Who Hijacked Our Country

Thursday, February 26, 2015

FCC Adopts Net Neutrality Rules

All Right!!!

Believe it or not, the FCC has actually ruled in favor of hundreds of millions of Internet users, at the expense of higher windfall profits for a few telecom CEOs.  Verizon, Comcast, Time Warner Cable et al have spent jillions of dollars on lobbying/bribery, all for naught.  At least they can write it off as a business expense.

The five FCC commissioners voted 3 to 2 — along party lines, needless to say — to reclassify Internet Service Providers as a public utility, like a phone company.  This reclassification will enable the FCC to enforce Net Neutrality, i.e. prohibiting ISPs from segregating the Internet into expensive fast lanes for some users and a slow lane for everyone else.

FCC Commissioner Mignon Clyburn said:

“We are here to ensure that there is only one Internet, where applications, new products, ideas and points of view have an equal chance of being seen and heard.  We are here because we want to enable those with deep pockets as well as those with empty pockets the same opportunities to succeed.”

Why, that there sounds like Comminism!!!

The two Republican FCC commissioners sided up with the oligarchs (shocking!).  Commissioner Ajit Pai dutifully recited his corporate-dictated talking points:

“The Internet has become a powerful force for freedom, here and around the world.  So it is sad to witness this morning the FCC’s unprecedented attempts to replace that freedom with government control. It shouldn't be this way.”

Suck it up Asshole.

And now for a rant.  This whole ongoing Net Neutrality debate — aside from “Net Neutrality” being the most bland sleep-inducing phrase Ever — has been one of the media's worst examples of False Equivalency.  During the Republicans' government extortion/shutdown fiasco, the mainstream media bent over backwards to appear unbiased.  Instead of just coming out and saying the GOP was using blackmail and extortion to achieve what it couldn't achieve through the legislative process, news reports would say “there's a lot of finger-pointing going on,” “both sides are blaming each other for the shutdown,” etc.

And this same False Equivalency is rearing its head again.  For weeks the media has been saying that if the FCC enforces open access to the Internet for everyone, it'll be “a victory for proponents of Net Neutrality.”  WTF?  “Proponents of Net Neutrality?!?”  Oh, you mean, the 99.9% of us who don't want to be segregated into a fast or slow lane.  “Proponents of Net Neutrality?”

Maybe the next time a notorious serial killer gets caught, the media can call it “a victory for people who don't want to get murdered.”


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6 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Net neutrality supporters won in the battle for public opinion by simplifying their argument and making net neutrality seem like an issue of equity and rights for the little guy. Unfortunately, of the many approaches to maintaining equitable access to the internet, government regulators have chosen the method that makes the internet equitably slow and expensive for all of us.
Check put the bottom of your phone bill and se what gov't regulation gets you

February 27, 2015 at 7:21 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Part of the Problem was that the Republicans stalled in filling the spots for the FCC because they knew what was going to happen.

The Old Communications Act of 1932 (Trashed by Ronald Reagan) started with the "Airwaves belong to the people" and I'm glad this FCC finally decided in that spirit.

Erik

February 27, 2015 at 9:54 AM  
Blogger Jim Marquis said...

I really think the public's hatred of Comcast was a factor. I look forward to the day they go under.

February 27, 2015 at 11:12 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Leonard Nimoy died there is nothing else important in the World Right Now! Why aren't all the flags in the world at Half Mast?


Erik

February 27, 2015 at 12:00 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

yeah we'll see. I guess when you Internet freezes up then you will blame the ISP's right?
Now that more regulations to the unafforable care act are kicking in,are you also blaming the insurance companies for the increased costs, higher deductibles and less access to quality care too?

February 27, 2015 at 12:22 PM  
Blogger Tom Harper said...

Anonymous: Government regulators -- can't live with 'em, can't live without 'em.

Erik: Same situation with the FCC and the National Labor Relations Board. The GOP kept both of them without a quorum and unable to act. The Right was only able to buy time, and now, time's up.

As a bonus, the FCC has also squelched the roughly 20 state laws that had prohibited city governments from providing Internet access to local residents.

Jim: I've never had any dealings with Comcast, but I've never heard anything good about them either.

Erik: I was never into Star Trek or Mission Impossible, and I don't think I've seen any of the movies he was in. But on the bright side, he had COPD and still lived to be 83.

Anonymous: Since I hate America, business and anyone who's successful, I'll know who to blame when the Internet freezes up on me :)

February 27, 2015 at 3:52 PM  

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