The administration stated only banks in need of “exceptional” government assistance will be required to adhere to executive salary caps.  This is good news for people worried about wage setting and government dictation of corporations not in need of government assistance.  However, another fear has set in for those in fear of government intervention…Hello Talk Radio.

BILL PRESS: Yeah, I mean, look: They have a right to say that. They’ve got a right to express that. But, they should not be the only voices heard. So, is it time to bring back the Fairness Doctrine?

SENATOR DEBBIE STABENOW (D-MI): I think it’s absolutely time to pass a standard. Now, whether it’s called the Fairness Standard, whether it’s called something else — I absolutely think it’s time to be bringing accountability to the airwaves. I mean, our new president has talked rightly about accountability and transparency. You know, that we all have to step up and be responsible. And, I think in this case, there needs to be some accountability and standards put in place.

BILL PRESS: Can we count on you to push for some hearings in the United States Senate this year, to bring these owners in and hold them accountable?

SENATOR DEBBIE STABENOW (D-MI): I have already had some discussions with colleagues and, you know, I feel like that’s gonna happen. Yep. 

The Fairness Doctrine, repealed in 1987,  required broadcasters to dedicate airtime to discussing controversial matters of public interest, which included contrasting views of topics being discussed. 

For a number of years Democratic/Liberal groups have complained Republican views dominated the radio waves, and the Democratic/Liberal supporters felt as if they were being left out.  Originally, they thought “Hey, we can create a broadcasting network to compete with Right wing views” so Air American, a left-leaning broadcasting network, was established in 2004.  

By 2006 the network declared bankruptcy and was sold. While still nationally syndicated on 66 stations, down from roughly 130, ratings peak out at roughly 1.5% of the total listening audience.  Just for balance, Rush Limbaugh gets an average 4.8% of the total available listening audience.

What does this say?  “Left” or “Liberal” radio is niche market, not supported by major audiences.  Better put, it is a business failure and there is little demand for the product.  

So there is no demand, but Democratic lawmakers want to force companies to “sell” unprofitable goods?  

How is it not another step toward socialism?

On the positive side, President Obama does not support reinstating the Fairness Doctrine.  It will be interesting to see if the the President goes up against the Democratically controlled on this topic at some point in the future…

My Crap Day

Today was not a good day for me.  Yea, we have them all… but it was VERY bad.

It started late.  I just felt like crap yet again.  Whatever, it’s winter.  

As I walk into the family room I realize that my puffball of a cat, Bender, decided to remove six keys from my laptop…. and he chewed 2 of them to the point where they could no longer be used.  Great. OK, let’s get to work.

Yea, traffic.  

Really, it was all down hill from there.  I basically had to get to the point where I simply had to tune everything out and go about my day.  It was very stressful.  There were a whole list of other things included in my “crap” day but don’t really think going into it will help much…

I’m off to watch some old Southpark.

As of roughly 4:38 PM central time, Rod Blagojevich was no longer the Governor of Illinois.  Almost immediately after, Democratic Lt. Governor Patrick Quinn was sworn into office.  Sure, Blagojevich, made a pointless hour long speech today, trying to say he did nothing wrong, but if he really wanted to prove his innocence… maybe he would have wanted to show up at the trial instead of running around New York making talk show appearances.

What I find really interesting to see is how quickly Senator Roland Burris threw Blagojevich under the bus – “it shows loud and clear that there were serious hurdles keeping the governor from doing his job.”  It didn’t keep him from doing his job when he appointed you to the vacant Senate seat, did it now Senator Burris?

I know that political machine of today seems to have corruption interwoven into all aspects of it, but when the corruption is finally stopped – when the blatant abuse of power is confronted – it’s a wonderful thing to see.  

See ya, Blago.

The Stimulus Plan

So I am having a hard time finding specific information regarding all aspects of the Stimulus Plan, and I don’t really have the time to read it line by line right now, but I may have to in order to dig up the facts.

The two things I did find, however, I am rather bothered by.

1. Undocumented immigrants who are not eligible for a Social Security number can file tax returns with an alternative number. A House-passed version of the economic recovery bill and one making its way through the Senate would allow anyone with such a number, called an individual taxpayer identification number, to qualify for the tax credits.
2. The Make Work Pay Credit also would be refundable, meaning that even tax filers without any income tax liability — typically very low-income workers — would receive one.

