Do you believe that liberals already dominate the media?
Do you think biased coverage played a large part in the outcome of the presidential election?
If you think things were bad in that regard…
IMAGINE WHAT WOULD HAPPEN IF WE ALLOW LIBERALS TO FOLLOW THROUGH WITH THEIR PLANS TO IMPOSE THE SO-CALLED FAIRNESS DOCTRINE AND SUCCEED IN SILENCING CONSERVATIVE TALK-RADIO HOSTS LIKE RUSH LIMBAUGH AND SEAN HANNITY AND LAURA INGRAHAM!
Do liberals actually believe that conservative opinions are pornography?
Are liberals so threatened that they’re plotting and planning right now, at this very minute, to silence conservative thoughts and opinions from the public airwaves?
You be the judge.
FOX News asked Senator Chuck Schumer if liberals in Congress will try to implement the so-called Fairness Doctrine - a measure specifically designed to shut down Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Laura Ingraham and conservative talk radio.
Schumer replied indignantly:
“Do you think we should allow people to put pornography on the air? Absolutely not. Particularly on television or radio.”
Huh? No, it’s NOT a joke! And he didn’t stop there.
Schumer nastily admonished decent Americans for some imagined hypocrisy:
“The very same people who don’t want the Fairness Doctrine want the FCC [Federal Communications Commission] to limit pornography on the air…. That’s not consistent.”
It’s almost beyond belief.
We couldn’t have made it up!
Is Schumer so unhinged that he’s not even capable of understanding the fundamental difference between smut and political expression?
Craig Parshall, general counsel for the National Religious Broadcasters said:
“I was stunned by Senator Schumer’s suggestion that by keeping filth off the air, the federal government has somehow become empowered to take over the control of legitimate programming content of broadcasters.”
But Parshall missed one very important point.
With control of the White House, the Senate and the House of Representatives, Schumer and his liberal colleagues are twisting the First Amendment’s guarantees of Freedom of Speech and of the Press - ALL TO SET THE STAGE TO SILENCE RUSH, HANNITY AND OTHERS.
If you’re a liberal, you can burn the flag, put four-letter-word bumper stickers on your car, commit lewd acts on-stage, play profane rap music loudly on your car radio, produce, rent and distribute the most disgusting filth in broad daylight and on the Internet in plain view of minors and even use taxpayer dollars to depict Jesus suspended in bodily waste.
But when it comes to shutting down conservative thoughts and opinions, now that they have grabbed the reins of power, liberals are making control over the content of speech a top priority!
They’re plotting and maneuvering behind the scenes to make it happen RIGHT NOW!
Peter Kirsanow writing in National Review Online tells us why this fight is URGENT:
“Imposition of some form of the Fairness Doctrine likely will be one of the Democrats’ agenda items for the first 100 days of the new administration. It’s important that conservatives begin working now to stop it.”
Kirsanow went on:
“Waiting until Inauguration Day to get geared up is too late. By that time the Fairness Doctrine Express will be at full steam- wavering Democrats will be pressed to support the new Democratic president, weak-kneed Republicans will want to display comity, the mainstream media will not be saddened to see talk radio annihilated and much of the public will be too enraptured by Obama’s Camelot inauguration to notice or care.”
Kirsanow is right.
There is not a moment to lose. If we take a stand now, we can defeat this threat to our civil liberties.
If we wait, it will be too late.
Use the hyperlink below and bombard President George W. Bush and the Republican Members of the Senate with your Blast Faxes. Demand that they stand firm against any attempt by liberals in Congress to effectively outlaw the First Amendment.
We must act now! Liberals in Congress may try to sneak the Fairness Doctrine into legislation any day now. Liberal pundits inside the Beltway and members of the elite media are already attempting to sell conservative Senators on the notion that their only chance for political survival is to display comity. Unless they hear from you now, they WILL believe it, as they have in the past.
We can win this fight. It only takes 40 Senators to stand firm . But if patriotic Americans do not speak up, we will lose this fight for our liberties.
Lee ADDS: Folks, it is about silencing Conaservative Radio and TV shows. It IS NOT about phonography! This is their scam of Liberals to HIDE TRUTH! The intent of the Left is to SILENCE ANY VIEW other than their own! A direct attempt to NULLIFY the US Constitution is underway!
November 17th, 2008 at 8:29 pm
One cannot assume that politicians are always forthright, obfuscation of the facts are more the norm than the exception. The Fairness Doctrine is spelled out in Title 47 of the code (47 USC),
<<< The FCC’s statutory mandate to see that broadcasters operate in the public interest and Congress’ reaffirmation, in the 1959 amendment to 315 of the Communications Act, of the FCC’s view that the fairness doctrine inhered in the public interest standard, support the conclusion that the doctrine and its component personal attack and political editorializing regulations are a legitimate exercise of congressionally delegated authority. Pp. 379-386.
*Here’s section 315 of Title 47 USC
<<<Section 315 [47 U.S.C. §315] Facilities for candidates for public office.
(a) If any licensee shall permit any person who is a legally qualified candidate for any public office to use a broadcasting station, he shall afford equal opportunities to all other such candidates for that office in the use of such broadcasting station: Provided, That such licensee shall have no power of censorship over the material broadcast under the provision of this section. No obligation is hereby imposed under this subsection upon any licensee to allow the use of its station by any such candidate. Appearance by a legally qualified candidate on any –
(1) bona fide newscast,
(2) bona fide news interview,
(3) bona fide news documentary (if the appearance of the candidate is incidental to the presentation of the subject or subjects covered by the news documentary), or………….
