NO! to "merge" MONOPOLY

Here's an idea for Mr. Kevin Martin.......MAKE A FRICKIN DECISION ONE WAY OR THE OTHER SO ALL THESE SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS STOP WASTING OUR TIME MEETING WITH THE FCC EVERY FRICKIN DAY.

More dirty politics...

http://opensecrets.org/politicians/pacs.php?cycle=2008&cid=N00027694§or=B&seclong=Communic%2FElectronics&cat=B02&induslong=TV%2FMovies%2FMusic

McCaskill took $3500 from CrapChannel for 2008

http://opensecrets.org/politicians/pacs.php?cycle=2006&cid=N00000480§or=B&seclong=Communic%2FElectronics&cat=B02&induslong=TV%2FMovies%2FMusic

Snow took $3000 from CrapChannel for the 2006 cycle.

There's more, but the evidence is just too plain right up front. This is more dirty politics.

Oh, and Snow got $10,000 from NAB last cycle, too. WTF.

And McCaskill got $5000 from NAB last cycle.... jeeeezus

Bought and paid for. Again, this tiny issue has exposed the true nature of our political system. May they all rot in hell.

BTW, there was an interesting interview on CSPAN with Gerald Fritz, from Allbritton Communications.

http://www.c-span.org/Series/Communicators.aspx

There is no such thing as "localism."

This is all sirius and xm's doing and fault. Mel misread his last chance to cashout on the backs of satrad listeners before the whole industry folds.

Now only the blind, ignorant, satrad fanboys think a "merge" MONOPOLY is the only move forward, in reality it's the only move forward which will quicken the demise of the entire satrad industry. Hook, Line and Sinker....

NO! to "merge" MONOPOLY

Dude, your slogan sucks.

-I'll say it again, does anyone that matters see these blogs? Does Mel see and know about the money taken by these people. Half, these people are out of there minds. They want too much for something thay have not earned. This shit is getting pretty damn stupid No wonder this country is so f ed up. Mel,
tell these people to f off and SIRIUS will survive on it's own. I've been a listener for 4 yrs and a stock holder, but i'm tired of the bullshit. Lets do it alone. Charles Scott

What? Senators who have taken money from the NAB or radio stations are coming out against the merger? I just do not believe it. They are all honest and upstanding people. You people should be ashamed for thinking they a corupt.

Yes to "merge" MONOPOLY.

No to people like the anonymous coward who attacks anybody who disagrees with himself a fanboy!

WHATEVER..

This is why women should have never been allowed to vote. i say "end womens sufferage". If women couldn't vote, you wouldn't have these two loopy twats in the US Senate.

Sirius and Xm must really have a quite a product to create this much fear and loathing. Seems to me a good ad agency could use all this hoopla by our greedy so-called "representitives" and put together an ad campaign based on these rediculious prognostications, and get 25 million subs in less than 6 months. Are you listening... MEL.

I'm sick of this. As a shareholder of Sirius I hope that they call off the merger entirely if such conditions required. I want Sirius to keep all of their spectrum. They can put it to productive use.

Someone needs to write the F.C.C. and tell them to get off the shitter already someone else wants to use it...

Zach, I'm pretty sure they would reject giving up half of the new spectrum. At that point, it's better to let XM fail than to buy XM and then hand over all that money to someone else. That would be the biggest burglary since Enron.

For everyone following this deal, it has shone a light on the government -- and all the cockroaches stayed around. That's how dirty this place is. If I were in a position to think that I could run against any of these yahoos, I would. However, I'm not a multimillionaire, therefore, I get no say.

If Cramer is right about one thing, it's that America has become Of, By, and For the Corporation. I fear for our country's tranquility.

I think they should give up 1/2 the spectrum too..... Buy XM, close the doors, turn off the birds and fuck the XM radio owners.

Then Sent your complaints to:

Kevin "Brownie" Martim

Nice Jon Brownie!

the only people who oppose this merfer are politicians and non-sat subscribers.

at this point they should just say screw the merger and pull the plug on the deal - sat radio will survive as long as the companies keep providing the same good service.

the fact that there is so much opposition proves that its a hige force... so what if it takes a little longer to turn a profit because the idiots in washington are playing political favor games.

oh and one other thing - these senators are dumb as rocks!

I got an e-mail in response to a support for the merger letter i sent and she argued with me about why the merger is bad.... in spite of the fact that she was unable to attend the hearing on it.

what a moron! I thought letters to senators were supposed to inform them who are serving we the people what the public they are representing wants... not invove a rebuttal to my request.

