FCC Powell To Join Daddy In Leaving?

So the rumors are abound that the Grand Poobah of the Federalist Christian Censors will be resigning. Michael Powell is supposedly joining his father (Secretary of State Colin Powell) in leaving the Bush Junior Administration.

I know that some folks are thinking that this is a GREAT idea. Powell captained the S.S. REPRESSION all through 2004 and made broadcasters on all levels so skittish of the government that they would bleep, blur, and censor anything that could piss people off.

On the other hand, though, Powell wasn't the real problem with the FCC. The FCC was co-opted by two groups working for the same repressive factions.

First were the repressive bunch of conservatives, neo-conservatives, theocrats, and moralists in that body of corruption we call the Congress. Sam Brownback and Rick Santorum and the freedom-haters that support those people were quick to abuse their power and drag network executives to answer their complaints about broadcast standards.

Second is the FCC commissioner who has been working behind the scenes all this time who has constantly pushed for more repression and more censorship. His name is Michael Copps, and he's been in the FCC for DECADES! THIS is the person who needs to go, not Powell! Powell's departure only serves to strengthen Copps' stranglehold over the broadcasting spectrum.

Powell came in as the voice of reason, although it was pretty clear his positions changed on certain subjects (content being one of them) in the years gone by. He didn't see new technologies as worlds to plunder. In fact, his was one of the few voices that suggested that the government didn't have any business IN those areas to begin with.

Unfortunately, as the years went on, and 9/11 happened, and Janet Jackson flashed a pasty-covered BOOB for the world to see, Powell started leaning towards more and more government control. All of a sudden it became "gauche" to let a new medium exist without some kind of government oversight and government regulation and government control! Can't control the content on Cable TV? Screw the Supreme Court! We don't care what those old farts think anyways! We're the FCC! Regulate the Internet? Well we weren't going to until those damned judges told us that we COULDN'T!

And then there was the fact that a bunch of repressive moralists from the Parents Television Council could bully the FCC into doing their bidding simply by fax-bombing and sending out multiple copies of the same complaint letter. Nine people suddenly become 4000, and suddenly THEY get veto power over free speech.

All in all, Michael Powell is not the one responsible for most of the repression, but it is happening under his watch. While he had his eye firmly on new technologies, he forgot to keep an eye on the repressive fossils working behind the scenes. Rather than telling the public to, quote, "take a breath", he should have been telling the PTC and his own people to do that first.

To quote Trump... Michael, YOU'RE FIRED!

Go on... out!