Luckily, I don't have to compose an article on why this is a silly idea. Frank Zappa already did it for me, so I will rely on his testimony before the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation from 9/19/85 -- almost exactly 22 years ago.

A little background is necessary for those who don't know the history of this testimony. This hearing was pushed by a group calling themselves the "Parents' Music Resource Council," (PMRC) which was comprised of four wives of Washington politicians. One of the most prominent was Senator Al Gore's wife Tipper. Al Gore himself sat on this committee and questioned Zappa. This is why she occasionally (even today) gets booed at any event which has music-lovers in the audience.

She has earned those boos, in my opinion. The PMRC was trying to get legislation passed to put warning stickers on albums (yes, actual "albums" -- this was pre-CD) so parents could see what their children were buying. They really didn't want legislation as much as they wanted the music industry to institute its own ratings system, much like the MPAA does for movies (the people who decide whether a movie is "R" or "PG"). They were basically Senators' wives with too much time on their hands (they also were upset over Satanic lyrics supposedly recorded backwards on Led Zeppelin albums).

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There is a bigger question than "Is it legal?" or "How can we change the law to make it legal?" which must also be addressed: "Should it be legal?" Due to the secrecy surrounding the law in Congress (national secrecy sometimes means closed sessions and secret laws), this debate may have to happen among the public, since the lawmakers may be unable to legally discuss the issue.

This argument will fall along the fault line of those who strongly believe in civil liberties (even if it makes intelligence and law enforcement work harder), and those who believe in security at all costs (even if it means their phone will occasionally be tapped by a computer).

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