June 6, 2011 (UN: Internet Access is a Basic Human Right)
BENTON'S COMMUNICATIONS-RELATED HEADLINES for MONDAY, JUNE 6, 2011
GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS
United Nations Declares Internet Access a Basic Human Right
Syrian Internet Networks Shut Down as Protests Against Assad Intensify [links to web]
Obama Administration condemns Syria for shuttering Internet [links to web]
Rep Darrell Issa: Gmail hack underscores White House e-mail risk
CYBERSECURITY
String of major cybersecurity breaches builds momentum for government action
China calls US culprit in global 'Internet war'
Cyberspies Target China Experts [links to web]
For Some Hackers, Goal Is Pranks [links to web]
Android, Apple face growing cyberattacks [links to web]
INTERNET
The National Broadband Map: a $350 million "boondoggle"? - analysis
Microsoft’s Plans for Skype Are Unclear
Vodafone calls for Internet rules
NCTA Wants to Join FCC in Pole Attachment Defense [links to web]
FCC REFORM
Sunstein Encourages FCC, Others to Submit Regulatory Review Plan
FCC Looks to Close Dormant Dockets
Levin: FCC shouldn't interview for private sector jobs
Stop the revolving door at the FCC - op-ed [links to web]
Rep Blackburn slams Free Press 'collusion' with FCC Commissioner Copps on network neutrality
AT&T/T-MOBILE
Survey Shows Public Uninformed on AT&T/T-Mobile Deal
May 21-June 3: AT&T/T-Mobile Under the Microscope - analysis
Two Gay & Lesbian Groups Back AT&T/T-Mobile [links to web]
T-Mobile Subsidiary, Dealer Express Doubts Over AT&T Merger
MORE ON WIRELESS/SPECTRUM
LightSquared wireless Internet plan concerns officials pushing GPS for aviation
Comscore: RIM’s BlackBerry In Free Fall With No Net In Sight [links to web]
Clearwire Outsources Support to TeleTech [links to web]
Inside the ultra-high-speed wireless home wars [links to web]
UNIVERSAL SERVICE FUND REFORM
Consumer Groups Address Lifeline Reform at FCC
Benton Foundation Advocates for Lifeline Reform
HEALTH
Bipartisan Policy Center: Need for greater consumer engagement, more public-private collaboration in health IT
Small practices give lawmakers an earful about DC-centric Health IT regulations [links to web]
PRIVACY
California lawmakers defeat bill on Internet privacy
CONTENT
After Lady Gaga's Amazon Success, Should All Albums Cost 99 Cents? [links to web]
The High Price of Amazon's Gaga Deal [links to web]
Pulling Out Weeds Online [links to web]
TELEVISION
Republicans demand TV station yank ad claiming GOP plan would 'end Medicare'
Channel 13 subsidiary will get $4M in fees, grant to operate New Jersey Network [links to web]
POLICYMAKERS/AGENDA
We Call That a Big Tent - editorial
FCC To Unveil 'Future Of Media' Report Next Week
STORIES FROM ABROAD
US won't copy Aussie NBN [links to web]
UK Wireless Spectrum Sale Should Not Dictate Market Size, Vodafone Says [links to web]
MORE ONLINE
TechAmerica lauds House GOP's tech agenda [links to web]
GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS
INTERNET ACCESS AS BASIC RIGHT
[SOURCE: The Atlantic, AUTHOR: Nicholas Jackson]
A lengthy report released by the United Nations argued that disconnecting individuals from the Internet is a violation of human rights and goes against international law. "The Special Rapporteur underscores the unique and transformative nature of the Internet not only to enable individuals to exercise their right to freedom of opinion and expression," according to the report's summary, "but also a range of other human rights, and to promote the progress of society as a whole." "[T]he recent wave of demonstrations in countries across the Middle East and North African region has shown the key role that the Internet can play in mobilizing the population to call for justice, equality, accountability and better respect for human rights," the report notes. "As such, facilitating access to the Internet for all individuals, with as little restriction to online content as possible, should be a priority for all States."
