The Durbin Amendment – The New ‘Fairness’ Doctrine with a Kicker

Law may allow preemptive, premature rescission of broadcast licenses

Yesterday by a whopping 87-11 vote, the Senate added as a rider to the passed DC voting rights bill the Broadcaster Freedom Act (BFA). The BFA, if also passed by the House and signed by the President, would kill once and for all the Censorship Doctrine -- also mis-known as the "Fairness" Doctrine.

Much Conservative celebration ensued. However, the revelry is misplaced and premature. It means only that the Left means to destroy Conservative and Christian talk radio by other means.

Because another rider was added via a party-line 57-41 vote. Written by Illinois Democratic Senator Dick Durbin, S.160's Purpose is "To encourage and promote diversity in communication media ownership, and to ensure that the public airwaves are used in the public interest."

Hello, new "Fairness" Doctrine - the regulatory enforcement of "diversity" of radio station ownership, and localism as defined by the "public interest." Liberal censors are now travelling alternative routes to reach their original destination - silencing political speech on the airwaves.

This is an alternative assault on the radio industry to affect the Left’s desired ideological outcome.

One tremendous problem with this amendment, with the Censorship Doctrine itself and in fact with virtually every aspect of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC)'s broadcast licensing requirements is that they are all completely nebulous. President Barack Obama's FCC can interpret these regulations in any direction it wishes, which more than likely bodes poorly for free speech on the radio.

And the worst part of the Durbin Amendment is the possibility that Obama's FCC may now be empowered to prematurely pull the broadcast licenses of radio stations they deem as failing to meet these new "Fairness" Doctrine-esque guidelines. Several lawyers who do this for a living see this rider's wording as amorphous enough to allow for this interpretation.

This would be absolutely devastating to talk radio. Stations currently carrying Conservative and Christian talk would be perpetually under the FCC gun - never knowing when the regulatory hammer would fall and crush their businesses. They would feel tremendous pressure to change formats so as to be able to stay on the air.

And no one would be able to justify the enormous expense of getting into talk radio if their lifeline - their broadcast license - could be pulled capriciously at any time.

These licenses would then be awarded to more "diverse" owners who show a greater desire in meeting the Obama FCC's definition of the "local" and "public interest." You know, ACORN activists and MoveOn.org hosts who couldn't cut the mustard on National Public or Pacifica Radio.

This is an alternative assault on the radio industry to affect the Left's desired ideological outcome. By making it untenable for stations to conduct the business of talk radio, the liberal censors will succeed in again silencing political speech on the airwaves - just as if the "Fairness" Doctrine itself were reinstated. Thus is the new "Fairness" Doctrine born.

In the real world, the public interest is best served by what the public is interested in. Conservative and Christian talk radio survives and thrives because people listen, and Liberal talk fails because they don't.

But none of this matters in this brave new "diverse" world. Liberals never liked the free market with it's equality of opportunity. They have always preferred an equality of outcome - where shows that have listeners are forced to share the airwaves with those that don't.

The Durbin Amendment solves the Left's "Fairness" Doctrine dilemma. It gets them what they want - radio free of Conservative and Christian talk - without the political baggage of carrying the "Fairness" Doctrine name.

For them, a rose by any other name still smells as sweet if it serves to silence the opposition.

—Seton Motley is Director of Communications for the Media Research Center.

Land Tilled and Ready for planting March 2009

Ben Bernanke RefusesTransparency - TAKE ACTION NOW!

To All my friends...a personal message from me

Last week I called my grandma's investor.....over time I have been very worried about all of her money being in the stock market. She has been living off of a fixed income of 2,000 a month.


When I spoke to her investor...a man I have known since I was 5....he assured me that she would have enough money to last her another 10 - 20 years.....I wasn't quite sure how that was going to be possible if the stock market continued to drop. Not only that but my mother had already informed me that she had already lost about half of what she originally had in there...

So I received a message from my mom this morning. She called to let me know that my grandma's investor took ALL of his people's investments out of the stock market....They are meeting with him this morning, so I will have more information later..

