I've had it. The FCC has to lose the authority to police language on TV & Radio.

[originalpckelly]

I'm watching this little weasel from the FCC trying to justify policing what people say on TV. (This is on C-Span 1, it is a recording of a court preceding earlier today in the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Circuit_Court_of_Appeals)

The issue is the new regulation preventing accidental or "fleeting expletives" during award shows et al.

I'm sorry, but I want to know what about "Congress shall make no law...abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press..." they don't understand?

Aside from setting the standards of broadcasting signals, as to what frequencies they should broadcast on, they have and should not have any ability to censor the speech of anyone on television.

No one has to watch television. If parents do not wish their children to view obscene program, they can simply remove the TV from the child's room, should they have one in their room, or somehow secure the TV the child might view obscene programming on. It is possible with the V chip to do this now.

If the parents whom are so concerned about obscenity have enough time to bitch and moan to Congress and the FCC, they have enough time to sit with their children and know what they are watching.

It's called responsibility, and parents in America need to learn it.

TV is a free market, if you choose not to watch a channel or program, and other people agree with you, then it is quite possible the lack of advertising revenue (due to low ratings) will cause the company to change its program to better suite the audience's standards.

If people in America are truly interested in watching violence or hearing frequent and titillating obscenity, then we as a nation have problems which the government cannot solve.

[MadMaddie]

1. Yea it's bad...The FCC is worthless....

another organization destroyed by the * administration...

[originalpckelly]

2. I don't care who created it...

this is an awful organization, and it must be ended. We have to start a campaign to remove the FCC's power to regulate free speech.

[mongo]

3. Agreed

Isn't this why they V-chip was mandated? So that people could have control over what they and their children watch?

[originalpckelly]

4. For some reason they want this power anyway...

I guess though, during a live program it is impossible to something about it.

I think the V-Chip should be extended to use the closed captioning of a broadcast to edit out the obscenity if a parent so chooses. That'd be the equivalent of a little FCC sitting in every TV, but at least people would have the freedom to choose whether or not to hear the words. Right now, I cannot hear those words if I so choose.

[Warpy]

5. Religous bullies want to bring back the Hayes Office

For those of you who are too young to remember them, those were the busybodies who kept sitcom couples in twin beds all through the 50s because the actors weren't often married to each other. They dictated how low (or high) a woman's costume could be on her body, what was permissible to say (you could grind up a woman and flush her down a toilet, but you couldn't say "toilet") and other absolutely silly rules and regulations covering radio, TV and film.

I am SO SICK of these pious, interfering sacks of shit insisting they have the right to go through life without being offended by anything the rest of us do or say that I'm about ready to buy a gun.

Nah....

[originalpckelly]

6. We have the right to hear what we wish to...

it specifically states that:
"Congress shall make no law...abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press..."

I can't figure out where they read obscenity is exempted from that.

[Cobalt-60]

7. They dissed Barbara Eden's Navel!

They were truly barbarians.

[napi21]

8. I do believe there should be some things that should not be on

regular broadcast TV. Cable is another story, and can be more lienient. I personally don't care whatI as a consumer see on either one, but I have grandchildren ages 7 & 9. I'm sure they've heard most if not all the words the FCC was discussing in that hearing today, but it even makes ME uncomfortable if they are visiting me and some off color stuff comes on the show I'm watching. I don't think the networks should be penalized for some guest who gets out of line on a show they air. It should be the guest! If the penalty is big enough,the messaage will spread quite fast, that you just don't do that on broadcast TV!

[originalpckelly]

10. Turn off their TV or take it out of their room...

if they should happen to visit.

It's not easy, but no one said parenting is easy. If people have enough energy to be offended, then they should have enough energy to be offended at their children being baby sat by a television set.

[napi21]

12. They don't live here, I said they were visiting. I'm talking about

them being in the room with me while I'M watching a show.

I didn't watch the show they wre discussing at that hearing today, butjust what in the world did inserting the word "f*ck" into their comments add to the show or the comments? Apparently it was some awardsshowor something, and it was aired on FOX. The shock factor I guess.

Believe me, I'm no prude, and I can't even count the times each day I say things like that TO my TV...especially when some crazy RWer is spouting more BS. I do NOT however talk like that when my grandkids are around, or even visitors. Why do you have a problem with having limits on some things that just shouldn't be on regular broadcast TV?

[EdwardM]

9. I know this may be a very controversial opinion but...

I believe in absolute free speech. I believe that the decency standards of the FCC are unconstitutional as hell. I believe a TV station should be able to run whatever they want, from hardcore porn to a hate speech from David Duke or Fred Phelps. I don't like the government controlling speech in any form.

