FCC:Public Be Damned ... (one step closer to GENOM)

SS5_Majin_Bebi · Post by **SS5_Majin_Bebi** » Thu May 15, 2003 11:59 pm

MistyCaldwell wrote:no censorship in a communist country?

O_O

A former teacher of mine went to China and described the experience of when the news came on. Everybody stopped doing what they were doing and watched the tv. He laughed about it, but they are supposed to be informed...and know what the communist government there wants them to know.

I am not sure where he was in particular, but the man was a world traveler. He was also one of my teachers for Video Pro and classes about the FCC in college. Believe, they have censorship.

No no, I didnt mean no censorship in a communist society. Everything the opposite in fact. What I meant was, If you dont want Dictatorship or democracy (just dolled-up dictatorship IMHO) all youve got is Communist on nothin. Hence the statement

SS5 Majin Bebi wrote:So its from bad to worse

kthulhu · Post by **kthulhu** » Fri May 16, 2003 1:18 am

The US has always been a representative democracy, meaning that people are elected, who are supposed to have the majority viewpoint for the people they represent. Why is this a good concept? Because it creates political diversity (in theory, at least). Pro-abortion/anti-abortion, pro-gun/anti-gun, pro-censorship/anti-censorship - all of these viewpoints get a chance to be represented, rather than letting a majority dictate things. it's supposed to create an ideological system of checks and balances.

You do pure democracy, and odds are the people will create their own dictatorship.

BishounenStalker · Post by **BishounenStalker** » Sat May 17, 2003 9:40 pm

What I don't get is how anyone can confuse democracy with dictatorship at all. Like Kthulhu said, the whole point of democracy is political diversity. In a dictatorship, there IS no political diversity because there are no other viewpoints (people holding other viewpoints are silenced).

What the FCC plans to do here is dangerous. And not just because of the possible threat it could pose to broadcast anime. The picture is a LOT bigger than that. The fewer companies that own media, the more stringent censorship can (and usually does) get. Whatever beliefs The Powers That Be hold have the potential to be forced on us through everything we read, watch, and hear. I wouldn't necessarily say it could turn into Ray Bradbury's Farenheit 451, but it could definitely turn somewhat in that direction with differing viewpoints being extinguished through TV, radio, and print. Basically trashing the whole point of why this country exists: so people can express their point of view freely. The Internet may very well become our last place to be heard.

There's an old saying "The pen is mightier than the sword." Meaning that ideas have impact far beyond the life of the person who expressed them. What the FCC plans to do is use their sword to destroy our pens. And frankly, it scares me.

Add this to my LONG list of reasons why I despise Bush.

MistyCaldwell · Post by **MistyCaldwell** » Sun May 18, 2003 7:59 pm

That was a pretty clever metaphor BishounenStalker. But it's already been getting to this for years...it would be like trying to stop a freight train with a lego block. How many radio stations does Clear Channel own in your town?

The FCC is not an entity the public can vote on. They are supposed to uphold the standards and practices of media but they also get to define what those rules are. I found it ironic Turner was whining about the move. How many huge corporations fall under HIS name?

Personally I see no way for the public to actually change (or reverse) this event seeing as how long it's been going on anyway. Feel free to think of ideas though

BishounenStalker · Post by **BishounenStalker** » Sun May 18, 2003 8:37 pm

Good point. Clear Channel has some pretty alarming stats. 1700 stations around the country, all staggered to make it seem like they aren't part of a huge airwave conspiracy. The very thought of it feels like a George Orwell nightmare.

What's scary about the FCC is that Congress couldn't stop them even if they wanted to. Basically, Congress delegates all the administrative rulemaking to the FCC. The Supreme Court ruled in 1983 that Congress can't nullify rules made by the FCC, and that it's their responsibility to keep the agency in line in other ways. Basically it's like a news editor having no power of prior review over articles to be printed in his paper.

The only way to stop this campaign would be to get Michael Powell himself to change his mind. And the way things look right now, there isn't a very good chance of that happening.

*packing bags and considering moving to Canada or England*

kthulhu · Post by **kthulhu** » Sun May 18, 2003 9:24 pm

BishounenStalker wrote:The only way to stop this campaign would be to get Michael Powell himself to change his mind. And the way things look right now, there isn't a very good chance of that happening.

*packing bags and considering moving to Canada or England*

Well, someone could always kill Mr. Powell

.

As for Canada or England, neither is any better than the US for free speech, really. Especially Canada.

Australia might be a good bet.

kthulhu · Post by **kthulhu** » Sun May 18, 2003 9:29 pm

No, when I think about it, Australia might be a worse bet. There's a lot of Internet legislation that goes beyond just piracy issues there.

SS5_Majin_Bebi · Post by **SS5_Majin_Bebi** » Tue May 20, 2003 12:09 am

kthulhu wrote:No, when I think about it, Australia might be a worse bet. There's a lot of Internet legislation that goes beyond just piracy issues there.

Yes, you're right. Its hard to do anything on the internet these days without getting hassled by some annoying prat with nothing better to do.

kthulhu · Post by **kthulhu** » Tue May 20, 2003 12:55 am

That was directed at ME?

Go fuck a roo. With butter and Vegemite.

SS5_Majin_Bebi · Post by **SS5_Majin_Bebi** » Tue May 20, 2003 1:07 am

kthulhu wrote:That was directed at ME?

Go fuck a roo. With butter and Vegemite.

No, I meant annoying system administrators, you tetchy fool.