Posted on 06/02/2005 1:17:06 PM PDT by freepatriot32
The Danger.
No bill has been introduced yet, but Senator Stevens has promised one, and when it arrives it is likely to come straight out of the Commerce Committee he chairs and move directly to a vote with little time for public comment. The time to act is now.
You can read more about this at...
Center for American Progress: Think Again: The New Content Commissars
Jammed.com: Transcript of Sen. Stevens' remarks on Internet "indecency" laws
DownsizeDC.org commentary
This bill would deny you the right to watch mature programming on cable TV for the sake of parents who are too lazy and irresponsible to bear the burden of doing their jobs as parents. Those parents who object to cable TV programming already have several ways to deal with this problem:
They can buy a reduced set of cable programming (this is the approach used by DownsizeDC.org President Jim Babka who has three children under 10).
They can no have cable at all, but rely on broadcast TV only (which is now heavily censored).
They can restrict cable to only one part of their house and not allow their children to watch TV there.
They can block cable channels they consider inappropriate for their children. But some parents, rather than take any of these responsible steps, want Congress to do their parenting for them, at the expense of everyone else who wants to be able to watch mature programming.
And, we might add, Congress has no constitutional authority for such censorship, something that should concern every American who still cares about constitutional legality.
Many Americans have excused broadcast censorship because the government supposedly owns the broadcast spectrum, but no such excuse exists here. Congress can make no claim to own cable networks, local cable providers, or even the TV sets in your home. They simply don't have the authority.
Why Take Action?
Please help us stop the growth of the nanny state.
Please help us stop the Congressional urge to turn the entire country into Disneyland.
Please help us preserve the benefits of adulthood. Please help us preserve the First Amendment.
Please don't reward the busy-bodies who think they know what's best for you and your family.
Please stop the political habit of using children as an excuse for extinguishing American freedom.
Please don't let Congress reward the whining of irresponsible parents who want others to do their job for them. To send your message to Congress opposing this censorship click here.
It's only a dollar for the first month.
Just like crack. ;-)
SD
How about instead people that want to watch the kind of filth Stevens is talking about go back to buying it in back alleys, etc....? You have your opinion, I have mine. Have a great day!
I agree. But if you don't like him, turn him off.
JUST SAY NO to Howweird Stern.
This bluenose censorship stuff is a pretty pointless pursuit. The internet is quickly heading into the living room. I already have a computer and a modded Xbox/Media Center hooked up to my HDTV. Should I choose, I could be watching the most disgusting porn imaginable with two clicks of the remote. In the near future, the media will become super compartmentalized with Baptists watching, or rather recording, the Baptist channel, bird watchers watching the birding channel and so on. The smut is going to be there to so deal with it.
OMG! Did you hear him today? He was a real loon!
They are, in effect. Cable television is a for-pay system. Nobody is exposed to it against their will.
The bit-delivery will be a matter of infrastructure, possibly even be a regulated monopoly, like phone or electric service. It's all a matter of what software to choose. If this were the case today, you would not have to accept Comcast's lineup of channels just cause they own the wire going to your house. A family-friendly package of channels would arise if there was an open market for such a thing.
Existing channels which are pushing the envelope might even control themselves better in order to gain entry into such packages.
SD
It's a bit more general than that.
They cannot stand the possibility that someone, somewhere, might be having fun.
Go sell crazy somewhere else---we're all stocked up here.
We're not talking about God here. We're talking about whether or not the Federal government has the power to regulate what legal products a cable company can provide its subscribers.
Feel free to point out where in the Constitution the federal government has been granted that power.
Wrong. It's not so much what we as adults are exposed to, it's what has become commonplace that our children are exposed to.
AND the fact that WE have to pay the extra bucks in order to block such programming because it has become the standard rather than YOU pay extra to see the smut.
Okay, I see what you are saying. I read your original post as advocating that sort of isolation from the mainstream culture.
Why do you think you have to pay extra to block programs? I understand that the cable companies will provide blockers for specific channels if you desire so without charge.
SD
Buy a clue - you are responsible for what you bring into your house.
Here, I'll make it simple for you: sell your tv and save a few bucks. Sell your radios and computers too - it's obviously too much responsibility for you to handle like an adult.
I have insomnia, so I know what you mean. I "programmed out" all the melon-boob girls and the poker channels, so that when I'm channel surfing at night I won't see them. If I want to access one of those deleted channels directly during the day, I just punch the numbers into my remote; otherwise, they're not there when I'm channel surfing.
The typical name for people who advocate regulating business products and practices is "liberal Democrat".
That's not really true on morals issues. I wouldn't say those advocating regulation of abortion are "liberal Democrats."
Neither would I say Byzantine systems for the control of alcoholic beverages, like here in PA, stem from "liberal Democrat" urges.
SD
"How about instead people that want to watch the kind of filth Stevens is talking about go back to buying it in back alleys, etc...."
Why do you care where someone else buys it?
Who is forcing you to?
Why not just unplug your tv from any antenna or wall, and watch nothing but My Three Sons and the Waltons on DVD?
How much of what you do in the privacy of your own home is anyone elses business?
"AND the fact that WE have to pay the extra bucks in order to block such programming because it has become the standard rather than YOU pay extra to see the smut."
So unsubscribe from cable.
Imagine that, a company that caters to it's customers.
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