With a clearly activist liberal Congress in place, the news Don Imus has gotten the ax and that the FCC is now beginning to look into what most likely was the Imus in the Morning Show may be more than the usual distraction in what has become a typical race flair up, egged on by the usual suspects, Messrs. Sharpton and Jackson et al.
With Representative Kucinich already talking about reconstituting the Fairness Doctrine as far back as January, a far from Conservative radio talker may have provided said Congress with just the opening it seeks. The ultimate prize the liberals in Congress are after has nothing to do with race, as always, it's about politics more than anything else.
Just look at how the politicians are already lining up. A late to the show Obama wants Imus fired, as does Hillary. McCain and Giuliani say forgiveness is the proper choice. Edwards is also for forgiveness, but the neophyte politician always seems late to get the memo; he'll learn, or more likely parish for being such a weak candidate to start.
Imus, aside from being a shill for MS and NBC pundits with a few other journalists and politicos thrown in, is not really all that important in the grand scheme. At best he drew some 300,000 listeners on a good day.
A liberal Congress already quick to hurl subpoenas at the AG for normal firings, while it's Speaker is circling the globe talking to the likes of Syria and potentially Iran, is not a Congress determined to catch small fish simply to thrown them in some pan. They have much bigger fish to fry. Within 2 - 3 months Don Imus will be forgotten, but Right Talk Radio will be the real glint in their bullseye. And if you listen in much, it becomes pretty obvious the major conservative talkers have already figured that out.
If you believe in Global Warming, we may have a hot Summer, but it won't be long before a cool wind starts to blow down off the Hill with the clear if not expressed purpose of leaving more than a few radio towers in its wake. How long do you think it will be before we hear the first call for hearings? And we all know what Congressional hearings are really about - politics and little else.
Cross-posted at Riehl World View.
—Dan Riehl is a blogger and journalist. Read more of his work at Riehl World View.
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Dan,Exactly right, I just cau
April 12, 2007 - 00:20 ET by bigtimerDan,
Exactly right, I just caught a brief segment in between fixing dinner and such and I heard the line-up of all conservatives being named for some things they have said that are so-called derogatory, from Rush on...I think it was either Olbermann or CNN, I was furious, then scared.
People had better wake up to where this is heading...the leftist powers to be have engineered this...I have said so before, they know Imus is a perfect target, he will always be a perfect target for entrapment, as really what he said is nothing new to what he has said for years, this has been fishy to me from last night on, it is too perfect for the perfect storm.....I am not nuts!
It is my story and I am sticking to it...
The dems could have complete control in '08...wake up out there!
bigtimer, here is a Newsmax
April 12, 2007 - 05:28 ET by motherbeltbigtimer, here is a Newsmax story about all the crap that has been said about Catholics, without repercussion....there is definitely a double standard. I think the blue ribbon winner is Penn Jillette [of the comedy team Penn and
Teller] calling Mother Teresa ‘Mother F***ing
Teresa’ and called the nuns who worked with her ‘f***ing c**ts.’ ' Granted, he said it on Showtime, but it was disseminated all over and everyone knew he had said it. No one HAS to listen to Imus, either, or watch his simulcast on MSNBC.
http://www.newsmax.com/archives/ic/2007/4/11/160828.shtml?s=ic
I forgot how to do the naming the link thing.
BTW...why doesn't this site work in Firefox? I'm in IE...in Firefox it says the server is down for maintenance
motherbelt, I'm using Firef
April 12, 2007 - 05:34 ET by John in CAmotherbelt, I'm using Firefox and it's working fine.
Give a Democrat Party free America a chance!
This is beyond weird.
April 12, 2007 - 05:46 ET by motherbeltThis is beyond weird.
motherbelt
April 12, 2007 - 05:38 ET by gfrrmanmotherbelt, just an fyi I am running NB on Firefox and Safari...right now. Hmm..
"Eventually, Socialists run out of other peoples' money...." MARGARET THATCHER
I figured out I could acce
April 12, 2007 - 06:19 ET by motherbeltI figured out I could access the site by using an old link in the history. Then I deleted the bookmark and made a new one with the page brought up with the old link, and now it works. Go figure. Anyway, I'm glad because I hate IE!
mother
April 12, 2007 - 06:25 ET by gfrrmanmother, good for you. You wouldn't want to miss a day of NB, huh? Btw, I hate IE too and my Mac somehow trashed my IE by itself. I missed it and didn't even realize until one day I looked and it was gone. Cool..
