A Question About the Future of Talk Radio

A reader and contributor here at the WIZARD, fkap posted a question this morning about TALK RADIO on the Internet and I thought I would enlarge my answer and post it here for all to read. When the RIAA and it's royalty collection arm, SOUND EXCHANGE, kills 99% of Internet Radio later this week, Talk Radio will be an indirect casualty. Here's what's happening:

vigilante asked I'm curious, Wizard: just how much public affairs (news & Opinion) can one find on Internet Radio? Where can you find it? How much bandwidth does it suck up? And, is it free?

I replied vigilante, There is a lot of talk and political radio and that arena of Internet Broadcasting is the fastest growing segment. Here's the good news: In theory talk radio is unaffected by the recent Copyright Royalty Board (CRB) rulings PROVIDED they carefully avoid the use of any music what-so-ever (not even the bumper music leading in and out of segments!!!!) Just one note of music, one time, and they fall into the nightmare of the RIAA royalty battle we now face. But even talk radio will be dealt a severe blow next Saturday. Although carefully programmed talk and religious radio (remember they couldn't use any music) can be broadcast for only the cost of bandwidth and computer server support, the network that hosts several hundred of the political, religious and talk stations will go into bankruptcy under the weight of a ten million dollar retroactive bill from SOUND EXCHANGE. A huge chunk of the real independent talk radio will die, leaving mainly the big network talk you already hear on AM/FM. In other words Rush Limbaugh will survive but the dozens of independent "vigilante's" will go silent because the infrastructure that allowed them to broadcast for a few hundred dollars a year will be gone. Be sure to go to http://www.savenetradio.org/ You can get the full background on the crisis and learn how you can help. The only solution today is to put massive pressure on Congress. Here is a listing of 320 talk stations you can listen to for free (today and for another 6 sixs). Some are weird (UFO's etc) some are religious and some a excellent liberal/progressive outlets. http://www.live365.com/cgi-bin/directory.cgi?genre=talk You can start your own station on LIVE365. The first week is free (HA!!) and then the whole thing will likely be dead... It's not really that funny, but the irony is thick......

Remember these three key facts:

• Internet Radio ALREADY PAYS THE HIGHEST ROYALTIES IN THE WORLD TO THE RIAA, MAJOR LABELS and ARTISTS
  

AM and FM Radio PAYS NO ROYALTIES AT ALL TO THE RIAA or to the LABELS or to the ARTISTS. Satellite Radio does pay royalties, but they pay a whole lot less.

THE RIAA IS ONLY DEMANDING THE GIGANTIC INCREASE IN ROYALTIES FROM INTERNET RADIO!! They are not requesting a penny from AM and FM radio. THE ENTIRE GOAL OF THE RIAA IS TO KILL THE INDEPENDENT BROADCASTER who play independent artists and new, emerging talent.

The RIAA clearly isn't interested in seeing artists get paid. If they were they wouldn't kill the one medium paying them handsomely already.

TECHNORATI TAGS: TALK RADIO SAVE NET RADIO HR 2060 RADIO KURT HANSON RIAA RADIO AND INTERNET NEWS INTERNET RADIO WIZARD RADIO LIVE 365 FREE SPEECH

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Live Earth 7-7-07

Just a personal note to express my support of the LIVE EARTH Concerts being held around the world today. If you haven't already checked out their website go to http://liveearth.msn.com/. It's loaded with performances, news, live feeds, and tips for improving the ecology.

I HATE THE FACT this has become some sort of bizarre political football. Yesterday as I drove to work I had to listen to G. Gordon Liddy lecture me on all of Al Gore's failings and the myths of Global Warming. I like Liddy, but this is just plain stupid!! He's no scientist, he's a talk radio host and political operative. This shouldn't be a left versus right issue.

There are, in fact, genuine political and economic issues that deserve discussion. There are real costs and real dangers in implementing any massive societal changes. But there are also small changes we can all make in our lifestyles that will only help the environment.

So enjoy the concerts. And do what you can to make the world a better, cleaner, safer place to live.

