The Discerning Texan
All that is necessary for evil to triumph, is for good men to do nothing.
-- Edmund Burke
-- Edmund Burke
Thursday, June 28, 2007
The Leftist Creed: "Do what I SAY; Not what I DO.."
Cartoon by Eric Allie (click to enlarge)
Labels: Cartoons, Talk Radio, The "Fairness" Doctrine, The Left, Thought Police
UPDATED Snakebit Pols reveal their REAL target: Talk Radio
With their approval ratings plummeting faster than the flooded Titanic, Congress--especially the would-be Stalinists therein--are on a search and destroy mission for scapegoats. It is becoming more and more obvious that the voices that the elites want to silence the most are yours and mine. And--in their minds--there is no faster way to silence the people than to pull the plug on talk radio.
This rankles on many levels, but when you cut through it all it comes down to this: the concept of governing according to the will of the people doesn't seem to fit with these guys; the elites obviously believe that to have things their way, an informed public is a barrier and/or impediment. They may crow like so many primping roosters about "Democracy" and use catchy slogans like "power to the people", yet the end of all their actions is the furthering of the cause of totalitarianism.
By silencing talk radio--thereby leaving the electorate clueless about what is really happening behind the scenes--the "do as I say not as I do" playbook of the Marxist nanny-state is: what the people don't know won't hurt them (the elites). And at the very heart of this world view is the corollary that if we the people aren't aware of their treachery, the repercussions of that treachery won't come back to haunt them. This doesn't exactly sound like the party of "the common man" to me...
For example, it is quite clear that all of the recent hyperbole about the "danger" of talk radio is related to the impact the grassroots have had on this Immigration bill: the real danger here is that the people are becoming educated about the fraud going on under their noses in Congress and the Senate. Twice now (in two days) Harry Reid has paraded to the microphones to blame "talk radio" for his and his fellow Senators' inability to put together a bill that the people want. And--although one expects this sort of thing from the Left--when people like Trent Lott join the chorus of usual suspects on the Democrat side, calling for the regulation of free speech in the guise of "fairness," then we are very close to the precipice my friends.
My suggestion for those who want "fairness" is to insist that it must first start with the public-funded airwaves: how about demanding "equal time" for the likes of Laura Ingraham and Rush Limbaugh on NPR and PBS? When my tax dollars are paying for Limbaugh's views to the extent they are already paying for the views of Bill Moyers and Garrison Keillor--or some anonymous lefty editor of "All Things Considered"-- then I might have some confidence they could be "fair" with other media. But we all know that is a pipe dream. And what of the editorial decisions of TV and Newspapers and Radio as far as which stories get edited in and which stories get left in shreds on the cutting room floor? Admitted leftists routinely make those very decisions for Big Media every single day: who is going to police that?
The very thought of some pencil pushing bureaucrat monitoring content of TV, Radio, the Internet, and other media to ensure "balance"--as opposed to the natural democratic selection of the free marketplace--is enough to make the thought of hell itself palatable. And any representative of the people who advocates wanting to control the information that you can to read, view, or listen to is evil incarnate. What differentiates this behavior from that of Stalin? Or Hitler for that matter; in the 1930's Hitler's SS burned books in an attempt to eradicate ideas that were not compatible with National Socialism. Today the Thought Police of America, led by Hillary Clinton, Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi, and Diane Feinstein--(and now Trent Lott and Lindsey Graham..)--want in effect to do exactly the same thing. Will we be saying "Sieg Heil" to them next?
This column has been edited and changed for the sake of improved readability.
UPDATE: Good news; the House sends a strong message about the "Fairness Doctrine."
This rankles on many levels, but when you cut through it all it comes down to this: the concept of governing according to the will of the people doesn't seem to fit with these guys; the elites obviously believe that to have things their way, an informed public is a barrier and/or impediment. They may crow like so many primping roosters about "Democracy" and use catchy slogans like "power to the people", yet the end of all their actions is the furthering of the cause of totalitarianism.
By silencing talk radio--thereby leaving the electorate clueless about what is really happening behind the scenes--the "do as I say not as I do" playbook of the Marxist nanny-state is: what the people don't know won't hurt them (the elites). And at the very heart of this world view is the corollary that if we the people aren't aware of their treachery, the repercussions of that treachery won't come back to haunt them. This doesn't exactly sound like the party of "the common man" to me...
For example, it is quite clear that all of the recent hyperbole about the "danger" of talk radio is related to the impact the grassroots have had on this Immigration bill: the real danger here is that the people are becoming educated about the fraud going on under their noses in Congress and the Senate. Twice now (in two days) Harry Reid has paraded to the microphones to blame "talk radio" for his and his fellow Senators' inability to put together a bill that the people want. And--although one expects this sort of thing from the Left--when people like Trent Lott join the chorus of usual suspects on the Democrat side, calling for the regulation of free speech in the guise of "fairness," then we are very close to the precipice my friends.
