Listening
No Censorship Age
As the election nears, CBS executives try to pull a fast one by reinstating the so-called "Fairness Doctrine" for a No Age performance.
When so-hot-right-now, Sub Pop group No Age went in to record a segment for CBS's Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson last week, one of the producers, presumably, told guitarist Randy Randall that he couldn't wear a shirt with Obama's image on it because it violated the FCC's "Fairness Doctrine," which essentially said that equal airtime must be given to both candidates. "Said" being the operative word, because the doctrine was repealed in 1987. Randall was told that if he did not remove the shirt, No Age would not play. He compromised by turning the shirt inside-out and writing "FREE HEALTH CARE" on it, but the argument is moot. The CBS executive(s) had no legal reason to demand Randall's compliance. Furthermore, legal substantiation or not, this was a clear act of censorship, and it's up to We the People to stand up to these First Amendment violations through Election Day.