Morning Briefing - 1.28.05

Good morning . . .

Propagandist filmmaker Michael Moore is getting no respect these days from the Hollywood elite. He was shut out of the Golden Globe Awards because the Foreign Press Association does not have a category for documentaries. Moore was snubbed by the Motion Picture Academy for an Oscar nomination. Moore decided not to put up his fictional documentary in the documentary category.

Now the Writers Guild of America that added a category for documentary writing has also snubbed Moore and his film 'Fahrenheit 9/11.' I guess the critics were correct, the film was bad, really bad.
News

Even before a plan to change or save Social Security is presented to Congress it is being blasted by Democrats.

On Thursday the Democratic National Committee launched a fund-raising scheme and scare tactics that it hope will derail the President's plan before it becomes a plan.

The President is expected to use the Feb. 2nd State of the Union Address to encourage a Republican Congress to pass legislation that will change the Social Security system to allow taxpayers to invest a portion of their tax dollars in private accounts. Dems Hope to Cash in by Blasting Bush's Social Security Reforms -- 01/27/2005

The FCC and the Bush Administration have dropped a bid to loosen media ownership rules. In proposed rulemaking, the Commission wanted to allow a single company to own newspaper and broadcast outlets in the same markets plus allow a single company to own more tv and radio stations in the same market. For the most part that is already happening. In large markets, like Chicago, Infinity Broadcasting, Emmis Broadcasting, and Clear Channel own a majority of stations in the market.

The decision of the FCC was based on a deadline to appeal a ruling by the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia. The FCC had until Monday to appeal a ruling that blocks the proposed rules.

While the FCC will not appeal the ruling, the National Association of Broadcasters and the Tribune Company plan to appeal the decision to the US Supreme Court. Without the administration's assistance, the Court is unlikely to hear the case.
Yahoo! News - Bush Won't Appeal Media Ownership Rules

More in the Afternoon Update.