I was napping when they broke into the Capitol. My wife, Martha, woke me to tell me the news. At that point, the riot (or “insurrection,” if you prefer, although I wasn’t thinking of it in those terms at the time) was a couple hours old; it appeared that Congress was safe, our representatives tweeting and cuddling each other in their undisclosed safety bunkers. Ok, I don’t remember any reports of “cuddling,” but I like to think of Susan Collins and Chuck Schumer holding each other tight.
Martha said she thought we were watching an important moment in American history. I said I didn’t think so; there’d already been so much insanity during Trump’s four years in office that the scene struck me as just another example–though a particularly dramatic one–of MAGA’s criminal exuberance. It was, I thought, Trump’s political death knell.
Five years after the fact, with our criminal president reinstated for a second term, I understand that day—and especially its aftermath—differently. January 6, 2021 was the day America broke.
Archive: http://archive.today/L3hAL
The Fairness Doctrine seems kind of pointless now that traditional OTA TV and radio are dying off. I could see companies like Fox News just divesting from licenced broadcasting entirely and sticking with only cable and streaming to avoid getting regulated. The media ecosystem exists mostly outside of licensed spectrum now so it wouldn’t be much of a loss for them. The end of the Fairness Doctrine was definitely fundamental to how we got here, but I don’t think bringing it back will change anything significant about how the system functions now.
Amend the fairness doctrine to any (Insert better language here) interstate commerce. Last time I checked a subscription is service, and monetizing advertising is still selling something.
Also you could probably set up some way to enforce based off of subscription numbers, employee count, or revenue. Perhaps even mandate what revenue sources they are allowed to take, mostly because I am utterly convinced that a lot of bigger right wing groups would implode if you cut off their rich donors.
i like because right wing groups implode. how do we balance with freedom of press?
You don’t, freedom of press does not mean freedom to misinform.
Simple they can publish or say whatever they want, but they wouldn’t be able to take direct cash from rich assholes. I’d also probably ban people over a certain level of wealth from owning news publications or at least mandate that they have to put it in trust or something. Basically I want to prevent Prager and Fox from existing while stopping rich pissants from buying up legacy media to control the narrative.
i guess, how do we provide a framework that ensures that happens while we still get sesame street
Goo question to which you’d need a lawyer and a financial expert. I have ideas but nothing solid enough to talk about.