ABOUTWHERE WE PUT THE OLD STUFF
The Fairness Doctrine – The Commie Muzzle

Is Fidel Castro in 'grave' condition? Is he dead? Is he in a coma? Would you trust
Granma to tell you the truth? Granma is the
widely read official newspaper of the Central Committee of the Cuban Communist Party.

Cuban media is controlled by the Cuban government through anti-government propaganda laws. The national newspapers of
Cuba are not directly published by the government. They are published by various Cuban political organizations, notably the
Cuban Communist Party, which is the only legal party in Cuba.

The 1st Amendment of the US Constitution states: “Congress shall make no law...abridging the freedom of speech or of the
press…”  It would seem that law in Cuba and law in the United States are very much at odds.

Hold on; maybe not. The ill named “fairness doctrine”, a regulation issued by the Federal Radio Commission and
played with by
its successor, the Federal Communications Commission, since 1949, attempts to control speech over the licensed airwaves
through its bureaucracy and the Federal Courts. This regulation begs the constitutional question of whether radio, television
and the internet are part of “The Press.” This writer’s opinion is that, if sent to the Supreme Court today, justices Roberts,
Thomas, Scalia, and Alito, would say yea and Justices Souter, Breyer, Stevens, and Ginsburg would say nay and Justice
Kennedy’s “swing vote” would decide whether you can listen to Boortz, Limbaugh and Hannity within sixty days of an election.  
The current makeup of the court makes it easy to understand why lefty democrats don’t want and fight, lie, cheat, and steals to
keep strict constructionist jurist off the Supreme Court.

As reported by FMQB’s Website:

Over the weekend, the National Conference for Media Reform was held in Memphis, TN, with a number of notable speakers on
hand for the event. Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) made a surprise appearance at the convention to announce that he would be
heading up a new House subcommittee which will focus on issues surrounding the Federal Communications Commission.
The Presidential candidate said that the committee would be holding "hearings to push media reform right at the center of
Washington.” The Domestic Policy Subcommittee of the House Government Reform Committee was to be officially announced
this week in Washington, D.C. but Kucinich opted to make the news public early.

In addition to media ownership, the committee is expected to focus its attention on issues such as net neutrality and major
telecommunications mergers. Also in consideration is the "Fairness Doctrine," which required broadcasters to present
controversial topics in a fair and honest manner. It was enforced until it was eliminated in 1987. (By a Ronald Reagan Veto)

Kucinich said in his speech that "We know the media has become the servant of a very narrow corporate agenda" and added
"we are now in a position to move a progressive (ed. comment read socialist / communist) agenda to where it is visible."

Now making things visible is not the usual democrat methodology. Take exempting American Samoa from the minimum wage bill
just passed in the House of Representatives.

But hey Dopey Denny, bring that fairness doctrine garbage back out there in the daylight and see if the hue and cry from
conservatives and the new alternative media doesn’t trump your intentions.  The Right will cover your lapdog main-stream
mouthpieces with more lawsuits, for fairness, than the ACLU has lawyers.