This proves how fucked up our government is- they have spent so much time on this merger- but yet is there any questioning regarding gas and food prices sky rocketing?

These 2 broads should really be dealing with more urgent issues- this is so straight forward- Sirius/XM have already agreed to many concessions already, get the merger done once and for all and start dealing with more critical concerns!!

Gentleman, it is horsewhipping time.
These clowns in Congress need to be flushed out of office in the next election.
I pay more per week for gas than I pay per year for Sirius and these bastards are spending their time on this?

DIGG the story (link on the front page). Not a member? Sign up. Let's help expose this corruption.

Senators Claire McCaskill (D-MO) and Olympia Snowe (R-ME) may send a letter next week opposing the upcoming Louisiana Purchase.

Jesus Christ, talk about coming late to the party.

Nobody gives a shit about your bought and paid for opinion at this point you fat, Tipper Gore-looking cunt!

Like I've said from the beginning....the FCC will kill the deal by approving it with conditions that will make XM and Sirius walk away.

Why wont you let me pay for one bill instead of 2 ??
When are you ganna realize, I want both XM and Sirius !!! Now let me have them already!
you fools!

I just wrote the money grubbing old hooker. You can too!

http://mccaskill.senate.gov/contact/

I love blondes!

"Conditions" And Mell will cancel the merger. BRING THEM!

anonymous coward,
you have to be ignorant not to see Sat radio as the future of radio. Heres the way this is going to play out. Mels going to give them 8 or 10 channels, they'll take it or have a whole lot of nothing. FM radio reception is dead, it sucks. You can't go anywhere in LA, Riverside, or Orange County without losing reception. Theres too much going on with bandwith these days. YOU HAVE TO GO UP! The NAB knows this, why do you think theres so much bullshit getting this to happen. Its not about monoply, its about the NAB running scared. They know they need to go UP!!!! The NAB will definately die if Mel backs out.They will have to put up there own satellites to survive. Take the 8 channels and shut the fuck up!! Charles M Scott

All I know is that Sirius has amazing management and they will weather whatever is to come. I just hate to see the FCC impose rigorous conditions that force each company to walk away. In a a period of soaring fuel, food inflation, record gas prices, falling home prices... the consumer does not need higher satellite radio costs. If the merger fails, I think that Sirius might raise rates. Those who love Sirius at $12.95 will love it at 13.95 or 15.95. And as a consumer, I know I would be empathetic to each company with weighted rates, as the government has really been unfair to them. I just hope that the merger goes through and consumers will have access to even cheaper rates, as this would provide them with incredible content at a cheaper price point, at a time when the consumer needs an additional break. Small as it may be. At least Sirius and XM are looking out for us too. That's more benevolence than I'm seeing from the government.

Anyone know what happened to Jim Cramer? He was pro Satellite til his video, naming names etc. etc. I hope no one got to him. Charles M Scott

"Spectrum Divesture?" ok, so make them give - up one whole set of satellites and screw the American that paid for the reciever? Good thinking Senators!! What a bunch of CROOKS!!!

Cramer work for General Electric... What more needs to be said? This guy is a fruit cake. I can't believe anyone takes him seriously. Granted, I will say, he is an excellent entertainer, but he is not one I would take seriously on matters of money, especially mine. But a lot of suckers will.

Why are these senators anti us consumer???? Satellite radio is more enviromentally friendly than terrestrial too. Save the earth. Let these companies merge.

Excuse me, lovely madams. Might I propose an idea to you two exquisite ladies? Stop writing to the FCC and please keep your God Damn mouths shut before a whole bunch of pissed off satellite radio aficionados and stockholders show you two matronly cows what a real hissyfit looks like. Undermine competition and harm the consumer? Turn off Oprah, take the bon bons out of your mouths, and write some letters about this thing called the I-pod. It has become an iconic, lifestyle changing, record industry ruining device that somehow manages to fly below the scrutiny of the FCC and DOJ. It outsells satellite radios by 10 to 1 and is killing the sales of cd's. Why doesn't this rufflle your bloomers? Why is satellite radio being singled out when there are so many other music distribution products available to the consumer? Just when it looks like this debacle can't get any worse, you two ignorant yenta's have to contribute your two cents. No local programming? See that button on the radio that came with your car? Listen carefully, because this gets real complicated. Ready? Ok.... hit the button that says AM or FM. Think you can do that? See, that wasn't so tough, was it? You did it all by yourself and didn't even need advice or help from the FCC! I think we're on to something here. Now you two pack up your grannie panties, your girdles, and your depends and go back to your respective states and do something constructive. If I see either of you on this website again I'm going to bitchslap both of you with my Sportster Replay.

