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Blurted Obscenities Don't Breach Decency A federal appeals panel ruled that blurted obscenities do not violate decency standards. The decision was a strong rebuke of the Federal Communications Commission. Under President Bush, the FCC has taken a much harder line on airing profanities — even unscripted expletives during live broadcasts.

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Blurted Obscenities Don't Breach Decency

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Blurted Obscenities Don't Breach Decency

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A federal appeals panel ruled that blurted obscenities do not violate decency standards. The decision was a strong rebuke of the Federal Communications Commission. Under President Bush, the FCC has taken a much harder line on airing profanities — even unscripted expletives during live broadcasts. Four major TV networks faced multimillion-dollar indecency fines. But the judges ruled in their favor, saying that if President Bush and Vice President Cheney can blurt out profanities, then the government can't punish TV stations for doing the same.