It was once suggested that the Hippocratic Oath was first uttered when Hippocrates stubbed his toe, painfully, on a rock. But that is not the type of oath with which this diary seeks to deal.
When one appears in court, one takes an oath, to tell “The Truth, The Whole Truth, and Nothing But The Truth”, invoking whichever Authority one follows, whether the Creator, some other deity, or whatever influence one sincerely fears (*1). If one leaves out any of the three, a picture can be painted that bears no resemblance whatsoever to the Truth. One particular network (*2) ignores ALL THREE, controversial matters of public interest, and does not air contrasting views regarding those matters.
A short history:
In 1927, fully 96 years ago, a hearing took place in Congress.
With the increasing influence of radio reporting in the 1920s, politicians of conscience (yes, they DID exist), in 1927, introduced the Radio Act, FAIR (Fairness and Accuracy In Reporting).
It mandated that the FRC (predecessor to the FCC; then “Radio”; now “Communications”) grant broadcasting licenses in such a manner as to ensure that licensees served the “public convenience, interest or necessity.” In other words, it required broadcasters to devote some of their airtime to discussing controversial matters of public interest, and to air contrasting views regarding those matters.
Rep. Luther Johnson (D.-Texas), in the 1927 debate, stated: “American thought and American politics will be largely at the mercy of those who operate these stations, for publicity is the most powerful weapon that can be wielded in a republic. And when such a weapon is placed in the hands of one person, or a single selfish group is permitted to either tacitly or otherwise acquire ownership or dominate these broadcasting stations throughout the country, then woe be to those who dare to differ with them. It will be impossible to compete with them in reaching the ears of the American people.”
Formally adopted as an FCC rule in 1949, the doctrine can be traced back to those early days of broadcast regulation.
It was repealed in 1987 by a pro-Reagan, non-“FAIR”ness-inclined FCC board. Shortly thereafter, without any serious opposition, an angry, arrogant, college dropout, the misogynistic Rush Limbaugh burst onto the airwaves, to start the serious business of sowing pro-right-wing propaganda, by misleading the American people, with no likelihood of rebuttal. Over the next few years, the Sinclair Broadcast Group(*4), Conservative*, family-owned, started buying up, eventually, a total of 1500 smaller AM radio stations and, with a right-wing outlook, syndicated Limbaugh’s three-hours-a-day broadcast on ALL of them. We have now suffered more than 30 years of indoctrination.
Just recently, in 2019, the NAB (National Association of Broadcasters) proposed to the FCC’s Quadrennial Review that the FCC weaken rules limiting how many radio stations any company can own, further weakening the concept of FAIR. Trump’s appointees to the FCC are largely in favor of deregulation, thus further cutting off any counter-arguments to their Alt-Right propaganda.
Here, I must mention two Supreme Court Justices, who could see into the future. The first was Louis Brandeis (*3), confirmed in June 1916. (Fortunately for America, AND FOR MANKIND, “Moscow Mitch” McConnell was not there to block a hearing).
Brandeis famously wrote: “We must make our choice. We may have democracy, or we may have wealth in the hands of a few, but we cannot have both.”
The other statement was in the Dissent written by SCOTUS Justice John Paul Stevens, in the case of Citizens United, January 10, 2011: “A democracy cannot function effectively when its constituent members believe laws are being bought and sold.”
(*1) Much of what we see today, shows that many will say (or do) ANYthing for money, without any pangs about what the Truth may be. Examples: “Global Warming is a hoax”; “Covid-19 is a hoax. It will disappear like a miracle”; “There was NO collusion (conspiracy) in the run-up to the 2016 election”; “It was a PERFECT call.”
I keep on thinking of parts of Psalm 94: “He who formed the ear, will He not hear? He who formed the eye, will He not see?”
(*2) We have observed, over many years, that Fox “News” ignores the oath completely. This is truly the “Fake News” that Donald Trump believes, and quotes. Their outlook is confirmed in the 2020 book by Brian Stelter, “Hoax,” which ties up the way that this angry, spoiled-bratty, nine-year-old psyche of a small-minded, rudderless 70-something year old “president” has been steered into a scorched-earth administration’s actions. As we know, the narcissist hates his own faults, but accuses others of having them. Trump hates “Fake News,” and calls the press (the Fourth Estate), “the enemy of the people.” Thus we must understand that Trump’s statements are “Fake News” and Trump himself is “the enemy of the people.”
The damage caused since January 2017 may be impossible to reverse: America’s reputation as:
- A world leader in Science, Engineering and Medicine;
- A haven for the weak and oppressed;
- A magnet for the finest brains of humankind, to enhance the quality of life for the entire world.
