Continued media consolidation means more control and even less criticism of state-generated, or corporate-generated, propaganda. In Naomi Wolf's The Fascist Blueprint, she discusses how "control of the press" leads to less democracy and is just one of the incremental steps toward a closed, fascist, society.

Please view it, and read The End of America: A Letter of Warning to a Young Patriot.

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From Wikipedia:

"On December 3, 2007, John Dingell (D) of the House Commerce Committee sent a letter to Martin stating that "given several events and proceedings over the past year, I am rapidly losing confidence that the commission has been conducting its affairs in an appropriate manner." Martin is under investigation for a lack of transparency in FCC proceedings as well as an abuse of his power in relation to cable industry regulations. He has also been accused of keeping his fellow commissioners in the dark in an attempt to push through policy. Dingell further commented that this, his cable industry proceedings, as well as an attempt to relax the newspaper-broadcast cross-ownership ban "lead to larger concerns as to the inclination and ability of the commission to perform its core mission: the implementation of federal law to serve the public interest."

NOTE: Bold print my own.

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Where I live in Santa Cruz, California our newspaper was recently bought our by the MediaNew Group:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MediaNews_Group

MediaNews Groups own 72 daily papers - 40 of those in California and 8 weekly newspapers. They fired reporters, took out our 150 year old press and moved the newspaper office to another town. The paper is a joke.

"MediaNews Group is known as a cost-cutter in the newspaper publishing industry. The company has a reputation for buying smaller daily newspapers in a single area (examples include Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay Area) and consolidating their operations, including sharing staff writers and printing facilities. As a result of the cost-cutting, according to an article in the Los Angeles Times,[7] some former employees say that the newspapers are focused on making a profit to the detriment of good journalism."


The main stream media is terrible. The propaganda, lies and misinformation they print is destroying this country. We live with a secret government. To have a democracy people need to know what is going on. We need to be totally informed.

Martin has been sent on a mission from his handlers. We live under a fascist government. We need to take action. Can the Senate do anything?

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One good thing about having a lot of years under one's belt is the increased probability that the person won't have to be around when America is totally flushed down the planet's porcelain facility. We're presently swirling around mid-toilet and accelerating. Given that our governmental representatives are largely whores, I'd say that sans a revolution, America was a good idea whose time has passed.

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Let's not for a moment assume that these people are dumb. There is a clear intent here to open up to the media to even more consolidation, despite the feelings of most Americans (which have almost uniformly been against such changes). The only difference is that it is a relatively transparent effort (which will be relatively easy for the Congress to deflect).

What is even more interesting is how the advice of not only the American people is ignored, but that of the Congress–on a bipartisan basis–is ignored as well.

Which makes you ask who is it that Chairman Martin is paying attention to, because I can guarantee you that he has not come up with this plan out of whole cloth. In fact, the whole effort has the stink of Milton Friedman about it (the idea that an totally unfettered market will somehow cure all ills, and that any efforts to reign it in somehow muddies it's beneficial effects for all; unless, you're one of the millions ground under the wheels of progress, of course).

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Reagan's FCC chairman made it clear that he viewed television as "just another appliance," and as a "toaster with pictures," a philosophy that is obviously guiding the Bushwhackers and their current FCC stooge, who looks as though he can't wait to get his feet wet in what Hunter S. Thompson called "a cruel and shallow money trench, a long plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free and good men die like dogs." Corporate media has already, for all intent and purpose, shut down dissent in this county, now they and the Bushwhackers simply want all the money.

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Kevin Martin was a busy boy during the 2000 election. Very creepy guy.

http://makethemaccountable.com/articles/ The_Path_To_Florida.htm

“It was unusual, then, for a conservative clerk to visit the chambers of a justice on the other side. But that is what Kevin Martin, a clerk for Scalia, did on November 30 when he stopped by Stevens’s chambers. Martin had gone to Columbia Law School with a Stevens clerk named Anne Voigts; he thought that connection could help him to bridge the political divide and to explain that the conservative justices had legitimate constitutional concerns about the recount. But to two of Voigts’s co-clerks, Eduardo Penalver and Andrew Siegel, Martin was on a reconnaissance mission, trying to learn which grounds for reversing the Florida court Stevens would consider the most palatable. They felt they were being manipulated, and things quickly turned nasty. “Fuck off!” Martin finally told them before storming out of the room. (O’Connor clerks paid similar exploratory visits to various chambers, but those ended more amicably.)”



http://www.onlisareinsradar.com/archives/000918.php

During the 2000 presidential election, Martin
worked for the Bush legal team that successfully
argued before the Supreme Court in favor of
upholding the election results amid a controversial
vote count in Florida. Martin's wife, Catherine, is
the spokeswoman for Vice President Cheney.

