From our Whiskey Tango Foxtrot desk

MediaBistro had some interesting retail tales on Thursday.

Start with this one (via Consumerist):

Does This JCPenney Ad Promote Bullying Or Just Reality?

After complaints from parents, JCPenney has pulled a controversial commercial from television networks. The back-to-school spot includes a section that lightheartedly makes fun of a very real issue: kids being bullied and/or excluded because they’re not wearing the right clothes.

The offending spot:

Seriously? That’s bullying? America is messed up, yo.

Then there’s this (via the Huffington Post):

Sears Appears To Yank Some, But Not All, Of Its Racy Bondage Wear From Site (NSFW PHOTOS)

Sears seems to be in the midst of an identity crisis.

The big-box store, which once prided itself on its “softer side,” has listed on its retail site quite a wide variety of provocative bondage items, including a “leather adjustable harness,” a “leather spanking skirt,” and a “leather bra and g-string set.”

But, HuffPost notes, those items seem to be currently unavailable.

A quick search on Sears’ website for Elegant Moments, one of Sears’ third party lingerie vendors, brings up the following listings:

Searsiously? That’s bondage? America is messed up, yo.