America, don't let these happen

There are two purchases that have been proposed, that are pending, that absolutely, without question, should not happen and that will only end up hurting you, hurting us, hurting America. These two purchases will do nothing but make extremely large, already-powerful companies even larger and do nothing but hurt competition here in the country and hurt you and me, hurt our pocketbooks.  They are:

Time Warner Cable to Merge with Comcast Corporation

AT&T pursues $50B DirecTV deal

There is already far too little competition for internet and TV services. These purchases, if allowed to occur, will shrink it down even further.

The only winners are the large corporations and the executives at them.

Fight these America.

If you know what's good for you.

For more information, read this:

Big Telecom: Proposed Mergers Will Test Companies' Relationships in Washington

Proof the Time Warner-Comcast merger shouldn't go through

So there is a proposal that the two telecommunications giants, Time Warner and Comcast should merge and there is no better example of why these two shouldn't merge than the upstart T-Mobile and their story:

T-Mobile Turns an Industry on Its Ear

The fourth-ranking carrier blew up the rules on smartphones and wireless contracts, to the benefit of many consumers.

Little, fourth-placed T-Mobile needs to get more customers and business, so what happens?

They lower their prices and come out swinging.

And what happens?

They get more business.

And who won, because of it?

You and me. The consumers.

If the Time-Warner/Comcast merger goes through, not only do the customers of these two companies lose and they likely get higher prices, but it's better for every other big telecommunications company. You know, like the biggest one? The one on the Fortune 500 list that rhymes with Bay Dee and Dee?  Yeah, that one. They win big, too.

Fewer companies, vying for the same customers.

Us.

If it goes through, folks, it's one more way we, as consumers, are screwed.

If you're not already against this possible merger, you should be.

Things that will change--greatly--with the next generations

I've noticed a few things about the preferences of the next, younger generations, that are different--vastly different--from the way America and Americans are now. There will be big changes with the coming younger people. Whole economies will be turned upside down, if not eliminated entirely:

First thing I noticed is that they have vastly, vastly different preferences for ways to spend their time. Nowhere is this more true than when it comes to computers and television.

The younger the person, the less likely they are to watch TV, period. At least, they don't watch it on a television set.  Instead, they spend far more of their time--frequently all their spare time--on their computers.

That's a big change in and of itself.

A second part of that is that they don't need or want "cable TV." They wouldn't even think of paying for a TV subscription, let alone what it costs at present.

Those factors alone will bode hugely in change and changes for TV providers like Cox, Time Warner Cable®, Comcast, AT&T® and the like. They will have to transform themselves greatly in just a few short years. Big changes are going to come.

Second, or, in a way, thirdly, a big change is that younger people want and own fewer cars. As in none, in many cases. That will mean huge changes in transportation for our country, certainly.  Maybe more car poolers?  Mass transportation?  It seems likely.

Third, not only will entire industries be racked by change, with some, lots, maybe, even likely, entire cities and towns will also be racked by change. One city right now is going through such a change, with no optimistic outcome in sight.

That city is Branson, Missouri.

Formerly, millions of dollars were made, rather famously, on the idea of people driving or busing into that city in order to see the various shows, performers, singers and other acts at this Northwest Arkansas hamlet.

No longer.

Last Summer, the again famous "Shepherd of the Hills" show closed after decades of performances.

Branson seems to be next.

The senior citizens that formerly used to stream through the city have either seen enough of the shows or, worse, they're literally dying. From what I understand, the theaters down there are quietly for sale, behind the scenes. It seems they can be bought for fractions of what they were once worth. It stands to reason. The younger people don't want to and will not be going there for their entertainment. It's in no way their style entertainment.

Side note:  If the Walton family, of the Walmart fortune, know what's good for them and Northwest Arkansas, they would step up, pony in some big money---they can easily and well afford---and try to get set up an artist's colony-type arrangement in the town and area, much like Asheville, North Carolina has now. I think it could help the burg and that area transition to a better, newer, functioning, surviving, even thriving area and economy. If they don't or someone doesn't, I'd look for Branson, one day, and possibly, very likely one day very soon, to be a rather hollowed-out, sad and run down place of yesteryear unless they or someone very like them--Tyson Foods? someone--steps in.

We shall see, of course, on all.

Notes on Keith Olbermann and his new gig

First, yeah, he has a new gig.

Keith Olbermann just signed a deal, apparently, with "Current TV" (ever heard of them?  I hadn't) so he'll be back on the air.

