Let's see.....Net neutrality is killed off. Then two largest cable/Intrnet companies merge

[Armstead]

And we the people are just going to sit on the sidelines and let the assholes in Washington waffle and hem and haw and let all this go down?

Wotta country.

[Baitball Blogger]

1. I'm scared too.

[VanillaRhapsody]

2. Al Franken is not standing by...

[Armstead]

3. I hope more do. I woild desperatly prefer that my fatalism and anger be proven wrong.

But experience tells me not to hold my breath.

[sabrina 1]

42. Well, he did write a sternly worded, actually it wasn't that 'stern' more 'concerned' letter.

I guess that will take care of it. People get so excited when a member of Congress, during an election year, writes a sternly worded concerned letter to the Criminals who have taken over this country.

I used to get excited about those sternly worded letters also, but that was a long time ago, AFTER I realized time after time, that nothing came of them.

So, other than a polite letter to express 'concern', what IS being done to stop all of this?

Wikileaks exposed part of what is in the TPP. And guess what, it involves the Internet. No wonder they are trying to hard to keep it all so secret.

Considering the Wikileaks revelations together with this latest merger, seems like it's a done deal and they are just taking care of the details.

There is no question that the Internet is a huge threat to these Corporate criminals. They thought they had done their jobs when they took over the media and then they realized, they had not taken care of the internet.

I am not impressed by sternly worded letters. What else is being done to STOP this?

[VanillaRhapsody]

43. Actually NO.....

http://thelead.blogs.cnn.com/2014/02/13/senator-al-franken-comcast-time-warner-cable-merger/

[sabrina 1]

44. 'No' what?? So he's concerned, so are we all.

He expressed 'concerns'. What does that mean?

"My concerns are what it means for a consumer is higher prices, worse service, and worse choice," said Franken.

That sounds pretty weak, although in an election year it will probably work for SOME people.

I don't hear anything there about what they are going to DO ABOUT IT.

Where is the bill to stop these mergers, to return at least to the standards we had before Clinton allowed all this to happen?

Are you seriously thinking this means anything other than some 'concern' from one Senator?

What have the others said? He doesn't have a magic wand. He can't do anything simply by writing a letter.

I don't get the excitement over this.

It's nice that he's just concerned, but words mean NOTHING as we have learned, over and over again.

Let us know when this merger is stopped. I am willing to bet it will not be. How about you?

[VanillaRhapsody]

45. He is ON Television informing the public of the situation and how it effects them....

He doesn't have the authority himself to do that now does he? Again....a magic wand is expected! Or pixie dust or unicorns or something I don't know. But he appeared and was interviewed and talked about it for a whole segment...helping the public understand the ramifications. He is creating a groundswell...

Besides....I thought you were against "killing the messenger"? (Only in some cases I see)

No good deed goes unpunished huh? I find it quite telling that no matter what ANY Democratic Politician does....even if they seem to agree with them....the same cast of characters will find a way to trash them for it...some sure never seem to have ANY praise to dish out for a Democrat....no matter what.....Sad really

[jsr]

4. Well planned, well protected, well financed.

[Armstead]

6. I try not to be parnoid, but sometimes.....

[TheBlackAdder]

5. Makes me wonder who in Federal Government profited from the stock change?

NJ Motto: No law if ever passed without it benefiting the politicians.

[doc03]

7. You know those SOBs charge $1.99 to rent the DTV box

we bought with the government voucher? I canceled my home phone service yesterday. I
am looking for other TV service. One neighbor has Dish Network and another has Direct TV
they both are satisfied then others say they didn't like it. Comcast used to add a couple channels and raise their rates every year. Now they just raise their rates 4 times the rate of inflation and give you nothing. Comcast is the perfect example of a company that needs busted up. We had better and cheaper service when it was owned by a local company. My bill went from $180 to $191 that's 6% that's 4 times the rate of inflation, I got 1.5% for SS COLA.

[tofuandbeer]

29. I had Dish Network and loved it, but they screwed up my account when we moved so

I went with Time-Warner. Now, I'm going back to Dish Network—or any other. I hope many follow.

[doc03]

30. Did you have trouble with snow, ice and storms knocking your

TV out? My neighbor said he lost his for maybe 5 minutes a time or two before a storm. I have lost my cable many times too when the power goes out or if someone crashes into a utility pole.