benton.org/node/75753 | Atlantic, The | read the report | ars technica
Recommend this Headline
back to top
GMAIL AND PRESIDENTIAL RECORDS ACT
[SOURCE: Politico, AUTHOR: Elizabeth Wasserman, Mike Zapler]
The brouhaha over hackers penetrating the Gmail accounts of top US officials would be much ado about nothing if White House employees just followed the rules. That's the view from the office of House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Darrell Issa (R-CA), who has been pushing the White House to make sure employees with private email accounts comply with the Presidential Records Act. He has repeatedly complained about senior administration employees — among the reported targets of the scam — sending work e-mails to their personal email accounts because, he argues, it circumvents the law. And Chairman Issa believes the hack on Gmail is further evidence that the administration needs to step up and do a better job of ensuring its staff complies with the records act.
benton.org/node/75744 | Politico
Recommend this Headline
back to top
CYBERSECURITY
CYBERSECURITY BREACHES
[SOURCE: The Hill, AUTHOR: Gautham Nagesh]
Cybersecurity experts have warned the government for years about the increasing threat that attacks from criminals and foreign states post to the nation's economic and physical security. But it has taken a series of high-profile breaches in recent years to build enough momentum to cut through the legislative stalemate. The release of the first detailed legislative guidance on the topic from the White House is another sign that comprehensive cybersecurity legislation may finally pass Congress this session after years of inactivity. Both the Senate and the House have shown a willingness to cooperate on legislation, though there is a healthy debate over how much authority the government should have to regulate security standards for private sector firms, particularly those deemed "critical infrastructure" and therefore crucial to national security. On one thing most experts are in agreement: whatever we're doing now isn't working.
benton.org/node/75774 | Hill, The
Recommend this Headline
back to top
INTERNET WAR
[SOURCE: Associated Press, AUTHOR: ]
The Chinese military accused the U.S. on June 3 of launching a global "Internet war" to bring down Arab and other governments, redirecting the spotlight away from allegations of major online attacks on Western targets originating in China. The accusations June 3 by Chinese military academy scholars, and their urging of tougher policing of the Internet, followed allegations this week that computer hackers in China had compromised the personal Gmail accounts of several hundred people, including government officials, military personnel and political activists. Google traced the origin of the attacks to the city of Jinan that is home to a military vocational school whose computers were linked to a more sophisticated assault on Google's systems 17 months ago. China has denied responsibility for the two attacks. In Washington, State Department spokesman Mark Toner said the United States had raised its concerns with China over the latest allegations. He said the allegations were serious but made no comment on reports of China's involvement.
benton.org/node/75773 | Associated Press
Recommend this Headline
back to top
INTERNET
NATIONAL BROADBAND MAP
[SOURCE: ars technica, AUTHOR: Matthew Lasar]
The United States government's National Broadband Map has been out for three months and hasn't generated much heat—until now. Suddenly advocates from the New America Foundation are posting commentaries calling the project a big disappointment. "We think that with a few vital improvements, the map could easily become an exemplar of government data transparency as well as an incredibly useful tool for US residents and policymakers," write Benjamin Lennett and Sascha Meinrath on Slate. "But without these improvements, the National Broadband Map runs the risk of becoming a $350 million boondoggle—a map to nowhere filled with inaccurate and useless information." "Map to nowhere"? Ouch. That's a phrase reminiscent of potshots taken at the Obama administration's $7.1 billion broadband stimulus package, sometimes called "broadband to nowhere" by critics. The alleged problems are twofold. First, the map doesn't display information about Internet Service Provider prices. And second, its data on ISP speeds relies heavily on information provided by the companies themselves. "Anyone who's ever checked their connection speed knows that real-life speeds tend to be substantially lower than what you're paying for," they note. The Federal Communications Commission, on whose site the map is posted, was quick to reply to the charges. The criticisms "miss almost entirely the real story regarding broadband data and the FCC, including the National Broadband Map," countered the agency's Steven Rosenberg. NTIA pointed out to us that the stimulus plan authorized "up to" $350 million. That isn't what the map has cost so far. $200 million has been allocated over the next five years, the agency says. The rest has been rerouted to local and statewide broadband projects.