[msongs]

11. you ought to re-read your own post!

you say: "It's called responsibility, and parents in America need to learn it."

maybe the potty mouths on tv need to learn some of that as well. it is not possible to know in advance everything that is gonna be shown or said on tv so your desire that parents choose to not watch a program is kinda hard to do when they don't know what's gonna be on.

you also say: "If people in America are truly interested in watching violence or hearing frequent and titillating obscenity, then we as a nation have problems which the government cannot solve." sorry to say but kind of stuff is the preferred entertainment huge numbers of americans and many of the purveyors of that junk owe the human race a huge apology.

perhaps deliberately creating and peddling violence and foul mouth crap to kids for profit is ok in your values system however

Msongs
www.msongs.com/political-shirts.htm

[originalpckelly]

13. True, responsibility is a two way street.

Societal norms are what you shouldn't and shouldn't say (or do or write.)

The law is about what you can or cannot say (or do or write.)

It should be unacceptable in our society for people to show filth on television, but on the other hand it shouldn't be illegal. What the FCC has done is made it illegal to say a profane word on broadcast TV. I'd much prefer parents boycott a channel which has allowed someone to say a profane word. If there aren't enough ratings for a show, advertisers will not pay to run ads during the show.

If you don't like what's on TV, turn it off. It's not as if you have to watch television, save for natural disasters.

[MADem]

14. Well, you CAN get a pretty good idea of what's coming up on a TV show by the ratings

If it has a Y it's safe for the kids....see here:

http://www.tvguidelines.org/ratings.asp

And you can use the V chip to block out anything that is 'iffy' so that way, you never will see it at all--problem solved, without having to infringe upon the freedoms of those who want to see more mature fare....

http://www.tvguidelines.org/brochure.pdf
Is there a V-Chip in every television?
The V-Chip is in every television set 13-inches or larger manufactured after
January 2000 and some sets sold after July 1, 1999. This means if you bought a new
television set after July 1, 1999, your television is most likely equipped with a V-Chip.
How do I program and activate the V-Chip?
Each television set’s V-Chip works a little differently. Once you understand the
definition of each rating and content label, programming and activating the V-Chip is
as simple as following the set-up procedure which can be found in one of two places:
1) the television on-screen menu options, or 2) the written instruction guide included in
the owner’s manual. The V-Chip will only be activated if you select the option to do so.
How do I ensure that my child will not de-activate the V-Chip?
To activate the V-Chip, a parental lock code is required. This identification number
acts as the password to activate, de-activate, and change the settings of the V-Chip.
Does the V-Chip turn off when I turn my television off?
Turning the television off will not turn off the V-Chip. It will continue to block
programs when the television is turned on again.
What type of programming does the V-Chip block?
The V-Chip can block programming by age-based category or content label.
For instance, if you want to block all TV-14 programs, you can do so by selecting
TV-14. If you only want to block TV-14 programs that contain higher levels of
violence, you can select TV-14-V. You should also know that when you block
a particular rating or content label, all categories above that will be blocked.
For example, if you block all TV-14 programs, all TV-MA programs will also
be blocked. If you block TV-14-V programs, all TV-MA-V programs will
also be blocked.
Can the V-Chip block out motion pictures that carry the MPAA rating?
Motion pictures that are uncut and unedited can run on premium channels
(e.g. HBO and Showtime). You can set the V-Chip to block these programs
using the MPAA rating system.

[mama]

15. Absolutely correct , msongs

Violence & foul mouth crap on television lowers the standards of society as a whole. My kids don't care to watch TV much anyhow, but you can walk down the street and hear other 13-year-olds mimicking what they hear in the movies and it is really disgusting. They think it's cool, I guess, but I'm so tired of it. The lack of respect for other people seems to mimic the lack of respect our president and those who elected him have for intelligence and integrity.

Thus says the old lady. ( cranky tonight, sorry!)

[originalpckelly]

18. Have a talk.

"You're going to hear people say words which aren't appropriate. It's not that they are inappropriate because I say so, but because they show a lack of respect for other people.

Grownups and other kids say them, but they don't understand it. People are very shallow, disrespectful, and inconsiderate in this world today, and rarely do they think about what they are saying or doing. I know you probably think I'm being a uptight old lady, but it's not that. Its not the word, but the emotion behind it. It's the fact that those words are used in anger at other people, to insult them.

I can't always be there to tell you not to say those words, and I'm certainly not going to follow you around covering up your ears to keep you from hearing them, but I hope that you decide on your own that they aren't the kind of words you want to say. I hope that after raising you all these years, you treat people with dignity, that you respect them. And that you never need to use those words.

I've said my peace, what do you think about that?"

[Warren Stupidity]

16. If you don't like what you see stop looking. nt.

[porphyrian]

17. It's OK to abridge our freedoms if they think it's for our own good.

At least, that's how I've had it explained to me.

[Manifestor_of_Light]

19. Read Frank Zappa

He's great, and ahead of his time.
When the Senators' wives wanted to put "Parental Advisory Stickers" on CDs, he testified before Congress, said the wives were a bunch of women with too much time on their hands,and called Tipper Gore a "cultural terrorist".

He's right, even though I can't stand the rappers who call women beeyotches and hos.