TECHNORATI TAGS: LIVE EARTH LIVEEARTH G. GORDON LIDDY AL GORE GLOBAL WARMING ENVIRONMENT

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Save Internet Radio, It's the Patriotic Thing To Do

Peter Rothberg wrote a great patriotic piece for the Fourth of July in the blog he writes for "The Nation" Magazine. The article is titled "Five for the Fouth" Here is a short, but important, excerpt:

"As my boss and Nation editor and publisher Katrina vanden Heuvel wrote,... The Nation's 'definition of patriotism is fighting to make sure your country lives up to its highest ideals.' In that spirit, here are five measures worth supporting on this Fourth of July. All would help us form a more perfect union. 1. Health Care for All 2. End Torture, not Habeas Corpus 3. Voting Representation for DC 4. The Right to Organize 5. Save Internet Radio "Internet radio has become a tremendously popular source of news and views plus music. In just the last year the online radio audience increased from 45 million to 72 million listeners each month. The founding fathers couldn't have anticipated the wonders of the electronic world. But I think it's safe to say that the democratic free-for-all of Internet radio would have met with their approval as a crucial part of the fourth estate that Jefferson held was critical to a functioning democracy. "Unfortunately, the future of Internet radio is in doubt as royalty rates for webcasters have been drastically increased by a recent ruling by the Copyright Royalty Board. The only hope is that sufficient grassroots pressure can be applied in support of the Internet Radio Equality Act... "Please implore your senators and reps to co-sponsor and vote in favor of the Internet Radio Equality Act (HR 2060) and ask your friends to join the coalition to save Internet radio."

Read the entire blog post at The Nation.

TECHNORATI TAGS: THE NATION SAVE NET RADIO HR 2060 RADIO KURT HANSON RAIN RADIO AND INTERNET NEWS INTERNET RADIO WIZARD RADIO LIVE 365 FREE SPEECH

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The 4th of July

I hope you all enjoy the many blessings we have received from those who conceived, built and protected this great country.

And take a few moments to remember and thank those who protect it today.

Those fighting hard to protect our country include our political opponents. Please remember to thank them, too.

TECHNORATI TAGS: FREEDOM THE 4th OF JULY FREE SPEECH POLITICS

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Who Gets It?

Well, the main stream media and the blogosphere are both about to burst into flames. Scooter Libby never wanted this type of notoriety. And he deserves so very much better.

Libby is a man whose main crime was getting caught like a deer in the headlights of an "out of control" special prosecutor. Yes, he did fail to remember certain absolutely meaningless facts before a grand jury. And technically he did lie. But so did Bill Clinton.

Yes. Please remember Clinton's crime was lying to a grand jury. There is absolutely no debate on the left or the right that Clinton lied under oath. However Clinton lied about sex which certainly seems to be OK with virtually everyone in the main stream media and the left leaning glitterati.

In fairness the real question was did Clinton's lie rise to the level demanding Impeachment. And, of course, it did not.

So what about Libby? Libby lied about three conversations with reporters, none of which had any impact at all on the revelation of facts concerning CIA agent Valerie Plame. Had Libby merely lied about having sex with Plame, it can be safely assumed all lies would be forgiven.

But here's the crux of Libby's false testimony (courtesy of The Stromata Blog):

