Tuesday, April 04, 2006
The Left: Limiting Free Speech One Word At A Time
Brian C. Anderson, writing for City Journal, brings the following to our attention:
...alternative media-political talk radio in the eighties, cable news in the nineties, and the blogosphere in the new millennium-has broken the liberal monopoly over news and opinion outlets. The Left understands acutely the implications of this revolution, blaming much of the Democratic Party's current electoral trouble on the influence of the new media's vigorous conservative voices. Instead of fighting back with ideas, however, today's liberals quietly, relentlessly, and illiberally are working to smother this flourishing universe of political discourse under a tangle of campaign-finance and media regulations. Their campaign represents the most sustained attack on free political speech in the United States since the 1798 Alien and Sedition Acts.
Oh, that's Crazy Talk, you say, that can never happen. It's already happening.
The Liberal Radio Network, AirHead America, doesn't have any listeners. Instead of competing in the world of The Free Market and Survival of The Fittest, the Left is trying to legislate a fairer playing field. Fair Play via legislation, gee, where have we heard that before?
Along with legislation that will force the media to give as much time and attention to unpopular and unheard AirHead America Propaganda, the Left wants to restrict the Free Speech of Bloggers. Yes they do!
What's the Left up to now? Attempting to restore the Fairness Doctrine. The Fairness Doctrine provided equal time for opposing political views back in the days when there only were three television networks, minimal FM radio and a half dozen, if that, clear channel AM radio stations from which to choose.
Now, with cable television, satellite radio, the blogosphere, the internet and myriads of alternative media, what's happening? The Truth About Liberals is getting out and the Left doesn't like it.
For decades the Left had their lock on the media and they don't much like having lost it. The Left wants to put the cat back into the bag and they plan to do this by putting the Fairness Doctrine back into play. The Left wants to control the content of the internet, bloggers, and alternative media. Basically, the Left wants to control any media outlets that disagree with, or, criticizes their Messages of Propaganda.
The Left began their mission by pushing for campaign finance reform and found their sympathetic patsy in Arizona's Republican Senator John McCain. He paired up with Wisconsin Democrat Senator Russ Feingold creating the Free Speech quelling McCain-Feingold Campaign Finance Reform. This was another attempt by the Left to level the playing field in fundraising because the Left found themselves unable to raise as much cash as the Right. Poor babies!
Instead of working harder and smarter in the Free Market to fundraise, the Left sought, and got, a more level playing field through legislative edict via McCain-Feingold. Never mind that McCain-Feingold works more against the Right than it does the Left, for the Left still has their Sugar Daddy George Soros and a campaign money laundering system that is the envy of drug lords and the Mafia.
At one point, late in the congressional debate over McCain-Feingold," we had a scare," Treglia said. "George Will stumbled across a report we had done. . . . He started to reference the fact that Pew was playing a large role . . . [and] that it was a liberal attempt to hoodwink Congress. . . . The good news, from my perspective, was that journalists . . . just didn't care and nobody followed up." The hoaxers' - a conspiracy of eight left-wing foundations, including George Soro's Open Society Institute and the Ford Foundation - have actually spent $123 million trying to get other people's money out of politics since 1994, Sager reports- nearly 90 percent of the spending by the entire campaign-finance lobby over this period.
"We do not believe anyone described as a 'blogger' is by definition entitled to the benefit of the press exemption," [Democracy 21] collectively sniffed in a brief to the FEC. "While some bloggers may provide a function very similar to more classical media activities, and thus could reasonably be said to fall within the exemption, others surely do not." The key test, the groups claimed, should be whether the blogger is performing a "legitimate press function." But who decides what is legitimate? And what in the Constitution gives him the authority to do so?
Sites would live in fear of Kafkaesque FEC enforcement actions, often triggered by political rivals' complaints.
Some 157 of the top 250 political blogs express right-leaning views, a recent liberal survey found.
