A Sirius Mistake

The Federal Communications Commission approved the XM-Sirius merger last Friday (7/25), bringing to an end a 16-month battle over whether or not such a move would be in the public interest.

South Dakotan Jonathan Adelstein was one of the dissenting Commissioners in the 3-2 decision, hailed by FCC Chairman Kevin Martin as a move that will give consumers greater choice and greater flexibility.

Sirius and XM are the only satellite radio companies, and they concede that the $3.5 billion "merger" -- really a buyout of XM by Sirius -- will save them lots of money.

For the 18-million of us who are satellite radio subscribers, don't look for a rate reduction any time soon. The deal would freeze basic subscription increases, but you can rest assured the new company will find ways to get around that inconvenience. There were some compromises, but nothing that keeps it from falling into the category of a really bad public policy decision by the Federal Communications Commission.

The FCC can spell m-o-n-o-p-o-l-y, but they don't understand its meaning.

For more background on this deal, read these articles from Broadcasting & Cable and the New York Times.

The FCC makes a Sirius mistake

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The Federal Communications Commission approved the XM-Sirius merger last Friday (7/25), bringing to an end a 16-month battle over whether or not such a move would be in the public interest.

South Dakotan Jonathan Adelstein was one of the dissenting Commissioners in the 3-2 decision, hailed by FCC Chairman Kevin Martin as a move that will give consumers greater choice and greater flexibility.

Sirius and XM are the only satellite radio companies, and they concede that the $3.5 billion "merger" -- really a buyout of XM by Sirius -- will save them lots of money.

For the 18-million of us who are satellite radio subscribers, don't look for a rate reduction any time soon. The deal would freeze basic subscription increases, but you can rest assured the new company will find ways to get around that inconvenience. There were some compromises, but nothing that keeps it from falling into the category of a really bad public policy decision by the Federal Communications Commission.

The FCC can spell m-o-n-o-p-o-l-y, but they don't understand its meaning.

For more background on this deal, read these articles from Broadcasting & Cable and the New York Times.

On vacation?

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In a phone conversation with my son the other day, he wondered if I were on vacation. He said he'd noticed that I wasn't posting much on Black Hills Monitor of late.

Oh, to be on vacation! The past few weeks have been the busiest since this poor soul found the retirement road out of Hershey, Pennsylvania back to the Midwest.

It seems that some months ago, in a weaker moment, I volunteered some time to another interest of mine -- family research. My Miller ancestors were Germans from Russia who immigrated to the United States at the turn of the century. Since my late teens, I've always had a keen interest in them, and I eventually pursued genealogy as a way of finding out more. That was when I became familiar with the American Historical Society of Germans from Russia (AHSGR), based in Lincoln, Nebraska.

I was an occasional practicing genealogist while still holding an 8-5 job. But that changed when I retired, and I found myself more immersed in it than ever. Nonetheless, I continued to pursue bicycling, digital photography -- even read a good book. Then, I agreed to co-chair the Publicity Committee for the AHSGR's 2008 joint convention with another group -- the Germans from Russia Heritage Society.

These two organization come together in just another week or so for their International Convention of Germans from Russia. And for these past many weeks, I've been immersed in news releases, phone calls, e-mails and blogging for the German-Russians.

My chores will be done in a couple of weeks, and I plan to resume postings to Black Hills Monitor on a regular and more frequent basis. In the meantime, just in case you have a hankerin' to know more about these German-Russian folks, visit our convention blog at International Convention.

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Oh, by the way, I don't fish - - - -