Let’s stipulate arguendo that the jury correctly found that Mr. Libby lied to the FBI and the grand jury. Having done so, let’s review facts that ought to be familiar. None of them is contested, but all tend to get lost in the hyperventilating whirlwind. Mr. Libby was charged with falsely describing conversations with three reporters: Tim Russert, Matt Cooper and Judith Miller. He was not accused of illegally exposing the identity of a covert CIA agent. According to the prosecution’s version of reality – He never discussed Valerie Plame Wilson with Tim Russert; Matt Cooper raised the subject of Mrs. Wilson’s CIA employment with him, not vice versa; and He “did not treat Wilson’s role, or the fact that his wife worked for the CIA, as a big deal” when he mentioned them to Judith Miller. In other words, contrary to what leftists incessantly proclaim, there is no evidence that Mr. Libby undertook to “punish” Joseph Wilson. How would it have helped the grand jury to have heard from Scooter Libby’s lips that he (i) didn’t talk about Mrs. Wilson with Tim Russert, (ii) heard about her role from Matt Cooper and (iii) discussed the matter casually with Judith Miller? Those admissions clearly wouldn’t have led to an indictment for disclosure of classified information or violation of the Intelligence Identities Protection Act. We know that because Mr. Armitage was never charged with either. Nor is there any way – at least none that Mr. Fitzgerald has ever disclosed – in which learning those facts would have led to some fruitful line of inquiry. On the reading most hostile to Lewis Libby, he did not commit a substantive crime or obstruct a criminal investigation. He was caught in a perjury trap. If Mr. Fitzgerald had asked, “What color tie did you wear when you spoke to Tim Russert?”, Mr. Libby had answered “Red” and the prosecution had thereafter proven that the tie was blue, the grounds for the indictment would have been just as strong.

I've read today several dozen blogs by all my favorite writers and several new discoveries. Opinions range demands for Bush's impeachment or resignation over on the left to demands from a full pardon for Libby over on the right.

I'll recommend you read Vigilante's very short entry at The Vigil, but be certain to read every comment that follows the essay. Vigilante's discussion group is one of the best and brightest on the far "Impeach Bush Now" left.

Then I'll recommend you read Mary's interesting comparison of Bush's commutation of the Libby jail sentence to the left's demand for full amnesty for all illegal immigrants over at FREEDOM EDEN. It is thought provoking.

But I fully agree with Bruce over at the Gay Patriot and recommend you read his essay, Another Bush Half-Measure. Bruce and I are on the same page.

Then read The Gay Patriot's co-blogger Daniel and his half dissenting essay, On the Libby Decision & the Left’s Silly Mantras. Daniel is one of the few writers who actually agrees with the President and supports his decision.

Who is right? You already know where I stand.

TECHNORATI TAGS: FREEDOM EDEN THE GAY PATRIOT THE VIGIL LEWIS LIBBY SCOOTER LIBBY PRESIDENT BUSH LYING UNDER PATH

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Appalachian Trail

The Wizard family and friends have been hiking the Appalachian Trail this past week, mostly free from cell phones, Internet connections and most relatively modern annoyance's. As we reveled in the midst of nature's supreme magnificence only a few conversations or thoughts turned to current events, the Internet or politics.

Still a couple of current events did break through into our sanctuary. Perhaps the most interesting and potentially the most important was "twittering," but I'll have much more on that later.

Of course we became aware of the potential terrorist activities in Great Britain. As we were hiking only miles from Washington, D.C., we were more than a little angry that such madness could even exist in such a beautiful and perfect world.

Two very small items are worthy of very brief note tonight, our first night in range of Internet connectivity.

First I note that President Bush continues.....

......to act timidly and without conviction. He most assuredly deserves the meager 30 something percentage approval rating he receives in the polls. President Bush manages to constantly infuriate the left and disappoint the right with his every move.

His latest poorly reasoned act was to commute the sentence of I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby. A bold President, acting on principle, would have pardoned Libby. Bush certainly should have done that! Libby's conviction was a gross miscarriage of justice.

But Bush, with a limp wristed stroke of his pen has failed to do the right thing. In one single act he has given the left more ammunition to condemn his administration and disappointed the right (and every reasonably fair minded American, left or right).

God save us from any future "special prosecutors."

Second, I want to defend Ann Coulter and Bill Maher.....

..... and roundly condemn both Chris Matthews and, especially, Elizabeth Edwards. The ambush attack on Coulter last week must have made for great television. And, the press reports, it electrified the Edward's campaign and brought in huge donations.

It is just tragic that Coulter has the power to simply terrify the left.

If only I could just get my fellow liberals (and the so called "progressives") to take on real issues and real decision makers. But, alas, no. Coulter is the target of choice.

But, even more tragic, Coulter was right again, as usual.

