Cheshire Cat Photo Blog(...said the Cat: 'we're all mad here....')

Meredith Attwell Baker, one of two Republican commissioners on the Federal Communications Commission, announced today that she is will leave the Commission when her term expires in June to become senior vice president of government affairs for Comcast. Baker was one of the four commissioners who approved Comcast‘s acquisition of NBC Universal in January. The vote was 4 to 1, with only Democrat Michael Copps opposing the deal.

Baker signed a pledge when she took office that she would not lobby anyone at FCC for two years after her departure, and she will not be able to lobby any political appointees at the FCC for as long as President Obama, who appointed her, is in office, all according to The New York Times. She is also banned for life from lobbying any agency in the executive branch, including the FCC, with regard to conditions that the FCC placed upon the Comcast/NBC Universal deal.

Craig Aaron, president and CEO of Free Press said, in a statement:

“This is just the latest–though perhaps most blatant—example of a so-called public servant cashing in at a company she is supposed to be regulating.” “No wonder the public is so  nauseated by business as usual in Washington, where the complete capture of government by industry barely raises any eyebrows.”

(Note added June 8, 2011: No fun for you! No fun for me! As I write this, my home is among those experiencing a SECOND DAY of Comcast cable TV outage! I must admit though, I miss TV far less than I missed Internet service during a one-day Comcast Internet outage earlier, and I COULD watch some TV shows on our computers, if I get desperate. My wife is on another computer chatting with Xfinity, which is sending a “refresh” signal. We shall see….)

-Bill at

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