I am no fan of the Osbourne family. I didn't like their show on MTV and I have no intention of watching their new show on Fox. They are fouled-mouthed celebrities with nothing better to do than to waste the time of those who do watch their shows.

That being said I had to roll my eyes today when I read that the Parents Television Council has sicced the dogs on Fox because of the Osbourne's new variety show. This is one of the groups that sit around watching a television show or a movie so that "you won't have to". People in groups like this either don't agree with people of free-will or they don't know about the channel or power buttons on their remote control.

Now it's one thing if a group of concerned parents ban together to help other like-minded parents to filter what their own children see. It's quite another thing when these groups are too lazy to turn the channel or better yet turn off the TV altogether. When the latter is the case these types of organizations tend to try to use the police powers of the government to force networks and stations to stop showing content that they find objectionable. The interesting thing about these kinds of groups is that there are similar groups on both sides of the political aisle. However, they are equally dangerous.

For every conservative group like the Parents Television Council, there are at least an equal number of liberal groups, like Newshounds ("We watch Fox [News] so you don't have to"), that pop up on the left. They are both dangerous to free-speech, especially when they try to force a network to pull a show using the government as a tool, or when they try to recreate the falsely named "Fairness Doctrine" to allegedly give equal time to opposing viewpoints. One tries to eliminate what they feel is objectionable programming outright. The other tries to manipulate the rules in such a fashion as to make it nearly impossible to air content due to oppressive regulation and the need to give all opposing views equal air time, whether or not sponsors will buy time for those views or not. Both are dangerous in a free society because they stifle free expression.

SOURCE: E! Online article