Archive for the ‘FCC’ Category

FCC suffers setback in its censorship crusade

Wednesday, January 5th, 2011

The Second Circuit ruled against the FCC and its attempt to fine ABC $1.4 million for showing actress actress Charlotte Ross nude in a scene of the TV show “NYPD Blue”.

From thewrap.com:

In overturning the citation, the court said the FCC’s “indecency policy” violated First Amendment rights and was constitutionally vague.

As we know, the FCC is the branch of the federal government in charge of making television safe for children by ensuring it never targets an audience above the third grade.

The Parents Television Council, condemned the decision:

“Once again the Second Circuit has proclaimed that it knows better than the Supreme Court, the Congress, the FCC, and the overwhelming majority of the American people. Regardless of one’s political viewpoint – left, center or right – this may well be the most egregious example of ‘legislating from the bench’ that our Federal Court system has ever witnessed,” said PTC President Tim Winter.

Mr. Winter apparently doesn’t understand that most children have only two parents and raising them is not the fucking responsibility of “the overwhelming majority of the American People”.    One of the problems with democracy is that people think it can be used as a hammer to forge everyone into conformance with one social standard as determined by the loudest of moral crusaders.  Guess what. Mr Winter.  No one’s kid suffered irreparable brain damage at the sight of Charlotte Ross’s ass.  In fact, their lives were probably enriched by it.

I found the clip on youtube last night, so if I remember when I get home, I’ll add it to this post.  For the record, Charlotte Ross has a damn nice ass.

[UPDATE  1/6/11]  I couldn’t find any clips without some added commentary, but this shows the essentials

Posted in Censorship, FCC, United States | 2 Comments »

Tonight on Stossel: Sex and the Law

Thursday, July 29th, 2010

From his blog on the Fox Business website:

Tonight’s Stossel is all about sex and the law. (FBN @9pm ET)  What are the rules?  I tackle several thorny issues, such as “don’t ask, don’t tell,” decency standards for broadcast television, pornography, and the age of consent.

For those unfamiliar with John Stossel, he is mot well known as a one-time consumer advocate and co-host of ABC’s 20/20 news program.  Over the years he became more libertarian and now has his own show on Fox Business Network dedicated to discussing and advocating those ideals, regularly criticizing government interference in people’s personal lives.   He invites guests from both sides of the issues with the libertarian perspective often being presented by members from respected  organizations like the Cato Institute and Reason Magazine.

Posted in Censorship, Consensual Sex, FCC, LGBT, Obscenity, Pornography, United States, statutory rape | Comments Off

Is FCC chilling speech?

Tuesday, April 6th, 2010

In the first quarter of 2009, there were 181,100 complaints filed with the FCC.  During the second quarter there were only 19,200 complaints and in Q3 it dropped even more to a mere 3000 complaints.

One of two things happened.  Either the public has suddenly become less easily offended by free expression (highly unlikely) or the broadcast networks have toned down their programming in view of the FCC’s more aggressive stance on so-called indecency.

I suspect the latter.  Since the courts invented an exception to the Fiorst Amendment from broadcast TV and radio, the FCC is free to clamp down on what it considers offensive material.  Keep in mind, too, that the FCC has repeatedly expressed an interest in expanding it’s control to include cable TV.  It’s probably only a matter of time before that happens.  Remember, those complaints to the FCC don’t come from believers in free speech and the government never gets less powerful.

Posted in Big Brother is Watching You, Censorship, FCC, Politics, United States | Comments Off

Commentary on attitudes about sex right on target

Monday, March 1st, 2010

The Santa Maria Times published an excellent editorial pointing out society’s irrational attitudes toward the sex:

Warning: This may be X-rated

The only point I take issue with is the comparison of Janet Jackson’s half time escapade, which resulted in major media coverage, with violent video games which are readily available and even marketed to children.  Advocates of censorship almost always base their arguments on the idea that children suffer lasting (if not permanent) damage from exposure to certain types of material, most notably sex and violence.  It is certainly true that the crusade against sex is far more active and receives far more attention and support than the campaign against violence.

But the reason I hesitate to make such a comparison is that, instead of arguing against censorship of sex, it comes across to many people as an argument (or excuse) for censorship of violence.   The fact is that, for every claim that a child’s behavior can be traced to porn or video games, there are a gazillion examples of kids who were exposed to the same material and weren’t affected.  A far more plausible explanation is that the kid had a propensity for certain kinds of behavior and and his interest in certain types of content stems from the same internal predisposition.

Finally, I would like to make clear that the First Amendment doesn’t have an exception that allows material to be censored because it could adversely affect people’s thinking.