The point of number 1 could be seen a number of ways.  Being the cynic that I am, I see a large push by the Democratic party to buy the votes of hundreds of thousands of potential voters.  Why potential?  The “undocumented immigrants” is a nice way of saying “illegal”.  Eventually the Democratic majority will push to legalize “undocumented immigrants”, and they will be successful, and when the next round of elections comes calling they will remember who fought for, and successfully provided them, money.

As for point number 2…If you do not pay income taxes, you should not be getting income taxes back.  That is the whole point of a tax refund – you are refunded money you gave in the last year.  Kinda hard to refund something you didn’t pay, isn’t it?  In order to provide the capital for a refund to those who didn’t pay income taxes means the country will need to add additional debt and/or raise taxes.  

Let’s cut through the political speak and call it what it is: socialism.  

People should read up on Marx to see what comes after socialism.

Obama’s Letter to Iran

I find this to be very, very interesting.  

President Obama is drafting a letter to Iran, specifically to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei , in hopes of opening official US-Iranian relations.  I find the choice of Khamenei to be very interesting because the US administration is bypassing the President of Iran.  Could this be a political move to have the Ayatollah support another candidate, say like Seyd Mohammad Khatami, who happens to be seen as a reformer as well as a positive force in US-Iranian relations…

If this letter is sent, does this also mean the US foreign policy of not talking  (well, negotiating) with terrorist organizations?  If that is the case, I wonder what the impact of such a decision will be AND does the U.S. Department of State have a plan in place for any positives or negatives?

This has the potential to be a huge political win for President Obama… or a major embarrassment….

I have a big problem when someone tells me how to live my life. The majority of my time on this world I’ve spent creating an environment that allows me the flexibility to make decisions on my future with minimal input from the outside world. While I know I do not live on the proverbial desert island, I will always have outside influences, I want to decide what is best for me – not have someone else do it for me. That is why this story on the election, and Obama, gets me:

All 22 countries covered in the poll would prefer to see Senator Obama elected US president ahead of Republican John McCain. In 17 of the 22 nations, people expect relations between the US and the rest of the world to improve if Senator Obama wins… “Large numbers of people around the world clearly like what Barack Obama represents,” GlobeScan chairman Doug Miller said.

Two things strike me right away:

1. What exactly does Obama Represent?
2. How does the rest of the world know what he represents if the general American voting public is having a hard time understanding what he brings to the table?

From what I’ve read in the press, and from Obama’s website, his positions are rather liberal, borderline socialist, to me. I don’t mean that in a “darn those liberals” sense but helping free services for everyone and raising taxes sense.

If you look at other the political landscape of countries most are extensively more liberal than the United States. A large number of countries believe in large social aide programs, universal / near universal health care, significant gun control and simply giving to their people simply for the sake that they are citizens. My guess that is exactly why other countries like Obama – they see in him what they have in their government. So, when I see an article like this I can almost hear the world saying “Look, he’s like us – you should take him so you are like us.”

For better or worse the United States has made its way on its own terms. Sometimes the world loves what we’ve done, others not so much. The thing is I wouldn’t have it any other way. Simply because one is used to a liberal government doesn’t mean it would work for the U.S.

9/10/08 Update:

Guardian.co.uk – The world’s verdict will be harsh if the US rejects the man it yearns for

FTA:

If Americans choose McCain, they will be turning their back on the rest of the world, choosing to show us four more years of the Bush-Cheney finger. And I predict a deeply unpleasant shift…If Americans reject Obama, they will be sending the clearest possible message to the rest of us – and, make no mistake, we shall hear it.

This statement is akin to saying electing Obama is like having a second Kennedy administration. Two different people standing up for what they believe in.  All Democrats are not the same, all Republicans are not the same.   Yes, McCain is a Republican but not a Bush disciple.  There is a clear history showing how Bush / McCain do not get along.

It sure seems as if the world is trying to tell us what to do… Don’t elect McCain or else (and I picture someone waving a finger at us as if we are a kid who just got caught with their hand in a cookie jar).  I have questions about McCain, but even more about Obama.  My desire to see McCain in office grows more and more every day – seeing articles like this in the press only helps it grow.