Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Dems Attacking Free Speech; Your's, Mine, and Broadcast

Apparently the only thing liberal Democrats learned from the shellacking they took during the recent election is that they must control the news media and all public speech, and that's the direction they are now moving.

According to the Media Research Center http://www.mrcaction.org, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is moving rapidly to censor conservative speech while expanding their reach and control over the news media in America.

In a speech in New York last Thursday, FCC commissioner Michael Copps, lamented that American journalism is in "grave peril", and the federal government needs to become more involved to bolster "traditional media." (!!!) Remember, the members of the FCC are both unelected and unaccountable to the American public.

FCC Commissioner Copps then laid out a set of proposed changes to the station relicensing process that would take broadcast content OUT of the hands of the American People and put it IN the hands of government bureaucrats! Nothing like trashing the First Amendment.

This plan would require that all stations pass a "Public Value Test" if they want to continue to broadcast. Rather than ratings and the free market determining that "Public Value," it will be left to the central planners at the FCC in Washington, DC!

The full story is available through the Free Speech Alliance at http://www.mrcaction.org/517/petition.asp?Ref_ID=4661&CID=564&RID=24879570

In another sign that momentum is building on the Left to silence conservatives, during a recent interview, Howard Dean called for a return of the so-called "Fairness" Doctrine. He feels that this is necessary to silence the Fox News Channel, which he believes, "just makes stuff up and is a propaganda outlet."

Much like their plans for the FCC, a return to the Fairness Doctrine would result in Washington liberals deciding what is appropriate political speech. Though Howard Dean's goal is clearly to silence conservatives, he claims this is a necessary move to protect all of us clueless Americans, saying, "Americans don't know what's going on and therefore the media can have their way with them intellectually." This from the former DNC Chair, propagandist extraordinaire.

Regardless of what We the People said to them in the last election, the Left is determined to implement their agenda by controlling who says what to whom through the unelected, unaccountable FCC. Too bad the ACLU is a leftist hobby horse; this would be right up their alley. We the People need to make certain the Democrats are merely rearranging the deck chairs on the USS Titanic.

2 comments:

Ed Evans said...

A friend -- who shall remain nameless since I don't have his permission to expose him to further discussion -- sent me the following response:

Among other govt regulatory bodies which are also NOT elected:
--the Fed
--Securities and Exchange Commission
and every other govt commission and agency.
nothing new about that.
there is also nothing new about the FCC requiring those who hold licenses to broadcast on the PUBLICLY OWNED airwaves to adhere to rules of fairness and demonstrate some level of public service .... in addition to their quest for a profit in business. they even enforced a rule that no one or no corp. could own both a newspaper AND a broadcast outlet in the same city. those rules were in place from Day One in radio and tv licensing. it's just that once upon a time the rules were enforced by the FCC. a station in violation could, upon petition by listeners or viewers in their broadcast area, be stripped of their license.
what's new here, i suppose, is that someone is now talking about enforcing those rules again.
do those folks have an agenda? did the folks who stopped enforcing those rules have an agenda? did the FCC under republican president roll over and grant Rupert Murdock waiver of such a rule and let him snap up all the properties he could buy. he owns two daily newspapers and his own TV station and TV network in New York City now.
I think I can assure you that the conservative majority on the Supreme Court, which recently ruled that corporations can give all the money they want to give to whatever candidate or party they want to give it....altho we as individuals cannot do the same.
so i guess i am asking what it is you think is happening that is new and threatening to MY 1st Amendment Rights? or YOURS?

Ed Evans said...

And I responded.....

My friend,
I must admit there are times I post something like this just to see what my bedrock opinion of it is, and I come to that conclusion as I read the erudite responses, such as yours.
Given the current tangled state of affairs, I must also admit i wasn't paying as close attention as i should have been, given this is a democratic republic, and we might have dug our heels in and raised a little more hell when the rules were being violated. I do remember, however, shaking my head sincerely and thinking, sincerely, it shouldn't happen.
So, to answer your question directly -- "...what it is you think is happening that is new and threatening to MY 1st Amendment Rights? or YOURS?" ... I will have to again admit it isn't anything new, but what is so worrisome is the lack of integrity and the socialist, anti-free-market attitude so far exhibited by the Democrats who are moving to grab the ear of the FCC. When the Republicans convinced the FCC to fudge things, it appears it was for the purpose of making money, a time-honored American drug of habit. But so far when I see the Democrats holding their closed meetings, ignoring common sense responses and approaches, and urging the FCC to fudge the rules, it seems to be for the disruptive purposes of social engineering, playing to the noisiest minorities, rarely for the good of the whole. And the decisions they employ forever seem knee-jerk reactions with no forethought; a serious lack of thinking things through so that they are continually surprised by the results.
At the same time, I would be hard pressed to believe a man of your experience and worldly knowledge would think that any control of content is to be desired beyond avoid blue language during the family hour. For this is what is being discussed; note Howard Dean's shot at Fox-TV and the conservative radio programs. He holds no such portfolio for those of the liberal bent, most of which have failed for lack of listeners, by the way. It is not corporate or financial control they are discussing, but who can tell the truth about what is happening, who can inform the electorate of government's machinations, what is being done behind closed doors in the Congress, and what the lame duck sessions are really all about. To silence that is to trample both and my and your First Amendment rights.
Glad you asked. Now I think I really understand what I think about it. God bless you, old son.