A Thorough Audit Of The FCC Is Recommended…

Wednesday, January, 28, 2009 by Mel Phillips.

One of the surviving commissioners of the FCC, Robert McDowell, sent a letter to acting agency chair Michael Copps and after the usual, hey guy, good luck in keeping the chair warm, there was a recommendation to audit the commission from top to bottom.  The audit would be thorough and include operational, financial and ethical areas.  It would also include related entities like the Universal Service Administrative Company and the Federal Advisory Committees.  Seeking the much coveted new buzzword of the Obama administration - transparency, McDowell recommends that the agency see comments from the public and commission staff with employees having the opportunity to comment anonymously…

Other McDowell recommendations include an updating and republishing of the FCC’s strategic plan.  You mean they have one?  Sorry.  “Completing this task would create a solid framework for future actions and demonstrate our commitment to (ready?) transparency (yesss) and orderliness, each of which is critical to effective decision-making.”

I kid, but all of this is welcome and much needed.  McDowell would also like the commission to set dates for its open meetings for all of 2009 and provide at least six months’ notice for meetings in 2010 and beyond.  He also echoes Copps’ observations on the need to improve the internal flow of information at the commission, saying “It is important that we cooperate with each other to foster open and thoughtful consideration of potential actions well before jumping into the drafting process.”  One action the FCC did take was referring the dispute between Comcast and NFL Networks to an administrative law judge, reversing a Kevin Martin move to decide the case internally…   

10 Timeline Memories:

1. 1878] One ringy dingy: The first telephone switchboard is installed in New Haven (CT). Can’t you just see Lily Tomlin answering that first phone call?…
2. 1915] On Guard: The modern version of the U.S. Coast Guard is created by an act of Congress…
3. 1916] Mazel: Louis D. Brandeis is appointed to the Supreme Court, becoming the first Jewish judge on the panel in June when his appointment is confirmed…
4. 1921] Duh Bearssss: The Decatur (IL) franchise of the NFL moves to Chicago and takes the name, the Chicago Bearsssss…
5. 1953] TV Mugging: J. Fred Muggs, a chimp, joins NBC-TV’s “Today Show”…
6. 1958] The end of a Hall of Fame career: Brooklyn Dodger 3-time MVP catcher, Roy Campanella is paralyzed below the waist when his car overturns on an icy road in Glen Cove (LI). Campy will never play again and is inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1969…
7. 1959] Invinceable: Vince Lombardi is named coach of the Green Bay Packers and a legend is born. Lombardi will win 5 titles in his 9 years in Green Bay…
8. 1973] Premiered on this date: “Barnaby Jones” starring Buddy Ebsen debuts. It will run until the fall of 1980…1978] “Fantasy Island” starring Ricardo Montalban and Herve Villechaize debuts on ABC-TV and goes into syndication in 1984 until life as we know it ends…
9. 1986] Liftoff disaster: Millions of people around the world watch as the Challenger Seven explodes taking the lives of seven astronauts: Smith, Scobee, Resnik, McNair, Onizuka, Jarvis and McAulife…
10. 2001] Super Bowled: Ray Lewis leads the Baltimore Ravens to a 34-7 thrashing of the Giants in SBXXXV…

Music Memories:

• 1956] Debuted on this date: Elvis Presley makes his first network appearance singing “Shake, Rattle & Roll” on the “Dorsey Brothers Stage Show”…
• 1985] Recorded on this date: “We Are The World” - USA for Africa with proceeds going to world wide hunger prevention…

“Happy Birthday…happy birthday“:

Elijah Wood (28),Joey Fatone (32), Kathryn (’Cold Case’) Morris (40), Sarah McLachlan (41), Barbi Benton (59), Alan Alda (73) and Mr. Acker Bilk (80)…

Timeline Countdown: 4 days until the Super Bowl, 17 days until Valentine’s Day and pitchers & catchers report to Spring Training voluntarily and 19 days until Presidents Day…

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