June 23, 2011

Legislator pushes criminalization of pirate radio operations in New York State Assembly

As the current session of the New York State Assembly winds down, Assemblyman George Latimer is hoping to make progress with a bill he has been pushing for several years.


Following similar legislation in Florida and New Jersey, Latimer's bill would make operating a pirate radio station in New York state a felony carrying a fine of no less than $10,000. The New York State Senate is considering a similar proposal.

"One of the problems I have is trying to get people to understand that it's a real problem," says Latimer, who represents several Westchester communities.

Commercial operators, who pay fees to the government and recording artists and have gone through the hoops of obtaining licenses, complain that pirates flout the rules, interrupt their signals and, in some cases, bleed ad dollars from their markets. There have also been claims that the illicit broadcasts can interfere with airplane communications.

"The idea is not that you want to lock people up and rack up penalties," Latimer says of the proposed law. "You want the penalty to be significant enough that it deters the action."

Read more:
http://www.thedeal.com/magazine/ID/039715/2011/talk-like-a-pirate.php

(Note: If you live in New York, or maybe even if you don't, drop this guy's office a line-- and tell him to STFU! ~J.Poet)


June 20, 2011

Michele Bachmann Flunks U.S. History, Making Her A Qualified GOP Presidential Candidate

 By 'The Radical'

 Apparently, the Tea Party wing of the Republican Party, is attempting to rewrite history-literally. Amongst the leadership of these Mad Haters is Representative Michele Bachmann of Minnesota. This woman has time and time again scolded the American public about their lack of knowledge about our Founding Fathers. Well, perhaps, Rep. Bachmann needs to heed her screed.


  In a January 21, 2011 in Iowa, Bachmann talked about these hallowed figures and her version of their concept of equality. And I quote, “It didn’t matter the color of their skin, it didn’t matter their language, it didn’t matter their economic status. Once you got here, were all the same. Isn’t that remarkable?”

  What is remarkable is that Rep. Bachmann has such a lack of knowledge about American history itself. When the slave ships were bringing the captured Africans to our shores, they were not passengers, but prisoners who were treated no better than cargo. Those who survived the cramped and unhygienic quarters were then sold like a commodity into slavery, to perform the menial and manual labors that would enrich their white owners.

  Maybe, this is seen as equality in the Tea Party circle, but perhaps these people need to look up the definition of the word “equality” in their dictionaries.