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Senator Jay Rockefeller (D-WV), this week called on the FCC to shut down Fox News and MSNBC. The senior senator from WV said, “There’s a little bug inside of me which wants to get the FCC to say to Fox News and MSNBC, ‘Off. Out. End. Goodbye’. It would be a big favor to political discourse; to our ability to do our work here in Congress; and the American People, to talk with each other and have some faith in their government, and more importantly, in their future.”
This has made many people quite angry. The reasons for this anger are many. The biggest reason for this anger is because Rockefeller seems not to want the American People to know and understand the process of government, or what their elected officials are doing in Congress or the White House. Another reason for the anger is because the senior senator from West Virginia, the 41st governor of that state, is completely out of touch with the reality that everyone in America faces. That reality is that our elected officials are doing “their” work, not “our” work. Politicians doing their work are the reason the people are struggling in a tough economy, battling inflation in food and feed prices, while getting no monetary increases to compensate for this inflation.
Senator Rockefeller seems not to understand that the FCC does not control cable or satellite transmissions, or the Internet. He seems to think the FCC should be the modesty and decency police, who also put forth whichever agenda he and his cronies would like the people to hear. Is this the new path down the road to serfdom? Does Rockefeller think he can create a new department, or expand the role of the FCC, so that only the Progressive message gets out to the people?
Rockefeller’s clan has been involved for decades in stimulating the economies of Latin America, especially Mexico, Brazil, and Venezuela. During the time he was governor of West Virginia, factories and coal mines closed at a dizzying pace; during the early years of Reagan’s presidency, his poor governance helped put the state’s unemployment up to 20%. He has flip-flopped about the Iraq War, waterboarding, and other issues, especially those related to Veterans Affairs during the time he headed that committee.
Rockefeller’s attack on free speech in America, and his seeming desire to keep the American people from knowing what “their” work is in Congress, rather than having a desire to do “our” work, shows in his actions and his words. Rockefeller has been in Congress since 1985. It is past time this secretive crook was voted out of office. He did nothing for the people of West Virginia as governor, unless you count closing the factories and coal mines, and ruining the chances that people could find jobs that pay more than minimum wage and creating a welfarized poverty state. He helped get Veteran’s pensions and Social Security payments cut drastically during his time in office. Rockefeller needs to be voted out of office as soon as is possible by his constituents. Neither the people of West Virginia, nor the rest of the country, need someone in any government office who believes that the citizens should not know what the work of Congress is, or who wants to attack, curtail or otherwise tamper with the First Amendment.
I agree…..with Rocky……….I am sick of both Fox and MCNBC……
Glen
Lancaster, PA
Mr. Bentley – Do you know how to change channels on your TV? If you don’t care to watch Fox News or MSNBC we live in free America with freedom of speech. Even though I don’t share the views of MSNBC our freedom allows all opinions. Thank God for our Constitution!!!!!
TO START WITH ROCKFELLER IS ABOUT AS LIBERAL AS THEY COME. WV DESERVES BETTER, ROCKFELLER IS NOT A WV NATIVE HE IS A CARPETBAGGER, I JUST DONT UNDERSTAND WHY THE FOLKS IN WV HAVENT THROWN HIM OUT. HE HAS NEVER VOTED THEIR WISHES IN A LONG TIME.
AS FOR HIS COMMENTS ABOUT FOX AND MSNBC, JUST TAKE A LOOK AT HITLERS GERMANY, RUSSIA, ETC. HOW DID THEIR REIGN START? PROPAGANDA!! WHEN YOU CONTROL THE PRESS YOU GET OUT THE MESSAGE YOU WANT PEOPLE TO HEAR, NOT THE TRUTH!! ROCKFELLER SHOULD BE THROWN OUT OF OFFICE, HE SHOULD APPOLIGIZE TO THE AMERICAN PEOPLE FOR TAKING AWAY THEIR 1ST AMENDMENT RIGHTS, AND GIVEN A ONE WAY TICKET TO TO THE DICTATORSHIP COUNTRY OF HIS CHOICE.
What are you talking about? Taking away first amendment rights, he’s said nothing of the sort. That’s your imagination.
First off its the neo-cons from the right wing that have taken this country down the road towards a dictatorship. It’s people like you who scream that Obama’s a socialist, Maoist, Communist when you can’t even define the terms. If you understood the various forms of government then you would be aware of the fact that fascism has been overtly inserting itself in to US politics under Republican leadership since Reagan. Even Clinton was Republican Light. Transnational corporations are basically in control of our government, as well as the mass media.
