#444 Musings Beyond the Bunker (Wednesday August 31)
Good morning,
REINING IN BIG TECHNOLOGY
Perhaps antitrust law will set us free. Perhaps it is the key to rebuilding our media and communication in our society. It will require some adjustment to existing laws and ways of thinking, but perhaps it might just work.
Antitrust law is being used today to combat collusion of major companies in slowing wage growth. There is little doubt that companies are winking at each other as they publicize salaries while competitors and colleagues use that data in ways that create industry-wide wage ceilings. Can these laws be extended to restrict the oligarchs of the Internet?
As I’ve been ranting about for a while, how do we deal with the mass of information and hostility spewed forth from social media platforms? They maintain that they are little more than vehicles for connecting people. But we all know they’re much more. They are dangerous not only because they are capable of doing, but the vastness of the effect of every action they take. They are ubiquitous and have stepped up to take control of entire aspects of our collective civic lives. They are not only the corner newsstand. They are the owners of the newspapers and the editors who determine which stories are on the front page. There are a number of theories through which I think the industry can be controlled:
They have monopoly power. Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter effectively control how many of us access information. They have the power to squash their competitors, making it difficult for others to offer meaningful alternatives to their information-gathering, and encouraging discontent and trolling for more ads. There is a precedent for the government stepping in and demanding certain behaviors, including the fairness doctrine for broadcast media.
They are the public square. We no longer gather in the public square to hear competing claims propounded from soap boxes. We no longer need to tune in to the national political debate through a few “accepted” media, each of which was subject to some standards. Because years ago shopping centers were viewed as extensions of the “public square,” they were required to allow public speech in front of their stores. Further, companies had to allow labor organizers some access to their workers. These media giants be required to provide visibility to others in an organized fashion “in front of their store.”
They are utilities. They are providing essential services. If you want electricity or water, you are provided access by society. To be exposed to the community, government doesn’t control your access. But make no mistake about it, the internet goliaths of Amazon, Google and Facebook effectively are “the only game in town.” The provision of access and the free flow of the utility they deliver should be regulated by the government. It is not okay that our next elections may be dependent upon the decisions made by the mandarins at Facebook.
BEST LAST LINES OF MOVIES (PART II)
You know how much I love lists. Here is Part II of a curated list of my favorite last lines of movies.
“I get to live the rest of my life like a schnook.” –Ray Liotta as Henry Hill, once he rats-out his friends and joins the witness protection program at the end of Goodfellas.
“The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he did not exist. And like that…he is gone.” –Chazz Palminteri as the police officer when he finally realizes Kevin Spacey is Keyser Soze in The Usual Suspects.
“Alright, Mr. DeMille; I’m ready for my close-up.” –Gloria Swanson as Norma Desmond, the washed-out silent film star upon capture for murder in Sunset Boulevard.
“I can’t imagine why.” –Richard Dreyfuss at the end of Jaws, in response to Roy Scheider’s character’s comment, “I used to hate the water.”
“The truth is, I am Iron Man.” –Robert Downey, Jr., at the end of the eponymous movie. The one Marvel movie I really loved.
“Well, nobody’s perfect!” –Joe E. Brown, as Osgood Fielding III, when he discovers that Jack Lemmon actually is not a woman when Jack rips off his wig at the end of Some Like It Hot.
“So long, partner.” –Tom Hanks voicing Woody at the end of Toy Story 3, when Timmy gives away his toys as he heads off to college.
“You maniacs! You blew it up! Damn you! God damn you all to hell.” –Charlton Heston as George Taylor, when he discovers that mankind destroyed itself, at the end of Planet of the Apes.
“Victory is ours! Hail, hail Freedonia, land of the brave.” –The Marx Brothers at the end of Duck Soup.
“I do wish we could chat longer, but I’m having an old friend for dinner.” –Anthony Hopkins as Hannibal Lector at the end of The Silence of the Lambs.
“Soylent Green is people.” –Charlton Heston at the end of Soylent Green.
“It’s a far, far better thing I do than I have ever done. It’s a far, far better rest I go to than I have ever known.” –A Tale of Two Cities
“God bless us, every one.” –Tiny Tim at the end of A Christmas Carol.
“He is not a hero. He’s a silent guardian, a watchful protector…a dark knight.” –Gary Oldman as Lieutenant Gordon at the end of the second of the three Christopher Nolan movies (the best of the various Batman reboots)
“Tara! Home. I’ll go home, and I’ll think of some way to get him back! After all, tomorrow is another day!” –Vivien Leigh at the end of Gone With the Wind.
Have a great day,
Glenn
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