"Eventually, Socialists run out of other peoples' money...." MARGARET THATCHER
The only thing is ..if the
April 12, 2007 - 00:22 ET by mlongThe only thing is ..if the Dems do bring back the fairness doctrine to try to silence conservatives on the airwaves their also going to have to do something about the internet too..because they will have to control all forms of information if they want their plans to take complete control of the US to work.
Of course they, the leftist
April 12, 2007 - 00:27 ET by bigtimerOf course they, the leftists, want control of the internet too in my opinion mlong...
World-wide.
Be worried, very very worried.
I am because an "Inter
April 12, 2007 - 00:36 ET by mlongI am because an "Internet Fairness Doctrine" would not be that far fetched..because the same arguments that the Dems are using to bring back the F.D. could be used for the internet..I mean look at China they have strict limits on their peoples access to the web and places like Google were more than happy to help them keep that control over them.
mlong,I don't recall if you w
April 12, 2007 - 00:48 ET by bigtimermlong,
I don't recall if you were hear about a year ago or more...but anyway a whole lot of us were worried about a EU decision I think it was, with the internet and some decision that had to do with the internets and control/restrictions, I think acumen and Ct were here and others, but there is some acronym I hope that is the correct term that I can't remember for our side.... of the US vs the EU having to do with decisions on our use of the internet and control, quite a debate here...and we all kept an eye on it...the EU lost but I have been worried since day one about all of this anyway, I have always thought if the leftists here get in our privacy and freedom are going to be stripped away if they can.
I know I am rambling on, it is late..but....
I am worried....
I'm still a newbie here but
April 12, 2007 - 01:22 ET by mlongI'm still a newbie here but I do seem to recall the EU story about internet control..but it's all the same wether then or now....if you control the information you control the people.
Kucinich has already said he
April 12, 2007 - 00:33 ET by KC MulvilleRep. Kucinich has already said he was going to hold hearings. He claims that he hasn't pre-decided the issue, and that the hearings are only to gather information so that America can make an informed opinion. (And if you believe that one ...) Funny thing. The marketplace has already decided, and Talk Radio is huge business.
Still, those hearings might be useful. The idea of watching Rush Limbaugh testify in front of Kucinich may be too good to pass up.
KC...It would be a dream to w
April 12, 2007 - 00:41 ET by bigtimerKC...
It would be a dream to watch that...poor old Kucinich wouldn't even realize what hit him until he read about it in the papers the next day...
LOL!
BT'er, It would be a rating
April 12, 2007 - 00:59 ET by John in CABT'er, It would be a ratings bonanza for C-SPAN if Rush testified. I would expect pipsqueak Kucinich to do everything he could to prevent that. The only hope would be if the ranking member didn't just roll over and forced the issue.
Hannity, before the '06 elections, was warning that if the demos took over, introduction of a new Fairness Doctrine would be one of their top agenda items. What we won't see is a Fairness Doctrine for TV or print media. Only for radio.
Give a Democrat Party free America a chance!
A ratings Bonanza indeed John
April 12, 2007 - 01:10 ET by bigtimerA ratings Bonanza indeed John!
I have to check out for the night...get lunches ready for tomorrow...
Catch ya later...
Can Rush use PowerPoint? If n
April 12, 2007 - 01:23 ET by KC MulvilleCan Rush use PowerPoint? If not, I'll be glad to help him out.. Let him show a slide that says that the "independent research organization" has verified that he's right 98.3% of the time (or whatever it is), and then we'll have a slide showing how often Kucinich is right ...
That's it. I'm officially in favor of Fairness Hearings. Bring it on!
Bring it on….. can’t imag
April 12, 2007 - 00:48 ET by maggieqpublicBring it on….. can’t imagine that an assault on conservative point-of view radio would bring anything but regret to the “fairness” crowd. The leftist viewpoint has not created much in the way of successful commercial programming.
