For half a second, mind you, the world was exposed to a small example of nature's stunning beauty: Janet Jackson's bejeweled breast.

The titillating moment happened in front of hundreds of millions at perhaps the US's biggest sporting moment, the Super Bowl halftime show.

Normally, the titans of the National Football League play their championship game, a few stars strut their stuff, and everyone eats and drinks too much. The next day businesses all across America are terribly unproductive because of tens of thousands of people calling in sick.

Not so this year. Everyone wanted to be at work to chat over the water cooler. All because of a band, an awkward hand, and a nice mammary gland.

What's happened in the weeks since has overshadowed sports, and changed the world a little. For the worse. At least in the US.

The exposed Ms. Jackson couldn't go to the Emmy Awards because of the disgrace she brought to herself. Huh? And she's been lying low since.

In a world where up is down and down is up, the nation that most other cultures accuse of pumping out sex in its movies and television shows to harm their cherished traditions has shown just how backward and prudish a place it really is.

It is filled with thousands of churches and millions upon millions of Bible-toting people, confident that all others who don't share their specific beliefs are going to some hellish afterlife. Never mind that the majority of the world worships other gods, or no god at all.

And the people who lead these misfits, are a reflection of the masses, and no less tolerant. Take the greybeards in the US Congress, some of whom, are now considering a stand-alone measure aimed at cracking down on "indecent" television and radio broadcasting.

A few who make up the powerful Senate Commerce Committee, which regulates broadcasting, are hard at work protecting the American people and their children from indecency.

Led by their maverick Chairman, Republican Senator John McCain of Arizona - a former presidential candidate and high-ranking Air Force officer - they want to increase fines tenfold to US$275,000 per indecency violation, up to a maximum US$3 million. They are joined by an equally determined group of congressmen from the House of Representatives.

At the same time, the politicians are trying to decide how many "violations" may occur before the government can take away a broadcaster's licence. Naturally, broadcasters all across the country oppose the measure, and are doing all they can to fight it.

Those of us in this business wonder what McCain and his buddies are smoking. We live and die by the First Amendment to the Constitution in the US which clearly states: "Congress shall make no law abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press."

Ironically, McCain, an aficionado of boxing, doesn't have any problem with television or radio coverage of that sport. He loves it in person or on television. Apparently, violence that can result in boxers having their brains knocked into putty, leading to occasional deaths in and out of the ring, is fine with him.

Fine for children of all ages to see. Just turn the camera away when the nearly naked girls walk around the ring to let the crowd know what round it is.

Only in America.

The cable TV industry has sought to head off concerns about indecency on its networks by launching a campaign to educate parents about the controls they have at their disposal to shield their children from certain shows.

The National Cable & Telecommunications Association, which counts cable giants Comcast Corp. and Time Warner Inc. as members, told the FCC it would launch a website detailing options for parents, run public service announcements and send information to subscribers in the mail.

"The cable industry takes seriously your challenge and its responsibility to help protect children from indecent and unnecessarily violent TV programming," said NCTA President Robert Sachs in a letter to Powell.

starcomment@yahoo.com