Unless you're Muslim, that is.

The TLC reality show “All-American Muslim” premiered last month and chronicles the lives of five families from Dearborn, Michigan, a Detroit suburb with a large Muslim and Arab-American population. Chances are you might not have heard of the show if it weren’t for Lowe’s Home Improvement, which pulled its ads from the show “after a conservative group known as the Florida Family Association complained, saying the program was ‘propaganda that riskily hides the Islamic agenda’s clear and present danger to American liberties and traditional values,’” the AP reports.

***Spoiler alert: The Dad in one of the five families profiled in the show is a cop. THERE’S A TERRORIST ON THE INSIDE, YOU GUYS! The only reason he’s giving you a speeding ticket is because he’s trying to DESTROY YOUR WAY OF LIFE!***

Anyway…

Response to Lowe’s decision to stop advertising during the program has been mixed. California Senator Ted Lieu called the decision “un-American” and “naked religious bigotry.” Lieu told The Associated Press “he would also consider legislative action if Lowe’s doesn’t apologize to Muslims and reinstate its ads.”

Meanwhile, average Americans have posted appreciative sentiments on Lowe’s Facebook page like, “Congratulations to Lowe’s for having the guts to stick up for traditional Americans!” (Visit BuzzFeed for more pro-Lowe’s comments made by less articulate folks.)

So in light of the split reaction this ad controversy created, where does Lowe’s stand now? Continue reading »

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Toddlers and Tiaras' Eden Wood Retires

Ah, to retire at age 6!

That’s exactly what Toddlers & Tiaras star Eden Wood plans to do, but don’t think for a minute that her mom is just going to let the 6-year-old get back to everyday kidstuff.

There’s a new career on the horizon for Eden Wood, and no matter how much her mom tries to sugarcoat us into believing that her daughter loves it so much, we’re not fooled. Continue reading »

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Meet the newest diva on 'Toddlers and Tiaras'

Without having ever seen Toddlers and Tiaras, I never liked it. I mean, how can you like a show about parents whoring out their little girls to look like slutty strippers (redundant?) in the name of a cheap polyester sash and dime store tiara?

But then a funny thing happened last night. I had the house to myself for an hour with no family in sight. And I turned on the TV to something other than Dora or Caillou for the first time since mid June, starting flipping around and stopped on Toddler and Tiaras. Instead of some real-life miniature Barbie doll, there was a real-life miniature male Barbie doll. Yes, there is a pageant boy on the show.

I didn’t watch for more than a few minutes, because the show was still just as gross as I expected it would be. But I saw enough to know they’re now at least doling out their grossness equally, namely in the form of 7-year-old Brock, a self-described “diva” who likes “his glitz and sparkle,” and he had the jazz hands to back it up.

Why does the exploitation of a little boy warm my heart as much as it does?

Continue reading »

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Teeth Bleaching for Kids?

Although the mom who allegedly injected Botox into the 9-year-old skin of her pageant-going daughter was bad enough (although the woman claimed she made the whole story up), there are other beauty sins that really are being thrust upon the mini-beauty queens of the Toddler and Tiara’s set.

Piles of make-up, false eyelashes, and spray tans are de rigueur. But now one reality show stage mom on the popular TLC show is adding another thing onto her daughters’ beauty regime to-do list – teeth bleaching. Continue reading »

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The Learning Channel - For Some Reason.

With offerings like Toddlers and Tiaras, 19 Kids and Counting, Kate Plus 8 and I Didn’t Know I Was Pregnant, we’re all of us addicted to at least one train wreck of a TLC show. (My current TLC favorite is their classiest offering, What Not to Wear, but how I long for the days of A Wedding Story and A Baby Story. 90′z 4evr!)

In this LOL-inducing parody promo from Canadian sketch group Mostly Water Theatre, we learn about TLC’s new lineup of shows, including Super Quick Weddings, The Divorce Horse and Uterus Cannon, which I can only assume will star Octomom Nadya Suleman. Take a look: Continue reading »

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Extreme couponing may save money, but it can take a toll on relationships.

The premiere of TLC’s Extreme Couponing has people frantically searching the web for coupon deals.  But “extreme couponing” can be a form of obsessive compulsive disorder, as ABC News reported this week.  ABC profiled shoppers featured on Extreme Couponing, like Amanda – who once used over 1,000 coupons to take her shopping total from $1100 to a meager $51.  Is that savings impressive?  Sure.  But not if you stack it next to the $35,000 she and her husband pay to insure their stockpile of goods.

Extreme couponer Nathan had this to say about his obsession: “Shopping is like chess. You’re trying to beat the opponent, which is the store.” I can’t imagine walking into a store feeling like I was heading into battle. The shoppers examined on Extreme Couponing aren’t just average people trying to save on their grocery bill. They’re like gamblers addicted to the thrill of finding the next great sale.

Take a look: Continue reading »

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Sextuplets Take New York on TLC

Sextuplets Take New York, TLC’s new reality series, is bound to draw comparisons to that other famous sextuplet family.  But Victor and Digna Carpio are no Jon and Kate.  And that’s a good thing.

The show, which premiered last night, takes a look at the daily lives of the Carpios and their seven children:  22-month-old sextuplets (four boys and 2 girls) and 9-year-old son, Jhancarlos.

From their small home in Queens, New York, Victor and Digna face many of the same challenges the Gosselins did – not enough space, money, time, etc. – but meet that challenge in a much kinder and gentler way. Continue reading »

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