Senate defends us from expletives on the radio

OK, so this is really getting absurd...

As reported in the Seattle Times, among others:

The Senate voted yesterday to substantially increase fines for broadcast indecency, responding to months of public outrage over racy radio and television broadcasts that culminated with the exposure of one of Janet Jackson's breasts during the CBS telecast of the Super Bowl halftime show in January.

An amendment attached to a Defense Department authorization bill likely to be voted upon today would give the Federal Communications Commission authority to increase the maximum fine for each incident of broadcast indecency from $275,000 to as much as $3 million a day.

The House has passed a similar bill that would set fines at $500,000. Differences between the two bills must be worked out.

Mind you, this is *indecency* (swearing -- the "seven bad words"), not obscenity.

This is on the defense appropriations bill? "Ah yes, Senator, I'd like you to vote for my "Rider of the Purple Rage" Rider. We want to get them Air America types to stop saying that Bush f***ed up." "How patriotic, Senator!"

And here among folks who listen to NPR and Air America, I'm thinking...wow...what a stupid law. I mean, this is a fine that goes to the radio host regardless if it's a person who calls in or what... So suddenly the hosts are going to be putting their radio engineers on triple lattes on those morning shows to keep their finger over that button to bleep callers.

And the left wingers call into Rush and say that they want to discuss how horrible Kerry's hair is, and then let loose with a string of invective as soon as they get on.

I mean, hey, it's per incident right? So that means if three people get through a day, it could be $1.5M out of Rush's pocket.

Not being a great fan of most of Air America either (the ad hominem language is really really wearing and *not* nonviolent), my only hope is that this will cause the complete demise of AM talk radio, from all political stances entirely.

Sorry, Al Franken. Been nice to know you!

Where do these fines go to, anyway? General fund? Inquiring minds want to know...

*sheesh* Who could make this stuff up?