[tofuandbeer]

33. Whoops. I'm in Southern California. I didn't think about weather issues.

I'm sure that would be an issue.
Unless our drought knocks it out, we'll be okay. Of course, we also have power outages in the summer—especially during bad droughts.
Anyway, yes, you'll want to find out about weather effects on dishes.

[doc03]

35. Lucky you, I am here in (Siberia) Ohio. The way the weather paterns are

going anymore you may get snow and ice there next winter and we will get a drought.

[tofuandbeer]

47. :D

I think you're onto something there!

[SamKnause]

59. I have very little trouble losing my DirecTV signal.

I live in Ohio.

It happens occasionally but it never last very long.

I had Dish for eight years and have had DirecTV for eight years.

If the electric goes out they pro rate your bill.

Hope that helps.

[Enthusiast]

49. +1 a whole bunch!

[awoke_in_2003]

68. Dish's problem...

is they keep cancelling channels. That is why I have stuck with DirecTV. During rainstorms, however, both will lose signal. I wish the big dishes were still a viable option. My father had an 8 footer, and even with 6 inches of snow in it it still was receiving signal.

[rhett o rick]

8. We get to witness the capitalism Endgame. It should be broadcast live.

With this merger/acquisition we will have 90% of our media controlled by 5 corporations. I think we are down to 5 banks controlling about 90% of our wealth. And of course about 5 corporations control about 90% of our government.

[Armstead]

10. And one party -- the Demopublicans -- are paid by them

And to be clear -- I'm not referring to all Democrats. Plenty of good ones. But they've (we've) been neutered by the corporatists.

[truedelphi]

13. In other words, their plan is working perfectly! n/t

[Enthusiast]

52. And that is the problem. +1 a whole bunch!

[aquart]

37. NO! The parties are not alike.

And it is subversive, death-dealing GARBAGE to say they are.

FUCKING APOLOGIZE.

[VanillaRhapsody]

46. I have to agree...anyone hanging here that thinks like that is stunning to me...

Must be too young to remember the Bush years....only explanation I can come up with!

[Enthusiast]

51. +1 a whole bunch!

Perfectly accurate.

[Enthusiast]

53. Don't apologize! You said,

"And to be clear -- I'm not referring to all Democrats. Plenty of good ones."

How can we expect any improvement if we do not criticize the corporatist behavior we see in Democrats?

[Armstead]

56. I'm ignoring that one...you're right , that person didn't bother to read

[BelgianMadCow]

15. you draw my attention to the fact this thread needs this graph

[Armstead]

18. Very enlightening... That graph should be an OP

Same thing has occurred in media and many other sectors. And its the source of a lot of our present problems.

It's a geometric drip-drip-drip process that's been going on for years. And it pisses me off that very few people -- even so-called Democrats -- seem to give a rats ass about it, even now.

Baaaa, baa, baaaa

[davekriss]

48. Same in almost every vector of our economy

Every vector (industry, service, etc.) is dominated by 1 , 2, maybe 3 big players and are able to extract monopoly rents out of its consumers. Their size allows them to thwart of new threats by underselling them or via destructive acquisition. No Adam Smith invisible hand here (such a quaint concept) - it's rule by the oligarchs, the crony capitalists, and their servants our banana republic in the halls of power (now overtly bought and paid for since Citizens United). We're witnessing monopoly capitalism, the end stage of capitalism. The only question that remains is will it evolve into some kind of neo-fascist-feudalism that serves the few while impoverishing the many, or into something more democratic and egalitarian. My bet is the former comes first before actual class consciousness and social force brings about the latter.

[ananda]

54. it HAS evolved into neo-fascist-feudalism that serves the few while impoverishing the many

imho

[BelgianMadCow]

66. I have to concur

[Enthusiast]

55. +1 a whole bunch!

[BelgianMadCow]

65. davidn3600 made it into an OP along with two other great charts!

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10024497994

[rhett o rick]

24. Do you or anyone have the approx values of each of the big 4? nm

[BelgianMadCow]

64. You will not believe them

we are talking trillions. World GDP is 60 trillion, total size of the derivatives market = somewhere between 600 trillion and 1300 trillion. No, I'm not kidding. I'm trying to remember whether JP Morgan's size was 4 or 40 trillion. I think it all depends on what one does with the so-called shadow banking system. In short, I have to look it up. I think I saw great graphs in Money as Debt.

