A lot's been happening in Washington recently, so you may have forgotten about this week's Senate obscenity hearings. Apparently, in light of widespread corruption, civil liberties violations and the recent threats of terrorism, our Congress has decided that they have time to spend investigating pornography. Our government, ladies and gentlemen.

There are four bills waiting for approval, including one which would boost the penalty from $32,500 to $500,000. Yes, half a million dollars per offense. Needless to say, I got curious, so I decided to check out the FCC's website and find out what they define as a potentially $500k offense.

This post is strictly a primer on FCC regulations. (The raw information is here) It's a bit dry, but if you read to the end, I'll tell a dirty joke - the kind that we won't be able to hear on cable if this legislation passes.