Yes, Virginia... There is Still a TCS!

Yes, Virginia, there is still

The Crystal Ship on Shortwave!

November 2, 2015

October 27, 2015

October 12, 2015

September 16, 2015

September 14, 2015

September 11, 2015

September 7, 2015

September 4, 2015

(and a bunch of more recent dates we are too lazy to add to this,  just now)

 

 

 

 

 

There is just No Cigar.

We will make no further public comment

on any recent matters of very little importance

citing people who really could not care less,

other than to say that we shall continue to

FIGHT For FREE RADIO

in the present, and in the future,

just as we have done since 1982,

because there is NO alternative to

Freedom Of The Airwaves!

 

Happy Holidays!

TCS Whack-A-Mole, Or, "It Ain't Me, Babe!"

FCC Enforcement Chief Envisions World with "no pirates on the airwaves".  (Sounds pretty damned boring there, Travis!)

“We need to think about when we take action that [the pirate] is actually off the air and things to prevent pirates ever getting on the air. We want to get to a world where there are no pirates on the airwaves,” said  FCC Enforcement Bureau Chief Travis LeBlanc.

He likened fighting pirates to playing whack-a-mole, where the agency gets a pirate off the air and then he pops up again six months later.
http://www.radioworld.com/article/leblancs-goal-is-no-pirates/275622



We Think Your Plans Are A Tad Too Ambitious....

Let's face it:  You guys SUCK at this!  Perhaps this would be more your speed:

Mattel Whack-A-Mole Arcade

 

 

 

We'd Like To Dedicate This Song to Travis LeBlanc,

James Bridgewater, and the rest of you FCC Fascists!

 

 

 

* * * * * *

 

How About A New Plan?

 

Quit wasting time and money chasing radio pirates, and EMBRACE FREEDOM!

 

 

Pirate Fines Are Often Tough to Collect, Or, "Askin' ain't Gettin' "

While the following article initially appeared several years ago in 'Radio World', an organ of the licensed broadcast industry, it is still a very good source of information for pirate radio station operators who are concerned with the possible vs. likely consequences of being caught running a pirate radio station by the FCC.

It should be noted that standard operating procedure for the F.C.C. currently is to issue a warning to the offending operator on a first offense, usually a "Notice of Unlicensed Operation" warning the operator to "cease and desist" operating the unlicensed station  (such as was received by The Crystal Ship back in 2011).   It is usually only after the op has been caught in continued unlicensed operations after at least one warning, that the FCC will  attempt issuing a fine to the offending station, called a "Notice of Apparant Liability".

As the following article will explain, these fine notices against pirate radio operators often aren't worth the paper they are printed on... (thus, "Askin' ain't Gettin' " ~ John Poet)

Pirate Fines Are Often Tough to Collect  
by Randy J. Stine
on 11.17.2011

WASHINGTON — While the FCC Enforcement Bureau tally of fines against “pirate” operators has grown steadily this year, it is hard to know how many of those fines will ever be collected.

In fact, broadcast industry people familiar with commission practices believe the FCC likely fails to collect a majority of pirate fines.

Once the commission starts to go after an alleged illegal operator, things get complicated. It’s not easy to collect money from what often turn out to be fly-by-night operations. And in tight economic times, when federal agencies face budget constraints, authorities must decide how far to go to collect a relative pittance.

One problem lies in the fact that the FCC needs an outside agency help to get an enforcement action to stick, observers said. The commission can assess fines on an unlicensed broadcaster, but it must engage the services of the United States Department of Justice to file a civil claim for the judgment rendered, according to the Communications Act of 1934.

Read More Here:
http://www.radioworld.com/article/pirate-fines-are-often-tough-to-collect/24837

TCS Shortwave Relay Stations Rock Listeners from Newfoundland to Hawaii in Saturday Night TCS Marathon!

'In the Court of the Crimson King' Album cover

By John Poet

In an unprecedented night of  back-to-back relays of multiple TCS shows, listeners from Newfoundland to Hawaii and uncounted points between were pummeled with Rock 'n Roll in two different programs from The Crystal Ship, broadcasted on the TCS Shortwave Relay Network.  The shows went on for over three hours.

It began around 0115 UTC on March 10th (local Saturday night), on 6930 kHz USB, with an unidentified relay station keying up with Judas Priest's "Breakin the law", after which began the airing of  "The Crystal Ship's Rock 'n Roll Art Show", ( here and here).  This show was heard over wide areas with fairly strong signals.  Among listeners' comments on the signal quality were "S9, but a really fat S9 - really sounding great" and "Killer signal in MO. seriously ...a really great sounding signal".

Cover art from 'Yes'

The Week Before The Congressional Christmas...................... And The Day After Mine

 

 

Congressional “Twas The Night Before Christmas”

"Twas the week before Christmas and those sly little elves,
Our congressmen, labored to better themselves.
They cared not a whit what the public might think
"Let them eat cake," some said with a wink.

And putting their thumbs to the tip of their nose,
they waved as they shouted "Anything goes!"
They scoffed at the thought that we might object,
to a tax cut for the wealthy of a posh percent.

They've got prerequisites-franking, per diem, and more --
bargain-priced haircuts and gyms (three or four!)
Paid speaking engagements and meals on the cuff,
celebrity status -- (they've sure got it tough!),

Yet they claim they're in touch with the man on the street,
as John Q. Public struggles to make both ends meet.
If all workers decided what they were due,
they'd be getting those fat paychecks too!

But while we take cutbacks or raises quite small,
and one out of 20 has no job at all,
our millionaire Congress decides on the budget
land trimming Medicare and Medicaid will do it, they say.

In this season for giving, our Congress is taking.
We've had it with them and our backs are breaking.
With hard times, disasters, and layoffs on our dockets,
we bit the bullet and they fill their pockets!

Oh jobless, oh homeless, oh desperate and needy -
dare anyone say our Congress is greedy?
If in this feeling I'm not alone,
take up your pen or pick up your phone.

As dry leaves before the wild hurricane fly,
let the road of your anger mount to the sky.
Indignant, outraged, appalled and beset
let your congressman know that you won't forget!
When election times comes -- and certain it will --
you're voting him out for passing that bill.

More rapid than eagles, their elections assured
they toasted each other and laughed at the herd.
And I heard them exclaim with adjournment at hand,
"Merry Christmas to us, and the public be damned!

Tax The Rich... an animated fairy tale; and the Ghost of Reagan Joins Forces with Obama!

 

 

(Narrated by Ed Asner)


Dr. Seuss lied.  The Grinch's heart is actually getting smaller all the time.

Even President Ronald Reagan thought that the rich shouldn't get away with paying lower tax rates than blue-collar workers...

If he were President today and said that, my guess is he'd get primaried by the TeaBaggers...

(Yeah, I know what I just called them)