Background: The 3 Branches Of Government
[Full video here]
This last part of the video covers a new case, involving the singer Cher, where swearing is not allowed, even as an accident. There are less and less room for mistakes and this may affect people's first amendment rights of free speech so decisions that create new laws have to be examined carefully.
Supreme Court ruling bans broadcast 'fleeting expletives'
ASHINGTON — A divided Supreme Court on Tuesday upheld a federal prohibition on the one-time use of expletives in a case arising partly from an expletive uttered by Cher at a Billboard Music Awards show in 2002.
The ruling, by a 5-4 vote and written by Justice Antonin Scalia, endorsed a Bush administration Federal Communications Commission policy against isolated outbursts of, as Scalia said from the bench, the "f-word" and "s-word."
The ruling does not resolve a lingering First Amendment challenge to the 2004 policy that is likely to be subject to further lower court proceedings.
Tuesday's decision reversed a ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit that had said the FCC's decision to sanction "fleeting expletives" was arbitrary and capricious under federal law. That lower court had agreed with Fox Television Stations, which broadcast the Billboard awards, that such isolated utterances are not as potentially harmful to viewers as are other uses of sexual and excretory expressions long deemed "indecent" and banned by federal regulators.
Other broadcast networks had joined in the challenge, saying the policy was especially chilling for live awards shows and sporting events.
"Even isolated utterances can be made in … vulgar and shocking manner, and can constitute harmful first blows to children," Scalia wrote in the opinion that was signed by his fellow conservatives. The decision was joined by Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Anthony Kennedy, Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito.
So swearing, or expletives, even fleeting expletives, are not allowed. Suggesting that the court wants people to change their habits (as swearing in real life will occasionally intervene in TV/Radio/Live-events), yet at the same time graphic violence is allowed making it seem like Scalia and his allies are saying, 'you can show violence even in children's video games while...'
One judge grabbed another by the neck with all the judges present and they are still divided on what happened! No wonder they passed the 'eyewitness testimony can't be trusted', act.
"I used to think that your reality shapes your politics, it's clear now, your politics shapes reality"- Jon Stewart
Context: The political divide in the US covers the whole country including the courts!
Example 1: Claims of illegal attempt to gain 9/11 victims' numbers bring outrage from Democrats and caution from Republicans
Example 2: Courts are divided along party lines - "The 11th Circuit Court sided with 26 states -- mostly led by conservative governors and attorneys general -- who are asking for the law to be blocked in its entirety."
Note: The policy to ban one time expletives is supported by, "Family-friendly organizations such as Parents Television Council, Morality in Media, Inc., National Religious Broadcasters and Focus on the Family and Family Research Council have all come out in support of the FCC". The funding and information sources of these groups need to be outlined. It's possible that the experts with the most evidence have different views on how this should be handled?
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