FCC

Trump’s FCC Boss (Fascist Communications Czar) Tells Fox News He is ‘Looking Into’ Fake Polls

Posted by on September 6, 2026 at 2:51 pm. 1 Comments :

In the decade that Donald Trump has been in politics, he has distinguished himself as the most media averse president of all time. He has taken unprecedented actions to censor the free press, insulted journalists for doing their jobs, and whined incessantly about his paranoid perception of being a victim of what he routinely calls the “fake news.”

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Donald Trump and Media - ABC, CBS, NBC, MSNBC, CNN, FOX

Recently Trump was ticked off by a segment on Meet the Press during which the host, Kristen Welker, accurately pointed out that Trump’s record of endorsements was a “mixed bag” due to many of his preferred candidates losing their primary races. In response to Welker’s reporting Trump proposed a vengeful penalty that he has no legal authority to dispense.

SEE THIS: Wannabe Fascist Dictator Trump is Reporting Meet the Press Host to His FCC – For ‘Punishment’?

Trump’s proposal was typical of his hyperactive overreach that demonstrates his ignorance of, and disrespect for, the Constitution and its First Amendment protection for the free press. Neither he nor his FCC have any jurisdiction to punish journalists, particularly when they are right.

On Sunday morning Trump and his nursemaid, Natalie Harp, were busy with what he regards as his primary presidential duties of posting goofy memes on his failing Twitter ripoff, Truth Social. They included AI slopix of himself horseback riding with George Washington, Robert De Niro with a Trump t-shirt, renaming New Mexico to New America, Joe Biden in a Trump hat, Trump as Hulk Hogan, and 31 more deranged fantasies. I sure hope hope it doesn’t cut into his golf game.

Meanwhile, Trump’s FCC boss, Brendan Carr, was on Fox News doing what he does best: disseminating Trumpist propaganda. Carr was interviewed by Fox’s Peter Doocy who asked whether Trump had actually reported Welker to him for her punishment. Carr began his reply with a tediously long word salad that had nothing to do with the question. But he eventually weaved his way back to provide an answer that came a little closer to being responsive.

“There is a lot of interest right now in fake polls that are out there. So the FCC may put guidance out soon to remind broadcasters about their obligations with respect to not airing fake polls. Particularly if they’re done to suppress people heading into the fall.”

FCC Chair Brendan Carr on Trump calling for Kristen Welker to receive "punishment" for accurately saying he has a mixed record on endorsements: "I think President Trump is over the target, and we are looking at a lot of actions"

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) 2026-09-06T15:19:13.294Z

WTF is he talking about? The FCC has no role whatsoever in the collection of data, or subsequent results of, public polling. It cannot make determinations as to whether they are accurate or fake. And it definitely can’t enforce any sort of “guidance” as to how they are conducted or reported. The FCC is not an official censorship agency that can muzzle the media. Particularly if it’s done to suppress information from people heading into the fall.

Broadcasters have no “obligations” as to how they report polls, outside of their own standards and practices set by their editors and executives. The worst parties to assume that authority would be those in government. That’s how dictatorships control the media and suppress the freedom that American journalists have had for 250 years.

Trump and Carr are behaving like the tyrannical despots they admire in Russia, China, and North Korea. However, the only people that should be subject to punishment are Trump and his White House flunkies who are violating the Constitution.

Trump’s obsession with what he calls fake polls stems from his knowledge that those polls are accurate. And illegally obstructing broadcasters from reporting on them doesn’t change the facts that they represent. Trump and his criminal regime are broadly despised and they are going down.

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Wannabe Fascist Dictator Trump is Reporting Meet the Press Host to His FCC – For ‘Punishment’?

Posted by on August 30, 2026 at 1:55 pm. 2 Comments :

The most media averse president in the history of the United States, Donald Trump, is once again demonstrating his inbred hostility to the free press and the Constitution that explicitly protects it in the very First Amendment.

