I Still Don't Sleep At Night

"The airwaves belong to the people,"

U.S. Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-ND).

When last we saw them, more than a million people had stormed George Bailey's Bank, no, wait. This wasn't a movie. We're not in Bedford Falls. I just get so caught up in the excitement of people actually fighting not just a bank or City Hall, but something way bigger, that I can almost see it happening. This time the power of the people stormed the FCC's e-mails, postboxes, faxes, telephones and reception areas.

Here, let FCC "dissident" (MsRefusnik feels akin to that word) Chairman Michael Copps say it, because he says it well, "Can't you just see unending lines of diverse people walking through broken down doors?):

"This Commission's drive to loosen the rules. and its reluctance to share its proposals with the people before we voted, awoke a sleeping giant. American citizens are standing up in never-before-seen numbers to reclaim their airwaves, and to call on those who are entrusted to use them to serve the public interest. In these times when many issues divide us, groups from right to left, Republicans and Democrats, concerned parents and creative artists, religious leaders, civil rights activists, and labor organizations have united to fight together on this issue. Senators and Congressmen from both parties and from all parts of the Country have called on the Commission to reconsider. The media concentration debate will never be the same."

He left out the Dixie Chicks and a group representing Hispanics in the media who were two of the contingents present at today's FCC meeting. (BTW, the majority of the hearing was spent with the reportedly shocked Senators McCain, Dorgan and Boxer learning that what amounted to political censorship could really be imposed as a ban on an artist from corporate headquarters (Cumulus) and was binding on its program directors.)

Read the whole Common Dreams article and review the legislation. Do whatever it takes to renew your fervor, but don't let the momentum stop. Because the bills that the Senate Commerce Committee support, S. 1046 and S. 1264 still need to get through the full Senate and House. As of my e-mail's today, they have 38 supporters in the Senate with 51 needed for passage. And don't forget we still are fighting an extremely powerful lobby in Washington.

I mean it was just about a month ago that it happened. Media ownership was dealt out to a handful of the elite brotherhood, and you could kiss goodbye to another huge glob of American democracy. I wrote a whole sad, paranoids-are-right-sometimes-blog about what I THOUGHT was going to The Kind of Blog Clear Channel Warns You About happen to me, for example.

But now it looks like there's a canary singing in that mine shaft. Despite the expected 3-2 vote by the boys in Bush's pocket, on June 2nd, the Senate Commerce Committee listened to the hue and cry and on June 19th not only undid the worst of it, but told those old boys the corruption had to stop. They can't play dirty like that any more. They have to bring their slimey selves and their business practices out into the light for everybody to see. So there. They were, the articles all said, "rebuked." But we can't stop now.

Here's something you can do right now to keep your airwaves free: Take Action, Write an E-Mail. Nothing could be easier--you don't even have to use your own words if you'd rather not. Or you can call it in: Three minutes and here Call it In--you don't have to know the name of your Congressional Representative or look up a phone number. You just need your zip code. MoveOn suggests we jam the phone lines in the Senate with a simple message, "We want a media that is diverse, competitive and engaged with the local concerns of the communities where we live. But we can only have that if Senators support S. 1046 and S. 1264, the measures that will overturn FCC rule changes that benefit only big media."

For more information about the relevant legislation or the issue in general, go to www.mediareform.net or www.commoncause.org.

There are so many issues, I know. Who knows where to put your energy these days. I would list some, but I'd get too depressed. But I'll admit it. I selfishly care a whole lot about this one because I have kids, and kids get sucked into the media. They believe what they read, see and hear without checking it out. And please don't tell me that's my job. I cannot be there 24/7--let's get real. My kids are teenagers now. Truth be told, I'll always love them no matter what: But please God, don't let me raise little, mindless Republicans or worse. Here's an article from Salon briefly outlining the FCC's idea of children's educational programming, if you need convincing. "When you're out in publilc, always check to make sure no spies are following you." Can you imagine Ashcroft or Tom Ridge being allowed input on children's programming? Now that's a scary movie nightmare.

It's up to us to take back the FCC. And protect our children's minds. Can I say that an angel just might get its wings? No? I didn't think so. But Frank Capra probably couldn't direct movies today either--not enough violence and action to suit the producers. Oh well. Where's my Prozac?