This is bloody ridiculous.

I have one word for you.

FIRST AMMENDMENT!!

That's a FUCKING BULLSHIT law and our lawmakers should worry about balancing the budget and worrying about the real indecencies of letting this war go on and on.

How about the lawmakers stop having sex with prostitutes and the religious leaders sexually abusing parishioners.

Yeah, don't worry about fixing the shambles we call an education system, protecting hardworking people from scams, or even looking at helping the health care system. It's getting rid of the random curse words that my tax money needs to be spent on.

Having solved all of its other problems the U.S. clamps down on fleeting swear words.

Fuck the FCC. They can suck a big, fat dick.

Finally! Now this is what this site is supposed to be about! A public service to our rights as citizens, humans, and consumers, not about whiny people who claim a company is racist and provide absolutely no proof.

Can we replace the FCC with the BBC? Perhaps then there would be some truly decent programming.

Fuck this.

Well, it's not like there's a war going on for Congress to deal with...

Great!!!! My govenrment protects me from secondhand smoke, trans fat, and 'fleeting' swear words. Glad they're focusing on this sort of thing, rather than say street crime, illegal immigration, or stiffer DUI laws. If seeing the word "fuck" in print seriously screws up your child you are not doing your job as a parent.

@DojiStar: Ummm..... nevermind.

You probably already know.

This bill still needs to be passed in the Senate . . . and then passed in the House. This is not the end of the story. Anyone have any insight into the likelihood of this thing becoming law?

@Nequam

Generally most bills that pass committee pass in the Senate unless some people get hardline on opposition. There is effectively no time for debate once it is out of committee so...

This is a hard to vote against as it will be pushed as "Senator X voted to allow vicious vile words on tv in front of our children."

How about they pass some better laws to protect children for perverts and abusive parents!!! What a fucking joke!

*for perverts* should read FROM PERVERTS

Fuck the children. I grew up with a Raiders-fan dad, so I knew every swear word that existed before I was 5. It wasn't the TV, it was the person watching the TV. And I turned out just fucking fine.

I have a degree in Political Science and I can't even understand what the hell our representatives really do.

Why are they so worried about some one dropping the "F" bomb, yet no one worries at all about the bombs blowing up soldiers and civilians in Iraq?

Don't we have more important issues at stake right now?

Get a grip.

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Though they pulled the Worse than Hell line which had my favorites... Like "I Fucked the Girl In Hanson, School Shootings Tour 1996-2003, Abortions Tickle, May the Horse Be With You, Management is not responsible for lost or stolen virginity, I got kicked out of school for wearing this fucking t-shirt, Touched by an Uncle, Suicide Bomber, I came on Eileen, SisterFister, Gone Fisting, I think therefore I'm single, [Johndeere hat] My Dad can beat up your Mom, If Pigs could fly I'd be a Flying Pig Fucker, Rape is no laughing matter - unless you're raping a clown, Don't hate me because I'm beautiful - hate me because I fucked your dad, I don't hate you because you're black - I hate you because I'm white, I read to the deaf [with braile underneath], I bought Christopher Reeves' wheelchair on Ebay, 1f u c4n r34d th1s u r34lly n33d t0 g37 l41d"... Just to name a small few.

Oh and no I have no connection with TShirt hell, I just love their shit. Though the suicide bomber one probably won't go over well at the airport...

Silly, the more they "fear" the word the more damaging it becomes and the more confused a child gets as they attempt to understand why a word can be "bad".
They are more likely to pick up the word from their classmates than TV. I heard the word around the age of 5 but was "scared" into never using it until I became semi rebellious during 5th grade.
I see more children using the word though, since its "bad" and they want to rebel during the teen years, it is likely they'll use the word even if they never saw it on TV.
You look at hilarious channels and find things blurred out or hearing meaningless words like "shit" get beeped out. I don't mind fuck being censored though, it makes it hilarious to me for some reason.
Meh, tough luck for the networks.

@ Brokennails
I'm impressed you knew each word by 5. I still can't remember a certain word that began with a B and had about 13 characters in it.

