WASHINGTON,Dec. 15, 2003
Pol Crusades Against Cuss Words
Californian Promotes Bill To Ban Swear Words From TV Airwaves
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Bono swore on live TV at a recent awards show with no FCC action. (AP)
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Republican Rep. Doug Ose said he was amazed when the Federal Communications Commission refused to take action against television stations that showed the U2 front man using an expletive at the Golden Globe Awards last January.
The FCC's enforcement bureau said in October that Bono's comment was an adjective or expletive that did not meet its definition of indecency or obscenity because it did not describe a sexual function.
"C'mon, give me a break," said Ose. "I don't think there's a parent in the country who wants to hear this stuff come out of their TV."
He introduced a bill last week that would punish television and radio broadcasters if they aired any of eight specific words and phrases. The language of the bill, the Clean Airwaves Act, is far saltier than Bono's comment.
The five FCC commissioners, responding to an appeal by the Parents Television Council, a Los Angeles-based watchdog group, are reviewing the October decision regarding Bono's comment.
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