Susan Crawford: "Captive Audience"
http://thedianerehmshow.org/shows/2013-01-10/susan-crawford-captive-audience
The U.S. has long been a world leader in technology innovation. Finding ways to profit from the Internet has been no exception. Think Amazon, Facebook and Google. But the next Google will not come from the U.S. Or so argues the author of a new book on the communications industry. She says we've allowed a handful of cable companies to become monopolies that stifle competition and innovation. Their monopoly status is also why Americans pay more money for worse Internet service than consumers in most other developed nations. Diane speaks with a communications policy expert about who controls Americans’ access to the Internet and why.
Guests
Susan Crawford
professor, Cardozo Law School; fellow at the Roosevelt Institute; member of New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg's Advisory Council on Technology and Innovation.
Read An Excerpt
Excerpt from "Captive Audience: The Telecom Industry and Monopoly Power in the New Gilded Age" by Susan Crawford. Copyright 2013 by Susan Crawford. Reprinted here by permission of Yale University Press. All rights reserved.
Comments
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"But you are obsessed with laws prohibiting the pelvic area, and drugs I bet"
Uh-oh, Racer X, this will be one of those times that Ecgberht will be correct about someone making a strawman argument (and an ad hominem argument to boot)!
From what little I know of Ecgberht (and I don't want to know more than a little), I think he leans toward a type of libertarianism, which likely means that he is NOT obsessed with laws prohibiting the pelvic area and drugs. And that might be the ONLY area in which Ecgberht and I agree on anything. :-)
Samcot thanks!
I have to give it to you. You read the posting trail obviously. You gave a critical thinking point!
That is my point. Diane's interview with Ms. Crawford was good. People dived in saving their political view. I was a chump. I was just so bored by political platitudes, and sick of both left and right dreamers in fantasy.
I can see what you are saying. I am so thankful for your free thought.
Libertarianism is just as idealistic and failed in the world experiments as Communism has been.
I don't know if you read my original comment. I am a photographer and videographer who travels the world for my job. I do know one thing. The US is becoming 3rd World in the digital age.
Lastly, pseudo intellectuals like Ecgberht can't handle their platitudes challenged. I am sure my assumption is right. Most libertarians are salad bar in what they pick in the end.
Racer X wrote: "platitudes'
Yes, really!
plat·i·tude (pl t -t d , -ty d ). n. 1. A trite or banal remark or statement, especially one expressed as if it were original or significant.
"I am sure you never read Ms. Crawford's book."
You're sure about a lot of things that aren't true. But if I hadn't, I wouldn't have learned one whit about it on today's show ... other than the title. Instead, all we got was her political views on the topic - though her resume would pretty much have told a person those.
Now ... for your post ...
"Government is evil of course to you"
False ... of course. But you have to have something to rail about ... whether it's accurate or not. So you just make it up. It's called the "strawman" argument. Ask samcot. He knows all about them. I looked for a single instance of you actually quoting me. Couldn't find one. That's the hallmark, you know. I don't know what the rest of the gibberish in that paragraph even means.
"But you are obsessed with laws prohibiting the pelvic area, and drugs I bet."
Also false ... I bet.
"Your false assumption is that our government has to spend money to make us better in the digital world. Petrochemical age, coal, etc is over. This is the digital age upon us."
Swell. Try driving your car with bits.
"Other sources have the US as 31st in bandwidth and speed. "
No one ever said the U.S. wasn't behind. I repeat ... for the third and last time ... without commenting on the merits ...it depends on what you want to spend your money on.
Digital infrastructure is something government could do and probably should do. It could probably do it better than private industry because it would give bureaucrats a narrow focus. That's where they do best; again, highways, airports, and the like. Health Care? Housing? Not so much and history confirms that. Those problems are much too complex for government to solve. Frankly, bureaucrats aren't smart enough - even our elected ones.
Samcot, you asked for some dems that are having fits over gun control, these control freaks would certainly qualify. Andrew Cuomo N.Y. and Dan Muhlbauer IA.
There is a long list of dems that have totally lost it over this issue. In fact there's a long list of liberals that would gladly tear up the Constitution for a lot of reasons, many post here, maybe you? :-)
@Racer X
"Government is evil of course to you"
You know, I thought about this some more, and the more I think about it, the more bizarre it becomes. I, who according to you, am the one who thinks "government is evil of course", seem to be the one arguing for government to build the digital infrastructure you say we so desperately need. You on the other hand seem to be saying that private industry should do it. Hmmmm.
