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The first time this happened was due to de-regulation under Bill Clinton in the 90s, triggering a wave of consolidation by the "Telecommunications Act of 1996",

The first time this happened was due to de-regulation under Bill Clinton in the 90s, triggering a wave of consolidation by the "Telecommunications Act of 1996", driving many small broadcasters out of the market. [0] The second time was shortly before the election, giving left-wing activist billionaire George Soros control over 200 stations [1] [2], in an expedited process that usually takes over a year. It is not hard to see why they accelerated it and why they approved it at all. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telecommunications_Act_of_1996 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telecommunications_Act_of_1996 [1] https://www.foxnews.com/media/george-soros-closer-controlling-200-radio-despite-objection-trump-nominated-fcc-commissioner https://www.foxnews.com/media/george-soros-closer-controllin... [2] https://oversight.house.gov/release/comer-langworthy-probe-politicization-of-fcc-with-shortcut-decision-to-facilitate-a-george-soros-deal-to-obtain-a-major-stake-in-over-200-radio-stations/ https://oversight.house.gov/release/comer-langworthy-probe-p...

n4r9 2y ago
Reagan set the scene for this in the 70s with broad economic deregulation and crippling of anti trust enforcement. This established a narrative of the self-correcting nature of markets and the negative consequences of any government intervention or regulation. Only recently in the Biden administration has this narrative met serious challenges, with for example the appointment of Lina Khan and a comeback for anti trust activity. Worryingly, Trump looks set to rewind anti trust activity against mega corporations like Google, ontop of hiring mega corporation advocates into his cabinet, and likely firing Khan despite her incredible performance.
- MrBuddyCasino 2y ago
  > Reagan set the scene for this in the 70s Ronald Reagan was president from 1981 - 1989. He may have been a Republican, but his actual policies were quite left-wing (eg no-fault divorce, amnesty for illegal immigrants).
  - thrance 2y ago
    Raegan had left-wing policies? Are you trying to reinterpret history to suit your views? Look at this page [1], how are austerity and capital gain tax cuts left-wing again? [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reaganomics https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reaganomics
  - n4r9 2y ago
    My bad about the dates. The Chicago school of neoclassical economics came in during the 70s, but Reaganomics was put in place in the 80s. But to frame Reagan as left-wing is disingenuous. Immigration and divorce were very minor focuses of his policies. He was very much right-wing on healthcare, regulation, crime, welfare, abortion, etc...
    - MrBuddyCasino 2y ago
      I would not go so far as to say Reagan was overall left-wing, but he did some things are are very left-wing and also had a huge impact and weren't minor at all. California has been a blue state since his immigration amnesty, this was not the case before - it was usually solid red. Was Bill Clinton "right wing" because of his free trade politics (eg NAFTA)? Contemporary left-wing politics do not look like communist Russia when it comes to the economy. The American use of the term "liberal" (or "liberalism") is more useful in that regard, and that includes free trade, and also immigration of foreign labor, something that naive observers might categorise as "neoliberal" or "turbo-capitalist", except that many left-wing governments engaged it in (US, Canada, UK and many more).
      - n4r9 2y ago
        Yeah, it may be misleading to characterise individuals as definitively right or left wing. And of course the left/right divide has to be considered in the context of the country's current situation. That said, policies favouring deregulation, privatisation, and laissez faire capitalism are generally seen as right-wing. Both Reagan and Clinton implemented such policies as we've discussed above to the general detriment of the consumer.
      - 2y ago
swampdonkey64 2y ago
Are you trying to say with a straight face that a law introduced by a Republican and passed by the first Republican-controlled legislature in 40 years is "de-regulation under Bill Clinton"? And then, surprise, George Soros pops into the mix without any mention of Romney-connected Bain Capital owning part of iHeart/Clear Channel which is an order of magnitude bigger? Seems intellectually disingenuous to me.
- MrBuddyCasino 2y ago
  I see we both hate Mitt Romney, thats a start.
  - Lutger 2y ago
    Politics is starting to turn more and more into a football match. And if you don't want to play along with the 'winner-takes-all' dynamic, then by consequence you'll lose anyway. Politics as the heart of deliberative democracy seems already like a long lost ideal, or maybe that is too romantic a thought and it never really was like this to begin with? Maybe I am just getting old.
    - ANewFormation 2y ago
      In the past elections were, at least on occassion, won by massive landslides, before then the 'other side' ending up back in power. This is only possible if people, at scale, were voting based on merit, rather than tribalism. Nowadays either side could run a literal vegetable and get near half the vote.
    - whynotmaybe 2y ago
      It was always a strong reality in places where politics are a over simplistic two sided view "Left" vs "Right". This botched view can only lead to the herd mentality of "if you're not like us, you're wrong", which in the US or South Korea has slowly turned to "if you're note like us, you're dangerous". Democracy needs a personal implication into complex concepts that can't be answered with yes or no and many people lack the will to understand those concepts. Whoever comes forward and says "I'll handle this complex issue this way" will be the new messiah. This now seems like the downside of bringing huge knowledge to the masses with the internet. Now that everyone knows everything, they don't want anything to do with it. Maybe it's also linked to a current trend that you're supposed to have an opinion about everything happening. If you say that you're with the "magenta" party, everybody knows "your opinion" without the need of forging one yourself.
thrance 2y ago
George Soros is jewish and holds some culturally progressive views, which makes him a prime target for the right's hate [1], but economically he is absolutely a neoliberalist, seeking global free trade. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Soros_conspiracy_theories?wprov=sfla1 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Soros_conspiracy_theori...
- MrBuddyCasino 2y ago
  > George Soros > holds some culturally progressive views This made me laugh. Your attempt at implying anti-semitism is misguided (putting it generous), since Bill Ackmann, David Sacks or, gasp, Curtis Yarvin and Costin Alamariu are all prominent jewish figures of the right-center. Also I do not think you have any idea what "neoliberal" actually means.
  - thrance 2y ago
    I don't have to imply anti-semitism, he is very regularly pointed to as an example of the so-called "jewish question" many MAGA-types believe in, refer to the previous page I linked. From this very page: > Also in 2023, Tesla, Inc./SpaceX CEO and owner of social media platform X (formerly known as Twitter) Elon Musk compared George Soros to Jewish Marvel Comics supervillain Magneto and accused him of wanting "to erode the very fabric of civilization" because he "hates humanity". He later alleged that the Soros organization wants "nothing less than the destruction of western civilization” in reply to a X user speculating about a “George Soros led invasion” of Europe by North African immigrants. I saw from one of your other comments that you believe Raegan's policies were left-wing, so whatever you think neoliberalism is, I think my definition is closer to the truth. Soros is still very much pro markets, pro free trade. This is not a value judgement, simply something you can read on his wikipedia page.
    - MrBuddyCasino 2y ago
      We can agree that there are unfortunately a lot of not very bright "rw" types that engage in dumb anti-semitism. Not every criticism of Soros is that. There are also a lot of simple-minded lefties engaging in anti-semitism, for obvious reasons.