Second, it seems Keith had to get a dig in on MSNBC, right out of the chute, so to speak: 

"Nothing is more vital to a free America than a free media," Olbermann told reporters Tuesday. "And nothing is more vital to my concept of a free media than news that is produced independent of corporate interference."

That is surely a dig on his old place of residence--MSNBC.  It may mean because they were owned by GE or, more likely I think, because they were just bought by Comcast.

Third,  that whole thing about a "free media" and being "produced independent of corporate interference" is a bit of a hoot since Current TV is the " public affairs network founded in 2005 by Al Gore and Joel Hyatt."

Don't look for the Conservative and/or Republican sides to be espoused on this channel or show, ala' "Point/Counterpoint" like we used to see on the old "60 Minutes" program.  I'm not saying it should be, given the Fox "News" channel and all but it isn't that this station will try to show a balance on issues, either.

Next, there's this point:

Olbermann called the move to Current his "most exciting venture" in a decades-long television career that's included stops at CNN, ESPN, Fox Sports, and MSNBC (twice!). He described Current as "one of the fastest-growing television networks in history."


Yeah, right, fastest-growin television networks in history.

If you ignore the Spanish television channel, Telemundo it might be.  Maybe.  I guess.

More from the article:  Current is available in 60 million households. Gore, on the conference call, suggested that Current has a larger potential audience than MSNBC had when Olbermann launched "Countdown" in 2003. (MSNBC, however, was available in over 78 million homes then and 95 million now). Current is also available in 15 million households outside the United States.


Yeah. 
Finally, there's this:

Olbermann didn't hold back his political views on "Countdown," but he got into trouble in November after donating to three Democratic candidates in without alerting MSNBC's management. Those contributions led to a brief, November suspension that set the stage for his departure a couple months later.
Gore said that Olbermann, along with other Current employees, is free to contribute to political campaigns as long as the donations are disclosed.
As I recall, that was the rule at MSNBC, too, wasn't it, Mr. O?

Enough to make you at least smile, if not laugh.

Anyway, I'm all for him and Mr. Gore and the station.  Good luck to them.  I hope it works.

Unlike "Air America" on radio.

Links:  http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_thecutline/20110208/ts_yblog_thecutline/olbermann-launching-primetime-current-tv-show-this-spring
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telemundo

Farewell, Mr. Olbermann

Farewell, Mr. Olbermann.  I appreciate what you've done.

I took up watching you and "Countdown" as my effort to keep abreast of the way the George W. Bush administration was taking our country apart.  While too frequently sanctimonious (yes, honestly), we shared a great deal of opinions on current events.  I know a lot of us out here want to believe you'll be back, somewhere on some station, doing similar work and very soon.  We wish you all the best.

At least we still have Rachel Maddow.

Corporations win again. America? You lose

It's happened again.

First it was the Supreme Court handing over the capability to flood government election campaigns with unlimited amounts of corporate cash, now, yesterday, a federal court ruled in favor of corporations, this time regarding internet access :

"A federal appeals court ruled on Tuesday that regulators had limited power over Web traffic under current law. The decision will allow Internet service companies to block or slow specific sites and charge video sites like YouTube to deliver their content faster to users."

"The court decision was a setback to efforts by the Federal Communications Commission to require companies to give Web users equal access to all content, even if some of that content is clogging the network."

I've written here before how, years ago, it used to be the government's job to protect both the "little guy"--you and me out here in the country--as well as the broader interests of the country, against the corporations.

It is certainly less and less so lately.

With this ruling yesterday, a couple of things have come out.

First, it effectively strips the power of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to regulate the internet and all our access to it. If a corporation finds it in their best interest to slow internet access down, according to this ruling, they can do it.

That's bad for you and me but it's also bad, truly, for business.

In the rest of the world--Japan as an example, in particular--fast computer access is more of a given. The US is already known for having slower computer downloading and access.

This gives the companies the ability to give fast loading to those who can and will pay for it. Quick internet access to the highest bidder.

Typical, right? Computer capitalism. It's the "American Way", even if it is, at its core, unfair, imbalanced and, again, bad for the country, let alone bad for you and I--and small business.

It's clear this is what it's come to--more and more, the courts rule for the corporations and against the broader interests of the country, as I said above.

In this latest case, Comcast won while you and I and the US lost.

Let there be no doubt--the corporations are in control.

We need to take our country back from them.

Ralph Nader has been warning us for decades.

Online petitions

Okay, now I got sent a petition to "Stop the NBC-Comcast Merger" and it's oh-so-important.


Do we really think we're changing anything by signing and sending these things?

Really?