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Donald Trump

What America’s founders saw as an indispensable facet of freedom and democracy, Trump sees as “the enemy of the people,” a phrase that he borrowed from Joseph Stalin. He insults journalists personally in the most vile and infantile manner, and disparages the entire industry as “fake News.” It’s another symptom of the severe delusional impairment that permeates everything he does or says.

SEE THIS: Delusional Trump Whines that Americans are ‘Angry at Republicans, But They’re Not Angry At Me’

On Sunday morning Trump was busy doing what he regards as his presidential duties: posting deranged rants on his failing Twitter ripoff, Truth Social. And true to form, many of those rants concerned the media that he despises. Consequently, he led off with a short harangue whining that…

“THE FAKE POLLS USED BY OUR CROOKED MEDIA ARE OUT OF CONTROL, AND SOMETHING MUST BE DONE ABOUT IT. FCC TO THE RESCUE!”

That’s right. Trump is outraged by all the polls that show him floundering in the depths of the Mariana Trench of Disapproval. To be sure, he has sunk to record lows in virtually every poll, and continues to trend downward. So now he insists that “SOMETHING MUST BE DONE,” and that it’s up to his FCC (Fascist Communications Commission) to do it. You might ask, “To do what?” Well, he got to that in a subsequent comment that is too long and tedious to repost. So here are a couple of relevant excerpts…

“Kristen Welker, the Unpopular ‘Hostess’ of the once great Meet the Press, now considered Meet the Fake Press, just stated that Donald Trump has ‘mixed results’ on his Endorsements […] Because of this purposeful inaccuracy, she will be reported to the FCC for rebuke or punishment. Unfortunately, she is not the only one. The Radical Left News is going out of their way to harass, demean, and libel anything ‘TRUMP.’ […] The Press is a Disgrace to our Nation, and I hope that Chairman Brendan Carr, and the fine people of his Commission, will take this Threat to our Country very seriously.”

And there you have it. Hall monitor Trump says that Welker “will be reported to the FCC for rebuke or punishment.” Then what? Will she have to stay after school? Will she get 20 whacks? Or will she be deported to a gulag in El Salvador?

Welker’s alleged offense was that she accurately reported that many of Trump’s recent endorsed candidates have met with defeat. In fact, that was what comprised most of Trump’s endless comment that was primarily him bragging about his “99% SUCCESS Rate on Endorsements.” What he fails to mention is that the vast majority of them were for Republican candidates in Republican primaries, many of whom had no viable opponent.

Trump also doesn’t distinguish between endorsements from months or years ago, and the more recent endorsements that have fared poorly, consistent with his devastating descent in the polls. Maybe someone should him about his “success” with Pillow Man Mike Lindell in Minnesota. Even Darline Graham Nordone, his endorsee in South Carolina, barely held onto a lead to replace her late brother Lindsey in the Senate.

Whether Welker was accurate or not is beside the point. Trump and his FCC don’t have any legal authority to dispense “rebuke or punishment” to the press for what they consider to be inaccuracies. There is, however, a civil process for recovering damages in the event of defamation. Fox News found out about that when they were forced to pay a $787 million settlement to Dominion Software for lying about the 2020 presidential election being “rigged and stolen” from Trump.

Trump, on the other hand, has zero evidence of any defamatory dishonesty on the part of Welker or NBC. This is just another attempt on his part to bully the media into submission for not gushing adoringly over him every minute of every day. And Trump may be especially angry with Welker. He walked out of a recent interview with her because he couldn’t handle her entirely reasonable questions.

MORE HERE: Big Baby Trump Flees Like a Frightened Fowl From Scary Meet the Press Host Kristen Welker

Finally, Trump’s “hope that [FCC] Chairman Brendan Carr…take this Threat to our Country very seriously,” is his clumsily covert way of issuing orders to the flunkies on his team to bring their fascist hammer down on the free press. It’s a tactic that he has learned from his idols Vladimir Putin of Russia, and Kim Jong Un of North Korea.

