Protecting Us Right Into Their Own Mindset

[ThomWV]

Deborah Taylor Tate, newest Commissioner (R) of the Federal Communications Commission, testified before Congress Wednesday - a replay of her testimony is showing on C-span as I type on this saturday morning.

Early in her opening statement Ms. Tate briefly commented that the Commission has a responsibility to protect the nation in these perilous times.

Let me say that I disagree with her. It is not the duty of the Federal Communications Commission to protect us from anything, anything what so ever. It is the duty of the Federal Communications Commission to see that the means of communications in this country be as openly available to every expression of free speech as the commission is able to. We do not need the shield of protection from any from of communications and if we did we certainly do not need it from the ideological likes of her - none, nada, zilch, zero, goose-egg, not jack shit.

Who in hell do these people think they are?

On Edit: Clairified Ms. Tate's position as the 'newest' Commissioner, not the exlusive Commissioner by adding the word "newest" to the first sentence and a minor correction of language.

[treestar]

1. I've been objecting to the protection theme even since 911

It is not the government's job to "protect us." That puts them in the metaphorical place of "parent" and us in the place of "child." The child obeys his or her parents, roughly, in return for being taken care of and protected.

Whereas the government is elected by the adults to carry out specific functions defined in the law. So the whole metaphor is wrong. They are just aware of how much power they can convince people to let them have by using it.