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What if there's nothing you can do about it?
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Bill
Jan 4, 2023, 6:33:05 AM1/4/23
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Let's do a quick thought experiment: what if one day the U.S. Supreme Court said that the law of search and seizure under the 4th Amendment was fully fleshed-out; that therefore they had decided not to accept any more search and seizure cases in the future; and that they wanted the government and its citizens to voluntarily obey its previous rulings on the subject. Do you think the government would obey the 4th Amendment voluntarily if there was nothing a citizen could do about a violation of his 4th Amendment rights? Hell no!
The same thought experiment leads to the same results if the First Amendment is involved. If a citizen can't enforce his rights against the government, it gives the government absolute power, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.
Because ham radio is non-remunerative in nature, there's nothing a ham can do if the FCC Enfarcement Boro violates his free-speech rights, or violates his procedural rights under the Administrative Procedures Act, because no ham radio operator is ever going to spend the kind of money necessary to vindicate his rights against the FCC over a non-remunerative hobby. Therefore the Commission has the power to violate hams' free-speech rights with impunity by, for example, calling it "intentional interference" if they don't like what you say. The FCC Enfarcement Boro has absolute power over amateur radio, and it has corrupted them absolutely.
The same thought experiment leads to the same results if the First Amendment is involved. If a citizen can't enforce his rights against the government, it gives the government absolute power, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.
Because ham radio is non-remunerative in nature, there's nothing a ham can do if the FCC Enfarcement Boro violates his free-speech rights, or violates his procedural rights under the Administrative Procedures Act, because no ham radio operator is ever going to spend the kind of money necessary to vindicate his rights against the FCC over a non-remunerative hobby. Therefore the Commission has the power to violate hams' free-speech rights with impunity by, for example, calling it "intentional interference" if they don't like what you say. The FCC Enfarcement Boro has absolute power over amateur radio, and it has corrupted them absolutely.
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