Fundamentalist Lunatics Strike Again! Michael Powell abets mission.

FCC Weighs Olympics Indecency Complaints
By Todd Shields, December 10, 2004, Mediaweek

The Federal Communications Commission’s enforcement bureau has asked NBC for tapes of the opening ceremony of the Summer Olympics, apparently in response to one or more indecency complaints.

… The Olympics opening ceremony on Aug. 14 in Athens included actors and actresses depicting two lovers dancing in the sea, a goddess of fertility, and a pregnant woman whose belly glowed, according to an account posted on MSNBC’s Web site.

The FCC investigates allegations of indecent broadcasts when it receives complaints. The procedure has come under increasing scrutiny with the recent disclosure that, aside from those concerning the controversial Super Bowl broadcast, more than 99 percent of recent indecency complaints have come from one group, the Parents Television Council.

The PTC says the FCC is failing to count many thousands of its complaints. It says the source of complaints should make no difference to a process aimed at determining whether networks are breaking the law against indecent broadcasts. Critics of the PTC say it is attempting to impose its views of acceptable broadcasts.

The PTC is one more group of fundamentalist moralists who have determined they will determine what is appropriate for you and me to watch on TV. Apparently their V-chips don’t work (or they’re too stupid to set them) or they actually want to spare the rod, spoil the child, and NOT change that channel. As you can read above, this single organization is responsible for an astounding 99% of the indecency complaints received by the FCC (excluding Janet’s breast).

Fox-TV was fined $1.2 million or so for some sort of naughtiness on one of their unwatchable shows due to “viewer complaints.” A journalist researched the issue and it turned out that there were actually three (count ‘em, three) discreet complaints. Our friends at the PTC had sent in 100 or so identical emails from different members of their network. As much as I dislike Fox, even they didn’t deserve this.

It’s too bad that Larry Flynt, publisher of Hustler magazine, can’t mobilize all of the porn lovers into some sort of organization of degenerates to complain to the FCC about the lack of naughty images on TV. I can see the headline now: “Passionate Porn Perverts of America demand that FCC order Janet Jackson to expose other breast.”