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Sunday, Nov 8, 2009
Ewww? if those two don't stop that I will post the second version of "I Am The Very Model of a Modern Libertarian" and mention the name.
Reclaiming the CommonsWhy we need to protect our public resources from private encroachment.*
David Bollier
They hang the man and flog the woman
That steal the goose from off the common,
But let the greater villain loose
That steals the common from the goose.
—English folk poem, circa 1764
http://bostonreview.net/BR27.3/bollier.html
Just read it. It covers all this.
I agree that your question is legitimate, and calling what Comcast did censorship does muddy the water, no doubt about it. Still, the link to the fired on-air guy really serves only to demonstrate Comcast's intent, which is to prevent, to the extent that it can, public discussion of topics which its owners would prefer weren't discussed. Glenn is describing the problem, not the solution. As such, his description is valid even without the details you're inquiring about.
Remedies are another matter. None seem to exist at the moment, largely because the public isn't engaged. Glenn is trying to engage the public. Isn't it incumbent on us, who presumably also see the problem, to suggest solutions? It seems like a job for all us good and true UT commenters to me....
This is a seminar, not a lecture. Fire your entire broadside at once, and you may sink the S.S. Libertarian, but you'll scare away all the the fish.
and who doesn't appear to be experiencing agonies of Unitarian contrition.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/photo/postphotos/orb/style/2007-10-18/1.htm
"They thought just because we're old enough to get Social Security that we lack both brains and backbone."
Taking a Whack Against Comcast
Mona Shaw Reached Her Breaking Point, Then for Her HammerBy Neely Tucker
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, October 18, 2007; Page C01[...] She is a nice lady who lives in a nice house. She and Don are both retired from the Air Force (she was a registered nurse). They have been married 45 years. She is secretary of the local AARP, secretary of a square-dancing club and takes in strays for the local animal shelter (they have seven dogs at the moment). She has a heart condition. She lifts weights at a local gym. The couple attend a Unitarian Universalist church. [...]
See also: http://youtube.com/watch?v=v0PzNqXQMqk
Reputation for poor customer satisfaction
There have been many reported incidents with individual customers describing less than satisfying interactions with Comcast's customer services. These include situations with technicians falling asleep on the job,[15] customers having to spend hours on the phone to fix simple problems, and sending a bill addressed to "Bitch Dog" to a customer who had recently complained about her service.[16] On October 15, 2007, a 75-year old Comcast customer named Mona Shaw entered her local Comcast offices with a hammer and destroyed some office equipment before being arrested and fined for damages. Mrs. Shaw was angry and frustrated due to a previous encounter with Comcast customer service in which she and her husband wanted to speak with the manager and were forced to wait outside the offices for two hours before being informed that the manager had already gone home.[17][18] Comcast's customer service quality has prompted several individuals to create blogs and websites dedicated to informing the public of Comcast's service, including media columnist Bob Garfield's website, ComcastMustDie.com,,[19] ComcastSucks.org,,[20] Com Craptic.com, [21] and the online community, FuckComcast.com.[22]
In 2004 and 2007, the American Customer Satisfaction Index survey found that Comcast had the worst customer satisfaction rating of any company or government agency in the country, including the Internal Revenue Service.[23] Comcast's Customer Service Rating by the ACSI surveys indicate that the company's customer service has not improved since the surveys began in 2001. Analysis of the surveys states that "Comcast is one of the lowest scoring companies in ACSI. As its customer satisfaction eroded by 7% over the past year, revenue increased by 12%." The ACSI analysis also addresses this contradiction, stating that "Such pricing power usually comes with some level of monopoly protection and most cable companies have little competition at the local level. This also means that a cable company can do well financially even though its customers are not particularly satisfied."[24][25]
* Omooex has a substantial point. I'd like to see it addressed myself.
* Here is video of Maxine Waters threatening to socializ... er,
nationalize the oil industry. Much like I'm sure the peanut gallery
here would like to do to the broadcasters.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KN6s1KVFBNg&feature=related
* Air America no longer airs in New York. Consolidation happens for various reasons, not the least of which is that it's harder to run a business than most here know.
While you all were discussing your ad campaign aimed at one bad Democrat, a true patriot spent four and a half hours yesterday submitting articles of impeachment for the purpose of impeaching the criminal Bush. Anybody feel like supporting Kucinich in his effort or is he just not "serious" enough for you all? Are you going to get behind this Glenn?
What the Internet provider should be selling you is a committed bandwidth rate - which is a guaranteed bandwidth, you will alway s have at least that much throughput - and a burstable rate, which is the maximum throughput you can have in ideal conditions. The 5Mbps that is hyped today is the burstable rate.
It is that simple. E.g., I buy from the provider a 5 Mpbs connection with say, 40% real time class of service, i.e, 2 Mbps. The provider charges me accordingly and also engineers its network based on the agregate of such connections purchased by people in my neighborhood. What I do with the 2 Mbps real time class of service is no concern of the provider's.
My God, CBS and NBC refused to run ads for a church in 2004!
Wow. You finally caught on, Sh**ter. We thought that was a scuzbucket thing to do as well.
But it wasn't even political.
Cheers,
Much of the initial coverage about Fort Hood turned out to be wrong. Is there anything wrong with that?
The accountability imposed by another country for the CIA's kidnapping and torture reveals much about our own.
Fox News' morning show plays to type, talking about whether Muslims in the Army should face "special debriefings"
The survivor and author is upset about comparisons some on the right are making to genocide
Once seen as a lunatic fringe, reactionary anti-women groups are courting respectability
Salon headlines in your mailbox