Coulter had not attacked John Edwards earlier in the week on Good Morning America as Elizabeth contended in fully orchestrated ambush phone call during the Matthew's show.

Instead, Coulter's target on GMA was never Edwards, but Bill Maher. Coulter was being criticized for her coments about Edwards as a convention several months ago. Those comments, by the way, were also widely misquoted. Here is exactly what Coulter said on GMA:

"But about the same time, you know, Bill Maher was not joking and saying he wished Dick Cheney had been killed in a terrorist attack — so I've learned my lesson: If I'm going to say anything about John Edwards in the future, I'll just wish he had been killed in a terrorist assassination plot."

Well, dammit, that is the sad truth, Maher can say, with full intent, that it is a shame the Vice President wasn't killed in a terrorist attack and nobody blinks an eye! Maher isn't mentioned by the media and he isn't censored by his network and he isn't ambushed by Mrs. Cheney when he appears on HARDBALL with Chris Matthews.

But Coulter, who has worked her way all the way up to Public Enemy Number One, gets lambasted for a joke parodying Maher's very real comments.

I certainly believe that both Chris Matthews and Elizabeth Edwards knew full well they were misquoting Coulter and wrongly accusing her.

By the way, the Edwards campaign continues to use a doctored and truncated version of Coulter's GMA appearance to perpetuate the myth of Coulter's comments.

Everyone on the left knows for a fact that Coulter did nothing more or less than Bill Maher. Anyone who has said one word or written one sentence condemning Coulter without issuing an equal and exact condemnation of Maher is a hypocrite or damned liar.
I don't want or expect Maher to change a thing. His humor is great and his comment were valid.

But those of us on the left need to do one of two things: either ignore Ann Coulter or start to actually listen to what she says and quote her correctly.

Here is one of my earlier essays again defending both Maher and Coulter.

TECHNORATI TAGS: FREE SPEECH ANN COULTER BILL MAHER LEWIS LIBBY SCOOTER LIBBY PRESIDENT BUSH ELIZABETH EDWARDS

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NEWS FLASH: 'Silence' Overwhelms Congressional Switchboards

Kurt Hanson's Radio and Internet News (RAIN) reports this afternoon that the Internet Radio Day of Silence has overwhelmed both the websites connecting listeners to Congress and Congressional office telephone switchboards.

A massive response by listeners to today's ongoing "Day of Silence" event has overwhelmed the web and database servers being used by SaveNetRadio.org and is tying up switchboards in Congressional offices all over Capitol Hill as a deluge of online radio listeners have rushed to contact their representatives to ask them to co-sponsor the "Internet Radio Equality Act." Beginning just before 10AM CT, the SaveNetRadio.org site saw huge numbers of visitors begin to arrive, coming from links set up by webcasters participating in today's event. Shortly thereafter, the section of the site that lets users look up contact information for their Congressmen and Senators, (powered by Capitol Advantage's CapWiz) was crippled by large numbers of users trying to simultaneously access their reps' information. According to a representative from SaveNetRadio, "This is by far the biggest one-day load [CapWiz] has ever been hit with, and they are adding servers and moving all available resources ASAP." The website is in the process of revising its home page to ask listeners to try again later this afternoon or tomorrow. Meanwhile, listeners who do get the contact information for their representatives are having trouble getting through to the offices, as most House and Senate staff office phone numbers seem to be nonstop busy signals at the moment. Nearly a dozen phone calls from the RAIN office to various Congressional offices' switchboards have been unable to get through, as the lines appear to be flooded with callers.

Live365's servers were also swamped and the website was down most of the day. However, the special WiZARD RADIO broadcast is taking place exactly as planned. You can tune in and listen any time.

The most imporant thing you can do, however, is to pick up the telephone and call your Senator. You only need to say one short thing: Ask him or her to Co-Sponsor or support the "Internet Radio Equality Act." This will simply allow Internet Radio to pay the exact same royalties of Satellite Radio.

We don't want a free ride. We want a fair ride.

