Money: The New Constitution

The Extremists continue to scare us into submission. The recent partial victory was against radio and focused on Garrison Keillor (of Prairie Home Companion and Lake Wobegone fame), and offensive language used in several of his shows.

No, it wasn't a raunchy Cafe Beuf episode from A Prairie Home Companion, nothing impromptu said out of line from Mr. Keillor. The program is called "Writer's Almanac" and the offensive language was the word "breast" from accomplished literary writers Edward Field, Donald Justice, and Amber Coverdale.

Read the article from the SFGate:
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2005/08/21/PKGJNCF2191.DTL&hw=breast&sn=001&sc=1000

The outraged listeners took action and demanded their show be returned to the airwaves, regardless of the profane "breast" word, without one extremist complaint. At least the listeners utimately prevailed, as the way it should be. The radio waves were meant for them.

As someone who must make important editorial decisions on what is aired on our non-commercial radio station, I took great interest in this latest development on what is and is not decent to air on the radio. Has Extreme Right now scared radio station managers to pull anything, including the most benign words, like breast, from the airwaves in fear of FCC fines?

Sadly, it is the FCC that controls who gets to legally have a license to use the public airwaves, and it only takes one complaint to potentially ruin someone's ability to use those airwaves. With a new non-commercial LPFM, it is difficult to discern the FCC's rules because many of them are left to the commissioners to decide on a case-by-case basis.

Even outside of the radio realm, people are becoming more afraid to speak out because of retribution from the far-right. The Constitution seems to have been put in the collective compost pile in exchange for the almight dollar and all those who seek power with it. Unless you have money, there is no way for you to defend yourself and your supposed freedoms as defined by the composted Constitution. Money is now the standard of rights.

That is why these huge conglomerate rich radio stations can get away with the smut and filth emitted by Howard Stern and others, while smaller public radio stations balk at "breast" in fear of large penalties and fines because one listener might complain. It has little to do with freedoms that the Constitution grants, and more to do with money.

You can do anything if you have the money. "Show me the money!" In Money We Trust. Money= Get Out of Jail Free Card. Money: The New Constitution.