And I hope Don Imus returns to radio…. would love to hear again what he really thinks about Katie Couric, Matt Lauer, Al Sharpton, Jessie Jackson, et.al. He didn’t reserve all of his nasty comments for conservatives and the innocent.Oh maggie,Won't he hve a boat
April 12, 2007 - 00:51 ET by bigtimerOh maggie,
Won't he hve a boat-load of spewing to do!
Tell us how you really feel!
LOL!
Believe it or not, I have thought of that too...XM/Sirius...get ready!
Maybe XM (since they were d
April 12, 2007 - 02:41 ET by sarcasmoMaybe XM (since they were dimwitted-enough to pay Oprah $50 million for doing almost nothing) but Sirius is run by the great Mel Karmizan. Mel's smart enough to know that many of us would rather listen to Riley Martin than Anus, and Riley only gets $400 a week. CBS/Viacom & MSNBC were rumored to have been stupidly-paying Anus ~$10 million a year. Maybe they can work out a deal, I'm sure SOME people want to listen to an old geezer pointlessly mumbling about politics, but I suspect the deal's gonna resemble Riley's a hell of a lot more than it resemble's Howard's (which, I'll remind everyone here because lots of you seem to hate hearing it, is a half BILLION over 5 years, plus about $100 million bonus, because Howard's audience numbers were so damn good).
JMR
maggie, The left wouldn't h
April 12, 2007 - 01:09 ET by John in CAmaggie, The left wouldn't have to mount an agressive campaign against conservative talk radio. Heck, we already know they can't compete in that medium.
All they would have to do is basically nothing. If a station can't find counter-view programming to schedule to balance conservative talk, then conservative talk would just have to be curtailed. I'd imagine to the left, that is just as good an end result as having their left-talk on the air. Possibly better, in that we conservatives would be deprived, and the left wouldn't have to demonstrate their total lack of ability in that medium.
Give a Democrat Party free America a chance!
Dang, I'm middle-aged and pre
April 12, 2007 - 01:20 ET by maggieqpublicDang, I'm middle-aged and pretty lazy, but if they tried to restrict my Limbaugh programming, I'd have to revert to my college demonstration days. Look out.
Imus, Bias, Devils, & Heaven
April 12, 2007 - 00:52 ET by Daniel DiRitoFrankly, we are fast becoming the epitome of a Jerry Springer society. It seems to have become more important to have an audience and notoriety when confronting conflict than it is to attain resolve and mutual respect. That model seems to serve the needs of the exploited and those who seek to exploit; reinforcing all that relegates objectivity to the outhouse while making the frailty and imperfection of the human condition a spectacle that harkens back to the Coliseum.
This situation isn’t and shouldn’t be about whether liberals or conservatives, this race or that race, hip hop or honky-tonk, one group or another, are more offensive and therefore more responsible for all that is wrong with America. I am not capable of judging the whole of Don Imus nor am I capable of crafting a recipe to fix all of America…and neither are the countless pundits and partisans who have sought to frame it so.
I’m not a religious person…but I often find kinship with the imagery surrounding the portrayal of one called Jesus and his teachings of understanding and forgiveness. For all the banter I hear about the Bible and Christian values, it certainly seems to me that we are fast abandoning what many view as the sacred “tablets” in favor of the sacrosanct tabloids. If I’m right, all I can say is heaven help us.
Read more about the dynamics that lead a situation to become larger than the sum of its parts…here:
http://www.thoughttheater.com/2007/04/imus_bias_devils_heaven.php
Daniel--
April 12, 2007 - 11:08 ET by misterbilldaniel--excellent article! You have put into words an excellent dissertation on observations of our culture. I have long been puzzled as to the attraction of certain shows, books, etc. in America. I wish I could remember which NB member who shone a bright light on one of my puzzlements. That one dealt with the folks who seem to hate America. The NBer brought up the fact they were self-loathers. It fit, at least in my mind , to a T. I still do not understand all the reasons why they feel that way, but the answer to my question opened the door of basic understanding and allowed me to form some ideas as to why. I will not go into detail here on my conjecture.