There's quite a lot to chew on in this tussle. The good news is that FCC and NTIA have come through with an open and expandable map of the nation's broadband resources -- and they are working with constructively critical groups who want to make the application much more accurate and useful. This uneasy collaboration could go far. One small suggestion -- perhaps words like "boondoggle" should stay out of future public exchanges. They may only give credence to those who thought that the National Broadband Map should never have been developed in the first place.
benton.org/node/75734 | Ars Technica | telecompetitor
Recommend this Headline
back to top
SKYPE AND NETWORK NEUTRALITY
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Kevin O'Brien]
If Microsoft’s $8.5 billion acquisition of Skype, the Internet communications company, goes through, supporters of network neutrality may be losing a standard-bearer. In Europe, Skype has been the chief litmus test for measuring the openness of mobile networks. The results so far have been resoundingly negative. Most European mobile operators block Skype from their networks or impose arbitrary charges on consumers wanting to use the free service from their cellphones. This runs counter to the concept of net neutrality, which calls for the equal treatment by networks of all Internet traffic, regardless of content. Skype executives have complained loudly to European regulators in Brussels for more than a year, describing the carriers’ policies as a form of economic discrimination. And the regulators have been sympathetic. In April, a month before Microsoft announced the deal with Skype, the European commissioner for telecommunications, Neelie Kroes, warned operators to stop blocking or imposing fees on Skype before the end of the year or risk unspecified sanctions. But assuming that Microsoft acquires Skype — the transaction requires approval by the competition authorities in the United States and Europe — Skype’s interests may take a back seat to Microsoft’s larger goals. Unlike Skype, Microsoft views mobile carriers as customers for mobile phones using the Microsoft operating system, which will soon gain wider carriage as part of new models by Nokia, as well as for Internet protocol television and Lync, a unified communications server.
benton.org/node/75785 | New York Times
Recommend this Headline
back to top
CALL FOR INTERNET RULES
[SOURCE: Financial Times, AUTHOR: Andrew Parker]
Vodafone has insisted that Internet companies should have to comply with national laws on privacy and consumer protection and rejected calls by Facebook, Google and other technology companies for a light-touch approach to policing the web. Vittorio Colao, Vodafone’s chief executive, has in effect sided with Nicolas Sarkozy, France’s president, by saying Internet companies need to comply with national rules that telecoms operators abide by. Colao supports Mr Sarkozy’s call for tougher policing of the Internet after highlighting regular media reports about web threats to consumer rights. “So Sarkozy is really right to argue that realizing the full potential of the Internet will also require an effective legal framework and that self-regulation will not be enough,” he says. Colao acknowledges the challenge of policing the web because Internet companies operate in cyberspace and, unlike telecoms operators, may not be licensed in particular countries. But he highlights how new UK legislation could enable regulators to order operators to block customers from visiting websites that supply pirated music and video. He suggests such an approach could be extended to other areas, so that regulators could order operators to block access to websites accused of breaching national privacy or consumer protection rules. Colao also highlights how operators abide by national rules on consumer and data protection and national security, and bear the associated compliance costs. He contends that Internet companies should be subject to the same rules and costs. Colao risks fuelling existing tension between European telecoms operators and US tech companies that have warned against heavy policing of the web.
benton.org/node/75784 | Financial Times | Vodafone's Colao
Recommend this Headline
back to top
FCC REFORM
REGULATORY REVIEW PLAN
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
Cass Sunstein, who heads the Office of Management and Budget's Office of Regulatory Affairs, told the House Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee that he had not gotten a review regulatory review plan from the Federal Communications Commission for addressing the costs and benefits of its regulations, but was hopeful that would be forthcoming from it and other independent agencies. A FCC source says commission will implement intent of President Obama's order, but not submit formal plan. Independent agencies like the FCC are not subject to the order. "We are implementing [the executive order's] intent," said an FCC source speaking on background, "but as an independent agency we are not formally submitting a plan," he said. Sunstein said he was encouraging the FCC, FTC and other independent agencies to weigh in, but had, to date, only gotten one page of suggestions from the National Labor Relations Board.
benton.org/node/75732 | Broadcasting&Cable | House Commerce Committee
Recommend this Headline
back to top
DORMANT DOCKETS
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission, AUTHOR: ]
The Federal Communications Commission's Consumer & Governmental Affairs Bureau (“CGB”) seeks comment on whether certain docketed FCC proceedings should be terminated as dormant.
