This article discusses the obvious, the great opportunity the internet offers to all American citizens, and possibly to all the world for freedom, discussion of new ideas, and a real manifestation of freedom of speech. by Mark Vogl
(conservative)
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
I know, this subject has probably been written to death. But as someone who is a long time spokesperson for a lost Cause, the Confederate States of America, and the right of Secession, the internet has proven to be a real, and possibly only, avenue to the mass media where inconvenient history and ideas can be openly discussed.
Talk radio, conservative talk radio, led by Rush Limbaugh has done yeoman work at re-engaging the American public and providing for a real debate of some issues and causes which never received the light of day through the main stream media. Illegal immigration, and the porous borders come to mind. The political power of the people has re-emerged and become a real force in the governance of this nation because of the work of the conservative talk show hosts. Illegal immigration reform and Obama health care being two examples of the power of mass media rallying thepeople.
For a variety of reasons, many conservative ideas do not have the financial backing which flows to many liberal causes. And it is that financing of liberal causes which keeps them front and center of the mainstream media. So Rush, et. al have done some good work. But, they have their own "bias." For example, they (Beck, Hannity, Limbaugh) bow to Abe Lincoln and the main stream victor's interpretation of American history prior to Fort Sumter, and the right of secession. Though each of the above hosts try to talk about strict interpretation of the Constitution, their discussion of the subject stops when they reach the Tenth Amendment, the original sovereignty of the states, and the inherent right of secession. How the states got from their first confederation to the present form of government...they seem to have no knowledge of.
And so, Limbaugh, et al demonstrate that the old adage of "follow the money" holds as true for conservative talk show hosts , as for the mainstream media.
The internet though, is a real instrument of freedom of speech. It is here that people, the individual, can share his or her thoughts without censorship or regulation. This very website/blog is a perfect example of the value of the internet in actuating the freedoms guaranteed by the Bill of Rights.
I would like to express my thanks to the creator of this site, and to all who have opened the new frontier of the internet so that the unpedigreed, the unconventional, and the inconvenient can express their views on a format which encourages open discussion and debate.
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We won't have much freedom on the internet if Bills like Senate Bill S.1147 get passed. The PACT Act of 2009 (Prevent All Cigarette Traffiking Act of 2009) stops the US Postal Service from delivering any kind of tobacco products. Tobacco is a staple of American Society, is a legal product (that our government has to have to support itself) and has been delivered by the postman for over 200 years! Isn't the Postal Service scrambling for revenues at this time? This bill harms the Post Office revenue stream and is a pre-cursor to stopping online sales of other legal products. Do YOU want the government controlling all legal products you might want to buy from the internet by stopping the Post Office from delivering online purchases to you?
Children don't buy tobacco online. Smokers must prove their identity to online retailers just to purchase. Hezbollah is not funded by online sales of tobacco products in the USA. Any politician that gives these reasons for passing this bill is mis-informed! Many politicians have received payoffs from the makers of Marlboro Cigarette Products - Philip Morris (Altria) in order to keep their monopoly on tobacco. The giant convenience store lobby is also a major player because they want YOU to buy your tobacco at their stores at super inflated prices!
S.1147 is harmful to a lot of people who can not go to a store to buy products because of disability, geographic location, availability, etc....
People, wake up, smokers need to be calling their own State Senators and voice their opposition to S.1147! Go stand in front of their offices with big signs like the Tea Party people do and get the media to see you protesting. Smokers have to get noticed now for the lawmakers to hear them! Nobody in the Senate will see your comments on most blogs and petitions. Smokers must make the phone calls and do the live protesting. Smokers must share the fight with ALL of their smoking friends! Copy and paste this link to see instructions and info on how to contact your state senators: http://www.cigreviews.com/PACT-act-2009.pdf .
Emailing many/most senators does absolutely nothing since they do not read the emails. All these senators have armies of support personnel that intercept the emails and these same support workers many times have their own anti-smoker agendas. Hand written letters have the most pronounced effect but as of this writing, time has almost run out. Only a phone call to the capitol switchboard and requesting to be connected to your state senator will do any good at this point. Or copy and paste the above web address to see the individual phone numbers for these senators. You have the right still to voice your opinion. Go to the above address and follow the instructions. Be a part of the political process. If smokers do nothing, they will suffer for it when this bill passes. Do it today.
Contact United States Senators here: http://www.cigreviews.com/PACT-act-2009.pdf
Please sign the petition against S.1147 here: http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/us-citzens-against-the-pact-act-of-2009-s1147
Order tobacco products (while you still can get them delivered to you legally) at: http://www.cheapcigarettes.com .
VOTE against Anthony Weiner (Democratic congressman from NYC) who started the mis-information camapaign on smokers who buy tobacco products online and the online retailers themselves. Vote against him! Do not re-elect this politician again! This guy actually thinks he has a shot at the presidency in 2012! NOT!
Read story about a recent Supreme Court ruling in favor of a Native American Online Retailer fighting back against corrupt NYC politicians here: http://www.legalnewsline.com/news/225244-supreme-court-sides-with-online-cigarette-vendor
Email me at ehove@tampabay.rr.com for more information. Thank you for reading.
I agree with most of what you have said and definitely your point that the Civil War & Lincoln's actions to "save the union" went a long way to damage and lead to the de-facto nullification of the US Constitution. Lincoln's actions also removed slavery, the biggest problem and one of only two compromises that was left unresolved by the founders in writing the constitution, one they knew would come back to haunt the nation they had formed. The erosion of the 10th Amendment led to Federal regulation of agriculture, trade, education, transportation, communication, health and other insurances, etc., and created the ability to bloat the Federal Government to its current size at the expense of States' rights and citizens' personal freedoms.
My issue in the article is that you take the 3 top "conservative" radio talk show hosts and lump them together. Beck is most decidedly not conservative but libertarian (please read the "About the Chart" page). Also, you make a statement that they stop when it comes to the 10th Amendment. This is absolutely incorrect when you lump all three of them together. For a strong conservative, this would be true, but as Beck is NOT a conservative, but a libertarian, he is well aware that Lincoln did one great thing (in ending slavery and the big black eye of the constitution in allowing slavery to continue), but that in-so-doing Lincoln denied the states the right of secession that is inherent under the 10th Amendment. This set the stage that States are subject to the Federal Government in all matters and not only those powers delineated in the Constitution which was a de-facto nullification of the 10th Amendment and led to the erosion of the remainder of the Constitution. This idea Beck has stated on numerous occasions and praises those states (like Montana) that have begun the process of regaining their rights granted under the 10th Amendment by challenging the Federal Government. Beck is a libertarian, not a conservative. Please check what I have stated.
As far as "following the money," I think that's a drastic overstatement. All three men you mentioned are very set in their ideas and state their opinions openly. The money is a by-product because people want to hear the talk show opinions because they are similar to their own. (Yeah capitalism!) I won't speak to Hanity when I say this, primarily because I don't listen to him, but I am confident that neither Rush nor Beck change their message to get a rating (I’ve listened to both for years); their ratings come because they put their ideals on display unabated. In general, people are pretty good at picking out those who are "trying to please" and their brief stints of celebrity crash when the people realize their hypocrisy.
I completely agree with you in your last two paragraphs, the internet is the only unbiased medium because (at the moment) is relatively unregulated in its content, something both the liberals and the conservatives hate, the centrist tolerates, and the statists would never allow, but the libertarians relish in the freedom. Let's hope it stays that way. As long as the battlefield of ideas can be waged in words, we are peaceful and free.
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