  Matt Take me down to the paradise city Premium join:2003-07-20 Jamestown, NC
·North State Commun..
| Oh .... my ....
said by Political Hack : But please, don't draw any conclusions. "There is no connection between political spending and the policy work that gets done in the state Legislature," Nunez spokesman Richard Stapler insists.
You have got to be kidding me. Does he really think we're THAT stupid? -- Use the OS tool for the job. |
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  phxmark What Country Are We Living In?
join:2000-12-27 Glendale, AZ | Spend money on...
...updating the infrastructure instead of trying to change the laws! -- High speed is dangerous. Too many MP3s, not enough time. |
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  DaveNJ No Fear
join:1999-09-01 New Jersey | typical of today
This is so typical of people today, its much more important to fight an argument, rather then just to deliver something. Even if its easier. |
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  batterup I Can Not Tell A Lie. Premium join:2003-02-06 Netcong, NJ clubs: | So what else is new?
It is called lobbing and it goes on for all special interest groups with money. |
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  thongsai
join:2002-07-04 Santa Rosa, CA | yep lobbing is a legal way of bribing.. a voting commitee can be bought, just requires more money. |
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 jtel
join:2005-06-28 Bristol, RI | Cable Co Telecom Franchises
I don't remember, did the cable co's have to get franchises town by town to sell telecom services over their existing plant? Or did they have statewide agreements? |
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  woody7 Premium join:2000-10-13 Torrance, CA | reply to Matt Re: Oh .... my ....
yes he (they) do  -- BlooMe |
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  Matt Take me down to the paradise city Premium join:2003-07-20 Jamestown, NC
·North State Commun..
| reply to jtel Re: Cable Co Telecom Franchises
said by jtel :I don't remember, did the cable co's have to get franchises town by town to sell telecom services over their existing plant? Or did they have statewide agreements? Time Warner had to register as a CLEC in North Carolina to offer digital phone. Just like anyone else who wanted to offer phone service would have to, which held them to much the same standards as the ILEC's in regards to service delivery and availability. -- Use the OS tool for the job. |
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  BF69
join:2004-07-28 Camden, TN | I don't want to hear
whinning about needing to charge Google et al so they can increase bandwidth when they spend MILLIONS and MILLIONS of $$$ on lobbying. If they didn't lobby they have the money to make improvements. Reminds me of smokers who also get food stamps. |
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  jslik That just happened Premium join:2006-03-17 clubs:
| reply to Matt Re: Oh .... my ....
said by Matt : You have got to be kidding me. Does he really think we're THAT stupid? Another good question would be "If there is no connection, then why did they spend all that money?" |
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  BuriedCaesar It's Not Polite To Stare.
join:2004-03-27 Richardson, TX | reply to woody7 Sadly, he's probably able to say it quite easily with a straight face... (and sleep at night, too). |
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  Karl Bode News Guy join:2000-03-02 | reply to thongsai Re: So what else is new?
Technically lobbing is a half-assed throw.  |
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  John T
@northgrum.com
| reply to jslik Re: Oh .... my ....
Yes, there's absolutely a connection.
The only thing to really wonder in cases like this is which way the power runs. Sometimes it looks like corporations bribing politicians. Sometimes corporations feel like they have to pay because "everybody else does it." Sometimes the politicians basically go around soliciting the money.
So long as a handful of politicians make so important decisions that affects millions or billions of dollars, there will be tremendous incentive to affect their decisions, and tremendous opportunity for selling of votes. |
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  pnh102 Reptiles Are Cuddly And Pretty Premium join:2002-05-02 Mount Airy, MD
·Comcast
| Can't Blame any Company for Lobbying
The way government at all levels chooses to involve itself in the day-to-day functions of just about every private business, to the point at which some people would say the government is now the "most senior partner" in every business now, then what other recourse do businesses have than to lobby the government to protect their own interests?
Back in the early 1990s, Microsoft actively tried to avoid involving itself in political activities. However, Sun Microsystems, Apple and Oracle all lobbied the Federal government to prosecute Microsoft for monopolistic activity. Microsoft then spent a fair amount of money during that time to defend itself, so much so that in order to find itself any relief from this government action, they end up lobbying the 2000 George W. Bush campaign to solve the problem. -- Only SHATNER is Kirk. |
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  John T
@northgrum.com
| Of course, since lobbying is inevitable...
we might as well ask what the best policy is, since I'm sure that the cable companies were lobbying on the other side to make it harder for the telcos to offer TV. I don't trust any of them, but in general (devil's in the details, of course) I favor more companies being able to offer TV. |
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  mrchris We don't miss you Bush Premium join:2002-10-01 North Babylon, NY | reply to pnh102 Re: Can't Blame any Company for Lobbying
Lobbying should be severly restricted on how much can be spent. |
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  cableties Premium join:2005-01-27 | Lobby Lobby Lobby on the table table table
You WILL like it, like it, like it, if you're able able able...

I need to start a non-profit lobby consortium in the name of the 'mercan Consumerista! |
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 Admj
join:2001-01-17 Placentia, CA
| reply to Matt Re: Oh .... my ....
A spokesman for Nunez, the bill's author, disputed that the money and freebies given by the telephone companies helped sway lawmakers' decisions.
"There is no connection between political spending and the policy work that gets done in the state Legislature," Nunez spokesman Richard Stapler said.
Yeah... Right!  They were bought outright... Tickets anyone? |
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  TKJunkMail Enjoy the sun Premium join:2002-03-03 Avalon, NJ
·Sprint Mobile Broa..
·Comcast
| reply to Matt said by Matt : said by Political Hack : But please, don't draw any conclusions. "There is no connection between political spending and the policy work that gets done in the state Legislature," Nunez spokesman Richard Stapler insists.
You have got to be kidding me. Does he really think we're THAT stupid? In this case he was probably being truthful. The cable companies were contributing to them just as much and it didn't get them what they wanted. -- -- My BLOG My Web Page |
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  pnh102 Reptiles Are Cuddly And Pretty Premium join:2002-05-02 Mount Airy, MD
·Comcast
| reply to mrchris Re: Can't Blame any Company for Lobbying
said by mrchris :Lobbying should be severly restricted on how much can be spent. How is that fair when government specifically targets your own business for action?
California wants to ban incandescent light bulbs. Is it unfair for incandescent light bulb makers to lobby the government of California to make it see things their way? -- Only SHATNER is Kirk. |
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