Congressional leaders promise action on tech issues

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So Congress Cannot Legislate Special Rights?

So "We can't be writing legislation that gives holders of certain types of intellectual property special rights ..." Well what would you call "The Newspaper Exemption Act"?

Until the "corporate press" exemption is addressed, the ombudsman at the newspaper office acts as the gatekeeper of free political speech. If the newspaper prints your political comments about an issue or candidate, your advocacy may reach a circulation of hundreds of thousands and you enjoy the corporate newspapers exemption from campaign finance spending limits and reporting requirements.

If the newspaper rejects your article and you decide to deliver your message door to door via handbills, you need to visit the Federal Election Commission and familiarize yourself with terms like political action committee (PAC), independent Vs in-Kind donations, issue Vs express advocacy, spending limits, reporting intervals and coordination with a candidates campaign. If that isn't daunting enough to discourage you from participating, remember failure to comply with Campaign Finance Laws is punishable as a felony.
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"Regarding the issue of foreign ownership of media, I am currently researching this issue. I appreciate your concerns that while the FEC regulates contributions and expenditures of American citizens, newspapers owned by foreign individuals or corporations are not subject to such regulation. The problem is in limiting the freedom of speech of these newspapers. Any type of regulation of editorial comment would be unconstitutional." From Ann Northup's letter to her constituent, Richard Lewis, dated June 11, 1997 - http://amendment10.tripod.com/Ann_1.jpg , http://amendment10.tripod.com/Ann_4.jpg
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Section 431(9)(B)(i) makes a distinction where there is no real difference: the media is extremely powerful by any measure, a "special interest" by any definition, and heavily engaged in the "issue advocacy" and "independent expenditure" realms of political persuasion that most editorial boards find so objectionable when anyone other than a media outlet engages in it. To illustrate the absurdity of this special exemption the media enjoys, I frequently cite as an example the fact that if the RNC bought NBC from GE the FEC would regulate the evening news and, under the McCain-Feingold "reform" bill, Tom Brokaw could not mention a candidate 60 days before an election. This is patently absurd.

Had the Senate debate on the McCain-Feingold bill advanced to the point of amendments, among the first I offered would have been one to delete section 431(9)(B)(i). Whenever the opportunity presents itself in the future, I look forward to doing just that. I believe it would be an enlightening discussion. Indeed, the issue was frequently raised during the floor debates in 1997 and 1998 and helped to crystallize for Senators and the C-SPAN viewing audience that the campaign finance debate is, indeed, a discussion of core constitutional freedom." Excerpt from Mitch McConnell's July 8, 1998 letter to his constituent Richard Lewis. http://amendment10.tripod.com/Mhome.gif
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The Federal Election Campaign Act was born out of the excesses of Watergate ... to protect We the People from corruption and the appearance of corruption in the political process. The irony is the corporate press was guilty of the most egregious corruption, but received an attaboy instead of censure and regulation. The censure and regulation were placed on We the People ... even handbills count against the maximum expenditure individual citizens and issues groups can spend answering unlimited newspaper ink and broadcaster ads!

Coordinating political endorsements with the needs of a candidates election committee is illegal unless you own a commercial newspaper or a broadcast station! Our nations largest and most powerful newspaper chains used Richard Nixon's "character flaws" to their advantage:

Some of our nations largest newspapers found themselves in federal court loosing antitrust suits which accused them of purchasing financially troubled newspapers and then pretending to compete with them while rigging prices.

Richard Nixon and his, Attorney General, were on record as strongly opposed to the passage of the Newspaper Preservation Act. The Newspaper Preservation Act was working its way through congress and was designed to grant antitrust relief to the affected newspapers.

A newspaper executive wrote a letter to President Nixon as his re-election approached. The letter reminded President Nixon that the nations largest Newspaper chains published in those states that had the largest number of electoral votes. The carefully worded letter reminded President Nixon that it could be difficult to be re-elected without their editorial support.

President Nixon reversed his position and used his political skills to convince congress to pass the newspaper preservation act.

Newspapers in the parlance of our existing Federal election laws "had coordinated their endorsements" with the needs of president Nixon's Re-election committee in return for his support for "their Newspaper Preservation Act".
[ see pgs.95-99 ] The Media Monopoly 5th edition paperback by professor Ben H. Bagdikian.

