Friday, March 02, 2007

Bush Wants To Cancel "24"

Okay, not really. But Bush's censor-happy FCC wants to seize far more power over what's shown on the air. Several lawsuits are already working their way through the courts questioning the FCC's vague, ill-defined, and arbitrary fines for language and other "obscene" acts on TV. But before those are dealt with, the FCC says violence on TV is so dangerous it needs the power to ban it to the 10 p.m. hour.

Now FOX doesn't even AIR programming at 10 p.m., so that means "24," surely the most violent show on a major network, would have no place to go. Why does Bush hate "24?" As a conservative, I think the gov't should butt out of areas it doesn't need to be involved in and that certainly includes television. PBS should not be afraid that an intelligent, thoughtful, multi-part documentary on World War II could put their stations out of business because of a few salty words spoken by soldiers when discussing the horrors they faced in fighting for freedom. But that's exactly what's happening.

Yes, when there were only three networks on the air a certain amount of oversight on the public airwaves was appropriate. But no more. There are hundreds of channels. People can watch family programming or religious programming or music or violence or sexy programming any time they want, day or night. Would I want my 10 year old kid to watch "24?" Absolutely not. Does that mean the gov't should banish "24" to the 10 p.m. timeslot? No. It means parents can and should be responsible for what their children watch.

Your standards of what's acceptable are certainly not the same as mine or the person next door. And it's never been easier for you to block certain channels and find quality programming that fits your needs. Heck, you can always turn off the TV and make your kid read a book. Just a thought. But the last thing we need is the FCC to hold undue sway over what you can watch in your home. Remember, in a year and a half, it might be Hillary Clinton's appointees deciding what's good for you.

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