In 1987, the FCC “repealed” the Fairness Doctrine which required broadcasters to provide equal time to all sides of "controversial" issues.  Liberals are circling, waiting for their chance to reinstate that Doctrine.

In a review of the effects of the Fairness Doctrine, (John Fund On The Trail, Wall Street Journal, 10/29/07) Fund quoted a former host of NBC's "Meet the Press," Bill Monroe as saying that the Doctrine led to "timid, don't-rock-the-boat coverage." Fund also quotes Newsweek journalist Howard Fineman as stating that it "effectively kept partisan shows off the airwaves," so that in 1980 there were a mere 75 talk radio stations. Today there are 1,800.”

According to Fund, “the Fairness Doctrine has always had fans in the corridors of power because it gave incumbents a way of muzzling their opponents. The Kennedy administration used it as a political weapon. Bill Ruder, Kennedy's assistant secretary of commerce, explained: ‘Our strategy was to use the Fairness Doctrine to challenge and harass right-wing broadcasters and hope that the challenges would be so costly to them that they would be inhibited and decide it was too expensive to continue.’ The Nixon administration similarly used the doctrine to torment left-wing broadcasters.”

While both political parties used the Doctrine for their own purposes, in 2007 it is the “Democrats who have become ‘Fairness’ mongers insisting that they simply want to restore civility and balance to the airwaves. Al Gore, in a typically overheated speech last year bemoaned ‘the destruction of [the] marketplace of ideas’ which he blamed in part on the repeal of the Fairness Doctrine, after which ‘Rush Limbaugh and other hate-mongers began to fill the airwaves.’  Sen. Dianne Feinstein rails against ‘one-sided programming’ that has pushed the American people into ‘extreme views without a lot of information.’ She thinks Americans deserve to know ‘both sides of the story.’ Isn't it enough that National Public Radio, subsidized by the government, serves as a vehicle for liberal voices in just about every community in the country?”  

Conservative talk radio offers a counterbalance to not only NPR but also to most of the broadcast and print media and academia that are all decidedly controlled by the left.

Obviously, the majority of talk radio programs are conservative in nature.  As Fund notes, however, “perhaps that's because liberal arguments in their full-throated glory just haven't sold as well. Air America, the liberal talk radio network that debuted in 2004, is in perpetual financial trouble. Then there's the GreenStone talk radio network started last year by feminists Jane Fonda and Gloria Steinem. It offered cutting-edge liberal thinking pitched to a female audience--and flopped completely.”

I believe it is clear that the Democrats are simply waiting for 2009 when they believe that they will regain power in Washington.  According to Fund, Rep. Mike Pence (R-Indiana) “is proposing the Broadcaster Freedom Act, a bill that would permanently bury the Fairness Doctrine. Because House Democratic leaders are unlikely to allow it to come to the floor for a vote, Mr. Pence has launched a ‘discharge petition,’ a device to bypass House committees and move the bill directly to the floor. He needs 218 members--a House majority--to sign the petition. He has collected 185 signatures, but all from Republicans. Democrats are being told by their leadership that signing such a petition would undermine their control of the House.

“Al Franken, the liberal former Air America host who is now running for the Senate in Minnesota, supports reinstatement of the Fairness Doctrine”, maybe because of his failure on Air America.  He has stated in a Newsweek interview “that ‘you shouldn't be able to lie on the air…You can't utter obscenities in a broadcast, so why should you be able to lie? You should be fined for lying.’ In fact, you can be ‘fined’ for lying, if the person you lie about successfully sues for defamation. But the First Amendment makes it exceedingly difficult for defamation plaintiffs to prevail, especially if they are public figures--and for good reason. Under a more pro-plaintiff legal regime, ‘the pall of fear and timidity imposed upon those who would give voice to public criticism is an atmosphere in which the First Amendment freedoms cannot survive,’ Justice William Brennan wrote in New York Times v. Sullivan (1964).

“Justice Brennan used to be a liberal hero. If he were alive today, he would surely be dismayed to learn that liberals seem to have concluded they have no use for the First Amendment.”

