Sort of.

The blog is now defunct. Please go to Democracy Kitty, my new venture.

Thank you!

Sort of.

The blog is now defunct. Please go to <a href="http://www.democracykitty.com>Democracy Kitty</a>, my new venture. Thank you!

I gotta hand it to PBU, without this weeks topic I would have never bothered to look into this guy. Kevin Martin is the new FCC Commissioner, replacing well known Boob Fighter Michael Powell. Martin comes across as a cute, slightly nerdy, unassuming guy in his FCC biography, but dig a little deeper and you begin to see he's really just another (re)Publican clone.

I'm not going to spend a lot of time researching his background, but I did find that he is a supporter of the Parents Television Council, a Fundie censorship project disguised as a "nonpartisan organization that works with elected and appointed government officials to enforce broadcast decency standards" whose idea of a "nonpartisan" advisory council includes (gods help us) Billy Ray Cyrus and Pat Boone.

Further, PTC is the same group revealed during 12/04 to be overwhelmingly culpable in the so-called increase in complaints to the FCC over broadcast indecency.

nearly all indecency complaints in 2003—99.8 percent—were filed by the Parents Television Council, an activist group

Through early October, 99.9 percent of indecency complaints were brought by the PTC, according to the FCC analysis dated Oct 1.

Courtesy of PTC's website, I was able to find a letter from Martin to PTC dated 12/3/2003 that may provide some clues into what we can expect from him during the next four years:

The FCC therefore plays an important role in protecting Americans, particularly children, from indecent programming. I take this responsibility seriously. I am concerned that the Commission is not doing all it should in this area. We may be interpreting the statute too narrowly.

Just this past quarter, for instance, indecency complaints increased from 351 to 19,920. Clearly, consumers are concerned. (Ed.: Written in 12/03, we now know this increase is because of PTC.)

I also have called on cable and satellite operators to offer a family-friendly programming package, so that parents could enjoy the excellent family-oriented channels available without being forced to subscribe (and pay for) the channels they believe have less appropriate programming.

What I find to be most interesting, and perhaps most troubling, is that while we may be able to find common ground in the need for age-appropriate programming for children, the way that Martin and PTC would create such an environment is nothing short of cultural censorship.

For the longest time the counterargument to PTC (and groups like it) has been "If you don't like what's on, change the channel." PTC's response to this argument is that:

Merely changing the channel is essentially to accept what is on that channel, and admit powerlessness to change what is on one's own television. To be forced to change the channel is to accept the loss of additional stations to unhealthy content and to expect similar material to one day appear on the next channel.

Because of this, they are waging a Cultural War.

Television is the most public and powerful means of mass communication. It drives changes in social customs, speech, and attitudes, especially among youth.

Changes that happen not just to young viewers, but to everyone else as well. And this is the real threat to their hegemony - a world with customs, speech and attitudes not rooted in their brand of Christianity. They aren't concerned about their children, your children, or any children for that matter; they are concerned with maintaining power.

But what I find most interesting in all of this are the suggestions that are NOT being made by either PTC or Martin. PTC members explain about why they had to have the offensive channels blocked by their cable providers. Martin hints at plans to expand FCC content controls over the cable channel sphere, historically immune because of its subscription model of business. But PTC isn't suggesting that viewers cancel their cable subscriptions to boycott the companies producing the offensive material, and Martin isn't hinting at forcing media companies and cable providers to offer a la carte programming, so that families have a true option to get exactly what they want in their homes.

I don't suppose either of those options would do much to stop those cultural changes, would they?

This blog has been added to the list over at PBU, which means I have joined an ever-growing list of liberal bloggers following politics. The nature of my blog won't change much (I already post political items on occassion), but in line with a more coordinated effort political-related entries may become more predictable.

Call John Cornyn @ 202-224-2934

Call Kay Baily Hutchinson @ 202-224-5922