Bye, Bye, Internet
With apologies to Don McLean and for the lack of rhyme, “So, bye, bye Miss Internet Pie,/ Drove my gubmint Chevy to the gubmint Net/ And the Net was dead.”
Just as with the unfair, unconstitutional, so-called government “Fairness Doctrine,” the government is at it again, trying to inhibit free speech: ”The Federal Communications Commission on Tuesday voted 3-2 to back Chairman Julius Genachowski’s plan for what is commonly known as ‘net neutrality,’ or rules prohibiting Internet providers from interfering with legal web traffic.”
Opposed by Republicans and supported by Democrats, the FCC changes delighted President Barack Obama who said the FCC’s action will “help preserve the free and open nature of the Internet” by imposing Internet traffic rules.
When Democrats and this president so strongly back such new regulations, it’s a certainty they stink.
Dating to 1949 and dumped in 1987 thanks to an executive order issued by President Ronald Reagan, the Fairness Doctrine required broadcasters to “afford reasonable opportunity for the discussion of conflicting views of public importance,” the Fairness Doctrine failed miserably since it served only to accomplish the precise antithesis of its stated purpose by stifling dissent.
Its abolition opened the door to conservative talk radio, and the rest is history.
Fast forward a quarter century during which time there have been rumblings and grumblings from the Left to reinstitute the Fairness Doctrine, all of which rumblings and grumblings thankfully were rejected. Today, however, we have a new danger posed for the First Amendment and for the Democrat powers-that-be, the Internet.
What to do? thought the Left. Why “regulate” it, of course!
FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski, former staffer for Chuck Schumer and on the Select Committee to investigate Iran-Contra, former tech advisor to the president, and member of the board of CommonSenseMedia.com, is the administration’s point man in the new battle which one wag has described as “a hostile takeover of the Internet by a government agency acting illegally . . .
(Read more at http://www.genelalor.com/blog1/?p=3145)
Showing posts with label fairness doctrine. Show all posts
Showing posts with label fairness doctrine. Show all posts
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Bye, Bye, Internet
Fast forward a quarter century during which time there have been rumblings and grumblings from the Left to reinstitute the Fairness Doctrine, all of which rumblings and grumblings thankfully were rejected. Today, however, we have a new danger posed for the First Amendment and for the Democrat powers-that-be, the Internet.
What to do? thought the Left. Why “regulate” it, of course!
FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski, former staffer for Chuck Schumer and on the Select Committee to investigate Iran-Contra, former tech advisor to the president, and member of the board of CommonSenseMedia.com, is the administration’s point man in the new battle which one wag has described as “a hostile takeover of the Internet by a government agency acting illegally.”
Already shot down by a federal appeals court in its effort to “regulate” the Net, the FCC has new rules up its sleeve for an “open internet,” thanks to Democrats who plan to enhance “the free and open nature of the Internet” by crippling it.
Creating a non-existent straw man by manufacturing a problem over interference of legal web traffic by isp’s and “worries that large phone and cable firms were getting too powerful as Internet gatekeepers,” Genachowski’s FCC is imposing a cure for a patient without an ailment.
As the World Street Journal points out, “Most consumers haven’t had a problem viewing whatever they want online; few instances have arisen of an Internet provider blocking or slowing services.” Ever alert, however, the FCC is worried about “future harms:” http://tiny.cc/oezyc
When the feds get so worried, we should all get worried, although for different reasons.
This, after all, is the federal government in action, an institution not known for having much in the way of foresight, witness the Fairness Doctrine, known for attempting to suppress contrary viewpoints, also witness the Fairness Doctrine, and especially famous for intending unintended consequences. . .
(Read more at http://www.genelalor.com/blog1/?p=3145)
What to do? thought the Left. Why “regulate” it, of course!
FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski, former staffer for Chuck Schumer and on the Select Committee to investigate Iran-Contra, former tech advisor to the president, and member of the board of CommonSenseMedia.com, is the administration’s point man in the new battle which one wag has described as “a hostile takeover of the Internet by a government agency acting illegally.”
Already shot down by a federal appeals court in its effort to “regulate” the Net, the FCC has new rules up its sleeve for an “open internet,” thanks to Democrats who plan to enhance “the free and open nature of the Internet” by crippling it.
Creating a non-existent straw man by manufacturing a problem over interference of legal web traffic by isp’s and “worries that large phone and cable firms were getting too powerful as Internet gatekeepers,” Genachowski’s FCC is imposing a cure for a patient without an ailment.
