"Heh-heh, so he ain't playin' ball with me? Get Al-ber-toe on the line. We got some indictin' to do!"
Show of hands. How many of you have Qwest as your telephone provider? Because if you don't, you really don't care about this issue as much as you lead on. Who here has put their money where their mouths are?
I included a letter with my notice of cancellation of service to AT&T after this broke (I was on my last nerve with them anyway, and this was the proverbial straw). If Quest was a provider for me locally (and I had a desire to get a land line), I'd seriously consider them (assuming their prices weren't exorbitant).
You may want to take a look at their coverage map: http://pcat.qwest.com/pcat/profile.do?salesChannel=null Not exactly an option for most.
I'm sure if we all stomp our feet and hold our breath, the invisible hand of the market will cure all.
After the Valdez wreck, I didn't buy gas at Exxon for years. But the fact that I did something doesn't mean that the gvt. shouldn't still have gone after Exxon. Matt, really, you've gone down the rabbit hole of libertarianism. It's like Syd Barrett and LSD. He took the journey and never came back.
Did the government coerce Exxon into ramming a tanker into Alaska? No? Then it's completely unrelated. It's bonkers for me to see you all advocate that the same government that pushed the telecoms into making bad decisions should punish them for those decisions. BTW, if I'm Barrett who's my Gilmour?
I dumped AT&T (and sent them a note too) and went with Comcast. Qwest was not an option in Chicago. Uncle Phil is a staunch Republican. I'm surprised he didn't go along with it.
So you're advocating the stance that if the government says it is kosher, then you're in the clear, no use of judgment required? That's ****ing scary.
How is the gvt. punishing them? Further, they're immunized. They won't be paying up, the feds will. You're dodging the real issue, which is that this is about Bush covering up his crimes.
That's not the real issue from my POV. The real issue is to ensure that business and the government can work together to achieve common goals in extreme situations without fear of entrapment. If this immunity didn't go through, business would be quite skiddish to work with the government on important matters ever again. Bush playing CYA is ancillary from my POV
That happens in many cases. For instance, doctors and pharmacisits are immune from prosecution if a drug is approved by the FDA and is properly dispensed according to their guidelines.
For the telcos, whatever the courts decide. For Bush, criminal charges and subsequent impeachment and/or imprisonment.