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Jimmy Kimmel Wins Peabody Award, Skewers Trump in His Acceptance Speech

Posted by on June 1, 2026 at 12:36 pm. 1 Comments :

Watch out for flying ketchup bottles! The Crybaby-in-Chief, Donald Trump, is going to be lobbing caseloads of condiments with both hands when he hears that the “low rated, no talent,” late night comedian, Jimmy Kimmel, has just won a coveted Peabody Award for “embracing the responsibility of comedy to reveal truths amid political volatility.”

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Jimmy Kimmel with Trump baby

Never mind the skyrocketing costs of gas, groceries, housing, healthcare, etc., or the reckless and illegal war in Iran. Trump is too busy with his vanity ballroom, and getting his scowling mug plastered on currency, to be concerned with issues that really matter to the American people. And he’s too obsessed with punishing the media for telling the truth about him, including by comedians that America loves way more than him.

SEE THIS: LOLOL: Jimmy Kimmel Crushes Trump in Poll Despite Having No Talent or Ratings (According to Trump)

On Sunday night the prestigious Peabody Awards were presented to journalists and others in the media for outstanding achievements in their fields. Among them was Jimmy Kimmel, who has distinguished himself as both a humorist and a profound observer of political, cultural, and social affairs. As reported by Variety…

“‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ was among the 34 winners chosen by the Peabody Awards jury to win this year’s prizes, and Kimmel joked that he ‘never felt dumber’ being awarded along side documentaries and news programs that ‘exposed the horrors of ice, prison abuse and a teacher who took on Putin.’

“But the audience at Sunday night’s ceremony cheered on as the talk show host, in his acceptance speech, reminded the crowd that ‘making jokes about the President – in America – shouldn’t win you a prize. We have the right, guaranteed by the Constitution, to criticize and satirize our leaders. That is a right I took for granted, for the first 57 years of my life, until last September, when the FCC delivered an unpleasant surprise.'”

As a perennial target of Trump’s wrath, Kimmel has been subjected to infantile insults, as well as vindictive threats and abusive retribution by Trump and his flunkies at the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). They succeeded in getting Kimmel thrown off the air, but only for three days as the public backlash forced the Trumpists to cave in and restore the program. Unfortunately, that hasn’t stopped Trump from pursuing his ego-fueled vendetta.

MORE HERE: Trump’s FCC Threatens to Change ‘Equal Time’ Rules to Suppress the Free Speech of Trump Critics

In his Peabody acceptance speech (video below), Kimmel affirmed that he and his peers “will not stand by when comedy, and journalism, and dissent are censored, regulated and criminalized.” Then he went on to thank the Peabody panel that voted for him, as well as another notable who helped him to earn this honor…

“Thank you to the Peabody jurors for this adorable little trophy, and thank you to Donald Trump, our commander-in-thief, ‘Abrascam Lincoln,’ ‘Orange Julius Caesar,’ ‘Greedy McGolfy,’ ‘Dopey McGropey’ and ‘Pumpkin McPornhumper.'”

Trump may have succeeded in getting his billionaire pals at Paramount/CBS to cancel Stephen Colbert. Although they may have only succeeded in guiding him to an even bigger audience online and streaming. But Kimmel, for the time being, is still with us. And he will likely inherit Colbert’s network TV audience, giving him more exposure than ever.

UPDATE: The first head-to-head late night ratings since Colbert went dark show that Kimmel got the lion’s share of Colbert’s audience. CBS however, tanked with airings of “Comics Unleashed,” the show that replaced Colbert.

“According to Nielsen live-plus-same-day data, Kimmel dominated the hour with an average 2.185 million total viewers [a 53% gain] and 295,000 viewers in the 18-49 demographic [a 178% gain]. That’s more viewers for Jimmy Kimmel Live! across both key ratings measurements than both the Tonight Show and Comics Unleashed combined. […] CBS, meanwhile, saw a steep drop-off from its year-ago performance. Comics Unleashed was down 64% in total viewers and down 46% among adults 18-49 compared to The Late Show’s numbers the same night last year, when Colbert won the timeslot.”

As for Trump, his approval ratings have been in a death spiral for months. And nothing hurts him more than knowing how despised he is by the little people he aspires to rule.

