# Hey, Gov't, stop paying for stupid TRUTH.com ads and give the money to education! **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [April 16, 2003, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-govt-stop-paying-for-stupid-truth-com-ads-and-give-the-money-to-education/168983 "2003-04-16T00:41:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Tars\_Tarkas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Tars\_Tarkas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tars_Tarkas)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2003, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-govt-stop-paying-for-stupid-truth-com-ads-and-give-the-money-to-education/168983/1 "2003-04-16T00:41:20Z")
If people are stupid enough to not know smoking is dangerous they deserve to die! If you funneled that money into education we might actually get more scientists who can cure diseases like lung cancer. I’m two seconds away from taking up smoking just to light up whenever i see one of those commercials! Go commit Mopery, [TRUTH.com](http://TRUTH.com)! ---
**Author:** ![stockton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5a626/32.png) [@stockton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stockton)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2003, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-govt-stop-paying-for-stupid-truth-com-ads-and-give-the-money-to-education/168983/2 "2003-04-16T03:26:15Z")
I’ll just chime in to say the [TRUTH.com](http://TRUTH.com) ads are as stupid as TV gets these days, and that’s pretty damn stupid. You should see the moronic spots they run here in GA. I coulda put that $1BILLION to better use, but my cousin doesn’t run the disbursement. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2003, 5:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-govt-stop-paying-for-stupid-truth-com-ads-and-give-the-money-to-education/168983/3 "2003-04-16T05:39:46Z")
Good rant. Nice keyboard. Got a smoke? ---
**Author:** ![Morrigoon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/858c86/32.png) [@Morrigoon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morrigoon)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2003, 5:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-govt-stop-paying-for-stupid-truth-com-ads-and-give-the-money-to-education/168983/4 "2003-04-16T05:42:07Z")
I think it’s incredibly ironic that I posted an education funding rant at the same time, lol. ---
**Author:** ![RexDart](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b77776/32.png) [@RexDart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RexDart)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2003, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-govt-stop-paying-for-stupid-truth-com-ads-and-give-the-money-to-education/168983/5 "2003-04-16T05:53:28Z")
…lights up… I get the feeling anti-smoking stuff is only cool to those 20-somethings in the commercials because it’s a “big corporation”, therefore “soulless and evil”, and therefore “in league with Satan”, and in the business of “slaughtering babies and dancing with their corpses”, and their CEOs like to “orally rape handicapped squirrels” and “masturbate in public to pictures of the pope” and then go home and “watch that NBC show ‘Good Morning Miami’.” Absolutely dispicable. ---
**Author:** ![voguevixen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b5ac83/32.png) [@voguevixen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voguevixen)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2003, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-govt-stop-paying-for-stupid-truth-com-ads-and-give-the-money-to-education/168983/6 "2003-04-16T16:18:03Z")
I actually get a bit of a chuckle out of those ads, but yeah – there’s about a million better things they could spend the money on. ---
**Author:** ![Dogface](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9d8465/32.png) [@Dogface](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dogface)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2003, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-govt-stop-paying-for-stupid-truth-com-ads-and-give-the-money-to-education/168983/7 "2003-04-16T16:38:40Z")
Had I the money, I’d buy ad time that told people about the carcinogens and toxins to be found in organically-grown vegetables. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2003, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-govt-stop-paying-for-stupid-truth-com-ads-and-give-the-money-to-education/168983/8 "2003-04-16T17:24:20Z")
Um, i tried to find [truth.com](http://truth.com) on the web, and got a hardware store. What gives? ---
**Author:** ![SmackFu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/53a042/32.png) [@SmackFu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmackFu)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2003, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-govt-stop-paying-for-stupid-truth-com-ads-and-give-the-money-to-education/168983/9 "2003-04-16T17:49:51Z")
Is this the part where I point out that the Truth ads are funded by the tobacco companies via the [American Legacy Foundation](http://www.americanlegacy.org/) (which was created by the tobacco settlement with the states)? So not the government. ---
**Author:** ![Tars\_Tarkas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Tars\_Tarkas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tars_Tarkas)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2003, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-govt-stop-paying-for-stupid-truth-com-ads-and-give-the-money-to-education/168983/10 "2003-04-16T18:06:20Z")
well, the gov’t should have make them funnel the money into the ed dept, not the dept of crappy commericals. ---
**Author:** ![World\_Eater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f04885/32.png) [@World\_Eater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/World_Eater)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2003, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-govt-stop-paying-for-stupid-truth-com-ads-and-give-the-money-to-education/168983/11 "2003-04-16T18:08:05Z")
The only truth is those commercials suck. ---
**Author:** ![tiny\_ham](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a183cd/32.png) [@tiny\_ham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tiny_ham)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2003, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-govt-stop-paying-for-stupid-truth-com-ads-and-give-the-money-to-education/168983/12 "2003-04-16T18:15:42Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by RexDart \* > \*\*and their CEOs like to “orally rape handicapped squirrels” \*\* I…I… those poor squirrels. ---
**Author:** ![RAWDuke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/71e660/32.png) [@RAWDuke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RAWDuke)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2003, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-govt-stop-paying-for-stupid-truth-com-ads-and-give-the-money-to-education/168983/13 "2003-04-16T19:05:14Z")
While we’re sort of on the subject, somebody tell the IRS they can stop wasting my tax dollars on commercials telling me that if I file early I’ll get my refund early. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Ender\_Will](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/eb9ed0/32.png) [@Ender\_Will](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ender_Will)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2003, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-govt-stop-paying-for-stupid-truth-com-ads-and-give-the-money-to-education/168983/14 "2003-04-16T21:42:43Z")