The Left is a funny bunch, indeed. Listen to any of them and they will invariably mention George Orwell's "1984", reading and quoting passages from it, applying Orwellian scenarios onto Republicans and Conservatives. This is boulderdash! If anyone is practicing turning this country into a "1984"-like reality it is the Left. The Left reads what Orwell wrote, and warned us about, as their idea of Their Perfect Utopia.
Does it get more Orwellian than what DNC Chairman Mao Howard Dean said in 2003:
Howard Dean, in a 2003 interview railing against Rupert Murdoch: "I believe we need to re-regulate the media . . . so we can be sure that the American people get moderate, conservative, and liberal points of view." Dean noted that he wouldn't need legislation to do this - he could just appoint "different kinds of people" to the FCC.
For Liberals there is no end to their rights and no beginning to their responsibilities. When they cannot compete in the arena of the Free Market they seek legislation to level the playing field. When they feel their voice is not being heard, they conclude that it is not because they are being heard and their message is being tuned out - oh no - they blame the medium and the messenger, not the message itself.
©2006
- - -
Linking Here:
Basil's Blog
Check out who is behind censoring video games? Here is a hint, they all have a "D" next to their names.
Also to note, to be fair-the linked article by Brian C. Anderson-DOES NOTE that there are about three dozen Republicans going along with the Left on the Fairness Doctrine idea. I don't know what they're thinking.
Thanks for writing.
Now, I'm not saying you're a mindless ideologue who makes up garbage conspiracy theories and then yells them into the void. (Although I considered it...)
I'm just saying that it's shifty to pull quotes out of nowhere and then use them to condemn a made-up entity called "The Left."
I'm not saying your ignorant of reality, or that you refuse to see anything beyond your blinders (Although I consider it..wait, I changed my mind, you are all those things and more.)
A "made-up entity called 'The Left'." Whoa, cut back on the Absinthe. Or maybe increase the dosage, I'm not sure which.
Thanks for visiting and taking the time to comment.
So this seems odd to me... why would a group of people who want to be able to do and say anything they want without being regulated want to restrict free speech? Wouldn't that eventually come back to bite them in the ass?
I suppose it is the same old story... restrict those who you are in disagreement with in order to promote what you do agree with.
On the other hand, I am all for some type of restriction when it comes to what I see on tv or hear on the radio... so am I a hypocrit?
It's all so confusing these days.
I don't know or think "for sure" that either side wants to limit free speech in regard to our speech. I think we hit a slippery slop with McCain Feingold, and if we start sliding down that hill, I don't think it we'll ever stop.
I think the FCC could lighten up somewhat on broadcast television is allowed to say or use, but again, once "X" words are allowed, do we begin that slipper slop to all other words? "NYPD Blue" managed to use a**hole, sh*t and a couple other words and it was believeable without them using the F word, or did they? I don't recall.
I don't think you're a hypocrite at all, you ask the same questions that I do -- that many of us do.
Applying the Fairness Doctrine tho, is just plain bad law in what the Left wants to do regarding "Equal Time". They have "Equal Time" with their radio network. Just because No One is listening to it, doesn't seem to me to mean that people should be forced to hear what they have to say, when they have their medium, the network, to get their message out.
They don't want to seem to let the market set the pace in this instance, and that is what my gripe is about.
Thanks for making me think further on this issue, as usual, your comments are always thought provoking. Stay well, friend.
<< Home
Alabama Internet
accordance and compliance with Fair Use Section 107 U.S. Copyright Code.
All other images and content © 2005-2009 David Drake.
Not responsible for content contained at linked sites.
Policy on commenting:
- Anonymous comments have little chance of being published.
- Comments made on posts 60 days old or older have little chance of being published.
- Published comments do not necessarily reflect the views of this blog author.
- Discretion of publishing or rejecting submitted comments rests solely with the owner and creator of this blog.
- Comments that egregiously "plug" (i.e. advertise or promote) another site or blog will be rejected. This doesn't mean you cannot include a link to your story, blog or to another site, but don't go overboard.
- Profanity is not a disqualifying factor, but profane rants solely for purposes of profanity are unlikely to be published.
- The owner and creator of this blog is not liable or responsible for the opinions of those who comment.
