Oh My!
Posted on 02/16/2007 12:48:51 PM PST by Mr. Silverback
They call it the Fairness Doctrine, but if they were really being honest, they’d call it the Sulu Doctrine.
Allow me to explain. In 1973, George Takei, known best as Hikaru Sulu, helmsman of the USS Enterprise on “Star Trek,” ran for mayor of Los Angeles. The field was wide open, and Takei found himself facing sixteen other candidates. Those sixteen helped write a bizarre footnote in the history of American politics and censorship.
Takei’s opponents complained that reruns of “Star Trek” on local TV gave him an unfair advantage. Could shots of Sulu steering a starship lead people to believe Takei should steer the ship of state? These candidates thought so. If they’d been more innovative thinkers they would have grabbed footage of Sulu acting like a complete nutbar under the influence of an alien virus in the Trek episode “The Naked Time” and run it in political ads. I can hear the voiceover now: “Can Los Angeles afford a mayor who’s hopped up on alien goofballs?”
Area stations that were running Trek pulled it for the duration. Candidates were so worried about voters hearing Takei’s melodious voice that KNBC pulled the first episode of the animated version of Star Trek because Sulu appeared in it. I guess they were afraid that a lot of their potential voters were sitting around watching Saturday morning cartoons.
Takei came in second, and the new mayor eventually appointed him to the board of the Southern California Rapid Transit District, where he served for eleven years and helped plan the L.A. subway system. At no time during his tenure was he required to pilot a starship or fire a phaser.
Now, I’m not saying this wouldn’t have happened if there were no Fairness Doctrine, but I’m betting it was a factor. The doctrine was established in 1949 to ensure that all sides of public debate were heard on the public airwaves. If an advocate of an issue spoke about it on air, the station must provide equal time for someone who disagreed. Therefore, if a Star Trek episode could be a political ad, that would add up to the station having to (by federal law!) present sixteen hours of candidate blather for every hour of Star Trek. That would make even Mr. Spock cry.
Extreme Leftists in Congress such as Dennis Kucinich, Bernie Sanders, Maurice Hinchey and Louise Slaughter are now trying to resurrect the rule. They’ve been cheered in their efforts by a number of newspaper editorials, including one in the Journal-Standard. Interestingly, newspaper editors have been quick to cite the 1969 Supreme Court decision “Red Lion Broadcasting vs. FCC,” which ruled that the doctrine didn’t apply to newspapers, but none of them seem to remember 1984’s FCC vs. League of Women Voters of California. In that case the Court determined the doctrine was inconsistent with free speech because the exploding media market gave plenty of opportunities for any view to be presented. The FCC board agreed, voting to eliminate it in 1987—eight years before web pages.
Those trying to impose the doctrine again are doing so for the same reason George Takei’s opponents went gunning for Mr. Sulu—they just can’t hack it in the arena of ideas. If your ideas aren’t strong enough to overcome some footage of a guy in a gold uniform pushing buttons, your ideas deserve to lose. Similarly, liberals and the left-leaning segment of the media know that talk radio has torpedoed much of the liberal agenda, not by lying about it, but simply by highlighting aspects the rest of the media don’t report. Witness, for example, how Rush Limbaugh put a stake in the heart of Hillary Clinton’s 1993 health care proposal just by telling his listeners what was in it. In the days of the Fairness Doctrine, shows like his didn’t even exist.
Especially strange is the J-S’s contention that because some newsmag made a mistake about Barack Obama’s resume, we should force government restriction on speech. In 2004 Dan Rather made a pretty big mistake concerning the President’s resume on “60 Minutes.” Why no calls for the Fairness Doctrine then? Should the FCC send goons to force CBS to let Rush Limbaugh produce half of that broadcast each week? Are rural voters really so oblivious (as some commentators contend) that they can’t figure out Rush Limbaugh is a conservative? Especially when he admits on-air that he’s not objective?
I have a better plan. Let’s try this fairness doctrine:
“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”
It’s radical, but I think it just might work.
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Silverback's column ping!
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Cordially,
Congressman Billybob
A good one to go out on.
Excellent Op-Ed. I thought it would be about the dangers of dropping your phaser in front of Sulu.
Very good column. Hope this is not the last.
"Oh My!"
If it's gonna be your last one why need a ping list?.......
No worries. Sulu's phaser is only set on "stun".
Very good!
Oh My!
yes but gaydar was off the scale
Good article. Just think about the likes of Tim Robbins, Susan Saranwrap, Hanoi Jane, Sean Penn, etc. who have access to media forums that the ordinary citzens don't have. These H'weirdo jerkoffs use these forums to "Bush-bash" at every instance.
Thank you for the kudos, I am honored.
Thank you!
Thanks! It probably won't be, but they will presumably be spaced out quite a bit more.
I liked his character in Star Trek. After seeing and hearing him speak a few times on TV, I am not so fond of the person. He is a typical Politically Correct Hollywood minority always ready to complain about bigotry.
Thanks! Hey, Sulu's straight, he has a daughter and everything...
Well done. Informative AND entertaining. Persuasive too. There was the most recent issue with Arnold on the Tonight Show,( but IIRC, it was about funding, not the Fairness Doctrine.)
I put the list invitation in there out of habit, but relly the list will still be up, it will just be much lower in ping volume.
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