Okay, so how in the HELL do 3 Pukes change the rules for all of media?

[SeattleGirl]

How can something as big as the issue of media ownership fall to just THREE PEOPLE?

How can THREE PEOPLE override the voices of hundreds of thousands of people?

Has Bush bestowed upon them special powers?

I do not get it.

And no, I'm not stupid or naive.

I just don't understand how these three men can make the decisions for an entire industry. (And, of course, in favor of an entire industry.)

Fuck. We the people really do not matter, do we?

[Horse with no Name]

1. You can thank Clinton for that.

:(
Some of the polluted water does, in fact, belong to us.

[SeattleGirl]

3. Ah, you're right. He got the ball rolling on this one, didn't he?

Still, it's up to the folks in office now to stop it, and I'm not talking about Bush (he doesn't give a flying fuck).

There are a lot of Dem congress critters against this, as well as some Repubs. I would think that they could do something about this (pipe dreaming, aren't I?)

[Horse with no Name]

5. I am afraid we are too late

Congress is corrupt to the core.
That is why they don't care about election fraud...chances are, they benefit from it.
There is only one recourse for "we the people"...and I am afraid to admit that I believe we are too weak to do it.
We're better at being good Germans than the Germans were.

[SeattleGirl]

6. This is what I keep thinking, about the state of the country as a whole:

We cannot continue along this path. It would be against the laws of nature. Nothing, absolutely nothing, continues down the same path forever.

Something has to change. Something WILL change.

However, I cannot say what that change will be. I would like to think that the collective anger and disgust We The People have with how things are going will result in positive change.

But, there is that part of me that is also afraid that this "great experiment" of Democracy will crash and burn, and we will definitely turn into a third world country.

I just don't know how this will all turn out.

[AX10]

7. Read this book:

http://www.fourthturning.com/

[SeattleGirl]

10. Thanks for the suggestion.

:thumbsup:

[KharmaTrain]

16. Actually That Was Raygun

The first wave of "deregulation" happened in the 80's...initially to remove archane laws and open up the broadcast spectrum to more station and, by assumption, more diversity in ownership.

Then in '91 (still before Clinton), the "duopoly" law was done away that permitted one company to own more than one AM, FM or TV station in a market. License renewal periods were lengthened from 3 to 7 years and the commission approved Limited Management Agreements (LMAs) that allow a corporation to control a station without operating (the license usually held by a proxy) in areas where they were over the limit.

Telcom '96 opened the doors wide on even more "deregulation", but many of the rules that both have allowed the corporates to monopolize the industry and destroy it at the same time began long before Clinton and pal Billy Tauzin got involved.

[SeattleGirl]

18. Thanks for the refresher. I knew that Raygun was behind

deregulation of things like the air traffic controllers, but had forgotten his part in the media deregulation.

Appreciate the info.

[KharmaTrain]

8. Clinton Didn't Appoint Kevin Martin

I've watched and known several FCC commissioners in my years, and I thought Michael Powell was awful, but Martin takes the cake. He's the one driving this insanity under marching orders from corporate media and the boooosh regime.

Yes, I do fault Clinton with Telcom '96 that I have long called for either the repeal or a drastic rewrite to encourage local ownership and control, but even this crap was beyond anything Clinton would have approved.

[SeattleGirl]

11. Agreed, and that was my point to another poster.

There are a lot of people in Congress who are against this. AND, there are a lot of people among the great unwashed who also are against it. How three little people can decide the fate of all of us is obscene.

[KharmaTrain]

13. McCain Stopped It The Last Time

Of all people. Another ally we have on this is the NRA. Talk about strange bedfellows.

Repugnicans better be concerned with this change cause it could come back to hurt them big time. They thing the corporate media is in their pocket and will always ape their talking points. Time could come soon where the GOOPs won't have the seats or the power to be of much use and then watch out when they try to regain power and find a corporate media now hostile toward them.

[SeattleGirl]

15. Thanks for the reminder about the NRA.

I had forgotten about that. There definitely some things that make for strange bedfellows.

I'm not a fan of the NRA, but if they lend their voice to those of us against more media consolidation, I welcome that voice.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

2. I'm afraid you're right, my dear SeattleGirl...

We the people don't matter....except as commodities to be sold to the highest bidder...

The rules have been rigged by the FTC, I believe...

It is a disheartening and sobering thought...

:-(

[SeattleGirl]

4. I'm so tired of not having my voice, or your voice, or the voices of

so many, many people heard.

It IS very disheartening. :cry:

[KharmaTrain]

9. The Golden Rule...Why Winning Elections Matter

It's because the booosh regime is in control of the Executive branch...which has jurisdiction over the FCC...and they can and did nominate 3 toadies who do the corporate media's bidding. And don't blame the Democratic Congress on this one...those Repugnican appointees were confirmed in the previous Senate...under GOOP control.

This is why finding the most "electable" candidate matters...the power to control so many different parts of the bureaucracy. Want to prevent this from happening in the future? Get a Democratic President elected and elevate either Adelman or Copps to Chairman.

[SeattleGirl]

12. Totally agree with you.

I'm just saying that, in the overall picture, in something as important as media ownership, it should not be left to just a few people, regardless of what political affiliation they have, regardless of who appointed them. (That's me, stomping my feet and shouting, "Not fair!" :blush: )

[bbgrunt]

14. I watched the Moyer's update on this and that little

prick Martin is so transparent it is disgusting. He gives not a flying fart about anything but lining his own future. I have never seen anything so disgusting in my life.

[SeattleGirl]

17. Watching that update is what prompted this post.

I saw the last report, where they featured the town hall meeting in Seattle (it lasted over SEVEN HOURS), and people are freakin' pissed off about it.

But this asshole Martin doesn't give a fuck. I'd like to.....well, I won't say, but I'm so pissed off about it.