Does the FCC's failure to fine Limbaugh represent regulatory capture?

[onenote]

87. You keep digging yourself in deeper don't you?

Last edited Thu Mar 15, 2012, 06:21 PM - Edit history (1)

First, you don't have a clue what type of entities I represent. Believe it or not, there are a lot of progressive groups and individuals that are very concerned about the government exercising control over the content of broadcast speech.

Second, I don't have the slightest problem with DU removing any speech it wants to remove. DU, in case you haven't noticed, is not the government. And the First Amendment, something which it has become clear you are only vaguely familiar with, only applies to action by the government. Put it this way: if a moderator wants to tell either one of us to shut up, that's their right. But if the government came in and declared that you or I couldn't continue to espouse our particular points of view, I would object vehemently and I would hope you would too. Similarly, I would hope you would join me if the government came in and told DU that it couldn't remove a particular poster's comments.

In short, as has been abundantly clear throughout this debate, my concern is with the state making decisions about who gets to speak. You seem much more comfortable with the state making those decisions.

I doubt we're going to bridge that divide.

PS - You can thank me at some point for updating your understanding of the role programming plays in broadcasting licensing decisions. At least, presumably, you won't be making that mistake again.