Congress Inaction Will Cut Funding

   As you know, the Dump and Run congress adjourned a week ago before finishing its job. We all wanted them to go anyway but they left a mess for the adult congress that takes over in a few weeks. They didn't finish alot of spending bills that keep the government running and the reverberations will be many.

    The GOP left just enough money to run the government going thru mid-February  which isn't even half way through fiscal year 2007.

  Read more from The Washington Post HERE.

    It is worth noting that due to this dilemma, the Democrats will have to be cutting funding for some good and not so good programs. I think that is what the GOP Do Nothing Congress had in mind when they left.

   We will be reminding voters of such things as this when the 2008 elections come around. We did pay them to do a job which they did not do well and which they did not finish!!          Michael d.

 

AT&T/Bellsouth Merger Still not approved...

... and  this merger should not be approved! This merger would create the countries biggest provider of  telephone, wireless and broadband services. We do not need one company having this kind of control over these resources!

    Both companies have been waiting for seven months for the F.C.C. to act on the decision. FCC Chairman Kevin J. Martin has stated that he does not know when a decision will be made because of differences between the GOP and  the Democrats on various matters pertaining to the merger.

    Martin is for the merger as is the GOP without issuing any restrictions to either company. The Democrats want safeguards to protect the consumers and to make sure that there is competition in the industry.

    From WaPo : One of the main obstacles is disagreement over whether to require a "net neutrality" condition that would bar AT&T from asking different Internet services to pay different prices for using its lines.

   To break the deadlock on the five-member board, the FCC's general counsel ruled last week that the potential swing vote, Republican Commissioner Robert M. McDowell, could take part in the consideration despite his concerns of a conflict of interest. McDowell has so far refrained from participating in the commission's review of the proposed merger because he previously worked as senior vice president for Comptel, as association that lobbied on behalf of companies competing with AT&T and BellSouth.     Read More HERE