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The indecency of penalizing George Carlin's seven dirty words.

By Marks & Katz, LLC

Welcome to Singapore -- I mean the United States Supreme Court -- which this week allowed the Federal Communications Commission to fine television and radio stations for fleeting expletives, where such allegedly indecent words as those from George Carlin's list of seven can get a broadcaster severely fined even if the broadcaster has no reason to know the speaker is going to utter those words on a live program. FCC v. Fox Television Stations, _ U.S. _ (May 4, 2009).  Of course, the Supreme Court's Fox New ruling is not limited to words, as witnessed by the court's telling the Third Circuit on the same day, Mary 4, to reconsider its reversal of the $500,000 fine against CBS for Janet Jackson's Super Bowl split-second exposed nipple.  Praised be the four Fox Television  dissenters: Justices Stevens, Souter, Ginsburg and Breyer...continue to full post

Full post as published by Underdog on May 06, 2009 (boomark / email).