As the World Street Journal points out, “Most consumers haven’t had a problem viewing whatever they want online; few instances have arisen of an Internet provider blocking or slowing services.” Ever alert, however, the FCC is worried about “future harms:” http://tiny.cc/oezyc
When the feds get so worried, we should all get worried, although for different reasons.
This, after all, is the federal government in action, an institution not known for having much in the way of foresight, witness the Fairness Doctrine, known for attempting to suppress contrary viewpoints, also witness the Fairness Doctrine, and especially famous for intending unintended consequences. . .
(Read more at http://www.genelalor.com/blog1/?p=3145)
Thursday, October 22, 2009
National Paranoia II
National Paranoia–Part 2
Ok, go ahead and scoff at paranoia and the truism that paranoiacs sometimes really do have someone after them who may want to do them serious bodily and/or psychological harm.
In the case of national paranoia, perhaps you have been misinterpreting the words and actions of people plotting to alter your life as you’ve known it and our nation’s principles as we’ve long understood and revered them.
Oops, that sounds paranoid.
As strongly suggested in “National Paranoia, Part One,” http://www.genelalor.com/blog1/?p=1273, ominous, dark storm clouds of a change few anticipated on November 4th, 2008 have been gathering and theatening both America’s and our individual status quos.
With abject apologies to Robert Browning, How do I count those changes? Let me count the ways.
We could start the count of the undermining of American’s life and values on President Obama’s Inauguration Day, January 20th, 2008, when he promised the universe as the minorities who elected him all but became orgasmic and trashed his predecessor.
However, fast forward to four days ago when the White House Communications Directress, Anita Dunn, recent FoxNews dunner and Mao Tse Dung aficionado, who let slip the quip in a Dominican Republic speech that, “Very rarely did we [Obamians] communicate through the press anything that we didn’t absolutely control.”
Dunn added, “We just put that out there and made them write what [David] Plouffe [Obama’s campaign manager] had said as opposed to Plouffe doing an interview with a reporter. So it was very much we controlled it as opposed to the press controlled it [sic]:” http://bit.ly/4F8XTi.
Media control is the essence of any modern dictatorship.
Throw in the end run being plotted to re-establish the so-called Fairness Doctrine to eliminate conservative talk radio and recent attacks on Fox News aimed at marginalizing/blackballing that network and Obama will have a virtual monopoly over the airwaves.
Still not convinced that this adminstration . . .
(Read the rest at http://www.genelalor.com/blog1/?p=1276)
Ok, go ahead and scoff at paranoia and the truism that paranoiacs sometimes really do have someone after them who may want to do them serious bodily and/or psychological harm.
In the case of national paranoia, perhaps you have been misinterpreting the words and actions of people plotting to alter your life as you’ve known it and our nation’s principles as we’ve long understood and revered them.
Oops, that sounds paranoid.
As strongly suggested in “National Paranoia, Part One,” http://www.genelalor.com/blog1/?p=1273, ominous, dark storm clouds of a change few anticipated on November 4th, 2008 have been gathering and theatening both America’s and our individual status quos.
With abject apologies to Robert Browning, How do I count those changes? Let me count the ways.
We could start the count of the undermining of American’s life and values on President Obama’s Inauguration Day, January 20th, 2008, when he promised the universe as the minorities who elected him all but became orgasmic and trashed his predecessor.
However, fast forward to four days ago when the White House Communications Directress, Anita Dunn, recent FoxNews dunner and Mao Tse Dung aficionado, who let slip the quip in a Dominican Republic speech that, “Very rarely did we [Obamians] communicate through the press anything that we didn’t absolutely control.”
Dunn added, “We just put that out there and made them write what [David] Plouffe [Obama’s campaign manager] had said as opposed to Plouffe doing an interview with a reporter. So it was very much we controlled it as opposed to the press controlled it [sic]:” http://bit.ly/4F8XTi.
Media control is the essence of any modern dictatorship.
Throw in the end run being plotted to re-establish the so-called Fairness Doctrine to eliminate conservative talk radio and recent attacks on Fox News aimed at marginalizing/blackballing that network and Obama will have a virtual monopoly over the airwaves.
Still not convinced that this adminstration . . .
(Read the rest at http://www.genelalor.com/blog1/?p=1276)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)