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The Misleading Fliers Comcast Used To Kill Off a Local Internet Competitor
Jason Koebler (3528235) writes In the months and weeks leading up to a referendum vote that would have established a locally owned fiber network in three small Illinois cities, Comcast and SBC (now AT&T) bombarded residents and city council members with disinformation, exaggerations, and outright lies to ensure the measure failed. The series of two-sided postcards painted municipal broadband as a foolhardy endeavor unfit for adults, responsible people, and perhaps as not something a smart woman would do. Municipal fiber was a gamble, a high-wire act, a game, something as "SCARY" as a ghost. Why build a municipal fiber network, one asked, when "internet service [is] already offered by two respectable private businesses?" In the corner, in tiny print, each postcard said "paid for by SBC" or "paid for by Comcast."
The postcards are pretty absurd and worth a look.
These sort of things are legal now. Corporations are people, and people have free speech, and spending money is speech.
"Have you ever thought about just turning off the TV, sitting down with your kids, and hitting them?"
A fine large enough to cover the costs of rolling out fibre in the 3 cities involved.
The money from the fine can then be used to roll out fibre to the 3 cities.
Everyone wins, except SBC and Comcast.
They've got the propaganda and smear campaigns down to a tee.
It'd be one thing if the average voter wasn't susceptible to the person who yelled at them last, or most, but that's unfortunately the case. Yet the alternative, of giving up the vote to the hands of a selected representative, only lets them be bought. And sure, certain groups would have us believe this represents a failure in government, yet what expectation do we have that an alternative could exist without some regulation to facilitate the problems of individualized consent and negotiation?
Dear God, you made this mess. Fix it.
Hey, it worked, didn't it? I think that's the idea here.
“He’s not deformed, he’s just drunk!”
The only broadband nightmare I have is the reality of continuous non-stop rate hikes of 10-15% every 6 months. No other "utility" even comes close.
What this means is that people have absolutely no idea what the internet is, how it works and how any of it affects them. Computers are still magic to most people. I used to hope that as more and more people grow up with computers, computer literacy would improve. Nothing of the sort happened. These people use computers more, but they accept them as quasi-intelligent/magic devices. They don't even understand the fundamental difference between Facebook/Twitter and the open web, even though that's hardly a technological thing. They perceive big businesses as relatively safe havens. Diversity and choice in a field where they can only make random decisions based on no understanding is plain scary. They don't want choice, they don't want freedom. They are not equipped to handle it.
since when does frosting and marshmallows have fiber?
Troll is not a replacement for I disagree.
My hometown has municipal broadband, it's had it since 2000. It works much better than Comcast, and they're much easier to work with.
No, I will not work for your startup
Maybe these fliers were honest, and Comcast just believes the investing in an ISP is a money-losing venture. It would explain some things.
I guess the only sensible response is to sell your stock in Comcast. They view their own business as a money-pit and a disaster waiting to happen.
This highlights the need for citizens who would set up municipal broadband to better understand the techniques of propaganda (marketing in the US) and communication - and to not forget to utilize those techniques to further their own agendas. A technique isn't evil or good - it's just a technique, and an advantage if it's a good one.
Some understanding of cognitive science and political science wouldn't hurt either.
http://www.unfocus.com/
For a while now:
http://www.eatthismuch.com/foo...
The Kruger Dunning explains most post on
FUD works folks, that's why you have spin doctors constantly shaping news headlines with press releases and carefully worded speeches. Couple that with a litany of non-profit organizations to get the word out and you have your own fact machine. Really, facts don't matter because people's perceptions are more important than mere facts. This might have been a great idea, a municipally based service without all the baggage that a big carrier brings to the table but hey, why let facts get in the way of myth?
Dirty tricks in business have been around for centuries and nobody should be surprised that Comcast and SBC(AT&T) did this.
Harrison's Postulate - "For every action there is an equal and opposite criticism"
You could make voting conditional on passing a test. Not a straight IQ test, although that should be a part of it. Pose some questions on postulated issues and synthetic candidates, and try to find those too liable to being gulled by clear hoodwinking.