n4r9 2y ago

Reagan set the scene for this in the 70s with broad economic deregulation and crippling of anti trust enforcement. This established a narrative of the self-correcting nature of markets and the negative consequences of any government intervention or regulation. Only recently in the Biden administration has this narrative met serious challenges, with for example the appointment of Lina Khan and a comeback for anti trust activity. Worryingly, Trump looks set to rewind anti trust activity against mega corporations like Google, ontop of hiring mega corporation advocates into his cabinet, and likely firing Khan despite her incredible performance.

MrBuddyCasino 2y ago
> Reagan set the scene for this in the 70s Ronald Reagan was president from 1981 - 1989. He may have been a Republican, but his actual policies were quite left-wing (eg no-fault divorce, amnesty for illegal immigrants).
- thrance 2y ago
  Raegan had left-wing policies? Are you trying to reinterpret history to suit your views? Look at this page [1], how are austerity and capital gain tax cuts left-wing again? [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reaganomics https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reaganomics
- n4r9 2y ago
  My bad about the dates. The Chicago school of neoclassical economics came in during the 70s, but Reaganomics was put in place in the 80s. But to frame Reagan as left-wing is disingenuous. Immigration and divorce were very minor focuses of his policies. He was very much right-wing on healthcare, regulation, crime, welfare, abortion, etc...
  - MrBuddyCasino 2y ago
    I would not go so far as to say Reagan was overall left-wing, but he did some things are are very left-wing and also had a huge impact and weren't minor at all. California has been a blue state since his immigration amnesty, this was not the case before - it was usually solid red. Was Bill Clinton "right wing" because of his free trade politics (eg NAFTA)? Contemporary left-wing politics do not look like communist Russia when it comes to the economy. The American use of the term "liberal" (or "liberalism") is more useful in that regard, and that includes free trade, and also immigration of foreign labor, something that naive observers might categorise as "neoliberal" or "turbo-capitalist", except that many left-wing governments engaged it in (US, Canada, UK and many more).
    - n4r9 2y ago
      Yeah, it may be misleading to characterise individuals as definitively right or left wing. And of course the left/right divide has to be considered in the context of the country's current situation. That said, policies favouring deregulation, privatisation, and laissez faire capitalism are generally seen as right-wing. Both Reagan and Clinton implemented such policies as we've discussed above to the general detriment of the consumer.
    - 2y ago

