# The FCC and Broadcast Corps. need to unclench their sphincters (lame rant) **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [September 22, 2004, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-fcc-and-broadcast-corps-need-to-unclench-their-sphincters-lame-rant/265516 "2004-09-22T17:26:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2004, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-fcc-and-broadcast-corps-need-to-unclench-their-sphincters-lame-rant/265516/21 "2004-09-24T21:02:11Z")
**Liberal:** _What despicable hubris you demonstrate by representing such a system either providing a context of peace and honesty or having free men that live in it._ Oh, bullshit back atcha, **Lib**. There is nothing in the system of representative-democracy-plus-civil-rights _per se_ that necessitates having laws against prostitution, asset forfeiture, gay marriage prohibition, or any of that other stuff. That just happens to be the place we’re currently at in the evolution of our particular instance of RD+CR. Nor is there anything in the system of libertarianism _per se_ that would prevent exactly the same sort of restrictions being enforced by the propertied on any less propertied whom they could subject to economic coercion. The hypothetical legal freedom not to do something that in reality you cannot possibly afford not to do is merely what you libertarians like to call “scribbles on paper”. I’ve never disputed that there are some good principles in libertarianism and that it makes some valuable contributions to political discourse. But the sterile haughtiness of your rhetoric about it does get really tedious sometimes. All these witnessing episodes of yours seem to go essentially the same way: > [@](#): > > **Great Debate OP** : How shall we deal with Problem X in our society? > ( **Pit** variant: Fuck this fucking problem in our fucking society!) > > **Lib:** This is what I keep telling you—democracy has problems! Oh, when will you poor blind worshippers at the altar of majoritarianism realize that there are problems with the democratic system? Alas, alack. > > **Non-libertarian poster** : Well, yeah, we know our system has problems. So what would be the libertarian solution to Problem X, and would it work any better? > > **Lib:** Inattentive fool! Libertarianism doesn’t solve any problems! It just provides a context within which to solve problems! > > **N-l p** : Oh boy, a context! Who wants a boring old solution when you could have a **context**?! :rolleyes: > > (Posters return to discussing possibilities for actual solutions to Problem X within the context we’ve actually got, or, in the Pit, saying “fuck” about Problem X some more.) ---
**Author:** ![Already\_in\_Use](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a9adbd/32.png) [@Already\_in\_Use](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Already_in_Use)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2004, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-fcc-and-broadcast-corps-need-to-unclench-their-sphincters-lame-rant/265516/22 "2004-09-24T21:23:31Z")
> [@Liberal](#): > > That’s correct. Unfortunately, it also works the other way. It will become stricter if becoming sticter is politically expedient. That’s why gay people can’t get married in Louisiana. I take a lot of flak about my political philosophy, but those of you who champion this majoritarian madness could stand to do at least a bit of self-review. With the amount of time you spend in GD, you should know better than to throw around such blatant false dichotomies. Not everything that isn’t libertarianism is “majoritarianism.” Sloppy logic does nothing to further your cause. ---
**Author:** ![fishbicycle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aeb1de/32.png) [@fishbicycle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fishbicycle)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2004, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-fcc-and-broadcast-corps-need-to-unclench-their-sphincters-lame-rant/265516/23 "2004-09-24T22:12:04Z")
> [@ParentalAdvisory](#): > > Well holy shit. Just who are these people exactly? Sometimes it isn’t a group of people who seek to be arbiters of taste to the populace. Sometimes it’s ONE GUY with nothing better to do than get into other peoples’ business. I work at a station whose license renewal has been contested six times in a row, by the same guy. Every time, the station has to hire lawyers and provide documentation and all kinds of stuff, and the FCC has to convene hearings, etc. Every time, the lawsuit is dismissed as frivolous. After the last one, I guess he figured it wasn’t any fun to sue us anymore. He was on the news again a few weeks ago, suing somebody else for something he perceived as wrong. I can’t imagine having the gall. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_Robson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gary_robson/32/3448_2.png) [@Gary\_Robson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_Robson)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2004, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-fcc-and-broadcast-corps-need-to-unclench-their-sphincters-lame-rant/265516/24 "2004-09-24T23:16:18Z")
