Friday February 27
Merger Enforcement Irrationality
When the U.S. government yesterday sued to block Oracle's hostile takeover of PeopleSoft, only a few pundits got it right. Dan Gilmore of the San Jose Mercury News observed that the same "Justice Department officials who cut that sleazy Microsoft sellout, perhaps miffed that people continue to point out the Department's nonfeasance, are sticking it to one of their chief critics." And the venerable Wall Street Journal editorialized that Justice's merger theory -- that every large-scale enterprise customer represents its own market -- is ludicrous. "The Justice Department antitrust bureaucracy is sorely in need of some adult legal counsel," the Journal wrote.
Remarkably, Hew Pate, DOJ's chief antitruster, said the agency staff "did not consider the possibility of future competitors in making their decision." And he added a pointedly defensive critique that Oracle had "mischaracterized" the Department's legal theories "for public relations value."
This all sounds like sour grapes and result-oriented reasoning to me. The sad reality is that antitrust law used to be a principled field, bereft of political intrusions and populated by officials who prided themselves on a dispassionate, objective, analtytically rigorous approach to preserving competition. It certainly seems that may not be the case anymore.
[Disclaimer: I have represented Oracle over the years, including on antitrust matters, but have not been involved in the PeopleSoft acquisition.]
Posted by glenn at Thursday February 26
The Never-Ending Telecom Debate
Adam Thierer of the CATO Institute is a thoughtful guy, but on core telecom issues he is all wet. Take this, for instance --
That's been the same refrain for 15 years, with various failed technologies (cable telephony, IXCs, fiber-to-the-home, etc.) substituted when the last transparent rationale no longer has legs. Fact is that the local loop is the one real market -- beyond PC operating systems -- in which scale economies and network effects continue to support strong natural monopoly characteristics. The only real theory for local teleom deregulation is the whacked idea -- promulgated by Joe Baumol and Bobby Willig of Princeton in the early 1980s, paid by AT&T to coin new econonobabble theories in order to oppose a divestiture remedy in the government's antitrust lawsuit -- of "contestable markets." And the "investments" Adam talks about have been paid for by many times over by PUC-guaranteed rates of return and depreciation policies that allow the Bells to operate essentially with free infrastructure supported by massive subsidies, i.e., taxes.
I don't disagree that the Telecom Act is a regulatory vehicle at heart, that it was DOA by using a "silo" definitional structure based on old, outmoded regulatory classifications, and that the FCC is way over the top, but I think what is really beyond the pale is the use of telecom regulation to achieve social policy objectives ("digital divide," universal service, "free" broadcast television and the like) rather than structurally competitive markets. No one compains about the subversive use of regulation for social policy because universal service and broadcast television are sacred political cows like Social Security, and the poiticians are afraid to covert these massive subsidy flows into explicit taxes because they would then become visible, fail GAO scoring and let the people know how government is making us pay involuntary financial tribute to 1,000 small telcos.
More timely, however, is the pure joy of watching otherwise unified conservatives bitterly divided over telecom deregulation. Gotta love that fact that CATO and PFF are villifying Grover Norquist and Jim Glassman. The whole thing is so much about idealogy wrapped in pseudo-policy that it has become the epitome of boring to me. Same issues, different acronyms. But of course, I am a cynic at heart.
Thursday February 19
Media Hubris
The political press should take a hard look at itself in light of William Greider's caustic critique in The Nation of the media's treatment of Howard Dean.
Liquidation Sale In Washington
I have ranted before in this space about the tremdously stupid moves made by the Washington Capitols and their supposedly fan-friendly owner Ted Leonsis. Well, yesterday the Caps traded their all-time leading scorer Petere Bondra. It's not just that he leads all NHL players in hat tricks over the past 8 seasons, or that he has spent his entire career with the team, or that by the end of the season Bondra would have played more games in a Caps uniform than anyone else. No, it's that Leonisis got only a 20-year old minor leaguer and a future draft pick -- nothing -- in return for a real star.
Mike Wilbon comments that Bondra cried when he heard the news of what Wilbon termed the "liquidation sale" going on in DC. He also cogently points out -- as I personally told Leonsis last Spring -- why my 5th row season tickets to the Caps will not be renewed next year.
Goodbye, Bonzai. Pleasant travels.
Wednesday February 18
Howard's End
This afternoon, after failing to win a single Democratic presidential primary, the once seemingly invincible Howard Dean withdrew from the primary battles. Wisconsin Marks End of Line for Dean [cnn.com]. Some pundits place the beginning of the end of Dean's candidacy as his "I Have A Scream" speech following Iowa. I think differently.
