View Document

When you read this and consider the length of time that has elapsed, how small a town Happy Valley is and the number of people who are listed in the investigation, it's obvious that certain people turned the other cheek. 

These people forgot their first priority, protect the kids at all cost.  Instead they tried to protect the program. 

The Fairness Doctrine and 83 other "outdated and obsolete media-related rules" were tossed Monday into the regulatory dust bin of the Federal Communications Commission, in a move that the agency said helps it achieve the FCC's "reform agenda." 

FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski said that the decision to eliminate the Fairness Doctrine was part of a larger mandate proposed by the Obama administration to ease regulatory burdens by getting rid of duplicative or outdated measures. Genachowski informed Congress in June of the pending action.

"The elimination of the obsolete Fairness Doctrine regulations will remove an unnecessary distraction. As I have said, striking this from our books ensures there can be no mistake that what has long been a dead letter remains dead," Genachowski said in a statement on the FCC website.

"The Fairness Doctrine holds the potential to chill free speech and the free flow of ideas and was properly abandoned over two decades ago. I am pleased we are removing these and other obsolete rules from our books," he added.

The Fairness Doctrine has been in place since 1949, and required licensed broadcasters to share airwaves equally for competing political points of view. At the time of its creation, only 2,881 radio stations existed, compared with roughly 14,000 today.  

The FCC said Monday it has not enforced the doctrine for 20 years, and is reflective of rules outdated by technology and greater competition.

Its demise is welcome among Republicans who have argued that the media unfairly lean toward Democratic and liberal perspectives. However, earlier in President Obama's administration, several Democratic lawmakers had discussed bringing it back into force, noting the popularity of conservative talk radio, which they argue falls into the public airwaves. 

One commissioner warned as recently as this month that "localism," a proposal that gives the federal government the ability to make sure broadcasters serve their communities, could be used to wedge in principles of the fairness doctrine even without the regulation on the books.

Though it announced its plans on Monday, the commission must release the full text of the order before the action is considered official. 

By: Dick Morris

Here's how the Republican nominating process will work:

Mitt Romney, who would have faced strong competition from the likes of Donald Trump or Mitch Daniels, will get a first-round bye unless Rick Perry, the Texas governor, gets into the race.

Romney showed that Tim Pawlenty will be no serious obstacle in the New Hampshire debate on Monday. Romney looked like the adult and Pawlenty the teenager as the former Minnesota governor failed to measure up. At times, it seemed that he was almost looking up to see Romney towering over him. Political consultant Bob Squier once likened the first debate to the first day at a new school. "Out in the schoolyard, at recess," he said, "everybody learns who can beat who up. A pecking order is established that lasts all year."

And so it was between Romney and Pawlenty. These guys aren't even in same league. Jon Huntsman, in effect, just dropped out of the race by announcing that he won't compete in Iowa or New Hampshire and by failing to show up on Monday. The Rudy Giuliani strategy didn't work in '08 and won't in 12. So Romney will make it into the second round with no trouble.

Viewed geographically, this means that he need not win Iowa but must win New Hampshire.

Iowa will resolve the remaining question: Who will oppose Mitt? The first question is whether Newt Gingrich can survive. His debate performance was stunning. He showed an intellectual breadth and depth that the others did not have. Only Michele Bachmann could rival his real-time knowledge about what was happening in Congress. And the creativity of his thinking was evident to all. But politics is pragmatic. Someday the Internet will replace television and we won't have to buy TV ads and fundraising will no longer be the deciding factor. But we aren't there yet. And Newt cannot hope to prevail without grinding it out. You wonder if he's got it in him.

Rick Santorum probably will not have the grassroots enthusiasm surrounding a Herman Cain or a Bachmann candidacy, and Romney will foreclose his ability to raise big money. Santorum is not going anywhere.

So it will be between Cain and Bachmann for the nod to oppose Romney down the stretch. In the debate, Bachmann showed how strong she is rhetorically and substantively. She has Palin's zest and instinct for a killer zinger but Newt's knowledge of substance. She combines a flair for the dramatic with some pretty sound political judgment. Cain has the soaring eloquence of a platform speaker and the originality of an outsider. Both are able to cut through the conventional assumptions and speak to the base. Both will be able to build a huge Internet fundraising base, and Obama showed us what that can do.

Between Cain and Bachmann, the question will be who can best keep their feet on the ground and out of their mouths. Cain got off to a poor start with his answer about not appointing a Muslim to his Cabinet. So did Bachmann when she defended a state's right to define marriage but then called for a constitutional amendment which would pre-empt it. You know that the well-oiled, rehearsed and controlled Romney will not make a mistake, but in the heady atmosphere of a wildly cheering Tea Party rally, they might.

So it might be Romney versus either Cain or Bachmann. That's how it looks today.

By: Dick Morris

Here's how the Republican nominating process will work:

Mitt Romney, who would have faced strong competition from the likes of Donald Trump or Mitch Daniels, will get a first-round bye unless Rick Perry, the Texas governor, gets into the race.

