They're Really Going To Do It
Looks like DiFi wasn't bluffing:
I'm confused. When did television and print media and the Internet cease to exist? I know I take a lot of naps these days, but I'd think I would have noticed if I had ambled down to my living room, yawning and scratching myself in unsavory but satisfying places, turned on my brand new flatscreen Hi-Def digital console and gotten nothing but snow. And don't the viewpoints of people like DiFi and al-Durbini dominate the former two and generate disproportionate noise in the third? How, in today's ubiquitous deluge of multi-media noise, can these Donks (and RINOs like T.L. Worthless) possibly claim with a straight face that the ONE branch of the media they don't control with an iron fisted Kung-Fu grip needs to have "balance" forced upon it by government diktat or the American public will only get "one side of the story"?
The short version is "fairness" means "silence". There is one reason why the Right attracts so many listeners on talk radio and the Left can't cover themselves in maple syrup and draw ants: the free market. Conservative talk radio arose precisely because the rest of the media was wall-to-wall liberal. Conservative talk radio remains precisely because the rest of the media is STILL wall-to-wall liberal. Because conservative hosts draw huge audiences and liberal hosts, as Err America delightfully demonstrated, do not, talk radio stations, which are for-profit enterprises which make money by selling advertising at as high a rate as the market will bear, will always opt for the conservative shows. It's simply good business.
Well, no good noodle stars for deducing that Democrats, as good orthodox leftists, hate markets, have contempt for the wishes and preferences of the people, and are incapable of tolerating any opposing point of view, up to and including legislating it out of existence. They tried to compete in the one media segment that eludes their monopoly, failed spectacularly, and are now returning to their roots and preparing to send in the FCC storm troopers to bind and gag Limbaugh, Hannity, Hewitt, Prager, Levin, Michael Reagan, Laura Ingraham, Bill Bennett, and maybe even all of us humble little hobbyists at Blog Talk Radio.
I've been visited in my domicile by the feds once, a little over eight years ago (they were serving me with a grand jury subpoena). Not an experience I'd like to repeat, even if it would give me the opportunity to ask them if they've seen my BTR ratings. I don't know if agents have a sense of humor, but it would be fun to make them look foolish as they were snapping on the cuffs.
I jest, of course. Perhaps. What is breathtaking is that the Donk/RINO axis is making so public an assault on the First Amendment at all. They presume to dictate to radio stations what content they can run? Or jack up FCC license fees and funnel all the confiscated lucre to NPR? I knew Newt and the boys should have abolished the Corporation For Public Broadcasting when the had the chance twelve years ago. Big Bird be damned.
But then there is precedent for it. And the Dems ARE back in power. And they didn't hide who and what they really are to get there. So their natural conclusion is that the American people are fully behind this fascistic attempt to crush any dissent to permanent, one-party Democrat rule.
As I always say, though, that's what I expect from the Dems, and am never disappointed. The question, also as always, is what are the Republicans going to do about it?
One House 'Pubbie - Mike Pence of Indiana, and a former talk radio host himself - says he'll give it the college try:
Will the Broadcaster Freedom Act ever see the light of day? Probably not. The Dems are feeling their oats, know they have the political wind at their backs, and are going to go for the jugular and crush their domestic political enemies once and for all. But by fighting this Naziesque power grab on the part of the two-headed Joseph Goebbels (um, Feinstein and al-Durbini) to the bitter end - while they're still allowed to do so - Republicans can highlight for the entire country to see just exactly what the Dems are trying to do and what it reveals about the totalitarians-at-heart they truly are. And perhaps that might make a difference in 2008, and even ensure that free and legitimate elections continue to follow that one.
As the Democrats march us down the Hugo Chavez road, the Right's rallying cry should be, "If the government has no business in our bedrooms, then get them the hell away from our radios!"
“It’s time to reinstitute the Fairness Doctrine,” said Senate Majority Whip [Ali Dickbar al-Durbini] (D-IL). “I have this old-fashioned attitude that when Americans hear both sides of the story, they’re in a better position to make a decision.”
The Fairness Doctrine, which the FCC discarded in 1985, required broadcasters to present opposing viewpoints on controversial political issues. Prior to 1985, government regulations called for broadcasters to “make reasonable judgments in good faith” on how to present multiple viewpoints on controversial issues.
Senate Rules Committee Chairwoman Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) said she planned to “look at the legal and constitutional aspects of” reviving the Fairness Doctrine.
“I believe very strongly that the airwaves are public and people use these airwaves for profit,” she said. “But there is a responsibility to see that both sides and not just one side of the big public questions of debate of the day are aired and are aired with some modicum of fairness.”
