Morning Media Summary
Tech:
FCC signs off on Comcast’s bid to control NBC Universal:
“Federal regulators signed off on Comcast Corp.’s bid to control NBC Universal, imposing an array of conditions aimed at preventing the cable giant from hindering competitors while making some of its first moves to regulate the emerging online video market.”
UK government to offer PCs for 98 pounds, Internet for 9 pounds:
“The UK government wants to offer low-cost computers as part of a 12-month trial during Race Online 2012. The scheme, which aims to reach out to the 9.2 million adults that are not yet online, 4 million of whom are considered socially and economically disadvantaged, aims to “make the UK the first nation in the world where everyone can use the web.””
Global Warming / Environment / Energy:
Va. Lawmakers look to stop climate change probe:
“Now several members of the State Assembly say they’ve had enough and have introduced legislation to rein in Cuccinelli’s investigation.”
Insurance / Gambling:
State Senate to consider easing gambling laws for charities:
“Bills to legalize charitable raffles are headed to the state Senate floor, but a provision that allows “casino night” raffles is drawing opposition to the legislation.”
Health / Safety:
Effort to repeal health care law begins, will take ‘years’:
“Advocates for health care reform like to say they worked for more than a century to get a substantive bill through Congress and signed into law. Opponents say they can scrap the whole thing in two years.”
Where are All the Sick People Who Can’t Get Insurance?:
“I’m not saying that they don’t exist, but if they do, we should really be trying to find them. We’re not talking about a program that isn’t serving quite as many people as expected. We’re talking about a program that was supposed to serve almost 400,000 people, and is instead serving around 2% of that number. Nor have these people been turned away due to budget constraints; they don’t seem to have applied in the first place. This leads us to one of two conclusions:”
Republicans’ Health-Care Vote Opens Two-Year Campaign to Undermine Law:
“With a symbolic vote to repeal President Barack Obama’s health-care overhaul, the Republican majority in the U.S. House of Representatives is starting a two- year campaign to undermine the law through piecemeal dismantling tactics and efforts to weaken public support.”
Economics:
States Warned of $2 Trillion Pensions Shortfall:
“US public pensions face a shortfall of $2,500 billion that will force state and local governments to sell assets and make deep cuts to services, according to the former chairman of New Jersey’s pension fund.”
Soros tells Europe to bolster banks:
“US billionaire George Soros urged Europe on Wednesday to recapitalise its banks in addition to creating a new aid programme for heavily indebted countries.”
Gordon Brown to warn against global youth unemployment epidemic:
“Gordon Brown will warn on Thursday that the world faces youth unemployment of “epidemic proportions”, as he urges joint action by the G20 group of developed and developing nations to tackle rising joblessness.”
Legal:
Democratic leader wants to remove legislators from tobacco commission:
“For years, critics have speculated that House Minority Leader Ward Armstrong sought changes to the tobacco commission because he was bitter he was never appointed to the panel that doles out money from a settlement with the nation’s tobacco companies.”
US objects to Bolivia bid for licit coca-chewing:
“The United States will file a formal objection Wednesday to Bolivia’s proposal to end the ban on coca leaf-chewing specified by a half-century-old U.N. treaty, according to a senior U.S. government official.”
US Patent Office Grants Massively More Patents Than Ever Before:
“Commerce Secretary Gary Locke has made it clear that he wanted to US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) to clear out some of the backlog on patents, and it quickly became clear early last year that the way the USPTO was doing this was by simply approving more patents while giving less scrutiny to the patents in question — meaning that we’re now getting a ton of bad patents approved. It seemed like an obviously bad sign when we passed the total number of patents approved in 2009 by October of 2010.”
Milestone: More than half of all states now suing to escape Obamacare:
“Today, another six states joined the legal battle to overturn the federal Obamacare mandate — pushing the total number to 26*. (*Heritage says 27.)”
Labor:
Venerable Lefties at Harper’s Divided by Union:
“Harper’s, one of the last bastions of old-line liberalism and a lonely defender of a certain idea of what literary culture should be, has long been supported by the largesse of its owner and patron, John “Rick” MacArthur, an author and heir to a ceramics fortune who has long supported liberal causes. And now, in a strange, ironic endgame, MacArthur finds himself fighting against his own side: His staff has unionized.”
Transportation/ Land Use:
Eminent domain again hot topic at MT Legislature:
“Landowners asked Montana legislators Monday to tilt eminent domain laws more toward their favor — less than a week after opposing industry interests asked the opposite.”
No more taxpayer cash for high-speed rail?:
“Republican U.S. Rep. John Mica met with Gov. Rick Scott Monday to discuss a high-speed rail project linking Tampa to Orlando and a commuter rail project from Jacksonville to Miami.”