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How Much Free Speech Can You Afford

The Supreme Court has not only re affirmed a 2003 decision that money some how equates to free speech, they took the limits off how much money can be free speech.

At the root of the debate is how much money a Corporations can spend on election campaigns of political officials.

Now first keeping mind that it is very hard to track just how much money a company pushes into a election issue, yes, I said issue as they care not for the candidate, just for who will prevent anything that will keep them from doing what they want and or help them put up regulation to keep small business (who run much leaner) from being able to get a grip on their market because they have built a better mouse trap.

This also has the effect of Some company’s basically silencing small company’s let alone the taxpayer… How Much Free Speech Can You Afford? They can afford to buy all the air-time of all the media. Even easier, many of them own their own media, many more have control of them via the services they offer (ie the banks) can you ?

I should say that not all company’s are guilty of this but I only need to say the the bank lobby, the health insurance lobby for you to understand the kind of grip they have already had on congress alone.

This hard to track money will most likely be filtered to other groups like Chambers of Commerce or folks you never have herd of that say they act in your (citizen/taxpayer) interest for promotion into campaigns.

One large problem with reforming any of this “with law” is that the current system will not allow for it with the current level of Influence The FREE SPEECH OF Company’s presently enjoy and the fact that Company’s have been given the same rights as Citizens.

As far as I am concerned, Corporations have as much free speech as the employees that own and work for them. How many votes is that.

I am reminded of a old phrase I once touted in High School,

“It Said We The People, Not We The Corporations”

So How Much Free Speech Can You Afford?

I also remember the history of Supreme Court Rulings that took away some states rules that voting rights only for those that owned land was not allowed under the constitution. Are we headed back to those times? Company’s may have the same rights under current law but they are still not people. So how is this different than a vote per acre of land?

Corporate charters specifically state that the charter is issued only on the premise that it is in the public’s interest to provide protection not afforded an individual. So who is to be serving who here? It is clear on the issue of that charter that they are given special rights not afforded a citizen.

In the current climate, I would like to take issue with the fact the Congress Listens with their wallet until we can find a way to change this failed ruling. Those in congress need to know we are watching close but the reality is with so much dis-information out there now, I just can’t see how the average person can sift through it without a good investigative journalism in the nation, also a result of large merger activity and lobbying.

California Mud Slides May Have Been Preventable

I am surprised the greenest state in the union has not yet learned anything from these events in the past.

As it has been their history the mud slides get started after a large wildfire clears out major areas of forest and brush and with nothing to absorb a major rainfall and nothing holding the ground back, the water is shed and eventually starts to move more and more earth with it.

After a major Wildfire is over, a simple program of re-seeding it with grasses and some of the natural trees that were there in the first place would solve this problem. A major undertaking it is but look at the cost of the failure to act.

Additionally, selective cutting of forest areas to allow for fire breaks would stop or limit the wildfires and/or increase the ability of firefighter to get control.

However sorry I am for those affected, It is you state and taxes, but do not ask for my help or taxes when you have done nothing to help yourself.

Massachusetts Senate Upset About Health Care? Yes, but Not Like You Think

So the Republicans putting their spin on the surprise win and loss of Democratic control of Ted Kennedy’s former seat in a special election are telling everyone it is about Obama Health care that the public is rejecting.

Well, They are right, it is about health care but that is because the state of Massachusetts passed their own health care that is very good some years ago. In fact it is much better than either of the proposed plans in the House or Senate.

The people spoke all right, They want something as good as what they have and this was the the main issue of the Republican Challenger that won the seat.

In my opinion, as I have stated before, they will never get a good bill passed as a package. They need to do it a measure at a time.

I do hope they have a plan for a 100% Public System that can be deployed rapidly as we are going to need it when the insurance companies either go belly-up or refuse to cover anyone with a cold. They are in not much better shape than the banks and the baby boomers have come to age, So just like the medicare system, it is severely under strain as more will be going out than coming in most especially with a weak economy that has no hope of seeing unemployment rates below 5% in the next 3 years.