Dean's meteoric rise was followed by a line of endorsements from establishment politicos, starting with former VP Al Gore. This establishment focus drew attention to the fact that Dean is no centrist. He could never run as successfuly as an "incumbent" as he had as an "insurgent." As I blogged here months ago, the only thing that Gore brought to the table was his baggage. The Gore endorsement was the high water mark of Howard Dean's presidential campaign. From that point on, it was all downhill for Dean. Al Gore, it seems, is still a kiss of death in American politics.
Tuesday February 17
Elton As Liberace?
Elton John has taken over Celine Dion's show a Ceasar's Palace in Las Vegas. Some critics may like it, but I think having this rock icon star in a Vegas Strip act makes him a tragic figure. Las Vegas may have changed over the years, but the biggest performers in that desert wasteland have always been Wayne Newton and Liberace. One would have hoped that the legendary musician who penned "Funeral For a Friend," "Your Song," and "Candle In the Wind" -- among many other hits -- would be a little bigger than those two-bit, untalented has beens.
Monday February 16
Ups and Downs
This has got to be the feel good sports story of the year. John Daly, who surged into prominence in 1991 by winning the U.S. Open as a professional golf rookie, has had more than his share of troubles over the years. Well-publicized bouts with alcoholism, breakdowns televised to the entire world, three failed marriages and nary a PGA win in sight for nearly a decade. Life always had a way of bringing out the best and the worst in Daly. At times it was hard to tell which was which.
Well, big John battled his demons over the weekend to win the Buick Invitation at Torrey Pines in San Diego in a playoff. Daly's Career Gets Jump-Start at Buick [washingtonpost.com] He then broke down in tears and hugged his caddy. He may be a jerk a lot of the time, but Daly is a tremendously empathetic figure given all he has been through and his connection to common people. Way to go, John!
Thursday February 12
Big Case, Little Quote
Well I spent eight hours in the federal appeals court in Philadelphia arguing yesterday against the FCC's deregulation of media ownership (like repeal of the ban on newspaper-television cross-ownership in local markets). The case led to a nice story in the New York Times by Steve Labaton -- Court Is Urged to Change Media Ownership Rules -- with a pungent little quote from yours truly. It's a hard job to capture the nuances of a full day's legal hearings in a single article, but I think Steve has done quite a good job here.
Monday February 9
Back In the USA
No, they never sang that Chuck Berry classic (unlike Roll Over Beethoven), but The Beatles are a hit once more 40 years after their first appearance in the USA on the Ed Sullivan Show. Here's an interesting list from CNN of the 40 best Beatles songs of all time. Boy, they were good. Yesterday's Grammy winners Beyonce and Outkast will be long gone in a year or two, but John, Paul, George and Ringo will rock on for many more decades.
Sunday February 8
A Real Mickey Mouse
"[I]t's no secret that Apple is running circles around Microsoft when it comes to pushing the digital entertainment envelope." So the news that Disney -- after having been jilted by Steve Jobs' Pixar animation studios (of Finding Nemo fame) -- has now cut a deal with Microsoft to "improve the quality and security of digital content which can be delivered to homes over the Internet" rings a little hollow. Sort of like two wallflowers dancing with themselves at the prom. They're made for each other.
Wednesday February 4
He's a Conservative?
Under President Bush, Nick Kristoff points out in a provocative op-ed piece titled Sex, Lies and Bush on Tape, "[government] spending has increased more rapidly than under any president since Lyndon Johnson, and Mr. Bush refuses to pay for it." And what's really scary is that few people -- including Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan -- seem to care at all.
Tuesday February 3
A Little Nipple
Shaun Powell's commentary from Newsday about the Janet Jackson "wardrobe malfunction" is right on.
The NFL consciously wanted to bring in a more "youthful" audience by catering to the MTV crowd. Now they're backing away full speed, but can't dispute that they tried to have it both ways. Moral -- sex sells, even in football.
The Breast Superbowl Ever
After Sunday's brilliant Superbowl game, all anyone wanted to talk about Monday was the half-time show, in which Justin Timerblake ripped off part of Janet Jackson's leather bodice. The NFL, CBS and even the FCC all expressed their "shock" and "outrage." But this is nothing compared to the stuff shown on television every day, especially in music videos. Drop the Outrage, Bra-Play Was Blasé [TheStar.com]. What is it about two seconds of skin that has everyone so worked up? Personally, I found the repreated ads for erectile dysfunction drugs -- including one warning about the dangers of a four-hour erection -- much more tasteless and inappropriate.
Sunday February 1
Net Clutter
There's a ton of great content available on the Internet, but it seems Superbowl.com (run by the NFL, of course) is not one of them. Generally a bunch of repurposed blather and programs for the half-time entertainment, massively cluttered with a whole slew of sponsor banners, logos, polls, aninated GIFs and the like. Anyone give a spit about the football game anymore? For the record, I am picking the Patriots by 10 and think it should be an excellent contest.