This Should Concern You

Whether you enjoy and, or appreciate talk radio shouldn't matter as regards this bit below. That our government is looking to launch investigations into private citizens not suspected or accused of any crime should. In one sense, this is precisely the type of thing the framers were most concerned with when it came to government over-reaching. In another sense, I might expect something like this from Putin's Russia, but not the United States Congress. What's next, a black list, perhaps?

Others on the Democrat side are pushing ahead with other plans. Rep. Henry Waxman has asked his investigative staff to begin compiling reports on Limbaugh, and fellow radio hosts Sean Hannity and Mark Levin based on transcripts from their shows, and to call in Federal Communications Commission chairman Kevin Martin to discuss the so-called "Fairness Doctrine."

"Limbaugh isn't the only one who needs to be made uncomfortable about what he says on the radio," says a House leadership source. "We don't have as big a megaphone as these guys, but this all political, and we'll do what we can to gain the advantage. If we can take them off their game for a while, it will help our folks out there on the campaign trail."

Comments

[germanredwoo]

bellowed beechnuts and dream. and went living were having along I thought to dine came

[AJB]

Smells like bullshit:

http://oversight.house.gov/story.asp?ID=1532

[PersonFromPorlock]

Modern version: "Don't pick a fight with someone who buys ink by the barrel or electrons by the pound."

[hobo]

Where did I hear that Waxman and Maliki were in the same bathroom together; side by side stalls.

[seekeronos]

"---

Today's Left:
Socialism? Uh-uh. Marxism? Uh-uh.
Facism? Lock, stock and both smoking barrels.
When does construction on the "work camps" begin?

---"

Those were already built during the first Clinton Administration. Remember the BRAC (Base Realignment And Closure) lists of the mid 1990s? It wouldn't be surprising if some of those closed bases were put into reservation for use as future Arbeitslager (work camps) for the upcoming raft of Christians and other enemies of the Democrat State.

They will likely be put to use during the second Clinton Reign. Perhaps as a means of achieving a satisfactory level of "population reduction" of "unfavourable residents".

Gotta keep our national "carbon footprint" down, don'tcha know.... it would be a pity if any more polar bears drowned in all that melted icy sea water.

[ZZMike]

The wise and thoughtful Mr Waxman might want someone on his staff to look up the Supreme Court "Meredith Corp. v. FCC" (1987), which brought the FCC to end the so-called "fairness doctrine".

Evidently, to liberals and Democrats, the only time it's "fair" is when they get to take their ball and go home.

[Capitalist Infidel]

dumbblonde

Really? Most on the right want the left to be even more vocal so average Americans can see the fascism.

[dumbblonde]

I should have pointed out in my post above that this should not be seen as a strictly democratic-party problem. There is plenty of support, on BOTH sides of the aisle, for suppression of dissent and for doing away with certain rights of the citizenry, for the so-called public good. This is dangerous.

[The Last Patriot]

Today's Left:
Socialism? Uh-uh. Marxism? Uh-uh.
Facism? Lock, stock and both smoking barrels.
When does construction on the "work camps" begin?

[Ernie M]

Is there an actual link to a news story that quotes Waxman or evidence that anyone will actually be called? I wouldn't put it past the Dems to do, but I cannot find a news story mentioning Hearings for Rush, Hannity and Levin.

[m]

"going to look like the jackbooted thug he's been acting since January"

When has Waxman NOT behaved like a thug?

[PD Quig]

Waxman is stupider than he is ugly--and THAT's saying something. As this hits the airwaves he's going to look like the jackbooted thug he's been acting since January. Meanwhile, Limbaugh and Hannity ratings go up another few notches while they pump Mr. Ministry of Truth like a whore over a barrel. This is what's coming to town with the Hillary-Dhimmicrat Express, America.

[Ron J]

"'Cause I'm the Waxman, ye-ah, I'm the wax-man...!"

[Jerry]

Heffalump,

"I think it was Mark Twain who said something to the effect that it was not wise to pick a fight with someone who buys ink by the barrel. It is equally unwise to pick a fight with someone who has about a million watts of cumulative transmitter power."

Nice quote. Another one:

"It's also really dumb to pick a fight with a million keyboards with Internet connections."

Mark Twain, would, of course, have stated it better than this lowly engineer. Did what I could.

[Jerry]

"Big megaphones?!?!" Compare the size of the readership of the NYT, LAT and WaPo, to name a few liberal rags, to the Rush & Hannity listeners/viewer audience. The libs have the bigger megaphones. The conservatives have the truth.

I think Rep. Waxman put both feet into this tar pit and he's going to have a hard time extracting himself. If I recall, Rush is on Armed Forces Radio, at the request of the members of our Armed Forces. Wonder what will happen when the troops' call-in responses supporting Rush hit the airwaves?

I'm sure that there's a huge archive of pro-military Rush sound bites on supporting our military. Compile'em and ship them to Hannity. He'll put'em to good use.

Also, wasn't Rush all over the Scott Thomas Beauchamp affair for disparagement of the reputation and honor of our troops? Is Waxman on record anywhere for railing against Beauchamp's slurs?

