The Beltway Taliban
: Watch out, First Amendment. Congress is now shooting to censor not only the public airwaves, they’re now aiming at cable. And if they aim at cable, they can aim at books and magazines and the Internet. They regulate broadcast under the (outmoded) doctrine that the airwaves are a government resource. But cable most certainly is not. Still, at the Congressional hearings about Janice Jackson’s breast, lawmakers lusted after further regulation — and censorship:
But lawmakers also heard that federal power to enforce decency standards on subscription cable and satellite service was limited compared to material on the public broadcast airwaves.
“It seems interesting that we say … if it’s on just a higher channel number, which you can get just by clicking your channel changer, we’re going to ignore it and not pay attention to it,” Sen. John Breaux, a Louisiana Democrat, said.
“We ought to look at the whole spectrum of what we get over our televisions,” he said.
Well, Breaux is an idiot, for, of course, the channel number has nothing to do with it. Still, if they succeed to pander to the prudes, they’ll cross the line and — mark my words — there is nothing to stop them from deciding that we shouldn’t have indecent Internet sites … and magazines …. and books. Who’s to say what’s indecent? Who’s to say what we can say? Who’s going to trust Breaux and his ilk? Who’s going to start the book burning? Who’s going to douse it.
To the barricades, people.
: I should have said there is nothing — except the Supreme Court and the people — that can stop them. Thanks, commenter.
