Reading days are over, but there’s plenty of studying forstudents for the next week of final exams.

In my last column, I wrote about my top five ultimate Internettime wasters. After studying for the past few days, my list islonger. No. 6 is instant messenger, and No. 7 is blogging.

Of course, during the actual study period, some people neednoise in order to concentrate. Usually, this means flipping on theradio and listening to some tunes or a little talk radio.

Thankfully, there’s one less voice on the radio now,namely shock jock Howard Stern.

After Janet Jackson’s breast-baring stunt with JustinTimberlake at this year’s Super Bowl, Stern was next in lineto feel the effects of the Federal CommunicationsCommission’s crack down on indecency.

The Decency Enforcement Act passed this year allows the FCC toup the maximum fine for indecency from $27,500 to half a milliondollars.

On Feb. 25, Clear Channel Communications yanked Stern’stalk show from several radio stations in six cities. Then, at thebeginning of April, Clear Channel booted Stern all together afterreceiving a fine of $495,000 for his show.

Stern should’ve taken a lesson from the “Bubba theLove Sponge” show. Clear Channel dumped the show afterreceiving a fine for $775,000 for sexually explicit material.

Now, Stern is lashing out politically. He’s calling thedecision a “follow-up to the McCarthy type ‘witchhunt.'” He is also attacking both the FCC and the Bushadministration.

Ironically, Stern supported the president, including the war inIraq. Up until now, at least. Now he says vote for Kerry. Yes, thesame Kerry that said on Earth Day that he didn’t own SUVs,but that his family owned them. I guess Kerry isn’t a part ofhis own family.

Stern saw it coming, but he didn’t care to do anythingabout it. Apparently, $1.9 million in fines since 1990weren’t enough. So, the FCC hit his employers where they hurtmost, and they hit hard.

Stern supporters are saying that free speech is now on the line,and that firing Stern is the beginning of a long, slipperyslope.

Free speech is a right, a right is power, and with power comesresponsibility. In my opinion, Stern forfeited that right a longtime ago.

A group in one of my classes once brought in a video clip ofStern’s show from cable television as part of a classproject. In the clip, Stern and his groupies insisted on one oftheir female guests to remove the top portion of her bikini.

The girl was hesitant, smiling her plaster smile, while Sternassured that only the people in the studio would see her. Theywould blur her on television, and radio listeners can’t seeher at all.

I think wearing a bikini to the Howard Stern show is a goodindicator that this girl isn’t the brightest crayon in thebox. Stern’s insistence on her removing her top is clearexploitation of someone who doesn’t know any better. I equateit to asking a child to take off her clothes in public.

Stern is not an idiot. Otherwise, his show wouldn’t be sopopular.

But for all his intelligence, I guess no one ever took the timeto tell him that by causing his neighbor to stumble and sin, he isjust as much at fault.

Excuse me, Mr. Stern, but I just can’t feel sorry for you.You were given a remarkable gift for speech, yet you couldn’tuse it for something that society would actually benefit from.

It’s a shame and a waste that now you’re going down,and you’re going to see how many people you can take downwith you. I seem to recall a story with a character in a similarsituation. Let’s see, who was it?

Oh, yeah. His name was Lucifer.

Christine Dao is a columnist for The Daily Campus. She may bereached at [email protected].