I used to back Claire, I grew up with her as the Jackson County, Missouri Prosecutor when her face was on the "Before You Write a Check" signs at the store. I had my first chance to vote for her when she was running for Governor. I even voted for her for Senate to get Jim Talent out of office. Now I'm pissed.

She just had a big NAB member move into her territory here in Kansas City, Newport Television, which was the former Clear Channel TV division stations. With ownership of one of the largest clusters of TV outlets, she needs to keep her end of the bargain for some guaranteed re-election money.

I know it's TV, but somehow Clear Channel still has its hand in Newport. Connections, connections, connections.

NO! to "merge" MONOPOLY! NO! to blind, ignorant, satrad fanboys who are pro-"merge" MONOPOLY because Mel says so or its the cool satrad fanboy thing to do.... nothing but ignorance. No choice, higher prices, no direct competition will kill satrad in short order. No "merge" MONOPOLY for a few satrad execs to get a payoff before the entire satrad industry goes under.

NO! to "merge" MONOPOLY! NO! to blind, ignorant, satrad fanboys

How about " No to reelecting these bought and paid for politicians who are supposed to be representing the people/paying consumers of these fine states." This is a paid service Madames. Not a welfare state. You should be ashamed of yourselves for being walking stereotypes. I hope that the voting public remembers all of these clowns when they are up for reelection. This is a disgrace.

I just wrote my first ever letter to a politician, Clair McCaskill. So to everyone wanting the merger, you're welcome. Thy will be done.

Cramer: Yes, he was going to show them wasn't he? ... He was going to call them out and name names! .... He did, just a handful of Junior Represenatives...after that, the entertainment value ran out of steam. A 2000 version of P.T. Barnum.

The FCC: I hate to give these fucking clowns any credit, but setting my hostility for their political posturing aside (the commission is trying to keep their jobs in a Democratic Congress and Mr. Martin is a suck-up at birth ) I wouldn't give SIXM the full spectrum either... They would get enough to allow a second competitor.

I would not be shoe-horning any diversity group into the deal either. The FCC should give Sirius 1/2 -75% of the original spectrum, and offer the remaining frequency to interested parties.

No offense, but you are so incredibly naive if you think these senators would do something the NAB would want just because they received a few bucks for their elections. Senators get money from all kinds of groups on all sides of every issue, and big donors give to everyone who runs for office. Karmazin is a big democrat donor (why do you think so many NY Congressmen support the merger?), so this really isn't very important. Maybe, just maybe, these Senators think its a bad idea for the only two sat rad companies in the country to merge. Isn't that a little bit possible?

That fat broad reminds me of a crooked auto mechanic I knew a few years back.

"You can pay me now or pay me later, but you will pay me!"

I wonder what else this broad does for money.

the last blurb regarding local advertisement/programming and how it shouldnt be affected by a national system is right out of the NAB playbook and is an attempt to protect traditional radio from losing $$ in that area--Someoen check how much those politicians have been given in "donations"

If there is even a small fraction of Spectrum relinquished, Sirius-XM better be getting a nice penny for holding it, coddling it, and nurturing it all these years. Otherwise, in the spirit of the most famous tv game show, NO DEAL.

Yea plowboy, I do remember Cramer doing a whole show around the injustice being done by the FCC in delaying this merger. He also said he would continue to name the names of "representitives" on the take from special interest lobby groups. I guess he lost his nerve.

With the price of gas going to 12 dollars a gallon, do you think anyone's going to want to buy a brand new car off the lot with a satellite radio in it? Retail is dead and Sirius continues to count cars in lots as subs.

The politicians also rely on local programming to advertise themselves to their districts/state--I think thats where they want the protection of local as they would be hurt by a national competitior to local radio--So its all about the politicians....again...

These senators should really do their homework.

1. HD Radio is NOT 'high definition' radio.
2. The FCC is not the entity that makes a determination on the anti-competitive potential of a proposed merger. That role is exclusively for the Justice Department.

The JD spent a full year examining the merger, and determined that it would NOT be a monopoly. The FCC should not be asked to consider competitiveness. That's already been decided.

