Friday, June 3, 2011

Tales From the Over-Regulated State

The Over-Regulated State doesn't sound quite as dramatic as Police State, but what are those police going to enforce except regulations?  One of Ayn Rand's more memorable quotes is:
"There's no way to rule innocent men.  The only power government has is the power to crack down on criminals.  Well, when there aren't enough criminals, one makes them.  One declares so many things to be a crime that it becomes impossible for men to live without breaking laws."
There's a joke picture going around; perhaps you've seen this referred to a "The Compleat Guide to Women, Volume 1" (for example, here)
When I saw it, I thought "Code of Federal Regulations, Volume 1 of 9247, Abridged Edition"  

From the TechDirt pages, it seems the Fed.gov hydra wants to make it illegal to embed videos.   Naturally, if they're going to say such a thing they have to define the terms, so our Glorious Betters have decided:
If you embed a YouTube video that turns out to be infringing, and more than 10 people view it because of your link... you could be facing five years in jail.
Now, as for why it's a 5 year term if 10 people watch but not punishable if 8 people watch it, you'll have to ask our insect overlords.  Since having 20 people watch it is not materially worse than 10, that means 10 is some sort of magic number.   But just think of all the criminals they can create this way.  It's fantastic!

Does your head hurt?

How about Net Neutrality?  I've blogged on this a bunch of times (just enter the term in the search bar and you can read them in reverse chronological order), especially the incestuous relationship between FCC Chairman Julius "Seizure" Genachowski, and Robert McChesney of the openly Marxist "Free Press".  The two go way back.  I've said a bunch of times (in more words) that McChesney and "Free Press" would write the laws and the FCC will copy them onto their letterhead.

Who would have guessed
(Judicial Watch President Tom) Fitton added that "the FCC is supposed to be an independent agency that follows the law. The American people should be deeply troubled by the fact that the Obama administration, on issue after issue, seems to be run by shadowy leftist organizations."
Word.

5 comments:

  1. It's the same old "stuff the cat back in the bag, quick, before anyone notices" reaction we see throughout history. Instead of adapting their rules to the new reality, those in power demand that reality adapt to fit their rules.

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  2. I see criminalizing YouTube as a classic example of small minds regulating that which they don't understand.

    As for the FCC, they have outlived their usefulness by half a century and need to be shut down as we try to cut the budget. Or, at best, reduced to a tenth of their current size. They can't do the technical stuff any more - they don't understand the new technology and think they can create new physics.

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  3. That cross-country motorcycle ride is looking better all the time. Unless they outlaw that, too.

    Some might say hey won't be happy until they've killed the internet.

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  4. BS Footprint - that's an excellent piece. I think it's the first thing I read over at your place. Still a classic.

    It's all very believable. The net is freedom. "Free Press" is absolutely devoted to killing off any diversity of opinion. McChesney said in his manifesto the fed.gov should:
    (Establish) a 'journalism’ division of AmeriCorps” to “ensure that young people who love journalism will stay in the field”
    Provide “a tax credit to news organizations for every journalist they employ”
    “Establishe citizenship news vouchers”
    “Increase postal subsidies for newspapers and periodicals”
    A tax on news aggregators, or even a policy to make news aggregation sites, like the Drudge Report, illegal
    The allocation of roughly $35 billion in public news subsidies
    A five percent tax on consumer electronics
    A ISP cell phone tax
    A revision of the tax code to allow for more nonprofit media

    "McChesney wrote in the Marxist journal Monthly Review that "any serious effort to reform the media system would have to necessarily be part of a revolutionary program to overthrow the capitalist system itself."

    This is the death of freedom of information, and FCC chairman Julius Genachowski is his personal peg boy. Genachowski then hired a guy to be in charge of broadcasting who is dedicated to destroying broadcasting.

    Their aim seems to be to duplicate the USSR system, where we have only government provided news: Pravda and Izvetzia.

    Wanna take a bet both of our blogs are shut down before the 2012 election?

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  5. Tax code revisions would be applied to support the Left, as with NPR, and limit the Right, as with Limbaugh, Hannity, etc. Subsidies for the Left, and higher taxation for the Right, so the "wealth" can be more evenly distributed. Obviously the Left is being discriminated against, since not enough people wish to listen to it. Not enough to entice major advertisers to purchase access to that "market".

    Will we see a time in the near future where businesses and public places will be required to air content from the Left, so as to be sure they aren't discriminated against? If we can be made to purchase medical insurance we do not want, why not be forced to listen to NPR or other fonts of liberal "wisdom" and "news" at your local restaurant, or waiting in a train station, or in your doctor's office?

    Sound far-fetched? Don't bet on it. And don't expect it to work the other way. Don't expect Hollywood to suddenly be forced to produce films with conservative content. "Atlas Shrugged" is an aberration, a on-off that won't be repeated any time soon. Your usual anti-gun/anti-liberty/anti-military content will certainly continue unabated.

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