[mythtv-users] Comcast 'flees $45bn monster-merger with Time Warner Cable'

[Karl Newman]

On Sat, Apr 25, 2015 at 3:31 AM, Simon Hobson <linux at thehobsons.co.uk>
wrote:

> Stephen P. Villano <stephen.p.villano at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > I remember, in my youth, there was *one* company for telephone service
> > and long distance.
> ...
> > In the Bell Telephone era, you were strictly regulated by the company to
> > use *only* their provided telephone, the variety being wall or tabletop
> > and the colors being white, black or rarely, red. The number of
> > telephones in the house were charged for, claiming increased costs to
> > ring additional telephones and proclaiming harm to their equipment if
> > non-approved telephones were connected.
>
> Yup, sounds just like I remember it back in "the good old days" of the
> Post Office having an actual and complete, backed by law, monopoly in phone
> services.
> If you wanted a phone line, you got it when they were happy to let you
> have it - sometimes a long time if they were short of pairs and didn't feel
> like adding any more cable. Party lines were common (we shared with a
> couple of elderly ladies across the road). And as you say, choice of
> handset was "limited".
>
> > Touch tone service cost a great deal more
>
> Ha ha - we didn't even have the option !
>
> One of my aunts is Polish, and she used to tell this joke about a Polish
> guy that goes to buy a car. He goes down to the showroom to pick from the 2
> models available, and pick the shade of grey. As he's signing the
> paperwork, the salesman asks him "you do realise there's a 10 year waiting
> list don't you ?" "Oh that's fine" the chap replies, then adds "but will it
> be delivered in the morning or afternoon ?"
>
> The salesman is taken aback and exclaims "you are waiting 10 years for a
> car and you are bothered if it arrives in the morning or afternoon ?".
>
> "Yes" says the chap, "the phone is being installed in the morning".
>
> Like all good jokes, it's based on substantial exaggeration of actual
> facts, but my aunt always reckoned it wasn't so far from the truth from
> when she was a child.
>
>
> So yes, I agree with the others - you need good competition as that's what
> drives service, choice, quality, value, etc, etc. But you do need
> regulators who will step in for those situation where a market doesn't work
> (roads and sewers being the classic examples) or where it's not working as
> it should .
> As an outsider, I'd agree with the comment that US doesn't seem to have a
> working market. It looks very much like it's run for the benefit of
> corporate interests, and politicians certainly appear to be working on the
> basis of not upsetting their sponsors.
>
> Over here there are some strict rules and limits designed to curb that
> sort of behaviour - but it's only of limited value when the "reward" may be
> an intangible ("shift the law in our favour, there's a juicy non-exec
> directorship waiting for you when your done" sort of thing).
>

Since it has been decided that corporations are people, let's take it to
the logical conclusion and fight for corporations' right to vote. Only
after they turn 18 of course. Fight for corporate suffrage! And then
qualify them for the draft...

Karl
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