> [@Captain Amazing](#): > > It will, though, because the Communications Act just says something like, “The FCC may impose fines for the broadcast obscene or vulgar material.” It’s the Commission who decides what “obscene” and “vulgar” means. So, for them to change their standards doesn’t require prior congressional approval. Okay, that was the leeway I was talking about, but you’re assuming they have more than they do. There are two problems with what you’re suggesting: [ol] [li]If you contact the FCC and say, “‘Shit’ isn’t a dirty word. I want to hear more of it on radio and television,” you’re not going to get very far. There aren’t too many big lobbying groups calling for _more_ obscenities, and they’ll drown out your voice.[/li][li]If the FCC decided that one of George Carlin’s “seven words you can’t say on television” wasn’t obscene any more, Congress would come down on them.[/li][/ol] ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2004, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-fcc-and-broadcast-corps-need-to-unclench-their-sphincters-lame-rant/265516/25 "2004-09-25T03:28:50Z")
> [@InvisibleWombat](#): > > [ol] > [li]If you contact the FCC and say, “‘Shit’ isn’t a dirty word. I want to hear more of it on radio and television,” you’re not going to get very far. There aren’t too many big lobbying groups calling for _more_ obscenities, and they’ll drown out your voice.[/li][li]If the FCC decided that one of George Carlin’s “seven words you can’t say on television” wasn’t obscene any more, Congress would come down on them.[/li][/ol] Right, you, by yourself, won’t convince the FCC to let people say “shit” on the radio. You need to form a lobbying group stronger than the anti-obscenity people. And, while it didn’t happen with “shit”, it almost happened with “fuck”. Last year, Bono said something was “fucking brilliant” at the Golden Globes, and the Commission ruled that it was ok for him to say that, because he wasn’t referring to the sexual act…he was only doing it for “emphasis”. However, not so long after that, the Superbowl happened, everybody got offended, and the Commission fell over itself to reverse its decision. If it wasn’t for the stunt at the Superbowl, though, in all likelyhood, you’d be able to use “fucking” as an adjective on TV. ---
**Author:** ![MsRobyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/90ced4/32.png) [@MsRobyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsRobyn)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2004, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-fcc-and-broadcast-corps-need-to-unclench-their-sphincters-lame-rant/265516/26 "2004-09-25T04:33:48Z")
> [@InvisibleWombat](#): > > The FCC’s job is not to **create** the rules, but to **enforce** the rules. Congress tells them what to do, and the FCC figures out how to do it. Certainly, they have some leeway, but if you want more obscenity and vulgarity on the radio, calling the FCC won’t help a bit. You’ll have to talk to your elected representatives and get a bill introduced. > > Good luck. The FCC actually has quite a bit of regulatory authority on its own. Congress can make law that supersedes the FCC (and has moved to do so WRT the ownership flap a while back), but generally speaking, the FCC has ultimate jurisdiction over the television and radio airwaves, and Congress does not poach on their turf lightly. Robin ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2004, 9:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-fcc-and-broadcast-corps-need-to-unclench-their-sphincters-lame-rant/265516/27 "2004-09-26T09:19:30Z")
> [@Already in Use](#): > > With the amount of time you spend in GD, you should know better than to throw around such blatant false dichotomies. Not everything that isn’t libertarianism is “majoritarianism.” Sloppy logic does nothing to further your cause. What blather. I never established any dichotomy. The system is majoritarian simply because it is majoritarian irrespective what any other system might be. I never said a system must be either libertarian or majoritarian. In fact, I’ve said many times that a majoritarian system CAN be libertarian, so long as all are volunteers. Try not to talk about logic. Your comments on logic are like Bush’s comments on Iraq. ---
**Author:** ![ParentalAdvisory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/53a042/32.png) [@ParentalAdvisory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParentalAdvisory)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2004, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-fcc-and-broadcast-corps-need-to-unclench-their-sphincters-lame-rant/265516/28 "2004-09-26T13:06:33Z")
> [@Captain Amazing](#): > > …because he wasn’t referring to the sexual act… So what if he was, humanity was founded on it. Why is the country so ashamed of it? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-fcc-and-broadcast-corps-need-to-unclench-their-sphincters-lame-rant/265516.md?page=1)