Not Safe For Work: Should Keep Fundies Busy

This isn't gonna go over very well with the fundamentalists.

Broadcast TV has had enough and won't take it anymore. It's lost too many viewers to cable shows like "The Sopranos" and appears eager to air more sex, violence, and obscenities. So last week, ABC, CBS, FOX, and NBC sued the Federal Communications Commission over its curbs on indecency.

Specifically, the suit, joined by many local stations, challenges a March 15 FCC ruling that found some broadcasts of ABC's drama "NYPD Blue," the CBS News program "The Early Show," and "Billboard Music Awards" on FOX to contain obscenities. But behind this suit is a worry that the increasingly tough rulings by the Federal Communications Commission might result in fines that could really cut into TV stations' profits. And they fear the FCC might start yanking the licenses of errant broadcasters.

Broadcasters believe the current SCOTUS might be inclined more toward ruling in favour of free speech than was the court back in 1978.

By suing now, broadcast TV is banking on a Supreme Court that's become more legally conservative, one that may put more weight on free speech and overturn its 1978 ruling that upheld the FCC's authority to curb indecency. (Congress, pressured by parents, won't aid the TV lobby.)

I've always contended its the parents who should protect their children in such matters and not the government. When my children were very young we had cable. We didn't care if they saw nudity or heard profanity (they heard plenty from me). We did make sure their friends' parents knew, before their children came over, that they would be exposed to the uncensored cable programming. They could decide if their children would be allowed to come over. That was their job.

My kids grew up as healthy and, point of pride, good people just as we thought they would. And I don't think children are being hurt by the Naked News broadcasts. No, that picture isn't a parody. If you are unaware of it, this is real news anchored by women who strip as they deliver the stories. Its available throughout the world and even on mobile devices. BTW I cropped the original picture. They really are nude.