Archive for Wednesday, June, 11, 2008

Can Sirius-XM Merger Surmount Brownback’s Mountain???

Wednesday, June, 11, 2008 by Mel Phillips.

On May 27th the Consumer Coalition for Competition in Satellite Radio (C3SR) sent a letter to the FCC in opposition to the Sirius-XM merger.  Understand this:  1)  The coalition’s name speaks for their agenda regarding satellite radio (and) 2)  C3SR is funded by the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB).  Enter senior senator from Kansas, Sam Brownback who still believes Toto resides in his state.  He also believes that Congress may have been misled in its prior hearings on the merger.  Brownback claims that Mel Karmazin wasn’t being candid about the companies’ effort to make and market “interoperable” receivers or radios that can receive both Sirius and XM signals.  Brownback now wants redacted portions of the May 27th letter made public…   

The C3SR letter which is available at the coalition’s website, was countered by Sirius-XM in a letter of their own to the Department of Justice and the FCC.  While the DOJ passed the merger without conditions, the FCC is watching the ink dry on all documents submitted regarding the merger…

A brief profile of Senator Dale Brownback displays an active Republican Senator who acts a bit like a left-handed pitcher.  He announced a run for president until polls showed he would only get about 3% of the vote in primary elections.  Brownback, in support of term limits in Congress has announced that he will not run for another term in 2010.  Back home in Kansas his approval rating is 46% with a 45% disapproval rating, probably due to a ton of votes he missed while campaigning.  The senator is a controversial figure within Republican circles because his position on immigration, favoring higher immigration levels, is often in conflict with his conservative base.  Brownback is not a stranger to radio, having spent a year on radio with his own weekly show.  In 2006 he sponsored the Broadcast Decency Enforcement Act which stiffens each decency violation by radio stations to as high as $325,000 per violation.  The bill has been signed into law.  This guy looks like a formidable opponent of the merger for Sirius-XM…

10 Timeline Memories:

  1. 1905]   Faster than a speeding bullet:   The Pennsylvania Rail Road  debuts “The Fastest Train In The World” between New York and Chicago.  And how fast is “fastest“?  In 18 hours you’ll zip from New York to the Windy City…
  2. 1953]  Gone too soon:  “Amos and Andy” ends its 2-year run on television, 24 years on radio, because of racial sensitivity.  In my opinion this was one of the greatest comedy series of all-time.  Here’s a clip from one of the show’s episodes…
  3. 1963]  Alabama justice:  Alabama Governor George Wallace tries to prevent black students from registering at the University of Alabama.  He will lose the battle, rightfully so…
  4. 1977]  Triple Crown Champ:  Seattle Slew wins the third leg of the Triple Crown by taking the Belmont Stakes…
  5. 1978]  Premiered on this date:  “Grease” the movie, starring John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John…1982]  “ET” opens and sets record-breaking box-office numbers.  It’s the big summer movie.  It’s hard to believe Drew Barrymore was ever this young…
  6. 1979]  ‘Happy Trails’:  Legendary tough-guy actor John Wayne dies from stomach cancer at 72…1985]  Karen Ann Quinlan  dies at 31 after a lengthy coma.  Her case prompts a right-to-die court decision after her life-support system is removed…2003]  Pioneering broadcast journalist David Brinkley  dies at 82 from complications of a fall…
  7. 1982]  The winner and still champ:  Heavyweight champ Larry Holmes defends his title successfully with a 13-round TKO of Long Island’s Gerry Cooney…
  8. 1987]  Maggie keeps on tickin’:  Margaret Thatcher becomes the first British Prime Minister in 160 years to win a third consecutive term of office…
  9. 1990]  Half a dozen in the books:  Nolan Ryan  pitches his sixth no-hitter in a win over Oakland.  Ryan will pitch one more before retiring after the 1993 season…
  10. 2002]  Wedding Bells:  Paul McCartney and Heather Mills  are married.  They will separate in May 2006 and the divorce becomes final in May, 2008…

Music Memories:

“Happy Birthday…happy birthday”:

Shia LaBeouf (22), Jose Reyes (25), Hugh Laurie (49), Joe Montana (52), Adrienne Barbeau (63), Joey Dee (68), Chad Everett (71), Gene Wilder (75), Charles Rangel (78) and Rise Stevens (95)…

Timeline Countdown:  4 days until Father’s Day, 11 days until summer and 24 days until July 4th…

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