Free Republic

[clip] The right wants regulation too, but of a very different kind. Multiple right-wing commentators have called for Google and Facebook, whose market share eclipses old 20th-century monopolies like Standard Oil and the Bell System, to be regulated like utilities. The impetus is the threat of political bias from companies that now have more influence over the flow of news and information than any other company in history. Facebook, through a recent change to its news feed algorithm, threatens to undercut the success of new media outlets. Google, by tweaking its search results, could swing an election anywhere in the...

State Sen. Leland Yee is going after another right-wing heavyweight, this time launching a boycott of any companies that advertise on Rush Limbaugh's radio show. Yee, a Democrat who represents northern San Mateo County and western San Francisco, began reaching out Tuesday to dozens of civil rights organizations to ask them to condemn Limbaugh. His staff has compiled a list of the show's sponsors and, with the help of the community groups, will begin putting pressure on them to pull their advertisements from the show. Yee also wants people to stop patronizing the show's advertisers and has launched an online...

INTERNET GRABBERS House Oversight Committee Chairman Darrell Issa continues to demand answers from Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski over why the head of a supposedly independent federal agency visited the White House 81 times between January 2009 and November 2010. It was during this time that Genachowski and his staff were developing a regulatory scheme that would ultimately place control of the Internet in the hands of the FCC. Of special interest to Issa is a meeting held September 17, 2009, which took place four days before Genachowski made a speech at the Brookings Institute laying out the broad...

The liberal group Media Matters has quietly transformed itself in preparation for what its founder, David Brock, described in an interview as an all-out campaign of “guerrilla warfare and sabotage” aimed at the Fox News Channel. The group, launched as a more traditional media critic, has all but abandoned its monitoring of newspapers and other television networks and is narrowing its focus to Fox and a handful of conservative websites, which its leaders view as a political organizations and the “nerve center” of the conservative movement. The shift reflects the centrality of the cable channel to the contemporary conservative movement,...

Inspired by Saul Alinsky, FCC 'Diversity' Chief Calls for ‘Confrontational Movement’ to Give Public Broadcasting Dominant Role in Communications Wednesday, August 26, 2009 By Matt Cover (CNSNews.com) – Mark Lloyd, chief diversity officer of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), called for a “confrontational movement” to combat what he claimed was control of the media by international corporations and to re-establish the regulatory power of government through robust public broadcasting and a more powerful FCC. Lloyd expressed his regulatory call to arms in his 2006 book, “Prologue to a Farce: Communications and Democracy in America” (University of Illinois Press). In the...

Democrats still can't stomach conservative talk radio's clout. It really came to a head when Air America, the liberal talk radio network, had to file for bankruptcy, and its marquis performer, comedian Al Franken, decided to quit and take a job as Minnesota's Democratic Senator, since the pay and benefits are better. Let's have a round of applause for the sound judgment of Minnesota's Democrats. It was quite a journey from "Saturday Night Live" to the Senate for Franken, but logical, since a skill set as a comedian is patently transferable to Washington politics. On Aug. 30, 2007, Hernando Today...

Congressman Greg Walden and Congressman Mike Pence filed the Broadcaster Freedom Amendment last night to the Financial Services Appropriations Bill that would kill any funding for the so-called "Fairness Doctrine" as well as stealth Fairness Doctrine in the form of proposed broadcast localism regulations.Democrats from Speaker Nancy Pelosi to Senators Dick Durbin, and John Kerry have called for the return of this kind of regulation to the airwaves of America, but thanks to the support of millions of freedom-loving Americans, we were able to mostly close the front door to this government censorship.So now they are trying to sneak through...

The crackdown on conservative-talk radio begins with an FCC probe into the new rating system that Obama says the ethnic minorities will be less willing to wear the PPM rating device than whites. Once this more accurate and fraud-proof device was employed, ratings for conservative talk radio surged (putting Rush Limbaugh at times with 50 million listeners); but at the same time liberal talk stations and hip-hop saw their ratings plunge. Read more... http://www.butasforme.com/2009/05/19/obama-declares-talk-radio-ratings-racists-takes-official-steps-to-curb-talk-radios-influence/

I don't believe for a minute that the United Kingdom decided to ban entry to U.S. talk-radio star Michael Savage on its own initiative. First of all, Savage was not asking to enter the U.K. Second of all, while Savage is a big fish in the U.S., his program is not widely known across the pond. What would possess Home Secretary Jacqui Smith to single out Savage on a short list of 16 people worldwide who would not be welcome? I think I know the answer. But first, you have to understand the backdrop to this story. Barack Obama and...

