Obama savors first major victory

[WillieW]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090214/ap_on_go_pr_wh/congress_stimulus

[Optical.Catalyst]

1. I hope our next Major Milestone is legislation to level the playing field on the airwaves

We need some factual responses to the right wing echo chamber on talk radio.

[cyclezealot]

3. Yes. Lou Dobs came unglued because Bill Clinton wants a balance media

Why should a Republican oriented electronic media determine the debate . Take me out to a protest. Would i favor hitting on the Republicans or Faux news. They are one and the same.

[Buzz Clik]

4. The government cannot do that.

The GOP is kicking our asses in this area simply because -- for whatever twisted reason -- conservative radio/television sells and the liberal counterpart does not.

[Optical.Catalyst]

5. The twisted reason is called 'MONOPOLY'

Right wing talk shows are monopolizing the public owned radio spectrum.

There is already legal precedent for the Government to regulate Talk Radio

Antitrust laws have existed for more than a century. During the late nineteenth century, the Industrial Revolution led to rapid expansion in business activity in the United States. Businesses in many industries -- including railroads, oil drilling, and tobacco production -- were originally small and geographically dispersed around the nation. As these small businesses consolidated in large national enterprises, however, they threatened to dominate entire industries across the country. This not only contradicted the need for diverse competition, but also made it difficult for small businesses to stay afloat, as the business environment encouraged practices that would be frowned upon today.

Popular opinion ran against the large enterprises, which became known as business trusts. Laws designed to combat them were therefore dubbed antitrust legislation. The Sherman Act, passed in 1890, prohibited monopolies and restraints of trade. Later laws defined more specific types of prohibited behavior.

http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2007/02/23/monopolies-and-the-law.aspx

Today we hold the majority in the House of Representatives, the Senate, and the we hold the Executive Branch. We Democrats represent popular opinion, and right now popular opinion is running against the talk radio monopoly. Some measure of balance is needed against their constant stream of lies.

[Buzz Clik]

6. So we turn the media into a propaganda arm of the controlling party? Bad idea.

Sorry, but I'm for capitalism taking its course. If liberals have something to offer on the airwaves, it will be commercially successful. MSNBC's nighttime lineup is a perfect example.

I have no desire to give the federal government yet another way to fuck up my life.

[Optical.Catalyst]

7. I don't want any 'controlling party', I want a level playing field

The radio spectrum belongs to the public, not commercial interests.

[Buzz Clik]

8. You want a level playing field by your definition.

You see the media as being skewed to the right, so you want the government to tilt it toward the left until it meets your definition of "level." That can only be done by tossing the most offensive people off the air (a la Hugo Chavez) or starting government sponsored leftwing programs (controlling party propaganda). I don't see a winning formula in that.

And, the public owns and operates the airwaves because, like it or not, commercial interests are run by people and their profits are driven exclusively by the public. When the governments takes over, that's when the people will be excluded.

[SeeHopeWin]

2. NEXT: HEALTH CARE!!!