@supedve:

Don't you get it, those are all symptoms of MORAL DECAY, and stamping out dirty words is the first step in combating MORAL DECAY. You can't get rid of whoremongering politicians and kiddy-diddling priests without getting rid of swear words!

How about protection for the average citizen when our government decides to FUCK THE CONSTITUTION!! (and the Bill of Rights)?

@DojiStar: Why does it not surprise me that someone that posts that "first amendment" is one word doesn't understand that amendment well enough to know it doesn't apply here?

*sigh*

Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it. With the education system in a shambles, it comes as no surprise that so many Americans are quite happy to skip down the merry path of decline and fall.

Why don't parents teach their kids that these words are usually worn or said in public by imature \ ignorant people that have no respect for others.

Maybe it's the parent in me but I hate when your in public and there are a group of people swearing left and right.

BUT ON THE OTHER HAND... how can a network expect to correct that many people. I work at a major market television station and we air a 4 day music event every summer and we air it LIVE. One year the act made a very offensive comment to the crowd and there was no way to bleep out all the drunken curse words that flew out.

Truth is, there is no way. Most times, a network is under contract. But my question is this. If your an NBC affiliate and you air the girl in the picture above, does the FCC fine just NBC or does each affiliate have to pay? We're under contract and we have to air it. So does this law trickle down and screw everybody?

Stories like this just piss me off.

Uh, free Speech?
And, MTV is worse then any 'accidental' curse word that ends up in TV.

Also, it's WONDERFUL to know THIS is how our lawmakers and memberes of congress spend thier day.
/sarcasm/ D<

If they catch Cheney saying, "major league asshole" or "go fuck yourself" live, then it's the broadcaster's fault?

I'm for this bill if they add an amendment that allows total confinscation of all family (not just individual) assets for any House or Senate member that ever does anything involving minors, diapers, adultry, illegal prostitution or drugs and bribery.

So long as they're cleaning up. let them start with themselves.

Doesn't anybody get it yet!? This government could care less about things like the constitution, human rights, etc. They circumvent the law absolutely every chance they get and why? Because nobody does anything to stop them. Why are they all not impeached yet?

The First Amendment does not play at all into this. These are public broadcasts that are regulated by a public body. In this case, Congress is acting with the idea that they are protecting the public. This is the same reason why you do not have the right to yell "Fire!" in a theater.

The First Amendment has always been second to the public good. That's one reason why it's in a separate document...it cannot act as a roadblock to Constitutional powers held by legislative, executive, and judicial bodies when acting on the public's behalf.

@segfault: Yes, I am with you on that one.

In the meanwhile, "Hey FCC? Fuck your birthday."

Last time I checked there are still people in this country who lack health care and also people who are going to bed hungry tonight. I'm no expert on these matters but I would certainly think the kid who's starving and sick would benefit more from a doctor and a nice hot meal then banning curse words from TV.

Finally, all our problems are solved. This will surely eliminate gang violence, put an end to poverty, and stop global warming in its tracks.

Hurray for our clearly adept government!

If someone is so fucking worried about their children hearing a "fleeting" swearword on television, they should just not let them watch TV. In fact, if they're that worried, they shouldn't let them listen to the radio either... or use the internet. In fact, they should pull them out of school, in case another student says a swear. They should avoid all public spaces, too, just in case someone lets one slip. Actually, to be a good parent, they should lock them in the house at all times, and sound proof the walls, in case someone drives by with swear words blasting on their car stereo.

That's the best way to raise a functioning adult... shelter them from every thing!

You'd think with how large the major networks are they'd have lobbyists in congress fighting bills like this. If this bill passes, it only gives more reason for us consenting adults to subscribe to HBO/Showtime/etc and never watch network television again.

I kind of agree with this. Kids learn swear words eventually, but why start the bad habits early? Someday they'll swear at one of your relatives or someone you're trying to impress, and the other person might et offended, then who's at fault? You can't blame that on the first amendment!