I'm confused. When did television and print media and the Internet cease to exist? I know I take a lot of naps these days, but I'd think I would have noticed if I had ambled down to my living room, yawning and scratching myself in unsavory but satisfying places, turned on my brand new flatscreen Hi-Def digital console and gotten nothing but snow. And don't the viewpoints of people like DiFi and al-Durbini dominate the former two and generate disproportionate noise in the third? How, in today's ubiquitous deluge of multi-media noise, can these Donks (and RINOs like T.L. Worthless) possibly claim with a straight face that the ONE branch of the media they don't control with an iron fisted Kung-Fu grip needs to have "balance" forced upon it by government diktat or the American public will only get "one side of the story"?
The short version is "fairness" means "silence". There is one reason why the Right attracts so many listeners on talk radio and the Left can't cover themselves in maple syrup and draw ants: the free market. Conservative talk radio arose precisely because the rest of the media was wall-to-wall liberal. Conservative talk radio remains precisely because the rest of the media is STILL wall-to-wall liberal. Because conservative hosts draw huge audiences and liberal hosts, as Err America delightfully demonstrated, do not, talk radio stations, which are for-profit enterprises which make money by selling advertising at as high a rate as the market will bear, will always opt for the conservative shows. It's simply good business.
Well, no good noodle stars for deducing that Democrats, as good orthodox leftists, hate markets, have contempt for the wishes and preferences of the people, and are incapable of tolerating any opposing point of view, up to and including legislating it out of existence. They tried to compete in the one media segment that eludes their monopoly, failed spectacularly, and are now returning to their roots and preparing to send in the FCC storm troopers to bind and gag Limbaugh, Hannity, Hewitt, Prager, Levin, Michael Reagan, Laura Ingraham, Bill Bennett, and maybe even all of us humble little hobbyists at Blog Talk Radio.
I've been visited in my domicile by the feds once, a little over eight years ago (they were serving me with a grand jury subpoena). Not an experience I'd like to repeat, even if it would give me the opportunity to ask them if they've seen my BTR ratings. I don't know if agents have a sense of humor, but it would be fun to make them look foolish as they were snapping on the cuffs.
I jest, of course. Perhaps. What is breathtaking is that the Donk/RINO axis is making so public an assault on the First Amendment at all. They presume to dictate to radio stations what content they can run? Or jack up FCC license fees and funnel all the confiscated lucre to NPR? I knew Newt and the boys should have abolished the Corporation For Public Broadcasting when the had the chance twelve years ago. Big Bird be damned.
But then there is precedent for it. And the Dems ARE back in power. And they didn't hide who and what they really are to get there. So their natural conclusion is that the American people are fully behind this fascistic attempt to crush any dissent to permanent, one-party Democrat rule.
As I always say, though, that's what I expect from the Dems, and am never disappointed. The question, also as always, is what are the Republicans going to do about it?
One House 'Pubbie - Mike Pence of Indiana, and a former talk radio host himself - says he'll give it the college try:
"Bringing back the Fairness Doctrine would amount to government control over political views expressed on the public airwaves. It is a dangerous proposal to suggest the government should be in the business of rationing free speech.
"Congress must take action to ensure that this archaic remnant of a bygone era of American radio does not return. There is nothing fair about the Fairness Doctrine.
"During my years in radio and television, I developed a great respect for a free and independent press. Since being in Congress, I have been the recipient of praise and criticism from broadcast media, but it has not changed my fundamental belief that a free and independent press must be vigorously defended by those who love liberty. It is with this in mind that I will introduce the Broadcaster Freedom Act.
"The Broadcaster Freedom Act will prohibit the Federal Communications Commission from prescribing rules, regulations, or policies that will reinstate the requirement that broadcasters present opposing viewpoints in controversial issues of public importance. The Broadcaster Freedom Act will prevent the FCC or any future President from reinstating the Fairness Doctrine. This legislation ensures true freedom and fairness will remain on our radio airwaves, and I would encourage my colleagues to cosponsor and support this bill.
"John F. Kennedy stated, 'We are not afraid to entrust the American people with unpleasant facts, foreign ideas, alien philosophies, and competitive values. For a nation that is afraid to let its people judge the truth and falsehood in an open market is a nation that is afraid of its people.'"
Will the Broadcaster Freedom Act ever see the light of day? Probably not. The Dems are feeling their oats, know they have the political wind at their backs, and are going to go for the jugular and crush their domestic political enemies once and for all. But by fighting this Naziesque power grab on the part of the two-headed Joseph Goebbels (um, Feinstein and al-Durbini) to the bitter end - while they're still allowed to do so - Republicans can highlight for the entire country to see just exactly what the Dems are trying to do and what it reveals about the totalitarians-at-heart they truly are. And perhaps that might make a difference in 2008, and even ensure that free and legitimate elections continue to follow that one.
As the Democrats march us down the Hugo Chavez road, the Right's rallying cry should be, "If the government has no business in our bedrooms, then get them the hell away from our radios!"
posted by JASmius at 7:21 PM
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