Jimmy Kimmel: We have the right to criticize and satirize our leaders. This is a right that I took for granted until last year when the FCC delivered a very unpleasant surprise. Then I watched as millions of people objected because they refuse to allow our freedoms to be bulldozed like the East Wing

— Headquarters (@headquartersnews.bsky.social) 2026-06-01T14:52:16.644Z

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ABC Accuses Trump’s Fascist Communications Commission (FCC) of Violating the First Amendment

Posted by on May 8, 2026 at 2:23 pm. 2 Comments :

The ongoing crusade by Donald Trump to erase all remnants of the Constitution, and particularly it’s First Amendment protections of freedom of the press, is perhaps the most prominent and dangerous feature of his MAGA cult movement. His authoritarian aspirations, and fear of the tenets of democracy, are the driving factors in his relentless pursuit of power.

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Donald Trump, Constitution

To that end, Trump has been directing his Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to adopt profoundly disturbing new rules regarding “Equal Time” as a means to quash any criticism he receives on television from talk show hosts and their guests. His unambiguous aim is to assume total control over what the American people are permitted to see and hear on TV and other media.

SEE THIS: Trump’s FCC Threatens to Change ‘Equal Time’ Rules to Suppress the Free Speech of Trump Critics

The latest skirmish in Trump’s War on America comes from an unlikely combatant. ABC News, the producer of “The View” has announced that it is challenging the attempts by Trump’s FCC to dictate what they are allowed to say and who they are allowed to interview. This comes after Trump’s FCC Chairman, Brendan Carr, threatened the show and the network with revoking the licenses of their affiliate stations. According to the New York Times…

“ABC has accused the Federal Communications Commission of violating its free speech rights, potentially setting the stage for a protracted, high-stakes legal battle between the network and the Trump administration.

“The company said in a filing with the agency that regulators had a ‘chilling effect’ on free speech by trying to punish political content they disagreed with. The filing, made public on Friday, is the most aggressive defense from any television network since President Trump kicked off an extended campaign last year to bring media organizations to heel.”

What makes ABC’s stance surprising is that they previously capitulated to Trump when he filed a meritless defamation lawless in December 2024. ABC agreed to settle for what amounts to a $15 million bribe in order to kiss up to the Tyrant-in-Chief.

MORE HERE: TRUMP WINS? ABC News Settles His Lawsuit Confirming that He Was Found Liable for Sexual Abuse

The Equal Time rules have been in place for decades. And throughout that time there have been exceptions for bona fide newsworthy interviews. But Trump’s notoriously fragile ego has pushed him to take vengeance on his critics and to stifle them any way that he can. The intentions of Trump and his neo-fascist FCC are to smother his critics entirely. It is not by coincidence that the Trump regime isn’t going after any right-wing programs or other MAGA media.

Furthermore, their timing is conspicuously close to the midterm elections that Trump is terrified of losing. Those predicted losses will significantly diminish his power and make him vulnerable to real congressional oversight. And Trump will do anything to avoid being held accountable for his multitude of crimes. Including muzzling the free press in an egregious breach of the Constitution.

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Trump’s FCC Threatens to Change ‘Equal Time’ Rules to Suppress the Free Speech of Trump Critics

Posted by on January 22, 2026 at 12:59 pm. NO Comments :

In Donald Trump’s ongoing campaign to nullify the First Amendment of the Constitution, and specifically it’s provisions to protect freedom of the press, he is becoming ever more flagrant and dangerous in his repressive scheming. And he is exhibiting his infamous weakness and fear of the tenets of democracy that shape American political and social principles.

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Donald Trump and Media - ABC, CBS, NBC, MSNBC, CNN, FOX

Trump is now instructing his Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to alter the long-standing rules regarding “Equal Time” in order to put an end to the criticism he receives from television talk show hosts and their guests. It’s just the latest tactic that he has deployed to control what the American people are allowed to see and hear on television and other media.

