Posted on 06/28/2007 2:55:13 PM PDT by GRRRRR
“It’s time to reinstitute the Fairness Doctrine,” said Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.). “I have this old-fashioned attitude that when Americans hear both sides of the story, they’re in a better position to make a decision.”
When I heard and read this, I sent my Senator an email reminding him that this country still has a Constitution and that WE THE PEOPLE would NOT be silenced. Some other words to the effect that only cowards want to silence debate and if you can't win electorally then you have to legislate ... yadda yadda yadda, you get the idea. See below for his polite lie-filled response.
Dear Mr. GRRRRR:
Thank you for contacting me about the Fairness Doctrine. I appreciate hearing from you.
The public airwaves are a limited resource owned by the American people. The federal government has the right to set ground rules on their behalf regarding how the airwaves are used, as it does with indecent content and the Emergency Alert System.
Basic government regulation of broadcasting dates all the way back to the early days of broadcasting. For 80 years Congress has limited the issuance and renewal of broadcasting licenses to stations that are able to demonstrate that they will serve the public interest.
Nearly 60 years ago, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) clarified that the public interest requires stations to offer a portion of their airtime to coverage of controversial issues and to provide a reasonable opportunity for the presentation of contrasting viewpoints. This standard became known as the 'Fairness Doctrine'.
The U.S. Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of the Fairness Doctrine in a landmark 1969 decision. When there are more people who want to broadcast than frequencies available, the Court ruled, there is not an absolute First Amendment right of every individual to broadcast what they wish. The Court allowed the government to require that many voices be given the opportunity to be heard on the limited number of frequencies.
In the mid-1980s, the FCC abruptly claimed that the Fairness Doctrine was no longer necessary, and then announced that it would no longer enforce it. Congress responded by approving legislation restoring the Fairness Doctrine, but President Reagan vetoed the measure.
We have seen a significant consolidation of the media in the 20 years since the FCC's decision. Many of the smaller voices that used to be heard in the era of the Fairness Doctrine face hurdles in their effort to share their perspective with the American people. Under the Fairness Doctrine, the smaller, single-ownership stations that dominated the market had to be responsive to the concerns of their local communities. Now, many local TV network affiliates and popular radio stations are owned and controlled by huge national media conglomerates and there is no Fairness Doctrine to ensure balance. Large media companies also own most of the popular cable and satellite television networks.
The airwaves are still an important source of information for millions of Americans, and concerns persist about the degree to which broadcast stations present the range of viewpoints present in the communities they serve. I appreciate having your thoughts on this matter, and I will keep your views in mind in case the Senate considers legislation on this topic.
Thank you again for your message. Please feel free to keep in touch.
Sincerely, Richard J. Durbin United States Senator
RJD/
P.S. If you are ever visiting Washington, please feel free to join Senator Obama and me at our weekly constituent coffee. When the Senate is in session, we provide coffee and donuts every Thursday at 8:30 a.m. as we hear what is on the minds of Illinoisans and respond to your questions. We would welcome your participation. Please call my D.C. office for more details.
Oh, you should SO do this!
Durbin’s still furious because talk radio busted him when he compared our military to the Nazis.
yeah..hear both sides...unlike your imaginary letter about Gitmo that on one has ever seen...yeah go cry an apology....no....go to *ell you traitorous bass turd
When he decides to try to apply the same “fairness doctrine” standards to the network tv news media, to the corporation for public broadcasting, to the editorial pages of the major newspapers (who for the most part are owned by the same companies that own the major network tv stations and radio stations), and to college journalism departments, then maybe we can talk.
The Dems (and a Lott of the Republicans) don't want all sides of the issue covered. They want radio stations so afraid that controversial issues will put their licenses at risk that they will cover no sides of the issue.
After today - who couldn’t see this coming...
Ditto .. GRRRRR should go
Could be fun *L*
What a Dick.
Of course, they’re going to cry for the “Fairness Doctrine” to be revived - they think they would’ve passed amnesty with that in place.
All the media, all the time. And they call us Nazis.
I bet CNN CBS NBC MSNBC ABC freaked out about the fairness thing until they realized it was a dem saying it and would only apply to talk radio.
Is his name Hugo Durbin or Dick Chavez?
Pew, it’s the smell of censorship just before dinner.
I like it! I like it so much, that it should be applied to television and the internet and every single form of voice with a political viewpoint.
