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HOPES FOR THE LAME DUCKS
[SOURCE: Los Angeles Times, AUTHOR: Editorial Staff]
[Cmmentary] There is bipartisan support for a postelection session in which Congress catches up on unfinished appropriations and completes work on sensible initiatives such as tax credits for research and development. And both parties seem eager to usher in a new era at the Pentagon — and in Iraq policy — by holding confirmation hearings this year for Robert M. Gates, President Bush's nominee to replace Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld. But divisive matters that can be left until next year should be left until next year. The best candidate for "wait till next year" treatment is the effort to legalize the National Security Agency's warrantless eavesdropping on Americans suspected of contacts with foreign terrorists. The House-approved bill essentially rubber-stamps the program while requiring notification of Congress. But the Senate has yet to decide among three bills, all of which (believe it or not) were approved by the Judiciary Committee. The NSA is continuing its surveillance while the administration appeals a federal judge's finding that the program is unconstitutional. So there is no reason for this Congress to rush to judgment on a controversial issue better left to the Congress elected on Nov. 7.
http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/opinion/la-ed-lameduck14nov14,1...
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Hopes for the lame ducks
TECH ASKS DEPARTING REPUBLICANS FOR FAVORS
[SOURCE: C-Net|News.com, AUTHOR: Anne Broache]
As Republican politicians return this week to Washington for the waning days of their rule of Capitol Hill, technology lobbyists are frantically pressing for last-minute legislation before Democrats take over next year. At issue are proposals including renewing a popular tax credit for research and development expenses and expanding the number of H1-B visas, which are temporary visas designed for skilled foreign workers. Many spending bills to fund the federal government through the next year have yet to be considered, and the final versions could include antipiracy measures and Web censorship requirements. If history is any indication, congressional lame-duck sessions can result in an impasse, particularly when power shifts are imminent. Politicians from the incoming majority party have a strong incentive to block legislation they don't care for, and political disputes often flare up. If spending bills are unfinished, that leaves the fallback approach: passing a "continuing resolution," which keeps the federal government operating for a few more weeks and postpones debate until the new Congress convenes in January. Another open question is how long the current lame-duck Congress will stay in town before adjourning permanently. The Senate plans to be in session this week, adjourn for the last two weeks of November, and return on December 4 for an indefinite time period, but its precise agenda during that time has not been set.
http://news.com.com/Tech+asks+departing+Republicans+for+favors/2100-1028...
Tech asks departing Republicans for favors
DEMOCRATS SAY OVERSIGHT IS OVERDUE
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Cindy Skrzycki cskrzycki@bloomberg.net]
The rulemaking agenda in Washington is about to change. Business, labor and public interest groups agree that the incoming Democratic House and Senate will conduct robust oversight of federal agencies and their regulatory output and policies. Business lobbyists have been powerful players with the Congress and the White House under Republican control the past six years. The emphasis was on minimal regulation, easy access to federal rulemakers, many of whom came from industry, and almost no congressional oversight. "I can't be happier," said Gary Bass, executive director of OMB Watch, a nonprofit group in Washington that monitors regulatory policy. "The public wins. Some of these political appointees are going to have to learn what oversight is." Rep. John D. Dingell (D-MI) is set to return as chairman of the Commerce Committee, which has jurisdiction over consumer protection, telecommunications, air quality, energy, and food and drug safety. Rep Dingell has a reputation for relentless investigation, and his "Dingellgrams" -- requests for exhaustive paperwork from federal agencies and witnesses -- are remembered and feared in Washington. "When you are battered up there, it does affect your direction," recalled James Tozzi, who made frequent appearances before Rep Dingell when he was in leadership positions at the Office of Management and Budget's regulatory-review office. "It was an unpleasant but fair exercise."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/11/13/AR200611...
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Democrats Say Oversight Is Overdue
DON'T RECONFIRM FCC CHAIRMAN MARTIN
[SOURCE: David Isenberg's Blog]
[Commentary] My top suggestion for 2007 Congressional action is... fire FCC Chairman Kevin Martin! Martin favors a) big telecom mergers without conditions, b) weakened common carrier obligations for Internet access providers, and c) expanded FCC regulation of speech on the Internet. He has implemented major regulatory barriers to new ISPs and VOIP providers (e.g., CALEA, E911-on-VOIP). He's evidenced no personal enthusiasm for any of the new communications technology. He has weakened the FCC by purging its most knowledgeable bureau chiefs and replacing them with political fellow-travelers. And he has stalled initiatives to open new spectrum for unlicensed uses, stalled FCC rethinking of spectrum re-regulation, threatened to put obstacles in the way of TV's Digital Transition, and failed to champion innovative technology except for telco video. Congressional leadership -- Reps Dingell, Boucher, & Markey and Sens Inouye, Leahy, & Wyden and the congressional netheads of both parties -- should give the President a short list of candidates for FCC Chair who believe in competition based on marketplace merit (over incumbency and size), who appreciate the transformative power of disruptive technology, and who want the United States once again to lead the world in Internet development. A few plausible (necessarily Republican) candidates like this should be findable. One should be nominated and confirmed.
http://isen.com/blog/2006/11/dont-reconfirm-fcc-chairman-martin.html
Don't reconfirm FCC Chairman Martin
CONGRESS SHOULD HOLD HEARINGS ON UNIVERSAL SERVICE
[SOURCE: David Isenberg's Blog]
[Commentary] In the best case, Universal Service is corporate welfare that supports older, less relevant telco services. In a more Reality-Based view, Universal Service has become an ineffective, corrupt slush fund for the minions of a dying industry. By the end of January, Congress should subpoena the principals of the Universal Service Administrative Company and the heads of the remaining telcos to explain themselves. Then they should hear from a representative sample of people who actually could use affordable Internet access (and other) services. They should question them all until the truth comes out. Then they should act.
http://isen.com/blog/2006/11/congress-should-hold-hearings-on.html
Congress should hold hearings on Universal Service
JUDICIARY EYES SPORTS CARRIAGE
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
The Senate Judiciary Committee has scheduled a hearing Tuesday on "Competition in Sports Programming and Broadcasting: Are Consumers Winning." Tentative witnesses include Jeffrey Pash, executive VP and general counsel, National Football League; Landell Hobbs, COO, Time Warner; Daniel Fawcett, Executive VP, business and legal affairs and programming acquisition, for DirecTV; and Roger Noll, an economics professor from Stanford.
