

FCC Commissioner leaves for Comcast - zinkem
http://news.cnet.com/8301-30686_3-20062054-266.html

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michaelpinto
The level of corruption here is just depressing. And not just for consumers —
might tech companies or telcos come out behind when they're dealing with cable
companies? Although sadly this is the sort of thing that happens in other
industries be it defense or Wall Street.

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ksolanki
Well, this is not much new here, is it? FCC Commissioner leaves for Comcast.
DARPA program manager leaves for Lockheed Martin. Senator leaves for or sets
up a lobbying firm. Federal reserve personnel leaves for Goldman Sachs (or
vice versa).

It is the people they know (Network) that is valuable in all these cases...
Potential for corruption? Yes. Illegal? No.

EDIT: Of course this is very unethical and am not supporting this by any
means. Am just stating as a matter of fact that this nexus is very prevalent,
almost legalized. In many cases, such job changes are considered a natural
career progression...

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amphigory
Illegal, no. Unethical, hell yes! I wrote to Comcast corporate, FCC, and the
DOJ. Not that it will do any good but at least the urge to punch the wall has
almost gone away.

~~~
FJCruiser79
There are laws that restrict her from lobbying current FCC employees and even
staffers in and around the regulatory body. However, these cross-overs are
still too common, meaning the restrictions in place probably aren't strong
enough.

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18pfsmt
Because I find this topic interesting, this just fell off the front page:
<http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2538565>

Edit: After approving NBC buyout, FCC Commissioner becomes Comcast lobbyist
(arstechnica.com) is the title.

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dmauro
That's funny, I could have sworn she already did work for them...

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utefan001
Looking at the NBC-->Comcast transaction, was there anything approved by the
FCC that might be improper? I think the FCC Commissioner leaving to work for
Comcast is improper, but don't see anything about the NBC transaction that is
suspicious. [http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/01/18/nbc-comcast-
idUSN1...](http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/01/18/nbc-comcast-
idUSN1824165520110118?feedType=RSS&feedName=technology-media-telco-SP&rpc=43)

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orijing
On the bright side, at least she isn't in the FCC, biasing the decision with
more corruption, right?

Or has the damage been done, and is irreversible?

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18pfsmt
Except he is a she, and she[1] is married to the son of former chief of staff,
James Baker[2].

[1]<http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0511/54765.html>
[2]<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Baker>

~~~
orijing
Good find.

Guess the revolving door never stops.

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cagey
A missed revenue opportunity?

<http://pajamasmedia.com/instapundit/118348/>

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strebel
sigh.. another day in washington.

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pasbesoin
OT: While looking at this month's home Comcast bill, I did the math: It's gone
up about 24% since the end of last year. As best as I recall, this has been in
three stages, each a month or two apart. I've made absolutely no change in my
service. (Internet, and basic cable -- the latter because basic cable
introduces a discount to the Internet pricing that makes the final bill about
the same.)

At this point, were there any effective regulation, I would expect local and
state level officials, if not national, to be beating down their door.
Instead, they get NBC as some sort of prize.

At the time I signed up, Comcast was my only option. (AT&T couldn't be
bothered to upgrade their system to reach the extra mile to my community of
several thousand. [1]) I hate AT&T with a passion -- a hatred born of long-
standing, historical as well as current experience. But I may switch, simply
to try to apply an iota of pressure by qualifying for introductory pricing.

(By the way, the quality and maintenance of Comcast's local cable signal has
gone to hell since the digital conversion. They appear to put zero time/effort
into it, and they constrain the upstream bandwidth to the point where channels
become unwatchable due to low frame rates and pixelation. Additionally,
channels will "freeze" and take the better part of a day before somebody
bothers to "unstick" them.)

\--

[1] And as a result, the best offer I could get from another DSL provider,
e.g. SpeakEasy (IIRC) or some well-regarded local/regional outfits -- of the
few who were willing to try -- was a $200 installation fee and no guarantee
that it would work. And the joy of their trying to coordinate this with AT&T.

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hootmon
Fascism, the boot that keeps on stomping on your face.

No wonder there is no competition in local markets for internet access or
cable.

America, the founding fathers took corporations rights away, whore lawyer
Lincoln gave them back in spades, and people have been getting screwed ever
since.

