I am surprised to see very little discussion on this topic in Blogcritics...

Keeping track of the debate over the FCC's proposed regulations regarding media ownership? This week, a boost for independent radio of all kinds: by a vote of 55 to 40, the Republican-led Senate voted to repeal (the Republican-controlled and Bush-supported) FCC regulations that would facilitate the largest U.S. media corporations to expand. Indeed, a slap in the face to FCC Chairman, Michael K. Powell, a close Bush ally. Read your Wired, New York Times, or MSNBC. The implementation of these rules has already been enjoined by the . According to the Wired article:

"Opponents have chosen an unusual legislative path to try to overturn the rules. To succeed, the resolution — called a "congressional veto" — needs majority approval in the Senate and House as well as President Bush's signature. If Bush vetoed the resolution, it would take a two-thirds majority in the House and Senate to override."

Powell's statement? "This resolution, if passed by the House and signed by the president, would only muddy the media regulatory waters. It would bring no clarity to media regulation, only chaos. It would create perverse results, such as a return to looser radio rules permitting greater consolidation. This is a harm the FCC's new media rules were designed to avoid. [....] What is most important is to have the best policies for the American people. I hope the House will take a more considered view of the public interest."

Exactly. And the Senate voted accordingly. This is what Clinton-era FCC chairman Reed Hundt essentially called an extraordinary conservative power grab with potential for longterm deleterious effects on society.