What happened between last week and today, I have no idea...besides the continuing drop in the stock market...why would he tell me that a week ago...then to pull out all of his investor's money!!

Apparently he was also trying to get ahold of Jan Brewer too. AZ's govenor.


UPDATE:

My mom and grandma have now met with the investor, and he said that it was LAST week that he pulled everyone's money out.


REASON: He started doing research on the last time the stock market dropped at this rate, and he said that based on what happened when the depression hit, it would be best to take everyone's money out...He said do not put it in money market's or anything..he said just keep it in your savings....

I am not sure how safe that will be anymore either...the FDIC the people who supposedly insure our money in our savings up to 100,000 dollars actually I think it is 250,000 now...has recently borrowed money from the government to have a line of credit of 100 billion dollars to give people their money back when their bank closes....there were 25 bank closures last year that had brought their funds down to 18.9 billion in the 4th quarter....They are trying to get the credit line up to 500 billion...why is this...do they see many more banks closing in the near future?!?!? http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=aGewvZuHR3dk&refer=news


There have already been 16 banks that have closed this year so far: http://www.fdic.gov/bank/individual/failed/banklist.html


If you have not taken your money out please do so.....get back in when you see it constantly going back up...it will be safer that way..

I feel in the deepest part of my gut that there are going to be rough times ahead...my suggestion to all my friends is that they buy as much food storage as they can afford...This is effecting people....so many people...people close to me, and I am sure it is happening to people close to you...

The most valuable thing you can have is food and water....please prepare yourself. Financially, Mentally, Physically, and Emotionally...I am always here if anyone ever needs to talk.


This ad is being issued on the radio all the time: issued by HOME LAND SECURITY
www.ready.gov

Another helpful site:
www.beprepared.com

Ron Paul the Stoner ;)

This video is from the first Episode of this season's Bill Maher show. He interviewed Ron Paul, it is hilarious!

Is Spending the Answer????

Is Spending the Answer?
by Congressman Ron Paul

This week, Congress and the administration once again showed their lack of economic understanding, as they ramped up spending to record levels. On the surface, maybe it does look to some like the economic crisis is a liquidity problem, that the economy is in trouble because money is not changing hands at the pace it once did in the boom years. They believe that to get back to a booming economy money needs to start changing hands again – and the quickest way to do this is for the federal government to massively expand spending to pump new money into the system. If this is the extent of their understanding, no wonder they call for spending, taxing, bailouts and inflation.

If spending was the solution, we never would have had a problem. During the last eight years, we’ve blown up the size of government and certainly had no want of spending on foreign or domestic policy. The Bush administration increased spending almost 20% its first term, and nearly doubled the national debt by the end of the second term. Certainly the case cannot be made that lack of government spending created the problem or can be the solution.

This is mirrored in American households. According to CNN private sector debt is 365% of private sector gross domestic product. Many relied simply on steady and continued increase in home values to enable spending and secure more debt. That trend has proven unsustainable and many Americans are adjusting their finances accordingly. For the first time, household debt is beginning to fall as consumers wake up to the realities of paying off debt and living within their means.

Wouldn’t it be great if the government would do the same?

A lot of capital and liquidity is out there waiting in the wings as the new administration is bringing about government uncertainty, a concept discussed by Robert Higgs as prolonging the Great Depression. In other words, it is a foregone conclusion that government will act. But, like a chicken with its head cut off, no one knows which way it will run, just that it will flail about wildly until it collapses.

Why start a business, when businesses could face the brunt of an increase in future taxation? Similarly, why hire a new employee if tax policy will just force you to fire them later on to stay afloat? Why buy a house, when you have no idea how future government meddling in the housing market will affect its value? Why spend at the shopping mall, or buy a new car when you don’t know how tax policy will affect your family budget, or if your job will come under the axe because your employer’s tax burden is increased?

I argue these kinds of questions and concerns contribute to the weakening economy. This type of tax policy keeps capital out of third world nations, and now is keeping capital in hiding here in the US. People are concerned about security and savings again, retrenching their household and business budgets. The economy could be helped if the government would just get out of the way and restore sound monetary and fiscal policies.

What if....