Friday, March 11, 2005

McCain Update: The Reform Institute

John McCain Gets Soros Cash

Senator John McCain's Reform Institute has suffered some bad press recently due to its involvement in an influence-peddling scandal with Cablevision. As usual, however, mainstream media have failed to go to the root of the matter.


Here's a cool link Campaign Finance Reform Links . That's what the link is called: Campaign Finance Reform Links.

Ack! Have to include this one:

McCain's assistance in 2003 and 2004 was sandwiched around two donations of $100,000 each from Cablevision to The Reform Institute, a tax-exempt group that touts McCain's views and has showcased him at events since his unsuccessful 2000 presidential campaign.


Senator McCain Urges Nader Ballot Access in Florida

Tomorrow the Nader/Camejo campaign will be in court in Arkansas, Colorado, New Mexico, and Florida as the Democrats continue their desperate and despotic attempts to remove Ralph Nader and Peter Miguel Camejo from the ballot.

The Nader/Camejo campaign appreciates the support of Senator John McCain and the non-partisan Reform Institute for urging our inclusion on the ballot in Florida. Senator McCain knows firsthand what it is like to have a major party attempt to keep a candidate off the ballot—as the Republicans did to him in New York in 2000. Below is the statement of the Reform Institute and Senator John McCain.


Alia Vibe: As AmericanThinker points out, the CableVision "donations" to John McCain were HARDLY, AT ALLLL, published in the MSM.

And yes, we did just go through a blip concerning the possibility of bloggers being under assault to pay "fees" based on the Campaign Finance Reform laws.

However, I point you to this link of mine. This "reform" is about more than simple forcing of local networks to "comply" with the writ of CFR concerning ELECTIONS. It also has to do with "hushing Rush", and perforce QUOTAS in network/media ownership.

For all Stern's complaints about the FCC, the truth is that government policies made him what he is today. When the government lifted regulations on radio station ownership in the mid-'90s, communications giants like Clear Channel muscled their way into local markets - so no more Dave in the Morning or Billy the Wonder Weasel. Larger-than-life national personalities like Stern and Rush Limbaugh replaced quirky local hosts. Stern can now be heard on 40 stations nationwide. He may be pissed at the FCC for telling him what not to say, but he should send them a thank-you note for allowing him to spray himself across such a big audience


How, you ask?

Media Access Project (MAP). My link:

Civil Rights and Media Ownership
Rules that limit media ownership also advance equity in ownership. These rules help because they reduce barriers to new owners. For example, many of the FCC's licenses were allocated in the 1940s and 1950s when women and people of color were unlikely to obtain a license. Today, an individual entrepreneur might be able to become a media owner by purchasing a radio or television station. However, if media companies are very large, it will be more difficult to raise the financial capital necessary to purchase a media company. This decreases the likelihood that women and people of color can become media owners. For more information about media and civil rights, see our Civil Rights and Media section .

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