And as for me? A pseudo intellectual you say? "a person exhibiting intellectual pretensions that have no basis in sound scholarship"?
You seem to be the one with the string of strawman arguments - as I have oft pointed out here - a sure loser in debate.
I seem to be the one who is willing to quote other posters word for word and respond to what they say, not what I think they "must think".
And lastly, I seem to be the one who is willing to back my statements up with fact and reference - to the point of posting sufficient links to get my posts quarantined! Anything else would be ... well ... pure rhetoric. Sound familiar?
Again your brilliance.
Like quoting me. Again, I have never said government is the answer to everything. Wouldn't it be nice that we solved society's problems with platitudes and a philosophy? More so how can we progress? So you like airports without FAA regulations I presume. Let the market decide. Let's sort out the crashes by airline to whom to pick. Brilliant!
I guarantee you don't even know pre-google the Bernouli Principle. That given, let the market decide who flies and dies without evil government.
Edison exploited brilliant minds to exploit the patent laws to make money. Edison also used money to lobby Washington. The much smarter and a real inventor Tesla who created much more to society is a loser. You are right in this case. Government failed.
I live in Alabama and we have Charter Cable who is a monopoly. Today when a Charter customer service rep called to ask why we had canceled and what they could do to get our business, I gave him an ear full. I took his name and told him that I wanted him to document in the computer what I was saying. I let him know that in order to discuss any service, I have to go into the local company because their customer service on the phone is terrible-hard to get a human. I told him I was unhappy with my bill creeping up and I have the ladies document in the computer what we agree on. I told him the last blow was when I sat down to watch the Alabama game on my computer using Charter Wireless and discovered ESPN would not allow it even though they had a huge Charter advertisment in the upper right corner. The Charter ladies told me since I did not pay for ESPN on TV, I could not access on wireless. I talked to my son who lived in Vegas-he said the cable companies frequently blacked out events such as big fights there saying it would hurt ticket sales. My friend in Ga said citizens had to cancel the Charter cable there as they were being told they would not show Alabama Shows-the town is on the Ga/AL border. I also told this man that if they wanted happy customers and did not want their customers leaving for Direct TV they would let customers customize their channels. I told him I wanted his name and I wanted to see these in the comments under my bill if/when I ever go back to Charter. As long as people take what they get and do not ruffle any feathers, we will get terrible service. I did not mention that during the Alabama BCS game, as I listened on the radio, the internet kept going out all evening-I could not even see pictures on AL. com website!
@Racer X
Change of ID - again forced by drshow mb.
Racer, your whole post is based on yet another strawman ... don't light a match!
"You like airports without FAA regulations I presume" and "let the market decide who flies and dies without evil government". Then you procede to deconstruct the argument I never made. Brilliant! If you and samcot spent a little less time opining on what you think other people think and actually forming a cogent argument, we'd get somewhere.
"I guarantee you don't even know pre-google the Bernouli Principle." The Bernoulli Principle (check your spelling son!) - (which I encountered for the first time in an actual physics class while you were probably still in short pants) is supposed to be applied to what? free markets? flight regulation? What? A poor application to be sure. I'm thinking you actually meant some other aspect of his work ... relative to ... oh, I don't know ... statistics perhaps? ... because otherwise it would be just ... silly. But I'll leave that to you for homework, 'k? Google, Shmoogle.
Here's a piece of advice, Racer. Why don't you put down your camera and spend some time learning about proper debate technique ... then c'mon back, 'k?
Kris, your enthusiasm for the topic of gun control and liberals is noted, but I didn't ask anything about that topic in this thread. I don't want to leave you empty-handed though. Would it suffice if I told you I have no interest in tearing up the Constitution? I mean, that would be a waste of perfectly good paper for the bottom of my bird cage, don't you think? :-)
Samcot wrote:
" Would it suffice if I told you I have no interest in tearing up the Constitution? I mean, that would be a waste of perfectly good paper for the bottom of my bird cage, don't you think?"
I want to thank you Samcot, for finally giving us the proper context in which to view your posts and for completely marginalizing yourself.
Ecgberht, your concern about my marginalizing myself is sweet, but I'm not worried. Sadly, I now realize that not only are you fearful, you're also humorless. I still hold out some hope; after all, you do listen to the DR program.
