The Fairness Doctrine v2.0
June 20, 2008
I was in high school in the early 1980s. Although I do remember a few lessons and a few good friends from back in the day, I certainly don’t remember the Fairness Doctrine. Back then, I just listened to music and anyone who listened to talk radio was, well, old.
I do remember a day in the late 1980s when I visited my dad at work. He had the radio on in the shop and it was tuned in to Rush Limbaugh’s program on WTIC AM in Hartford. I must have heard one of the parodies or a response to a caller and I got interested in the program.
So I guess at some point, listening to Rush put me into the “old person” category when I was about 23.
When the first Fairness Doctrine was nixed by President Reagan, AM radio came back. Some say Limbaugh was the one to bring back a dead format.
American Thinker has a good piece on the Fairness Doctrine, what it’s designed to do, and what it really ends up doing.
The Fairness Doctrine was originally intended to encourage a public dialogue on controversial issues by ensuring that both sides of a topic were aired. As a former radio and TV journalist, I can assure you that the opposite was true. Station owners were afraid that their licenses would be yanked if there was the slightest possibility that they could be accused of violating the doctrine; it was far safer to simply avoid controversial matters.
Read the full post.
Ed Morrissey over at Hot Air has more, including some video from a debate on Laura Ingraham’s new show - Just In - on Fox News channel between Rep. Mike Pence and Jennifer Palmieri of the Center for American Progress.
McCain Plays Both Sides of the Fence
June 20, 2008
Were you one of those people looking for a conservative candidate late last year? I certainly was, and I was pretty certain that John McCain was not a conservative. To say that he got slammed in October could be an understatement.
McCain spent most of the fall preaching “comprehensive immigration reform” which included a border security program, guest worker program and of course, a path to citizenship for illegal aliens. Almost everyone called this amnesty even though he proposed that illegal aliens would have to pay “hefty fines” upwards of $1,000.
Like they would actually have to pay a dime. [eyes rolling]
Conservatives slammed him at every turn for his amnesty program. He relented; with his fingers crossed. Read more
The Democrat Agenda - Government Must Own Oil Industry
June 19, 2008
In the last month, at least two members of congress, Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) and Maurice Hinchey (D-N.Y.), called for nationalizing the oil industry. Read that sentence again.
Can someone name for me any private industry that has been taken over by the government where service got better, quality improved, or costs went down? Certainly the government has stepped into a private sector industry and made things better. Maybe health care? How about the school systems?
Heck, the government is only partially involved in health care and education - both considered broken and in need of fixing - imagine if they took over completely.
New Perspective on Global Warming Available for Kids
June 18, 2008
I have not been paying much attention to my blogging efforts the past month or so. But I have written a couple of posts recently so I went to check out my Google Analytics reports. Local conservative radio host - Jim Vicevich in the Hartford market - provided a highlighted link to conservative247.org. Thanks Jim!
Anyway, on Monday Jim linked us over to the Deb and Selby Web site which features a new book for kids 11 and older who are in need of some reassurance concerning the entire “climate change” freak show that has populated Saturday morning cartoons, the Disney Channel and Nickleodeon the past few years.
It certainly doesn’t help that AlGore’s farce of a movie is required viewing for kids in elementary school.
The book, Deb & Seby’s Real Deal on Global Warming - available at Amazon for $15.84 and eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping - came out on April 22 (Earth Day, perfect).
Here is a description from the Amazon site. There are only three reviews, but all are 5 stars.
In and out of the classroom children are bombarded with graphic images of earth’s destruction and drowning polar bears due to global warming. They worry that we must all fix the problem FAST! Or they worry that it’s already too late and we’re all DOOMED!
But is man-made global warming really settled science, or the last environmental scare? Deb and Seby’s Real Deal on Global Warming is a contemporary, fun and entertaining book for children (ages 11 and up) and adults who want to learn more about the other side of global warming without big scientific words! SO.CHECK IT OUT!
Many respected scientists, researchers and professors worldwide disagree with what we hear about global warming! CHILL-AX! You’ll totally chill when you find out who’s telling us this scary stuff and why!
AND BE ENCOURAGED! Because planet earth is miraculous and resilient and can sustain us for a very long time. And that includes polar bears, too!
Might be worth a look as there is certainly little material out there for kids when it comes to the religion of the left.
The True Cost of Employee Health Benefits
June 18, 2008
During World War II, companies were having a tough time finding well-qualified employees due to wage and price controls. Salaries were artificially kept low, and to solve the problem employers began to offer benefits including health and life insurance, better pensions, and more vacation time to attract employees.
As time went on, employees began to take these benefits for granted. Union leaders took the reigns and bullied employers into providing benefits that could not be sustained. Employees were brainwashed into thinking that employers had to provide benefits. The problems began. (Reference GM net profit margin: -25.85% TTM)
So, what does an employer do? Read more