[rhett o rick]

74. yes I can see that it would be hard to figure. nm

[Marr]

71. I pledge allegiance to the flag of Bank JP/Citichase of America. /nt

[Enthusiast]

50. +1 a whole bunch!

[Triana]

9. NO.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10024494019

[Armstead]

11. I signed it and want to be hopeful it can be stopped

But experience tells me that we're probably just going to take it up the butt yet again.

I hope I'm proven wrong and will do what I can to help.

But sometimes ya just gotta vent.

[countmyvote4real]

25. Here's one for the white house...

and you can see a running count.

https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/stop-comcasttimewarner-cable-merger-and-require-more-competition-cable-industry/ym52vbd4

[KoKo]

67. I signed the FREE PRESS one...and commented..

I haven't signed a petition in a long time..but, I'm hopeful there are enough action groups involved that this petition will get notice and some kind of action.

"Common Cause" and other groups have petitions going....so that's a huge coordinated effort.

[woo me with science]

12. Corporate fascism seizing control of information and communication.

This is not politics as usual. We are witnessing the murder of our representative, democratic system of government by the corporatists who have seized control of it. They have been systematically destroying every avenue for the people to fight back against nascent fascism: the right to assemble and protest, our free press, the right to private communication, protections for whistleblowers and journalists...

We lose control of information and communication, and there is little hope of ever reclaiming this country.

[Armstead]

14. Yep. I wouldn't have thought that way a few yers ago, but today...?

[Enthusiast]

58. You are exactly correct (again). +1 a whole bunch.

[NorthCarolina]

16. You think TPTB in DC really care what any of us think?

Gerrymandered districts, bought politicians on both sides of the aisle, a public media that does their bidding, and even paid shills on sites such as this to harass and belittle those who dare post against the status quo. I'm not being defeatist, I'm just being realistic. Communist Russia would have been proud of how far we have come....or fallen as the case may be.

[Armstead]

17. We should make them care....But we won't

Baaaaa, baaaa, baaaa

[NorthCarolina]

19. How?

People living from paycheck to paycheck just to scrape by....they going to take time off work to form a protest and lose what little they currently have? TPTB have us by the collective balls...just as intended.

[Armstead]

20. A little more attention to that and less to trivial circuses would help

I won't idealize the past. But comparatively, people used to care more. And that at least kept these bastids somewhat in line.

But along about 1980, people got brainwashed by corporate propaganda and stopped giving a shit. Some went nuts and became right wing nuts, some helped to drain the blood out of the Democratic Party and a majority just went to sleep and got super self-centered.

We collectively could do something, even those who are stretched. It's happened before in history. But the level of wrongheadness and/or blissed-out ignorance is formidable I must admit.

[NorthCarolina]

22. I honestly think

it probably cannot be changed until such time as it all comes crashing down.

[Armstead]

23. I hope you're wrong, but I fear you may be correct

[NorthCarolina]

26. Look ahead to 2016 and what do you see?

You will be allowed to choose between Hillary Clinton or Jeb Bush, either of which are in the pockets of Walls St. Any candidate that could challenge the status quo, and truly work on behalf of the people are instantly dismissed as "unelectable". Unelectable? Really? Obviously not true, but we would never, ever, be given the chance to see. Everything is so choreographed, with outcomes predetermined years in advance. Our visible government is simply a sideshow for the people.

[Armstead]

28. I half agree with you

It can make a difference, and people could change that...But we're such a bunch of losers we won't exercise our collective muscles.

Sorry, that sounds self-righteous, and I'm probably as guilty as anyone. But our tendency as a society to hit ourselves over the heads with hammers that we hold is astonishingly stupid.

[NorthCarolina]

31. Sure, the country could stage a write-in vote in 2016 for a populist

like Sanders or Warren, but even if the people were somehow able to create such a mass movement through social media and the like, the results would absolutely be challenged and the results ruled invalid by the Supreme Court, and the intended Wall St. candidate would be supplanted by fiat.

[BelgianMadCow]

72. see also: parachuting in of Goldman-Sachs boys Papademos in Greece and Monti in Italy

enough said.

