Monthly Archives: July 2003

FCC and Your Listening Choices

This entry was posted in Constitution Culture FCC Libertarianism Regulation on by

Inspired by a particularly gross talk show episode the FCC is looking to envigorate their efforts “to crackdown on indecency in broadcasting“:

The agency not only warned Infinity that it might lose its license if it does not clean up its act, but announced that any broadcaster who runs afoul of the vague indecency standard will face “strong enforcement actions, including the potential initiation of revocation proceedings.”

Given apparent ongoing congressional intent to oversee our reading and listening habits I suspect we will not be able to look to congress to properly slap the FCC as it has done regarding the media ownership issue. So this FCC behaviour is likely to end up in the courts hopefully it will be tossed out with the trash.

Investing in the Future?

This entry was posted in bush Culture Domestic Terrorism US Foreign Policy US Politics War on Terrorism on by

James Joyner, Outside the Beltway, thinks this “may be the strangest story of the year”:

The Pentagon is setting up a stock-market style system in which investors would bet on terror attacks, assassinations and other events in the Middle East. Defense officials hope to gain intelligence and useful predictions while investors who guessed right would win profits.

Maybe not so strange when you consider the folks behind this. Just imagine the opportunities to line the pockets of selected investors. Of course, the current administration would never consider something like that.
Hmmmm, how much would someone need to bet invest before they were incented to hire lobbyists; make campaign contributions; or perhaps hire a hit squad? Just imagine the possibilities….

ET, call Iraq?

This entry was posted in Iraq on by

Phone users in Baghdad had a brief interlude of phone service until corporate America’s managers realized that it might reduce the value of the monopolies they planned to create:

The U.S.-led authority in Iraq — which wants to hold a tender for three regional mobile phone licences — asked Batelco to shut down. A renegade service provider could throw a spanner into its plans for a tender for the licences, among the most potentially lucrative contracts to be offered in Iraq.
Iraq was frozen out of a global boom in personal portable phones by Saddam’s secret state. But mobile phones sprang unexpectedly to life a week ago, delighting cellphone users who could make and receive calls around the world.

Hmmm, also the military may want to maintain the ‘secret state’ for a while more.
Via David Marston at Catallarchy.

Job Opening in California?

This entry was posted in Politics on by

What person in their right mind would want to be governor of California given the current mess there? Well, maybe a Republican who would like to have a short tenure in office. As this San Diego Union-Tribune article reports there will be no free ride for someone who might replace Gray Davis:

A new Republican governor would face monumental challenges, ranging from the need to organize a government at warp speed to dealing with a hostile Legislature dominated by Democrats.

Sure, the upside of success could be the White House. More then likely, though, any Republican replacement will be a short timer and simply set the stage for another Democrat.