SEE THIS: HOLY CR*P! Trump Floats Executive Order to Dictate to TV Networks What They Are Allowed to Air

Trump’s new attempt to muzzle the media is an order to his FCC chairman and chief censorship czar, Brendan Carr, to alter the way the FCC regulates “Equal Time” rules. For decades there have been exceptions for bona fide newsworthy interviews, whether they take place on a news program or an entertainment related talk show. But since Trump has been the subject of so much well deserved criticism, he is seeking to stifle his critics any way that he can. According to the Hollywood Reporter…

“The FCC said Wednesday that it is clarifying its guidance on its political equal time rules, a change that could end long-standing exemptions for interviews with politicians on shows like The View, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, The Tonight Show and The Late Show.” […]

“News interviews have long been exempted from the requirement, but the FCC under Carr is pursuing a novel argument that late night and daytime talk shows are biased to the extent that they shouldn’t qualify. Among the factors in considering the carve-out is newsworthiness.” […]

“In a statement, Anna Gomez, the lone Democrat on the FCC, said the move represents an ‘escalation in this FCC’s ongoing campaign to censor and control speech.’ She added, ‘Broadcasters should not feel pressured to water down, sanitize, or avoid critical coverage out of fear of regulatory retaliation.'”

It is no coincidence that Trump’s actions are aimed at programs such as “Jimmy Kimmel Live” and “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.” Trump has been determined to shut those programs down due to their frequent jokes and satirical humor about him. Trump has never been able to take a joke. His efforts have resulted in Colbert’s program being canceled (effective in May), and he got Kimmel suspended, but for only three days when outraged viewers complained to the network.

After the FCC made its announcement regarding “Equal Time,” Trump posted a link to this story on his failing Twitter ripoff, Truth Social. His link contained a comment that specifically referenced the ABC daytime talk show “The View” and Kimmel’s late-night talk show.

This is just another threat to First Amendment protected speech. The changes that are being floated by Trump’s FCC would make it virtually impossible for programs like Kimmel’s to ever book a political guest, or even an entertainer who has political opinions. There would be no practical way for them to also book anyone with a different opinion. And, of course, it would impinge on their free speech rights to produce programs free of government intervention.

It’s extraordinarily hypocritical that Trump and his MAGA GOP are suddenly in favor of government asserting this sort of control when they have long advocated for small government that kept out of matters such as these. Now they are craving more government interference than ever. And they are cheering Trump on when he wields the power of his office to suppress anyone who is insufficiently worshipful of him. Such as his many lawsuits against the media, including a new threat unleashed Thursday morning against pollsters who had the audacity to publish surveys showing how despised Trump is…

CRYBABY TRUMP is whining again. This time about polls that correctly show his approval ratings in the toilet.Typically, Trump lies about everything. And he says that he is filing (another) lawsuit against the press for doing their job and conducting accurate polls. #TrumpIsUnfitForOffice

— News Corpse (@newscorpse.bsky.social) 2026-01-22T18:12:40.334Z

Trump won’t be happy until he has banished every one of his critics from all media. He’s following the playbook of his heroes and mentors, Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping, and Kim Jong Un. But he isn’t going to get away with it. In America we have the Constitution on our side. And as long as the millions of patriots who cherish freedom stay strong and rise up to quash Trump and his censorious comrades, he will fail again and again and again.

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Trump Threatens NBC’s Broadcast License in a Straight-Up Tyrannical Move

Posted by on October 11, 2017 at 11:15 am. 3 Comments :

Determined to emulate his hero, Vladimir Putin, Donald Trump has issued a threat that brazenly violates the Constitutional guarantee of a free press. In a couple of utterly idiotic tweets, Trump threatened to challenge NBC’s broadcast license.

Donald Trump

Make no mistake, this is what dictators do. They begin by criticizing the media and ridiculing honest journalists. But they eventually resort to outright censorship and government control. Trump has already been lashing out at the press for years. But his repetitive and tedious cries of “fake news” are actually just whining about stories that he doesn’t like. These are his tweets Wednesday morning:


And This Just In: Another tweet:

First of all, Trump offers no support for his contention that NBC’s story is untrue. NBC is standing by the story which had numerous sources affirming the information. This is typical of Trump’s infantile reaction to anything remotely critical. His fragile ego is constantly on the brink of crumbling.