[NorthCarolina]

73. Interesting

Never heard anything of this before....quite an eye opener. Am I surprised? Not really.

[SoapBox]

21. I'll second your post!

[Rex]

27. YEP.

So long, nice knowing ya Intertubes!

[workinclasszero]

32. I'm sure its all just a big coincidence

Everyone knows the cable gangsters are only looking out for their fellow Americans.

Number one cable monopoly gobbled up the number two cable monopoly.

What could possibly go wrong?

[tofuandbeer]

34. The 1% can't get things done honestly, so they must steal the country.

[City Lights]

36. USA!USA!USA!

We r awsum!

[jtuck004]

38. Probably ought to figure out a way to cost "them" something, to get their attention. Else

Here.

[Armstead]

40. Well we've been the vigilnte deer for a while now

Get patted on the head and told to go home now

[Octafish]

39. If only we had majorities in both Houses...uh...

Didn't matter, anyway. The Administration didn't need anything to strip the Fairness Doctrine from the FCC books.

Obama FCC Kills 'Fairness Doctrine' Dead, As Requested by Congressional Republicans

By BRAD FRIEDMAN on 8/22/2011, 3:35pm PT

In apparent response to GOP leaders of the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee who requested in June that Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chair Julius Genachowski "strike the Fairness Doctrine from the agency's rulebook," the former corporate media executive has announced exactly that today, striking the rule, and 82 others, from the official FCC rulebook...

SNIP...

Ending enforcement of the Fairness Doctrine, which had served the nation well since the early days of radio in 1949, paved the way for Rush Limbaugh and other hard right commentators to use the public airwaves as little more than a one-sided propaganda tool. The situation was exacerbated by the Telecommunications Act of 1996, as signed by President Bill Clinton, under the pretense that it would allow for greater competition in the broadcast media market. The act allowed for virtually unrestricted corporate ownership of local radio and television stations and ultimately gave a handful of corporate outlets unfettered control of almost all of the nation's limited broadcast bandwidth.

CONTINUED...

http://www.bradblog.com/?p=8689

Washington, We the People have a problem. You've forgotten who you work for.

[MisterP]

41. yes, we will--by creaming stadiums full, by years of benefit of the doubt

until the next election--and then it's time for more lemminglike GOTV

[lapfog_1]

57. I am thinking about creating a alternate internet backbone

but the issue is how to either hide (VPN) the last mile connection to sites the PTB don't like... and / or to piggy back traffic on the standard internet masquerading as traffic to/from sites that the PTB like...

Because I think net neutrality is dead. Neither party can stand up to corporations like Comcast

[RAM49]

60. CUT THE CABLE...

HAD COX... HAD DIRECT TV... GOT WIFI... GOT ROKU ... the best $50 I ever
spent...on demand entertainment... when I want it... screw them ALL!

[Armstead]

61. Problem is same cable companies own the internet pipes

And the cable/internet Oligarchs have made it so you cant watch live news in the net.

The problem is we're handing these bastids control over EVERYTHING.

No escape, unless its tin cans on a string.

[tridim]

62. From what I gather the entire Internet is very upset about this.

I don't think people are sitting on the sidelines at all.

[Armstead]

63. That's good and I hope it will be enough to stop it....but...

The Internet is always upset. It's going to take enough average people to put enough pressure on enough politicians and officials to actually block it.

And by block I mean STOP it...not the usual "We'll allow you to take over an entire industry if you promise to behave."

[adavid]

69. So, who was the....

President that did away with the consumer-friendly law known as The Sherman Anti-Trust Act?
You know, the one that forbid large mergers and acquisitions?

[Armstead]

70. Unfortunately President Carter got the anti anti-trust ball rolling

An early champion of deregulation, and the assumption that markets would correct themselves.

[Loaded Liberal Dem]

75. And then there were...

?

[SamKnause]

76. How can we organize a nationwide cancellation day ???

If the citizens of the U.S. would pick a day to cancel their cable, internet, satellite service, and cell phone service we could bring these corporations to their knees.

Would billboards, Facebook, or YouTube be the answer ?

If all Americans canceled their service for one month can you imagine the change that we could force on these monstrosities.

Alas, it will never happen.

The citizens of the U.S. are not known for sticking together, or sticking up for their rights.

I'm in, anyone else ??????