Regular readers of this blog know that I have been writing for several years about the incredible danger we are facing as leftists keep eroding our personal freedoms (e.g., December, 10, 2005, December 20, 2005).  In the latter, I listed the following freedoms that have already been taken away by the left:

The right to:

• Drive as far as we want
• Drive what we want
• Remain safe from predators (e.g., Tookie Williams)
• Decide if people can smoke on our own private property
• Retain our private property
• Keep our lights on at night in the city
• Wear high heels (for women)
• Live in areas with some space around us
• Ride motorcycles without helmets
• Ride motorcycles that made noise
• Smoke indoors
• Smoke outdoors
• Eat what we want
• Drive in what lane we want (i.e., HOV lanes)
• Build what we want on our own property

Each item on the list is documented.  The list continues to expand.  Now the left wants to limit political discourse since the left is losing the battle on radio (even though it continues to win the larger media war). 

America is in serious trouble if Democrats take over our federal government in 2009.  This is not the Democrat Party of JFK.  This party is far more left than anything any of us could have predicted, even eight years ago.  It is the party of Gore, and Soros, and Kerry…limousine liberals whose goal is power.  They fear even the tiny amount of power that conservative radio brings.  They want nothing more than to regain 100 percent control of the media. 

They might just get their way in 2009.

On October 11, 2007, The Minneapolis StarTribune ran a column by a far left moron named Susan Lenfestey.  The article was entitled “What if they had a peace rally and (almost) no one came?”

The truth is that almost no one did come…probably no more than 400 other morons.  Lenfestey avowed with her deep understanding of the world that “We're too shell-shocked from this war (and the threat of the next one) to do much about it.”

Of course she gave herself away with this:  “A few weeks back I rode my bike (meaning bicycle) to the State Capitol for a peace rally. It had everything a rally should have -- labor, veterans and Gold Star mothers, respected speakers, a sunny day -- except people…OK, I exaggerate. Our rally had maybe 300 to 400 people, still pretty much alive, but it seemed we all had an ashy coat of hopelessness."

Lenfestey went on to croon that “Iraq is a never-ending nightmare, and the Decider's mind seems decided on something catastrophic for Iran. We're drowning in debt. Our health-care system is great -- for those who can afford it. It's October and 80 degrees outside. Creepy.”

Here is what is creepy…people like Lenfestey are allowed to write newspaper columns on a regular basis about things they know nothing about.   No one came to the "rally” because the morons who did show up were all far left fanatics who want to destroy America. 

Here is what is really creepy.  On that same date, that same rag newspaper published this article by Katherine Kersten.  In her column entitled “What happens when America leaves? Just ask S. Vietnamese”, Kersten made sense.  I rarely have quoted the same columnist twice in less than a week.  Kersten made me do it. Here is what she wrote”

“The day Saigon fell -- April 30, 1975 -- Lt. Col. Lam Tran gathered his stunned and despondent soldiers and distributed his little money among them. ‘My heart broke down,’ says Tran, who now lives in the Twin Cities. ‘I told them (to) go home to your families. Now we must all fend for ourselves’.

“Minutes later, a bone-shattering explosion shook a nearby house. Twenty of his men had detonated their grenades inside and blown themselves to oblivion. ‘They were so ashamed,’ recalls Tran. ‘They knew it didn't have to be this way.’

“Tran, who led airborne assaults in jungle fighting, had worked closely with U.S. soldiers since the mid-1960s. (Tran asked that his real name be withheld to prevent reprisals against family members still in Vietnam).  But in 1973, the United States withdrew nearly all of its troops from Vietnam, and in December 1974 Congress cut off vital military aid. Five months later, Communist forces overran the country.

“Today, Tran watches the U.S. debate over Iraq with an eerie sense of familiarity. Like many of his countrymen here, Tran says he fears for Iraqis if America abandons them -- as it did his nation -- before they are self-sufficient.

“Tens of thousands of Iraqis have tied their fate to us as soldiers, police officers, translators, security guards or government officials. While North Vietnam's victory brought fear and privation across the country, South Vietnamese who had worked or cooperated with Americans suffered most. The Hanoi regime imprisoned 1 million people in ‘re-education camps,’ where about 165,000 died of malnutrition, abuse or execution.