Secondly, Trump’s threat is another example of his Olympic-grade stupidity. If anyone still doubts that Defense Secretary Rex Tillerson called him a moron, you can set those doubts aside. The problem with Trump’s threat to challenge NBC’s license is that the government does not license television networks. There is no license to revoke. The FCC does license individual TV stations and requires them to serve in the public interest. There’s is no way that Trump could have the licenses pulled from every NBC affiliate throughout the country.

Even if Trump were dumb enough to pursue this, he would have to show that each affiliate deliberately broadcast false information that they knew was untrue. Of course, the network most guilty of doing that is Fox News. If that’s the standard being applied then let’s get Fox off the air ASAP. [NOTE: That isn’t possible either because the FCC rules apply only to broadcast television, not to cable].

How Fox News Deceives and Controls Their Flock:
Fox Nation vs. Reality: The Fox News Cult of Ignorance.
Available now at Amazon.

So once again Trump has demonstrated that he is painfully stupid. And in the process he reaffirmed his devotion to authoritarian control of the media and government. He is clearly unfit to be president and is a danger to the country for this and many other reasons. That’s why an anxious nation is impatiently waiting for special counsel Robert Mueller to complete his investigation and for Congress to initiate impeachment proceedings. It can’t happen too soon.

GOP Leader Seeks To Reverse Ban On Snipe Hunting

Posted by on March 2, 2011 at 10:13 am. 2 Comments :

SnipeIn a speech at the Akron Sportsman’s Lodge, Republican House Speaker John Boehner promised local game stalkers that he would soon be taking up legislation to remove snipes from the endangered species list. This action is a prerequisite for granting permits for snipe hunts. Boehner told the appreciative audience that he has long advocated this measure and that he believes there is no justification for continuing to protect the elusive snipe.

In other legislative news, Boehner told the National Religious Broadcasters convention that the House would act to pass legislation that would ban any attempt to reinstate the Fairness Doctrine. He told the NRB gathering that…

“…some members of Congress and the federal bureaucracy are still trying to reinstate – and even expand – the Fairness Doctrine. To them, it’s fair to silence ideas and voices they don’t agree with, and use the tools of government to do it. […] Our new majority is committed to seeing that the government does not reinstate the Fairness Doctrine.”

Speaker Boehner did not name any of the congressmen or bureaucrats that supposedly want to reinstate the Doctrine. He did not inform the group that there have been no bills introduced or hearings scheduled on the subject. He also did not mention that both President Obama and FCC Chairman Genachowski are both on record opposing reinstatement of the Doctrine. So Boehner is taking a courageous stand in opposition to something that nobody has proposed or is working on.

Boehner also spoke to the NRB about his opposition to Network Neutrality, or as he called it, “the Fairness Doctrine for the Internet.” In the process he repeatedly mischaracterized the matter as a “government takeover of the Internet.” His remarks were somewhat confusing as he sought to define the issue:

“It’s a series of regulations that empower the federal bureaucracy to regulate Internet content and viewpoint discrimination. The rules are written vaguely, of course, to allow the FCC free reign. The last thing we need, in my view, is the FCC serving as Internet traffic controller.”

Of course the truth is that Network Neutrality has nothing whatsoever to do with “content and viewpoint discrimination.” In fact, it is just the opposite as it’s only purpose is to preserve a purely non-discriminatory environment on the web. Not only does it not designate the FCC as a “traffic controller,” it prohibits the corporations who presently have that power from abusing it. Boehner’s position is to deny the FCC a magisterial role that isn’t in the initiative, but allow it for AT&T and Comcast.

To recap: Boehner wants to stop an Internet policy from doing something that it doesn’t do. He also wants to block a broadcast doctrine that no one is proposing. Those are tall orders that should keep him busy in the coming weeks and months while the nation is struggling to recover from an economic calamity and is crying out for solutions to stubborn problems like unemployment, the national debt, and enduring wars.

