Having eaten too much turkey and stuffing, I return to blogging and note that Senators Hillary Clinton and Joe Lieberman want to give us more to be thankful for. So does FCC Chairman Kevin Martin. They all want to give us more government censorship:

Senators Hillary Clinton and Joseph Lieberman have announced plans to introduce new legislation entitled the Family Entertainment Protection Act (FEPA). The law would make it illegal to sell Mature-rated games to minors, create a formal avenue for consumer complaints, and initiate an annual review and "secret-shopper" survey of retailer compliance.

In a statement posted on her website, Senator Clinton stated that the FEPA "will empower parents by making sure their kids can’t walk into a store and buy a video game that has graphic, violent and pornographic content."

However, in a statement released today, the Video Software Dealers Association (VSDA) argues that the Act is ultimately unconstitutional:

"What Senator Clinton is proposing has been enacted in various forms in several states and localities in recent years and has been found to be an unconstitutional infringement of the First Amendment guarantee of freedom of expression in every instance where courts have ruled on the laws."

And,

Cable and satellite TV channels should do more to protect children from shows featuring sex and swear words, the chief US communications regulator said.

Federal Communications Commission chairman Kevin Martin said networks should aid parents in making choices.

He warned if cable and satellite channels did not protect against indecency they could face being regulated by the FCC.

For Clinton and Lieberman, "empowering" parents means taking away their rights to raise their children as they see fit and creating a new class of secret government agents to spy on video stores. The censors at the FCC also believe the government should "protect" us from indecency. Well, indecency is in the eye of the beholder. For example, I think that the FCC is indecent. If I ask them, do you think they will commit group suicide or at least resign?

This Thanksgiving has brought us more nanny-state interventionism and threats of further censorship. As usual, the First Amendment remains under attack.