[SFDXA] FCC PROPOSES TAX ON 40 & 75 METERS RANTS

[The Romagni's]

FCC PROPOSES TAX ON 40 & 75 METERS RANTS
By WD0SRI
The FCC is constantly working to make the amateur operators on the ham bands
more efficient and able to support themselves financially. Here’s one idea
being
kicked around the FCC offices and has been leaked out of D.C.:
Proposed Rulemaking: Enact a Tax for use of the airwaves. Like over the road
trucks pay for road use. The FCC has Nicknamed it the “Hot Air Tax.”
Considering the number of hams who spend countless hours on 40 and 80 meter
SSB,
talking about senseless things like politics, the weather, sports, guns,
deer
hunting, personal grudges, hog prices, fishing, coon hunting, trailers,
bigfoot
sightings, beer, bird dogs, tractors, best overalls, hog prices, country
music(Spefically: Should Toby Keith’s Birthday become a national holiday?),
agricultural progress( How’s the corn doing?), Historical discussions (How
did
Deepwater, MO, get named Deepwater?) SEC football, Should the Ozarks become
a
separate DXCC entinity because of shared cultural backgrounds?, and all
Redneck
things not mentioned above.
The proposed Hot Air Tax has been leaked out of the D.C. headquarters and a
Redneck Freedom of Speech League has been formed to combat the proposed Rule
Making actions by the FCC.
The Hot Air Tax suggest giving hams One rant a day on 75 and/or 40 SSB
meters of no more than 15 minutes. Rants on 20 meters would be limited to 10
minutes a day. Other bands would not be affected.
If hams exceed more than one rant a day on the designated bands, an excise
tax would be charged them by the FCC. However, the FCC has not mentioned
how the
tax would be collected or how the general enforcement of the Hot Air Tax
would be
accomplished. One method floating around D.C. is that it would be left to
self
policing of the bands by hams themselves. If this is true, there would be a
run
on cassette recorders in the antique stores and flea markets. Another
method of
monitoring the rants on the bands has suggested that the FCC will be using
AI to
monitor the bands and report on hams who can’t follow the new Rant limits.
Even
though this sounds possible, expert programing of Ozark slang or Redneck
English
would have to programed into the FCC computers. Several hams from Arkansas
and
Missouri with ties to the ARRL have volunteered to help establish a good
data
base for key phrases and words that can be linked to Redneck English
language.
Our own W0DR has been contacted for input on Redneck terminology.
Keep your eyes and ears open on this new proposed Rule Making! Several KCDXC
members could have the Hot Air Tax charged on them. One local club member
has
suggested that my columns in the newsletter could be subject to the Hot Air
Tax?
Anyway, Ya’ll be careful and keep your rants short!
“Speed Limits on CW” will be examined in my next column. -WD0SRI
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