KDRV Staff
July 17, 2009
WASHINGTON - Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi blocked a move Friday by Oregon Representative Greg Walden to hold a vote on a proposed Broadcaster Freedom Amendment.
Walden wanted to give the amendment an up-or-down vote under special House rules.
The legislation would bar funding for the so called 'Fairness Doctrine' and proposed Federal Communications Commission rules that subject political and faith based radio and TV stations to strict government oversight. The legislation would block the FCC from reinstating the Fairness Doctrine, a regulation that was introduced in 1949 and abolished in 1987. It was a policy that required broadcasters to approach controversial issues in a balanced format. Some say the regulation could eliminate political and religious talk radio.
Walden and Indiana Rep. Mike Pence introduced their amendment to the House Tuesday. Walden says a station's performance should be decided by the listeners, not the federal government.
Pelosi prevents vote on Walden-proposed legislation to block Fairness Doctrine
July 17, 2009
Comments
Unfairness Doctrine
The "Fairness Doctrine" carries a violation of Constitutional First Amendment Rights in it. At one point, when it was still in force, President Reagan thought about putting some teeth into that law. Then he discovered how indefensible it was and ordered the FCC to stop all such attempts.
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One of the things I have noticed about political party names is that they now mean the opposite of what they infer. Republicans do not like a Republican government in terms of subverting individual rights to the national government. Democrats dislike democracy and want to choak it out by growing powers of the government - grinding individual rights and freedoms into the ground. Without private ownership and a free press, the slide into slavery is quick. If you do not believe it is so, look at how Hitler and Pol Pot gained power.