Sept 19, 2008 (NSA suit; McCain and the Telecom Act)
BENTON'S COMMUNICATIONS-RELATED HEADLINES for FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 19, 2008
GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS
NSA and Bush Are Sued Over Domestic Surveillance
Cyber Attack Data-Sharing Is Lacking, Congress Told
DOJ Issues Cyber Report On Heels Of Hill Action
EFF, Public Knowledge sue US gov over secret IP pact
ELECTION '08
Is McCain a high-tech leader?
AGENDA
The Week Ahead: Sept 22-28
FCC Sept 25 Meeting Agenda
FCC REFORM
Ex-Chairmen Now Big critics of Federal Communications Commission
NEWS FROM CONGRESS
Lawmakers Press FCC On AT&T's Public Program Offerings
Ready to Compete Act Introduced in Congress
House Panel Examines Cell Phone Taxation
INTERNET/BROADBAND
The Wall Street Lesson For Network Neutrality
Is Home Broadband Adoption Slowing?
US: Home of the Internet, but not home when the broadband salesman calls
European Telecoms told to end broadband monopoly
BROADCASTING/CABLE
NTIA: DTV Coupon Funds Could Run Out Before Analog Shutoff
ION Has Eye on Soft Analog Cutoff Tests
What's Needed Is a Better DTV Converter
FCC Upholds Fine for Failing to Serve People with Disabilities
George Will: Obama Victory Would Bring Fairness Doctrine Back
TELECOM
Rate increase OKd for land-line phone service in California
California Bans Texting by Operators of Trains
QUICKLY -- Federal lawsuits take on the humble hyperlink; Google search share grows in August; Some European telecom regulators seen as weak
GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS
NSA AND BUSH SUED OVER DOMESTIC SURVEILLANCE
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Scott Shane]
A privacy group filed a class-action lawsuit on Thursday against the National Security Agency, President Bush and other officials, seeking to halt what it describes as illegal surveillance of Americans' telephone and Internet traffic. The lawsuit parallels a legal action brought against the AT&T Corporation in 2006 by the same nonprofit group, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, charging that the company gave the N.S.A. access to its communications lines and customer records without proper warrants. Congress derailed that lawsuit this year by passing legislation granting immunity to telecommunications companies that had provided assistance to the agency, though the foundation has said it intends to challenge the constitutionality of the new law. A lawyer with the foundation, Kevin S. Bankston, said the new suit opened a "second front" against a "massively illegal fishing expedition through AT&T's domestic networks and databases of customer records."
http://benton.org/node/17078
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CYBER ATTACK DATA-SHARING IS LACKING, CONGRESS TOLD
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Ellen Nakashima]
US intelligence agencies are unable to share information about foreign cyber attacks against companies for fear of jeopardizing intelligence-gathering sources and methods, cyber security expert Paul B. Kurtz told lawmakers. Kurtz, who served on the National Security Council in the Clinton and Bush administrations, spoke at the first open hearing on cyber security held by the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. He and other experts discussed President Bush's Comprehensive National Cybersecurity Initiative, disclosed in January, which focuses on cyber espionage against government systems and, they said, does not adequately address the private sector. There is no coordinated strategy or mechanism for sharing intelligence about intrusions with companies, nor is there a systematic way for companies to share information with the government, said the panelists, who are members of the Center for Strategic and International Studies commission on cyber security, set up last year to advise the next administration. While certain information must remain classified, "the government needs to do better" at sharing unclassified information about cyber attacks, said Rep. Silvestre Reyes (D-TX), who chairs the intelligence committee. "Everyone stands to benefit from an improved two-way information flow."
