Well you can thank right-wing evangelical Christian political groups for the lovely censorship we're enjoying these days.
Right at the core of the campaign against "indecency" are several groups affiliated with the Christian Right, e.g., Focus on the Family and the Family Research Council, just two of the organizations that appear to work hand in hand and/or are one in the same.
The following is from the Focus on the Family site:
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Action Alert
Tell the FCC To Stay Tough on Indecency
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has begun to take seriously the concerns of viewers offended by indecent content and language on radio and television.
The agency's Enforcement Bureau has begun to hand out fines to particularly egregious offenders like Howard Stern -- in part prompted by public backlash over Janet Jackson's raunchy Super Bowl halftime performance earlier this year. In fact, the FCC went so far as to reverse a ruling it issued last year that rock star Bono's use of the f-word in prime time was not indecent under U.S. law.
We urge you to contact all five of the FCC's commissioners (by clicking on the "Take Action" button above) and urge them to continue to be aggressive in punishing TV networks and individuals who run afoul of laws governing broadcast indecency. Encourage them not to stop at issuing fines, even hefty fines, but to consider revoking the licenses of particularly egregious offenders.
powered by Capitol Advantage ?2004
http://www.family.org/cforum/fnif/news/a0031098.cfm
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If anyone has any question about the right wing fanatic views of the Family Research Council, just read some of the articles on their site, which, incidentally, has a link to Townhall.com at the bottom of its home page.
I've seen two stories in the newspaper in the last couple of weeks putting forth the notion that the current campaign against "indecency" is a bi-partisan or rather a non-partisan effort, but, sorry, I don't buy it. You can bet Dr. James Dobson and his clones and political allies have a great deal to do with this nonsense. Yes, a number of congressional democrats are voting for the "anti-indecency" legislation, but I'll wager this has more to do with their spinelessness than anything else.
And BonoVoxSupastar, here's the information you're looking for.....
NEW YORK (AP) -- Unlike the last time she appeared on CBS, Janet Jackson was bleeped by censors Monday while talking to David Letterman -- for saying "Jesus."
The exclamation, made in apparent exasperation as Letterman asked the singer about her famed Super Bowl "wardrobe malfunction," was edited out for broadcast, a show spokesman said.
Jackson told Letterman that her breast-baring, when a piece of clothing was yanked off by duet partner Justin Timberlake during the halftime show, "was totally an accident. It wasn't a stunt."
Another piece of clothing was to have been in place to conceal the breast from view, said Jackson, who conceded the maneuver wasn't rehearsed.
On the "Late Show," she wore a red dress that exposed cleavage and her navel, which was affixed with jewelry. Despite being booked on the first of a round of national television appearances to promote her new album, "Damita Jo," Jackson repeatedly told Letterman she didn't want to talk about the incident.
"You're going to make me relive this?" she asked. "I want to put all that behind me. I truly do."
She told the audience she was "sure you're sick of hearing about this."
"I'm not so sure they are sick of hearing about it," Letterman replied.
Pressing for further details, Letterman said it looked to Super Bowl viewers that the breast-baring was intentional.
"Oh, Jesus," Jackson said, according to an unedited tape of their conversation.
She said it was "very embarrassing to me, to have so many people see this little breast."
"Well ...," Letterman said, indicating Jackson was doing some verbal downsizing.
The singer said she learned from the incident that she had reserves of strength like her mother.
Jackson and Timberlake's duet sparked a round of recriminations and complaints about broadcast standards. Jackson later canceled an appearance on the Grammy Awards. Timberlake appeared but apologized for the Super Bowl incident.
Jackson told "Access Hollywood," in an interview to be broadcast Tuesday, that she was "straight up asked not to go" on the Grammy Awards show. CBS has said Jackson would have been welcome if she apologized like Timberlake but she declined.
Asked whether she was still friends with Timberlake, Jackson said, "at some point, he and I need to talk."
(Copyright 2004 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
http://www.kron.com/Global/story.asp?S=1746702