Top Aide to ex-FCC Chair Powell Applauds Court's Reversal of Powell's Janet Jackson Fine

Of all the encomiums for the 3rd Circuit's overturning of the FCC's CBS/Janet Jackson Super Bowl "wardrobe malfunction" fine, perhaps the most unexpected is this:

“Perhaps it is time to read the handwriting on the wall: the guardians of our First Amendment freedoms in the courts are not going to allow the FCC to play the role of media supernanny,” said Ken Ferree, president of the libertarian Progress & Freedom Foundation. “A free and vibrant, even if occasionally coarse, marketplace of speech is the cornerstone of a free society. We allow government to meddle in that marketplace at our peril.”

As many will recall, then FCC Chair Michael Powell pushed hard for the Janet Jackson fine, making the rounds of all the talk shows to express how outraged he was, attempting to turn the incident, it appeared to many, into a defining moment in the "Culture Wars" and a campaign issue for President George W. Bush's reelection. Ken Ferree, of course, was FCC Chairman Michael Powell's top aide and close friend at the FCC, running the Media Bureau. Welcome to the fight, Ken! Court tosses FCC Super Bowl fine - Variety.com.