Freedom Line Blog

This has been a rough week for progressives in the U.S.  First, they lose a Senate seat in liberal Massachusetts, relieving them of a filibuster-proof majority in the Senate.  Then, the Supreme Court strikes down another onerous McCain-Feingold regulation.

Now, Air America, the lone liberal bastion of talk radio, has closed its doors for good.  Though Air America had been through Chapter 11 bankruptcy once before, the recent economic recession forced the company to shut its doors and undergo a complete liquidation.  Fin.

There is some bad news for conservatives and libertarians.  Al Franken, former host, will not be silenced by this bankruptcy.  He’s now in the Senate making outlandish comments and still annoying the world.

Click here for the Air America statement.  It’s sad, in a schadenfreude way.

The Obama Administration’s highly-publicized campaign to punish and silence Fox News may have broader implications than just the broadcast media.  So too might the “Fairness Doctrine” that it favors.  Namely, as noted by Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R – Tennessee), they portend ominous censorship possibilities if government control over the Internet becomes a reality via so-called Net “Neutrality.”

By targeting Fox News, the Obama Administration has abandoned any pretense of governmental content neutrality.  It has thereby commenced an attempt to censor those whom it disfavors, and elevate those whom it favors.  The same is true of the “Fairness Doctrine,” which conveniently targets those media sources most likely to engage in criticism of Obama and the liberal agenda more generally.  Should Net “Neutrality” become a reality, that censorship could be spread to the Internet as well by introducing regulatory control over Internet delivery options.  Does any reasonable person believe that they would stop there?  It may sound far-fetched to suggest that the White House would stoop to Internet censorship, but who would have thought that it would so openly and explicitly target a single media outlet, the only one that exposed such things as the ACORN undercover videos?

We’re not just talking about a slippery slope here.  With this White House and the Pelosi/Reid Congress, we’re talking about a greased slope.