By Report and Order released on February 4, 2011, the FCC revised portions of its Part 1 practice and procedural rules and its Part 0 organizational rules to increase the efficiency of FCC decision-making, modernize the agency’s processes in the digital age and enhance the openness and transparency of Commission proceedings for practitioners and the public. The revised rules delegate authority to the Chief, CGB to periodically review all open dockets and, in consultation with the responsible Bureaus or Offices, to identify those dockets that appear to be candidates for termination. The FCC stated that these candidates may include dockets in which no further action is required or contemplated as well as those in which no pleadings or other documents have been filed for several years, but it specified that proceedings in which petitions addressing the merits are pending should not be terminated, absent the parties’ consent. The termination of a dormant proceeding also includes dismissal as moot of any pending petition, motion, or other request for relief that is procedural in nature or otherwise does not address the merits of the proceeding. The FCC directed that a public notice identifying dockets under consideration for termination and affording interested parties an opportunity to comment should be issued before any particular proceeding is terminated. To that end, CGB, in coordination with the responsible Bureaus and
Offices, has identified the dockets for possible termination
benton.org/node/75735 | Federal Communications Commission
Recommend this Headline
back to top
LEVIN ON FCC AND PRIVATE SECTOR JOBS
[SOURCE: Politico, AUTHOR: Eliza Krigman]
If Blair Levin had his druthers, no Federal Communications Commission commissioner would be allowed to interview for a private sector job, let alone take one, while sitting in public office. “No one who is a Senate-confirmed person at the agency should interview for any private sector job while they are there,” said Levin, principal architect of the National Broadband Plan. “If the Senate confirms you to be a decisionmaker, go be a decisionmaker,” he added, arguing that public officials should have some sort of cooling-off period before going to work for the entities they previously regulated. After leaving the FCC, Levin took a job as a fellow at the Aspen Institute. That’s where he remains today.
benton.org/node/75743 | Politico
Recommend this Headline
back to top
FREE PRESS AND FCC COMMISSIONER COPPS
[SOURCE: The Hill, AUTHOR: Sara Jerome]
Conservative watchdog group Judicial Watch released e-mails between Federal Communications Commission Commissioner Michael Copps and his aides and members of Free Press. The media reform group offered to help draft an editorial by Commissioner Copps to place in a newspaper. The correspondence also shows that Copps's office declined the help with drafting, but accepted the help with placing the article. “As you can see from even a cursory glance at these e-mails, there is nothing unusual or controversial in what Judicial Watch 'uncovered.' They found us — shockingly — filing ex partes about meetings we had, recommending our allies to testify at public hearings, urging the public to attend those hearings and sending a daily headline service to anyone who signs up," Free Press President Craig Aaron said, arguing that the e-mails reflect the ordinary activities of advocates. But Rep Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) strongly condemned what she described as "collusion" and called for further scrutiny of Free Press by the House. "I am deeply disturbed by the revelations of collusion between the FCC and Free Press on the net-neutrality issue. The FCC has moved against the will of the people, the wisdom of Congress and the order of the courts, to nationalize our most productive marketplace," Rep Blackburn said.
