LINK
This shit sucks, unbelievable.
Hope all the good sites move out of the U.S.
Net neutrality lost :(:(:(:(:
Re: Net neutrality lost :(:(:(:(:
Its amazing to me how the republicans can so reliably be on the wrong side of any issue.
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Danny Futuro
- Posts: 253
- Joined: Tue Apr 18, 2006 7:42 am
- Location: Los Angeles
This doesn't seem like that big of a deal to me. All that happened was that the law didn't pass that particular vote. The bill can be re-written and another attempt can be made to pass it. Also, it's not like a new law was passed that says anything about how the internet needs to be (and that will be hard to repeal or change), what happened here is that the market avoided (perhaps only temporarily) a piece of regulation.
Now I'm not saying that this particular bill was a good or bad idea, and to be honest, I'm not particularly familiar with the debate on the subject. But have you really thought out how a tiered service would work out for the 'net? Would ISPs simply over-run everyone with higher rates and price discrimination, or would the youtubes of the world pay extra while you and I got cheaper and cheaper monthly access? Remeber, lower ammounts of regulation generally make markets more efficient, not less.
Perhaps I'm missing something here, but even after today, we can keep working on ideas of how to legislate the internet.
Now I'm not saying that this particular bill was a good or bad idea, and to be honest, I'm not particularly familiar with the debate on the subject. But have you really thought out how a tiered service would work out for the 'net? Would ISPs simply over-run everyone with higher rates and price discrimination, or would the youtubes of the world pay extra while you and I got cheaper and cheaper monthly access? Remeber, lower ammounts of regulation generally make markets more efficient, not less.
Perhaps I'm missing something here, but even after today, we can keep working on ideas of how to legislate the internet.
http://www.tpmcafe.com/node/30658
The House Votes on Net Neutrality
By Art Brodsky | bio
There is an old cliche that the score of a game can be deceiving. In the case of the House vote on Net Neutrality Thursday night, that cliche doesn't work. The 269-152 vote is as bad as it looks.
But another cliche says it ain't over until it's over. And it ain't over.
It was a shame, as Rep. Ed Markey said, that the House leadership allocated only 20 minutes to debate the future of the Internet. A longer debate wouldn't have made any difference in the vote, but it would given our side a chance to air some more of the issue. But before we despair too much, let's look at the history. Congress is the Bell's home court. In 1995-1996, they beat the old AT&T and MCI in the telecom Act. In 2001, they got legislation passed that was so lopsided in favor of the Bells that it advanced no farther.
Net Neutrality shouldn't be a partisan issue. There should be Republicans who see the value in having a free and open Internet. But unfortunately, that's not happening. A grand total of 11 voted with Markey, who championed Net Neutrality along with Reps. Rick Boucher, Anna Eshoo, Jay Inslee and John Dingell.
More disturbing for TPM readers, however, should be that 58 Democrats sold out the Internet. You can see the vote results here. We know Democrats are not a monolithic party, but this was ridiculous. And not only did they flock to vote with the Bells, many of them signed on as cosponsors of the telecom bill (HR 5252).
With all of that support, the Bells, and the cable companies, got everything they asked for. Bells get streamlined entry into the cable business. Cable gets out of much of its obligations to renew local franchises. And neither has to worry about keeping the Internet open. This result can come about because there are no penalties for voting against the Bells. Neither the corporate backers of Net Neutrality, nor the enthusiastic but diffuse public who supports it are yet in any position to wield the political power to change a politician's mind. That will have to change.
Next up is the Senate, where there is some good support for Net Neutrality from Sens. Olympia Snowe, Byron Dorgan, and Ron Wyden, along with a batch of others who announced support for the principle. If you favor an open Internet, you should encourage these Senators and work to persuade others.
The Bells control the inside game. They spent millions on TV ads, newspaper ads and, most important of all, lobbyists. Bell lobbyists are on the Hill every day, in every office of every member of Congress and Senator. Contrasted with that up-close-and-personal presence, an email petition with 800,000 names has no significance whatsoever. It is an abstraction. Sad, but true.
We can blog forever, and it won't make a difference, except as a vehicle to informing those who want to read about these important issues. If you want to make your voice heard, you have to do it in person. Not everyone can come to Washington, but every politician has to go home. You should find out when your House member or Senator has a town meeting and attend. Or schedule a meeting with a group of friends. Put Net Neutrality on the agenda, whether the politicians want it there or not.
The House Votes on Net Neutrality
By Art Brodsky | bio
There is an old cliche that the score of a game can be deceiving. In the case of the House vote on Net Neutrality Thursday night, that cliche doesn't work. The 269-152 vote is as bad as it looks.
But another cliche says it ain't over until it's over. And it ain't over.