“Prisoners' families also endured severe retaliation. The regime refused to give them ration cards. Many peddled cigarettes or combed through dumps to survive. Their children's education was restricted, and wives were often compelled to marry Communists or become their mistresses. To escape, more than 500,000 desperate ‘boat people’ risked pirate attacks and a watery grave.

“Tran lost his freedom, his family and almost his sanity. Initially, authorities told him that he would be in prison for 10 days. He emerged 13 years later, a gray shadow, hollowed out by starvation rations and backbreaking labor.

“One experience illustrates his ordeal. During his fourth year in prison, Tran and four fellow inmates bribed a prison guard to get a radio to listen to the Voice of America. After an informer betrayed them, they were sentenced to six months in a ‘disciplinary lock-up.’ Tran's isolation cell was barely big enough to lie down in, and had one tiny window. He was shackled. He subsisted on a daily cup of water and ball of boiled flour that guards pushed through the window. His days were spent largely in darkness. ‘In the morning, you can see your legs like balloons -- if you stand up, you see the fluid trickling down to your feet,’ he recalled.

“After two months, Tran began to go blind. Carried out for his monthly shower, he whispered to friends to ask a doctor, a fellow prisoner, what to do. A note came back: ‘Eat whatever you can find.’  Tran had one choice -- cockroaches. "Every day after that, I enjoy myself," he said. "I look into the latrine and see what's crawling up." Each time he ate a cockroach, he made a mark on the wall with its fluid. At his release, he counted more than 1,600 strokes. When he finally emerged from his cell, Tran learned that he was the only one of the five who had not gone blind. The cockroaches had saved his eyes, he says, and perhaps his life.

“Tran was released from prison in 1988, only to discover that his wife had remarried and fled the country with their two young daughters. In 1994, he made his way to America as a refugee.

“Today, ‘Americans are saying 'enough bloodshed in Iraq,’ says Tran. But few can imagine the nightmare that will follow if we abandon those who have trusted us, he warns.

“Are Iraq's jihadists as brutal as South Vietnam's Communist conquerors? They may be worse. When Iraqis hear American politicians threaten to pull the plug, they must shudder at the prospect of rule by men who send suicide bombers to primary schools and video themselves beheading opponents.”

Kersten’s column and Tran’s words stand in stark contrast to the words of Lenfestey, another of America’s enemies.

To the leftist, like Lenfestey who are trying to destroy America, the war against islamofascism is just another battleground.  They believe that if America leaves Iraq prematurely, we will once again look weak to the world, further destroying our moral fabric and our global power.  Following Vietnam, Somalia, and all the rest, we will finally have to give up our role as world leader.  Even if these morons don’t care about the survival of America, I would hope they would care about the survival of Iraqi’s who are trying to find their own version of Democracy.  If they do not, then they are even more evil than I believed.

Minneapolis, Minnesota, the home of “Minnesota nice”…a place where most do not say what they feel and truly believe…is moving into the big time.  We now have an “organization” of leftists who ride bicycles.  These children are of all ages.  Some are “activists” from the 60’s.  Some are their children.  Some are just in it for the excitement.  They pride themselves on having no leadership…part of the anarchist agenda.  However, somehow, they find out where to meet every month and what their course is to be.  Many are violent.  They love the attention they are receiving for clogging the roadways one Friday a month.  They break the law and are given police protection for doing so.  This is not something unique to Minnesota.  This is a global effort to disrupt the normal course of life.  This is a global effort to bring anarchy to the world in the name of “the greening of the world”.  (Their cause is to get everyone to ride bicycles instead of driving cars or riding buses.

For those of you who don’t know about this foolishness, these self-absorbed morons ride their little bicycles en mass, once a month…blocking interceptions at rush hour in the major cities of the world.  They have cowered city councils across the globe.  Nothing is done except that the police are ordered to protect the children as they do their best to destroy order in a world already in a mess.

So here is the scenario.  You have worked all week.  You want to get home to your family or to your favorite bar… or to whatever recreation that works for you.  YOU, of course, have worked all week.  A group of narcissistic morons who apparently are too busy too work, decide that you will NOT get home on time on this particular Friday.  They “cork” the intersections.  They prevent traffic from moving for as long as THEY choose.  No one stops them.  In fact, the police are ordered by leftist city councils to protect them. 

