You know, I don’t think the FCC or any government agency should do anything about Sinclair Broadcasting forcing the stations it owns to show an hour of anti-Kerry propaganda before the election. And I don’t think that this episode illustrates the dangers of media consolidation. You can pick up any newspaper or watch any news show and see condemnation of Sinclair Broadcasting. Even the business pages are full of stories about how this is a horrible business decision, and about how Sinclair is putting politics ahead of its shareholders. There’s no doubt that Sinclair’s management is a bunch of sleazy hypocrites who care more about making sure their favored leader returns to office than about democracy, fairness, or good common sense. Indeed, everybody but the most ardent Bush supporters seem to acknowledge the basic unfairness and the creepiness of what Sinclair Broadcasting is doing. So at this point I don’t see what the problem is. The outrage is off the meter, and it seems apparent at this point that this decision is going to hurt Sinclair Broadcasting a lot more than it’s going to hurt John Kerry. It’ll probably hurt President Bush some as well, since it triggers the thought that if certain rich and powerful people are willing to do so much to get him elected, they must be getting something in return.