Also, and this one is going to be hard to do for a number of reasons, prevent those who are personally turning an overall profit at the expense of the commons from voting. Let there be no stigma to accepting welfare, no matter what the hell you call it (e.g., earned income tax credit, etc, etc), but at the same time if you are cashing in more than you are contributing, so sorry, you don't get to vote yourself largesse either directly or indirectly.
Hey, I said it would be a challenge to implement.
Unfortunately, "the people" is shorthand for a large number of individuals. Yeah, the stupid people got what they deserved, but in no sense did the people with functioning intellects get what they deserved.
The questions raised in the advertising are pretty good ones. If the city bungles the fibre network and loses a lot of money, you'll be forced to pay for it in taxes. If Comcast fucks up and their costs go out of control, you at least have a choice to opt out. As much as I don't like Comcast and AT&T, I have no faith in government to be an ISP.
Avoid Missing Ball for High Score
You could make voting conditional on passing a test. Not a straight IQ test, although that should be a part of it.
Yeah, so the oh-so-trustworthy people in our government can have an easier way to oppress segments of the population. Also, IQ tests are absolute nonsense.
And I'm sure these tests would be perfectly unbiased, not at all ambiguous, and would vastly improve the situation. If we can't even get standardized tests right, how the hell do you propose we create tests that will determine whether or not someone gets access to a fucking fundamental right?
If something is so important that you feel the need to post it on the internet... It probably isn't that important.
In theory, voter tests would rule out the gullible. In practice, voter tests would rule out the black / gay / poor / jew / undesirable-group-du-jour.
"[Regarding the 'cloud,'] ownership was what made America different than Russia." -- Woz
Batavia, Geneva and St. Charles Illinois. I was a member of the committee that worked on getting this initiative through each community. One of the members posted this interview with Broadband Reports back in the day....
http://www.dslreports.com/show...
Charter Member of The Committee Group For The Elimination And Eradication Of Repetitive Redundancy
Now, reverse your theory,is the rule of quote science quote, a better possibility? Or are they wrong at times,also. Like a proposed theory, wrongly stated? Or wrong. Politicians of another culture, politicians divorced from the realities of life? To be in charge? That's wrong also, not better. So what's wrong with politics? Wrong people in power? America has a solution for that. The revolution happens happily every two years. No guns, no bloodshed, just tears for the loser. And I hope the koch bros lose this year...the american people need a win for a change.
> ...when "internet service [is] already offered by two respectable private businesses?"
Because it's not. Respectable, that is. And I could make arguments against "private", as they're a government enforced duopoly.
Oliver's law of assumed responsibility: If you're seen fixing it, you will be blamed for breaking it.
Only when they are designed to rule out those groups instead of ruling out people who have no business voting (for example, people who don't understand how plurality voting can lead to someone getting elected with a minority of the votes).
Any sufficiently unpopular but cohesive argument is indistinguishable from trolling.
In other words, "only" 100% of the time.
"[Regarding the 'cloud,'] ownership was what made America different than Russia." -- Woz
Another knee-jerking noted.
How is a government limited oligopoly that admits no competition any better??
Clearly it's likely worse.
People didn't look, or think, they just reacted from their gut. Sounds like perfectly trained American voters/consumers.
Who's the villain here?
I want to delete my account but Slashdot doesn't allow it.
I don't remember exactly but I seem to recall that I participated in at least five debates with these two groups. Again, TFA refers back to 2003 and some things are lost in a decade. We did fairly well with the referendums but ultimately, comcast and SBC spent around $2.1 mil in advertising IIRC and we were only able to raise around $40k for our side. It was a good fight but we just couldn't overcome the robo-calling with do you still beat your wife type questions and the full page ads in the local papers etc.
Charter Member of The Committee Group For The Elimination And Eradication Of Repetitive Redundancy
If you believe double sided postcards from unknown people that are put in your mailbox, you are a fool and you reap the benefits. Been that way since postcards were invented.
My local DMV gets me in and out of the office in a few minutes. I've never encountered any time when their computers weren't functioning properly. I could, of course, use the BMV website instead of going into the local office, but I'm old fashioned that way. What state do you live in, so I can make sure never to move there?
