Prometheus 6

I was looking forward to reading Republican Woes Lead to Feuding by Conservatives. Tacky, I know...but you gotta love stuff like this.

In recent weeks, Mr. Armey has stepped up a public campaign against the influence of Dr. James C. Dobson, founder of Focus on the Family and an influential voice among evangelical protestants. In an interview published last month in “The Elephant in the Room,” a book by Ryan Sager about splits among conservatives, Mr. Armey accused Congressional Republicans of “blatant pandering to James Dobson” and “his gang of thugs,” whom Mr. Armey called “real nasty bullies” — arguments he reprised on the editorial page of The Wall Street Journal and in an open letter on the Web site organization FreedomWorks.

In an interview this week, Mr. Armey said catering to Dr. Dobson and his allies had led the party to abandon budget-cutting. And he said Christian conservatives could cost Republicans seats around the country, especially in Ohio.

“The Republicans are talking about things like gay marriage and so forth, and the Democrats are talking about the things people care about, like how do I pay my bills?” he said.

You can get the seriously wrong idea from this article, though. Dick Armey being involved and all...I know he will not be insulted by my reminding progressives that he is NOT or friend...I decided to look arounf that FreedomWorks joint for a while. I found the Big Lie technique is still in full effect.

Despite the growth in diversity and the number of media outlets, a small but vocal group will turn out in force for the FCC’s hearings, asking for greater government control of the nation’s broadcast media. The “Free Press,” as they are called are calling for new restrictions on the media that will ultimately reduce the choices available to American families.

Ironically, the Free Press’s actions belie the contradiction of their arguments. While calling for greater control over radio and television in order to ensure diversity, they actually rely on the Internet and email to disseminate their message, as do thousands of bloggers, non-profits, and others who reach a wide audience on an amazing array of issues.

The irony is telling. The Free Press argues that media consolidation constrains the free flow of information to Americans, threatening the very future of our democracy, yet they practice a very sophisticated form of democratic activism with only a minimal use of mainstream media.

What exactly is their agenda? Their website says the Free Press is working to “… produce a more competitive and public interest-oriented media system with a strong nonprofit and noncommercial sector.”

I'm not going to defend Free Press...they can handle their business. But the spin on the net neutrality discussion is unacceptable. So in case you missed it, here's part one of Moyers on America: The Net At Risk. It's 14 minutes long; watch the whole thing if you want to know what you don't have and why. The "why" part kicks in at about the ten minute mark...short form is, the telecom industry got massive tax breaks and deregulated entirely in exchange for a promise to build a network like, oh, South Korea has. Obviously they didn't build it; they did, however, take the money.

Part three, 23 minutes long, goes into the $40 million per year the telecom industry spend lobbying Congress to make sure they continue getting that money. It's another piece you should watch when you get the time.

I really have to remind you the buyer/seller relationship is as an adversarial a relationship as the market competitor one is. When an industry acts in concert in this way, who do you think it is competitng with...and over what?

The argument that government should not assume there is a problem should have been made before the FCC substituted suggestions for rules...there were no problems before that point.