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This punk is not on the FCC because he has exceptional knowledge or experience in telecommunications or because he has some carefully thought out and reviewed plan worthy of consideration. He was appointed because he is a loyal Bushie and will scorch the earth for the profit and gain of his benefactors.

It would be interesting to see who approved his appointment to the Commission. This is why no appointment should get a rubber stamp by the Congress.

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just look at the most discussed topics here. this ain't one of them.

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I was at the last (Seattle) hearing and the crowd was overwhelmingly against consolidation. Republican Dave Reichart testified via pre-recorded video and was roundly booed upon first appearing, then cheered wildly as he unexpectedly spoke out against consolidation. Standing ovations by the dozens were common as one person after another spoke out against consolidation.

The thing that struck me at the time was that the corporate types were given a table on stage, a privileged position from which to give THEIR opinion (but the FCC represents OUR interests, sure). Then, once it was the public's turn to speak they left so quickly there were six fat cat shaped holes in the wall.

Nerd boy (how do you get to be FCC chair when you look 15) sat there throughout the proceeding with that same brainless stare into space as seen throughout this video.

Face it, somebody gave this idiot a swirly and burned his math book in high school, and now he's determined to screw us all even if he has to look like a complete retard in front of congress.

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It's so clear that the despicable minions of Bush's gang have no respect for the People of America at all... they couldn't give a damn when they are screwing them... the only thing that matters to them is to serve their greedy, power-hungry despots. The look on Martin's face should remind us of the lying face of Gonzales...
Now, how do we all get off our butts and march on Washington by the millions? Nothing less will overthrow the fascists there!

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We'll be able to hear Rush Limbaugh 24/7 no matter where we go!

-Wexler

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This bill is ostensibly to allow NEWSPAPERS to buy electronic media (radio, tv) outlets...

But, its really the other way around, isn't it?

This is so ClearChannel, Sinclair, Viacom, etc. can buy newspapers...not so newspapers can buy ClearChannel.

Or, rather, this is so NewsCorp can have newspapers in markets where they have a Fox News channel.

So, yet another Bush-Era regulation that is the exact opposite of what it claims to be.

lexicon

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somewhat of what happened here, in Washington, DC, recently. Metrorail (run by the Washington Metro Area Transit Authority) had hearings about a fare increase, inviting the public to give their opinion.

Most people that testified were uniformly against it, though turn out (at the meeting I attended, at any rate) was somewhat weak.

So, when all was said and done, the Metrorail board voted for the increase, despite the wishes of the public.

Part of their reasoning is that Metrorail was operating under a deficit, and needed to make up the the difference. Such a line of thought bothers me because the Metro is a public utility, not a private company. In other words, it was never meant to be profitable. A major part of the operation of such entities are subsidized by the government, as they should be (personally, I think that this is a better use of my tax money, than, let's say, a war of aggression in Iran).

The FCC situation is similar in that no matter the will of the people, whom the supposedly represent, they are going to do whatever they can to promote their agenda.

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It’s here, Fascism is here and Now!