Why Tiger Woods Kept The Headline More Than A Week !

First, it must be said, I find it insulting that with as much turmoil in the world and in this country that a golfer can be the most news worthy event for more than a week.

So, instead of switching the TV off and the WEB ON to get the news I was looking for, I watch with curiosity and the above point in mind.

Result:

It is because it is cheap news (if news at all). How did I draw that conclusion?

Every day the news story was the same with the addition of a few rumers added to that days mix and all the footage was “file footage” (stuff they had already) so no camera crews to pay for new video. In fact every day the file footage they used in a backdrop of the story was the same. Show him golfing, show his wife and the two together and the wrecked car.

This leaves the networks with a huge profit for the days broadcast as they make Millions for doing nothing more that showing old footage and talking about rumors.

Were the people buying it… I guess they were as I seem to be the only one complaining.

I expert more from a network news cast and they wonder why everyone is turning to the web !

Yep, they just don’t get it.

I do not want them to tell me what I want to hear or tell me what they think I want to hear. If it is branded with “NEWS”, I think it should be structured on whether it will change my life in order of precedents.

I’m not sure Walter Cronkite would have had this on his news but if he did, it would have been a mention (15sec) late in his news and only one time.

I do not know what Tigers problem is and I do not really care, it’s a private matter and it does not change my moot day !

Michael Lewis Slams Wall Street’s Political Infuluence

This Clip is several months old. It just did not make its way through the media.

Comcast, GE & Content – Can’t manage your super merged company so merge some more!

We are all so sick of hearing these mega mergers and acquisitions and the few that believe in them are folks that have a vested interest. They will do a very good job selling this to you but you will regret it in latter years.

Lets try to put some perspective on this.

Why should content be owned by content delivery company’s in the first place. How do they maintain non preference for what is delivered to consumers who have little if no choice by now. Of course the cat was out of the bag with DirectTV and MediaCorp. A deal that should be broken-up but sets some president on this deal. Is this not the way we busted a monopoly on the power company’s ? They had regulated pricing but this is not.

Do we really have Net Neutrality laws that would they stop Comcast from putting a choke on ABC, CNN, CBS digital media content outside of the internet. How about preferred channel line-up. What happens if they do not want to carry others content in cable TV or want to charge them to distribute it. Comcast has been notorious for this now charging content provider for distribution and customers for mandatory subscription of what was paid to be distributed. What do you think the future holds with this merger?

How about a media content neutrality law ?

It always comes to be that the consumer will come to loose in a media deal such as this. Don’t get it. How much was your Comcast bill 5 years ago. You are getting less and its costing you more. It has just been hidden by way of re-arranging the channel line-up each time. Now look back 10 years. It is you that has paid for this merger and will continue to pay even more in the future.

Truth is GE really does not know what it is doing in media content in the first place but they have been looking for a partner who at least thinks they do. Trying to turn a bad acquisition into a good one with more acquisition. Just like the banks have been doing along with the airlines, insurance and energy company’s just to name a few.

Once again we are allowing large company’s that if they should fail, will have major consequences for consumers as so few places to go.

These deals are less about building a better product than the money that can be generated by large control and this money will not go back to the shareholders, only line the pockets of a few insiders who make the deals.

So unless I want to watch the few digital local channels on direct air-wave broadcast that practically has no content left from previous mergers, I will be watching content from one of 4 media giants and in the case of some may be listening to the same when it comes to radio or reading some of the newspapers.

There is no such thing as a good merger. Tell’m to build a better product if they want more market share!

If we take a broader perspective as this is likely to go though with little resistance except for a few face saving statements by the FCC.

It keeps coming back to the internet.

Let’m have all these super media companies. No bail-out money when they fail. They have already put many out of work with merger after meger in the first place. And soon when the Internet takes them on, They really have no monopoly except on content. We should soon see Internet only content being delivered soon as there is a bunch out there now and I can hear them scream for some kind of protection when the new directors and producers of this millennium come to bear fruit on the internet without major mega company distribution control!

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