http://benton.org/node/17077
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DOJ ISSUES CYBER REPORT ON HEELS OF HILL ACTION
[SOURCE: CongressDaily, AUTHOR: Andrew Noyes]
Nearly 70 percent of U.S. businesses responding to a Justice Department national computer security survey detected at least one cybercrime and over half reported experiencing one or more cyber attacks, the agency announced Wednesday in a Bureau of Justice Statistics report. The findings were released on the same week that Congress sent a major identity theft bill to President Bush for his signature. According to the Justice Department survey of 7,818 businesses, 11 percent detected cyber thefts and 24 percent detected other computer security incidents. Computer viruses were the most common type of cyber attack, detected by 52 percent of respondents. More than 49 percent detected 10 or more cyber attacks, theft or other security incidents during 2005, the year studied in the report, which was prepared over a seven-month period in 2006. Secretly installed malicious spyware, adware, phishing, and spoofing scams were the most common incidents reported. Ninety percent of businesses polled sustained monetary loss, officials said. Cyber theft accounted for more than half of the loss and attacks accounted for about one-third. About 68 percent of cyber theft victims sustained monetary loss of $10,000 or more while 34 percent cyber attack victims lost upwards of $10,000. System downtime affected 89 percent of businesses that provided downtime information, according to the analysis. Downtime lasted longer than 24 hours for about a third of victimized businesses.
http://benton.org/node/17058
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EFF, PUBLIC KNOWLEDGE SUE US GOV OVER SECRET PACT
[SOURCE: InfoWorld, AUTHOR: Grant Gross]
Two digital rights advocacy groups have filed a lawsuit against the Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) in an attempt to get the office to turn over information about a secret international treaty being negotiated to step up cross-border enforcement of copyright and piracy laws. The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) and Public Knowledge filed the lawsuit Wednesday after USTR ignored their repeated requests to turn over information about the proposed Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA). ACTA could include an agreement for the U.S., Canada, the European Commission and other nations that are part of the talks to enforce each other's intellectual-property (IP) laws, with residents of each country subject to criminal charges when violating the IP laws of another country, according to a supposed ACTA discussion paper posted on Wikileaks.org in May. The document posted on Wikileaks also talks about increasing border searches in an effort to find counterfeit goods, encouraging ISPs (Internet service providers) to remove online material that infringes copyrights and increased cooperation in destroying infringing goods and the equipment used to make them. The full text of the ACTA has not been released, despite requests by EFF and Public Knowledge, as well as Canadian groups.
http://benton.org/node/17057
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ELECTION '08
IS MCCAIN A HIGH-TECH LEADER?
[SOURCE: Financial Times, AUTHOR: Eli Noam]
[Commentary] A look at Sen John McCain's opposition to the Telecommunications Act of 1996 which he called a "mishmash of compromises", an "elaborate influence-peddling scheme" and "the biggest rip-off since the Teapot Dome Scandal." Later, when he became the chairman of the powerful Commerce Committee, he did not choose to expend political capital by revising the law's parts he found objectionable. But it would be wrong to dismiss Mr McCain's opposition as mere posturing. Mr McCain viewed the law as spawning too many restrictions, as regulating in order to deregulate and he wanted no part in this. He also believed that the Internet subsidy programme for schools, libraries, and hospitals would become a boondoggle. His proposal, for telecommunications, was instead to give all contestants a period of adjustment, with a date certain for deregulation. After that, it was swim or sink. The next years proved his foresight. After protracted upheaval, even under the new law with its numerous regulatory protections, the Bell companies prevailed anyway against their telecom rivals, as they gained advantages in the marketplace, the FCC and the courts. Such a result could have been reached under Mr McCain's approach faster and cheaper.
http://benton.org/node/17076
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AGENDA
THE WEEK AHEAD: SEPT 22-28
[SOURCE: Benton Foundation, AUTHOR: Kevin Taglang]
A busy week ahead. 1) A discussion on the future for musicians in Chicago and 2) OneWeb Day 2008 on Monday. On Tuesday 3) a Senate DTV transition oversight hearing and 4) the CPB board meets to pick a chairman (among other agenda items). Wednesday sees 5) the 26th Annual Everett C. Parker Ethics in Telecommunications Lecture and Awards Luncheon (congratulations to Prometheus Radio Project, William Bresnan and Caroline Mayer). On Thursday, 6) the FCC holds its monthly open meeting (agenda below), 7) the Senate hears about privacy issues for broadband subscribers and 8) ITIF hosts a discussion on "Innovation Economics." Friday kicks off a weekend of conferences including 9) Broadband Census for America, 10) Race, Gender and the Media in the 2008 Elections, and 11) the 36th annual Research Conference on Communication, Information & Internet Policy (TPRC). So glad the Cubs will have wrapped up the NL Central by Monday so we can devote our attention to these events.
