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Comcast Ghost-Writes Politician's Letters To Support Time Warner Mega-Merger
WheezyJoe writes: As the FCC considers the merger between Comcast/Universal and Time-Warner Cable, which would create the largest cable company in the U.S. and is entering the final stages of federal review, politicians are pressuring the FCC with pro-merger letters actually written by Comcast. According to documents obtained through public records requests, politicians are passing letters nearly word-for-word written by Comcast as their own. "Not only do records show that a Comcast official sent the councilman the exact wording of the letter he would submit to the FCC, but also that finishing touches were put on the letter by a former FCC official named Rosemary Harold, who is now a partner at one of the nation's foremost telecom law firms in Washington, DC. Comcast has enlisted Harold to help persuade her former agency to approve the proposed merger."
Ars Technica had already reported that politicians have closely mimicked Comcast talking points and re-used Comcast's own statements without attribution. The documents revealed today show just how deeply Comcast is involved with certain politicians, and how they were able to get them on board.
Ars Technica had already reported that politicians have closely mimicked Comcast talking points and re-used Comcast's own statements without attribution. The documents revealed today show just how deeply Comcast is involved with certain politicians, and how they were able to get them on board.
Yes, money is the problem. Obviously.
Sure, you personally can print and distribute flyers yourself or with volunteers spending your own personal money to do so. But no, you can not employee thousands of people and pay them to do it as a company. You are not a company, you are an individual, they are not an individual, they are company. But individuals in it can choose to do as they wish outside of the job.
And again, yes, Tesla, SpaceX and all should not be allowed to spend money on political issues, the guys running them should be able to out of their own budget and not the company budget and only up to legal amounts low enough others could reasonably match it. Same with the guys speaking out against them, but neither of them should be allowed to pay others to do it on their behalf.
It is surely legal to disagree with you, but it should be illegal for your business connections or wealth of cash be able to force your issue on others with the "Might Makes Right" approach of drowning them out and astroturfing them,