A New Majority Will Rule FCC…

Tuesday, January, 6, 2009 by Mel Phillips.

While Kevin Martin closes out his final major tour of the U.S. like a diva, the future FCC is getting closer to becoming a reality.  The first FCC commissioner to leave was Deborah Taylor Tate who resigned December 30th.  I hope Martin is lining up his next job because he will be replaced as FCC Chairman and the betting is that Obama Harvard bud Julius Genachowski will get the nod.  That leaves Commissioners Copps and Edelstein, the highly regarded commonsense and caring commissioners who think like Obama people - about delivering competitive voice and broadband options to all Americans.  Copps and Edelstein will stay with the new FCC, should they choose to do so.  Their terms don’t expire until the end of the year.  That leaves Robert M. McDowell and whatever it is he does as an FCC commissioner, his term expires in June.  With Tate and Martin gone, McDowell is the lone Republican left on the commission.  Only three Commissioners may be members of the same political party, leaving room for one new Republican…

Genachowski is an innovative and technology-minded brainiac who is likely to lean that way as FCC Chairman and the new commission will be more open to wired and wireless communicators and cable-tv than the previous commission.  They might even suggest that they have the right to exist, something the previous administration tried hard to deny…

With Democrats forming the majority party in the new FCC, look for a new direction.  The new FCC will clearly not maintain the status quo of the last 8 years.  The new FCC will begin its new reign on January 21st…     

10 Timeline Memories:

1. 1759] Wedding Bells: George Washington marries Martha Dandridge Custis and instead of cutting into a wedding cake, it’s a cherry pie baked by the new bride…1945] Future President George H.W. Bush and Barbara Pierce tie the knot in Rye (NY)…
2. 1936] Debuted on this date: Porky Pig debuts in the WB cartoon “Gold Diggers of ‘49“. One year later Mel Blanc starts voicing Porky, Bugs, Daffy, Sylvester and Tweety…1975] “Wheel of Fortune” debuts on NBC-TV with Chuck Woolery hosting…
3. 1942] Clipper landing: The Pan American Airways Pacific Clipper arrives in New York after making the first round-the-world trip by a commercial airliner…
4. 1982] Freeway of death: Truck driver William G. Bonin is convicted in Los Angeles of being the “freeway killer” who had murdered 14 young men and boys.  Boldin will be executed in 1996…
5. 1987] What’s the word? Thunderbird!: After a 29-year lapse, the Ford Thunderbird is presented with the Motor Trend Car of the Year Award. It’s the first repeat winner of the award…
6. 1993] “Happy Trails“: Ballet dancer Rudolf Nureyev succumbs to AIDS at 54…1993] Jazz great Dizzy Gillespie is a victim of pancreatic cancer at 75…
7. 1994] “Why? Why?”: Jeff Gillooly goon Shane Stant makes a pinata out of glamour skater Nancy Kerrigan’s leg. Olympic skating rival Tonya Harding sets the whole thing up and is banned from competition. Gillooly and the late Stant do time for the crime…
8. 1999] Impeachment set: The 106th U.S. Congress opens with impeachment proceedings of President Bill Clinton as the first item on its agenda. The trial is set for January 7th…
9. 2001] Congress certification: With the recently defeated Al Gore presiding, Congress certifies George W. Bush the winner of the 2000 presidential election…
10. 2005] KKK leader turns in his white hood: Former Ku Klux Klan leader Edgar Ray Killen is arrested 41 years after three civil rights workers were slain in Mississippi. Killen is later convicted of manslaughter.  Killen appeals but his punishment of 3 times 20 years in prison is upheld by the Mississippi Supreme Court in January, 2007…

Music Memories:

• 1957] Curtains: Elvis Presley makes his 7th and final appearance on “The Ed Sullivan Show” singing “Hound Dog“, “Love Me Tender“, “Heartbreak Hotel“, “Don’t Be Cruel” and “Too Much“.  This clip is from an earlier appearance in 1957…
• 1958] Number One on this date: “At The Hop” - Danny & the Juniors…1968] “Magical Mystery Tour” LP - Beatles…1997] “You Don’t Have To Be A Star” - Marilyn McCoo & Billy Davis Jr…

“Happy Birthday…happy birthday“:

Howie Long (49), Nancy Lopez (52), Bonnie Franklin (65), Lou Holtz (72), Nino Tempo (74), Earl Scruggs (85) and Pollster Lou Harris (88 with a margin of error of + or - 5%)…

Timeline Countdown: 13 days until MLK Day, 14 days until the Inauguration and 26 days until the Super Bowl…

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