This is a food blog, not a political blog, and earlier this year when I was approached asking if I would run an ad for a presidential candidate I refused, even though it was a high-paying ad for the candidate I supported. I figure people come here for the recipes and not to see my political opinions.That's why I am especially furious at the tactics being used today by a group supporting California's proposition 8. Unbeknownst to me, this group has purchased ads through Google and the ads are being displayed on my blog. Because they are targeted to show only in California, I can't see the ads and wouldn't have known they were there if some of my blogger friends hadn't told me.
I have now blocked the ads, but they may continue to show for a few more hours. Because I sincerely believe the law should offer equal opportunities to every human being, no matter what their race, religion, sexual orientation, gender, age, or marital status, and since I have a wonderful brother who is gay and in a relationship with another great guy, and I also have many gay friends, I am making my position on Proposition 8 completely clear.
I support equal rights for everyone.
I do not support discrimination of any kind.
(P.S. added late that night: Why would someone leave a comment on this post telling me to go to their blog and read why people should vote for Proposition 8? Needless to say, those types of comments will not be published, and I'm happy to report there has only been one so far. My readers rock!)
89 comments:
Thanks so much for this post! I totally agree! I took down all of the ads on my site so get rid of the Yes on Prop 8 ads. Thanks for taking a stand!
That's horrible. Glad you can block it, and your tweets sent me running to AdSense to make sure I didn't have any on my blog either. Thanks for the alert!
Thank you Kalyn. Well said.
I have just removed the Google Ad code from my blog and will restore it on Wednesday.
I have no idea what's showing in other parts of the country.
Like you, I keep politics out of my blog (except for cases where the politics are about candy) so removing all political advertising keeps with my policy.
I'm quite angry that Google has allowed these sorts of ads on my very specific keywords and may not restore them after this either.
Ah, so that's why I couldn't see them! They showed up on mine too, I know because I received more than one offended comment/email. I was horrified. Not only does it not in any way reflect my views (of course, though there is the more complex concern that one would think that any ads do... be they for Bravo or a Cuisinart) how on earth did Google's keyword associations decide that a cooking blog relates to marital rights? Aargh. Good to see more bloggers speaking out. I think Google has some explaining to do.
I wish I lived in California and could vote NO on Prop. 8. Thanks for doing this.
winlee
Very well said!
Hey Kalyn, I had the same problem but didn't know until someone checked it in CA.
I've now removed Google Ads until November 5th.
Spread the word, everyone! If your blog is read in California, they may be seeing these ads!
#NoGoogleAdsUntilNov5
Do you have the ad code for blocking? I'd like to make sure they're not on my site as well -- thanks for going public!
Sigh...ironically, since it will take a couple of hours to block, the ad appears right below this very excellent post. Hopefully it will go away soon. Thanks for taking the stand, for making the fix, and for your outrage, which I share wholeheartedly. Love this post. LOVE it. I know it's a departure for you from your normal topics, but I support your posting it.
Go Kalyn! We in California thank you.
AMEN. Good lord I am so nervous about tomorrow I almost can't stand it. And I don't live in California. If I did, I would have to sit at home with several bars of chocolate just staring at cnn and driving myself crazy. I may do that anyway...
Good for you Kalyn. How horrible is this law, seriously? I hope they aren't running on my blog...
Good position...this is a food blog but the sneakyness of those even outside of CA to reverse this decision is underhanded.
It's 12:30 right now in california and I still see the ad right under this post and in other parts of your blog. sorry. e-mail me if you have questions and I can keep checking for you
Yes, it takes a few hours for the ad to get blocked, that's one reason I wanted to post this.
Thanks for the support everyone.
Thanks for doing this, Kalyn! I try to stay away from politics for the most part on my blog, too. But when something like this happens, you have to fight back! :-)
Well said, and I fully agree with your stance, food blog or no. :-)
How terrible! I'm so naive I didn't know there were different ads in different states. That's good to know if I ever decide to put AdSense on my blog. I give you a virtual supportive hug.
I agree! I'm voting NO on prop 8.
Hi, Kalyn. I recently met your brother and his partner through mutual friends, and subsequently added your blog to my Reader. Thanks for standing up for equality. There aren't enough of us gay people to stop this, and it's people like you who will make the difference.
It's such an absurd thought that someone wouldn't want a nice girl like me to be able to get married.
