1. Welcome to SportsJournalists.com, a friendly forum for discussing all things sports and journalism.

    Your voice is missing! You will need to register for a free account to get access to the following site features:
    • Reply to discussions and create your own threads.
    • Access to private conversations with other members.
    • Fewer ads.

    We hope to see you as a part of our community soon!

President Trump: The NEW one and only politics thread

Discussion in 'Sports and News' started by Moderator1, Nov 12, 2016.

Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.
Page 5208 of 18258
  1. Pete

    Pete Well-Known Member

    Fair enough on the first point. Though since Comcast owning NBCUniversal is already a thing, it doesn't seem especially fair/consistent to disallow the same thing for a rival company. But sure, slap a consent decree on it, or some other conditions. Not unreasonable. That's not what the DOJ is doing right now, though.

    On the second point, I guess we'll have to agree to disagree. It just seems unlikely to me that an administration that has been marked by being virulently 1) anti-regulation; 2) anti-anything done by the Obama administration has made an exception in this case purely on the merits, given Trump's very public distaste for CNN and the public statements of the head of the Antitrust Division in Oct. 2016 that he didn't see a "major antitrust problem." What changed, besides Trump?

    [EDIT to add: I agree that the DOJ complaint is not unreasonable on its face. I simply have a hard time taking it at face value for the reasons above.]
     
    Last edited: Nov 21, 2017
    Pete, Nov 21, 2017
    #62485
  2. The Big Ragu

    The Big Ragu Moderator Staff Member

    Pete, I see it as you do. Trump has made a point of how he is deregulating the business environment. He has cut into any teeth various regulatory agencies had. Yet, on this, he was railing about the merger on the campaign trail, all but tying it to CNN's coverage of him. And now, his Justice Department -- with the same head of the anti-trust division who before Trump got his hands on the keys, had publicly said the deal looked fine to him -- has taken on a vertical integration merger that doesn't have any precedent, because even administrations that didn't fancy themselves as "pro business" never touched things like this. It's a disgusting abuse of power. ... but it's also the grotesque extreme of giving the Federal government that ability to arbitrarily interfere in business that anti-trust laws have (well that part, I am guessing you don't quite agree with).
     
    The Big Ragu, Nov 21, 2017
    #62486
  3. Pete

    Pete Well-Known Member

    I see where you're coming from now. I appreciate the response and the link.
     
    Pete, Nov 21, 2017
    #62487
  4. HanSenSE

    HanSenSE Well-Known Member

    Shocked, I'm telling ya.

     
    HanSenSE, Nov 21, 2017
    #62488
  5. Deskgrunt50

    Deskgrunt50 Well-Known Member

    And there you have it. Trump officially backs a sexual predator for Senate. Says Moore denied the allegations and that’s what matters.

    Also said Doug Jones is soft on crime. The man who prosecuted the KKK and Eric Rudolph.

    Disgusting. Alabama is going to elect this fucking criminal Roy Moore.
     
    Deskgrunt50, Nov 21, 2017
    #62489
    Della9250 likes this.
  6. Inky_Wretch

    Inky_Wretch Well-Known Member

    Inky_Wretch, Nov 21, 2017
    #62490
  7. Pete

    Pete Well-Known Member

    I agree with this – except the part you correctly guess that I don't – but on a completely minor point, I'd consider this more a horizontal than a vertical merger. The DOJ's stated concern is that it would put the combined company on both sides of the content/distribution negotiating table, i.e. spreading out horizontally, rather than vertically becoming unduly large on either the content or distribution side. As they feared in the scuttled Comcast/Time Warner Cable merger, for instance, which I would have called vertical on the distribution side.

    To the rest, sorry to interrupt the political mudslinging with this antitrust threadjack. Please resume!
     
    Pete, Nov 21, 2017
    #62491
  8. Inky_Wretch

    Inky_Wretch Well-Known Member

    I get what he's trying to say, but jeez.

     
    Inky_Wretch, Nov 21, 2017
    #62492
  9. The Big Ragu

    The Big Ragu Moderator Staff Member

    AT&T and Time Warner don't directly compete with each other as stand alone companies -- that is what makes it a vertical merger. A horizontal merger would be between competitors that occupy the same part of the value chain -- let's say Home Depot and Lowes were trying to merge.

    What you are describing doesn't make the merger horizontal. ... there would be no such thing as a vertical merger by what you are saying, because the reason companies that don't directly compete want to merge is that they compliment each other (and presumably that can create efficiencies that lower costs).
     
    The Big Ragu, Nov 21, 2017
    #62493
  10. Della9250

    Della9250 Well-Known Member

    Well since he TOTALLY denies it.....

     
    Della9250, Nov 21, 2017
    #62494
  11. Michael_ Gee

    Michael_ Gee Well-Known Member

    Grand Old Pervs stick together.
     
    Michael_ Gee, Nov 21, 2017
    #62495
  12. HanSenSE

    HanSenSE Well-Known Member

    And of course he makes it about himself, sorta. Coupled for wagering purposes with Inky's post:

     
    HanSenSE, Nov 21, 2017
    #62496
    melock and Inky_Wretch like this.
Page 5208 of 18258
Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.

Share This Page