And this, the most hallowed of all rights afforded all lawful Americans under our wondrous Constitution’s First Amendment, is under fire. And once Liberals come for the subjects of HR3302, they’ll soon come after you.

Jeffrey T. Kuhner in Insight Magazine writes:

Allies close to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi are promoting legislation, which if passed, will take off the air prominent conservative radio hosts such as Michael Savage, Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity and Bill O’Reilly—along with thousands of smaller conservative broadcasters. The bill, entitled the “Media Ownership Reform Act,” is sponsored by Rep. Maurice Hinchey, a leftist Democrat from New York. The legislation aims to revive the so-called “Fairness Doctrine” of the 1940’s: “all views” are to be given equal time on radio. In particular, the Federal Communications Commission would have the power to oversee and change radio and television content. The goal is to tilt the ideological balance of power away from the right on the nation’s air waves.

At a recent National Conference for Media Reform, sponsored by Free Press, a Massachusetts-based group heavily subsidized by Soros, Hinchey laid bare his plan to silence conservative voices on television and radio. The anti-war McGovernite attacked Savage, Limbaugh and other conservative radio hosts, saying they were “responsible” for leading the U.S. into the Iraq war, as well as for preparing the ground for future military invasions of Iran and Syria. According to Hinchey, these men pose a “threat” to American national security. Hence, under his bill, they would be fired.

“All of that stuff will end,” Hinchey said.

The so-called Fairness Doctrine is something on which I’ve posted on prior occasions, most recently on January 15th.

The FCC discontinued the Fairness Doctrine in 1987 and wrote:

We no longer believe that the Fairness Doctrine, as a matter of policy, serves the public interests. In making this determination, we do not question the interest of the listening and viewing public in obtaining access to diverse and antagonistic sources of information. Rather, we conclude that the Fairness Doctrine is no longer a necessary or appropriate means by which to effectuate this interest. We believe that the interest of the public in viewpoint diversity is fully served by the multiplicity of voices in the marketplace today and that the intrusion by government into the content of programming occasioned by the enforcement of the doctrine unnecessarily restricts the journalistic freedom of broadcasters. Furthermore, we find that the Fairness Doctrine, in operation actually inhibits the presentation of controversial issues of public importance to the detriment of the public and in degradation of the editorial prerogative of broadcast journalists.”

I wrote:

But now that the Democrats are in majority, the sterling Dennis Kucinich has reintroduced a bill to bring back the Fairness Doctrine because, you see, it’s all about control and what you can’t have via the fair marketplace or by the fair vote, one must acquire by the unfair ruling or unfair bill.

Kuhner bats the ball right out of the park when he writes:

However, this begs the question of why do radio networks have most of their shows hosted by conservatives? The answer is a simple one: They’re popular with listeners. Talk radio is overwhelmingly right-leaning because it satisfies the public’s growing appetite for alternative news and commentary to the liberal media establishment. If the Democrats don’t like the opinions of Savage, Limbaugh or Hannity, then all they need to do is go to CNN, MSNBC, NPR, The New York Times or The Washington Post. There are countless outlets peddling the anti-war, anti-Bush mantras of the left.

And:

The attempt to revive the “Fairness Doctrine” represents a direct assault on freedom of speech. It is a concession by liberals that they are losing the battle in the marketplace of ideas. Unable to compete with conservatives in the arena of rhetoric, facts and reasoned argument, Democrats are resorting to the Stalinist method of stifling all dissenting points of view. Unable to out-argue and out-debate Savage, Limbaugh and Hannity, liberals are hoping to silence them—once and for all.

It would appear some in Israel are finally beginning to think that their Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and his national response to last year’s war in Lebanon was lacking.

Is the tide beginning to turn?

Authors sometimes set forth novels that become remarkably prescient.

Recently it was revealed that, the result of investigations conducted over roughly the last year, Saudi Arabian authorities foiled a massive plot against the kingdom:

In this book, terrorists manage to take down the Saudi kingdom via a series of attacks against the royalty as well as the oil fields themselves in order to render America powerless.

