Your First Amendment rights are under attack by progressives. Seeking more control over the Internet, the president and the FCC are pushing forward on damaging rules and legislation that initially seem harmless because they’re couched in such “neutral” language. “Net neutrality” is in fact the Fairness Doctrine for the Internet. Two years ago, candidate Obama said, “I will take a backseat to no one in my commitment to net neutrality.” Those who respect the foundation of our country, the U.S. Constitution, should be very concerned. Here’s a look at some of the progressives involved.
The FCC is moving forward on net neutrality under the leadership of Obama and his appointed chairman and Harvard Law School friend, Julius Genachowski. What’s shocking is that during his Senate confirmation, Genachowski was asked if he would reinstate the Fairness Doctrine. He said he would not. A Senate confirmation should be considered more than just a formality. Unfortunately, once you’re in the door, it seems you’re free to govern as you wish. Just ask the current administration.
Next is Robert McChesney, a friend of the White House. He’s a professor at the University of Illinois, where Obama taught. He is the co-founder of media nonprofit Free Press and in 2007 helped Obama formulate his technology strategy. He has talked about overthrowing the capitalist system brick by brick and rebuilding society on socialist principles.
McChesney is also the former editor and current board member of Monthly Review, an independent socialist magazine that regularly publishes essays on Marxism. McChesney calls Monthly Review the most important Marxist publication in the world. If you visit the website, you can buy books like Che Guevara or The Rise of China and the Demise of the Capitalist World Economy. This man is advising the president.
Reverend Jeremiah Wright, who preached to Obama for 20 years, recently spoke at the Monthly Review conference. Here’s what the reverend had to say: “This magazine unflinchingly has tackled the tough issues … from the lies told by the United States presidents to the lies told by the United States media.” He went on to refer to “the land of the greed and the home of the brave,” then said, “excuse me, the land of the greed and home of the slave.”
McChesney’s Free Press co-authored the 2007 report “The Structural Imbalance of Political Talk Radio.” Think localism and diversity. The co-authors include Mark Lloyd, “diversity czar”at the FCC, who was hired by FCC chairman Genachoswki, and the Center for American Progress (CAP), which is funded by liberal billionaire George Soros and led by radical progressive John Podesta.
Guess who’s a board member at McChesney’s Free Press? Van Jones, the “green jobs” czar. And, after stepping down once his radical views were exposed, Jones landed back at the CAP. A recent headline in The WSJ online said that Soros is bearish on the market. Why might the market scare him? Maybe because of the policies he’s sponsoring. He’s made his money, so why should anyone else get a chance at working in a market economy?
Google and Microsoft are proponents of net neutrality. Hardly suprising, given that their share of the search market is about 80%. Obama is tight with Google. Why not keep competition out and work with the government to create an oligopoly? Why wouldn’t they encourage legislation to tighten their grip and keep out competition or the little guy? Rent seeking is not just for the auto industry anymore. As Ken Auletta points out in his not-so-complimentary book GOOGLED: The End of the World as We Know It, founders Brin and Page (just called “larryandsergey” in the book) are brilliant, but “Whether they are also wise is not as clear cut.” Are they really the new masters of the universe because they created a search program?
Isn’t it ironic that Obama preaches to China about the importance of freedom of speech? Meanwhile, a Trojan horse is behind the gates of the White House. Led by Obama, a band of progressives and radicals like Julius Genachoswski, Robert McChesney, Reverend Jeremiah Wright, Mark Lloyd, George Soros, John Podesta, Van Jones, and “larryandsergey” have their eyes set on the pages of the U.S. Constitution. If you believe in the tenets of a market economy, you should be concerned. Living by your own choices rather than by the rule of a progressive government is what our founders had in mind for America.
E.J. Smith is Managing Director of Richard C. Young & Co., Ltd. an investment advisory firm managing portfolios for investors with over $1,000,000 in investable assets.