Katherine Kersten has observed this phenomenon for some time.  She wrote this in the Minneapolis StarTribune (10/8/07).  Her words should sound a warning alarm for all cities across the nation and the world.  “Critical Mass, the loosely organized bicycle group that ties up rush-hour traffic once a month in Minneapolis, has demonstrated who rules our streets. But Minneapolis isn't the only place where the Mass mob has strong-armed the police and City Hall, and left outraged motorists fuming but impotent.

“Today, Critical Mass cyclists cow commuters in more than 300 cities, from Denver to Rio de Janeiro, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.  The ride got its start in San Francisco (where else?) in 1992 with about 50 cyclists. Authorities there looked the other way as riders ran red lights and snarled traffic. Soon, the event was drawing hundreds, even thousands, of riders. And therein lies a cautionary tale for Minneapolis.

“Today, ugly confrontations are a fact of life in the City by the Bay, and traffic is a bad trip on the last Friday of the month. Cyclists sometimes scratch or beat on cars, taunt or spit at motorists, and come close to running down pedestrians.  Nevertheless, police maintain a hands-off stance, acting as little more than bystanders.

“In March 2007, a mother who had brought five young girls to the city for a birthday party wandered into the path of 3,000 Critical Mass cyclists. Hundreds swarmed around her minivan, circling wildly and pounding on its windows. As the terrified children sobbed, one rider threw his bike and smashed the van's rear window. Damage totaled more than $5,000. The incident provoked citizen outrage. But Mayor Gavin Newsom -- after a few empty threats -- declined to order arrests or more controls, and merely beefed up the ride's police escort.

“How did San Francisco get into this state of anarchy?

“The city ran up the white flag 10 years ago, after a pitched battle in July 1997 set a pattern of capitulation. The July 1997 Critical Mass ride was touted as an unprecedented show of cooperation between police and cyclists. Authorities hoped to avoid a repeat of the previous month's disastrous ride, which had prompted then-Mayor Willie Brown to vow a law-enforcement crackdown.

“But the illusion that negotiations would bring peace was quickly shattered. Instead, chaos erupted ‘as more than 5,000 cyclists ditched a police-approved route ... and struck out on their own, blocking on-ramps to the Bay Bridge, halting downtown traffic and provoking motorists to blows,’ according to the Chronicle.  Automobile traffic ground to a halt for hours. Throughout the city, violence flared as motorists took the law into their own hands. At some grid-locked intersections, they fought back by storming out of their cars and joining hands to block cyclists, while letting drivers pass. Passengers on one bike-surrounded bus jumped out and furiously kicked a bicycle with a rider perched on it.

‘Many bicyclists were unperturbed by the hostility,’ wrote the Chronicle. ‘They seemed drunk with power, with controlling the streets.’

“Police arrested 105 cyclists on charges ranging from assault to unlawful assembly, and confiscated their bikes. An enraged Brown denounced the event as ‘the ultimate arrogance’ and its leaders as ‘lawless, insurrectionist types.’  ‘I absolutely insist on full prosecution’, he told the public.

“But in the riot's aftermath, Brown softened his rhetoric. The city's district attorney said confiscating the bikes was illegal, and police released them.  Meanwhile, defense attorneys rushed to rescue rioters from consequences. The cyclists had engaged in ‘protected First Amendment activity,’ they said. The district attorney reduced most charges to minor violations and they were all dismissed. Many San Francisco citizens continue to seethe about what they regard as inexplicably preferential treatment for Critical Mass riders. Over the years, San Francisco authorities have repeatedly threatened to clamp down on Critical Mass. They have vowed to enforce laws, and require permits or licenses. But Critical Mass continues to thumb its nose at wishy-washy city officials and feckless prosecutors. ‘I don't know how this city ever got to the point where it tolerates bicyclists breaking all rules,’ moaned Mayor Brown back in 1997.

“I think the answer is pretty clear.”

The answer is clear because San Francisco, like many other cities around the world is controlled by leftists that despise order and respect.  These “leaders” want nothing more than the overthrow of organized society…to create a “need” for a new order…an order that will be nothing more than socialism, or worse, communism.  This movement is being supported by our academic institutions at all levels, by our elite media, by many of our politicians, and by wealthy anarchists like George Soros. 