With the recent, record settlement of 787.5 MILLION DOLLARS that Murdoch made in answer to Dominion’s action, he admitted (by his actions, not his words) that Fox had been lying about Dominion’s honesty in counting ballots. The first statement by Fox after agreeing to the settlement was that Fox would continue to provide “Fair and Balanced” reporting. Bull-cookies! “Fair and Balanced” was their original claim 25 years ago. They haven’t done it up to now, and their statement, immediately, tells you that NOTHING will change as they go forward. They have not learned a lesson yet.The ONLY way to ensure that Fox’s lies will stop, is to CLOSE Fox DOWN completely.
(*3) (From Wikipedia:) Louis Brandeis (November 13, 1856 – October 5, 1941) was an American lawyer and associate justice on the Supreme Court of the United States from 1916 to 1939.
He attended Harvard Law School, graduating at the age of 20 with what is widely rumored to be the highest grade average in the law school's history.
In 1916, President Woodrow Wilson nominated Brandeis to become a member of the Supreme Court. His nomination was bitterly contested, partly because, as Justice William O. Douglas wrote, "Brandeis was a militant crusader for social justice whoever his opponent might be. He was dangerous not only because of his brilliance, his arithmetic, his courage. He was dangerous because he was incorruptible ... [and] the fears of the Establishment were greater because Brandeis was the first Jew to be named to the Court." On June 1, 1916, he was confirmed by the Senate by a vote of 47 to 22, to become one of the most famous and influential figures ever to serve on the high court. His opinions were, according to legal scholars, some of the "greatest defenses" of freedom of speech and the right to privacy ever written by a member of the Supreme Court.
(*4) From Wikipedia:
Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc. (SBG) is a publicly traded American telecommunications conglomerate which is controlled by the family of company founder Julian Sinclair Smith. Headquartered in the Baltimore suburb of Cockeysville, Maryland, [2] the company is the second-largest television station operator in the United States by number of stations (after Nexstar Media Group), owning or operating a total of 193 stations across the country in over 100 markets (covering 40% of American households), many of which are located in the South and Midwest, and is the largest owner of stations affiliated with Fox, ABC, and The CW. Sinclair also owns four digital multicast networks (Comet, Charge!, Stadium, and TBD), sports-oriented cable networks (Tennis Channel and Fox Sports Networks), and a streaming service (Stirr), and owns or operates four radio stations in the Pacific Northwest. Among other non-broadcast properties, Sinclair also owns the professional wrestling promotion Ring of Honor and its streaming service Honor Club.
A 2019 study in the American Political Science Review found that “stations bought by Sinclair reduce coverage of local politics, increase national coverage and move the ideological tone of coverage in a conservative direction relative to other stations operating in the same market.”
My comment: The term “Conservative” is a euphemism for “Alt-Right/White Supremacist/Nationalist-Socialist/Neo-Nazi/“Herrenvolk.” (Your choice).
I previously published some of this, and a reader commented:
“Given how things have developed, it seems to me that the only legal recourse is to sue the pants off of the likes of Fox and Sinclair. And good luck with that! (Me: Well, it has now happened!) It would take an awful lot of money and time. A single lawsuit wouldn’t be enough; a constant churn would be required to make much of an impression”. (Me: That, too, is happening. Maybe, those of us who are offended by Fox, should start our own class-action suit against Murdoch).
“That so many s—-bag judges have been seated recently does not help”. (My Comment: The Federalist Society, by recommending these judges, has set out to destroy what is left of our democracy; that is a discussion for another diary).
“As for the term “conservative”, it is long past time that we — and the Press — stop using it in reference to outright fascists. The so-called never-Trumpers are conservative. To designate these treacherous Trump-following scoundrels as anything other than Fascists is a crime against the English language”.
“Outright fascists!” — Yes! Trump is kowtow-ing to his hero: Uncle Vlad. The Helsinki “summit”, with no American official to witness or record the interactions, seems to me to have been Donny going to get his next set of instructions; a “Dom-Submissive” interaction. He is also kowtow-ing to the other authoritarians he has mentioned; in Turkey, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, and China. He is not only a Fascist, but also a Communist!
Also, the term “Socialist,” used as a stick to beat Dems, ignores the facts. The biggest Socialists in the USA are the extremely wealthy and the major corporations. They have a Libertarian outlook, and pay little, if anything, in taxes, but reap HUGE rewards by utilizing the USA’s infrastructure (crumbling or not), and by rewriting laws (as they have done for decades) to minimize their responsibilities to our country.