Surprise, Surprise! Organizations On Receiving End Of Comcast Gravy Train Praise TWC Merger

If you have an opinion that many would deem illogical, what do you do? You go find other people who think just as illogically, of course. Power in numbers, as they say. That can go for a sibling battling with another sibling over who took the last of the cupcakes just as well as it can for mega corporations like Comcast which argue that a monopoly is a good thing.

Comcast's desire to absorb Time Warner Cable has been a hugely debated topic, with many believing it'd harm innovation and work against consumers, while others -- those on Comcast's side -- state the exact opposite. I say if you have any doubt about which side you're on, just consider how Comcast handles itself now. Need examples? You can find many right here.

The New York Times has just posted about some of Comcast's defense, and believe it or not, there's a lot of it, as well as a lot of ill-informed suggestions. Mississippi's governor Phil Bryant says, "The merger will not hinder competition but will bring better technology to more consumers." Not that I'm one to disagree with politicians, given how trustworthy they can be, that claim makes my head hurt.

(Source: Flickr/Knight725)

Oh, but wait: more on that 'trustworthy' thing. NYT found that of the mass of folks that sent letters to Washington in favor of the merger have been directly funded by Comcast in recent years - usually as a charitable donation. If not that, it was corporate support or a political contribution.

That's not surprising, of course, but it's still depressing that it's possible for companies to get away with things because they know who to throw money around to. Fortunately, while there's much supposed support for the Comcast acquisition, several hundred thousand people have issued comments to the FCC to prevent the deal from going through.

Could those masses prevent this like it did net neutrality blocking? Let's hope so. I think Comcast is evil enough; becoming a definitive monopoly sure isn't going to change that.