[IP] FCC En Banc Hearing at Stanford

[David Farber <dave@farber.net>]

________________________________________
From: Brock N Meeks [bmeeks@cox.net]
Sent: Friday, April 18, 2008 2:17 PM
To: David Farber
Subject: Re: [IP] FCC En Banc Hearing at Stanford

On Apr 18, 2008, at 1:42 PM, David Farber wrote:
________________________________________
From: Dr Heather E Hudson [hudson@usfca.edu<mailto:hudson@usfca.edu>]
Sent: Friday, April 18, 2008 1:37 PM
To: David Farber
Subject: Re: [IP] FCC En Banc Hearing at Stanford

[snip]

It is not true that George Ford was the only economist. Greg Rosston,
a Stanford economist,  was also on that panel, and his reasoned views
did not concur with some of Larry Lessig's proposals. Ford, on the
other hand, was insulting, repeatedly claiming that he was an
economist and saying that there was no evidence to support net
neutrality positions, rather than refuting those positions on the
merits.

[snip]

Just small anecdotal detour here.  Just evoking the word "economist" make me blanch.  Not my fault really, you see, when covering the Microsoft antitrust trial I overdosed on economists, both on the stand and off.  If I had absorbed that much radiation, I'd be dead or a Republican or... well, you get my point.

Just when I thought I might escape the trial with my respect for economics still intact, up to stand stepped Dick Schmalensee, MIT's big shot econ guy and, as it happened, Microsoft's expert witness.  (David Bois, the government's lead attorney, called Schmalensee Microsoft's "house" economist.)

Schmalensee, at one point, claimed that the Palm OS, which drives the lowly Palm Pilot, was a potential competitive threat to Windows.  Yes, he did.  I know, I know... I nearly coughed up a hair ball right there in the court room, risking the wrath of Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson.  And that just kind of soured me on economists, a prejudice that remains to this day.

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