benton.org/node/75740 | Hill, The | National Journal | B&C
Recommend this Headline
back to top
AT&T/T-MOBILE
PUBLIC UNINFORMED ABOUT AT&T/T-MOBILE
[SOURCE: Wireless Week, AUTHOR: Andrew Berg]
The No Takeover Project -- a non-profit that seeks to kill the proposed merger of AT&T and T-Mobile USA and counts as members the Rural Cellular Association (RCA), Council for Public Knowledge and Future of Music, among others -- released a survey that it says overwhelmingly shows that cellular customers oppose and AT&T/T-Mobile deal. While compelling, a close look at the results of the online survey that polled a swath of 1,000 cellular customers from across the country on different carriers appears to be more a split decision, with some consumers changing their attitude towards the deal once they were informed about it. "Not a whole lot of people really know that the deal is out there and the impact of the merger," said Steve Berry, CEO of the RCA. That seems to be the gist of it; consumers just simply are not aware of the deal. According to the survey, just 29 percent of wireless consumers know that AT&T is trying to take over T-Mobile, while 71 percent are unaware of the details of the proposed deal. On the whole, T-Mobile customers appeared to be more aware of the deal than the overall group of consumers. Fully 52 percent of T-Mobile customers know AT&T is trying to take over their provider, and they don't like it. The No Takeover Project writes in a press release that it is because of their ignorance of the deal that wireless consumers nominally support the deal, with 45 percent in support, 24 percent opposed, and a full 31 percent undecided or harboring no opinion.
benton.org/node/75728 | Wireless Week
Recommend this Headline
back to top
UNDER THE MICROSCOPE
[SOURCE: Benton Foundation, AUTHOR: Kevin Taglang]
Over the past two weeks, we've seen steady progress on AT&T's proposed purchase of T-Mobile. Camps of supporters and opponents have formed as well as narratives the sides have begun to tell. For AT&T, the party line now is -- there's great support for the deal. But some good reporting casts some doubt on that storyline.
benton.org/node/75726 | Benton Foundation
Recommend this Headline
back to top
IOWA WIRELESS QUESTIONS MERGER
[SOURCE: PC Magazine, AUTHOR: Sascha Segan]
There's dissension in the ranks over the AT&T/T-Mobile merger as a T-Mobile subsidiary, a T-Mobile dealer, and the company's roaming partners have all come out with serious concerns about the merger. In a filing with the Federal Communications Commission, Iowa Wireless Services -- which is 54% owned by T-Mobile -- complains that it doesn't trust what it's heard from AT&T about the effect the merger would have on its business.
"Iowa Wireless has not been able to obtain any information regarding how -- if at all -- AT&T will incorporate Iowa Wireless into its long-term plans, nor has Iowa Wireless been able to determine what impact, if any, the transaction will have on Iowa Wireless's rural customers with respect to continued network access at reasonable rates," the company writes.
AT&T is talking to Iowa Wireless. It's just that the smaller carrier doesn't appear to trust the larger company's assurances. "AT&T has recently communicated to Iowa Wireless that AT&T will, consistent with its practice in similar transactions, honor any contractual and legal obligations arising out of the T-Mobile acquisition," the smaller carrier writes. One big issue appears to be AT&T's controversial pledge to shut down T-Mobile's 3G network so it can re-use the spectrum for LTE. That will leave rural areas run by T-Mobile partners "stranded," Iowa Wireless says, and could actually lead to less broadband in rural regions. "Some [rural carriers] that have not yet started to deploy wireless broadband in their communities are now reluctant to do so due to the uncertainty associated with AT&T's plans to move T-Mobile's network away from UMTS/HSPA," the company says. Iowa Wireless is also concerned about the roaming rates it will get from AT&T, and that AT&T won't honor partnership agreements where T-Mobile said it would work together with, rather than competing directly against certain rural carriers, the company says.
benton.org/node/75722 | PC Magazine | National Journal
Recommend this Headline
back to top
MORE ON WIRELESS
LIGHTSPEED AND GPS
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Ashley Halsey]
Two of 21st-century America’s favorite gadgets — the smartphone and the GPS device — are on a collision course, according to a report delivered Friday to the Federal Aviation Administration. The report says deployment of a massive new network of towers and satellites to expand wireless communication may effectively shut down Global Positioning System devices that are at the core of a multibillion-dollar plan to revolutionize aviation. They also may affect some GPS units used by drivers, bicyclists and boaters. The report puts the Federal Communications Commission in a Solomonesque position with two of its most cherished, ambitious and expensive initiatives. President Barack Obama has promised to make Internet access available to all Americans, even as the Administration has pushed airlines to invest billions to install GPS-based equipment.