When Corporations run Government it is Fascism.
Corporate Stooges are running our Government!
The Cor‘pirates’ are raping this Country and
Destroying the World!
GREED rules The Corpirates as they destroy everything in their path.
They are pillaging our Country.
The Treasury is empty!
The Dollar is dead!
The American Dream is over.
But we can restore it!
They have shipped our jobs overseas,
Disenfranchising the American people!
As Big Oil and Coal roll back hundreds of Pollution laws they
Destroy our health and the environment.
Why do they hate us so much?
They are Neo-Nazi-Zionist-Fascists!
They are power hungry cowards who hide behind power and
wealth.
They have to dehumanize us so they can assume control.
We’ve got a vicious Monkey on our back,
Who uses our Militia as a tool to assert world dominance.
They have their fingers into every aspect of lives,
While we know nothing about them!
They are Secretive, Torturous, Lying, Spying, Terrorists.
We are all victims of a Fascist plot.
Destroy American Liberties!
Destroy The Constitution!
Destroy The American people.
Send our Militia off to die in a phony War.
While the Dark Army to seize control.
Unlimited wealth and power is causing problems again.
It’s all for me and none for you!
Billionaires-R-US runs the show.
The disparity in wealth is so enormous,
It’s obscene!
We are headed into a Black Hole.
A DEPRESSION
We must stop them now before
They privatize anything else.
They Control your TV set.
It is an Indoctrination tool.
Blaring out Repetitive, Hypnotic, Conditioning, Garbage!
They are planting BU__! SH__!
Directly into your Subconscious.
They use the most advanced Hypnotic techniques known to man.
That is why they say 911 a million times!
It opens a door into your subconscious.
Where they plant lies,
Using the Power of suggestion.
Shut it off.
Shut off the Choir of Propagandists singing,
The Corpirate shuffle!
Listen to Luntz.
They are a Virus out of control
They have infected our whole system.
They are Ruthless, organized, meticulous, villains with unlimited resources.
They want complete control!
How can we stop them?
First kick the Corporate Stooges out of Government.
Second Free the Media!
Then take the money out of politics.
Bring the Militia home.
Divest ourselves from Corporate control.
Invest in your own back yard!
Invest in your community.
Victory gardens, renewable energy and self-reliance is a start.
Their over centralized corporate system is a dead end that leads only to
Totalitarianism.
A One World Government under Complete Corporate Control.
It’s madness!
A totally decentralized system is finally within our grasp.
Technology can be our savoir instead of our captor.
The path to freedom includes,
Local manufacturing,
Local energy production,
And
Local food production!
A smaller locally owned Media is part and parcel of the answer
Media should reflect and fulfill the needs of each individual community it serves.
There is an Elephant in the House!
It’s time we recognized it and stopped it.
Peace, Helpfulness, Brotherly Love, Compassion, Cooperation, Healing and Forgiveness are positive Human ideals that we must develop within ourselves and our society.
The Cost of Freedom is high!
Eternal vigilance.

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The problem is not the problem - it is a lack of solidarity behind the needed solutions. Impeach Bush and Cheney, flog (figuratively at first) elected representatives to stop pandering to the money and start taking care of their constituents and the Constitution. If they don't vote them out or destroy them (again, figuratively, at first). What would have happened after Hitler's initial Putsch in Germany if people had stood up to the brownshirts, et al and kicked their asses out of power? Different world? Corporations with respect for the people? Governments just a little bit afraid of the people (absolutely necessary in a democratic republic)? If the pols want people with pitchforks and torches in the streets, so be it - it won't be far off at the rate the repuklicans are trashing all of us.

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Obviously this guy will be looking for a new job in a year (Dubai perhaps?)

Would you hire this guy ?

- Currently FCC Chairman - been accused of keeping his fellow commissioners in the dark in an attempt to push through policy. target of a congressional investigation into whether he is abusing his authority and if his leadership has led to "a breakdown in proper procedure at the FCC."

- worked for Ken Starr, the independent counsel in the Monica Lewinsky affair.

- He has also served as the Deputy General Counsel to Bush-Cheney 2000, on the Bush-Cheney recount team in Florida, and on the Presidential Transition.

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I've said this before but it bares repeating..!

~A Consolidated Media is Essential to a Properly Functioning Fascism..!~


Simple as that..!


TJ Colatrella

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...how this Neocon sycophant got his job -- it's obvious.

But something we should also be extremely vigilant about is their next "Big Idea" --
consolidation and control of the Internet.

Prick up your ears people.

It's already starting with ideas of "tiered access" and "content fees".

It's the new "Communications Frontier", and no one with two brain cells to rub together thinks they're going to keep their greedy, Fascist, propagandist hands off of it.

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