The Daily Stern
: FINALLY, THE BANDWAGON FILLS UP: Frank Rich sums it all up in the Sunday NY Times:
f we lived in Afghanistan under the Taliban, perhaps it might make sense that Janet Jackson’s breast (not even the matched set!) would lead to one of the most hysterical outbreaks of Puritanism in recent, even not-so-recent, American history. So what gives?
: IT SPREADS: The FTC — apparently jealous of all the attention the FCC is getting — is getting into the business of regulating media and speech, aka censorship. On the official Federal Trade Commission site, they announce:
The Federal Trade Commission has expanded its consumer complaint handling system to categorize and track complaints about media violence, including complaints about the advertising, marketing, and sale of violent movies, electronic games (including video games), and music. The expanded complaint system, implemented in response to Congressional directives, will enable the Commission to track consumer complaints about media violence and identify issues of particular concern to consumers.
Another line. Who draws it. And where do they draw it?
I might just complain that Mel Gibson didn’t adequately advertise the extent of the violence of The Passion and masqueraded an offensively violent film as religion, which is downright blasphemous, which would be profane, which would make it a matter now for the FCC, eh?
Absurd? Well who’s to say what’s absurd and what’s obscene (and what’s violent)?
: Jack Balkin joins in with Yale Law School colleague Ernie Miller to marvel at the FCC’s expansion of its authority in its ruling against the F-word last week. Says Jack:
Of course, any decision to expand broadcast profanity to include hate speech would be highly politically charged, and therefore is likely to lead to accusations of political favoritism and censorship on the part of the FCC. But the decision to punish the F-world but not the N-word is itself hardly politically neutral…. My advice to the FCC would be to stop now before they completely f*** things up.
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