November 2010

Comcast is at it again:

Level 3 Communications Inc., an Internet backbone company that supports Netflix Inc.'s increasingly popular movie streaming service, complained Monday that cable giant Comcast Corp. is charging it an unfair fee for the right to send data to its subscribers.

Comcast replied it is being swamped by a flood of data and needs to be paid.

Level 3 said it agreed to pay under protest, but that the fee violates the principles of an "open Internet." It also goes against the Federal Communications Commission's proposed rules preventing broadband Internet providers from favoring certain types of traffic, it said.

This is the exact reason that we need net neutrality. It also hits at the heart of what should be anti-trust laws. Consider the fact that Comcast isn’t only the largest residential internet provider in the country, but also the largest cable provider. Cable companies have seen a huge decline in subscriptions in recent years while companies like NetFlix have experienced huge growth. This is Comcast’s attempt to squash the competition and the Justice Department and FTC should get involved right away.

A little something more to give thanks for tomorrow as Tom Delay was just found guilty of money laundering:

A Travis County jury today found former U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay guilty of political money laundering charges relating to a corporate money swap in the 2002 elections.

The verdict came down five years after DeLay was forced to step down as the second most powerful Republican in the U.S. House. The charges also led DeLay to resign from his Sugar Land congressional seat in 2006.

DeLay was accused of money laundering and conspiracy to commit money laundering. On the conspiracy charge, DeLay faces a sentence of two to 20 years in prison and five to 99 years or life in prison on the money laundering count.

So we now find out that it wasn’t the “criminalization of politics”, but rather the “criminalization of breaking the law”.

John Boehner has said that they are listening to the people, so will they listen to this poll?

A 53% majority of registered voters also think that those who came into power campaigning on Obamacare repeal should decline their federal health plan, and only a third think they should accept it.  Many Democrats have been pushing Republicans to deny their benefits, but among all voters, the pressure is actually by far stronger with Republicans and independents than with Democrats.

When you read the crosstabs, 55% of conservatives say they should decline it. My guess is that the so called conservatives who got elected this year will just ignore this poll though. Maybe someone should ask freshman Rep. Andy Harris if he will change his demands for his government run healthcare now.

From the wake of the Keith Olbermann suspension comes this new bit of news:

MSNBC said Friday that it is suspending “Morning Joe” co-host Joe Scarborough for two days after he acknowledged giving eight previously unknown $500 contributions to friends and family members running for state and local offices during his tenure at the network, a violation of parent NBC’s ban on political contributions by employees without specific permission from the network president.

“I recognize that I have a responsibility to honor the guidelines and conditions of my employment, and I regret that I failed to do so in this matter,” Scarborough said in a statement. “I apologize to MSNBC and to anyone who has been negatively affected by my actions,” he said, adding that after he was made aware of some of the contributions, he called MSNBC president Phil Griffin “and agreed with Phil's immediate demand of a two-day suspension without pay.”

I wonder how much longer this rule will last? MSNBC has become more partisan over the years and they can’t expect their hosts to not give to campaigns or remember to seek “permission” for every single donation.