Politician Would Ban Dirty Words From Tv

[DudeAsInCool]

Politician would ban dirty words from TV - He's angry that FCC failed to act

Edward Epstein, Chronicle Washington Bureau

January 9, 2004

Washington -- Editor's note: To read the bill, go to Thomas.loc.gov and enter the bill number: HR 3687.

Rep. Doug Ose of Sacramento has seven dirty words very much on his mind, courtesy of such free speakers as U2 singer Bono and Nicole Richie, the rich kid co-star of "The Simple Life.''

Fed up with recent repeated instances of broadcast TV networks allowing language that many people would deem offensive to be aired live, the Republican House member has introduced a bill that spells out the seven awful words that would be banned from the public air waves in all their forms and all their meanings -- "including verb, adjective, gerund, participle, and infinitive forms,'' as the bill says.

Among the words are such swear-word standbys as those used for excrement, fornication, urine and parts of the body. The list includes one word, a -- h -- , twice, as one word, and in its compound form to leave no doubt Ose wants it banned.

The proposal, which seems headed for a hearing before the House Energy and Commerce Committee after Congress returns to work later this month, has stirred a vigorous debate.

On one side are those, including Ose, who say recent Federal Communications Commission decisions declining to sanction broadcasters for airing offensive language are unacceptable to the majority of Americans, particularly those with young children. On the other side are free speech advocates who say government should get out of the censorship business and that parents should monitor their kids' TV watching to make sure they don't see programs that might include raw language.

"There just isn't any way I want to hear that stuff coming out of my TV on the public airwaves,'' Ose said Thursday. "My kids and my neighbors' kids shouldn't have to hear that stuff.''

Ose's anger was touched off by an incident last January and the resulting FCC decision not to fine television stations for airing the Golden Globe awards show during which Bono blurted out, "This is really, really f -- brilliant.''

The five-member FCC ruled that Bono's words didn't measure up to its standard for indecency because he was using the dirty word as an adjective, not in a sexual context.

Since then, a few other incidents over the publicly owned broadcast airwaves have also garnered attention and the anger of those who say broadcasters are stooping ever lower in the race for viewers against unregulated cable TV and other entertainment.

On The Billboard Awards show Dec. 10 on the Fox network, Richie said, "Why do they even call it the 'Simple Life?' Have you ever tried to get cow s -- out of a Prada purse? It's not so f -- simple.'' The FCC hasn't acted yet on Richie's words, which were broadcast even though the program was on a five-second delay designed to bleep out such talk.

Fox apologized for its failure to bleep out Richie's comments.

Ose has had enough. "If the commission wants to split hairs on this, that's fine," he said. "I and a number of my colleagues will be happy to hold them down and shave their heads for them.''

So far, he has one co-sponsor, Rep. Lamar Smith, R-Texas, but expects many more when the House returns.

The Senate is considering similar bills. One, by Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., condemns the FCC decision on Bono's words and calls for stiffer penalties. Another, by Sen. Ernest Hollings, D-S.C., also calls for tougher action.

One legal expert on censorship, Craig Smith of Cal State University Long Beach, said Ose's one-paragraph proposal, HR3687, seemed to be drafted narrowly enough to withstand legal challenges.

Current broadcast law on dirty words stems from a 1974 ruling involving comedian George Carlin and Pacifica Radio. The courts ruled that because Carlin used seven dirty words on an afternoon show on radio, "a uniquely pervasive medium'' available for free to everyone, the FCC could ban those words.

Ose is trying to close the loophole that let Bono say f -- by writing a law that would ban the words in any usage or connotation, noted Smith, who is director of the Center for First Amendment Studies at Cal State Long Beach.

But even though it's legal, the proposal isn't a good idea, he added. "I think you have to demonstrate that there's a harm'' by allowing dirty words on the public airwaves. "That's a burden they can't meet.''

Another broadcasting expert, Robert J. Thompson of Syracuse University, said the proposal was "just so infantile, so juvenile,'' especially because Ose's bill spells out the words it says should be banned.

"It reminds me of a bunch of 8-year-olds looking those words up in the dictionary and laughing uproariously,'' he said.

"Don't get me wrong, I'm sympathetic, but the only reason to bar this is protect the ears of children. But if everything on TV or radio has to be OK for the age of 6, then nothing can be more sophisticated than that,'' said Thompson, a professor of TV and popular culture.'' He suggested that parents more closely monitor their kids' viewing habits.

But Ose says such oversight frequently isn't possible today, because of changes in family life. "There are a lot of latchkey kids,'' said the congressman, who has daughters ages 11 and 9, referring to the number of children home alone after school while their parents work. "I don't want to be sitting there when a guy blurts something out over the TV and have my daughters ask me what those words mean.''

He also said his bill had to use the dirty words and spell out all potential usages because "I'm trying to give a statutory prohibition to the provisions the FCC has today.''

The effort to force the FCC to crackdown has attracted the support of the Parents Television Council, a group whose Web site includes a link allowing viewers to complain about alleged obscenity directly to the FCC.

Brent Bozell, the council's president, said Fox's apology over the Richie incident was unconvincing.

"I encourage parents, Capitol Hill leaders and other family organizations not to be duped by such a meaningless apology and by Fox's latest attempt to back-pedal from an obvious ploy to titillate and shock audiences with indecent programming," he said on his group's Web site.

-- ----------------------------------------------------------------------

Dirty words

Rep. Doug Ose, R-Sacramento, wants to outlaw these seven words because he says the Federal Communications Commission is not policing the airwaves vigorously enough.

The words are:

S -- ; piss; f -- ; c -- ; a -- h -- ; c -- s -- and m -- f -- .

To view the complete words, you can read Ose's proposed legislation, HR 3687, at Thomas.loc.gov and enter the bill number.

©2004 San Francisco Chronicle

URL: sfgate.com/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2004/01/09/DIRTYWORDS.TMP

[Shawn]

Link at the bottom :

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S -- ; piss; f -- ; c -- ; a -- h -- ; c -- s -- and m -- f --

So, the bold text, is that female or male?

[DudeAsInCool]

LOL

[HolyMoly]

You know, hehe, it's interesting that one of the "7 words you can't say on television," according to George Carlin, was omitted from that list -- tits. However, "tits" is probably the most inoffensive word on that list. FWIW, if I remember correctly, there was one word Carlin mentioned that was not on the list that would never be used because it just sounds too gross -- turd. However, I actually heard someone use that word on KXL radio during a talk show. The screener apparently let it go through ... and the host, Lars Larson, said "Well, I guess we can say that word." Hehehe.

I doubt that bill will make it past committee. If it did, it would be a bugger to enforce. I wonder what the fine would be for saying one of those words ... $100? $500? $1,000? Maybe that bill would do better in Brazil ... where an American pilot was fined $13,000 for flipping the bird (here's that story).

[rainbowdemon]

According to Mr. Carlin,"tits" is a friendly sounding word!

[HolyMoly]

If that bill became law, every hip-hop station would go off the air ... since only a handful of rap fans would be willing to listen to sanitized versions of their favorite songs, hehe.

[DudeAsInCool]

According to Mr. Carlin,"tits" is a friendly sounding word!

Yeah, but you cant show em!