#corporate lobbies

Late in the day on Friday, December 15, 2006 the FCC took a step that had been long desired by some and long dreaded by others, but long expected by everyone who cared either way. An FCC news release issued that same evening announced the Commission's decision to eliminate the Morse code examination requirement for the General and Amateur Extra Class licenses.

The Commission's decision was made possible by the revision of the international Radio Regulations that took place at the 2003 World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC-03) in Geneva. administrations once were required to make all applicants for amateur licenses prove their ability to send and receive Morse code signals, to ensure that they would be able to understand signals sent to them by stations in other services. In 1947 a provision was added, permitting administrations to waive the requirement for operation above 1 GHz. In 1959 the frequency limit for the waiver was dropped to 144 MHz, and in 1979 to 30 MHz. The administrations of many countries took advantage of the waiver to license amateurs for VHF operation without requiring a code test, but it was not until 1991 that the FCC followed suit.

In the waning hours of 1999 the Commission announced that for those classes of license still having a Morse requirement, the examination speed would be reduced to 5 words per minute. That was as far as it could go until WRC-03, which replaced the old rule with one reading simply, "Administrations shall determine whether or not a person seeking a licence to operate an amateur station shall demonstrate the ability to send and receive texts in Morse code signals." In July 2005 the FCC got around to issuing a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in WT Docket 05-235, which dealt with 18 petitions -- and 6,200 comments on the petitions -- that had been filed in the meantime. In the NPRM the Commission proposed to delete the Morse requirement for all classes of amateur license, so it was no surprise when the decision to do so was announced 17 months later. At this writing the effective date is not known, since it depends upon when the notice of the rules change will be published in the Federal Register.

Reflecting majority membership opinion, the ARRL Board had argued for retention of the Morse requirement for the Extra Class license. The Extra represents the pinnacle of achievement in the FCC's amateur licensing structure; Extras should possess broad knowledge and diverse skills. But the Commission concluded in its Report and Order:

Rather, we believe that because the international requirement for telegraphy proficiency has been eliminated, we should treat Morse code telegraphy no differently from other amateur service communications techniques. This reasoning applies equally to the General Class and the Amateur Extra Class operator licenses. We are not persuaded that the Amateur Extra Class being the highest license class is a sufficient reason alone to retain a requirement that we conclude is otherwise inappropriate and unnecessary. We also note that the action here does not preclude Amateur Extra Class licensees, or for that matter, other amateur service licensees from pursuing and/or continuing to pursue Morse code proficiency should they so desire.

So, what happens now? One thing that happened immediately after the news began to circulate was a dramatic increase in orders for study material for the General and Extra written exams. Whatever one's opinion of the Commission's decision might be, the fact that more people now are motivated to crack the books and to learn more about Amateur Radio cannot be bad. Volunteer Examiner teams and coordinators, including ARRL/VEC, are gearing up for increased demand for all three written exams, as well as for the processing of already-issued Certificates of Successful Completion of Examination into upgrades.

Something that the FCC had not included in the NPRM, but that the ARRL successfully argued for, is that all presently licensed Technicians will have the HF privileges of Technician Plus (and Novice) licensees as soon as the new rules take effect. No doubt the most popular of the new privileges will be SSB voice in the 28.3-28.5 MHz portion of the 10-meter band. The 28.0-28.3 MHz portion of the band also will be available for RTTY, data and CW operation. We hope Techs will equip themselves to take advantage of these opportunities; even at the bottom of the sunspot cycle, 10 meters can offer some pleasant surprises. In addition and somewhat ironically, dropping the Morse requirement gives Techs CW privileges in parts of the 80, 40 and 15 meter bands.

Aside from that, the immediate changes on the air will not be dramatic. New General and Extra licensees will find their way onto HF voice, data, RTTY, and image modes at a faster pace. However, this will occur more gradually here than it did in Europe, where most amateurs who previously were confined to VHF and above were granted full privileges shortly after WRC-03.

Finally, while this may be the epitaph for the Morse code licensing requirement, the Morse code is alive and well as an operating mode. Those of us who believe that it can stand on its own merits, now will be able to prove the point. If we are passionate about CW -- or about any aspect of Amateur Radio, for that matter -- we will win converts if we share our passion with others.

Koch Brothers' Money went to George Mason University to Influence US Government.  

Recently released documents show that the Charles Koch Foundation's millions of dollars in donations to GMU were tied to control over hiring and firing of professors. The ultimate target of their conservative agenda, though, is to influence DC politics, says Bill Black.