I’d love to have a view on Daily Kos or DU posted without being pulled. How about sitting across from Chris Matthews and giving the conservative viewpoint without his blabbering. What about CNN?
While we are at it, how about the editorial pages of the newspapers. Gosh, mine is so left wing it makes a U-turn when the paperboy pitches it to the right. The editorial board would have to give space right underneath their screed everyday.
Oh, boy. Let’s tell them it’s all or nothing.
Yup. And ironically now he's advocating gov't intervention to silence his political opposition. Hmmm.....a certain regime in central Europe in the 1930s comes to mind.
In the olden days we would call him a little slow.
Give the legislative remedies for non-existent problems a rest for a while, Senator.
Fairness is a good idea. They need to fire about 45% of college professors in political science departments and hire Republicans. How about half of the reporters at the New York Times being pro-life? How about half the reporters at the Los Angeles Times being in favor of the 2nd Amendment? And 15 minutes of each of the major network nightly news shows have to have a Republican anchor.
What don’t these idiots understand?
It’s THEIR side who can’t hold an audience.
It’s THEIR side who dont’ want to lisent to their own.
It’s THEIR side who don’t have anything of substance to say.
How come the average citizen can’t go on TV and rebuke one of the assinine things that the hollywood pukes say all the time? That’s not fair either.
Rush, Sean, Mark, Glen, Ann, Laura and so on all have a
right to speak their minds and they do that on a daily basis. The left has the same opportunity and have tried many times but have FAILED MISERABLY. No one wants to listen to them. Period. Plain and simple.
There is plenty of outlets for the lefties to speak and they do. They are just trying now to shut us down now becuase they know the damage we have done.
They know the truth is out there and they can’t stop it.
They know we have a right to call, fax, email whatever the politicians when we want but...THEY DONT’ LIKE IT.
They dont’ want us to BOTHER them.
Well, they should sit up and take notice to what happened here today. America rose up and rose up STRONG.
Now, let them mess with free speech and see how much STRONGER we can rise up and be heard.
What arrogant you know whats.
On top of all the other reasons the Fairness Doctrine is evil, unconstitutional, and stupid, do these bozos really think we’re too dumb to turn the dial when the lib programs come on?
“Dick Durbin before he dicks you.” - Author unknown
I posted this comment on another thread:
“The Conservative element of the U.S. is going to have to pound our Senators and Congressmen once the Fairness Doctrine issue is raised again, just like we did on the immigration issue.
If the Fairness Doctrine is instituted in this nation, the Conservatives of America can do nothing but hunker down, get comfortable and wait for Armageddon.”
THIS WILL SURELY HAPPEN IN ‘08 IF WE DON’T GET A GOOD REPUBLICAN IN THE WHITE HOUSE NEXT ELECTION TO VETO IT.
Right. Don’t the twenty-somethings get their news from Jon Stewart? And what about the leftists teaching in our public schools?
I don’t listen to talk radio at all. I watch C-Span and use the Internet. There is no place for the Fairness Doctrine in today’s society. What people like Durbin (and some on both sides of the aisle) want is to be able to continue to do things in secret. National security issues aside, they can’t do that anymore. We’re on to ‘em.
Oh, ‘scuse me, these are liberals, the law doesn’t apply to them. Silly me, what was I thinking.
-Traveler
I love the name of the “Fairness Doctrine”. It’s so....Orwellian.
Go to hell, dick.
Durbin is a dick! The air waves are to be free from government intrusion. He and all of his lefty fiends are upset, for 1) they can’t keep ratings and generate money for the station (ah, the sweet smell of capitolism) they do not have the listener following! Why you ask? because thier drivle is the Un American view point across the board.
Democrates attempting to stifle our first amendment rights! IT’S NOT FAIR! CRY BABIES! Put this where the sun don’t shine! WE THE PEOPLE HAVE SPOKEN!
Shouldn't that be, "we provide coffee and donuts every THursday at 8:30 a.m. - at taxpayer expense"
Back in a day when there were fewer radio stations in the entire country than there are in New York City today, the fairness doctrine had some merit. Of course, back then the liberals didn't dominate the mainstream media the way they do today either.
Hmmm, why do you suppose your senator invited you to visit him in Washington rather than in Illinois? He knows that you probably can’t come to Washington for “constituent coffee”. Do you suppose it could be that he doesn’t really care what you think? No, it couldn’t be that, it’s his job to care what you think, isn’t it?