TECHNORATI TAGS: DAY OF SILENCE SAVE NET RADIO HR 2060 RADIO KURT HANSON RAIN RADIO AND INTERNET NEWS INTERNET RADIO WIZARD RADIO LIVE 365 FREE SPEECH

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A Day of Silence

The three Internet Radio Stations that comprise our WIZARD RADIO BROADCAST GROUP, along with the SaveNetRadio coalition and most Internet radio stations throughout the United States will be participating in a Day of Silence on Tuesday, June 26th.

Although exact times might vary on different Internet Radio Stations and different Internet radio networks, Wizard Radio will observe the Day of Silence from 3 a.m. Pacific Daylight Time until Midnight Pacific Daylight Time the night of the 26th.

We will be joined by all 10,000 Internet Radio Stations that are part of the Live365 Radio Network.

Here's what you can expect: Free listeners who tune into WIZARD RADIO will be redirected to a Day of Silence stream that offers an explanation of the Day of Silence along with broadcaster testimonials from many of the 10,000 stations.

Listeners will be asked to help Save Internet Radio by calling, writing and emailing their Senators and Representatives.

If you don't want to give up Internet Radio for the day, you are invited to become a Live 365 Preferred Listener, a VIP (if you haven't already joined this elite group). VIP membership cost less than two cups of coffee a month!!!! With a VIP membership at Live365 you can always listen to all 10,000 stations AD FREE!! It's one great bargain.

If you are a VIP Member of Live365 you will still hear a special Day of Silence Announcement, but then be connected to WiZARD RADIO's special and very exciting programming for the 26th.

The Day of Silence will bring much needed attention to the danger Internet radio is encountering.

We apologize for the disruptions this will cause, but we feel drastic measures are necessary.

Ninety Five percent of all Internet Radio stations are operated at no profit. This isn't a power play for money on the part of Internet Radio Station owners or operators. It's a fight for survival. We're trying to preserve a new and important medium. We're trying to preserve diversity in broadcasting. We're trying to save an outlet for independent musicians and artists.

Remember, WiZARD RADIO PAYS all artists, musicians and even the record labels for the privilege of playing their music. We already pay the highest royalties in the entire world!!

Remember, AM and FM Radio DOES NOT PAY artists, musicians or labels any royalties at all.

As our reward for actually stepping up and paying musicians, the recording industry wants to raise those royalty payments to astronomical levels. Every single Internet Radio broadcaster will be forced off the air.

And AM and FM Radio will still pay nothing.

If you don't help us today, you can look forward to Silence..... not just on June 26th, but forever on Internet Radio.

TECHNORATI TAGS: DAY OF SILENCE SAVE NET RADIO HR 2060 RADIO KURT HANSON RAIN RADIO AND INTERNET NEWS INTERNET RADIO WIZARD RADIO LIVE 365 FREE SPEECH

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The End Is Near

Day of Silence: June 26th

Potential Last Day for Broadcasting: July 15th

In response to a impending royalty rate increase that, if implemented, would lead to the virtual shutdown of Internet radio in the U.S., thousands of webcasters plan to go silent next Tuesday, June 26, to draw attention to their industry's plight. Wizard Radio's three stations will join this effort and will go silent on the 26th to raise awareness of the impending demise of this special and very unique broadcasting medium.

Here is a brief explanation of the problem:

The Copyright Royalty Board (CRB) was created by Congress to determine royalty rates to be paid to artists, musicians and to record labels by both Satellite Radio and Internet Radio, the new digital mediums. Previously neither artists or record labels had ever been paid royalties by anyone!! In and of itself, this is a huge financial step forward for musicians.

However, under intense lobbying from the Recording Industry, through their association the RIAA, the CRB set the rates at astronomical levels for Internet Radio only. Absolutely no one knows why these rates are so huge.

Let me provide you with some comparisons. Generally royalty rates are typically set to equal 4% to 5% of business revenues. This is the case for other media forms (e.g., satellite radio), and for other copyright holders (e.g., music composers and lyricists). It is also true in other countries.

