[LoneRangerMassachusetts]

Why not put parent controls on your T.V. so you won't be "forced" to watch it when you flip the channels? Why do you need big brother to do it for you?

TURN THE STATION

If Howard Stearn’s free speech rights can extend into my house, then I suppose he should be able to place lurid advertisements on billboards. Just tell yourself and your kids to look the other way.

What really sucks is the huge amount of time free speech purists think I should devote to watching television to determine what crappy programs are acceptable or not for my children. I see nothing wrong with making people who want to watch crap go out to the video store and spend their time and money to exercise their free speech rights. I want my privacy. I want limits on crap that enters my house. We all know what sexual crap is. It’s not confusing to those who don’t want it.

[imfleck]

The billboard scenario doesn't work because I'm not being given a choice to pick between any one of 100 billboards, including those that I know will or will not offend me. Tuning to a radio station is an intentional act. Having a billboard foisted upon me is not.

Here's the truly funny thing: The government has already told us what is and isn't "good" for us on TV. It's those little "G", "PG", "MA" etc, ratings tags on every show. You really don't need to spend any time at all looking at programs that you know will offend you.

You can limit what "crap" enters your house by just using the guidelines that the government has already provided to you. You can have your privacy too, nobody, other than sponsors, cares what you're watching.

So, I suppose that the "public airwaves" are only "public"
to those who don't want to watch/listen to The Howard Stern Show or it's like.

[Austin Willard Wright]

Oh perish the thought that might actually to have to bother to monitor the viewing habits of your children when big brother can do it for you. Apparently, conservatives have embraced a Brave New World of government paternalism.