|
|
Sunday, March 07, 2004
|
|
"THEY KNOW NOT WHAT THEY DO"
The Federal Communications Commission, long considered among the more boring of American government agencies, is becoming the weapon of choice this election year. Janet Jackson's right tit has thrown Washington into a tizzy and both Democrats and Republicans are howling for blood. Janet's nipple will turn out to be The Knocker That Toppled Empires.
"Decency in Broadcasting" has become a serious campaign issue. I hope that no one thinks that it'll ever be anything but that. Anyone who thinks you'll ever hear Michael Powell's name after November is a moron. The funniest part of this is the hypocrisy of it. People are upset over a tit! A tit during the Super Bowl, which is the crown jewel of a sport rife with drug users, rapists and murderers. Oh, and wasn't Houston's stadium named Enron Field? Weren't the Philadelphia Eagles owned by Adelphia? Professional sports is the perfect intersection of white and blue collar crime.
And these moralistic shitheads are worried about the example a pierced nipple sets. How about telling little Johnny that a double murder isn't a necessary requirement for free agency.
Usually stupid political issues don't hurt anyone. They blow over fast, generally speaking. I don't think that going to be the case this time. Careers are going to be ended in very short order. Howard Stern will probably be the first to go but he'll be far from the last. Jesus, the primaries aren't even over yet. There's going to be a lot of blood in the streets before this is over.
Howard Stern is extraordinarily wealthy and he'll come out this just fine. However, most people in radio don't have a pot to piss in. And given that they are independent contractors, they're very easy to get rid of. It's the little guys in the cellar of the entertainment industry that are going to get squashed the hardest.
Oh, and just wait, if they manage to "clean up" radio overnight, who wants to bet that the Internet is next. They may not go after individual websites or blogs, but the government isn't going after disc jockeys either. The radio networks are getting hammered. It's just as easy to go after the service providers - who, by the way, have exactly the same issues before Congress that the radio networks do - to drop websites or "objectionable" blogs.
Just wait teenagers, it's going to get very ugly out there. On the other hand, Stern put up a funny joke movie poster on his website.
Who knows, Howard may well die for our sins yet.
|
|
|
| |
