"Tom Desmond" wrote in message
...
Sid Schweiger wrote:

It's almost comical, the number of people who still believe that the
First
Amendment gives them an unvarnished "right" to operate a radio station
without
a license. The Supreme Court stated explicitly, 60 years ago, that that
was
not the case. The FCC has been hearing this argument for decades, and
it's no
less wrong now than it was decades ago.

The Supreme Court has been known to reverse its decisions when either
additional information or time suggests that the original ruling was in
error. So the fact that the Supreme Court made a ruling 60 years ago is
not an automatic guarantee that they might not rule differently today.

It would be interesting to see what sort of case could be made before
the Supreme Court that the current licensing system unfairly limits
freedom of speech by concentrating broadcast station licenses in the
hands of an increasingly small group of companies.

Freedom of Speech does not guarantee a soapbox, a podium, a newspaper or a
radio station to the citizens. It simply guarantees that the government will
not limit an individual's right to express him or herself, but does not
grant a forum to everyone.