Romney showed that Tim Pawlenty will be no serious obstacle in the New Hampshire debate on Monday. Romney looked like the adult and Pawlenty the teenager as the former Minnesota governor failed to measure up. At times, it seemed that he was almost looking up to see Romney towering over him. Political consultant Bob Squier once likened the first debate to the first day at a new school. "Out in the schoolyard, at recess," he said, "everybody learns who can beat who up. A pecking order is established that lasts all year."

And so it was between Romney and Pawlenty. These guys aren't even in same league. Jon Huntsman, in effect, just dropped out of the race by announcing that he won't compete in Iowa or New Hampshire and by failing to show up on Monday. The Rudy Giuliani strategy didn't work in '08 and won't in 12. So Romney will make it into the second round with no trouble.

Viewed geographically, this means that he need not win Iowa but must win New Hampshire.

Iowa will resolve the remaining question: Who will oppose Mitt? The first question is whether Newt Gingrich can survive. His debate performance was stunning. He showed an intellectual breadth and depth that the others did not have. Only Michele Bachmann could rival his real-time knowledge about what was happening in Congress. And the creativity of his thinking was evident to all. But politics is pragmatic. Someday the Internet will replace television and we won't have to buy TV ads and fundraising will no longer be the deciding factor. But we aren't there yet. And Newt cannot hope to prevail without grinding it out. You wonder if he's got it in him.

Rick Santorum probably will not have the grassroots enthusiasm surrounding a Herman Cain or a Bachmann candidacy, and Romney will foreclose his ability to raise big money. Santorum is not going anywhere.

So it will be between Cain and Bachmann for the nod to oppose Romney down the stretch. In the debate, Bachmann showed how strong she is rhetorically and substantively. She has Palin's zest and instinct for a killer zinger but Newt's knowledge of substance. She combines a flair for the dramatic with some pretty sound political judgment. Cain has the soaring eloquence of a platform speaker and the originality of an outsider. Both are able to cut through the conventional assumptions and speak to the base. Both will be able to build a huge Internet fundraising base, and Obama showed us what that can do.

Between Cain and Bachmann, the question will be who can best keep their feet on the ground and out of their mouths. Cain got off to a poor start with his answer about not appointing a Muslim to his Cabinet. So did Bachmann when she defended a state's right to define marriage but then called for a constitutional amendment which would pre-empt it. You know that the well-oiled, rehearsed and controlled Romney will not make a mistake, but in the heady atmosphere of a wildly cheering Tea Party rally, they might.

So it might be Romney versus either Cain or Bachmann. That's how it looks today.

Luke AFB is west of Phoenix and is rapidly being surrounded by a civilization that complains about the noise from the base and its planes, forgetting that it was there long before they were... A certain lieutenant colonel at Luke AFB deserves a big pat on the back. Apparently, an individual who lives somewhere near Luke AFB wrote the local paper complaining about a group of F-16s that disturbed his/her day at the mall.

When that individual read the response from a Luke AFB officer, it must have stung quite a bit.

The complaint:  'Question of the day for Luke Air Force Base:Whom do we thank for the morning air show? Last Wednesday, at precisely 9:11 A.M, a tight formation of four F-16 jets made a low pass over Arrowhead Mall, continuing west over Bell Road at approximately 500 feet. Imagine our good fortune! Do the Tom Cruise-wannabes feel we need this wake-up call, or were they trying to impress the cashiers at Mervyn’s early bird special? Any response would be appreciated.

The response:  Regarding ’A wake-up call from Luke's jets' On June 15, at precisely 9:12 a.m. , a perfectly timed four- ship fly by of F-1 6s from the 63rd Fighter Squadron at Luke Air Force Base flew over the grave of Capt. Jeremy Fresques. Capt Fresques was an Air Force officer who was previously stationed at Luke Air Force Base and was killed in Iraq on May 30, Memorial Day.
At 9 a. m. on June 15, his family and friends gathered at Sunland Memorial Park in Sun City to mourn the loss of a husband, son and friend. Based on the letter writer's recount of the fly by, and because of the jet noise, I'm sure you didn't hear the 21-gun salute, the playing of taps, or my words to the widow and parents of Capt. Fresques as I gave them their son's flag on behalf of the President of the United States and all those veterans and servicemen and women who understand the sacrifices they have endured..
A four-ship fly by is a display of respect the Air Force gives to those who give their lives in defense of freedom. We are professional aviators and take our jobs seriously, and on June 15 what the letter writer witnessed was four officers lining up to pay their ultimate respects.
The letter writer asks, ’Whom do we thank for the morning air show'? The 56th Fighter Wing will make the call for you, and forward your thanks to the widow and parents of Capt Fresques, and thank them for you, for it was in their honor that my pilots flew the most honorable formation of their lives.

Only 2 defining forces have ever offered to die for you....Jesus Christ and the American Soldier. One died for your soul, the other for your freedom.
Lt. Col. Grant L. Rosensteel, Jr.