Further, from the AP story:

The al-Qaida terror group, whose leader Osama bin Laden is a Saudi, has called for attacks on the kingdom’s oil facilities as a means of crippling both the kingdom’s economy and hurting the West, which he accuses of paying too little for Arab oil.

Fiction becomes reality.

Further, just as an historical note, two American authors envisioned terrorists flying airplanes, utilized as weapons, into primary US government buildings in DC.

First, Tom Clancy’s 1994 book entitled “Debt Of Honor” envisions a JAL 747 flying into and striking the US Capitol.

Next, Dan Brown’s 1995 novel, “Storming Heaven,” has Henri Cazaux aiming his heavy 747 at the White House.

I’ve listened to Air America a few times, when they’ve been solvent and on the air in my market, and many of them (to include Randi Rhodes) are of the opinion that the GOP and the Mad Bush Conglomerate working at the behest of Haliburton are merely fright-peddling in order to sell more military orders, bloat the pocketbooks of military/corporate America, enslave the poor into soldierhood (though it’s a complete volunteer army and already proven that middle class soldiers clearly outnumber “poor” soldiers), abrogate the rights of Americans and turn the country into a fascist, goose-stepping state.

Conspiracy? Not. There is a saying about Hells Angels that is equally applicable to the LAPD via Rodney King and the Power Brokers of the United States: “two Hells Angels can keep a secret when one is dead.”

Make no mistake, Defeat-o-crats: the terrorists are here, in sleeper cells in the United States. Your good friend, George Tenet, says so. It is a wonder that we have not yet experienced our own spate of Homicide Bombers at bus stops, shopping malls, sporting events and movie theatres.

I predict: we shall see precisely this.

There is a reason we fight. I fear that, due to our national complacency, we won’t believe we are actual targets, that people actually want to kill us, that 9-11 wasn’t some simple one-time fluke, until it happens once again. It will take more burned, mangled, eviscerated, exsanguinated and avulsed bodies for this nation to wake up.

As I am occasionally wont to say: “yes, we are that stupid.”

Zane at his Big White Hat blog recently hosted a post about your first vinyl purchase.

Immediately that dates everyone who responds.

I would reference these terms:

Need I go on, in order to remind you how old you are?

Today, it’s all about MP3, Blue Ray, CD, downloading.

I have an iPod Nano but, despite that, I still like to hold all that stuff in my hand.

One of the first albums I purchased myself:

1968 soundtrack to the Steve McQueen movie “Bullitt.”

1968 soundtrack to the Stanley Kubrick movie “2001: A Space Odyssey.”

In 1968 I was reading early versions of “Spiderman” and Jack Kirby’s “The Fantastic Four.”

First “rock” album: 1970’s “Cosmo’s Factory” by Creedence Clearwater Revival.”

Next: 1971’s Black Sabbath “Master Of Reality” album which, oddly enough, was purchased by my USAF father at the WPAFB exchange as a gift.

From there, that messed me up big time. Nothing but heavy metal and continual doses thereof would satisfy me from then on. I can clearly recall placing my head between my two meagre speakers, on the floor of our 2-story USAF house at 444 E Street, and listening to Tony Iommi’s riffs. Until I met the power chords of Mountain and Leslie West, with incredible bass provided by the ill-fated Felix Pappalardi.

From there I transported to King Crimson. But that’s another post entirely. I was one of the first Loyalists (along with Karl Kimball) to watch King Crimson perform their very first version of Lark’s Tongues In Aspic at the Agoura Theatre in Columbus, Ohio, in 1972.

All this music led me to another distinctly separate career in Radio.

I worked as DJ “staff” for WWSU, WING and WHIO in Ohio.

From there, I came back to Fornicalia and worked for KEG, KERS, KFBK, KNDE, KOBO and then KFBK-FM on any number of levels as on-air personality, Program Manager, Station Manager, Promotions Director, Programmer, Traffic Reporter ad infinitum.

I was blessed to have a slightly deeper voice that could replicate any manner of accents imagineable, create sound effects, and mock most anyone I heard.

That tradition continues today and would continue on this blog if I but had the technology to create a weekly summary podcast for my readers.

“And that’s the way it is.”

BZ