@ jose: "Maybe, just maybe, these Senators think its a bad idea for the only two sat rad companies in the country to merge. Isn't that a little bit possible?"

No, it isn't. And don't call other people "naive."

I agree with jose. It's Naive, or just misinformed. It shows they are either on the take, or they really don't fully understand satellite radio and what they are competeing against.

I cannot believe the scrutiny with the Sirius/XM merger. The NAB is paying someone to block this merger. Who is in who's pockets? The FCC is so concerned about companies losing market value for consumers and investors, but they are killing profits of both companies with this crap. If one company fails then there will be only one company with more atonamy to do what they wish. Comeon FCC approve it; the DOJ has already done so; unless you think they are stupid?

I cannot believe the scrutiny with the Sirius/XM merger. It appears that the NAB is paying someone to block this merger. Who is in who's pockets? The FCC is so concerned about companies losing market value for consumers and investors, but they are killing profits of both companies with this crap. If one company fails then there will be only one company with more atonamy to do what they wish. Comeon FCC approve it; the DOJ has already done so; unless you think they are stupid?

"I just wrote the money grubbing old hooker. You can too! "

Total waste of time and energy! Last year I wrote my Congresswoman when the Justice Department was still ovulating about this. I received a form letter that was probably written by some aide. About a month ago, I sent her another letter asking her to help get the FCC moving. She sent me the exact same form letter back. Yes...it even had the blather about waiting for the Justice Department ruling. WTF!?

NO! to "merge" MONOPOLY! NO! to blind, ignorant, satrad fanboys who are pro-"merge" MONOPOLY because THE NAB WILL FALL AND ILL BE CLEANING TOILETS because blind ignorant sat rad fan boys will ruin my life and my job .... nothing but TRUTH. . No "merge" MONOPOLY for a few satrad execs to get a payoff before the fine folks at the NAb LOSE THEIR JOBS. hd radio is the future sat rad fan boys! and if you go 2 circuit city you can buy 1 and get 3 hd radio's free! act now! memorial day sale blowout!

YES! TO FM/HD/NAB CURRENT MONOPOLY!
NO! to SAT RAD "merge" MONOPOLY!
NO! to blind, ignorant, satrad fanboys
NO! TO BLIND IGNORANT SAT RAD COMPANIES
and NO! to cleaning toilets FOR PEANUTS! I DESERVE BETTER!

Wig or toupee?? ehhh??? ehhh??? ehh????

AC-
NO! to "merge" MONOPOLY

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

good to see you again, ya little bastard. where have you been?

anonymous coward,
You must be an ass, theres nothing there you said that made any sense, except the part where you said some stupid thing about cleaning toilets, your not real bright are you?
Charles Scott

I'm wondering if that pudgy little Ho needs a Daddy spankie?

This is absolute absurdity. All these friggin congressmen and women are talking about the merger "hurting" the consumer. It's been stated on more than one occasion that if this merger does not take place, there's a good chance both companies will go under. Who would benefit from that? The consumer? Highly disputable. It's these politicians who are out of their minds trying to keep satellite radio from jeopardizing their primary dissemination vehicle -- terrestrial radio. Enough of this bull already -- let the two companies merge and benefit the consumer once and for all. And regarding this crap about 'national' programming undermining "local" news and weather -- don't forget babe -- you still have a choice to tune into your local radio station in your mercedes.

Matt... can you post the link to the NAB contribution to Snow and McCaskill? I can't find it.

Hi!mdsx! http://oeqedkxk.com qibul wbbwu http://plhtrhpn.com skrdr xscis

Hi! rtqhv rwwkm vzwfk krndx

Hi! rqxrx eblvs jwgzg pgszd

Hi! ngkvo fgddi xzqks arxvx

Where are the letters these two dust farting HOSEBAGS wrote during all the oil company mergers? Are they pushing for divestiture of the oil industry to promote the public welfare in the face of record oil profits? Oil or radio, which is more important to the public? The government was more than happy to lavish the oil industry with tax breaks and other benefits in recent energy legislation on top of fast tracking their mergers how has that helped the average consumer? Instead of looking into essential companies that affect everyone's cash flow they chose to focus their attention like a laser on non-essential companies like XM and Sirius. WE ARE DOOMED as a nation!

Hi! lasix

Omg Claire McCaskill's in the Ministry of Magic in Harry Potter. Ms. Umbridge for VP?