Posted in Censorship, Consensual Sex, FCC, Nudity, Prostitution, Sex Education, United States | Comments Off

OMG! Someone said “shit” during the Olympics.

Thursday, February 18th, 2010

Uh-oh.  In a tragic show of carelessness, Bud Keene, coach for Olympic snow-boarder,  Shaun White, negligently let loose a naughty word on live national television, utterly devastating the nation’s youth.  That word was “shit”.  While I can say it on the internet (at least for now), the FCC has banned the word from broadcast television under it’s power to rewrite and redefine the U.S. Constitution granted by the newly passed NOSHIT Act.

Apparently, after Shaun won his second Gold, there was some discussion between Shaun and his coach about what he would do on his victory lap.  According to Business Insider, the devastating event unfolded as follow:

“What do you want to do,” said Shaun’s coach.

“I don’t know, man,” said a giddy Shaun.  “Ride down the middle?”

“No, man,” said his coach.  “Relax.  Have some fun.”

“Drop a double-mick at the end?” said Shaun, referring to a McTwist 1260, a move that Shaun had developed in secret over the past few years and had held off on doing in his gold-medal winning first run.

“Yeah, drop a double mick,” said Shaun’s coach.  “You send that thing.  And make sure you stomp the shit out of it.”

Fist bumps all around.

Then, before Shaun shoved off, after a few seconds of stunned silence, came the apology from NBC, which will probably have to spend the next six months testifying in front of Congress and paying obscenity fines.

One can only be thankful that our ever vigilant government is protecting us from precisely these wanton acts of terror, thoughtlessly unleashed by uncaring adults who would gladly ride rough shod over tiny innocent children (and puppies!) in their greedy quest for Olympic victory.  It’s a sad to know that this single defining event will,  for the rest of human history, completely overshadow all other accomplishments during this year’s winter Olympics.  In a moment of mindless jubilation, Bud Keene has become the new Antichrist.  We can only be thankful there was no nudity involved.

Posted in Bad Words, Canada, Censorship, FCC, Humor, Obscenity, United States | Comments Off

FBI wants to know what websites you visit

Sunday, February 7th, 2010

According to Declan McCullagh at CNET.com:

The FBI is pressing Internet service providers to record which Web sites customers visit and retain those logs for two years, a requirement that law enforcement believes could help it in investigations of child pornography and other serious crimes.

This has been in and out of the news as everyone knows that the government has been on a mission to to monitor people’s internet and phone habits regardless of the legality of such monitoring.

With the passage of the USA Patriot act, the U.S. already has in place much of the authority to control internet access and content.   As always, this authority leverages off of fear mongering about terrorism, child porn, and the ever-present threat of child traffickers seeking to kidnap your kids and turn them into sex zombies for corporate executives.

Essentially, stuff like this sails past the public with no objection based on the imbecilic notion that “if you haven’t done anything wrong, you should have nothing to hide” which, of course, essentially nullifies the Fourth Amendment.

The real benefit for government comes from being able to use perfectly legal web surfing habits to vilify and threaten targets of interest, whether they are actually charged with a crime or simply a target of harassment, of which the federal government has a long and colorful record.

Posted in Big Brother is Watching You, FCC, Pornography, Privacy, United States | Comments Off

And now for a tribute to the FCC.

Saturday, February 6th, 2010

Posted in Censorship, FCC, United States | Comments Off

FCC Fines Fox For Fleeting “FUCK”!

Thursday, January 14th, 2010

In what is shaping up to be a small victory in the fight against censorship, the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals yesterday heard arguments in Fox vs FCC in which the FCC fined Fox for broadcasting “fleeting explicatives”. The case has been bouncing around in the federal courts for years and it’s clear the circuit court appears to think the FCC rules are arbitrary and vague, potentially resulting in a chilling effect on expression.

While only tangentially related to sex hysteria, this case is exemplary of the government’s repeated invention of exceptions to the First Amendment. The Constitution doesn’t say freedom of expression shall not be infringed except when someone says FUCK! on broadcast TV. Likewise, there is no First Amendment exemption for nudity or any other kind of expression that can be transmitted over the airwaves, so one has to wonder what part of the word “no” the FCC doesn’t understand.

It is noteworthy that virtually none of the mainstream media covering this on-going story actually mention the word at the center of this controversy. If we have come to a point where we don’t even feel free to voice a word about which we are having a discussion, then I suspect we are way past the point where rationality is likely to be of any import to that discussion.

Posted in Censorship, FCC, United States | Comments Off