Goldman Sachs' Indecent Offerings

Warning: This entry will use the absolutely right adjectival form of a word for an excretory function used by an esteemed legislator in describing the value Goldman Sachs put on its financial offerings that involved the sort of bad loans that helped bring the global economy to its knees.Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.) used the word “shitty” numerous times Tuesday in a hearing featuring Goldman Sachs, which would make them Sachs of… oh, never mind.

Anyway, the C-SPAN 3 video clip of Levin’s questioning made clear that the word, which Levin was quoting from an e-mail for emphasis, was integral to the point he was making. And that point would surely have been less, well, on point had it been bowlderized with the sort of over-dubbing that turned Jackie Gleason’s marvelous epithets into so many badly matched “crum-bums” in the broadcast version of Smokey & the Bandit.

But I digress. Anyway, I heard from more than one industry type who pointed out broadcasters could have been fined for using the same language Levin used to good effect during his daytime hearing Tuesday.

One pointed out that Levin was one of those senators–that is, one of essentially all of them–who voted to up the FCC indecency fines ten times their previous maximum.

“Have you calculated the fines for just one broadcaster from his comments in the Goldman hearing today?,” said the industry veteran, who asked not to be identified so he could remain an industry veteran.