Hey Durbin and the rest of you lefties who want to shut down free speech and radio and control the internet...how do you think your ole buddy al will feel? After all, he INVENTED the internet didn’t he?
“I mean, if this becomes law they would have to, right?”
Nope. If this becomes law the stations will back away from ANYTHING even REMOTELY polemical or political since they won’t have the resources to “balance” things..
Which is what these asshats want.
Go to their “coffee” and ask if the “smaller voices” are heard during their constituent meetings or only the rich and powerful?
I agree 100%. Turban Durbin and his ilk should be in orange jumpsuits for sedition and treason and racketeering IMO.
“...the Fairness Doctrine; it’s so...Orwellian”
Kind of like:
The Ministry of Truth, the Ministry of Peace, or the Ministry of Love.
Dick Turban is a pompous lying arrogant snot. I’d love to walk up to him and suddenly muss up his carefully coifed hair. He’d scream worse than if somebody had tried to kill him.
;^)
Oh come on, do you really think that Randi Rhodes on Air America could go more than 2 minutes without saying something politically stupid? ;)
This might be kind of fun. Imagine the tizzy the liberal media would get into if they thought be forced to air Coulter, Maulkin or Limbaugh.
It would almost be worth making an extra big bowl of popcorn.
-Traveler
The FD does not give equal time by having "lib programs", it shuts down ALL political talk because complying with the rules becomes too burdensome.
Before the elimination of the FD, one of the major talk radio stations in Milwaukee 620 WTMJ's feature program was called, "Ask Your Neighbor". Mrs. So and So would call in to see if any of the "neighbors" knew of a way to get the armpit stains out of Mr's tee shirts. And so it went on....THAT would be the essence of what you get in "talk" under the Fairness Doctrine.
I don't think it would have passed. The number of people who listen to talk radio is pretty small compared to those who read newspapers, go online, watch TV.
This is an excuse to go after Rush and his ilk, IMO.
The traitorous idiot.
He can roll multiple copies up . . . starch them good . . . roll in salt . . . and stuff them . . . in the obviously most fitting location.
With a Conservative Supreme Court the CNN CBS NBC MSNBC ABC better be freaked out about the fairness doctrine....the Demorats are their own best enemies...if they cannot grab power in the dark of night they know that they are going down. Now we have seen them expose themselves as the commie tyrants they are...it will not be an easy sale for these fools!
I HATE Dicky Durbin and his idiots. Some fine responses...maybe I’ll visit his local office
Dear Mr. "Stuck in Amber" Durbin,
In 1969, there were only 12 VHF broadcast frequencies (maybe there were more but we only mass-produced TV's capable of receiving 12), 65 UHF broadcast frequencies, and AM and FM radio.
Today, we have coaxial cable channels, DSL channels, satellite TV channels, satellite radio channels, internet channels...
There are plenty of opportunities for small voices to be heard. What's next? Are you going to legislate that the local pizzaria must sell tacos because the closest taco restaurant is too far away for some?
-PJ
Here’s the math Durbin. Fairness Doctrine equals no Rush, no listeners, no sponsors, no dollars, and ultimately no radio stations. Without radio stations, no means of transmitting the MSM propaganda/news. Hmm. Come to think of it; go ahead Durbin. Pull the trigger.
this has been raising too many questions for me. issues arent exactly black and white, and most people are on the fence or just dont care about them, shouldnt they be represented as well? why does this only apply to radio? would this apply to public schools and public television? who decides which time slots are doled to which side? ah yes, i can even see another government agency independent of the fcc being created. the bureau of radiowave allotment and proportion distribution. why cant they leave well enough alone? ive given up television, why cant they give up radio?
this has been raising too many questions for me. issues arent exactly black and white, and most people are on the fence or just dont care about them, shouldnt they be represented as well? why does this only apply to radio? would this apply to public schools and public television? who decides which time slots are doled to which side? ah yes, i can even see another government agency independent of the fcc being created. the bureau of radiowave allotment and proportion distribution. why cant they leave well enough alone? ive given up television, why cant they give up radio?
Yeha, you know that and I know that, but people like Dick Durbin will never blame himself for any of it.
With amnesty, the apolitical people were weighing in.
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