benton.org/node/75769 | Washington Post
Recommend this Headline
back to top
UNIVERSAL SERVICE FUND REFORM
CONSUMER GROUPS AND LIFELINE
[SOURCE: National Consumer Law Center, AUTHOR: Olivia Wein]
On June 1, a number of consumer groups spoke with Federal Communications Commission staffers to raise issues about proposed reforms to the FCC's Lifeline and LinkUp programs. The groups discussed their grave concerns regarding the disparate impact the FCC’s one-per-address limitation for Lifeline would have on certain low-income populations including those in group housing, the homeless, and those in remote rural areas. The groups proposed that the better starting point for Lifeline eligibility determinations is to focus on the household’s eligibility instead of their housing situation. The groups' proposed definition of household (“any individual or group of individuals who are living together as an economic unit” which is derived from the federal Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) definition of household) and their proposed definition of residence which acknowledges that more than one household can reside at an address.
benton.org/node/75712 | National Consumer Law Center
Recommend this Headline
back to top
BENTON ADVOCATES FOR LIFELINE REFORM
[SOURCE: Benton Foundation, AUTHOR: Amina Fazlulla]
On May 31, the Benton Foundation met with Federal Communications Commission staff to discuss Lifeline/LinkUp reform. The discussion focused on the following points:
The need for the “one per residence” rule to be changed to accommodate group living situations. Benton suggested that the FCC clarify the rule so that it reads and is implemented as “one per eligible adult”.
Benton stressed that this clarification would be achieve the program’s stated purpose to provide low-income or no income individuals with access to communications services.
Benton noted that with the clarification to “one per eligible adult’ the program would likely need to expand their wireless offerings. This expansion would require a restructuring of the rules surrounding wireless Lifeline and Link Up services to ensure that participants receive adequate services and that the verification procedure is adequately rigorous.
Benton then discussed the need for the FCC to reach out to other agencies that are managing social assistance programs and suggested and intergovernmental dialogue with HHS and HUD.
Benton also discussed the need for the FCC to reach out at the community provider level. Benton suggested setting up meetings or a series of roundtables with volunteer legal services programs, homeless advocacy projects, women’s shelters, prison reintegration projects and assisted living facilities.
Benton also noted that the clarification of the “one per eligible adult” rule would require a verification management system that is a robust and secure database.
benton.org/node/75711 | Benton Foundation
Recommend this Headline
back to top
HEALTH
HEALTH IT REPORT
[SOURCE: ModernHealthcare.com, AUTHOR: Jessica Zigmond]
Engaging patients through new technologies and expanding public-private collaborations are among the recommendations in a new report from the Washington-based Bipartisan Policy Center about leveraging health information technology to address problems in healthcare. The report, Building a Strong Foundation for America’s Health Care System: The Role of Health Information Technology is part of the center’s health information technology initiative, which aims to identify and share policies and best practices to facilitate the effective use of health IT. At a discussion when the study was released, former Sen. Tom Daschle (D-SD), the center’s co-founder, said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has reported that 25% of office-based physicians have adopted some form of health IT. Improving the coordination and alignment of health IT and reform efforts and integrating the lessons learned from previous health IT implementations are the other two recommendations. In its section on consumer engagement, the report suggested developing and executing strategies that both public- and private-sector leaders can use to involve consumers in wellness-related activities as well as delivery-system and payment reforms through health IT.
