Tuesday, October 12, 2004

Political: Where have you gone, Walter Cronkite?

Here is the background on what's precipitating this post:


Michael Copps' earlier statements


I am agog at the unbelievable nadir our democracy has sunk to, in that one man who owns television stations (Sinclair Broadcasting) can MANDATE a political diatribe before an election. The sick irony of the situation is that, for being a staunch freedom-loving, Red-hating Republican, the media mogul sure is acting like an old Soviet apparatchik, isn't he? It makes me sick, and the self-righteous weenies at the FCC (not including Commissioner Michael Copps who has battled the slippery slope rather valiantly) who have created the environment in which this media takeover can occur, better be careful, because it's all fun and games until someone else holds the broadcasting power. Because then they'll be the first ones up against the wall. Much like the Christian conservatives who want prayer in school, they only want THEIR prayer in school. How would Pat Robertson feel about his grandkids being forced to pray a Mormon prayer? Or how about enforced prayings of the Rosary? Hmmm...just as I suspected: no takers on the Right.

I find it ironic that, for an ideology that so despises government in the life of the common citizen, conservatism has nothing to say about this crisis of democracy which, at its core, uses the power of the government to so egregiously erode the right to freedom of the press and of speech. The FCC, by breaking down the barriers that prevented a handful of robber barons from owning huge percentages of our nation's media outlets, has delivered the freedom of the press to a few of its cronies and party faithful. The link above has more information. Read it and be afraid. Be very afraid.

Short Story Long: I await the outcry from the esteemed media professionals at the stations that are being ordered to air a non-news based political hatchet job containing no independent corroboration of its claims. Will any of you, at long last, stand up and act with honor?

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