swampdonkey64 2y ago

Are you trying to say with a straight face that a law introduced by a Republican and passed by the first Republican-controlled legislature in 40 years is "de-regulation under Bill Clinton"? And then, surprise, George Soros pops into the mix without any mention of Romney-connected Bain Capital owning part of iHeart/Clear Channel which is an order of magnitude bigger? Seems intellectually disingenuous to me.

MrBuddyCasino 2y ago
I see we both hate Mitt Romney, thats a start.
- Lutger 2y ago
  Politics is starting to turn more and more into a football match. And if you don't want to play along with the 'winner-takes-all' dynamic, then by consequence you'll lose anyway. Politics as the heart of deliberative democracy seems already like a long lost ideal, or maybe that is too romantic a thought and it never really was like this to begin with? Maybe I am just getting old.
  - ANewFormation 2y ago
    In the past elections were, at least on occassion, won by massive landslides, before then the 'other side' ending up back in power. This is only possible if people, at scale, were voting based on merit, rather than tribalism. Nowadays either side could run a literal vegetable and get near half the vote.
  - whynotmaybe 2y ago
    It was always a strong reality in places where politics are a over simplistic two sided view "Left" vs "Right". This botched view can only lead to the herd mentality of "if you're not like us, you're wrong", which in the US or South Korea has slowly turned to "if you're note like us, you're dangerous". Democracy needs a personal implication into complex concepts that can't be answered with yes or no and many people lack the will to understand those concepts. Whoever comes forward and says "I'll handle this complex issue this way" will be the new messiah. This now seems like the downside of bringing huge knowledge to the masses with the internet. Now that everyone knows everything, they don't want anything to do with it. Maybe it's also linked to a current trend that you're supposed to have an opinion about everything happening. If you say that you're with the "magenta" party, everybody knows "your opinion" without the need of forging one yourself.

thrance 2y ago

George Soros is jewish and holds some culturally progressive views, which makes him a prime target for the right's hate [1], but economically he is absolutely a neoliberalist, seeking global free trade. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Soros_conspiracy_theories?wprov=sfla1 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Soros_conspiracy_theori...

MrBuddyCasino 2y ago
> George Soros > holds some culturally progressive views This made me laugh. Your attempt at implying anti-semitism is misguided (putting it generous), since Bill Ackmann, David Sacks or, gasp, Curtis Yarvin and Costin Alamariu are all prominent jewish figures of the right-center. Also I do not think you have any idea what "neoliberal" actually means.
- thrance 2y ago
  I don't have to imply anti-semitism, he is very regularly pointed to as an example of the so-called "jewish question" many MAGA-types believe in, refer to the previous page I linked. From this very page: > Also in 2023, Tesla, Inc./SpaceX CEO and owner of social media platform X (formerly known as Twitter) Elon Musk compared George Soros to Jewish Marvel Comics supervillain Magneto and accused him of wanting "to erode the very fabric of civilization" because he "hates humanity". He later alleged that the Soros organization wants "nothing less than the destruction of western civilization” in reply to a X user speculating about a “George Soros led invasion” of Europe by North African immigrants. I saw from one of your other comments that you believe Raegan's policies were left-wing, so whatever you think neoliberalism is, I think my definition is closer to the truth. Soros is still very much pro markets, pro free trade. This is not a value judgement, simply something you can read on his wikipedia page.
  - MrBuddyCasino 2y ago
    We can agree that there are unfortunately a lot of not very bright "rw" types that engage in dumb anti-semitism. Not every criticism of Soros is that. There are also a lot of simple-minded lefties engaging in anti-semitism, for obvious reasons.