benton.org/node/75720 | ModernHealthcare.com
Recommend this Headline
back to top
PRIVACY
CA SENATE KILLS PRIVACY LAW
[SOURCE: Associated Press, AUTHOR: Judy Lin]
California lawmakers on June 2 rejected an Internet privacy bill for a second time after heavy lobbying from Facebook, Twitter and other social networking sites that objected to more state regulation. The state Senate rejected SB242, which fell two votes short of the majority needed. The bill, which would have required websites to automatically set personal information to private, also failed a week earlier. Sen. Ellen Corbett (D-San Leandro) had pitched the bill as necessary protection against identity theft and to give parents better control over their children's information online. Companies had argued that Corbett's bill would have forced consumers to make blanket privacy decisions before they even use a service. Most online sites now let users decide to reveal or conceal personal information about what they are doing at any particular time. Technology firms opposed to the bill reported spending $148,218 on lobbyists this year, though not all their reports with the secretary of state's office specifically listed Corbett's bill as a target. That does not include the $682,834 spent by the California Chamber of Commerce, which lobbies on many bills.
benton.org/node/75736 | Associated Press
Recommend this Headline
back to top
TELEVISION
GOP WANTS AD PULLED
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Greg Sargent]
The National Republican Congressional Committee, which oversees House races for the GOP, has written a sharply-worded letter demanding that a New Hampshire TV station yank an ad making the claim that the Republican plan would "end Medicare." Progressive Change Campaign Committee is airing the ad on WMUR against GOP Rep. Charlie Bass. The letter — which calls on Comcast Boston to take down the ad and is unusually detailed and emphatic — reflects how badly Republicans want a halt to these attacks. Here’s the letter’s core argument:
The Budget Resolution as approved by the U.S. House of Representatives does NOT end Medicare. In fact, the Budget Resolution makes no changes at all to Medicare for current or near retirees, as none of the Medicare-related provisions in the Budget Resolution would even take effect until 2022. This fact makes the Advertisement especially misleading, as the woman featured in the Advertisement is a current Medicare beneficiary, and would not have her Medicare benefits ended, or even changed in any way, under the Budget Resolution...
Additionally, the Budget Resolution ensures that Americans aged 54 and younger will still have Medicare when they retire by implementing a new, sustainable model of Medicare. This new version of Medicare would actually REQUIRE insurance companies to GUARANTEE coverage for seniors.
The letter argues that the claim that Republicans would “end Medicare” is “blatantly and wholly false, and has been deliberately crafted to mislead and frighten voters.” It also cites a recent Politifact analysis that pronounced the assertion “highly misleading.”
benton.org/node/75746 | Washington Post | see the ad
Recommend this Headline
back to top
POLICYMAKERS/AGENDA
JOHN BRYSON
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Editorial staff]
[Commentary] If you drew up the specs for a commerce secretary, John Bryson would seem to fit the bill. Bryson, President Obama’s nominee, brings a distinguished career as a businessman, public servant and environmentalist. This is just the résumé for someone whose department is tasked with expanding exports, managing the census, monitoring the atmosphere and protecting America’s ocean waters. Bryson — a former chairman of Edison International, a Southern California utility, and a founder of the Natural Resources Defense Council — has already received a wide range of endorsements. Supporters include the Center for American Progress, the Natural Resources Defense Council and other advocacy groups, and the Chamber of Commerce, the Business Roundtable and the main utility industry group, the Edison Electric Institute. Yet Senator James Inhofe and Representative Darrell Issa, both Republicans, have vowed to oppose him. We look forward to Mr. Bryson’s confirmation hearing, and urge the Senate not to delay. From all we know right now, he looks like the right businessman-environmentalist for the job.
benton.org/node/75782 | New York Times
Recommend this Headline
back to top
FUTURE OF MEDIA REPORT
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
Apparently, the Federal Communications Commission's study, "The Technology and Information Needs of Communities," has been teed up for the FCC's June 9 public meeting. According to a one-sentence clue in its agenda announcement for the June 9 public meeting--which hardly served the information needs of reporters who had been looking out for the report-- the FCC said there will be a "presentation by the working group on the impact of technology on the information needs of communities." The FCC brought on Beliefnet founder Steve Waldman in October of 2009 to head up a working group reviewing and producing a report on the impact of the technological revolution on those information needs. FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski and Waldman are both scheduled to appear June 10 at the Columbia Graduate School of Journalism in New York for a "special event The Impact of Technology on the Information Landscape of Communities," where they will talk about the report as well.
benton.org/node/75771 | Multichannel News
Recommend this Headline
back to top