Newspapers are exempt from election laws, that restrict handbill distribution by individuals and grassroots political organizations."

Campaign finance laws restrict grassroots influence and that protects the political interest of approximately 4% of our U.S. population, who finance federal election campaigns. [ the 4% figure is from a 1997 government study ]

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Below is a partial transcript of a WestWing episode. Mike, the President's son in law is visiting the Whitehouse for Christmas dinner. Mike approaches one of the President's advisors, Josh Lyman, about running for a Congressional seat in New Hampshire. This excerpt illustrates the political importance of making a good impression on the editor of the newspaper in the district you choose to run in. How can an editorial opinion not have political value?

Mike: Josh says you are looking for me?

Josh: Yeah. How did it go with the tree?

Mike: The lights are on lets lets leave it at that.

Josh Ok. Uh the conversation we had earlier, I think I wasn't clear.

Mike: This is awkward for all of you. I know that. But I don't want you to feel...

Josh: We are asking you not to run?

Mike: Who is we?

Josh: The DNC. The Whitehouse.

Mike: The President?

Josh: If you want to go forward on your own the Whitehouse can't endorse you.

Mike: Wow.

Josh: The New Hampshire House is a great place to get some experience, build a network.

Mike: I have a network. I've been working R&D in the New England Tech Corridor for 15 years. The CEO of Diginet and the CFO of Gandy McGrath are ready to join my finance committee. I have the guy who ran your bosses New Hampshire Primary finding me a campaign manager. I just spent five hours last Sunday in a duck blind with the editor of the Manchester Union Leader. I am running for Congress.

Josh: Hal Collins? You met with Hal?

Mike: There is a lot of fun to be had with that nobody is good enough for the President's daughter stuff, but I'm not actually an idiot.

Josh: Thats ...

Mike: I'm going to have to dash, I'll be later for dinner, but I appreciate your time Josh .. I really do.


The Exception to Campaign Reform Regulation is nicknamed The Press Exemption Act:

2 USC 431 (9) (B) The term "expenditure" does not include -

(i) any news story, commentary, or editorial distributed

through the facilities of any broadcasting station, newspaper,

magazine, or other periodical publication, unless such facilities

are owned or controlled by any political party, political

committee, or candidate;

The Press Exemption divides use of the printing press into two categories:
A regulated press for every living U.S. Citizen, political party and political organization

and a "free press" for newspaper and broadcast corporations!
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"The 20th century has been characterized by three developments of great political importance: the growth of democracy; the growth of corporate power; and the growth of corporate propaganda as a means of protecting corporate power against democracy." -Alex Carey, Australian social scientist who pioneered the investigation of corporate propaganda (see Taking the Risk Out Of Democracy, Univ of New South Wales, 1995)

The need for Federal Campaign reforms hinge on the potential of big contributions to buy influence in public matters. As a consequence, candidates are limited in how much they can accept from any given donor and required to make public reports, at regular intervals, listing the names, occupations, addresses of donors and their amounts. Furthermore, the candidate must provide public reports stating how the funds are spent.

Citizens groups, individual citizens and political parties are also restricted in how much they can spend and required to report at regular intervals.

But broadcasters and (even foreign owned) newspapers are not regulated and are free to spend any amount promoting the candidates and issues they choose, supported by the advertising dollars of the same big contributors.

A newspaper must at all times antagonize the selfish interests of that very class which furnishes the larger part of a newspaper's income... The press in this country is dominated by the wealthy few...that it cannot be depended upon to give the great mass of the people that correct information concerning political, economical and social subjects which it is necessary that the mass of people Shall have in order that they vote...in the best way to protect themselves from the brutal force and chicanery of the ruling and employing classes. (E.W. Scripps).

Should news reporters have more legal rights than you? Of course not -- But now they do!

Campaign finance laws have restricted your right to speak out, but the institutional media is exempt from all those restrictions. So, we now have a two-tiered system of rights, with people who work for the media having far greater rights than the rest of us.

http://amendment10.tripod.com/
http://www.takebackamerica.tv/

Posted by: Repeal   Posted on: 01/23/04 You are currently: a Guest | Members login | Terms of Use

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