http://benton.org/calendar
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FCC SEPT 25 MEETING AGENDA
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission]
The Federal Communications Commission will hold an Open Meeting on Thursday, September 25, 2008, scheduled to commence at 10:00 a.m. in Room TW-C305, at 445 12th Street, S.W., Washington, D.C. The Commission will consider a number of broadcast license issues. NOT on the agenda are some items discussed previously by FCC Chairman Martin: 1) a new auction of "D-Block/700 MHz" spectrum, 2) Video Relay Service, or 3) a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Request by Mary O'Grady.
http://benton.org/node/17069
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FCC REFORM
Ex-Chairmen Now Big critics of Federal Communications Commission
EX-CHIEFS HAVE EARFUL FOR CANDIDATES, SHARP WORDS FOR FCC
[SOURCE: ars technica, AUTHOR: Julian Sanchez]
Former Federal Communications Commission Chairmen Michael Powell and William Kennard -- now top advisors to presidential hopefuls Sen McCain and Obama, respectively -- spoke candidly about their experiences heading the regulatory agency at a National Press Club event Tuesday. Powell was particularly critical of the FCC's recent actions on the broadcast indecency front -- including his own decisions. Powell was equally acerbic on the subject of the agency's merger review process, which he suggested added little of value to the ordinary antitrust review conducted by the Department of Justice. On the question of a national broadband policy, Powell said that most of the potential approaches that have been laid out can be reduced to the idea that people "expect government to write a big check." In the current economic climate, he mocked the idea that there would be any political will in Congress to shell out billions annually rolling out rural fiber, though he added that he would "be one of the first to support such a thing if I thought it were politically feasible." Kennard said the FCC appointment process has become more politicized ever since President Clinton and former Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott struck a deal to let Republicans pick agency boards. The result, he said, was that instead of being staffed like a management team, with commissioners chosen for complementary expertise to produce a board that works well together, party leaders would be afforded their patronage picks.
http://benton.org/node/17068
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NEWS FROM CONGRESS
LAWMAKERS PRESS FCC ON AT&T'S PUBLIC PROGRAM OFFERINGS
[SOURCE: Dow Jones, AUTHOR: Fawn Johnson]
Members of a powerful House committee are pressing the Federal Communications Commission to put a stop to how AT&T offers public and educational programming on its fledgling paid TV service. While FCC Commissioners have yet to weigh in, FCC Media Bureau Chief Monica Shah Desai said Wednesday that AT&T's practice of placing public programming on a single channel where subscribers scroll through a menu of options violates the law. "I would be anxious to place this issue in front of the commissioners for them to decide, with our view that this would be a violation of the statute," Desai said at a hearing. Rep Jose Serrano (D-NY), who chairs the House Appropriations Financial Services Subcommittee, said AT&T's method falls short. "Many concerns have been raised that this approach makes the channels more difficult to view, offers inferior quality and results in the loss of features such as closed captioning," he said. Subcommittee member Mark Kirk (R-IL) said AT&T wouldn't get help from Republicans. "I'm completely with you on nailing AT&T with what they're doing over public access," he said. "It does appear that AT&T is in violation of Illinois law. We need to make sure that there is a very convenient place, especially for our seniors, to find out what's happening in their community."
http://benton.org/node/17063
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READY TO COMPETE ACT INTRODUCED IN CONGRESS
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
The Ready to Compete Act (HR 6856) would expand the scope and funding of noncommercial TV's educational efforts for both kids and adults. The bill would expand the Department of Education-backed Ready to Learn and Ready to Teach initiatives, as well as adding two more. Ready to Achieve would be an on-demand digital service that would let teachers tap into public TV's archives of educational programming, while Ready to Earn would target adult learning in a "changing economy." The bill was introduced this week by Reps. John Yarmuth (D-KY) and Ray LaHood (R-IL).
