Me and Big Al....I didn't see THAT coming!

I've never been a big Al Franken fan.  I love Saturday Night Live, but I never much enjoyed the skits he was in when he was a SNL regular/writer.  

Then he went on to become part of the ill-fated Air America liberal radio network, which cemented him in my mind as a far-out left winger.  And anyone who knows me knows I don't like far-out ANY wingers.

Since 2009 he's been SENATOR Al Franken of Minnesnowta.

Imagine my shock when I learned that he and I agree on something.  On the Senate Judiciary Committee he's become their main anti-trust advocate.  Right now he's all hot and bothered by the proposed $45B buyout of Time Warner Cable by Comcast.  Sic 'em Big Al!

The business interests in our country have for years been obsessed with mergers.  Through their eyes it's a way to eliminate competition, become more efficient (fewer marketing departments, fewer accounting departments, etc), and MAKE MORE MONEY.  Never mind those who will lose their jobs, or the consumers who will have less choices and have to pay more.

Combined, the new Comcast would be a cable TV and internet access behemoth.  (They already own NBC and all their subsidiaries, and Universal Studios.)  For consumers in many areas a merger would leave them no choice but to sign up with Comcast.

See where this is going?  Look at the banks:  Today just six mega-banks control the majority of the US banking industry.  Outraged by all their fees, all the ways they get into your pocket, all while producing those cute little "We're looking out for you" commercials?  *gag!*

And look at the airline industry:  Delta and Northwest are now one, United and Continental are now one, Southwest and Air Tran are now one, America West and US Air are now one, and now they've merged with American to become the biggest airline in the world.  Fees for bags?  Pay extra for a Coke?  Are in-flight pay toilets next?  Good for their bottom line for sure, but not for yours!

How come when the conservatives are making a push for de-regulation (which I more often than not agree with) they tout the increased competition it will bring to the marketplace (yea!), but when their corporate campaign contributor masters want to eliminate competition via mergers, they just obediently fall into line and vote "AYE"?   

And we just let it happen, time after time.  Do we consumers get some perverse satisfaction in getting screwed?

I believe the people should control industry.  We should dictate what products and services we want, and industry should compete to give it to us.  But these days more and more industries are dictating to us what we can have, and our job is to just stand there and open our wallets.

It seems we've long forgotten the legacy of "The Great Trust Buster", Teddy Roosevelt. *sigh*

S

HAPPY TWENTY-DOZEN!

Happy New Year, everyone!  It's that time again....time to wring out the old, wring in the new, and just move on with our lives in general.  I for one was happy to turn out the lights on 2011.  It really wasn't a bad year, but just one I'd rather not replay.


I had a small but comfortable home to live in, more than enough food to eat, reliable transportation, and a job.  It saddens me to think of all the people who didn't have one or more of those luxuries.  The only thing that really matters, of course, is that I had my wife and my health.  Both K and I and our extended families were blessed with good health all year, especially my daughter Erica who's expecting my first granddaughter in April.  She and baby "Gladys" (kidding....I hope!) are doing great.  K's dad fell and broke his hip in February, but his recovery was so speedy his doctors are still shaking their heads in amazement.  That episode barely moved the needle on the "ill-health meter".


My real heartbreak in 2011 was losing my dog, my best friend Emma Belle, just two weeks ago.  I miss her more than you'll ever know, but I do have some wonderful memories of all the good times we had during the 6+ years she was in my life.  (When I got K I also got Emma, a pretty sweet twofer, don't you think?)


Looking at things in a macro sense, the world in 2011 was like watching a train wreck in slow motion.  Earthquakes, volcanoes, tsunami's, not to mention all the man-made catastrophes around the globe, just made me shake my head.  And I'll be darned if I can see a leader anywhere, now or even on the horizon, who can put things back together.  I'm just gonna keep my head down and try to slink through 2012 unnoticed.  As long as He's looking over me, and He is, I'll be fine.


On a positive note, every new year brings hope for a better tomorrow, so maybe this will be the year where everything good just falls into place.  After recently feeling myself falling back into some old habits, I'm pledging to myself to try and live according to Teddy Roosevelt's old adage, "Do what you can, where you are, with what you have."  Lot to be said for simple living.  


So how was your 2011?  Two thumbs up, two thumbs down, or just a "pass"?


S