My suggestion for those who want "fairness" is to insist that it must first start with the public-funded airwaves: how about demanding "equal time" for the likes of Laura Ingraham and Rush Limbaugh on NPR and PBS? When my tax dollars are paying for Limbaugh's views to the extent they are already paying for the views of Bill Moyers and Garrison Keillor--or some anonymous lefty editor of "All Things Considered"-- then I might have some confidence they could be "fair" with other media. But we all know that is a pipe dream. And what of the editorial decisions of TV and Newspapers and Radio as far as which stories get edited in and which stories get left in shreds on the cutting room floor? Admitted leftists routinely make those very decisions for Big Media every single day: who is going to police that?
The very thought of some pencil pushing bureaucrat monitoring content of TV, Radio, the Internet, and other media to ensure "balance"--as opposed to the natural democratic selection of the free marketplace--is enough to make the thought of hell itself palatable. And any representative of the people who advocates wanting to control the information that you can to read, view, or listen to is evil incarnate. What differentiates this behavior from that of Stalin? Or Hitler for that matter; in the 1930's Hitler's SS burned books in an attempt to eradicate ideas that were not compatible with National Socialism. Today the Thought Police of America, led by Hillary Clinton, Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi, and Diane Feinstein--(and now Trent Lott and Lindsey Graham..)--want in effect to do exactly the same thing. Will we be saying "Sieg Heil" to them next?
This column has been edited and changed for the sake of improved readability.
UPDATE: Good news; the House sends a strong message about the "Fairness Doctrine."
Labels: Congress, Illegal Immigration, Media Bias, Media War, Talk Radio, The "Fairness" Doctrine, Thought Police, US Senate
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
Will Republicans turn against Talk Radio and the Internet too?
I think Glenn Reynolds may be on to something here; and I don't like it one bit. I always had thought Orwell was worst-case-scenario science fiction. But obviously--because he was so close to the Communists before his seeing them in action in the Spanish Civil War changed his entire outlook--Orwell was well aware what the ideological thought police are capable of. A pity that the American people seem to be sleeping through the demise of everything their country was supposed to stand for:
PREDICTION: Right now it's Democrats pushing a return to the "Fairness Doctrine," but they'll soon be joined by Republicans tired of things like this, and there will be pressure to extend regulation to the Internet. Incumbistan will unite under threat from outside.
Labels: Blogging, First Amendment, Talk Radio, The Internet, The Left, Thought Police
Friday, April 13, 2007
Jesse's Two Faces
Cartoon by Bill Schorr (click to enlarge)
Labels: American Culture, Censorship, Hearts and Minds, PC, Talk Radio, The Left, Thought Police
DNC's Media Matters Calls for Airwaves Censorship
What did I tell you--I did not think it would be this quick--but nevertheless, the gauntlet has now been laid down.
And do not think this is an accident; it is merely opportunistic: If it hadn't been Imus it would have been another talk host. They were just waiting for some kind of talk radio faux pas to jump on in order to open the pandora's box they've all been waiting to open. The one with the code name called "Equal Time." But whose modern day translation is: Stalinist-era censorship and thought police. No, this is not a spontaneous reaction to a bunch of women's basketball players--these women were USED every bit as much as Tawana Brawley was used. This was pre-planned and well orchestrated "hit" on talk radio.
Think about it: no Limbaugh, Hannity, Miller, Hewitt, Prager, Medved, Ingraham. No Brit Hume or Fred Barnes. No O'Reilly.
But the "PC" version of equal time would still allow plenty of Matthews and Olberman, and Sharpton and Jackson. After all they don't use the Left's definition of "have speech" (translation: any speech that criticizes the Left, people on the Left, or ideologies of the Left. Can you see speech against the unproven and unlikely notion of human-caused Global Warming qualifying as "hate speech"? I can. And just why do you think it is that the Dems have been scattering like ants from the FOX Presidential debatesThey have been talking about it for over a year now: now they have their excuse. And now the full court press is on.
The center-right had better be on its game, pronto. If we do not fight this with all our might and will--and win this fight, I am convinced we will LOSE the country. It is that serious. It will only take one lost Presidential election: then the FCC pulls the plug. Then there will be no voices from the right to silence. They will own the airwaves and Herr Goebbels will have risen from the ashes of the Fuhrerbunker.
The so-called culture war is about to get bloody. We in the blogosphere had better be ready to lock and load. It is about everything. It is about economic growth vs. taxation, unemployment and stagnation; it is about whether or not PC-driven lawyers allow Sharia law to become a way of life in America; it is about whether madmen eventually get to claim their longed for prizes: Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Washington, New York, Los Angeles, London. Poof. Randy Newman comes true.
