"What we've got here is (a) failure to communicate."

I am going to do a little racism chasing tonight, but it's not going to be easy to follow, because my man the Big R is not running out in the open. He is dodging behind organizations with fancy sounding names and your typical Washington D.C. stonewalling.

I am afraid that the FCC is not doing a very good job of allowing us to communicate right about now.-- Where is Cool Hand Luke when you need him?--

So anyway, tonight I am calling out the FCC and Julius Genachowski ,who is the O- man's point person with that agency. Most of you know by now that I believe in the power of communication. I believe that radio and television, for instance, are powerful tools in the propaganda wars in this country, and that they can be used, in a serious way, to benefit those who want to control the message in our day to day discourse. It is imperative that minorities have a seat at this very profitable and powerful table, and that when we do get a seat, we don't waste the space on bulls^%t. (Are you listening Bob Johnson?)

But back to my man Julius:

Julius I am not pleased. You have cut the two offices in your organization that focus on minority issues (the only ones, BTW, that were cut) in your latest budget; you have stopped enforcing EEO rules; you have not reported to Congress about the market entry barriers (to minorities) that were due damn near 14 months ago, and you still have not designated a staff person in your office to explain the non-discrimination rules to broadcasters. What gives?

Julius, it's 2011 and we have not even gotten your 2009 report (which Section 257 of the Communications Act requires) dealing with barriers to small businesses and entrepreneurs. Minority television ownership has decreased 50% since 1999. Minority radio ownership has declined by 9% over the past three years, and minority wireless and cable system ownership is almost at zero. Entry level positions for minorities in radio, television, and journalism is down to 1%, which is what it was in...wait for it....1950! Yes, 1950! -You Negroes are watching television, but you do not have a seat at the table. You are just watching.-The FCC has not supported an initiative to promote more minority and female ownership in the telecom industry, and they actually proposed cutting out the funding for that particular initiative all together. (I bet they wouldn't do that to Comcast.)And they still have not acted on the petition (outstanding since Hurricane Katrina) to act on multilingual emergency broadcasting. I know I know, if they are in this country they have to learn the language. But what if they just got here and there is a major disaster before they can learn how to understand "GET OUT STORM APPROACHING"?

In spite of all of this, some of you are trying. There are seventy two minority ownership and EEO proposals before the FCC for some of you minorities, and one day (yes, I know it has been ten years for some of you) but one day, the FCC will get around to it. What a Joke!

Come on O- man, it's time to kick your boy in the ass and tell him to get it popping. I know that folks like Verizon, Comcast, and At &T are going to always go to the head of the line and get your ears first, because, well, they have the money. (You gotta buy air time come 2012 in Florida.) But at some point we have to make all the goodies in the telecom and cable industry available to everybody. I know the table is only so big, but I am sure that there is room for a few more chairs.

H/t to my man David Honig over at the Minority Media & Telecommunications Council for much of the 411 I used for this post. David, keep fighting the good fight down there in the "belly of the beast."