Hi Ben:
Back when I went through public school, not that long ago, we had to thoroughly read and study the
Constitution and Declaration of Independence. I know that those older than I, now in power, went
through similarly good "civics" classes. Why all too many of them forgot or choose to misuse what
they learned is probably related to greed and human-nature opportunism. Why so many people let them
get away with it is a mystery, all I can think is that too many people would rather have coddling
than liberty.
I am very much and very proudly a patriot, and I count my blessings as July 4 approaches. My great
country is not in its best phase right now, but I maintain American optimism, that greater days are
ahead. One thing I do know is that those greater days will be brought to us by rugged
individualists, not over-arching command-down companies or governments.
-- Tom Fine
----- Original Message -----
From: "James Roth" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Wednesday, July 03, 2013 10:54 AM
Subject: Re: [ARSCLIST] Radio
> Now, THERE's an intelligent, enlightened patriot!!
> Thank you!
> Sincerely,
> Ben Roth
>
>
> On Jul 3, 2013, at 9:48 AM, Tom Fine wrote:
>
> Uh, the Founding Fathers INTENDED for a union of "50 squabbling countries," so as to avoid a
> tyrannical over-arching centralized government. I would say that the bigger problem of post-1932
> times is that we've gone way too far afield of the Founding Fathers' vision and a massive,
> multi-level, intrusive and un-democratic government gets in the way of individual freedoms and
> initiatives. In an effort to "protect" everyone from themselves, the only result is to "protect"
> us from our own liberty. Worst of all, the megaglomerate government is more wasteful, corrupt and
> inefficient than any private enterprise (not that megaglomerations of private enterprise are
> efficient, honest or frugal).
>
> My big take-away from modern life is that all mass "organizations" of human beings are good for is
> waging very destructive warfare. In any other enterprise, size is the enemy of intelligence and
> efficiency. So I'd much rather have 50 (or more) smaller groups of people trying different
> solutions to the same problems with the marketplace deciding which works best in each place.
>
> If I had been in charge, I would have never allowed broadcast networks under centralized ownership
> in the first place, much less some sort of "government sez it's good for you" broadcast
> conglomerate. I'd have focused on protecting individual entities in each markets, but allowing
> them to share content (ie mutually fund programming, and everyone distribute it -- sort of like
> network programming via affiliates) for a certain number of their broadcast hours every day. The
> rest of the hours would have to be hyper-focused on the local market. I'd also have required a
> local public-access component for every broadcast license (a reasonable number of hours each week
> must be handed over to locals who can produce their own programming, but the station is welcome to
> sell commercial time so as to make money off those hours). Under those rules, local owners would
> have to hone a localized business model to be profitable.
>
> -- Tom Fine
>
> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Donald Clarke" <[log in to unmask]>
> To: <[log in to unmask]>
> Sent: Wednesday, July 03, 2013 9:26 AM
> Subject: [ARSCLIST] Radio
>
>
>> The government handed broadcasting on a plate to commercial interests right after WWI, and that's
>> why it's mostly been a vast wasteland. There aren't any record stores anywhere any more, but
>> travelling in Europe in the 1980s I heard Billie Holiday from the ceiling in a French hypermarket
>> (as opposed to the noisy trash in your nearest shopping mall), and in every hilltop town in
>> Tuscany there was a mom-and-pop record shop that had the popcrock, both Italian and
>> English-language, but also decent selections of jazz and classical, because kids in those
>> countries grow up hearing it on their national radio stations, whereas most people in the USA
>> never hear any of either.
>>
>> And speaking of 'national', the biggest American problem may be that we are not a nation at all,
>> but a loose union of 50 squabbling little countries, so that the corporations can walk all over
>> us.
>>
>> Donald Clarke
>>
>
>
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