One would have logically expected the CRB to follow these guidelines. Instead the CRB set rates that are approximately 50% of revenues for the biggest companies like Yahoo! AOL and LAUNCHcast. At these rates even these big companies cannot remain in business.

The CRB decided to absolutely kill the medium size broadcasters, setting rates equal to 150% to 300% of revenues. This includes the really brilliant broadcasters like AccuRadio, Radioio, and Digitally Imported.

But the CRB saved the worst for the most innovative and creative broadcasters, the small operators with large channel choices like Live365 (the net work of over 5,000 broadcasters including WiZARD RADIO), Rhapsody and Pandora Radio. Here the Royalties can be well over 1000% of revenue.

In other words, for ever $100.00 these broadcasters earn, they will be forced to pay $1,000.00 to the RIAA member companies.

Obviously these rates will destroy the only innovators in the broadcasting world.

Certainly Clear Channel and the large corporate owners of AM and FM stations will never offer variety or innovation. Especially once their competition is eliminated.

So on June 26th Internet Radio will go off the air in an effort to raise awareness and force Congress to act. Bills that would save Internet Radio are pending in both the House and Senate. Please call your Senator and Representative and ask them to Save Internet Radio.

For more information please go to Save Internet Radio (http://www.savenetradio.org/).

TECHNORATI TAGS: DAY OF SILENCE SAVE NET RADIO HR 2060 RADIO KURT HANSON RAIN RADIO AND INTERNET NEWS INTERNET RADIO WIZARD RADIO LIVE 365 FREE SPEECH

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Incompetent (adj.), See Harry Reid

Bruce, over at Gay Patriot quipped "in the dictionary under “incompetence” it shows a photo of Harry Reid."

That's funny but, of course, it's not true. If Webster chose to show photos of "incompetent people," the entire dictionary would be filled to overflowing with thumbnail sketches. Still, it's likely Harry Reid would be the first entry.

Bruce does go on to document his complaints about the Senate Majority Leader, "...earlier this week, the Senate Majority “Leader” continued his support of the troops by labeling as “incompetent” both Joint Chiefs Chairman Peter Pace and Army Gen. David Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq."

"While many on the left (and some on the right) have faulted the president for not listening to the generals on the ground in Iraq, Reid blasts them as incompetents — and without waiting to hear from those generals, joins House Speaker Pelosi in telling the president the surge has failed. Two Washington hacks, neither of whom has any military experience, posturing as if they knew better than our military leaders. Amazing!"

Tragically, Bruce is entirely correct. Reid is not only incompetent, he is arrogant, ignorant and is, frankly, not very bright. He doesn't belong in the U.S. Senate, let alone a leadership position.

Now I base this not only on his remarkably stupid, insensitive and politically tone deaf comments about Generals Pace and Petraeus, but also on his inept handling of his majority position in the Senate.

If there has been a less effect Senate Majority Leader in the history of the Senate, I'm not sure who is might be. In six months Reid has accomplished absolutely nothing except crank up the level of partisan sniping to new heights.

Curiously I believe both Senator Reid and Speaker Pelosi misread the results of the last election. This is just my opinion, of course. I think the public demanded a change because they actually wanted the Congress to get things done. I think the public wants bipartisanship. Congressional approval is now hitting new lows because the Democrat leadership simply have missed the point.

But, as usual, I digress. Back to Senator Reid. His recent mishandling of the Immigration Reform Bill is merely the latest in his gigantic missteps. Let's hope he can get it right next week.

As to Reid's comments about General Petraeus (originally made in a private call to left leaning bloggers but now publicly repeated on television yesterday), if he truly believes the General leading our troops into battle daily is incompetent, he is obligated to do everything humanly possible to remove the General from command. To fail to do so places our troops in grave danger. This is not a glib comment for a few left wing bloggers. It is a call to action. A genuine leader would not rest until our troops were saved from leadership that placed them in harm's way.

I used to complain mightily about Trent Lott as Majority Leader. Harry Reid actually makes me long for the good old days. Lott may well have been a partisan hack, but he was a completely competent partisan hack (and still is, it seems).