I don't use swear words that often myself, nor do I listen to music that has swear words in it. Yeah there are a few songs that I like that might use them, but I wouldn't play them around my girlfriend's 9-year old son either. He's already learned the F-word from a troublesome neighbor anyway, (and got in a lot of trouble for saying it). But wouldn't it be inhibiting bad behavior if you never pointed out that swearing is inappropriate?

Those who cower behind the First Amendment, let me say that I'd bet you change your mind if I advertised your Consumerist screenname and email addresses on a shirt saying that "(Insert person's name) is a child molester" followed by your information. Surely you wouldn't want THAT. I'm not right, but that is just my opinion

@emax4:
Before trying to asserting your straw-man argument, please look up "slander' in the dictionary. It has no bearing on this discussion, and your "example" is, therefore, meaningless.

Why is it necessary to wear a shirt with a curse on it? Whatever happened to decency? I don't think federal government action is necessary, but why would anyone defend these morons who have no class?

"Protecting Children From Indecent Programming Act,"

(a) fuck you

(b) feel free to pass whatever bullshit bill you like you cunt pumps, because it doesn't make a shit bit of difference.

(c) i'm very happy to protect my own child from your useless standards of decency.

(d) when you stop showing fox news at 11 commercials,

"local police officer shot point blank in the face."

with grainy footage of the event during prime time tv... maybe then, you can speak for me and legislate what's decent.

Sigh.

Since the relationship between the signifier (the word) and the signified (its meaning) is arbitrary, the force of profanity is communally mediated and ascribed, not inherent in the power of the word itself. Words aren't magical talismans. Moralists just don't understand this, for some reason, and resort to censoring the mostly Germanic profanity from our language, while failing to realise that they're just synonyms for Latinate and French cognates (pudendum, coitus, etc.).

But to get a congressman to respond to this would be to ask him to use a word that has more than two syllables. And I doubt that will happen anytime soon.

Apparently the bill was introduced by Senators Rockefeller, Stevens, Pryor and Inouye, so Consumerists in West Virginia, Alaska, Arkansas and Hawaii--have at 'em! I expect nothing less from Ted Stevens, but Rockefeller and Inouye are Democrats and...oh, never mind, I'm too old to be disillusioned.

God will strike all you heathens down for your foul mouth sins. Repent sinners, repent. We are a god fearing nation, not a godless nation. Amen.

@dukrous:

"The First Amendment does not play at all into this. These are public broadcasts that are regulated by a public body. In this case, Congress is acting with the idea that they are protecting the public. This is the same reason why you do not have the right to yell "Fire!" in a theater."

I don't think you understand that example. Actually, I'm positive you don't.

You can't engage in speech which will cause clear and imminent harm. Saying "awww, fuck!" will not. Setting off a panicked stampede of people will.

"The First Amendment has always been second to the public good. That's one reason why it's in a separate document...it cannot act as a roadblock to Constitutional powers held by legislative, executive, and judicial bodies when acting on the public's behalf."

Uh, that is precisely what it's for. In the barest, most minimal, narrowest interpretation, is is precisely for the purpose of restraining Congress. "Congress shall make no law..."

Christ, I hope you aren't allowed to vote.

can someone give me a good, reasonable, short explanation of why it is bad for children under the age of X years to hear profanity or see boobies?

I'm dead serious.

Ehem... "shit"

AND ANOTHER WHITE AMERICAN FAMILY IS DESTROYED! BWAHAHAHAHA!!!

@HawkWolf: Because Pat Buchanan and the rest of the religious right think that it is so.

And 'decency' rules will always look good to your typical scumbag politician...how can standing up for decency be bad?

WAKE UP FOLKS...if Big Brother bans them from TV, next you'll be arrested walking down the street with your 'obscene' shirts. And don't delude yourself into thinking they'll stop with George Carlin's 'seven words'...

I'm not responsible for parenting other people's kids. Stupid law.

wow. well, it looks like ted kennedy doesn't get anymore face time on c-span.

So, any reason you censored 'Fuck'? Or are you afraid of being fined / sued / causing children to kill their parents?