At least we can wish Boehner well on his snipe hunt – something with which he is apparently well acquainted.

Fight The FCC’s Phony Net Neutrality Plan

Posted by on December 2, 2010 at 10:43 am. 5 Comments :

One of the most promising signs of the early Obama administration was the appointment of Julius Genachowski to chair the FCC. There was significant hope that the days of coddling Big Media and permitting more consolidation and concentration of corporate influence was about to end. However, it is now turning into one of the most disappointing appointments as Genachowski appears to be caving on Network Neutrality, one of the most important free speech issues of this decade.

The New York Times is reporting that “Genachowski has decided not to use the commission’s telephone regulatory powers to govern broadband Internet service.” He also seems to be prepared to allow Internet service providers to engage in “paid prioritization,” which could lead to favoritism on the part of the ISPs and discrimination against smaller, independent web enterprises.

This is not exactly the sort of plan that was promised by candidate Obama in 2008. It charts a course that smothers efforts to increase broadband access while giving more control of the Internet to monopoly-minded corporations. Josh Silver of FreePress.net summarizes the ill-effects of this proposal as “a shiny jewel for companies like AT&T and Comcast.”

Net Neutrality has been a target of right-wing disinformation for several years. They wrongly portray it as anything from a new Fairness Doctrine to something out of Hitler’s Germany or Stalin’s Russia. That is how obsessed they are with defeating a proposal whose actual purpose is to protect a free and open Internet. That’s how obsessed they are with advancing the interests of their wealthy benefactors at the expense of the American people.

This administration has been notably weak-kneed when it comes to anything remotely controversial. They demonstrated this tendency to bail with Van Jones, Shirley Sherrod, the Public Option in the health care debate, Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, and presently the matter of extending tax cuts to the wealthy. It seems that any opposition to common sense progressive proposals is met with complete surrender. We can’t let liars like Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh drive the debate. And we can’t let the White House cave in to pressure from factions that represent greed and corporate power.

You can fight back by signing this petition from Bold Progressives to urge the FCC to protect free speech online by supporting Net Neutrality. And here’s another from Credo Action. Or you can use this form to contact the FCC directly and submit your comments. But you only have a couple of weeks, so act soon. You will surely regret it if you don’t and you later find that you can’t access some of your favorite web sites because they were blocked by ISPs because they couldn’t pay the toll.

Justice Scalia Knows Foul-Mouthed Glitteratae

Posted by on April 28, 2009 at 11:32 am. 1 Comments :

The Supreme Court ruled today on a case pitting Fox Entertainment against the FCC and involving the use of naughty language on TV. The crux of the debate centered on “fleeting expletives” like when Bono of U2 appeared at an awards ceremony and used the phrase “fucking brilliant” in his acceptance speech.

The court’s ruling actually shied away from taking a position on the Constitutional question of free speech, preferring to decide narrowly on whether the FCC rules were “arbitrary and capricious.” In the end, with six justices writing separate opinions, the court overruled by 5 to 4 a 2nd Circuit decision in favor of Fox. The decision affirmed the FCC’s regulations regarding profanity, but sent the issue of free speech back to the 2nd Circuit for a reasoned analysis.

In this matter I would actually line up with Fox inasmuch I don’t like the FCC setting moral boundaries for expression. But Justice Antonin Scalia had to go and make such an asinine statement in his opinion that I just can’t let it stand:

“We doubt, to begin with, that small-town broadcasters run a heightened risk of liability for indecent utterances. In programming that they originate, their down-home local guests probably employ vulgarity less than big-city folks; and small-town stations generally cannot afford or cannot attract foul-mouthed glitteratae from Hollywood.”

What a complete and utterly idiotic remark. Brooklyn-bred Scalia obviously doesn’t know a fucking thing about down-home folks or small towns. He is a big-city, elitist asshole whose only acquaintance with Hollywood glitteratae is via his perverse imagination and insulting stereotypes.

