Indecency Legislation

Here is a prime example of why I have previously stated that I do not want a single party ruling the country.

"Indecency" is the second-dumbest "crime" ever invented, beat out only by blasphemy for utter stupidity. This isn't the Middle Ages, and I don't need the government, in any form, to tell me what my poor little eyes and ears can withstand.

Just as liberal Democrats have a tendency to tax, dole, and spend, the Republicans have a tendency to try and mold the country into their idea of "proper." However, in this case, there's something else afoot. Read the following excerpts from the article, and see if you can spot the real culprit in this mess:

"It's not fair to subject over-the-air broadcasters to one set of rules and subject cable and satellite to no rules," Barton told reporters after a separate appearance before the broadcasters group.

The House last month overwhelmingly passed a bill to raise the maximum indecency fine from $32,500 to $500,000. A similar bill has been introduced in the Senate but has not had a hearing.

The broadcasters association, which represents free, over-the-air radio and TV stations, has been critical of the lack of indecency guidelines for cable and satellite stations.

"If a 5-year-old uses the clicker ... he can't differentiate between the over-the-air signals and a cable signal," said Edward Fritts, the association's president.

If you answered "money," then you're absolutely correct. Notice that Mr. Fritts invokes the classic "it's for the poor, defenseless children" line. That always sets alarm bells to ringing in my head.

So, in the end, this has nothing to do with decency. It has to do with the fact that the broadcasters' special interest group has their hooks sunk very deeply into the (Not-so-) Honorable Messrs. Barton and Stevens. They might do well to consider that such antics are a very quick and effective means to lose that huge Congressional majority in '06. Of course, that would require forethought, insight, and integrity--all qualities that are notoriously thin on the ground in Washington, D.C.