My week has started with THE WEEK : Censorship or Common Decency?

Liza Sabater

One of the interesting perks I am getting out of being an oft read blogger is that, as an influence maker, I am getting invited to all sorts of events. That is the case today at THE WEEK panel discussion : Censorship of Common Decency? The Backlash Against Media Excess. I should have announced I was going but it seemed too good to be true : An invitation to a luncheon at Michael Jordan's Steakhouse on Grand Central Station to listen Bill Maher, Arianna Huffington, John Gibson and Michelle Malkin duke it out on all matters of censorhip --mostly Janet Jackson's nipple-- while Harold Evans, served as both instigator and moderator.

Let's say that I am both impressed and aghast. I will go into more detail about my impressions later tonight and will have pics up by tomorrow. For the meantime, here are my notes on the event :

Noted attendees : Julie Taymor, Tina Brown, John Buffalo Mailer, Mary McFadden, Tina Louise, Ashleigh Banfield, Jeff Jarvis, Michael Musto, NBC.com > Cast Biographies > Darrell Hammond, Karen Finley, Monica Crowley, James Toback, Sue Ellicott.

Notable Quotes :

Evans : Legislation is being proposed to ban 7 obscene words : Cunt, Fuck, Ass, Motherfucker, Shit, Bullshit and Bitch ... I'll call it from now one the John Gibson Act.

Arianna : Why pass a "personal responsibility act" on fast food but not on TV viewing?

Gibson : People are in their living rooms ... it is unfair to expect them to turn the TV off.

Gibson: (on Janet jackson's nipple) Do we need pornography on broadcast network?

Maher : (about Howard Stern) I hate him but I wouldn't want him banned.

Malkin: It's out of control .. the use of civility ... to censor speech on campuses... That's what worries me.

Maher : I agree. The biggest threat of censorhip is on college campuses. It's out of control ... They don't know what free speech is ... These kids needs to be slapped ... How can walking out of an "Ellen" episode be a hate crime? It's out of control.

Evans: Do you have any limits?
Maher: No, I don't.
Arianna: I can vouch for that.

Arianna: Michael Savage should be taken off the air.

Sue Ellicott: That's what makes it interesting, when you are forced to tolerate another person's opinion.

Ashleigh Banfield: Michael Savage called me a mind slut and a porn star. I complained to the head of NBC News and nothing was done ...
Gibson: But you did not complain to the FCC ... I mean, compain to NBC News? We know nothing was going to be done ...

Michael Fuchs : Nobody has mentioned the First Ammendment throughout this discussion ...

Gibson: Those people are counting on somebody to protect children from people like Maher and me ...

Maher: You are legislating taste ... That is what's wrong.

More to come people, more to come.

(This was first posted at c u l t u r e k i t c h e n.)

UPDATE: Check out BuzzMachine... by Jeff Jarvis. It's interesting to see how another person wrote down some of the same speeches. Jessy Delfino was also there but instead of blogging the event, she went with the spirit of indecency. Check out what she blogged :)