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6390592.html?title=Article&sp...
* See Hearing notice at http://judiciary.senate.gov/hearing.cfm?id=2440
* Senate Panel Calls Hearing on DirecTV's Sunday Ticket Package
http://www.tvweek.com/news.cms?newsId=11050
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6390592.html?title=Article&spacedesc=…
BARTON: NAB'S REHR WRONG ABOUT DINGELL
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: Ted Hearn]
House Commerce Committee Chairman Joe Barton (R-Texas) said Monday that the leader of the National Association of Broadcasters was incorrect to conclude that owners of TV and radio stations would get a better shake under incoming Democratic committee leadership. “I think Mr. Dingell, frankly, is an improvement for us over Mr. Barton,†Rehr said, calling Chairman Barton “a cable guy.†If he really said that, bless his heart, he’s wrong,†Rep Barton said. He is in a race for House Minority Leader. The election is Friday. If he loses, Rep Barton said he would like to be the top Republican on the Commerce Committee. However, he has promised to cede that position to soon-to-be-former House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-IL), who won't be a candidate for a party leadership post.
http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6390755.html?display=Breaking+News
http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6390755.html?display=Breaking%20News
WITH A DISH, BROADBAND GOES RURAL
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Ken Belson]
WildBlue and its chief rivals — Hughes Network Systems, which markets under the name HughesNet, and Spacenet, which sells the StarBand service — are filling one of the biggest gaps in the country’s digital infrastructure. Roughly 15 million households cannot get broadband from their phone or cable provider because the companies have been slow to expand their high-speed networks in areas where there are not enough customers to generate what they regard as an adequate profit. There are some drawbacks to the satellite approach that make it unlikely to be a serious rival to more common broadband options. WildBlue’s cheapest service costs $50 a month, about twice Verizon’s introductory offer, and the dish costs several hundred dollars. Heavy rain sometimes interrupts the signal and knocks out service, and small delays are common as signals beam to and from a satellite orbiting 24,000 miles above the earth. But alternative technologies, like wide-area wireless services and access over power lines, are still in their infancy. And demand for broadband in rural areas is as strong if not stronger than in suburbs and cities. Broadband is essential to distance-learning programs, health clinics that communicate with bigger hospitals and farmers who rely on the latest market and weather data. Second-home owners and resorts are potential customers, too.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/14/technology/14satellite.html
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With a Dish, Broadband Goes Rural
STUDY FINDS WEB ISN'T TEAMING WITH SEX
[SOURCE: San Jose Mercury News, AUTHOR: Elise Ackerman]
A confidential analysis of Internet search queries and a random sample of Web pages taken from Google and Microsoft's giant Internet indexes showed that only about 1 percent of all Web pages contain sexually explicit material. The analysis was presented in a federal court hearing last week in Philadelphia in a suit brought by the American Civil Liberties Union against U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales. The ACLU said the analysis, by Philip B. Stark, a professor of statistics at the University of California-Berkeley, did not appear to substantially help the Justice Department in its effort to prove that criminal penalties are necessary to protect minors from exposure to sexually explicit information on the Internet. The Justice Department had commissioned the study as part of an effort to resurrect the Children's Online Protection Act, which was signed by President Clinton in 1998, but was immediately challenged by the ACLU.
http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/business/technology/16007733.htm
Study finds Web isn't teeming with sex
CLEAR CHANNEL BUYOUT TALKS FUEL CONCERN OF MANAGEMENT CONFLICTS
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Sarah McBride sarah.mcbride@wsj.com and Dennis K. Berman]
At Clear Channel, the nation's largest holder of radio stations, the board is weighing two bids that could lead to a buyout valued at nearly $18 billion, plus the assumption of $8 billion in debt. Among those who have participated in some of the boardroom deliberations on the potential deal are Clear Channel Chairman Lowry Mays, Chief Executive Mark Mays and President and Chief Financial Officer Randall Mays, all members of the company's founding family. Clear Channel has conducted a lightning-fast auction that has produced bids from two groups of private-equity investors, both of which are willing to keep Mark Mays, 43 years old, and Randall Mays, 41, in senior management, say people familiar with the matter. Wall Street bankers expect any deal also will allow 71-year-old Lowry Mays, the family patriarch, to cash out and leave the company. The situation at Clear Channel and at other companies that have pursued such deals has fed a growing concern: that corporate executives may be pushing for transactions that are ideal for themselves but might not be optimum for other shareholders. A primary issue would be whether the company adequately considered proposals from bidding groups less friendly to the Mays family. Another key question: Whether the board seriously considered a break-up plan that, at least according to some observers, could fetch more money than if the company were sold in one piece.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB116347880806022492.html?mod=todays_us_pa...
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http://online.wsj.com/article/SB116347880806022492.html?mod=todays_us_page_one