Moving at the Speed of Government
It’s good news/bad news on the Fairness Doctrine. First, the good:
While the commission voted in 1987 to do away with the rule — a legacy to a time when broadcasting was a much more dominant voice than it is today — the language implementing it was never removed. The move Monday, once published in the federal register, effectively erases the rule.
It’s about time. Now, the bad:
Monday’s move is part of the commission’s response to a White House executive order directing a “government-wide review of regulations already on the books” designed to eliminate unnecessary regulations.
It took months to remove a regulation from the books which hasn’t been in force for 24 years. Are you surprised? Of course not. And that’s why the President’s commission is such a joke. The only way to do away with enough of the regulatory state to make any real difference, is to start abolishing entire programs, divisions and departments.
My vote is for the EPA to be the first department to go bye, bye.
It only took 14 years to repeal Prohibition and that was a constitutional amendment.
I’m actually looking for a more nefarious end-game here. I think they’re trying to pull a fast one on us. Expect a brand new policy to arise in the next year that re-implements the Fairness Doctrine, under some equally obnoxiously bland name.
The “Restoring Civility” Doctrine
The “Equal Voice to All” Doctrine
The “Suppress No Dissent” Doctrine
I’m sure Ayn Rand could come up with a couple dozen more that would send chills up our spines.
Wait for it. As Glenn is fond of saying–some people look at “Atlas Shrugged” as a how-to manual.
Moving at the Speed of Government… Funny how it doesn’t take them 24 years to put together a vacation for Obama. I guess under the proper conditions, even the ponderous dead-weight of mountains can be moved.
Especially at 5PM. Oh. That’s right. At 5 PM, they’re home already. Sipping their second Margerita.
With proper supervision and limitations, the EPA provides a useful service. Or did you think US corporations changed their environmental strategies out of the goodness of their hearts? I agree that fiats such as the declaration that CO2 was a pollutant are beyond absurd.
My first choice would be Education, then Energy. I would like to eliminate or at least castrate BATF, but I don’t know whether that’s politically possible.
P.S. Perhaps someone at PJmedia can explain why my gravatar shows up in the preview, but not the final post?
The EPA must go, here is one of Newt’s good ideas. The video clip at the bottom of the post offers a workable solution.
http://dailycaller.com/2011/08/17/epas-new-ozone-regulations-overburden-local-governments-say-critics/
“EPA…Education…Energy…BATF…I don’t know whether that’s politically possible.”
Well, that’s just the problem, innit? Whichever agency you chose to put on the block will have a loud constituency proclaiming “you can’t do that, little furry ferrets and unicorns will be massacred…”. Whichever one you choose to bump off will require some iron-clad intestinal fortitude to carry through.
And they are all candidates for termination as they are all ossified, rigid and completely inappropriate for today’s environment. If a particular government function is determined to still be essential then we can rebuild that agency with the stipulation that no prior bureaucrats will be hired or retained under any circumstances!