"It wasn't always this way, and even now it doesn't have to be. One gay and lesbian civil rights organization, GLAAD earlier this year showed how leadership and constituents ought to interact. When the executive director of GLAAD issued a letter endorsing the AT&T-T-Mobile merger in January 2011, a virtual you-know-what storm erupted. How dare an organization created to represent our interests, many voices in the gay and lesbian community cried out, sell its endorsement of this predatory merger. The sordid history of dirty telecom money funneled into GLAAD was exposed, and now that money flows elsewhere. The corrupt president of GLAAD was forced to resign in disgrace, and the endorsement of the merger withdrawn"

If this is the price we must pay for the increasing visibility and political presence of the 'Gay' community, then I'll 'Glaadly' pay that price. LOL; much respect to that bunch.

On a much more personal note; I've long been awaiting the day when I'll be able to switch to Verizon; you see despite America's so-called free market, I'm still forced to pay for AT&T's defective product because Verizon isn't allowed to service customers in my area. Where was the Justice Department during the SBC Global/AT&T merger?

The only way you root for mega-mergers is if you're a parasitic shareholder, who, nine times out of ten would choose dividends over R&D. As consumers we should be vigilant in preventing these mergers because the result is ALWAYS higher prices and lower quality; and with government protection for these mega-corporations, it also means fewer choices. I see this as a BIG WIN for every one who isn't an AT&T shareholder and we are the majority.