AT&T customers looking for better service need to put down those cellphones and turn off the computer and pick up a good book.  AT&T recommends Fed Up! Our Fight to Save America From Washington, written by Texas Gov. Rick Perry.

Perry’s book, which compares Social Security and FDR’s “New Deal” social programs with a Communist takeover is so popular with the Big Telecom, it purchased over 700 copies to hand out for free to state legislators, lobbyists and activists attending a conservative policy summit luncheon.  Oh, and the company paid for the lunch, too.  Total cost?  More than $13,000 — all ultimately paid for by AT&T’s customers.

AT&T made sure every guest had their own personal hardcover copy of the governor’s book, something that didn’t go unnoticed by former Texas Solicitor General Ted Cruz, who thanked AT&T from the microphone for paying for the books.

“Governor Perry has written a book – a book that all of us very kindly have been given by AT&T,” Cruz said. “Thank you, AT&T.”

AT&T’s gladhanding of conservative state politicians doesn’t come accidentally, reports the Dallas Morning News.  With hundreds of millions in revenue at stake, AT&T’s investment in the state’s Republican dominated legislature guarantees the company’s voice will be heard on important legislative matters.

AT&T has spent as much as $9.3 million to lobby Austin lawmakers and regulators, according to Texas Ethics Commission data. AT&T’s political action committee has donated $494,740 to Perry during his nine years in office, according to Texans for Public Justice.

The latter group told the newspaper AT&T doesn’t get into the book club business lightly.

“It does raise concerns. AT&T has a lot of business before the state of Texas and Texas regulators,” said Craig McDonald, director of Texans for Public Justice, a group that tracks money in politics. “They are generally the largest lobby in the state. They can reach out and touch every lawmaker simultaneously.”

Elected officials who write books routinely find some of their biggest sales come from lobbyists, who buy books in bulk and hand them out at public speaking engagements, or simply shove them into the nearest storage locker.  It’s not about the book, it’s about the access companies like AT&T gain from the goodwill earned from buying copies.

Perry does not profit directly from the book sales, but his political interests do.  Proceeds of the book sales go to the Texas Public Policy Foundation’s Center for Tenth Amendment Studies, a group dedicated to protecting corporate interests and “state’s rights.”

AT&T’s corporate interest is protected by the Policy Foundation’s opposition to Net Neutrality, but the group generally opposes broadband stimulus funding, some of which is likely to end up in AT&T’s pockets.

[flv width=”480″ height=”380″]http://www.phillipdampier.com/video/Texas Public Policy Foundation Net Neutrality.flv[/flv]

The Texas Public Policy Foundation invited two Republican FCC commissioners — one current and one former — to bash Net Neutrality and broadband reforms before a stacked panel and audience of like-minded thinkers.  (1 hour, 50 minutes)

An upset borough president

Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz is calling on New York City’s telecommunications workers to be pressed into service to cope with the snow emergency created by a weekend blizzard that left more than two feet of snow in parts of New York and New Jersey.

Markowitz told WABC-TV news the mayor’s response to the storm was a “royal screw-up” and he’s angry Manhattan streets are bare while outer boroughs like his contend with roads that have not seen a plow since the storm began.

“Verizon, Cablevision, Time Warner — we need men and women that are healthy and able-bodied,” Markowitz appealed on air.  “Twelve bucks an hour — that’s a lot of money — up to fifteen bucks an hour, to be able to help our Sanitation Department clean out streets.”

“We need every available vehicle you’ve got to help clean this place up,” said Markowitz. “I want as to look as good as Broadway in Manhattan — clean it like Broadway in Manhattan, no more and no less.”

These Verizon trucks won't be of much help, stuck in an intersection in Queens.

Much of the city remains under difficult driving conditions because of abandoned vehicles left in the middle of streets and a lack of plowing.  Disruptions to electric, phone and cable service have been reported because of accidents, damage done by snow removal vehicles, and moisture-related equipment failures.

Pressing companies like Verizon and Time Warner into service may not provide much assistance, considering vehicles belonging to both companies were themselves stuck in many locations around the city.

For residents upstate, already dealing with record-breaking snowfalls in December, the chaos downstate is mystifying.  Residents in Buffalo, Rochester, and Syracuse have another word for the holiday blizzard: Sunday.

The three cities continue their annual competition for the Golden Snowball Award for the upstate community left with the most white stuff:

Golden Snowball Totals for the 2010 – 2011 Snowfall Season
Updated  12/27/2010

[flv width=”640″ height=”500″]http://www.phillipdampier.com/video/WABC New York City Copes With Storm Aftereffects 12-28-10.flv[/flv]

WABC-TV provides the views of Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz, as well as a roundup of the lightning-hot anger being felt by an increasing number of New Yorkers stuck at home because of unplowed streets. (17 minutes)

Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc. today said Time Warner Cable Inc. will no longer hold talks in a programming dispute between the two firms. The stations will no longer be available on Time Warner Cable after December 31st.

According to Sinclair, Time Warner did not accept its latest offer of a monthly $0.10 increase per station, per subscriber.

Officials from Time Warner, however, said the cable company “has at no time told Sinclair that we were terminating negotiations.”

But Time Warner Cable has strengthened its hand in negotiations with its own agreement with the Fox network, which will allow the cable operator to continue carrying all Fox network programming after the local stations are blacked out.

A source at Time Warner Cable tells Stop the Cap! subscribers who have called the cable company to complain have been generally satisfied once they learn the network shows will still be available.

“It may cost viewers some Judge Judy, People’s Court, and a whole mess of program length ads these stations run all night and on weekends, but as long as they still can watch Glee and football, they are fine with it,” says our source.

