Dude, I always thought that was why they called it the Boob Tube. No wait, that was on the porn channels.
In recent comments at the National Cable & Telecommunications Assn. conference in San Francisco, Rep. F. James Sensebrenner III (Prig, Wis.), underscores that the numerals trailing his name are an indication of I.Q. as much as breeding. Fulminating against indecency on the boob tube, the Badger State* blowhard suggests that small-screen swearing, cleavage, and god knows what else should be a crime:
"People who are in flagrant disregard should face a criminal process rather than a regulator process," Sensenbrenner said. "That is the way to go. Aim the cannon specifically at the people committing the offenses, rather than the blunderbuss approach that gets the good actors.
"The people who are trying to do the right thing end up being penalized the same way as the people who are doing the wrong thing."
"Cable companies allow customers to block channels they find offensive but still require the customers to pay for it."
That's great. Can't let there be any chance little Johnnie might see some bare tit on TV, but you can sure let the cable companies screw their customers. I know that the pay thing isn't that big of a deal, but when they're making mountains out of molehills everywhere else, what the fuck?
Still, wasn't the V-Chip supposed to be the smut-safe option for all the nannies out there?
There are two potential silver linings in the brewing Republican attack on must-see TV. The first is that it's unlikely to work. Apart from the likelihood that the courts would grant cable and satellite First Amendment protections, The Sopranos isn't popular in spite of its adult themes but because of them. If cable—especially premium cable—is forced to be as "decent" as network TV, expect to see "Cedar Revolution"–style protests in the streets of America.
The other silver lining? If Stevens and McCain are going to hold hearings on, say, whether creators of The Sopranos should have named a character Big Pussy (much less brutally offed him), they're less likely to be voting on, say, the next job-killing proposal by their party pal Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.) to raise the minimum wage by $1.10 over the next 18 months.
In recent comments at the National Cable & Telecommunications Assn. conference in San Francisco, Rep. F. James Sensebrenner III (Prig, Wis.), underscores that the numerals trailing his name are an indication of I.Q. as much as breeding. Fulminating against indecency on the boob tube, the Badger State* blowhard suggests that small-screen swearing, cleavage, and god knows what else should be a crime:
