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Monday, April 21, 2003
10:20: In case you have any continuing doubts about the ever-repeating and nonetheless changing character of our country:
Sara Jones had to sue the FCC for fining radio stations that play her song "My Revolution". Why? The FCC has labeled her song as containing "unmistakable patently offensive sexual references" that "appear designed to pander and shock." After suing the FCC, the comission ruled that "the licensee [KBOO public-supported radio in Oregon] did not violate the applicable statute of the commission's indecency rule, and that no sanction is warranted".
Sane heads prevail, but only after massive outcry. Whereas I'm still wondering, what part of "no law" is unclear in the First Amendment?
Write to your congresscritter.
Tuesday, April 01, 2003
00:04: What a fascinatingly frightening country the United States has slowly started feeling like.
The FBI goes around "interviewing" US citizens or Iraqui origin and we don't hear about it. There are only a few steps between that and asking them to "voluntarily" register with the FBI. And the frightening thing is that a vast proportion of our population wouldn't understand the historical implications of this.
Peter Arnett, a prize-winning journalist gets fired for providing an analysis of the war that is not altogether unique and is not altogether his own--he just gave it to the wrong people.
Country music stations [yes, I'm a country music fan], heavily owned by one media conglomerate, and using our public airways, encouraging and supporting a war arguably intended to protect the American way of life, resort to blocking out musicians who use that pesky guarantee of free speech to speak their mind--for not supporting our troops.
Congressmember Ginny Brown-Waite (R-FL --what else should we expect?) introduces a bill to repatriate the remains of US servicemembers buried in France [Who elects these nimrods?]. Other colleagues suggest that French toast and French fries should be renamed to something more patriotic.
Oddly, the country that gave us the Statue of Liberty isn't asking for it to be returned given recent events. Maybe we should start a campaign to return it as well? We seem to have given up on much of what it represents in the name of security anyhow...