Obama's war on free speech Exclusive: Joseph Farah predicts actions that would tighten state control on media Barack Obama and congressional Democrats are intent on nationalizing media in the U.S. much the same way they nationalized the U.S. auto industry and the nation's banking and financial institutions. This isn't the so-called "Fairness Doctrine." It's much worse. Here's what you can expect in the coming weeks and months: a new appointment to the position of chairman of the Federal Communications Commission who will implement a plan to create "community advisory boards" of community activists to monitor the content of talk-radio programs,...

Last week, I asked if you had a message you'd like to send Rush Limbaugh. The response was overwhelming. We received tens of thousands of submissions, and we picked the top five: * "Americans didn't vote for a Rush to failure" * "Hope and change cannot be Rush'd" * "Failure is not an option for America's future" * "We can fix America, just don't Rush it" * "Rush: Say yes to America" Now, we're putting it up for a vote. Decide which slogan Rush will see in his home town. The slogan with the most votes will be put on...

Back on January 29, we discussed [1] the daily strategy phone call engineered by Obama's Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel for friendly TV commentators and "reporters." Politico reported that Emanuel has a daily phone conference call with ABC's George Stephanopoulos, and CNN's James Carville and Paul Begala. With Rush Limbaugh's raucous CPAC address, as he termed it his "first address to the nation," we can see at least one example of what is likely an attack strategy resulting from the Emanuel phone session with a rush to bash Rush the day after the appearance. [Image credit: politico.com] As soon as...

A group called the Free Radio Coalition has been formed to fight the possible reimposition of the so-called "Fairness Doctrine," Radio America President James Roberts said Tuesday. Chairing the coalition will be veteran broadcaster, Radio America talk-show host and former San Diego Mayor Roger Hedgecock. "The reinstatement of the misnamed Fairness Doctrine would constitute a massive assault on our cherished First Amendment rights and should be of concern to all Americans, regardless of their political or religious persuasion," Mr. Hedgecock said. The group hopes to hold a summit conference of radio talk-show hosts and religious broadcasters in Washington to plan...

Reports are out that President Obama has said he opposes any attempt to bring up the Fairness Doctrine. This isn't the first time he has said this, and it certainly won't be the last. He can say it as often as he wants and he might oppose the specific language known as the "Fairness Doctrine," but that doesn't mean he opposes the principle of it. In fact, just the opposite can be seen from his record as senator. For example, as Terence Jeffrey noted in "Silencing the Opposition" in the February 2009 issue of Townhall magazine (subscribe), he can...

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has launched an on-line petition drive against talk show host Rush Limbaugh. You can find it on the dccc.org website. The DCCC is upset that Rush would say that he “hopes” the President fails on his policies. We have started a petition drive in support of Rush Limbaugh and all of those in talk radio. We feel it is freedom of speech. Please take the time to listen to Limbaugh’s comments on the President during a visit with Sean Hannity on Fox News and then sign on to our petition. We will pass on your...

Michael Calderone in today's Politico reports on the latest liberal politician -- Michigan Democratic Senator Debbie Stabenow -- openly touting their intent to silence their talk radio opposition with a reinstitution of the Fairness Doctrine.  "Whether it’s called the Fairness Standard (sic), whether it’s called something else – I absolutely think it’s time to be bringing accountability to the airwaves." Senator Stabenow was speaking on the air with liberal talk radio host Bill Press and to his eleven listeners nationwide. She insisted that she "think(s) it’s absolutely time to pass a standard" and indicated she had "already had some discussions...

Among Democrats, there are two views as to how to pull this off now. The popular view is the one that looks to Bush making mistakes and, perhaps, to an economic downturn that will make swing voters long for the days of Democratic prosperity under Clinton.

The term "fairness doctrine" is a leftist term that hides the true meaning of the legislation. Leftists are good at framing the issue and use words that manipulate.... such as calling a lockdown of dissenting opinion "fairness." Conservatives often slavishly follow along and find themselves arguing against "fairness." STOP LETTING THE LEFTISTS FRAME THE STORY! Always refer to the issue for what it truly is: CENSORSHIP! Use the term CENSORSHIP DOCTRINE and correct anyone who uses any other descriptor. Conserviatives, stop allowing yourself to be against "fairness." Use the truth and be against CENSORSHIP. For Pete's sake!

Chris Matthews questioned Rush Limbaugh’s patriotism on Wednesday night’s "Hardball," as the MSNBC host wondered how the radio talk show host could dare to oppose Barack Obama as he exclaimed to his viewers: "Does Rush Limbaugh hate this country?" Matthews jumped on a quote from Limbaugh saying of Obama, "I hope he fails," apparently not understanding the concept that Limbaugh opposes any and all who would promote liberal policies precisely because he believes they will be harmful to the country. To see Limbaugh's quote in full context visit his official site. Matthews slammed Limbaugh in the following tease before going...