Millions of dollars have been levied in fines, broadcasters have been intimidated to the point of dropping “controversial” programming, and it all turns out to be a huge $%@&! scam (via Atrios) :

In an appearance before Congress in February, when the controversy over Janet Jackson?s Super Bowl moment was at its height, Federal Communications Commission chairman Michael Powell laid some startling statistics on U.S. senators.

The number of indecency complaints had soared dramatically to more than 240,000 in the previous year, Powell said. The figure was up from roughly 14,000 in 2002, and from fewer than 350 in each of the two previous years. There was, Powell said, ?a dramatic rise in public concern and outrage about what is being broadcast into their homes.?

What Powell did not reveal?apparently because he was unaware?was the source of the complaints. According to a new FCC estimate obtained by Mediaweek, nearly all indecency complaints in 2003?99.8 percent?were filed by the Parents Television Council, an activist group.
. . .
The prominent role played by the PTC has raised concerns among critics of the FCC?s crackdown on indecency. ?It means that really a tiny minority with a very focused political agenda is trying to censor American television and radio,? said Jonathan Rintels, president and executive director of the Center for Creative Voices in Media, an artists? advocacy group.

All this fuss about a few thousands letters?? The blogosphere can do better than that. Since the FCC has apparently given the greenlight to any group with a political axe to grind to have their complaints taken seriously, perhaps we should find a worthy target of our own. Imagine if the combined might of the readerships of Kos, Atrios, and others were used to direct a torrent of complaints about, say, a homophobic diatribe on a religious broadcast station. Once the complaints start rolling in, I see one of three scenarios :

Fines are levied against the program in question, thus giving them a taste of their own medicine.

The FCC ignores the hundreds of requests giving us a perfect example of political bias in the agency (and provides handy lawsuit fodder for later).

The FCC gets overwhelmed with requests and overhauls this flawed system.

Any of these scenarios is a win for us. The key is to get everyone organized and send the flood of requests all at once. Any suggestions for a good target?