Green Party's Jill Stein: Russiagate Being Exploited to Repress Leftist Opposition.  

Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein has completed turning her campaign materials to the Senate Intelligence Committee, and warns Russiagate is being used to silent dissent. 

Empire Files: How Lobbyists Weaponized Transparency.  

There are 26 registered lobbyists for every elected representative on the hill, with experts suggesting the true amount is closer to 100,000. Yet transparency laws that people believe help combat this system of pay-to-play politics have been weaponized against them to further cement corporate control. Congressional researcher James D’Angelo argues how the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1970, which opened up politicians voting records–has only helped special interests and corporations. 

Why Do Politicians Ignore Environmental Issues?

Nina Turner, the former Ohio State Senator, argues that environmental issues don't reach politicians' radar because they disproportionately affect poor communities and because big donors don't want them to.

Speaker Paul Ryan presents the American Health Care Act in Washington on March 9, 2017.

Jush hours before House Speaker Paul Ryan held a press conference to sell his health care overhaul legislation — using a PowerPoint presentation mocked for misrepresenting basic facts  — he was doing something he’s much better at: fundraising.

The two things were related. The Thursday morning breakfast fundraiser he attended was hosted by a lobbying firm working to unwind the Affordable Care Act on behalf of health insurance company Blue Cross Blue Shield, one of the big winners of Ryan’s proposed legislation.

The breakfast, according to an invitation, was sponsored by McGuireWoods PAC, the political action committee for the lobbying firm McGuireWoods. Blue Cross Blue Shield, an Anthem company, pays McGuireWoods $120,000 a year to lobby on changes to health reform, records show. Attendees of the event paid were asked to pitch in as much as $10,000.

Ryan’s American Health Care Act (AHCA), which rolls back most of the revenue-generating provisions of the ACA, reduces premium subsidies, and imposes deep cuts to Medicaid, has largely been panned by medical professionals, health policy experts, and political advocacy groups from across the ideological spectrum.

But the bill enjoys enthusiastic support from some corners of the health care industry — primarily health insurance firms and medical device companies that directly benefit from the legislation.

America’s Health Insurance Plans, the trade group that lobbies on behalf of health insurance companies, wrote a letter to Congress on Wednesday praising much of the AHCA.

“The proposed legislation includes a number of positive steps to help stabilize the market,” wrote AHIP president Marilyn Tavenner, citing the bill’s provisions on “continuous coverage” and added flexibility for “health plans to offer consumers more choices.”

Alissa Fox, the senior vice president for the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, another health insurance lobby group, also provided a statement praising the bill.

The ACHA includes a special 30 percent premium surcharge insurers can charge anyone who has gone without health coverage for at least two months. The bill also reduces the types of medical coverage Medicaid policies are required to cover — the type of flexibility insurers have sought in order to cover less health care costs.

As we reported earlier this week, insurance lobbyists are particularly fond of a tax change made by the Republican health bill that removes limitations on deductions for executive compensation. That reversal will reduce the tax bill for health insurance companies while incentivizing higher pay for insurance employees.

The ACHA would also permanently repeal the 2.3 percent excise tax on medical device tax, which was imposed by Obama’s health reform law. AdvaMed, the lobby group representing the largest medical device firms, released a statement commending the Republican-led House Ways and Means Committee for the repeal of the tax.

While some media outlets praised Ryan’s “wonky” style and use of bar graphs to make his case for the bill on Thursday, many reporters noted that the speaker stumbled when asked basic questions about the legislation.

Ryan notably called the ACA system of younger, healthier people helping to subsidize the insurance of elderly, sick patients a “fatal conceit.” But that general principle — of high- and low-risk consumers alike pooling their resources — is a fundamental element of all health insurance programs. Ryan also “made a series of misleading statements,” noted Politico’s Danny Vinik, who pointed out that the speaker cherry-picked data to exaggerate ACA premium increases.

Establishment Democrats Only Care About Making Money, Not Rebuilding A Movement.

Establishment Democrats like David Brock and Peter Daou understand only one thing – money.  That’s what their careers have been based on.  They don’t want to help rebuild the Democratic Party or understand the populist uprising during the 2016 campaign, they just want to make as much money as possible while screwing over the rest of us. Ring of Fire’s Farron Cousins discusses this.

Nina Turner: DNC Chooses Not to Be the Party of Everyday People.  

Former Ohio State Senator Turner tells Paul Jay that in defeating Keith Ellison as DNC Chair, the leadership has chosen to maintain the dominance of big donors and reject the progressive wing of the party.