Here is the bottom line.  Your “protected First Amendment activity” ends when you affect my “protected First Amendment activity”.  When you block my way on a public thoroughfare, you have made a very bad decision.  Any left wing attorney that thinks these morons are within their rights is not operating within the framework of the Constitution but within his or her own agenda of bringing America down. 

It is time to get tough with these criminals.  Otherwise, anarchy will spread.  Does anyone remember what happened at the Kent State riots during the Vietnam War?  I do not condone killing.  I do condone bringing order to America.

America has taken many direct hits over the past forty years.  Vietnam, Somalia, and the ongoing war against islamofascism are examples of conflicts resulting in the political decision to turn from the challenge.  In the case of Vietnam, despite lack of moral resolve on the part of politicians and the general public, America won the larger battle, since the war contributed to the defeat of global communism.  The outcomes in Somalia and in our efforts against terrorists to date have been far less successful.  Our actions in those situations have simply shown the world that we lack the resolve necessary to complete the job.  It is not the military that lacks resolve.  It is our political leadership…people on both sides of the aisle.  But our politicians are guided by the general public who elects them, and much of the general public is guided by leftist academia and media.  It is the powerful communication strategy emanating from these anti-American, leftist establishments that is leading America to once again cave in the face of an incredibly evil enemy.

The result of backing away from the war against islamofascism (the most important conflict since World War II) will be devastating.

Please understand.  America has had some extremely courageous leaders over the past 231 years.  Those leaders would never have allowed America to turn in the face of danger and adversity.  One such leader was John F. Kennedy who stated:

“Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, and assure the survival and success of liberty.”

The Democrat Party is no longer the party of John Kennedy.  I cannot think of one Democrat today that could or would proclaim the strength, courage, and resolve demonstrated by President Kennedy. I cannot think of one who is able to see so clearly the role of America in the world and the critical necessity of standing up for what is right instead of backing down due to lack of strongly held core values and 20/20 clarity on what is right and what is wrong.  (Senator Lieberman cannot be included since the leftists in his party forced him to leave his party and gain election in Connecticut as an Independent.)

It is not because of any Democrat since President Kennedy that President Ronald Reagan was able to say:

“After 200 years America still stands strong and true on the granite ridge, and her glow has held steady no matter what storm.  And she’s still a beacon, still a magnet for all who must have freedom, for all the pilgrims from all the lost places.”

It is bad enough that I cannot find any Democrat willing to stand up for America.  Right now, I cannot even find one other Republican that would be willing to stand up for America as did President Reagan.

It is because of true patriots such as Presidents Kennedy and Reagan that America still stands tall, despite having been wounded by the lack of resolve shown by so many of her own.  Who will take up the sword for either political party in the war for the survival of America in 2008 and beyond?

Many leftist Americans are promoting the view that America should be “multicultural”.  That means that our nation should become increasingly divided…with multiple cultures all operating in parallel form beside each other.  Each culture would maintain its own language, mores, and norms.  It would be wrong to try to influence members of any culture to assimilate into the larger American culture.  It would even be illegal to do so.

In a multicultural America, every sign would be in multiple languages because there would be no requirement or even expectation that people learn to speak English.  Schools would have to teach in the language of their students.  Immigrants from other countries could simply walk across our borders without consequence…and Americans would be forced to pay for their health care, education, and social services.  There would be no common ground…just difference. 

This is the America we are fast becoming.

In contrast to a “multicultural” America stands the potential for an America that supports and affirms the strengths of different cultures, as it has for centuries.  But, that America would remain a melting pot for those cultures, bringing them together, with common mores and norms, and with a common language.  That America would expect loyalty to the flag, to the people, to the principles, and to the Constitution that made our nation great.

This is the America that has been…but that is disappearing in our own lifetimes.

As Americans debate the issue of illegal immigration…as Americans debate whether or not our society should become “multicultural”…and as Americans wonder if we are being “selfish” in wanting to preserve our borders and our integrity as a nation, the following words might prove helpful.

