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In a blow to opponents of the use of naughty words on television and radio, a federal appeals court today knocked down the Federal Communications Commission's indecency policy on what can or can't be broadcast over the nation's airwaves, asserting that the policy violates the First Amendment of the Constitution.

The ruling, issued by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, stems from a March 2006 FCC ruling which found that the broadcast networks could be fined for airing unscripted expletives. The networks sued the FCC over that ruling. And the court today found that "the FCC's policy violates the First Amendment because it is unconstitutionally vague, creating a chilling effect that goes far beyond the fleeting expletives at issue here."

In the ruling, the court finds that "under the current policy, broadcasters must choose between not airing or censoring controversial programs and risking massive fines or possibly even loss of their licenses, and it is not surprising which option they choose. Indeed there is ample evidence in the record that the FCC's indecency policy has chilled protected speech."

One telling example noted in the ruling: Phoenix TV stations dropped live coverage of a memorial service for Pat Tillman, the former football start killed on active military duty in Afghanistan, "because of language used by Tillman's family members to express their grief."

The 32-page decision makes for a lot livelier reading than the average court opinion, quoting liberally from examples of expletives the FCC has previously found to be in violation of its indecency policy.

"This is really, really fucking brilliant," U2 singer Bono said, after receiving an award at the 2003 Golden Globes.

said, after receiving an award at the 2003 Golden Globes. "People have been telling me I'm on the way out every year, right? So, fuck 'em," said Cher at the 2002 Billboard Music Awards.

at the 2002 Billboard Music Awards. "Have you ever tried to get cow shit out of a Prada purse? It's not so fucking simple," said Nicole Ritche , presenting an award to Paris Hilton at the 2003 Billboard Music Awards.

, presenting an award to at the 2003 Billboard Music Awards. Multiple uses of the word "bullshit" on NYPD Blue.

There's also a section of the ruling which discusses the vagueness of the FCC's policy, noting that in the case of an episode of NYPD Blue that was found to be patently offensive by the Commission, the FCC ruled that you couldn't use the word "bullshit" - but that the word "dickhead" was fine.

Somewhere, George Carlin is smiling...and cussing.