It starts with silencing your voice, and it has started. The question is: what are you going to do about it.
And do not think this is an accident; it is merely opportunistic: If it hadn't been Imus it would have been another talk host. They were just waiting for some kind of talk radio faux pas to jump on in order to open the pandora's box they've all been waiting to open. The one with the code name called "Equal Time." But whose modern day translation is: Stalinist-era censorship and thought police. No, this is not a spontaneous reaction to a bunch of women's basketball players--these women were USED every bit as much as Tawana Brawley was used. This was pre-planned and well orchestrated "hit" on talk radio.
Think about it: no Limbaugh, Hannity, Miller, Hewitt, Prager, Medved, Ingraham. No Brit Hume or Fred Barnes. No O'Reilly.
But the "PC" version of equal time would still allow plenty of Matthews and Olberman, and Sharpton and Jackson. After all they don't use the Left's definition of "have speech" (translation: any speech that criticizes the Left, people on the Left, or ideologies of the Left. Can you see speech against the unproven and unlikely notion of human-caused Global Warming qualifying as "hate speech"? I can. And just why do you think it is that the Dems have been scattering like ants from the FOX Presidential debatesThey have been talking about it for over a year now: now they have their excuse. And now the full court press is on.
The center-right had better be on its game, pronto. If we do not fight this with all our might and will--and win this fight, I am convinced we will LOSE the country. It is that serious. It will only take one lost Presidential election: then the FCC pulls the plug. Then there will be no voices from the right to silence. They will own the airwaves and Herr Goebbels will have risen from the ashes of the Fuhrerbunker.
The so-called culture war is about to get bloody. We in the blogosphere had better be ready to lock and load. It is about everything. It is about economic growth vs. taxation, unemployment and stagnation; it is about whether or not PC-driven lawyers allow Sharia law to become a way of life in America; it is about whether madmen eventually get to claim their longed for prizes: Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Washington, New York, Los Angeles, London. Poof. Randy Newman comes true.
It starts with silencing your voice, and it has started. The question is: what are you going to do about it.
Labels: American Culture, Culture War, Democrat Sabotage, Hearts and Minds, Nutroots, Talk Radio, The Left, Thought Police
Thursday, April 12, 2007
Mistaken Identity
Dennis Miller is On The Air!
One thing that has been sorely missing from the center-right has been impact comedians. Dennis Miller is one of those Hollywood stars with a conscience: before 9/11 (OK...before Monica...) Miller was right out there with the rest of the lefties in Hollywood. But Miller definitely saw things differently after 9/11; in fact this is about the time when HBO executives began to frown at his comedy routines on The Dennis Miller Show. No, Miller didn't say that: it's just what I believe to be true. In any case Miller's long-running comedy show on HBO eventually got bumped...for Bill Maher. I guess HBO thought that America preferred an inability to reason to sound, but funny, common sense.
Too bad for them, better for us: Miller has now hit the radio airwaves with a talk show. It's on here in Dallas and I am already a Podcast subscriber. And the show is GREAT. Here is an excerpt of an interview with Miller about his new show.
Too bad for them, better for us: Miller has now hit the radio airwaves with a talk show. It's on here in Dallas and I am already a Podcast subscriber. And the show is GREAT. Here is an excerpt of an interview with Miller about his new show.
Q: In a sense, does your career mirror Winston Churchill's notion that if you're not a liberal at 20, you have no heart; if you're not a conservative at 40, you have no brain?Miller has already had interviews with such notables as Mark Steyn and Charles Krauthammer, and he even parries with a lefty now and again. Miller's biting wit, incredible vocabulary, and encyclopedic knowledge of history and popular culture combine to give the "good guys" another big name power player. No, he's not an ultra-right, take no prisoners Michael Savage ideologue: He will throw out a centrist viewpoint quite frequently and supports Gulianni. But the bottom line about Dennis Miller is: he just happens to make a hell of a lot of sense most of the time. Joe Bob says "check it out."
A: That's exactly the process I've gone through. I'm 53, and I'm a pragmatist. We watched punks blow up our buildings and, what, I'm now supposed to sit around and think about how we wronged the punks? Things get cut and dried as you get older. And what about the people who never, ever change the way they think about things? Those are the people I slide away from at cocktail parties.
Q: You've taken shots at Barbra Streisand for her liberal activism. Why?
A: Barbra Streisand is an ungodly talent, but she went into the (show business) bubble at 16. And she reflects that in all the shallow, typical ways. She has the political beliefs of a sixth-grader.
Labels: Hearts and Minds, Talk Radio