It was a shame, as Rep. Ed Markey said, that the House leadership allocated only 20 minutes to debate the future of the Internet. A longer debate wouldn't have made any difference in the vote, but it would given our side a chance to air some more of the issue. But before we despair too much, let's look at the history. Congress is the Bell's home court. In 1995-1996, they beat the old AT&T and MCI in the telecom Act. In 2001, they got legislation passed that was so lopsided in favor of the Bells that it advanced no farther.
Net Neutrality shouldn't be a partisan issue. There should be Republicans who see the value in having a free and open Internet. But unfortunately, that's not happening. A grand total of 11 voted with Markey, who championed Net Neutrality along with Reps. Rick Boucher, Anna Eshoo, Jay Inslee and John Dingell.
More disturbing for TPM readers, however, should be that 58 Democrats sold out the Internet. You can see the vote results here. We know Democrats are not a monolithic party, but this was ridiculous. And not only did they flock to vote with the Bells, many of them signed on as cosponsors of the telecom bill (HR 5252).
With all of that support, the Bells, and the cable companies, got everything they asked for. Bells get streamlined entry into the cable business. Cable gets out of much of its obligations to renew local franchises. And neither has to worry about keeping the Internet open. This result can come about because there are no penalties for voting against the Bells. Neither the corporate backers of Net Neutrality, nor the enthusiastic but diffuse public who supports it are yet in any position to wield the political power to change a politician's mind. That will have to change.
Next up is the Senate, where there is some good support for Net Neutrality from Sens. Olympia Snowe, Byron Dorgan, and Ron Wyden, along with a batch of others who announced support for the principle. If you favor an open Internet, you should encourage these Senators and work to persuade others.
The Bells control the inside game. They spent millions on TV ads, newspaper ads and, most important of all, lobbyists. Bell lobbyists are on the Hill every day, in every office of every member of Congress and Senator. Contrasted with that up-close-and-personal presence, an email petition with 800,000 names has no significance whatsoever. It is an abstraction. Sad, but true.
We can blog forever, and it won't make a difference, except as a vehicle to informing those who want to read about these important issues. If you want to make your voice heard, you have to do it in person. Not everyone can come to Washington, but every politician has to go home. You should find out when your House member or Senator has a town meeting and attend. Or schedule a meeting with a group of friends. Put Net Neutrality on the agenda, whether the politicians want it there or not.
Good article, sad that nobody seems to care much, probably watching football eating chips and drinking beers letting it all pass them by in a blaze of ignorance, until it starts to affect them of course, at which point they will whine on forums about it or start another pointless online petition because you know, you'd have to get off your fat arse to have your voice heard, and that's just to much work.
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Meef Chaloin
- Posts: 2164
- Joined: Thu Jul 21, 2005 10:09 pm
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meep_audio
- Posts: 62
- Joined: Wed Feb 22, 2006 4:38 pm
ILTK wrote:Good article, sad that nobody seems to care much, probably watching football eating chips and drinking beers letting it all pass them by in a blaze of ignorance, until it starts to affect them of course, at which point they will whine on forums about it or start another pointless online petition because you know, you'd have to get off your fat arse to have your voice heard, and that's just to much work.
Note to myself. I must stop having fun!
true, i myself am partially guilty for being somewhat guttless in this field. we all are. just sitting back as they strip evrything away from us. our rights, our freedom, and soon our thought. before you know it you will have to give them your first born so Cheney can crack it open like a beer and suck all the blood and juices out of it.Meef Chaloin wrote:you say that but half the time most people are busy questioning themselves about it while the fuckery plays away.D DAS wrote:those pig fuckers.
time to stand up to these corporate terrorists and give them a dose of freedom
they keep people busy, they make stuff like this happen so you need to work harder and just focus on making that money, to keep people distracted and exhausted. to keep them in control. work sheeple work, eat sheeple eat, keep your minds asleep sheeple asleep.
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err_fatale
- Posts: 326
- Joined: Sun Oct 30, 2005 10:18 pm
are you surprised, though??????
I have given up letting myself feel shitty when some new bullshit comes along thanks to some extremely gifted assholes, of which there are countless specimens. No use worrying about things over which one has no control. Just follow the Tao and be as much like water as possible, always adapting, always finding new solutions, new ways of dealing with jerk-offs and their nefarious activities while staying true to your own way of life.
they will eat themselves.
All this shit is really just external. Remember if you have your health and your sanity, you have everything.
I have given up letting myself feel shitty when some new bullshit comes along thanks to some extremely gifted assholes, of which there are countless specimens. No use worrying about things over which one has no control. Just follow the Tao and be as much like water as possible, always adapting, always finding new solutions, new ways of dealing with jerk-offs and their nefarious activities while staying true to your own way of life.
they will eat themselves.
All this shit is really just external. Remember if you have your health and your sanity, you have everything.