One step closer to a single outfit controlling^Wsupplying all your media needs.

People like you need to fuck *miles* of off.

Its President Obama's agency heads who have signed off on this.

The President has to be in favor of it.

So why vote Democrat when they are the ones who do this?

It seems like Obama has betrayed a large fraction of the ideals he stated during his campaign.

What I'd like to know is, during his campaign, did he...

(a) Lie about those ideals, never intending to pursue them?

(b) Tell the truth about what his ideals where, but know he was exaggerating about being able to accomplish all of them?

(c) Intend to achieve them all, but not realize that he could only chose a handful to push through?

(d) Once in office (and with access to all classified info), realize that some of his campaign promises were unwise, although he believed them to be wise at the time?

The answers to these may suggest whether we as citizens need to be more realistic about what's really possible (for example, effective counterintelligence while prosecuting your state torturers), or whether Obama is really just a far worse person than people give him credit for.

...appointed the current FCC chairman and is responsible for the D majority of the FCC.

...is the largest recipient of Hollywood campaign contributions in the history of US politics, and is about to embark on a $1E9+ re-election effort. NBCCOMCA$T? No Problem!

Keep drinking the anti-republican cool-aid, numpty. It's helping a lot. But for wise folk such as you we'd really be messed up. Quick, everyone mod this brilliant mofo way the hell up!

Like that damn liberal Reupert Murdoch

Doesn't matter what administration is in power...

With the job-market $#!tstorm happening all over the country...can't you imagine this scenario going down?

The Prez: "Yo Big Biz, we're tired of your shenanigans"
Big Biz: "Well we're just going to take our jobs, money, and intellectual properties elsewhere"

If Obama lets that happen, then you get headlines like "President refuses to work with businesses; loses millions in revenue, thousands of jobs"

If he does work with them, then you get "President approves tax breaks for big businesses, industries continue to run rampant!"

All you get out of either outcome is the blame game and finger pointing. Big Business is too powerful now, it was too powerful eons ago, and it will continue to be so in the future because they have the ability to manipulate and control anything in their way (with enough money).

During Bush's 8 years the Republicans questioned nothing.

At least regarding the invasion of Iraq, the "Patriot" Act, etc., you didn't see many Democrats question him much either. At least not publicly.

I will not be voting D or R this election.

What in the world makes you believe that voting means anything? Supposedly, according to the media (and not just the "mainstream media" but ALL media, left-wing, right-wing, blogs, etc) there have been HUGE ideological swings in the parties in power. We've had republicans running everything and democrats running everything but regardless of the rhetoric, the end result is the same. But don't think it's because there are no difference between the parties. No, it's because the parties, the elections, even the government itself is nothing more than the "circuses" part of "bread and circuses". The whole shooting match is nothing but a distraction. Something to make us feel like we're doing something.

Here you are, puffing out your chest and asserting that "Hell no! I'll not be voting for a Democrat nor a Republican in the next election". And you'll spend time pouring over information, choosing just the right third party or independent candidate who will most closely mirror your worldview. You will march down to the polling place, secure in the belief that you have done some sort of "civic duty". Really, you're passing responsibility from your hands into an invisible system so you can then say "don't blame me, I voted for "X"". The time you spent reading up on the candidates on the issues on the important matters of the day, the time you spent deciding, the time you spent voting will have amounted to nothing. Those in power will not have noticed one bit. It means nothing.

Polls are taken, published, trumpeted by partisan media. People point and say "See? Most of the country agrees with me!" and it will make you feel as though you are "in the right" that you are connected to something that in some way will effect outcomes. The board of directors at General Electric, at Comcast, are as aware of you, of your dreams, your goals, your complaints, your anger and rage as you are of the bacteria that live in the soil in the dirt in the postage-stamp sized bit of grass in front of your house or apartment.

When a tiny percentage of the population own virtually everything and forty percent of the population own zero - not one bit of anything why would you think that this "politics" thing, this thing which is done for your entertainment, to keep you amused and engaged like a 2pm game of Bejeweled is actually going to matter to the people in power?

Geez, I'm a fuckin' ray of sunshine today, ain't I?

He might say he "strongly favors" this and that, but it's quite likely his power is much more limited than people realize. He's just one man against an entire bureaucracy with established connections between various groups that aren't going to be particularly willing to budge, no matter what he says. For him to make a difference he would have to put his political career on the line and risk significant retribution from those who don't want the change he's after.

For this reason I'm not sure whether to blame Obama just yet. Of course, maybe he was just naive in thinking he could conduct change without any personal risk.

Don't bother.

They have long sense redefined the term.

Fascism: Anything a liberal doesn't like.

Communism: Anything a conservative doesn't like. See also Socialism.

My political take on the situation is that Obama is facing criticism that he isn't "business friendly", and the GOP is using this impression to pin the lingering jobs problem on him. For this reason, he has been reluctant to address mergers.

I don't agree with the GOP on the business-friendly issue; for companies have plenty of profits and cash of late. However, in politics, impressions are everything and Obama is facing re-election soon.