So, hey, what do you think about the TOPIC. You know, broadband in the US? Acting like a troll can be pretty marginalizing - and it might get you censored. Heck, my teasing you might even get me censored. You know, guilt by association, one of the traits of Fascists? :-)
"Sadly, I now realize that not only are you fearful, you're also humorless. "
So now, what? You were kidding?!
Actually I have a great sense of humor, though it is on the dry side, I'll admit.
"So, hey, what do you think about the TOPIC. You know, broadband in the US? "
The subject of the role of government in digital infrastructure is germane to the topic. Go "trolling" somewhere else:
Pancake Rankin brought up the "f" word (fascism)
Racer X brought up the "you think all government is evil" topic
And I remember seeing participation in a thread about Ivy League education and "Who Moved My Cheese" by some guy named Samcot.
It's a mb for a radio show and many of the folks here have traded ideas and barbs for a long time. That plays to a little lattitude.
By the way as to the "fearful" remark, fear may take two forms. It may be used as a pejorative as in cowardice, but it can also reflect apprehension. When I hear someone say, in effect, I don't want to tear up the Constitution because I can line my bird cage with it, that gets my attention.
I suspect you are young, Samcot, and apparently not well educated - at least not in history - U.S or world. If you were, you would have a much deeper appreciation of the fact that the Constitution that guarantees our (mine and yours too) freedom is the bedrock of our Government. And you would also appreciate how unique it was and remains in human history.
Better to keep a low profile and reveal as little as possible about yourself. The people that matter will know who you are.
Ecgberht, all kidding aside, I'll say one last thing to you: If you can't tell when people are kidding, even with a joke as silly and obvious as putting the Constitution on the bottom of a bird cage, then I truly feel sad for you.
When someone feels the need to say that he has a "great" sense of humor, it's almost certain that he doesn't have a sense of humor. When someone talks about Progressive/Fascist conspiracies and the need for citizens to have firearms so they can exercise their "Second Amendment remedies," it's almost certain that he doesn't have a sense of humor. When someone believes that the moderators for the DR program are censoring conservative viewpoints, it's almost certain that he doesn't have a sense of humor. When someone can find any pretext for any topic on Diane's program in order to ceaselessly rehash the same political agenda, it's almost certain he doesn't have a sense of humor (Government involvement in broadband is directly related to the Progressive/Fascist takeover! Those sly devils are taking over little by little. Who knew?) When someone resorts to personal insults, such as remarks about age or education, merely because he couldn't get a joke about papering a bird cage that was intended to be an obvious sarcastic rejoinder to a rude comment, then he most certainly doesn't have a sense of humor.
For the record, the kind of fear I think you feel is the "apprehensive" kind. When someone feels enough fear to want to stock up on firearms designed to kill people efficiently, I'd say that's a lot of fear. I may not mean it as a pejorative, but I certainly don't mean it as a compliment. I wish you well. Freedom Fighters like you have a thankless job. :-)
"If you can't tell when people are kidding, even with a joke as silly and obvious as putting the Constitution on the bottom of a bird cage, then I truly feel sad for you. "
Jesus said, "out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaketh".
Your feeble attempt to now back out of your statement is truly sad.
Your feeble attempt to link positions I've never take to my sense of humor is truly desperate. I've never used the term "Second Amendment remedies". I've never said that "Government involvement in broadband is directly related to the Progressive/Fascist takeover!", in fact, I suggested Government involvement was a good idea. You should be ashamed, samcot. Your practice of just making stuff up about other posters and then trying to sell it is truly sad. As for the "age" and "education" remarks, first, I note that you don't deny either characterization, and second, these are conclusions I draw from your posts - I truly don't think you have an appreciation of the freedoms afforded you by the Constitution and how unique those freedoms are in human history. If you did, you would not think that principles for which your forebears have shed their blood were a particularly appropriate depositing ground for either bird feces or jokes. Typically, that fault rests with those who are young and not aquainted with history.
"When someone feels enough fear to want to stock up on firearms designed to kill people efficiently, I'd say that's a lot of fear"
Now that you have completely swallowed the bait, I will reel you in, samcot.
I don't own a gun. At all. I never have. I may some day. But today, I don't. Kinda shoots your "fear" theory in the can, doesn't it? What I do appreciate and will do all within my power to maintain, is the freedom granted me and others to do so by the very Constitution you denegrate and maintain is outdated and the product of bickering and unremarkable Founders. Yes, I feel sad for you. See ya.