saturday, magician and comedian Penn Jillette – who is a self-described libertarian – challenged assertions by actress Rachael Harris that the Tea Party movement is motivated by "racism" against President Barack Obama. Jillette: "Well, that's the magic word. Once you say ‘racism,’ the other side loses automatically. And I don't think we have very much evidence that that's what it is. Don't they have to be doing racist things besides you just saying that they're racist?"

Harris cited the racial makeup of the Tea Party movement as evidence of its racist motivation: "No, but they're looking at the number of people that are in, like, the majority of the people that are in the Tea Party," leading Jillette to respond: "So the race that they are makes them racist by definition?"

After Harris and Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane joked for a moment that they had gotten together and created the movement, Jillette and Harris continued their debate over whether Tea Party members were motivated by racism:

The Federal Communications Commission is assigned the duty of enforcing broadcast decency provisions of the Communications Act of 1934. But Barack Obama’s FCC seems to think the indecency-discouraging mission of the FCC is as outdated as Glenn Miller, even as the airwaves sound more like Ozzy Osbourne.

FCC chairman Julius Genachowski is an aggressive regulator, thumbing his nose at a recent court decision that underlined he has no statutory authority for his power lust to rein in Internet service providers. Feeling no need to wait for a Democratic Congress to grant him that authority, Genachowski is planning to reclassify broadband providers as telecommunications companies, so he can gain new powers to “protect consumers” and “save” the World Wide Web.

Meanwhile, indecency on the broader band of broadcast TV – which Genachowski is bound by law to enforce – is being utterly ignored. Seth MacFarlane, the super-wealthy spoiled man-child of Fox Entertainment, has clearly read the tea leaves, and is flaunting the FCC directly.

Nothing is off-limits for Seth MacFarlane, the creator of Fox's "Family Guy" series, well almost anything. That's the message he wanted to convey in an appearance on CNN's April 22 "Larry King Live."  

MacFarlane was asked about an episode, originally aired on Feb. 14, which showed one of the characters, Chris Griffith, out on a date with a female with Down Syndrome, which she said her dad was an accountant, and "my mom is the former governor of Alaska." Some said he stepped over the line, others thought it wasn't a big deal.

However, Palin reacted on the Feb. 16 broadcast of Fox News Channel's "The O'Reilly Factor" by asking why "Family Guy" would stoop to such a level.

"This world is full of cruel, cold-hearted people who would do such a thing," Palin said. "Look. I look at Trigg and he is going to face things as special needs children will be facing much more difficult than we ever will. So why make it tougher on the special needs community? When is enough enough? When are we going to be willing to say some things just aren't really funny?"

Seth MacFarlane marked the five-year-anniversary of Terri Schiavo's court-ordered death by staging a preschool musical about it in his crass FOX cartoon, "Family Guy."  

MacFarlane denied Schiavo human dignity in the March 21 episode by referring to her in lyrics sung by cartoon preschoolers as "the most expensive plant you'll ever see" and a "vegetable," and noted "her mashed potato brains."

The child who played the role of Schiavo's husband, Michael, ultimately concluded, "There's only one solution, it's in the Constitution, we've got to pull the plug."

One of the actors involved in the hit cartoon series "Family Guy" has come out in support of Sarah Palin by voicing his disapproval of a Down Syndrome joke in a recent episode.

As NewsBusters reported on Valentine's Day, the Fox program made what some have considered a tasteless swipe at the Palins by having a character with Down Syndrome state, "[My] mom is the former governor of Alaska."

Sarah and Bristol Palin later expressed their disgust with the remark while the actress directly involved said they needed to get a sense of humor.

According to the Washington Post's TV Column blog, a member of the "Family Guy" cast has actually come out in support of the Palins:

Now that actress Andrea Fay Friedman of the Fox television series the Family Guy has spoken out publicly against Sarah Palin’s criticism of the show, ABC News has aired a story on the controversy, which ran on Saturday's World News. The Family Guy episode in question not only treated Down’s Syndrome as something to laugh at (credit to NB reader Birch Barlow for emailing in the link as a tip), but also made a reference to the former Alaska Governor being the mother of a character – voiced by Friedman as both she and the character have Down’s Syndrome – presumably to suggest that Palin has a tendency to give birth to such children and that doing so would be funny.