So the fairness doctrine address’s equal time for political candidates, that’s it. Period.
It’s voluntary, and the question now is what broadcast stations?
Some history first
The FCC is the birth child of the Federal Radio Commission , formed in 1927,it was a treaty, and dealt with radio broadcasts from sea going vessals.
Here’s a link form wiki http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radio_Act_of_1927
The above mentioned legislation dealt with mobile radio braodcasts, sometimes the message was relayed by *ground base stations.We all know that Congress has authority to enter in to treaties, and even treaties are constrained by the Constitution. The First Amendment protects free speeech, so we should expect the fairness doctrine to conform.
So lets take a look at 47 USC SECTION 315, and the regulations(very important) to find out what radio stations are covered, so here it is.
http://www4.law.cornell.edu/usc-cgi/usc_cfr.cgi?title=47§ion=315
http://www4.law.cornell.edu/usc-cgi/usc_cfr.cgi?title=47§ion=315
<<<CFR parts for which 47 USC 315 provides authority
This is a list of parts within the Code of Federal Regulations for which this US Code section provides rulemaking authority. It is taken from the Parallel Table of Authorities provided by NARA at http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/parallel/parallel_table.html. It is not guaranteed to be accurate or up-to-date, though we do refresh the database weekly. More limitations on accuracy are described at the NARA site.
· 47 CFR 22
· 47 CFR 80
· 47 CFR 97
So the first listed authority is 47 CFR 22, listed below are the pertinent parts, this regulation deals with cellular radio, as in hand held units.
<<<Title 47: Telecommunication
Browse Previous | Browse Next
PART 22—PUBLIC MOBILE SERVICES
§ 22.1 Basis and purpose
(a) Basis. These rules are issued pursuant to the Communications Act of 1934, as amended, 47 U.S.C. 151 et. seq.
*NOTE et. seg. Means everything after 47 USC 151 which would include 47 USC 315
(a) Purpose. The purpose of these rules is to establish the requirements and conditions under which radio stations may be licensed and used in the Public Mobile Services
(b) § 22.3 Authorization required
Stations in the Public Mobile Services must be used and operated only in accordance with the rules in this part and with a valid authorization granted by the FCC under the provisions of this part.
<<<§ 22.99 Definitions
Mobile station. One or more transmitters that are capable of operation while in motion
Public Mobile Services. Radio services in which licensees are authorized to offer and provide mobile and related fixed radio telecommunication services for hire to the public.
So where is the authority to regulate mobile radio services, does it reside with the FCC or is it part of a treaty or convention, lets consult the definitions provided by the FCC.
<<< Federal Communications Commission
§ 2.1 Terms and definitions.
(a) Where a term or definition appears
in this part of the Commission’s
Rules, it shall be the definitive term or
definition and shall prevail throughout
the Commission’s Rules.
(b) The source of each definition is
indicated as follows:
CONV—International Telecommunication
Convention, Malaga-Torremolinos, 1973.
RR—Radio Regulations, Geneva, 1982.
FCC—Federal Communications Commission.
*Mobile Service. A radiocommunication
service between mobile and land stations,
or between mobile stations.
(CONV)
So the regulations for Mobile Service is based on International Telecommunication
Convention, Malaga-Torremolinos, 1973, a treaty, terms of a treaty are not enforceable in the several states of the union, see Supreme Court decision Downes v. Bidwell. This by definition would eliminate all private radio stations in the several states.
So 47 CFR section 22 has nothing to do with private radio broadcasting stations. that are not cellular by nature.
Now let’s consult 47 USC section 80 for the next authority
TITLE 47–Telecommunication
PART 80–STATIONS IN THE MARITIME SERVICES
§ 80.1 Basis and purpose.
This section contains the statutory basis for this part of the rules and provides the purpose for which this part is issued.
§ 80.5 Definitions
Maritime mobile service. A mobile service between coast stations and ship stations, or between ship stations, or between associated on-board communication stations. Survival craft stations and EPIRB stations also participate in this service.
These regulation have nothing to do with radio stations that aren’t in maritime service (exclusively shore to ship) So lets look at the last regulation 47 CFR 97
PART 97–AMATEUR RADIO SERVICE
§ 97.113 Prohibited transmissions
<<<<<(b) An amateur station shall not engage in any form of broadcasting, nor may an amateur station transmit one-way communications except as specifically provided in these rules; nor shall an amateur station engage in any activity related to program production or news gathering for broadcasting purposes, except that communications directly related to the immediate safety of human life or the protection of property may be provided by amateur stations to broadcasters for dissemination to the public where no other means of communication is reasonably available before or at the time of the event
So the last regulations deal with Amateur Radio Stations, which by definition are not permitted to broadcast.
Has anyone ever seen any one of these radio stations covered by the regulations, which implement 47 USC SECTION 315 with Facilities for candidates for public office. This gets ridicules after a while doesn’t it.?
This is the way Congress operates, write the laws and regulations, to implement the law, with very limited applications. This is very needful, to avoid being struck down by the Supreme Court. Congress is very adept at using public ignorance and so-called experts to ramrod their agenda.