In (reluctant) support of the detestable.

[cali]

I don't want the government "monitoring" Rush, Hannity, Beck, etc, anymore than I want them monitoring Keith or Bill Moyers or Rachel. And I don't think that the FD will be particularly effective, though I'm for it. Yes, these assholes engage in incendiary speech that undoubtedly pushes some people close to or over the edge. Yes, that's deplorable. But that's the byproduct of free speech and furthermore, it's nothing particularly new. Father Coughlin, who actually started from the left, had a larger audience than Rush. Coughlin supported and urged violence against Jews and others.

So I don't want these vile creatures shut down by the gov't. I don't want Beck, that insane little ratfucker, arrested for treason, in large part because this is something that could come back and smack us upside the head.

And yes, of course if Beck or anyone else's language spills over to threatening the president, or any other individual or group with violent physical action, they should be arrested, but vague talk about needing a revolution doesn't rise to that level.

[ColbertWatcher]

1. Having the Fairness Doctrine doesn't automatically get people arrested or ...

... end free speech.

I think you exaggerate.

[cali]

3. I never hinted at any such thing.

Please do not indulge yourself in twisting my words. What I said was clear; that although I don't think the FN will be particularly effective at changing anything, I support it.

And I wasn't exaggerating at all. There have been multiple threads posted here opining that Beck should be arrested for treason, and multiple posts about how the gov't should "monitor"- whatever that means- wingnuts like Rush, Hannity and Beck.

[ColbertWatcher]

5. You're correct, please accept my apology. n/t

[cali]

7. gladly. and many thanks.

[ColbertWatcher]

8. You're welcome. n/t

[babylonsister]

2. I think we need to hit them in their pocketbooks. Maybe if enough

angry mail was sent to advertisers, they'd be able to do what the government shouldn't, as detestable as these cretins are.

[lostnotforgotten]

4. Some Think A Revolution Is The Only Way To Displace The Monopoly Power Of Oligarchs

So, in that context, the right wing's anger is misplaced because that would bite the hand that feeds them.

[KharmaTrain]

6. The Slippery Slope Of "Fairness"

Hopefully the bullshit about restoring the "Fairness Doctrine" has wound down...or lives in Freeperland. It was a straw man argument as the problem isn't the speech as much as its is the access. Rushbo and these other asshats get so much play since they're transmitted on hundreds of corporate-owned stations across the country. It's not the language as much as the volume that's the real problem. When opionions that are shared by 15 or 20 percent of the population dominates the radio dial...that's where we have a discconect.

When you use the term "fairness"...then someone has to decide. Who should that be? The government? And whose fairness? If a Rushbo goes on a 60 minute tirade, do you give everyone and anyone 60 minutes as well...and when?

The real need here is reregulation of our public airwaves...putting caps on the number of stations a large corporation like Clear Channel (that owns Premier that distributes Rushbo) can own and give preferences to local ownership. A diversity of voices and opinions are what is needed...right, left, up, down.

What eventually is needed is a netroots type movement regarding radio and teevee...marshalling talents and financial resources to create, fund and sustain a stronger network of Progressive voices.

:hi:

[Warpy]

9. I do want all the murders done by their listeners exposed

and tied to them. I want the connection between giving people permission to hate their fellow citizens and the mass murder weak men who buy into the hatred commit firmly established. I want truth in advertising, in other words.

I have always been deeply opposed to censorship, but I realize the power of unanswered hatred in the media. That is what started genocide in Bosnia and Rwanda and it was the favorite tool of the Nazis. All opposition is silenced from the official airwaves. No other viewpoint is heard, and the hatred begins to make sense to sensible people who would reject it if they were given an alternative viewpoint.

Oh, I want those men to go on with their vicious ranting. I just want it answered. Until and unless it is, they will continue to be dangerous and more of us will die at their hands.

Hate radio is dangerous if it's in a vacuum the way it is now.

[cali]

10. But that's about answering speech with speech, not about

shutting speech down via the gov't. And I too support that. And I agree that there's not nearly enough speech counteracting these vile people.

[sufrommich]

11. There is also great danger in forcing speech to go

"underground" . The right wing nuts in this country already have a massive victim mentality and leaders who encourage it. Proving their point wound be counter productive. The best way to deal with them is to expose their ugliness and cause them to answer for it.