Future Gatekeepers?

Well, Charter Communications is still bankrupt. Didn't know about that? Aside from a teeny-tiny blurb in the High Country Press, there's been very little coverage of Charter's bankruptcy in High Country media outlets.

You'd think there would be a tad more coverage, given the fact that Charter is basically the monopoly cable provider up here. Lots of internet service, too. Just sayin'.

Would it concern local residents to know which companies might be interested in buying Charter?

It might concern local residents if they knew that one of the companies which may be very, very interested in scooping up Charter is in the process of laying the legal framework to monitor (and charge for) their subscribers' bandwidth usage--by rewriting their consumer subscriber agreements and engaging in a subscriber "education" campaign:

Time Warner Cable has modified the language of its consumer subscriber agreement that is directed at legitimizing the cable company’s ability to throttle and measure a consumer’s bandwidth. The new additions to the agreement also sanction tiered pricing.
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The language means that a subscriber can’t sign up for a contract plan hoping to avoid tiered pricing by getting in before a new tiered plan is implemented. It also specifically threatens throttling of a person’s service for violating the terms of use (hopefully it makes those terms of use a little clearer, though).
...

You see, if consumers actually know about things like this, then they can write to the FCC and express their concerns. They can even write to the FCC and express their opposition to a Time Warner acquisition of Charter. Public service in journalism--what a concept.

Meantime, we think this is kinda funny.

Sunday Service

At about 1:58 into this clip, Pat Robertson drops by to offer his enlightened views on future Supreme Court Justice Sotomayor (scroll down to the 5/28 "Stand Up News" episode):

Midweek Video Salon: Gipper's True Identity

Take note: in 1980, a campaigning, conservative hero promised a female Supreme Court nominee (identity politics!!)...AND he used a teleprompter!

Reporters: Take Dictation

The Republican talking points (helpful hints on how to mislead and muddy the waters) concerning President Obama's nomination of Judge Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court-- leaked out today.

We are not really interested in the content of the talking points. What we are interested in is--who will repeat them? In particular, which "news" anchors, which "reporters"?

Over the next few days, it will be very interesting to see who--from the allegedly "liberal" media--steps up to read the script. Here it is, from the Hill:

o President Obama's nomination of Judge Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court is an important decision that will have an impact on the United States long after his administration.

o Republicans are committed to a fair confirmation process and will reserve judgment until more is known about Judge Sotomayor's legal views, judicial record and qualifications.

o Until we have a full view of the facts and comprehensive understanding of Judge Sotomayor's record, Republicans will avoid partisanship and knee-jerk judgments - which is in stark contrast to how the Democrats responded to the Judge Roberts and Alito nominations.

o To be clear, Republicans do not view this nomination without concern. Judge Sotomayor has received praise and high ratings from liberal special interest groups. Judge Sotomayor has also said that policy is made on the U.S. Court of Appeals.

o Republicans believe that the confirmation process is the most responsible way to learn more about her views on a number of important issues.

o The confirmation process will help Republicans, and all Americans, understand more about judge Sotomayor's thoughts on the importance of the Supreme Court's fidelity to the Constitution and the rule of law.

o Republicans are the minority party, but our belief that judges should interpret rather than make law is shared by a majority of Americans.

o Republicans look forward to learning more about Judge Sotomayor's legal views and to determining whether her views reflect the values of mainstream America.

President Obama on Judicial Nominees

o Liberal ideology, not legal qualification, is likely to guide the president's choice of judicial nominees.

o Obama has said his criterion for nominating judges would be their "heart" and "empathy."

o Obama said he believes Supreme Court justices should understand the Court's role "to protect people who may be vulnerable in the political process."

o Obama has declared: "We need somebody who's got the heart, the empathy, to recognize what it's like to be a young teenage mom, the empathy to understand what it's like to be poor or African-American or gay or disabled or old-and that's the criterion by which I'll be selecting my judges."

Additional Talking Points

o Justice Souter's retirement could move the Court to the left and provide a critical fifth vote for:

o Further eroding the rights of the unborn and property owners;

o Imposing a federal constitutional right to same-sex marriage;

o Stripping "under God" out of the Pledge of Allegiance and completely secularizing the public square;

o Abolishing the death penalty;

o Judicial micromanagement of the government's war powers.

Get some popcorn. Remember, the corporate media are only as liberal as the wealthy conservative owners who run them.

A Conservative Converts: Waterboarding IS Torture

How long does it take a pro-torture, conservative radio host to realize that water boarding is torture? How long before a macho, tough guy folds like a five-deferment former vice president who didn't go to Vietnam because he had "other priorities"?

Erich "Mancow" Muller, a Chicago-based conservative radio host, recently decided to silence critics of waterboarding once and for all. He would undergo the procedure himself, and then he would be able to confidently convince others that it is not, in fact, torture.
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"It is way worse than I thought it would be, and that's no joke," Mancow said. "It is such an odd feeling to have water poured down your nose with your head back... It was instantaneous... and I don't want to say this: absolutely torture."
...

Watch it:



Any local conservative radio hosts want to try it too?

Oh, and this: 9/11 happened on Cheney's watch. How then, did Dick Cheney keep us all safe? Don't forget the whole anthrax thing either--also on Cheney's watch.

Foggy Streams

Ah, the internets. They is so darn confusing. Just ask Ted, he knows.

Curtis Media, part-owners of High Country Radio, admit as much:

A few CMG stations are now streaming (WPTF, Y102.9, and WSJS). However, internet streaming is still a rather new technology and a great number of legal issues have yet to be resolved in regards to copyright, ownership, and compensation for artists and actors. In some cases, we are prohibited from re-broadcasting a syndicated program from our website. We hope that a resolution will be forthcoming to clear up these foggy issues. Until such a time, CMG stations will not stream audio. In some cases, the rights holders are streaming from their own websites. Please contact the webmaster for details.

High Country Radio dropped their internet stream a while back. Can't even get the local news anymore.

So, why are Curtis and High Country Radio so stumped? Have any other radio stations figured out how to use the tubes? Oh, maybe a few...college towns, even! Just like Boone!

Thankfully there is help on the way, from the Federal Trade Commission:

The Federal Trade Commission today announced it will hold a series of workshops titled “Can News Media Survive the Internet Age? Competition, Consumer Protection, and First Amendment Perspectives.” The first workshop will be held on September 15, 2009.

“Many industries have experienced transitions to new business models in response to new forms of competition on the Internet, and consumers generally have benefitted in the process,” FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz explained. “But the news business may be different because of the First Amendment values at stake. Whether we get our news from ink on paper, TV, radio, laptops, or mobile devices, we need a strong news industry for our democracy to thrive. Bringing together competition, consumer protection, and First Amendment perspectives can help all of us understand how best to serve Americans’ interests given the new realities affecting news organizations.”
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Witnesses will include journalists and other representatives of news organizations, privacy experts, direct marketers, online advertisers, academics, new media representatives (such as bloggers and local news Web sites), and consumer advocates.

We expect a steady stream of high ranking executives from Curtis, Foothills, and High Country Radio to be in attendance. Maybe they'll stream it live?

Foxy Torture

Pro-torture types get the smack down:



You support the troops, right? Just like these patriots, who faced down the very real threat of our country's total destruction--without resorting to the torture of our enemies:

George Washington, in the winter of 1776, sent a written order to officers overseeing prisoners: “Treat them with humanity.” And in 1863, at another time of crisis, Abraham Lincoln included the prohibition of torture in the first American codification of the laws of war, which he also issued as a direct order to his field commanders.

But "24" sure is sexy isn't it? Is that your brand of patriotism? So macho.