I am thoroughly enchanted by how much excellent material there is to read on this and other websites.
Sometimes I have to remind myself to TAKE ACTION.
That's the POINT, isn't it?
So, this morning I picked two important (pet) issues and did something about it.
I wanted to let you know so you can take action and spread the word to your friends.
(This afternoon I'm donating money online and sending letters to BEG the recipients NOT to put me on their snail mail lists. Maybe mainstream ("old fashioned") marketers advise them that sending out follow-up letters gets people to donate more, but I find it unbearable to see so much wasted paper and money when one can follow their news online.)
Action links and follow-up report = below the fold. . . .
1. Contact Your Senators re: Net Neutrality
http://actionalert.blogspot.com/...
"Who gets to decide what is or is not appropriate discourse — the free market or corporate gatekeepers? With what are you comfortable on this issue? These are the questions you ought to be asking yourself — and your elected representatives."
"And while you're calling, also encourage them to sponsor the Dorgan-Snowe Net Neutrality.
We all know what's at stake here; I won't bore you with any details. Suffice it to say if you want to continue enjoying dailykos, you need to call. And get everybody else to call. If you need that extra incentive, Ted Stevens sits on this committee."
Note to New Yorkers: Sen. Clinton is on board already; Sen. Schumer is still undecided (per phone calls this morning to their offices)
2. Contact the FCC :
http://www.stopbigmedia.com/...
At issue is the effort to move media control "Up and to the Right" and turn broadcasting into a small market for big media.
The FCC's original mission was to have broadcasting be for the public interest, necessity, and convenience.
For background: http://www.museum.tv/...
and http://www.thecccn.org/...
3. If you can do more, please see the latest of
Elise's Excellent Weekly Action Alerts
http://www.dailykos.com/...
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P.S. Some of my comments to the FCC on media consolidation are below. Sigh. I wish I could write better.
"Public interest, convenience, and necessity should be the guiding principles of allocating broadcast resources. . . .Therefore, there should be no concentration of media ownership. To function as good citizens of our country and to participate fully in the increasingly global marketplace, Americans need access to a wider rather than narrowing marketplace of broadcast selections.
The most vivid example I can offer is what happened on September 11, 2001 when our local and diverse media was essential to the public interest, convenience, and necessity. Within minutes of the first plane hitting the World Trade Center I heard an eyewitness report by a staff member at a local radio station. When the second plane hit, other staff members gave their eyewitness reports.
We knew more about the planes within the first fifteen minutes than seemed to reach the big media outlets or our national leaders did even an hour or more later. At least one station whose antenna was destroyed that morning was able to patch together alternative solutions in order to continue broadcasting, with many thoughtful and useful segments for those of us in the surrounding area. What a sharp contrast to the incident in another community where there was a lack of local media to report about a dangerous chemical spill.
I feel extremely fortunate to live in an area where I can hear radio programs more varied than the fare offered by the usual handful of big media outlets. For example, broadcasts in foreign languages I have been studying, listen to conversations among people from minority communities I was not previously acquainted with, and even call in to voice my opinion or share my expertise. Or ask questions and get answers. We even have listener-sponsored not-for-profit radio stations where I have heard important news years before the mainstream media took notice, and I have learned very useful things that big media never discusses, such as health and safety issues in the workplace and the classroom. They also do the best job of paying tribute on air to our fallen service members in Iraq and Afghanistan, devoting literally as much time as it takes (without commercial or other interruptions) to read the entire Department of Defense casualty bulletins. This is another instance where a wide and diverse media ownership, where public interest can be better served, increases the quality of broadcasting.
I truly feel sorry for people who live in areas where there is not this diversity of media ownership because it is such a wonderful public service to have on offer a wide and useful selection of choices.