Congress Investigating FCC Chair Martin For "Abuse Of Power"

Two key House lawmakers announced Monday that they were investigating the Federal Communications Commission, accusing its chairman of "possible abuse of power" and a failure to operate fairly and openly in handling proposed cable TV and media ownership regulations.

"Given several events and proceedings over the past year, I am rapidly losing confidence that the commission has been conducting its affairs in an appropriate manner," Rep. John D. Dingell (D-Mich.), chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee, wrote to FCC Chairman Kevin J. Martin.

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Comments

[Kally]

You know ...if you look at the person in charge of one of bush's outlets, you would know right off the bat they are a republican flunky...they look like it. Shifty eye is the give away. And they command of the English language...ah ah ah er er like like you know ah ah ah uh uh uh

[SILVERAD0]

This man, Kevin Nobody But A Synchopathic Weasel For BushMob, belongs behind bars. Keep the constitution alive and well. Get rid of bought and paid for MSM media. It's our country and we own the airwaves.

Don't let robberbarrons and their weasels steal it from you.

[hopeless277]

Sometimes, it really IS only about the money, Lebowski.

[DickTater]

Allow me to Rant. Kind of a take on Springsteen's "57 Channels and Nuthin' On" song.

As a student of TV....I have been amazed for 30+ years (I am almost 42) how little the amazing POWER of the instrument has been used for good, humanitarian purpose. It is almost completely been used to brainwash people into consumerism and conformity.

These companies (cable, telco, satellite, networks) keep telling us about competition and the great abundance of choice in programming...yet we have gone from 2 stations to 12, to 45, to 57, to 128 to 500 channels of programming and it is ALL almost indistinguishable. We get no real variety, just commercial versions of slightly different Interest Categories. If I took a 57 channel package here locally, at least 5 would be shopping channels. Maybe 2 would be spanish. Maybe 5 more are religious. Throw in a few blank/cable-access/local-access/tv-guide/Cspan1-2....and now we are talking about 38 channels. Now, get rid of SoapNet, Lifetime/Oxygen, Kill ANimals channel, ESPN 1,2,3 , Outdoor/Speed channels (I list these as real specialty channels that do not provide any sort of widespectrum appeal) and I may be getting 30 channels.

Now each and every remaining network is highly commercialized. A&E is showing murder and cop shows almost constantly. The History Channel shows mostly military and war shows, some that REALLY glorify the inventors and users of Death Machines. When they are not doing that they may be showing ghost stories and supernatural hauntings and (get this) shows about mass production and consumption (ie: the history of manufactured guns, history of junk foods, how potato chips are made, history of the drive-in restaurant)

All of these remaining networks show advertising at a rate unheard of 20 years ago. In fact, cable made it's bones by enticing people to pay for content they WANTED without commercials. As soon as they got themselves rooted into all the initial markets, they dumped that and went right to brainwashing commercials as bad as any broadcast network or worse.

[MissTerry]

Anyone working for a federal agency should be ineligible to work as a lobbyist for five years after they leave office.

[ptarantino]

Even if this investigation doesn't have true teeth, I think it's important to shine the light on this kid.

He is the poster child of representing his party line & big business over the people's will.

[Stanley]

Martin just tried to introduce action to break up the stranglehold on our national Broadband network by corporate oligopolies and allow consumers to pick what they want to pay for rather than be forced to buy packages of programs. But other folks in their pocket put a hold on that one.

So why are you all bashing him without recognising this positive?

Oh yeah, maybe Big Media, who profits hugely from the status quo wants to demonize him and the bandwagon of ignorance just keeps rolling on.

[union79]

What has been done in the name of FCC regulations is criminal...... instead of using their power to protect "we the people" this bunch of thugs has only been interested in protecting the investors and their party base.

Since one of the critical factors in our free society remaining free, is the exchange of information in general and in particular exchange of information regarding how our elected officials are carrying out their responsibilities to us, the "we" in "we the people".

Now we need to keep the attention of our government's investigative arm, our elected officials AND our press focused on this important work.

[Gonzalez]

And once again, the democrats in Congress will investigate and that will be it. It will go no where after that. Nothing new from this spineless Congress.

[jashu51]

I saw a broadcast of the FCC meeting in Seattle where this smug little bastard showed up less than one week's notice to have a public hearing on proposed changes. They reamed him. Comments like, "Since you're in such a hurry to get these changes pushed through, we can only conclude you're up to NO GOOD".

[bloomster]

About time!!!

[waynesmyer]

Well, we can always get the Department of Justice and Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez to file a "RICO" case against Keven Martin! Right? uh! maybe? uh! why not?

[scrzbill]

Some have known about him for over a year. You can have knowledge also and not be a ditto head. Best way to stop kooks like this is too support liberal radio. Those of the American Insurgents listen and so can you. (Want to be an American Insurgent? Support MoveOn)

[kittycago]

wouldn't it just be easier to take the Bush appointees and make a list of who does not need to be investigted and just indict the rest of his merry band of thieves?

[MNinWI]

They had better do it quickly then because this guy is up to NO GOOD! He needs to be removed from his position and he needs some consequences and not just a hand slap for being a bad boy.