Herman Cain - Action Needed on Broadcaster Freedom Act

Congressman Mike Pence and his fellow Congressman and free speech champion Greg Walden, will try to have the Broadcaster Freedom Act - which will help protect talk radio from Obama's FCC - added as an amendment to the Financial Services budget bill on Tuesday.

But according to Congressman Pence, Speaker Pelosi won't allow it - UNLESS WE DEMAND THAT SHE DOES SO.

As you may recall, the Broadcaster Freedom Act of 2009 would amend the Communications Act of 1934 to prohibit the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), from requiring broadcasters to arbitrarily present opposing viewpoints on controversial issues of public importance, commonly referred to as the Fairness Doctrine.

Please locate your Representatives phone number here (http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1102638803407&s=43982&e=0012r6CfpIGKs5aJVJkgnWcoPj0eyMsFF-t0mp8n1cd1Z7jieT0omHT5msJnUVMcf5Zo9D33MrETEzJDed7kSzLpy5T05-N_bkGVoKEkLUAO18crB8VZGXi_VmIeY-_PWfd) and call and fax them today, demanding that he or she tell Speaker Pelosi to allow a full, fair up or down vote on the Broadcaster Freedom Amendment. You may also contact them by email. However, a phone call will be more immediate and effective at this point.

The time is now to protect talk radio! Please, pick up the phone and start dialing right away. And don't stop; we need you to call immediately.

We saw just last week how much our voices can impact congress if we just let them hear what we have to say. Please contact your Representative ASAP.

Herman Cain - Head Coach
Intelligent Thinkers Movement

Posted with permission

Time for the media to flex its' muscles?

Yesterday I watched Mr. Obama and Timothy Geithner give an overview of the restrictions they were placing on companies taking TARP funds. (Just so you know, in the fine print of those restrictions is a bit that says something along the lines of "we can exempt anyone if we choose"). It struck me as odd that immediately after speaking, Obama and Geithner turned on their heels and walked away without answering any media questions. I understand that sometimes they don't and usually the media is told beforehand. However, the thought flitted through my mind that Obama had pledged open access, change and all that stuff. It seemed that he was shutting out the media.

More and more stories are coming out about how Mr. Obama is using the media and / or going around the media. I predict that if he keeps it up, there is going to be a media backlash. In fact, all the news that's creeping out and then blossoming hugely (cabinet pick problems, stories on his perks in office, etc.) may be a sign of the media flexing its muscles.

Here are a couple of stories that I found interesting this morning:

(I only include this story because of the first paragraph... if you read the story, it is written by someone who is firmly in Obama's camp, best case of outright, blatant bias I've seen in a few days.)
Obama to enlist local GOP in stimulus fight
The irony of President Barack Obama’s Blue Tuesday is that the wall-to-wall television interviews he granted were designed not to apologize for Tom Daschle’s fall from grace but to fight back against the Republicans’ success in tarnishing his stimulus package.
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/editorial/outlook/6247503.html

White House Cheat Sheet: Bypassing the Media Filter
During the presidential campaign, Barack Obama and his team learned a very important lesson that they are seeking to put into practice in the White House: the power of the media is overrated.
Time and again during the campaign, Obama used his burgeoning grassroots army -- now more than 13 million email addresses strong -- to push out the message that he wanted to dominate the day rather than the message the media was focused on.
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/thefix/2009/02/white_house_cheat_sheet_around.html?hpid=topnews

Obama poised to be first 'wired' president
(CNN) -- As the first president-elect with a Facebook page and a YouTube channel, Barack Obama is poised to use the Internet to communicate directly with Americans in a way unknown to previous presidents. Judging by Obama's savvy use of social-networking sites during his campaign and the interactive nature of his transition team's Web site, Americans can expect a president who bypasses the traditional media's filters while reaching out to citizens for input, observers say.
http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/01/15/obama.internet.president/index.html

On one level, I like the idea of our elected officials going straight to the public, bypassing all the hype and bias of the media. However, if all we get is one side, then that's not a good thing either. What elected official is going to send out an email saying "here's how this will destroy life as you know it" or any negative points of view on their proposals (unless it's to rebut negatives)? We need opposing views.

There's another scary side to this one, too. There are a lot of people concerned about the direction this administration is heading in regards to free speech. The "Fairness Doctrine", which targets talk radio, will ostensibly shut down one large opposition view media. Does anyone really think it will stop with talk radio?

