My friend Tiffany sent a url to an up-and-coming site. I visited, and an issue regarding censorship caught my attention. From the site:

PBS has announced that it will censor two HBO movies in order to avoid the FCCÂ’s wrath, according to a report in Variety.

Sex scenes? Nope. Get a load of this.

The two films in question are “Dirty War,” about a hypothetical dirty bomb attack, and “Sometimes in April,” a film about the Rwandan Genocide.

As a result of PBSÂ’ self-censorship, “Dirty War” will be cleansed of a scene in which a (naked) woman is decontaminated in a shower. (Think “Silkwood,” only post-9/11.)

And the best part – “Sometimes in April” will be stripped of an F-word. No, the curse in question doesnÂ’t come from an angry Rwandan genocide victim. According to Variety, this F-bomb comes from a bit of dialogue on the Senate floor. The scene is the one where Vice President Dick Cheney famously gives Senator Patrick Leahy a friendly suggestion that starts with “go” and ends with “yourself.”

Fearing a backlash from conservative activists, PBS has chosen to censor these scenes. PBS executive Jacoba Atlas is worried that cash-strapped PBS affiliates could be sunk by FCC/right-wing action.

Concerned? Click the link to Speakspeak.org to learn how you can fight censorship. What’s next? Cutting footage in PBS programs of Holocaust victims in the camps because they’re naked? Hmm. The ultra-conservatives would avoid encountering life on its own terms — good, bad, and ugly. Fine — for them. If you don’t like what’s on television, turn it off. But I want to choose for myself, and my taxes support public television programming too. I urge you to write. I intend to.