The city of Santa Monica, located in western LA County, has been considered so far to the left politically and so paternalistic in its ordinances that some travel guides refer to it as The People's Republic of Santa Monica. Helping bolster that image are moves such as yesterday's announcement that America's Next Top Model ads were to be removed from city buses due to complaints made by residents.

What exactly was so offensive about the ad, which featured Tyra and the show's contestants in bathing suits against a waterfall? The city's director of transit services said that most of the complaints came from people who felt that the city was endorsing a show that was disrespectful to women. Whether you find ANTM disrespectful to women depends a great deal on whether or not you think the entire modeling industry is disrespectful to women. I find ANTM's labor practices more offensive than I do the content of the show, and almost all advertisements turned into a big, blurry morass of noise for me back in the mid-90s. Regardless, do as you will Santa Monica residents (and ANTM contestants). To paraphrase wordsmith and raconteur Bobby Brown, it's your prerogative.