Lastly, I am a very spiritual person. I am a Christian who believes in God, and in Jesus. I am not a "bible-thumper", a "live my way or you burn" type of Christian. I am however extremely dismayed at the advances in insulting and removing America's Judeo-Christian foundations (creches, "under God",abortion at will, ad nauseum). The Supreme Court and the ACLU have hurt this country severely. I believe the changes have made a large part of our society akin to the Romans at the games. (As you expressed it, "a Jerry Springer society".) If we, the decent American public, do not stand up and fight for the restoration of decency and love of country, we will most surely be a lost society and be gone as a Republic in a short time.
God help us all!
Where ’s the coward that would not dare to fight for such a land?
Sir Walter Scott
Fairness Doctrine? You mean
April 12, 2007 - 01:49 ET by MidAmericaFairness Doctrine?
You mean the MSM will be forced to do favorable reports about Iraq and George Bush?
....and ask left leaning democrats hard questions, investigate ALL political corruption, publish polls even though they don't like the results, give global warming skeptics equal time, stop repeating something after it's proven false, stop inferring NOW speaks for all women, Jesse and Al speak for all blacks, unions speak for all workers, respect Christianity, our nations history is something to be proud of, our military personnel are a cut above not a step down from the ordinary, actors are just actors not experts or role models, life outside NYC, DC and LA is also meaningful, loggers are not raping the earth, oil companies are just corporations, Boy Scouts are not evil, men are not defective women, Christmas is not offensive, sexual orientation is a private matter, refuse to publish stolen government secrets that harm national security, give respect to rural white southerners, just because a person or group calls themselves an 'environmentalist' that does not automatically make their judgment superior, men and women are better at different things, Fidel Castro is just a dictator oppressing his people, .................
You mean that type of fairness?
Mr America
April 12, 2007 - 02:03 ET by gfrrmanMidAmerica, strangely the "Fairness" Doctrine ONLY applies to RADIO!! Hmmmm???!!!! that pretty much explains it all.
"Eventually, Socialists run out of other peoples' money...." MARGARET THATCHER
Yes, the fairness doctrine ha
April 12, 2007 - 03:35 ET by MidAmericaYes, the fairness doctrine has only covered radio. But.... there are congress people who want to apply a version of it to television. There's the problem of FOX News being so one-sided.
I don't know why they don't just make conservative viewpoints a Hate Crime and be done with it.
Mid
April 12, 2007 - 03:53 ET by gfrrmanI think your last sentence is where this is ultimately headed with the left. They are so scared of anything that doesn't conform to their views. And they call THAT "progressive"? LMFAO!!
"Eventually, Socialists run out of other peoples' money...." MARGARET THATCHER
MA,They are much closer to do
April 12, 2007 - 09:24 ET by Dave RMA,
They are much closer to doing this than most people realize.
This republic will not survive the continued neglect of its people.- Neal Boortz.
Censors of the left and rig
April 12, 2007 - 02:13 ET by sarcasmoCensors of the left and right love the FCC as much as I hate it. The FCC, like PBS, needs to be totally defunded ASAP. America is drowning in a sea of red ink, and wasting my taxes on censorship gets my wrath whether your name's Al Sharpton or Brent Bozell. Both of 'em need to stuff it, as far as I'm concerned. The fact that the FCC even exists is an affront to both the First Amendment and property rights.
JMR
Bye bye First Amendment.
April 12, 2007 - 09:23 ET by Dave RThe liberals smell blood. They won't stop for just Imus. Now they will be going after Rush, Sean, Neal and all the rest.
The First Amendment is about to be challenged like never before.
Boortz has a poll today asking who you think is next on their list.
This republic will not survive the continued neglect of its people.- Neal Boortz.
Dave R
April 12, 2007 - 09:33 ET by gfrrmanDave, I've been listening to Bootz all AM and he's mentioned that fact and has some good reading about it on his website(which I'm sure you've already checked out).
"Eventually, Socialists run out of other peoples' money...." MARGARET THATCHER
gfrrman
April 12, 2007 - 09:50 ET by Dave RI've had it on all morning too, as per usuall.
I can't say I have much use for Imus, but I will defend his right to say whatever he likes.
Too bad he caved in like he did. Had it been Boortz, he would have given Al & Jesse the finger. I bet Don Imus now wishes he had done the same.
