June 2008

The mainstream media's overheated response to Sen Barack Obama's decision to opt out of the public campaign finance system is a textbook example of journalists protecting Sen John Mccain (R-AZ) and his bald-faced hypocrisy. Amidst all the attacks on Obama's "flip-flop," how much have you read in the MSM about the fact that McCain has "completely reversed himself" on public financing -- and is currently breaking the law on a daily basis, making a mockery out of a campaign finance system he helped create? In the fall of 2007, McCain opted into the public financing system for the GOP primaries, which meant he'd later receive just over $5 million in public funds in exchange for agreeing to a fundraising limit of around $54 million for the entire primary process, which ends when he accepts the nomination at the Republican National Convention in September. By late November, his campaign was practically broke, so McCain took out a pair of $1 million loans, using the public funds he would receive as collateral. Cut to Super Tuesday, when McCain had the Republican nomination all but wrapped up. Suddenly, he didn't want to be bound by that $54 million limit, so his campaign did a 180 and opted back out of the public financing system. Yet few in the media saw fit to point out this glaring contradiction in McCain's cries about broken commitments made to the American people. Indeed, as Media Matters points out, the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, the Philadelphia Inquirer, the CBS Evening News, NBC's Nightly News, Fox News' Special Report, and CNN all dutifully reported McCain's claims about Obama without mentioning McCain's campaign finance chicanery.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/arianna-huffington/mccains-campaign-fundin...

House Telecommunications & Internet Subcommittee Chairman Ed Markey (D-MA) has told cable operators and other broadband providers to hold off implementing ad-service technology similar to what Charter Communications was planning to use from online-ad network NebuAd. Chairman Markey and other members of his subcommittee wrote Charter last month asking it to hold off on the NebuAd partnership until concerns about online privacy were addressed. He praised Charter Tuesday for deciding to delay plans to "track the Web sites visited by their customers and disclose this sensitive the data to an ad firm." But Rep Markey went beyond that to advise other broadband providers to follow suit. "Given the serious privacy concerns raised by the sophisticated ad-serving technology Charter Communications planned to test-market," he added, "I am pleased to hear that the company has decided to delay implementation of this program, which electronically profiled individual consumer Web usage. I urge other broadband companies considering similar user-profiling programs to similarly hold off on implementation while these important privacy concerns can be addressed.”
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6572966.html?rssid=193

The National Association of Broadcasters is trying to get a provision removed from a House Federal Communications Commission appropriations bill that would prevent it from implementing its relaxation of the newspaper-broadcast cross-ownership ban. NAB president David Rehr sent letters to all of the members of the House Appropriations Committee asking them to oppose the provision, which was approved last week by the Appropriations Committee's Financial Services Subcommittee.

[Commentary] Meredith Attwell Baker is the acting head of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, the Commerce Department unit responsible for overseeing next year's transition to digital signals. Baker is the acting head because the previous official who headed the NTIA, John Kneuer, resigned last year "to pursue new opportunities." Asst Sec Baker has said she wants to resign, too, but her replacement, Neil Patel, has yet to be confirmed by the Senate -- in fact, the Senate hasn't even scheduled a hearing yet on Patel's nomination. So, eight months from the transition date -- February 17, 2009 -- the federal government's effort is being led by an unknown acting agency head who wants to leave her job as soon as possible. Is there any wonder that many industry analysts believe the Digital TV transition is doomed? The federal government needs a high-profile person to head the educational aspects of this program, someone who can communicate how to prepare for the switch in simple terms. And someone who will instantly command respect from minorities and older residents -- the groups that surveys indicate are most clueless about the switch. While many people would fit the bill, one name jumps out: Bill Cosby.
http://www.tvpredictions.com/baker062408.htm