someone should have gotten the gas chamber for janet jackson’s nipple

In another sign of America’s willingness to embrace Talibanization with open arms, Wisconsin congressman James Sensenbrenner today suggested that criminal prosecution should await anyone who dares to cross the extremely fuzzy federal indecency line. (He’s pretty much saying, “We can’t tell you what you can’t say, but if you say something that we don’t like, you should go to jail.” Or, more specifically, he’s saying, “Howard Stern shouldn’t be fined. He should be in jail.”) Here’s a link from the Hollywood Reporter:

The chairman of one of the entertainment industry’s most important congressional committees wants to take indecency prosecutions into the criminal realm.

Rep. F. James Sensenbrenner III, R-Wis., told cable industry executives attending the National Cable & Telecommunications Assn. conference here on Monday that criminal prosecution would be a more efficient way to enforce the indecency regulations.

“I’d prefer using the criminal process rather than the regulatory process,” Sensenbrenner told the executives.