I think you have indirectly made the point that corporations should have no input ( speech or money ) into politics.
emt 377 emt 4
How long do the bailouts for Wall St. prevent finance-employeed individuals from voting? How far down the corporate chain do you go before oil-company employees can vote? What about all the guys who only pay 15%...do they lose the vote... after all they benefit from subsidies on investing?
Your ad here. Ask me how!
All: Feel free to hit me up with any questions. Either here, via email, or phone. Pete Collins I.T. Manager City of Geneva, Illinois pcollins@geneva.il.us 630.232.1743
"I have no faith in government to be an ISP."
I have no faith in the federal government to run an ISP. They would be worse than Comcast, and would probably never get it running until they have spent a year's GDP.
I have slightly more faith in a state government to run one. Not as many people to pay-off around most state capitols as there are around DC.
I would have a lot of faith in a local or city government to get it done. They live right there amongst their customers, typically have to work within a budget, and have a vested interest in doing it right the first time.
And the South shall rise again!
If you take people who believe that government doesn't work and put them in charge of a government and it doesn't work, you haven't proven that government doesn't work.
and if the government wanted to start up a tax funded competitor to my business, I would be fighting that tooth and nail too.
Snowden and Manning are heroes.
Call the FTC.
Not that they can actually do anything about it.
An effective "democracy" creates the illusion the people have a say in their government.
Because it is a natural monopoly. Other natural monopolies, like roads, water, sewer, electric power and gas are either public (in my town) or are regulated monopolies. Internet access is a uniquely profitable unregulated natural monopoly. I recommend buying stock in the operators.
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"internet service [is] already offered by two respectable private businesses?"
Well, that leaves out Comcast and AT&T, as neither are "respectable" by any stretch of the imagination.
Exclusive franchises are illegal. There is no "allowing only two competitors." See http://www.law.cornell.edu/usc... Those two are probably the ones that have been there forever - the first cable company/plant and the local phone company. You can invite players in to overbuild all you want but it's not going to happen in most towns. We've tried. We've applied to be a Google city as well. No joy.
And here I was thinking that the NSA was a bad thing.
Wonder what the public key field is for?
Have you not read more than a couple Slashdot comments? Slashdot is filled with the gullible.
Yeah, Ronald Reagan relied on the fact that political memory only lasts two generations or less than 60 years, and then old mistakes get repeated, especially under his skilled use of simpleton propaganda and well financed lies. I am referring to his undermining of the Air Traffic Controllers Union in 1983 and his oversimplification of the value of deregulation, for which we are paying mightily now. It is one of the factors behind the bimodal income distribution which was predicted by his critics in 1982. We should re-examine why David Stockman left his admin. that year. But the Great Communicator as Reagan was called was a Great Liar. If those of you too young to know what I am talking about, need a history lesson, as do many of you who can't seem to remember U.S. History from 1890-1940, or British history in the 19th Century. Sweat Shops were real, massive exploitation of salleried workers by tycoons, today's entrapaneurs, was very real, and liars like Reagan and lately Mitt Romney and hundreds of High Tech entrapaneurs and Libertarians repeat the lie because they want to exploit you.
We could put a stop to this, but first we need to become conscious of the universality of humans taking unfair advantage and that political ideology and rhetoric is no antidote, only cover for the base motive. A world in which such urges that appear in any one of us, if given the power, is discouraged, is better than accepting the lies of one side of the tendency. So a completely unregulated economy is not the answer, nor is a totally regulated one. We are just going to have to accept the conflict between the opposed interests, and unlike the Roberts Court, tipping the balance to one group against the other is not going to help, in fact it is going to destroy the entire system beginning with the U.S. Constitution, which, in case you are unaware, is on very shaky grounds because of it.
The city of Wilson, North Carolina has a happy citizenry, and a couple of pissed off big ISPs. The big ISPs also lobbied the "reasonably priced" cough, NC legilsature to put the city owned outfit out of business but it didn't work.
Here's the city website, click on the :"Greenlight" link for their prices.
http://www.wilsonnc.org/
I think the best selling point is that all the tech staff are local, and... therefore more likely to understand the importance of not pissing off their neighbors.
If your only tool is a hammer, you'll approach every problem as if it were a nail. - Abraham Maslow
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