Reid's approval ratings in a recent poll are well below President Bush's ratings. Reid 19%, Bush 34%. This is only possible because the public sees Reid for exactly what he is.

Compared to Harry Reid, President Bush is a Statesman.

Compared to Reid, President Bush is articulate and a gifted speaker.

Compared to Reid, President Bush is an open minded and flexible.

Compared to Reid, President Bush is an intellectual.

Compared to Reid, President Bush is a military genius.

Compared to Reid, President Bush is a gifted politician.

Compared to Reid, President Bush is a leader.

Sorry President Bush, you've just been damned by faint praise.

TECHNORATI TAGS: HARRY REID GENERAL PETER PACE GENERAL DAVID PETRAEUS NANCY PELOSI GEORGE BUSH TRENT LOTT POLITICS GAY PATRIOT DEMOCRAT LEADERSHIP

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The Thrill of Victory, The Agony of.....

For those of us unfortunate enough to drop by Fox News last week (June 7th to be specific) we were able to witness a positively giddy Sean Hannity celebrating the defeat of the Bush Kennedy Immigration Bill in the U.S. Senate.

Hannity took a lot of the credit personally for the failure of the bill, which died in the Senate when proponents were unable to cut off debate. The vote to end debate couldn't even muster a majority of Senators, let alone the 60 votes needed to bring the bill to a final vote. Senator Harry Reid reluctantly pulled the bill from the floor.

Sean Hannity was willing to share in the magnificent victory with the other supposed leaders of the ultra conservative "new media" of radio talk show hosts and bloggers. He praised Rush Limbaugh and Laura Ingraham in particular for their leadership in arousing listeners to call their Senators over and often.

I've previously written in this journal about the ceaseless efforts of Michelle Malkin and the amazing zealotry of talk show and conservative icon G. Gordon Liddy in their efforts to mobilize the masses to apply pressure to the Senate.

The conservative wing of the American public was mobilize and energized to defeat the bill they believed gave "amnesty" to those who entered the country illegally. The called the Bush Kennedy Immigration Bill "Shamnesty!"

While I can appreciate the desire of conservatives (and all Americans) to have our laws obeyed and the sovereignty of our borders honored, the reality is that today our borders are a mess and are as porous as a sieve. And today there is no documentation of any illegal aliens. Employers ignore laws that cannot be enforced. We have a system that is out of control.

And all Sean Hannity and Rush Limbaugh and Michelle Malkin and the other leaders of the "Shamnesty" movement have accomplished is to guarantee that there will be no improvements what-so-ever.

In fact, their faulty leadership on this issue assures that everything will quickly get much worse with no hope of any improvement.

This week President Bush, John Kyl, Ted Kennedy, John McCain and other, more rational, leaders are attempting to rebuild the fragile coalition and revive the bill. I only wish the conservative opposition would realize that this bill is a giant step in the right direction.

The only alternative is to wait until Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama is President and then be force fed a liberal bill that will not have any of the conservative elements today's bill offers.

Sean Hannity may be the Pied Piper. But he is leading his conservative mice off the edge of a cliff.

TECHNORATI TAGS: EDWARD KENNEDY SEAN HANNITY G. GORDON LIDDY RUSH LIMBAUGH GEORGE BUSH JOHN MCCAIN IMMIGRATION MICHELLE MALKIN IMMIGRATION REFORM SHAMNESTY

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Michelle Malkin's Amnesty

Michelle Malkin and I couldn't disagree more!! She is fighting the Bush Kennedy Immigration Bill with all her heart and all her considerable influence.

And I am joining John McCain and the embattled Senators who have cobbled together a reasonable compromise approach to the reality of immigration reform.

Michelle outlines her problems with the proposed legislation in her typical clear, concise, staccato style arguments and massive numbers of links to other, mostly conservative, opponents. She is persuasive and she is persistent as hell! New arguments and updates appear nearly every day.

Meanwhile Ted Kennedy, John Kyle, John McCain and the Senators who crafted the legislation are a whole lot like John Wayne at the Alamo (pun and irony fully intended). No reinforcements are coming. And full siege is underway.

