Oh, You Mean The Lobbyists Don't Get To Write All The Laws?

from the shocker! dept

There have been a number of reports about how lobbyists are more or less writing the anti-muni broadband laws for many different states. However, when the politicians actually decide to write the laws themselves, the lobbyists freak out. Apparently, a Verizon lobbyist in West Virginia stormed out of a Senate meeting furiously after he discovered that pro-muni legislation was being introduced that wasn't first reviewed (and rewritten) by telco lobbyists. What will those crazy politicians think of next?
Hide this

Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.

Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.

While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.

–The Techdirt Team


Reader Comments

Subscribe: RSS

View by: Time | Thread


  • identicon
    TJ, 24 Mar 2005 @ 12:58pm

    I am getting tired of these virtual and real monop

    This reminds me of reading about the "Train Barons" of the last century, like Rockefeller. He and his peers ploughed through the heartland and the interests of the country to their own enrichment.

    The West Virginia legislator made a great comparison of having cheap broadband bring economic success to ALL of the region, not just the Telco and Cable Robber Barons. He noted that such programs are what moved Ireland to such a successful position in the past 10 years, and I am very envious when my friends in Europe and Japan cite costs that are 1/4 or less than what I pay COmcast (and are provided by competition, not govenment.) But I am doubtful that the US public is smart enough to care, let alone call their representatives to serve their interests in this matter.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      Anonymous Coward, 25 Mar 2005 @ 10:02pm

      Re: I am getting tired of these virtual and real m

      That'll preach, brother TJ!

      link to this | view in chronology ]


Follow Techdirt
Essential Reading
Techdirt Deals
Report this ad  |  Hide Techdirt ads
Techdirt Insider Discord

The latest chatter on the Techdirt Insider Discord channel...

Loading...
Recent Stories

This site, like most other sites on the web, uses cookies. For more information, see our privacy policy. Got it
Close

Email This

This feature is only available to registered users. Register or sign in to use it.