http://benton.org/node/17062
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HOUSE PANEL EXAMINES CELL PHONE TAXATION
[SOURCE: CongressDaily, AUTHOR: Andrew Noyes]
The House Judiciary Subcommittee on Commercial and Administrative Law examined legislation Thursday that would impose a five-year moratorium on any new discriminatory state or local taxes on mobile services, mobile service providers, and mobile service property. The bill was introduced by Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) in April. The average wireless customer pays more than twice as much in taxes for their cell phone service (15.2 percent) as they do for other goods and services (7.1 percent), she noted. That tax burden is significant when one considers that more than 39 million American wireless subscribers earn less than $25,000 a year.
http://benton.org/node/17067
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INTERNET/BROADBAND
THE WALL STREET LESSON FOR NET NEUTRALITY
[SOURCE: Public Knowledge, AUTHOR: Art Brodsky]
[Commentary] As the institutions of Wall Street continue to crumble one after another, there's a lesson to be learned for those of us who want to make sure the Internet remains as free and open in the future as it has been in the past. The underpinning the whole mess is a philosophy about business and government. That way of thinking posits that deregulation is the best path for the economy, and that government is best when it's out of the way to let the private sector do what it wants. Into the midst of this debacle, the fact that there is even a debate over Net Neutrality seems foolish, and the fact that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is being criticized for taking a stand against Comcast's throttling of BitTorrent traffic (and lying about it) seems oblivious at best. The laws regulating the telecommunications world and those regulating the financial world have a joint history. The Communications Act of 1934 wasn't passed in a vacuum. It was part of a new generation of laws that passed after the Depression, including the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. A law was passed in 1935 giving the Federal government the power to regulate interstate electricity, which updated a 1920 law governing water power much as the Communications Act updated the Federal Radio Act of 1927. The Communications Act, as with the laws of the same era, was passed with the intent of protecting the public from the abuses of private industry. The basic tenets of non-discrimination were written into that law. If regulators do their jobs, everyone wins the industry makes money and provides services, and consumers aren't harmed. If regulators don't do their jobs, and/or if a compliant Congress passes laws allowing for an industry to run wild by taking away federal regulation, then it's a different story. That's what happened in financial services and in telecommunications the last few years, and now we're suffering the results.
http://benton.org/node/17061
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IS HOME BROADBAND ADOPTION SLOWING?
[SOURCE: Pew Internet & American Life Project, AUTHOR: John Horrigan]
There are indications that the growth rate in home high-speed adoption is slowing. Two factors jump to mind as reasons for this slowdown. First, high growth rates become more difficult to sustain as society marches up the adoption curve; it becomes a tougher sell to reach non-adopters once the 50% threshold is passed. Remaining non-adopters the 9% of dial-up users and 25% of non-Internet users are older and lower-income Americans. They are not likely candidates for upgrades in household communications technology. Second is the economy. With unemployment now up to 6.1% (from 5.0% in December 2007) and growing economy uncertainty, adding to household expenditures with a broadband connection may not be a priority for some people. On a monthly basis, broadband is still more costly than dial up by a $34.50 to $19.70 margin, according to our May 2008 survey. This pattern - economic slowdown and a stall in tech adoption -- was evident in the 2001 recession with respect to general Internet adoption. At the start of that recession in March 2001, 57% of Americans were Internet users, a figure that changed very little over the next year. By March 2002, 58% of U.S. adults were online users.
http://benton.org/node/17060
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US: HOME OF THE INTERNET, BUT NOT HOME WHEN THE BROADBAND SALESMAN CALLS
[SOURCE: Telecom, AUTHOR: Andrew Beutmueller]
The latest broadband country statistics are out and the US is once again nowhere to be found in the top ten. Indeed, landing this time way down at 16th, barely edging out Russia and behind Latvia, Lithuania, and Slovenia. The study, commissioned by US gear maker Cisco listed Japan as the hands-down Internet speed leader offering what the study described "robust" broadband technology. The study was performed by researchers at Oxford University in the UK and Spain's Oviedo University. The top 10 speediest BB Internet countries after number 1 Japan are Sweden, the Netherlands, Latvia, Korea, Switzerland, Lithuania, Denmark, Germany, and Slovenia in that order. Oddly, the US' lack of Internet prowess is not a big issue for the American public and is not often mentioned on the campaign trail compared to gay marriage and moose hunting. There is however a bill quietly wending its way through the legislature that might help, called the Broadband Data Improvement Act introduced last year. That law would mandate research on broadband deployment and adoption in every state offering solutions to improve penetration. The bill's main champion is Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Daniel K. Inouye (D-Hawaii) who is apparently paddling against the tide.
