The democratic party is much more the communist party now. damn them all. On Tue, Feb 17, 2009 at 5:58 AM, Cold Water <[email protected]> wrote:
> Rep. Henry Waxman Wants to Apply Censorship Doctrine to the Internet By > Kerry Picket > Created 2009-02-17 02:10 > > If Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA) is not trying to investigate conservatives, > he is trying to squelch their voices. Waxman has jumped into the so-called > Fairness Doctrine discussion as of late. Waxman, however, has added another > dimension to the issue...the internet (h/t The Prowler). > > Media Research Center's Jeff Poor *spoke with FCC Commissioner *[1]Robert > McDowell last year about the internet and the Fairness Doctrine. McDowell > talked about a real possibility of internet content being regulated in the > near future. > > According to * The Prowler* [2], Waxman and his staff are already looking > at ways to police content on the web. (Bolding is mine throughout) > > Senior FCC staff working for acting Federal Communications Commissioner > Michael Copps held meetings last week with policy and legislative advisers > to House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Henry *Waxman to discuss > ways the committee can create openings for the FCC to put in place a form of > the "Fairness Doctrine" without actually calling it such. * > > *Waxman is also interested, say sources, in looking at how the Internet > is being used for content and free speech purposes. "It's all about > diversity in media," says a House Energy staffer, familiar with the > meetings. "Does one radio station or one station group control four of the > five most powerful outlets in one community? Do four stations in one region > carry Rush Limbaugh, and nothing else during the same time slot? Does one > heavily trafficked Internet site present one side of an issue and not link > to sites that present alternative views? These are some of the questions the > chairman is thinking about right now, and we are going to have an FCC that > will finally have the people in place to answer them." * > > Waxman and his staff are also thinking about creating congressionally > mandated advisory boards to police both radio and TV programming: > > One idea Waxman's committee staff is looking at is a congressionally > mandated policy that would require all TV and radio stations to have in > place* "advisory boards" that would act as watchdogs to ensure "community > needs and opinions" are given fair treatment. Reports from those advisory > boards would be used for license renewals* and summaries would be reviewed > at least annually by FCC staff. > > What about policing internet content? According to The Prowler, the House > Energy and Commerce Committee is already looking into this. > > The House Energy and Commerce Committee is also looking at how it can put > in place policies that would allow it greater oversight of the > Internet.*"Internet radio is becoming a big deal, and we're seeing that some > web sites > are able to control traffic and information, while other sites that may be > of interest or use to citizens get limited traffic because of the way the > people search and look for information," says on committee staffer. "We're > at very early stages on this, but the chairman has made it clear that > oversight of the Internet is one of his top priorities." * > > This is all hardly a surprise, as liberals have never liked that internet > content is not regulated in someway. > > Hillary Clinton made her views known on this issue back in 1998, when her > husband was embroiled in the Clinton-Lewinsky scandal. *Matt Drudge > reported on* [3] Clinton's comments about regulating internet content. > > Hillary Clinton Continued: > > I don't have any clue about what we're going to do legally, regulatorily, > technologically --* I don't have a clue. But I do think we always have to > keep competing interests in balance. I'm a big pro-balance person. That's > why I love the founders -- checks and balances; accountable power. Anytime > an individual or an institution or an invention leaps so far out ahead of > that balance and throws a system, whatever it might be -- political, > economic, technological --out of balance, you've got a problem,* because > then it can lead to the oppression people's rights, it can lead to the > manipulation of information, it can lead to all kinds of bad outcomes which > we have seen historically. So we're going to have to deal with that. And I > hope a lot of smart people are going to --" > > In 1999, then Deputy Attorney General (now Attorney General) *Eric Holder > talked about "reasonable restrictions" *on internet content following the > tragedy of the Columbine Massacre. *VIDEO* [4] > > Last November, I asked FCC Commissioner and Fairness Doctrine cheerleader > Michael Copps about his thoughts on applying the Fairness Doctrine to the > internet. *VIDEO:* [5] > > *I think we do have to have an expectation that the internet, if that is > going to become the primary vehicle for even broadcast over the years not > tomorrow or the next day, but over the years, There has to be some > discussion about how the internet encourages a civic dialogue that's > adequate to the needs of the country, *but I think that's way premature > too say exactly this. We haven't even teed up the question. I'm trying to > get people to talk about it. If we can talk about it then maybe we can come > up with some intelligent answers. > > However, government regulation of private citizen's speech is > un-constitutional. Waxman and company may be biting off more than they can > chew on this one. > > Liberals only quieted down some about internet content regulation, when > they found how the internet could benefit themselves in elections. > > Angering a liberal base that enjoys reading websites like Daily Kos, > Huffington Post, and Democratic Underground would be risky. After all, if > Waxman is insistent that all internet content is to be policed for so-called > balance, that should include liberal sites as well….right, Congressman > Waxman? > > Photo Credit:PBS > > Crossposted at *Picketlines.org* [6] > > ------------------------------ > *Source URL:* > > http://newsbusters.org/blogs/kerry-picket/2009/02/17/rep-henry-waxman-wants-apply-censorship-doctrine-internet > > > > -- *~@):~{> --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum * Visit our other community at http://www.PoliticalForum.com/ * It's active and moderated. Register and vote in our polls. * Read the latest breaking news, and more. -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
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