Problem for us is, Imus is basically a liberal. Wait until you see what they do to conservatives they want to get rid of.
This is getting scary.
This republic will not survive the continued neglect of its people.- Neal Boortz.
DaveR
April 12, 2007 - 09:57 ET by gfrrmanCan't say I've ever listened to Imus nor care to. But I too defend his right to say whatever. He should have gone only to the Basketball team. Screw Jackson and Sharpton.. Boortz would have read these two shysters the riot act(excuse the pun)!!
"Eventually, Socialists run out of other peoples' money...." MARGARET THATCHER
dave r
April 12, 2007 - 09:42 ET by misterbillWhy you straight haired fair skinned honky---how dare you? LOL ROTFLMAO
Whoops, I will now be banned for two weeks.
I believe you are correct--the smell of blood in the water is too strong for them to not pick up boathooks and try to land all the other conservative hosts. Remember, their type was seeking to require an opposing view guest on all conservative shows a short while back. The country worsens every day. A communist ACLU. A Supreme Court that changes the Constitution any time they feel like it, A large number of fat ass lazy Americans who have no clue what is going on in their country (illegal immigration for one) and a large number who want to override the President's management of the Iraq war.
Hey doncha know--war is bad? They will see how bad it is when it comes back to the USA.
misterbill, This is the chanc
April 12, 2007 - 10:56 ET by Dave Rmisterbill,
This is the chance the libs have been waiting for. If Imus had any kind of a backbone and had told Al and Jesse to go pound sand, I'm guessing this would have blown over pretty quickly. Unfortunately, Imus going on Al's show and groveling (and I am being quite charitable here) has only made it worse for himself.
Then again, what do you expect a castrated, spineless liberal like Imus to do other than cave?
This republic will not survive the continued neglect of its people.- Neal Boortz.
We'd better get ready ...
April 12, 2007 - 10:40 ET by EllisWyattI think we all need to face facts. The Democrats WILL pursue the Fairness Doctrine. All they're waiting for is the right moment. We'd better start preparing NOW to prevent it from happening.
If you're not outraged at the media, you haven't been paying attention.
Dan is spot-on. The ultra-
April 12, 2007 - 10:56 ET by daveinbocaDan is spot-on. The ultra-left wants the media playing field all to itself and all that First Amendment hypocrisy the Democrats trot out means nothing compared to their hatred of radio and talk-show hosts talking the truth to Dem treason.
They're already "blaming' Limbaugh for the flak about the Pelosi trip. Watch their mighty Wurlitzer start to boom-box control of radio without control of network news. Orwell was right about the left! The Ministry of Truth is alive and well in the DNC.
I don't understand the hatred
April 12, 2007 - 17:17 ET by ferrarimanf355I don't understand the hatred for the Fairness Doctrine. I thought you guys would be all over this, because of that myth about the so-called "liberal media". Or are you guys worried that Rush, Sean, Laura and all of the other neocons can't back up their hyperbole with actual facts? I thought conservatives were for the Fairness Doctrine before Regan abolished it, feeling that it's a safe harbor against those evil liberal thoughts? I don't think it's stifiling free speech if they can back up their facts and talk a little about opposing viewpoints. Isn't talk radio supposed to be the free exchange of ideas? Then, what's so wrong with getting the whole picture?
Uzumaki/Ayanami '08. Because a ninja and an Eva pilot can govern the nation better that what we have now...
ferrari - we would be fine wi
April 12, 2007 - 17:23 ET by Dee Bunkferrari - we would be fine with it if it applied equally to the MSM - TV, newspapers, political shows, News shows, citcoms, and the schools . Liberals only want it in the one place they don't dominate
Been there, done that
April 12, 2007 - 20:12 ET by nkviking75We had a "Fairness" Doctrine once. It had the effect of keeping talk radio bland and non-controversial, as well as much more scarce.
To enforce a Fairness Doctrine, we'd either need to empower some agency to arbitrate some impractical standard of fairness on thousands of stations across the country, or we'd have to flood our already overloaded courts with legal actions to enforce it. Most radio stations would simply drop anything controversial to avoid the potential problems.
This is probably as big an assault on the First Amendment as anyone could invent.
When you put the clowns in charge, don't be surprised when a circus breaks out.