Saturday Links

Fighting the gods of cable is hard work.

One Dozen Unique Food Tattoos

New research proves that lucky charms DO actually work

Locked' up: Hair style can indicate social, religious or fashion choice

HOW TO make Spam Musubi

Quiz: Politically Named Places

Are you listening to me? Scientists find blinking eyes mean the mind is wandering

Sen. Franken awakens AG Holder to Comcast/NBCU issue

By GottaLaff

A little reminder, via Wiki:

On December 3, 2009, GE and US cable TV operator Comcast announced a buyout agreement for NBC Universal. If the transaction completes, and pending regulatory approval, Comcast would own 51% of NBC Universal while GE would own 49%.

Al Franken has a thing or two to say about that, and A.G. Holder's ears perked up.

US Attorney General Eric Holder thought he was in a Senate Judiciary hearing about Guantanamo Bay – but Sen. Al Franken (D-MN) took the opportunity to grill the AG about the DOJ review of the proposed merger of Comcast and NBCU. Holder was circumspect, but did confess to being interested as a private citizen thanks to his status as Comcast subscriber.

Franken expressed concerns about the merger, according to a Washington Post Report, including the possibility of setting off a wave of similar mergers between other media giants that could leave the nation with essentially five sources of information.

As it stands now, we could do with a few more sources of information. America is already woefully ill-informed. And an misinformed, uninformed, dumbed-down electorate is the downfall of democracy.

If I sound like a broken record, it's because it is vital that this message get repeated over and over again until enough people hear it, believe it, and do something about it.

Electing Al Franken was a great first step.

H/t: Al Franken on Twitter

VIDEO: Introducing the founder of "The Right Network"

By GottaLaff

(click on all images to enlarge)

Yesterday I posted about a brand spanking new network coming to you, courtesy of Comcast! (Yes, that would be the same Comcast that's trying to acquire NBC). This little endeavor is called The Wrong, er, Right Network!

I did a little digging with the help of Twitter pal JamieHarbor, and thought I'd introduce you to its founder, David "We need new program ideas" Jaget:

Here he is on Twitter:

Apparently, he's really into getting thousands of free Twitter followers... or he's oblivious to having been hacked.

Jaget mentions that he is proud to be Jewish in his Twitter bio, here at a rally in D.C. (at 1:59), and in the following video of his appearance in Lansing, Michigan. I'm not sure why he feels it necessary to emphasize that, but, well, he does:



And here he is in Wisconsin, once again, drumming up business for his new venture with Comcast, and using others to further his mission:



And finally, here's documentation of a rather modest donation to Rudy Giuliani:

It's comforting to know David, his BFF Kelsey Grammer, and Comcast are doing everything they can to "protect this country against Liberalism."

Time to switch your cable provider, if you haven't already.

UPDATE: Seems he may be a Las Vegas chiropractor who's trying to sell an $800,000 home. Or not. But if not, there are two David Jagets living in Vegas (his Facebook page references Las Vegas as his "current city"):

Dr. David Jaget and Laura Jaget have listed for sale a five-bedroom, 3.5-bath home at [xxxx xxxxxxxx Dr.] in Las Vegas for $799,900.

Dr. Jaget bought the property for $395,000 in Dec. 2000. The 3,315-square-foot house was built in 1995.

Frank Napoli of Prudential Americana Group Realtors is the listing agent for the property.

Dr. Jaget is a Las Vegas-based chiropractor and owner at Spinal Rehabilitation Center.

Mrs. Jaget is the co-owner of Spinal Rehabilitation Center.

Some digs:
Looks like they were going for the Voyeur club look.

UPDATE: Comcast denies any involvement.

Court Rules Against F.C.C. in 'Net Neutrality' Case

By GottaLaff

There are 10 judges on the court appointed by Republican presidents, 4 by Dems, per Thom Hartmann (if I heard him right just now). He labeled this a "shot across the bow" and a major setback for the FCC.

Via a New York Times e-mail alert:

A federal appeals court has ruled that the Federal Communications Commission lacks the authority to require broadband providers to give equal treatment to all Internet traffic flowing over their networks.

Tuesday's ruling by the United States Court of Appeals for
the District of Columbia is a big victory for the Comcast Corporation, the nation's largest cable company. It had
challenged the F.C.C.'s authority to impose so called "net neutrality" obligations.

Worrisome, to say the least.

Al Franken: 'I don't trust promises' of Comcast, NBC given past experience

By GottaLaff

I trust Al Franken, who doesn't trust Comcast and NBC:

Franken (D-Minn.), a member of the Senate antitrust subcommittee, said his previous career "has given me reason to be very concerned about this potential merger."

So much for all those "he's just a comedian" slams.

"It matters who runs our media companies," he said. "The media are our source of entertainment. They're also how we get information about the world."

"So when the same company that produces those programs runs the pipes, we have reason to be nervous," he said. [...]

"It's completely opposite of what NBC said they would do," he said. "You'll have to excuse me if I don't trust these promises."

There's more here.

And I'm already nervous.

Comcast launches all-Obama channel

Heh, in the comments at Mike's place one of the wingers bitched that pretty soon we'd need to reinstate the Fairness Doctrine to protect them from all the Obama news. Gotta love it. Looking it over, it seems it's more of a President's channel than an Obama channel, citing the White House and Air Force one stuff.

In several markets, Comcast cable is launching an all-Obama, On Demand channel. (In D.C., it's channel 963).

Leading up to Inauguration, the channel will offer a number of Obama-related programs, according to a release: "Barack Obama’s most famous speeches to date, from his keynote address at the Democratic National Convention in 2004 through his election night victory speech in Grant Park; Barack Obama biography; Michelle Obama’s 2008 Democratic National Convention speech; a tour of the White House; and the history of Air Force One."