...I'm okay with being REALITY-based.




Thursday, May 15, 2003
      ( 3:46 PM )
 
The Blogosphere: The Last Bastion of Independent Thought?

Everyone is blogging really well thought out comments on the coming FCC debacle. I thought I'd briefly add my voice and share some of the ones I've appreciated reading.

High Water has a link to the Common Dreams article that best explains what is going on. This is a must read. New Century for Freedom has blogged many posts lately on the subject, all worth reading, and with a link to a great commentary on the issue.

Ruminate This has a very in-depth and well-written commentary on the FCC. Also follow the link to MoveOn.org's Stop the FCC Campaign. For more activism response, check out Media Alliance .

The corruption of the FCC is one of those things that I can't bring myself to fully blame the GOP for. After all, it was under Clinton's watch that the slippery slope began with deregulation. It's another example to me of top-heavy administrations wich much more power than they were meant to have. Unchecked power, that is. Checks and balances don't seem to apply to things like the FCC. While I don't know that it is a constitutional issue that could be litigated, the lack of independent voices in the airwaves is something that is definitely a detriment to our basic rights as citizens. It is not just the issue of being inundated and surrounded by all-powerful corporations, that in itself is a future to which I fear we've already doomed ourselves...no, it's the issue of equal access. The right for each of us to have an equal say and an equal opportunity to say it. We are being shut out by the rich and powerful voices that do not speak for us, represent us or even care about us. Independent radio stations, newspapers and television channels are going extinct, and with them the opportunity to hear what's really happening in our communities and the rest of the world.

It's a sad day when the FCC can go ahead and make decisions like this without worrying about having to consult public opinion or even congressional opinion. Activists across the country are weighing in and trying to make their voices heard. But it's the average american that needs to be reached. How will Joe America be able to voice an opinion about something he will never hear anything about because already the tv news, the radio talk shows and the city newspapers he reads are choosing not to let him know things that could make him angry and active.

It's not just a coincidence that the media most people watch on tv aren't reporting the coming deflation, the continuing massive amounts of job losses (which are underreported since companies purposefully don't publicly say how many people they are truly laying off); the growing deficit; the increased threat on our security; the robbery of our children's education and welfare; the lies of the president; the platforms of the democratic candidates... the GOP controlled FCC isn't exactly a proponent of letting those things get out there and aired regularly. After all, the neo-cons in charge of the FCC want to stay in power too.

So get your news reports and commentary on, Blogosphere! More and more people are going to be going to the blogs they can trust for the news they need... and luckily for us, the FCC can kiss our independent asses... until John Ashcroft gets us.

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