There already ARE adult stations. HBO, Showtime, The Erotic Network.. and so on and on.

I'm curious, do you have children?

Having two sons now mostly raised (they are a pre-teen and teenager now), I would say it really depends on the child and what standards you decide to set. My boys are old enough now to understand, and use, just about any word in the book. But, I and their mother tried -- and I think, were succesful -- in making sure they weren't exposed to those words (esp. the multi-sylable ones) until they were old enough to know when, where and in front of whom it was appropriate to use such language. So, for, instance, they know it's fine to drop an F-bomb or two aroud Dad, but it would not be good to walk into Grandpa's rather conservative church and start doing so.

All hand-wringing over nudity and sailor talk aside, it was violence I was most concerend about with my kids. I'm taken aback by people who will chastise their little kid for saying "shit," but have no problem with him watching a war movie.

Another example, I enjoy some rather graphic multi-player online combat computer games. Invaribly on many servers, a person who says something on voice chat like, "oh shit, that fucking guy just shot me in the balls," will draw a flood of chastisement and protests along the lines of "Don't swear on this server! We have little kids playing here/watching us play."

To which my response is: IF YOUR CHILD IS TOO YOUNG TO HEAR PROFANITY, HE/SHE IS DAMN SURE TOO YOUNG TO BE EXPOSED TO THE LEVEL OF VIOLENCE IN THIS GAME.

I don't have children but I was not restricted from language, video games, movies, etc. when I was a child and I am extremely thankful for it. I feel it has only enriched my life and knowledge.

I hear you on the online gaming thing. I was recently on a "christian" server where you simulate war with killing, blood, the whole 9. And I said shit, or fuck or something and they were on my ass. Hello??? War, murder, etc, etc... no it was the LANGUAGE that was the problem. Hypocrisy over and over and over and over again with religion.

Kids can handle sex, curse words, and violence so long as there is an adult present to explain the difference between hollywood and the world around them.

Censorship is good for you as it keeps you from wandering into the realm of evil. You definitely need to go to your local Baptist church before it is too late.

But don't you agree there should at least be some set of standards in open public -- which essentially what commercial network television is?

I mean, would you walk into a McDonald's during lunch rush and start dropping F-bombs? How would you feel if somebody else did?

In my own space, I swear like the Marine drill sergeant in "Full Metal Jacket." But in open public, I restrain myself and stick to such expressions as "Holy Smokes," "Rats!" or "Shucker-doodles!"

I think public standards are a good thing, and not really "censorship."

Well, I'm not quite so down on religion as you apparently are. I rather like it. But on the other hand, I agree with you on the "religious" war game servers. I recall one time when I was on such a server, and they were lecturing people about this and that, and I finally got fed up and typed a message into the console that was something like: "What Would Jesus Do? Blow somebody's head off with a sniper rifle?"

Of course, I got kicked/banned from the server.

Anyway, what games do you play? My favorite is Day of Defeat, but I also like Call of Duty, and hope to get Red Orcestra soon.

I like America's army. Free download... google it.

Okay, that reminds me of a story I have to share with you. When I was in high school (back in the dinosaur days) the Christian youth group I was with went to some Billy Graham movie or another. Anyway, one of my friends from the old neighborhood tagged along. Aparenlty, he understood a bunch of us were going to a movie, but didn't really bother to find out exactly what kind of movie, or what the group was about.. and so on.

Anyway, he was sitting right next to me, and after sitting there looking very preplexed for about the first 5-10 minutes of the movie, he turned to me and said,

"Oh fuck, is this about God?"

I spent the rest of the movie mostly doubled over and being hardly able to breathe because I was fighting back laughter.

Yeah, my teenager rants and raves about that one. I'll have to check it out.

I refrain from swearing in public as well... and cringe when others do it... but it's a personal standard that I don't expect the rest of the world to adhere to....

Television is not like a public place. In McDonald's you can't change the channel.... you're stuck if you wish to sit and eat... but at home, with a TV set, you have options that you can exercise or not, according to your personal standards. Swearing is a part of life. Sex is a part of life. Murder, rape... all parts of life.. you can only protect your children from the facts of life for so long... and I mean ALL facts of life... eventually, they're going to swim in the ocean, and unless you plan on being their eternal life preserver, you give them the tools to swim and hope for the best. If the worst thing they hear is Beau Bridges saying the word 'Fuck'.. my guess is they'll make it.

I disagree with you in that I think network commercial televison still essentially is "public space" in the same manner as, say, the local newspaper it.

That said, public sentiment and advertising dollars are probablly the best form of "censorship" for such space.

In my past life as a reporter, I worked for a number of newspapers. We COULD, legally, have printed "Fuck" all over the paper... but it probably would not have been good for business.

Likewise, a commercial T.V. station that airs the Big Lebowski uncut, or has a newscaster who ends his broadcasts by saying, "have a great fucking night, all you motherfuckers" would probably soon find itself mighty short of willing advertisers.