As he began the piece showing scenes from the episode, and a clip of Palin saying that the jab at her family felt like a "kick in the gut," correspondent Jeremy Hubbard understated the level of obscenity that Seth MacFarlane has a history of employing on the show as he simply described the show's creator and producer as "irreverent," and informed viewers that fans of the "button-pushing" show would find the episode "hardly shocking."

The ABC correspondent went on to give credibility to the view that Palin may be "overreacting" as he cited what he referred to as "half-hearted" praise for the show by "some" advocates for those with Down's Syndrome, and relayed the argument that the show actually delivers a positive portrayal. Hubbard: "Although there has been criticism, some Down's Syndrome advocates have given half-hearted praise to the cartoon for including a well-rounded character dealing with the disability, which leads Palin detractors to ask: Is she overreacting?"

"Family Guy" creator Seth MacFarlane on Friday said former President George W. Bush is retarded.

Appearing on HBO's "Real Time with Bill Maher," MacFarlane was discussing the controversy surrounding last Sunday's "Family Guy" when a Down Syndrome joke was made at Sarah Palin's expense.

Maher pointed out that this wasn't inspired by White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel's "f-ing retarded" comment: "[Y]ou've been making fun of the retarded for years."

MacFarlane replied, "[Y]eah, we've had our fair share of Bush jokes."

Moments later Maher said, "[I]ronically because of people like Sarah Palin, the country has done, become so stupid, we need the word retarded to constantly describe what is going on in America" (video embedded below the fold with partial transcript):

Former President Ronald Reagan would have prosecuted Dick Cheney for war crimes, Seth MacFarlane (IMDb page), creator, writer and executive producer of the Family Guy, American Dad! and The Cleveland Show animated sit-coms which air Sunday nights on Fox, declared Friday night on the season premiere of HBO’s Real Time with Bill Maher. But President Barack Obama, he rued, is too “chicken s**t” do to it.

To affirming applause from the Los Angeles audience, the left-wing MacFarlane -- who at another point recalled he campaigned for Obama -- pretended he’s an expert on Reagan, asserting Cheney’s advocacy of water-boarding terrorists means:

If Ronald Reagan were President, based on Ronald Reagan’s assertion that no matter who it is -- if it’s the Japanese in World War II, if it’s Pol Pot, if it’s us and we’re just scared -- torture is torture and you prosecute that. I have to believe if Ronald Reagan were President, he would try Dick Cheney for war crimes.

Maher agreed “it is a war crime by international law and our own law,” before MacFarlane fretted Obama won’t prosecute because he’s afraid of losing Republican support for his agenda. Generating even louder applause -- and to the delight of a giggling Maher -- MacFarlane countered that Republicans aren’t going to back Obama’s policies, “so you might as well string them up.”

On Friday’s Joy Behar Show on CNN Headline News, the normally anti-Palin Behar and most panel members – all left-leaning – sided with the former Alaska governor in the aftermath of Family Guy producer Seth MacFarlane's controversial depiction of a character with Down's Syndrome on his Fox television show, intended as a swipe at Palin whose son has Down's Syndrome. Behar declared that "I agree with Sarah on this one," and, after showing a clip of Palin on FNC’s The O’Reilly Factor denouncing MacFarlane, Behar concluded the segment: "Okay, that’s one for Sarah."

Panel member Mo Rocca of the Daily Show on Comedy Central was unusually straight as he praised Palin: "I’m with her. I mean, look, if there’s one thing to admire Sarah Palin for, it’s that she’s raising a special needs child, so, yeah, it’s a virtuous, irreproachable thing."

Comedian Jessica Kirson also labeled MacFarlane’s crack at Palin as offensive even as she admitted to also finding it amusing:

In the earliest days of television, shows were often supported entirely by one sponsor. There was the "Texaco Star Theater" with Milton Berle. Remember "General Electric Theater" with Ronald Reagan? The corporate patron was held responsible for the content within the program. More to the point, the corporate patron wanted the association with the show it was sponsoring.