Thank you so much for the lately post. I got a bit confused when I saw the ad showing up in your blog and thought that was your own position. While I respect each individual's political position, it is my opinion that no political organization should be allowed to run ad's on blogs without the owner's consent. It is also a very disrespectful thing to do to put a blogger in a position that he or she would have to disclose or to defend his or her own very private information, unless he or she choose to do so to begin with.
Eme, hi. How fun hearing from a friend of Rand and Bradleys. Both of them have helped me so much on the blog; they are just the greatest!
Keeping my fingers crossed, and I know tomorrow night I won't be getting much sleep over this and the presidential election.
Rock on sistah! Thanks for the support!
This "blind ad" situation is what makes me nervous about admitting advertising on my blog at all. If you can't see what's being advertised, how can you exercise any control over it? Obviously, you can't. And if it may be perceived as tacit endorsement by some readers, I'm just not comfortable with it. (Who knows what I may be "endorsing"? Will it make me look like a hypocrite?) I find this lack of transparency from Adsense to be a big drawback. Ah well.
Thanks for taking a stand Kalyn. I couldn't ask for a more wonderful sister, and your post brought tears to my eyes. I love you.
Rand, I love you too! Big time!
Sandy, Google has a new option where you can approve all ads, but it's not something many people know about yet because it's brand new. In general, the ads are targeted to keywords, which makes them relevant to what you're writing about.
Well said Kalyn! Very underhanded of AdSense, I'm glad you found out that your wonderful blog was being used for such an awful purpose.
Sorry you had to deal with this at all but you did it appropriately and graciously! Wonderfully said!
how upsetting!
A lot of my friends have the opposite opinion and it makes me truly sad when they say, "Vote yes, it's the only way to protect your kids and family."
Protect them from what exactly?! But, because they are my friends, I keep silent...
oh my, i would be furious... and since i used to be based in san francisco, a large portion of my readers are in california.
that whole measure is just despicable.
You just earned yourself a new reader :)
Very WELL SAID!
Thanks Kalyn for standing up for what is right. Greg
Good for you, Kalyn. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that proposition 8 is defeated.
You have my support! And this is for my brother!
Shame on Google for accepting this ad. Hooray for the food bloggers who have acted to block the ad from their sites. If we are not for equal rights for all, always, then we are lost.
You said it, Kalyn! I was so appalled this morning when I saw the ad on my blog that the first thing I did -- after alerting fellow Twitter bloggers -- was put a block on the ad and shout out at the bottom of my top post on San Diego Foodstuff that contrary to the ad, I am a No on 8 supporter. The ad remained so I've since taken Google AdSense off the blog until tomorrow.
Caron
Brava Kalyn! Here's to hoping 8 is defeated tomorrow.
I was *thisclose* to emailing you about the ad today. I didn't realize it only showed up in California.
Good work, K.
And to the rest of you (myself included, lesson learned): DON'T keep silent!
I didn't see the ads on your site, but I have seen them on several feeds via Google Reader and I had wondered if their owners knew what was being advertised. The supporters of the proposition have been VERY aggressive with their advertising. I came home today to a slew of pamphlets on my door about "proper marriage..."
Thanks for this post!!! I don't think Google should allow political messages like this to be advertised without the owners knowledge and consent.
UGH! I just checked my site and there is an ad for it. Off to go block... :(
Thank you for standing up for equality.
gross; my friend just found one on his site and removed the code as well. Ugly ugly tactic. Glad to see lots more people are following suit and are removing their ad sense codes- send a message any way we can to voice our dissent. I don't like our blogs advertising something we truly don't believe in.
Glad you got the ads blocked!!
Kalyn,
I am shocked that google adsense would be so ballsy as to run the prop 8 ads on your blog without your permission.
I didn't see it, being in NYC/NJ metro area. Glad you were alerted to it.
Personally, I don't mind reading about political views of bloggers and the daily goings on in their lives, it just is part of the personality of the blog.
It's your blog and you can say and write whatever you want to.
I got rid of adsense, because I like to have CONTROL over what is being said and advertised on my blog.
This was a very enlightening post!
Thank you for standing up for what you believe in!
You GO GIRL!
They were all over the LATime.com site yesterday. I had to stop reading it. YUCK!
On my way to soccer on Saturday, there were a bunch of "Yes on 8" haters on the overpass. I didn't want to honk, so instead I stuck out my hand and flipped them off. The greatest discovery was that every car next to me had their hands in the air flipping them off as well. It was a movie moment - silent (as LA highways never are) but full of emotion and expression.
