Enough is enough folks! Does anyone out there remember the First Amendment?

On June 9, 1954 attorney Joseph Welch looked the most powerful man in America in the eye and asked "Have you no decency sir? At long last, have you left no sense of decency?" Mr. Welch was defending his client against the tactics of witch-hunter Senator Joseph McCarthy of Wisconsin. The televised Army/McCarthy Hearings marked the beginning of the end of "Tail-Gunner" Joe’s stranglehold on the Constitution of the United States. I’ve always been a student of history. It amazes me to read how people like Adolph Hitler and Joseph McCarthy were able to rise to power. It happened when good people stood by and did nothing. I fear that we are on the verge of another puritanical and politically motivated attack on our personal freedoms. Enough is enough people.

When Justin Timberlake exposed Janet Jackson’s breast during the Superbowl halftime show the reaction was immediate. That one nipple has set off a moral firestorm, which threatens to send us into a dark age of censorship and repression. The F.C.C. has pressured the Clear Channel Broadcasting system to remove Howard Stern from six markets around the country. Clear Channel executives appeared before congress and said they were ashamed of Mr. Stern’s vulgar radio show. Infinity Broadcasting may be forced to follow suite and Mr. Stern could be relegated to the world of satellite radio and PAY-TV. A number of moral watchdog groups are running around yelling like Henny Penny that we are on the verge of becoming the new Sodom and Gomorrah. The F.C.C. is being inundated with hundreds of thousands of e-mails complaining of the vulgar words reaching impressionable minds. I doubt the e-mails would stand up under the same scrutiny that the Palm County presidential votes underwent. Enough is enough people.

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that certain words wore considered indecent for radio broadcast. Words, not thoughts or ideas. Certain factions today want to ban ideas. When creative people like Howard Stern figure ways to impart ideas and don’t used the banned words, moralists cringe. Once Ms. Jackson’s boob kicked over the lantern of perversity in these people’s minds they began this campaign to curtail our First Amendment rights. I’m reminded of the old Universal horror movies where the villagers storm the mad scientist castle with torches and pitchforks. Enough is enough people.

The time to stand up against this assault on our right to free speech and expression is now! Start an e-mail campaign. Let your senators and representatives know that you want this to stop. Paddy Chayefsky said it best through the mouth of his "Network" character Howard Beale: "I’m as mad as Hell, and I’m not going to take this anymore!" I’m serious as a heart attack folks. This is only going to get worse unless We the People let our voices be heard. Enough is enough people.

I’ve been a strong supporter of George Bush’s stance on terrorism. As a criminal defense attorney and an American, I can’t say that I’m fond of his attacks on our personal liberties. I plan to vote for him because I trust Kerry even less. I’m also a Christian. I’m also a regular listener to the Howard Stern Show. I don’t let my kids listen to him. That’s called parenting folks! Once they are out of the car and in school, I tune right in to Howard and laugh my ass off. I sometimes get offended. I’m an adult and I can handle being offended. I don’t feel the need to brand Howard Stern with a Scarlet Letter and burn him at the stake. Today, Howard ranted against what is happening to him. He made a comment that I found offensive toward Christians. He painted all of us with a broad stroke. You know what. I understand his anger. I know that he knows the difference between those who practice what they preach and those who just preach. I also know from listening to Mr. Stern that he is not a racist. Far from it. Like Socrates, Mr. Stern is a gadfly. At times he makes fart jokes and at other times he exposes hypocrisy in our society. America will be a sadder and staler place if Mr. Stern is taken off the air. I’m also a fan of Rush Limbaugh. I was happy to hear with my own ears that Mr. Limbaugh supported Howard Stern. Limbaugh didn’t support the content of Stern’s show, but he supported his right to say it. I have an uncle who served in the U.S. Navy. He is fond of saying "I may not agree with what you say, but I’ll defend to my death your right to say it." I feel the same way. I was just a nipple folks! If you don’t e-mail your elected officials and say enough is enough, you might end up knowing first hand what it is like to live under the Taliban.

Rusty White