“We have room for but one flag, the American flag…we have room for but one language here, and that is the English language…and we have room for but one sole loyalty, and that is a loyalty to the American people.” 

Theodore Roosevelt, 1907

140,000 hits!!!!!

I believe that most thinking people HAVE to understand that our mission in Iraq is not just about freeing Iraqi’s from the terrorism of their previous leader, Saddam Hussein.  I believe, or at least hope, that most people understand that the war in Iraq is just one front on the larger war against terrorism. 

Clifford D. May did an excellent job of making this point in his Septmeber 28, 2007 commentary (Minneapolis StarTribune).  He stated that while “bettering Iraq is nice…it's not why we fight…(The lives of the) brave Americans in uniform are too precious to risk for such an altruistic goal…The Middle East seethes with movements dedicated to America's harm. Eradicating them is our purpose…If U.S. troops are to keep fighting in Iraq, the primary reason must not be to further the Iraqi national interest -- it must be to further the American national interest. Nothing else will do.

“For almost 30 years, the Middle East has seethed with movements dedicated to a clearly articulated goal: ‘Death to America!’ With rare exceptions, elected leaders in Washington have responded fecklessly. Their excuse: However hostile the intentions of these self-proclaimed enemies of the United States, they haven't the capabilities to deliver more than glancing blows. After the devastating attacks carried out on U.S. soil six years ago this month, Americans began to recognize that those who hate us are diligently and creatively developing the means necessary to achieve the ends they seek.

“Saddam Hussein was the weakest of America's Middle Eastern enemies. Perhaps to camouflage that he made it appear -- to all the world's major intelligence agencies -- that he retained dangerous stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction. Toppling Saddam turned out to be a relatively easy mission to accomplish. But the Bush administration's strategic planning for what would come next was obviously -- and sorely -- deficient.

The United States is now being challenged militarily in Iraq by both Al-Qaida and Iran. Does anyone really believe it is not in the U.S. interest to win these battles? Does anyone honestly think it would not be a significant defeat for the United States to be driven from Iraq by Al-Qaida suicide car-bombers and militias armed, trained and directed by Iran?

A year ago, Al-Qaida was beating America in Iraq. Now, with Army Gen. David Petraeus implementing a new strategy, Al-Qaida is on the run. But meanwhile, Iran has surged men and increasingly advanced weapons across the border. American military spokesmen now say the Iranian-supported militias are responsible for many if not most of the attacks that kill or wound American troops.

“At the same time, Tehran continues its program to develop nuclear weapons. And it is intent on extending its regional domination. With assistance from Syria, its client state, and Hezbollah, its proxy terrorist organization, Iran is undermining the government of Lebanon. The list of Lebanese politicians who have been assassinated for daring to stand up for their nation's independence has been growing.

“The United Nations can't bring itself to take any serious action. On the contrary, the organization this week welcomed Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, blithely ignoring his regime's crimes in Iraq and Lebanon, its domestic oppression and its genocidal threats against Israel, a fellow U.N. member.”  

The United Nations also ignored evidence that Ahmadinejad may well be the leader of the student group that held Americans hostage in Tehran for a year.

While the United Nations sits on its collective hands, most of the members of the U.S. House and Senate are either doing the same or using the current difficulties in Iraq to help them promote their own political aspirations.  However, according to May, “Some in Congress are responding.  Sens. Joseph Lieberman, I-Conn. and Jon Kyl, R-Ariz. offered an amendment calling on the United States to ‘combat, contain and stop’ Iranian aggression in Iraq. It would designate the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a foreign terrorist organization, providing a way to economically pressure Iran's elites. It passed the Senate on a 76-22 vote.

“And the House has approved the Iran Counter-Proliferation Act, which aims to strengthen U.S. tools to cut off funds to Iran's nuclear-weapons program.”

As May states, “let's stay focused on America's vital interest: to crush Al-Qaida in Iraq and to thwart the grand ambitions of the aggressive, malevolent, Islamist regime ruling Iran.”

Even more broadly, let’s stay focused on the task of eradicating all of those who would destroy America…quickly, decisively, and with no regret.  The one thing that islamofascists understand is power, control, and violence.  Let’s respond in kind.  Many of them will die, but many more innocents will live.