I can hear The Deguello playing in the background... sad, solemn and mournful.

John McCain gave a fiery and impassioned speech yesterday in Miami. He even reminded me of John Wayne. But you should read and thoroughly consider his comments: John McCain - Address on Immigration

This problem cannot be allowed to continue any longer. Finding an effective, just and practical solution is difficult, but it is our work to do, on our watch. The politics of Washington have encouraged us to leave solutions to the toughest problems for another unluckier generation of leaders. Illegal immigration and our porous borders are problems that we have, to our shame, ignored for too long because it was too hard and politically risky to solve. But the problem has grown too acute and dangerous to ignore any longer. To do nothing now would be an unconscionable abrogation of our responsibilities to defend the security, prosperity and values of our country. ...while we argue over the means to solve the problem, we should respect each other's intentions. We will increase the number of border patrol agents up to 20,000. We will complete 370 miles of border fencing, and 200 miles of vehicle barriers, which will not be, as some critics have suggested, all that will be constructed. We will institute a tough new employment eligibility verification system, tamper proof biometric cards to prove to an employer that foreign workers are in this country legally, and impose substantial fines on employers who hire someone without proper status. We will not admit one temporary worker or grant one undocumented worker a visa until the Secretary of Homeland Security can certify that these tough, new measures are in place. As imperative as these measures are, they will not alone ensure our control of immigration or enable us to know the identity, whereabouts and purposes of the millions of undocumented workers who are in our country now. The most difficult problem is what to do about the twelve million or more undocumented workers who live and work here now. No critic of our bill has offered a serious proposal to round up all these millions, many of whom have children born in this country, and ship them back to their countries of origin. There is simply no practical way to do that, and most Americans understand that. DHS Secretary Chertoff, who helped negotiate this legislation, has warned that two million people in this country illegally have committed serious crimes. If some of them attempt to legalize their status, we will apprehend them. If they don't, we can concentrate our efforts on locating them and not rounding up lettuce pickers, hotel maids, and babysitters. Most importantly, we can devote all the resources necessary to finding terrorists who have broken our immigration laws, like three of the terrorists who intended to attack our soldiers at Ft. Dix. Those undocumented workers who declare themselves, pass criminal background checks, prove their employment, pay fines, taxes, learn English and study American civics may be offered eventually, and I stress eventually, a path to citizenship. Critics of the bill attack this as amnesty and a special path to citizenship that is denied to lawful immigrants. Both charges are false. .... if the path to citizenship we offer them is 'special,' it is because it is harder, longer and more expensive than the path offered to those immigrants who come here legally. Those undocumented workers who attain legal status are not automatically provided a green card and citizenship. The process could take as long as thirteen years, and will cost them thousands of dollars, require them to learn English and understand our laws and culture, return to their country and get in the back of the line - not the front, not the middle, but the back of the line for a green card. The situation as it currently exists is de facto amnesty.

Michelle Malkin and her fellow opponents need to realize there are many sides to this issue. This bill, frankly, does not give anyone amnesty! In fact, it is so damn tough that the real risk is that many will not seek the path to citizenship it offers!

And the bill will strengthen the borders significantly and add real power toward documentation.

Michelle, don't you realize that if you defeat this bill then you will have granted amnesty to all 12 million illegals (or is it 20 million??) .

If this bill is blocked, then NOTHING WILL BE DONE!!! The borders will remain open, current illegals will remain here without much fear of deportation, and there will be even more cities who set themselves up as sanctuary cities.

What is perhaps most interesting of all is that the opponents on the left want you to succeed. They want no bill... no law... no change in the status quo. Just as the right has turned on President Bush and John McCain, the left has turned on Ted Kennedy.

In other words, if you win, you actually lose. Maybe we'll call this Michelle Malkin's Amnesty.

TECHNORATI TAGS: SENATOR EDWARD KENNEDY GEORGE BUSH JOHN MCCAIN IMMIGRATION MICHELLE MALKIN IMMIGRATION REFORM SHAMNESTY

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