I fucking hate all PSAs! They are universally the shittiest ads ever produced (yes, it’s a big tie). The truth ads suck. The “wear your seat belts” ads suck. The “marijuana is the most dangerous thing of all time, second only to tobacco, underage drinking, airline turbulence and intolerance” ads suck. The underage drinking ads suck. A lot. “Are you going to the party after the game? Billy’s parents are out of town, and there’s gonna be plenty to drink” “Sounds more like trouble to me.” WHO THE FUCK WRITES THIS SHIT!?!?? Actually, I thought of one PSA that sucks less than the rest: the one telling people to wear their seatbelts on airplanes. It sucks, don’t get me wrong, but the fact that somebody thought it was necessary is funny enough to offset some of the shit-ness. Goddamn, when will whoever is responisble for these atrocities realize that having forty-five thousand canned sound effects does not make the ad “cool”? I’ve not seen the IRS ads “telling me that if I file early I’ll get my refund early,” but (here’s a revolutionary idea) why don’t they, instead of wasting OUR money, SPEND IT ON SOMETHING USEFUL! OR CUT OUR TAXES BY THE $1.50 THAT WE ALL SPENT ON THEM? Fucking a. Well, I’m off to have a smoke while drinking and driving on an airplane with no seatbeltss. ---
**Author:** ![\_intelligent\_potgoddess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/_/df705f/32.png) [@\_intelligent\_potgoddess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/_intelligent_potgoddess)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2003, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-govt-stop-paying-for-stupid-truth-com-ads-and-give-the-money-to-education/168983/15 "2003-04-16T22:05:50Z")
I couldn’t agree with you more! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Searching\_For\_Truth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4da419/32.png) [@Searching\_For\_Truth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Searching_For_Truth)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2003, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-govt-stop-paying-for-stupid-truth-com-ads-and-give-the-money-to-education/168983/16 "2003-04-16T23:28:24Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by SmackFu \* > **Is this the part where I point out that the Truth ads are funded by the tobacco companies via the [American Legacy Foundation](http://www.americanlegacy.org/) (which was created by the tobacco settlement with the states)?** Why, my stars! It certainly is. This whole thread makes me laugh. You guys light up my life. ---
**Author:** ![Netbrian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/71e660/32.png) [@Netbrian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Netbrian)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2003, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-govt-stop-paying-for-stupid-truth-com-ads-and-give-the-money-to-education/168983/17 "2003-04-17T00:35:00Z")
There are at least SOME advantages to these anti-smoking ads. One magazine ad features a very pretty girl. ---
**Author:** ![Ender\_Will](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/eb9ed0/32.png) [@Ender\_Will](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ender_Will)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2003, 5:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-govt-stop-paying-for-stupid-truth-com-ads-and-give-the-money-to-education/168983/18 "2003-04-17T05:32:45Z")
Not to continue my previous, only semi-on topic ravings, but WHY THE FUCK DOES EVERY AD DURING THE LAST HALF OF LOVELINE NEED TO BE PSAS!?!? Goddamn! Here I am, just laying in bed, getting pissed off at these 13 year old potheads that are getting more ass than anyone I know, they go to a break, and then I have to hear some crap about crash test dummies going for a drive after work, not wearing seatbelts, which turns out to be disastrous, because, “when you drive through the neighborhood, you really drive _through_ the neighborhood.” Once again, who the fuck writes this shit? Is this what the 1000 monkeys with typewriters bang out on their rough drafts to _Hamlet_? Speaking of very pretty girls, I saw one yesterday (well, several hundred to be precise. I love SoCal) and what did I do? Spotted that she was having trouble operating her lighter and stepped in with assistance! SCORE ONE FOR THE TRUTH! HA! Good God, this whole paragraph made no sense whatsoever, but I’m posting anyway. I’m crazy like that. ---
**Author:** ![Tars\_Tarkas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Tars\_Tarkas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tars_Tarkas)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2003, 6:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-govt-stop-paying-for-stupid-truth-com-ads-and-give-the-money-to-education/168983/19 "2003-04-17T06:55:30Z")
you need a cigarette, **Ender\_Will**! ---
**Author:** ![bjohn13](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ac8455/32.png) [@bjohn13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bjohn13)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2003, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-govt-stop-paying-for-stupid-truth-com-ads-and-give-the-money-to-education/168983/20 "2003-04-19T23:22:13Z")
I’d be willing to wager that those IRS commercials actually save taxpayers money. Imagine all of the overtime the government is forced to shell out come April because everyone (except me) waits until the last minute. The ones that piss me off the most are the “marijuana use supports terrorism” commercials. I was sitting next to my mother the first time I first saw that. Her comment shocked the shit out of me because I, in fact, had not even considered the argument at the time. Let me also just point out that my mother is more conservative than Pat Buchannon. There’s some guy who says something like, “That whole marijuana and crime thing…it’s complicated.” Then this other dude goes into this big long pyramid scheme about what addicts do to get their fix…what the dealers spend the money…etc. etc. etc. By the end of the commercial, I was perplexed. I simply could not understand the correlation that was made. The commercial was trying to tell me that, because I bought a bag of pot once, I was partly responsible for 9/11. I felt the need to cry out in anger while throwing something large and heavy at the TV set. However, the action was interceded by my mother with a very poignant comment: “If they are so concerned about pot money filtering to terrorists, why don’t they just legalize the shit.” My mouth was agape…but I still had the where-with-all to correct her. “You mean **re** -legalize it.” [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-govt-stop-paying-for-stupid-truth-com-ads-and-give-the-money-to-education/168983.md?page=2)