FCC and FEC, Together At Last

The FCC's restrictions on free speech - if they weren't shitty enough already - might be enough to kill political speech, too. Montana broadcasters are wringing their hands over a new Democratic ad blasting Sen. Conrad Burns. The ad's problem: It quotes Burns, who cussed at firefighters.

Citing the Federal Communications Commission's "current stance on indecent language," association President Greg MacDonald advised stations to pull the spot or check with attorneys before airing it.

"While we have no idea how the commission might come down on such language in a political spot we also don't want to test the waters at $325,000 per violation," MacDonald wrote.

The offending words: "piss-poor" and "God-damned thing." Words that shake the notoriously dainty citizens of Montana to their cores.

Comments

[goldenpig]

Egad!

[Malcolm J.]

If I was the maker of the ad, I'd gladly go back and replace all of the "offending" words with beeps. The listeners' imaginations will likely fill in the beeps with worse things than what Burns actually said.

[P Brooks]

If Burns hadn't pissed off the firemen, these fires would have been put out weeks ago.

[joe]

What Malcolm J. said, except I'd spend three weeks fighting the good fight, CCing every media outlet in Montana on every piece of paper sent or received about the situation, and soaking up the free media.

[Robert]

The accepted view is that radio stations were compelled to air Barry Commoner's "bullshit" ad when he ran for POTUS in 1980. I don't see how that situation would've changed in the interim. In other words, the law that requires stations to air political ads trumps any indecency rules.

The server squirrels are being exceptionally harsh mistresses with this. Back on the wheel!

[Terry]

Where is the militia?
Patrick Henry would digging himself up to bury himself in the USA no matter how long it took to find it.
USA means freedom or nothing.
Americans today don't deserve the honor of being called "Americans" if their not going to defend their rights.