Thanks again for your vocal support. It's great to have you as a sister-in-law.
Hurray for you for not only blocking the ads, but writing and publishing such a strong post, too. Here's hoping Prop 8 dies an emphatic death tomorrow.
I'm glad your taking a stand. I've always admired you, and so has Tami, and I like the fact you stand up to what you believe in. A little update on Tami, she is in her final year of law school and just had a baby boy.
Thanks again everybody for the support. It means a lot to me.
Norah, that's great news about Tami. Tell her I said "Hi!" I'm glad to hear she's doing so well. (For everyone else, Tami is one of my former students, and her sister Norah is a blogger.)
Thanks for this Kalyn. I read your blog through my Google Reader, so I never saw any ads anyway, thank goodness! Those ads make my blood pressure rise! I grew up in the midwest where I felt there was very little and acceptance, and if you didn't fit in a very particular box, you didn't exist. Then I moved to California where I felt that everyone was more open and accepting. And then over the past couple of months I saw all the Yes on 8 ads, bumper stickers, and signs, and even people carrying signs, clearly strongly in favor of the proposition. For the first time in the 7 years I have lived here, I wondered if I really was wrong about CA being an accepting and open place. I am a straight woman, but Proposition 8 isn't about gay or straight, though, it's about doing the right thing! One set of Americans shouldn't be excluded from laws that the rest of us take for granted. NO ON PROP 8!!
I think what was done to you was underhanded and wrong. You were right to stand up to it. You had to do this.
I am also happy that, aside from this, your feelings were that many of us who love your blog, love it for the discussion of food and the great recipes. Recently, I have used my time reading my favorite food blogs just as much to get away from the constant 24/7 politics as to find a new recipe to try. I am appreciative of those food bloggers that have either stayed away from political statements all together, or that have made simple, nonpartisan "get out and vote" statements.
Thank you for taking a stand and putting your money where your mouth is. I'm glad also that you mentioned it so we'd know you didn't approve when it appeared.
Grateful in California.
They've been all over my site today too. I wasn't sure how to block it. I suppose I can remove and then restore again on Wed. What a pain.
Sending you love, support and many thanks.
(To respond to some of the other bloggers, I have also had my blog used for the Yes on Prop 8 campaign's nefarious purposes, therefore I've removed the ad codes from my non-food blog which is the one that was showing these ads as far as I can tell, and will replace them on Wednesday)
kalyn, you rock! i definitely think this post is well deserved due to the circumstances regardless of whether or not this is a political blog. it's great to see people standing up for what they believe in! :-D
One of the benefits of living in California (vs Utah) is that here my vote counts. I was able to vote against Prop 8.
But, oh, we have so much work to do in this country. I can't imagine that four years from now we are going to subject ourselves (not to mention the candidates) to this wasteful process. Is there anyone out there who isn't totally tired of the negative ads and even-worse political e-mails?
And when are we going to get rid of the antiquated electoral college and really have one person - one vote? While I'm ranting ... can't we do better than our two-party system?
Good job, Kalyn -- hope we can get together one of these days.
Dolores
Here here Kalyn!
Rock on, Kalyn. Too important an issue to ignore. And a reminder to everyone how important it is to vote. Z
thanks for leading the charge against this misguided proposition and ad campaign. because of alerts from folks like you, a lot of people can take action to block these kinds of ads for appearing on our sites!
You're awesome, I live in CA and I'm proud to say I'm voting NO on Prop 8!
Isn't life complicated? When, actually, your mission statement on equality is straightforwardly simple, and something we should all strive for. I now understand that while the world is watching to see if the US will do the good thing, the US is waiting to see if California will do the good thing.
Kalyn, until today, I'd never thought about what your political views might be, I just thought of you as our leader in herbs ... thanks for all your hard work over the past three years - and fingers crossed for the results overnight
xJoanna
I live in California. I'll vote NO for you. I'm hoping there's a HELL NO option!
Kalyn YOU rock! Thanks.
Honorable!!!
Thanks for the post! I don't think there's anything wrong with taking one post to explain your feelings about equality, in fact I really appreciate it.
I'm a PFLAG mom with a 17 year old lesbian daughter and all I can say is THANKS!!!
Oy! I also agree with you (for EXACTLY the same reasons -- gay brother in California, many gay firends, etc. -- LOL). I'll be so relieved to have some peace from political ads for a while. I will continue to pray for sound and solid leadership for our country and in our local communities.