http://benton.org/node/17059
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TELECOMS TOLD TO END BROADBAND MONOPOLY
[SOURCE: Financial Times, AUTHOR: Tony Barber in Brussels, Andrew Parker]
Leading European telecoms companies should give rivals access to their superfast broadband networks, the European Commission said on Thursday. In a draft recommendation for national telecoms regulators, the Commission also highlighted the importance of ensuring that Europe's former fixed-line phone monopolies are able to secure appropriate returns on their high-speed broadband investments. Viviane Reding, European telecoms commissioner, and Neelie Kroes, competition commissioner, on Thursday expressed concern that the EU was lagging behind leading industrialized countries, such as Japan and the US, in the rollout of high speed broadband networks.
http://benton.org/node/17071
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BROADCASTING/CABLE
NTIA: DTV COUPON FUNDS COULD RUN OUT BEFORE ANALOG SHUTOFF
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
In a letter to Congress, acting National Telecommunications and Information Administration chief Meredith Attwell Baker says the administration's digital-TV-to-analog converter-box-coupon program could well run out of funds to process those coupons by the end of January unless Congress frees up more money. That would be 17 days short of the DTV-transition date and almost seven weeks short of the March 31 end date for applying for the coupons. That shortfall could be a problem if there is an anticipated spike of coupon requests from procrastinators as the Feb. 17, 2009, date nears. "NTIA has placed orders with IBM to distribute up to 44.5 million coupons," Baker said in the letter. "Assuming steady demand and an increase for the months of November, December and January, as well as a redemption rate consistent with that realized to date [49%], NTIA estimates that the coupon program will be able to honor requests for 44.5 million coupons through the end of January 2009 within existing administrative funds." She added the caveat that there may be cost savings of up to $6 million that could add several weeks to that end-of-January date.
http://benton.org/node/17075
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ION HAS EYE ON SOFT ANALOG CUTOFF TESTS
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
Station-group owner ION Media Networks approached TV stations and satellite and cable providers in top markets about participating in a mid- to late-October "soft" analog-cutoff test. The markets are New York; Los Angeles; Washington, D.C.; San Francisco; Philadelphia; and Hartford (CT). So far, public TV stations, and Telemundo- and NBC-owned affiliates in those markets have agreed to participate (NBC and Telemundo are owned by NBC Universal, which has an ownership stake in ION). ION is the largest TV group in the United States, owning and/or operating 60 full-power TV stations, including one in each of the top 20 markets.
http://benton.org/node/17074
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WHAT'S NEEDED IS A BETTER DTV CONVERTER
[SOURCE: tvnewsday, AUTHOR: Oded Bendov]
[Commentary] If you have been following viewers' complaints from around the country and reading the articles describing the outcome of the shutdown in Wilmington, N.C., let me assure you: The reception problem is consistent with the system design. There should not be any surprise. Broadcast and government engineers are aware of the reality, but their leaders are in denial. If you think that the designed reliability of our service is not a handicap, think about the Emergency Alert System failing 10 percent of the time at 50 percent of the locations and whether that is adequate for homeland security. Fortunately, there is a way to correct for the ATSC system's inherent shortcomings. Basically, we need a new converter box.
http://benton.org/node/17066
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FCC UPHOLDS FINE FOR FAILING TO SERVE PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
The Federal Communications Commission upheld a $25,000 fine against KUSI-TV San Diego for failing to provide adequate visual warnings to hearing-impaired viewers during its coverage of California wildfires. It was running up against a five-year statute of limitations since the incident occurred in October 2003. In response to a complaint and subsequent investigation, the FCC initially proposed the fines in 2005, but the station challenged it. In releasing the final order for the fine Thursday, the FCC said it was not persuaded by various arguments, including that the station was exercising editorial judgment about what of the emergency information was sufficiently crucial and credible to make visually available given that visuals had more impact and authority than words. The fine could have been much more. The FCC pointed out that it found 22 separate violations, each potentially warranting an $8,000 base fine, which would have added up to $176,000.