It is embarrassing beyond description that someone this stupid remains a sitting Justice on America’s highest court.

Rush Limbaugh’s Ego Is Fatter Than He Is

Posted by on February 19, 2009 at 12:22 am. 5 Comments :

President Barack Obama reiterated today that he is does not support the reinstatement of the Fairness Doctrine. He said so previously, during the campaign, and has been consistent in this regard. That hasn’t stopped the hysterical ranting of rightist fear mongers who seek to use the issue to stir panic amongst the peasants, and to shake them down for contributions.

There are even reports of clandestine meetings between mysterious plotters in Congress and the FCC. The purpose of these cabals is to impose the evil specter of fairness on America. Never mind that the alleged FCC and congressional participants flatly denied that any such meetings took place – and, of course, that the President wouldn’t sanction it anyway.

It is, however, no longer sufficient for one to unequivocally state opposition to the Doctrine. The anti-Fairness fanatics now insist that such proclamations are simply not to be believed. The plotters are purposefully prevaricating to permit them to proceed with their plot. What’s more, they contend, without any evidence, that the threat now extends to cable TV and the Internet, mediums for which the Doctrine never applied. None of these accusations are supported by facts – or reality – they are just regurgitated repeatedly by right-wing conspiracy theorists.

At the top of that heap is Rush Limbaugh. On his radio program today, he rambled through all of the usual delusional blather about the Fairness Doctrine, but strayed into territory even further from sanity. He now says that ACORN is “gearing up to enforce the same type of restrictions on broadcasting that the Fairness Doctrine would require.” He doesn’t bother to explain when ACORN got into the media business. I guess they are just a proxy for anything these braying asses feel like wailing on. After falsely accusing ACORN of voter fraud, and blaming them for the mortgage meltdown, and asserting that they are behind the return of the Fairness Doctrine, I expect the next startling revelation will be their membership in Al Qaeda (A-Qaorn?).

But Limbaugh is not off the crazy train yet. In a grand feat of self-obsessed paranoia, Limbaugh imagines that his thoughts on the Fairness Doctrine are being stolen:

“The Wall Street Journal, two days ago, asked me for an op-ed on this. I submitted the op-ed this morning. It is an open letter to President Obama asking for clarity and definitive answer on — on censorship of the media. Now, I’m wondering. I am just wondering if somebody along the line did not leak my op-ed and the White House heard of it coming and they want to preempt its publication.”

That’s the Wall Street Journal – Rupert Murdoch’s propaganda rag – that Limbaugh is accusing of sabotaging his op-ed.

“And outta nowhere, out of nowhere, on Fox, some spokesman says Obama’s not even considering it? Why now? I mean that didn’t come up at the housing meeting today. It didn’t come up in Denver yesterday. It hasn’t come up on Air Force One. Where did it come up from? I didn’t tell anyone. I mean, I told, you know, a couple friends that I was going to write this thing. It’s fascinating stuff going on there. The intrigue, ladies and gentlemen.”

That’s Fox News – Rupert Murdoch’s propaganda cable net – that Limbaugh is accusing of invading his mind.

The only problem with this exhibition of ego gone wild is that the issue of the Fairness Doctrine has been coming up for weeks. It has been written about in numerous conservative publications and web sites (see Human Events and World Net Daily). Robert Gibbs, the President’s Press Secretary, has taken questions about it in White House briefings – TWICE. It seems to be the most talked about issue in the media other than the Stimulus Bill. Just ask Glenn Beck, Sean Hannity, and even Rush Limbaugh. Yet Limbaugh says that it hasn’t come up, and some unseen enemy with access to his dementia is leaking his brain droppings to Fox News and the White House. The dark forces are descending upon him even as he laments that he must refrain from speaking it aloud:

“I’m reluctant to talk about this, because I don’t want to sound like a victim. I don’t want to sound like, ‘They’re coming after me! They’re coming after me! (crying).’ But they’re going after any area there is dissent.”

For a guy who doesn’t want to sound like a victim, he sure seems to be focusing a lot on how the world is conspiring against him.