Rockefeller nailed it when he said the media has dumbed down America and Fox is way ahead of the pack on that. At least MSNBC works at getting the facts right, but neither show is news – both editorialize the news with opinion. It’s entertainment, basically talk radio on TV without the callers.
What Rockefeller’s talking about is TV news no longer serves the community, it’s become a form of entertainment.News has always been a public service until the 80’s when news depts had to start making a profit, when that happened real investigative reporting died a slow death. Bean counters shut down foreign news bureaus, now we’re clueless about life outside of America unless we’re smart enough to get our news from “credible” sources on the internet.
Authentic newscasts are a thing of the past, most people wouldn’t know credible if it bit them on the ars. They go about believing most everyone thing they hear from sociopaths like Beck, Limbaugh, Hannity, O’Reilly etc. Corporate schills who make it up as they go. Talk about propaganda! Fox is nothing but propaganda and lies, they don’t even check facts!
Look Dan, my background is in radio broadcasting so I know what I’m talking about – this is not just conjecture. Over the last 20yrs I’ve watched the entire industry throw integrity and honesty out the window in exchange for profits, as huge corporations bought every single independent radio and tv station in the country; so that now only 5 or 6 company’s own the entire mass media.
That’s control! Monopolizing the mass media gives you the power to control content and the message going out to the people. Fox has done nothing but divide the country by branding everyone with a label, then demonizing them, they fear monger to no end. So IF you think that there’s freedom in the press right now, then you have no idea what’s going on. One of the sheeple who prefer willful ignorance over the facts because it easiest.
I’m not a big fan of the Rockefellers, but if he can help restore integrity to news through regulatory ethics, or codes of standards that newscasters have to follow then America will be much better off in the end.
Just so you know, I have been inspired to read about our history, watch the process (and be involved in) the elections of our politicians and have become a better person thanks to Glenn Beck and his show. You are entitled to your opinion, but no one has the right to stop our freedom of speech. So suck it up and turn off your TV if you have a problem with it. Something that has sparked me to find out more about our history, our forefathers, our direction in this country, can not be as evil as you paint it. The fact that you are so free in labeling Glenn Beck tells me how out of touch you are. I am thankful I was able to have woken up to what’s happening to our country and to look at both sides of things. I was not getting a fair view of things from CBS, ABC and NBC.
AGREED! This isn’t the USSA.
I totally agree.
Who gives this member of an elitist family, the Rockerfeller family, to muffle free speech with a demand of the FCC to close-down Fox News and MSNBC?
no one gives this jerk the right. our founding fathers knew people like Rockefeller would come along and try to silence people who are couragious enough to stand up for liberty. he needs to go. let’s hope people in WV have the guts to get him out of office there. He obviously isn’t worthy of serving here in this country if he suggests cencorship of Americans. Good grief what next?
I would suggest the Senator take a refresher course on the Constitution, which among other things, grants freedom of speech to ALL Americans.
Too many politicians would be more than happy to keep Americans uninformed so they can work their “magic” behind closed doors. It’s no wonder there is such mistrust of politicians.
Perhaps these same politicians should take an inward look, “man up”, and take ownership and responsibility for the mess this country is in.
Senator, you should be ashamed and embarrassed at the suggestion that the plug should be pulled on these news stations. Sounds like communism to me…..is that what this country is coming to??
Oh, and by the way, if any of you have gone onto the Senator’s “contact” site, it states that because of the high volume of emails his office gets, he can only respond to emails from West Virginia. Why am I not surprised?
to Annette. Please name one thing Limbaugh has made up. And something that O’Reilly, and Hannity, and BEck has made up. By “thing” I mean a fact, not an opinion. “Obama is an idiot,” is a statement of opinion. “When Obama was a young lawyer, he and other attorneys sued Citibank in Federal Court in Chicago. The suit ended up forcing Citi (and later other banks)to make risky loans to poor inner-city folks. Now Obama says that in making the very loans he forced them to make, they were engaging in “predatory lending.”
That’s s statement of fact. So is, “Obama and Reid threatened to fillibuster, and thereby derailed, G W Bush supported legislation that might have prevented Fannie Mae and Freddy Mac’s collapse and the current recession that thereby ensued.” Saying that,”Obama is a hypocrite for blaming Bush for the financial mess which he (Obama) helped create,” is a mixed statement of fact and opinion. Got it? Now, name one fact that each of the four gentlemen “made up” with backup showing what they said was untrue. If you don’t, you’re a hypocrite, for having “made up” the charges that the men make things up.
The reason we have the First amendment is to protect us from idiots in government offices like Senator Jay Rockefeller (D-WV).