The media needs to flex fast or it's possible they won't be able to work their muscles at some point.

Frankenfraud

The Wallstreet Journal has a great summation of the Frankenfraud situation in Minnesota. It seems, per WSJ, that some voters are having their ballots counted twice. Yep, twice.

Under Minnesota law, election officials are required to make a duplicate
ballot if the original is damaged during Election Night counting. Officials are
supposed to mark these as "duplicate" and segregate the original ballots. But it
appears some officials may have failed to mark ballots as duplicates, which are
now being counted in addition to the originals. This helps explain why more than
25 precincts now have more ballots than voters who signed in to vote. By some
estimates this double counting has yielded Mr. Franken an additional 80 to 100
votes.

Throughout the recount we have heard about one impropriety after another. Now it seems that since Frankenfraud is ahead, he suddenly wants to stop the recount. He wants to take his marbles and go home since he's in the lead.

As I've written before, the outcome of this so-called election was a foregone conclusion once Coleman didn't get a large enough margin to avoid a recount.

I find it interesting that Obama's move into the White House is surrounded by all these Democrat debacles. We have the on-going sitcom in Illinois with the governor, Richardson stepping aside due to legal problems and the Franken issue. Did I miss any? I know there are a lot of side issues in play: the very unfair "Fairness Doctrine", the Employee Free Choice Act which takes away the employees right to free choice and the ongoing bailouts.

While all this goes on Obama quietly makes controversial appointments (to my way of thinking) like Leon Panetta, Bill Clinton's former White House Chief of Staff, to head up the CIA. It's recycle city, no real change I can believe in...

Funny Business in Minnesota
In which every dubious ruling seems to help Al Franken.
Strange things keep happening in Minnesota, where the disputed recount in the Senate race between Norm Coleman and Al Franken may be nearing a dubious outcome. Thanks to the machinations of Democratic Secretary of State Mark Ritchie and a meek state Canvassing Board, Mr. Franken may emerge as an illegitimate victor.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123111967642552909.html

GetLiberty.org has a good recap of the Wall Street Journal article and the shenanigans that have occurred with some interesting insights you might want to read: http://alg31blog.timberlakepublishing.com/default.asp?Display=854

Fairness?

A number of people have sent me the article below today regarding Nancy Pelosi's attempts to ensure there is no balance in the House. I'll let you read the article to get the full details, but it's another scary happening in the works that has me wondering even more about the future of our country.

I listened recently to Rep. Steny Hoyer answering questions on a talk show. One of the questions dealt with the Union bill which will do away with secret ballots (Employee Free Choice Act). He's all for it and expects it to come up --- and pass --- this year. If you're unfamiliar, it's a bill that will basically take away an employees right to vote for or against a Union in private. Talk about intimidation, not to mention basic rights. Try to imagine how fast Unions are going to take over business after business.

Then there is the so-called "Fairness Doctrine". That one is on the horizon also. In broad strokes, it will force equal time for views from both sides of the political spectrum. On the radio. Ya know, the area that conservatives dominate at the moment...

I'd be against this Bill even if it did extend to mainstream media news, television and theater. Can you imagine a world where in every show if someone said "global warming" the other guys would have equal time to disprove it? Nah, me either. No way the Dems are going to allow that to happen! However, if this bill passes, and it probably will given the make-up of Congress, it's going to be a nasty mess. I'll have to write another blog on what I think will happen if the Fairness Doctrine becomes law some day.

I wonder how long it will be after the Fairness Doctrine passes before this cancerous trend starts worming its way into other arenas? How long before freedom of speech and freedom of the press are history?

I'd like to think we won't get that far, but when ideology trumps common sense and power gives temporary invincibility, anything can happen.

I hope all my readers will go do a bit of research on the three issues I've mentioned: the rule changes being proposed by Pelosi (below), the new Union bill (ironically called the Employee Free Choice Act) and the Fairness Doctrine. Nothing fair 'bout any of 'em.

Pelosi Erases Gingrich's Long-Standing Fairness Rules
by Connie Hair
01/05/2009
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi plans to re-write House rules today to ensure that the Republican minority is unable to have any influence on legislation. Pelosi’s proposals are so draconian, and will so polarize the Capitol, that any thought President-elect Obama has of bipartisan cooperation will be rendered impossible before he even takes office.
http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=30143#continueA