http://benton.org/node/17055
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GEORGE WILL: OBAMA VICTORY WOULD BRING BACK FAIRNESS DOCTRINE BACK
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
In an op-ed in The Washington Post Thursday, conservative columnist George Will warned that "unless [Sen. John] McCain [R-Ariz.] is president, the government will reinstate the ... misnamed Fairness Doctrine." Will writes, "Liberals, not satisfied with their domination of academia, Hollywood and most of the mainstream media, want to kill talk radio, where liberals have been unable to dent conservative dominance." But Sen Barack Obama's press secretary said in June that the candidate does not support reinstituting the Fairness Doctrine and sees the issue as "a distraction from the conversation we should be having about opening up the airwaves and modern communications to as many diverse viewpoints as possible."
http://benton.org/node/17056
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TELECOM
RATE INCREASES OK'd FOR LAND-LINE PHONE SERVICE IN CALIFORNIA
[SOURCE: Los Angeles Times, AUTHOR: Marc Lifsher]
The cost of basic local telephone service may increase as much as 30% next year and an additional 23% in 2010 for land-line service, under new rates approved Thursday by California regulators. The Public Utilities Commission voted Thursday to approve increases of as much as $3.25 a month beginning in January 2009 for the four major phone companies, including AT&T Inc. and Verizon Communications Inc., that offer land-line service. Another $3.25-a-month increase can go into effect a year later. The PUC has deregulated most aspects of California phone services and was expected to deregulate it all next year. Instead, the commission opted to maintain a cap on local land-line rates for two more years. The decision was met with disappointment from the phone companies that had sought total deregulation and from consumer groups that opposed the rate increase. Consumer advocates said the decision would hurt the poor and elderly. "Phone service is as necessary to modern life as are other essentials like gas, electricity and food," said Mark Toney, executive director of the Utility Reform Network, known as TURN. "But without regulation, low-income and rural Californians could lose access." TURN failed to persuade commissioners to conduct an affordability study before allowing the rate increases.
http://benton.org/node/17073
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CALIFORNIA BANS TEXTING BY OPERATORS OF TRAINS
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Jesse McKinley, Matthew Wald]
A day after federal investigators said an engineer in last week's deadly train collision outside Los Angeles had been text-messaging on the job, California's railroad regulators temporarily banned the use of all cellular devices by anyone at the controls of a moving train. The emergency order was passed unanimously by the five-person California Public Utilities Commission, which noted the lack of federal or state rules regarding the use of such devices by on-duty train personnel.
http://benton.org/node/17072
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QUICKLY
FEDERAL LAWSUITS TAKE ON THE HUMBLE HYPERLINK
[SOURCE: ars technica, AUTHOR: Nate Anderson]
[Commentary] A pair of recent federal court cases coming from Wisconsin and Illinois have threatened to turn the most primitive functionality of the web -- the hyperlink -- into an "ask permission before linking" system.
http://benton.org/node/17065
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GOOGLE SNATCHES SEARCH SHARE IN AUGUST
[SOURCE: C-Net|News.com, AUTHOR:Stephen Shankland]
Internet users performed 11.7 billion searches in the U.S. in August, choosing Google 63 percent of the time, according to ComScore's monthly analysis released Thursday. That's an increase of 1.1 percentage points from 61.9 percent in July, the analyst firm said.
http://benton.org/node/17064
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SOME EUROPEAN TELECOM REGULATORS SEEN AS WEAK
[SOURCE: The Industry Standard, AUTHOR: Paul Meller]
Telecommunications regulators in Sweden, Lithuania and Latvia aren't independent enough and are too weak to uphold European Union telecom laws, the European Commission said Thursday when it opened legal proceedings against the three countries. Sweden's national regulatory authority was singled out for lacking the power to settle disputes between operators over interconnection agreements. The Commission said a Swedish law restricts the authority's ability to act.
http://benton.org/node/17054
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"And now, introducing you National League Central Division Champions...."