Very well done, Kalyn! I saw that ad on your blog (sorry I didn't notify you) and was dismayed that Google Ads would let something like that show up indiscriminently - pun intended. It hadn't occurred to me until now that my Google Ads, small as they are, might be showing that horrible stuff to the rest of the country.
My heart stopped before I opened the post, and filled with joy when I opened it and saw your "no on 8" sign. Thank you, thank you. You are amazing- we have been eating your recipes all week and we so appreciate what you do. You have made our journey on south beach so much more do-able. We have lost 90 lbs in our home since March 3, 2008 and are now in maintenance. Bless you and thank you.
Kayln,
Bless you for all that you do and a big thank you for blocking what I call closed minded political trash. Jesus preached the need for all of us to love our brother's unconditionally.
Here in Florida, we have a similar ballot that goes one step further, it wants to take away all rights of loving couples whether gay or hetrosexual. I can only hope that some day soon the members of the religious right will open their eyes to the true message of Christ and love ALL of their brothers & sisters unconditionally.
Love & Blessings,
Bob
Thank you so much. Coming from someone in Utah, you made a huge stance. Unfortunately, the Church of LDS has made a huge push to pass Prop 8 here. No one's marriage is threatened by other folks wanting to be together.
Thanks for letting us know that you did not approve the ad. I must admit I'm so oblivious to any internet ads that I rarely notice them anyway--sorry Google--but I'm happy to know you did not support this ad.
thanks for spreading the love...I can't imagine why people put so much energy into limiting others.
You made my day, thank you for taking the time to respond to a very important issue. Being open to differences enriches our lives.
You made my day, thank you for taking the time to respond to a very important issue. Being open to differences enriches our lives.
Well, I'm what did one of the posts call it, one of the religious right because I believe that the Bible is the true word of God. The post was correct that we love all of our brothers and sisters no matter what. It's the sin you don't love. Like it or not homosexuality is one of the many sins that is condemned. So...we can spend all day condemning the sin or we can love on the sinner. I choose the latter. Still agree with the Bible about the sin but none of us are perfect and trust me when I say I've done most of the other ones. Doesn't mean I have to make a law condoning it.
Love your food blog but you opened the can of worms by talking about it.
Bill, I don't plan to argue about this in the comments on the blog, but if the Yes on 8 people had not tried to use my blog to spread a message I didn't agree with I probably wouldn't have talked about it. As it turns out, I'm glad that I did.
I'm with you, Kalyn.
Bill,
For one thing, a person can't really "love" another person if they believe who that person is is a sin. Furthermore, what happened to separation of church and state? Your religious beliefs shouldn't interfere with a loving couple getting married.
Well I guess we'll just have to agree to disagree on this one. Read your Bible, decide for yourself. And speaking of heaven. I think I've just died and gone there after eating Kayln's recipe today for the reduced sugar pumpkin cheesecake. This stuff is danger. Made this previously and it's a Great recipe. If you haven't tried it, please do.
100% behind you. What a stupid campaign and ridiculous tricks these people get up to. I just heard that a young black organiser for the Republicans interviewed on UK TV said that during the day yesterday he spent time on politics, but after the result, he took time out to celebrate history. Later on, he'd get back to the politics. That just about sums up a nation experiencing a real coming of age to me.
I was allowing all comments on this post (except the person who left a link for me to come to his website and read why he was voting for it.)
However, now some commenters are starting to argue back and forth about the issue of homosexuality in general. I didn't write this to provide a forum for that discussion, and I've decided not to publish those kinds of comments.
YAY! Kalyn you ROCK!
Kalyn, you are a class act all the way! I am so proud to be your friend. Love, Susan
I read your blog because it is one of the best if not the best food blog -- it became better because of your stand. I wish for a country that reached to its greater rather then is base emotion. Keep living, cooking and loving.
Kalyn, I am a reader of yours and I support Prop 8. I do support allowing gays and lesbians to have civil unions recognized by the government, but I do not support calling it a marriage.
Marie, I'm not going to use this post to engage in a discussion of the issue. My purpose here was to make my own position clear (since the ads may have made people think I supported Prop 8.) However, I'm publishing your comment so you know I'm not censoring comments unless they get into the "everyone should agree with me and here's why" type of comment. I realize that there are many different views on this issue and appreciate it that we can respect each other's views. (
And still, the blog is about THE FOOD!
(a little late but) bravo and well said!
one day we will have equality for all. as history shows, it just takes a while for people to come around.
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