“As for local news, does anyone watch Sinclair stations for local newscasts?  There are better choices, and viewers already knew that,” our source adds.

Time Warner Cable initially plans to place a chyron on the blacked out stations when network programming is not available, but discussions are underway about replacing that with cable-company acquired programming if the standoff continues for long.

“Time Warner Cable can easily license some older shows and movies and place them on our new ‘Fox’ channel and many viewers might find that more interesting than the stuff Sinclair stations run,” our source said.

The cable operator has experience doing exactly that in many markets, especially when they create channels to support networks like CW or MyNetworkTV that are not aired over the air in many medium-sized cities.  The cable operator could license a number of syndicated shows for free, ranging from talk programs to court shows, and run them during the day.

Stop the Cap! predicts after a few weeks at most, Sinclair will be back at the negotiating table to pound out a deal.  Sinclair stations will face an enormous financial hit from the loss of local advertising revenue, especially considering the majority of viewers still watch their stations over cable.

Stations Impacted

• AL Birmingham — WTTO (CW)
• AL Birmingham — WABM (MyNetworkTV)
• FL Pensacola — WEAR (ABC)
• FL Tallahassee — WTWC (NBC)
• FL Tampa — WTTA (MyNetworkTV)
• KY Lexington — WDKY (Fox)
• ME Portland — WGME (CBS)
• MO Girardeau — KBSI (Fox)
• NC Greensboro — WXLV (ABC)
• NC Greensboro — WMYV (MyNetworkTV)
• NC Raleigh — WLFL (CW)
• NC Raleigh — WRDC (MyNetworkTV)
• NY Buffalo — WUTV (Fox)
• NY Buffalo — WNYO (MyNetworkTV)
• NY Rochester — WUHF (Fox)
• NY Syracuse — WSYT (Fox)
• NY Syracuse — WNYS (MyNetworkTV)
• OH Cincinnati — WSTR (MyNetworkTV)
• OH Columbus — WSYX (ABC)
• OH Columbus — WTTE (Fox)
• OH Dayton — WKEF (ABC)
• OH Dayton — WRGT (Fox)
• SC Charleston — WTAT (Fox)
• SC Charleston — WMMP (MyNetworkTV)
• PA Pittsburgh — WPGH (Fox)
• PA Pittsburgh — WPMY (MyNetworkTV)
• TX San Antonio — KABB (Fox)
• TX San Antonio — KMYS (MyNetworkTV)
• VA Norfolk — WTVZ (MyNetworkTV)
• WI Milwaukee — WVTV (CW)
• WI Milwaukee — WCGV (MyNetworkTV)
• WV Charleston — WCHS (ABC)
• WV Charleston — WVAH (Fox)

Sanders

Sen. Bernie Sanders has challenged FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski’s view that a merger between NBC-Universal and Comcast would not harm America’s media landscape or consumers.  The independent senator from Vermont released a statement today blasting the chairman for rolling over for another media conglomerate:

The FCC released some very bad news for the future of American media and, in my view, for the future of American democracy.  FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski has circulated an order that would allow Comcast, the country’s largest cable and Internet provider, to merge with NBC Universal, one of the country’s largest media conglomerates.

If approved, this new media giant will be the largest cable provider, the largest Internet provider, and one of the largest producers of content in the United States.  At a time when a small number of giant media corporations already control what the American people see, hear, and read, we do not need another media conglomerate with control over the production and distribution of media content.  What we need is less concentration of ownership, more diversity, more local ownership-and more viewpoints.

By law, the FCC may only sign off on the merger if it determines that it serves ‘the public interest, convenience, and necessity.’ Far from meeting the public interest standard, Comcast’s takeover of NBCU would create a monolithic media superpower and cause irreparable damage to the U.S. media landscape and society as a whole. In addition, the merger of these two media giants would likely precipitate other media mergers and make an already bad situation of media consolidation far worse.  Despite the public interest standard, Chairman Genachowski appears to be charging ahead, pressuring his fellow commissioners to approve this deal.

Some take solace in the fact that Chairman Genachowski’s order would approve the merger only subject to certain conditions and regulations.  This in no way changes my opinion about the scope of the damage.  If this merger is approved, I have little doubt that Comcast-NBCU will retain hundreds of attorneys and lobbyists to exploit gaps and loopholes in any conditions and regulations.  Once we allow companies to become this powerful, the FCC does not regulate them.  They regulate the FCC.

Time is running out to stop this deal.  I hope the American people will take notice and stand with me to demand that the FCC change course, vote down the order, and reverse the disturbing trend of media consolidation.

[flv width=”640″ height=”380″]http://www.phillipdampier.com/video/Sanders on Comcast 12-2-10.flv[/flv]

Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont appeals to Americans to join him in opposing the merger of Comcast and NBC-Universal.  (2 minutes)

[flv width=”480″ height=”380″]HTTP://WWW.phillipdampier.com/video/KTVX Salt Lake City Comcast for the Holidays 12-22-10.flv[/flv]

Salt Lake City’s local ABC affiliate never runs out of wonderful things to say about Comcast, the area’s dominant cable company. KTVX devoted more than four minutes of airtime last week to a puff piece promoting Comcast’s cable products.

It’s just the latest example of the blurring of the line between journalism and ingratiating sponsors by lending the station’s news talent out to shill for advertisers.

Included in the ‘Good Things Utah’ segment, an extended interview with Comcast’s Ray Child, who was encouraged to rattle on about all of the wonderful things Comcast/Xfinity offers local residents.  The two cheerleaders hosts presiding over the affair offered nothing but extended praise, although one host may have touched the third rail when she mentioned “monopoly.”  (4 minutes)