Perhaps the best branding of them all was, and is Hallmark, with its Hallmark Hall of Fame movies. When that movie airs you just know it’s a quality movie, because that’s all Hallmark will produce.

On today’s TV shows, it’s all changed. Today's sponsors run in large packs and appear to make no attempt to monitor shows and have no expectation of being held accountable for the "art" they’ve enabled. In fact, they insist they not be held accountable for that which they sponsor. They are the unsponsors.

The much anticipated list finally arrived. Many hard working producers, writers, and actors waited with baited breath to hear the possibly career-changing announcement; hoping that their dedication to their craft and the constant effort to produce quality television had paid off. And then they realized, "Oh wait, the Emmys have ignored us for years..." It's a point driven home this year with the surprise (but not really) nomination of "Family Guy."

Family Guy has been nominated for Outstanding Comedy Series by the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. Unlike previous years, these nominations were decided by popular vote. Essentially, the Academy decided not to have a panel make the final decision, instead the vote lay solely on the members. Continuing with the Emmy tradition of validating shows that bash family, religion, and moral values, the Academy put the icing on the cake with "Family Guy."

ABC reporter Bill Weir didn't exactly grill "Family Guy" creator Seth MacFarlane when he interviewed him for "Nightline's" ongoing "Seriously Funny" segment on Monday. The journalist failed to bring up some of the most egregious examples of MacFarlane's cartoon vulgarity, including a March 8 episode that featured bestiality jokes, a gay-hating Jesus Christ and an 11-way gay orgy.

Instead, Weir only vaguely alluded to such instances and asserted, "But, like those other cartoons, his shows raise the most ire with religious and parental watchdog groups. If there is a taboo line, chances are MacFarlane has leaped over it." He did read off a list of topics the show has skewered and then wondered, "Where is the line for you? Is there a line or is that the point?" Once again, however, Weir had no specifics to follow-up. Did he ask about the October 19, 2008 episode in which the program's baby character, Stewie Griffin dressed up as a Nazi and wore a McCain/Palin button? No. MacFarlane, a Barack Obama supporter and liberal Democrat, wasn't forced to talk about that particular low blow.

MSNBC host Keith Olbermann, who has a history of using distorted or even factually inaccurate information -- much of which he gets from far-left sources like Media Matters for America and Think Progress -- on Friday's Countdown show accused FNC's Brit Hume of making a "dumbfounding" admission that "he was fed a buffet of daily talking points" by the "lunatic fringe, right wing" Media Research Center, which the MSNBC host identified as a Web site "run by the perpetually angry Brent Bozell." During the show's "Worst Person in the World" segment, after designating Hume with the second place distinction, Olbermann also claimed that Hume's "admission" was "as startling as if he had confessed to making up the news out of whole cloth or reading it off a ouija board." Olbermann was referring to Hume’s Thursday speech at the MRC’s annual Dishonors Awards gala, as the former FNC anchor accepted the "William F. Buckley Jr. Award for Media Excellence."

And during a discussion with left-wing Family Guy producer Seth MacFarlane about a number of off-color comments made by several conservative public figures during the week, the two characterized Joe the Plumber's stage entrance at the MRC event as "gay," with MacFarlane cracking that "they're the people who are supposed to be opposed to homosexuality," and that "that‘s kind of an oddly gay entrance, wasn't it? 'God Bless the USA' and that welting, wistful tone." Olbermann played along, adding that "the guy looks like he just jumped off the Brawny towel thing."

Family Guy – talk about a misnomer. The animated Fox television series crossed sexual, moral and religious boundaries on Sunday evening when it aired content inappropriate for its young target audience.

The controversial material was not limited to one subject, or isolated in a single scene. Images of gay men kissing, a baby eating semen, physical abuse, sexual touching and a half naked male were just a few of the disturbing images viewers were treated to in the March 8 episode.

The Parents Television Council has issued a press release regarding the indecent content. Tim Winter, President of the PTC has alerted the Federal Communications Commission to the controversial content aired at 8:00pm CT, during the so-called family hour.