"The circle has been completed: Walt Disney must be smiling up there somewhere" David Smith, Disney Archives Director

Bob Iger deserves major praise for his role in returning Oswald the Lucky Rabbit to Disney from Universal. Walt created the Oswald cartoon character in 1927 and in the process of doing a deal for distribution of his Oswald cartoons lost the Oswald rights to Universal. Having lost the rights to Oswald, Walt went on to create Mickey. Iger's master stroke involved exchanging a return of the Oswald rights to Disney as part of the package for NBC Universal to get the services of legendary sportscaster Al Michaels.
Way to move Bob...smart and savvy!

Meanwhile...David Isenberg in the voice of Dr. Seuss says...

When Ed Whitacre, the head of AT&T, says, "They're not going to use my pipes for free" he's not talking about Them, he's talking about Me. He's talking about Us, it should be plain to see.

Freedom to connect, it's like every other right. We've got to fight, Or they'll come and take it from us in the middle of the night.

So let's finish with the words of Tim Bray...

Fat Pipe, Always On, Get Out of the Way.

When we write to our congressman, what do we say?

(audience) Fat Pipe, Always On, Get Out of the Way.

And when Whitaker says "Pay again" what do we say?

(audience) Fat Pipe, Always On, Get Out of the Way. . . .

David's comments are spot on. It is not to early for each of us to again get in touch with local, state and federal elected officials. Having paid for your connection to the internet the RBOCs and others need to understand we, the so-called rate payers, the voters, ain't gonna pay again. The feds were wise to remain silent on internet issues - including taxes - in the 1996 telecom bill, they will need a reminder or two over the next few years as members seek to rewrite the legislation. Best guess for a fast track of any such rewrite is...ten years but the time to get into the conversation is N O W. Check out David's ongoing work, Freedom to Connect, here. (Thanks to O'Reilly for the pointer)

btw, this makes a great local story for broadcast - your viewers and listeners are certain to have an opinion on paying more for access - good consumer angle.