Waxman - prepare yourself for the deluge of pro-military Rush soundbites. Sean Hannity will have a field day on this one at your expense. And Rush is grinnin' right now.

BTW, can we nickname Waxman "Tail-Gunner Hank"? Though I prefer "Tail-Runner Hank" for some reason.

[Charles Hammond Jr.]

I can remember when all the lefties would accuse us of doing such. I can't remember when we actually did it. I can remember when the lefties were doing such things. I can't remember when the right actually did something about it. Well, they probably did, but I can't remember the MSM saying anything about it.

I'm not gonna lie. This sucks.

[Heffalump]

I can't see Limbaugh et al. doing anything but gaining from this. I think it was Mark Twain who said something to the effect that it was not wise to pick a fight with someone who buys ink by the barrel. It is equally unwise to pick a fight with someone who has about a million watts of cumulative transmitter power.

[doubled]

You hit the nail on the head Wahoo Willie, who can forget the left's incessant whining over library books being monitored. Who the hell goes to the library to plot devestation? But to the left it is all about emotions, never about sensible thought.

[Retread]

Isn't what Waxman is doing the first step in actual censorship, government control of speech?

[Mark]

I'm hoping and praying for the day they subpoena Limbaugh/Hannity/O'Reilly et al for a public hearing. It will never happen because the liberal left are inherently cowards.

[Peach]

Wonder if while he's investigating, he will release the truth about the 12 year old they used to whine about the Pres not signing off on health care.

Good point Willie. This lie was broadcast on radio airwaves, did the Democrats breach some truth on the airwaves rule?

[Wahoo Willie Sez]

Wonder if while he's investigating, he will release the truth about the 12 year old they used to whine about the Pres not signing off on health care. The boy and his ss go to private school to a tune of $20,000 a year and back home to thier half million dollar home. If the dems need some actual poor kids whose parents cnnot afford health insurance, I will be glad to introduce a handful.

[Wahoo Willie Sez]

What makes this so funny is that THESE are the same people who whine about the infringment on the BOR for "listening to phone calls". Typical of the lefties and a harbinger of things to come. If someone did the same to air america we'd hear all kinds of whining about censorship by coercion.

[NotJustAnyone]

On the contrary, Rep. Waxman and his colleagues should not make such pronouncements for their own sake, rather they should vigorously and energetically pursue such policies of keeping logs on private citizens speech that he (and his colleagues) find objectionable, and more to the point use the resources of the federal government to do something about it.

No longer should Rep. Waxman's constituency simply abide by empty talk. The time is now for action.

This would be one of very many important precedents established by this current Congress and its immediate predecessors.

The spotlight is on you, Mr. Waxman.

Compile the reports!

Do it now!

An eager country awaits you action!

[Matt]

Amazing. Just when the Republican base is demoralized and turning on the party, the Democrats target one of the most popular figures on the right, nakedly abusing power and basing it all on lies from a partisan organization.

[Jeffersonian]

I was about to say this is a McCarthyite move, but at least Tailgunner Joe confined his hunt for commies who were acting on behalf of the Soviet Union (and underestimated the scope of the probem at that). Waxman just wants to silence domestic political foes. He's a bald-headed thug unfit for office.

[supernintendo Chalmers]

yeah this is pretty lame.

If you don't like listening to pill-poppin' troop-hatin Rush Limbaugh or loud-mouth Sean KKKlanity, then don't tune it in. Pretty simple.

People who vote democratic only listen to these clowns for entertainment anyway, not indoctrination, so this is just a waste of our tax-dollars, not to mention unconstitutional.

[Goodbye Natalie]

If we don't believe in freedom of expression for people we despise, we don't believe in it at all. ~ Noam Chomsky

The liberal Democrats don't even listen to one of their own if it doesn't parrot the "Hate George Bush" group think...

[reliapundit]

rush MIGHT have broken a law which is NOT law or even policy: thre "fairness" doctrine.

it doesn't get any more fascist than this.

yet the MSM is silent.

despite the fact that this is a very chilling assault on free speech.

sickening.

[Purple Avenger]

I want the contract for building the "reeducation" camps.

[Martin L. Shoemaker]

I hope Rep. Waxman is honest enough to call his team by their proper name: The House Unamerican Activities Commission.

[Mark]

This has got to fire up the Republican base. Thanks, Henry!

[dumbblonde]

Squashing of dissent by those in government. I can think of many other countries where this has been allowed to happen - even supported by a large segment of the citizen population, until it was too late. To name just two: Nazi Germany. Today's Venezuela.

[Jebster]

The tolerant liberal left...

Just a bunch of anti-Constitutional, anti-American, non-Patriotic, socialists.

[jj]

Democracy, Democratic Party style. You have the right of free speech, just as long as you don't disagree with us. Very refreshing!

[Chris]

"We don't have as big a megaphone as these guys,..." Who are these people trying to kid? No megaphone? Right, just the power to legislate and intimidate those with the temerity to disagree.