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Big picture, looking at the forest. Never, ever in recorded history since the dawn of man has any government or “ruling authority” - be it King, Prime Minister or Potentate - tried to PROMOTE unfettered human communications.

Instead they have always, ALWAYS tried to control and monitor speech. From Pope Leo X’s excommunication of Martin Luther in 1520, to the English Licensing of the Press act of 1662, to the Stamp Act of 1765 (only “official” paper could be used to write upon), CONTROL is what they always want.

And, now, after thousands of years of the human race, we are told to believe that Barak Obama’s FCC is different and they intend to PROMOTE uncontrolled speech via “net neutrality.”

I don’t think so.

And, now, after thousands of years of the human race, we are told to believe that Barak Obama’s FCC is different and they intend to PROMOTE uncontrolled speech via “net neutrality.”

The government has already worked to control and monitor communications on the Internet by various other well-known and publicized means, such as the DMCA and CALEA. It doesn't need net neutrality to do it. It's absurd to warn me of a camel's nose under the tent when we're sitting on the camels that are already in the tent.

But if you want to be really cynical, you can say the government doesn't like competition. The telcos restricting communications is competition.

The FCC under Bush did promote some common-sense rules about net neutrality. Basically, consumers are entitled to:

access the lawful Internet content of their choice
run applications and services of their choice
connect their choice of legal devices that do not harm the network
competition among network providers, application and service providers, and content providers

Nothing Marxist in that, yet the very idea was strongly opposed by the telcos, their astroturfers and their paid politicians and think tanks. All of that ensures the continuation of the healthy Internet economy we've enjoyed over the last decade+.

The telcos don't want that, they want profit at the expense of the Internet economy by throwing up needless toll booths. And they're willing to get in bed with politicians to ensure their profit. Sounds like the bad guys in Atlas Shrugged, doesn't it?