Posted on 09/22/2009 10:59:07 AM PDT by thouworm
There was a time, not so long ago, when the term "Internet Freedom" actually meant what it implied: a cyberspace free from over-zealous legislators and bureaucrats....
Those days are now gone; the presumption of online liberty is giving way to a presumption of regulation. A massive assault on real Internet freedom has been gathering steam for years and has finally come to a head. Ironically, victory for those who carry the banner of "Internet Freedom" would mean nothing less than the death of that freedom....
Here is the reality: Because of the steps being taken in Washington right now, real Internet Freedom--for all Internet operators and consumers, and for economic and speech rights alike--is about to start dying a death by a thousand regulatory cuts. Policymakers and activists groups are ramping up the FCC's regulatory machine for a massive assault on cyber liberty. This assault rests on the supposed superiority of common carriage regulation and "public interest" mandates over not just free markets and property rights, but over general individual liberties and freedom of speech in particular....
Over the last decade, a cabal of activist-minded cyber-law professors have successfully turned the world of Internet policy upside down by persuading an entire generation of law students, policymakers and a number of large Internet companies that "Internet Freedom" means the very opposite of what it used to mean. Borrowing tactics that would have made Orwell proud, they have convinced many in the public and the policymaking community that the old Internet Freedom is slavery, in that we are all just tools of Corporate Big Brother. Thus, they offer us a new Internet Freedom: Neutrality über alles! Their freedom, as in Orwell's Oceania, is not a freedom from the State, but a gleaming utopia that can only be created by the State.
(Excerpt) Read more at forbes.com ...
We knew this was coming. Free information is what these people fear the most.
It’s hard to believe that only 15 years ago most offices had typewriters. From typewriters to bloggers in 15 years.
And the propagandistic Left does NOT have the control over our minds that it once did. They have tried to replace that control by increasing the degree of propaganda, but they are only making more and more people aware of it.
Game on.
Equalization of Opportunity Act
It is sure funny that it’s happening now that a new Marxist FCC “czar” is in control.
The “lamestream” media is nothing more than a propaganda arm of the overthrow of this country to a Marxist regime. This is what Obama meant by change. Cripes, ABC has it’s nightly news studio in the White House—this is outrageous and in your face! How much more obvious is this going to be to the country?
The traitors know they’re losing the information war because a vast majority of Americans don’t trust this media and they know they are willfully not covering major issues (which would disclose the coup). Need proof? Where’s the rush for justice and story lines about the thugs and criminals running ACORN?
You’re witnessing the death of the Republic to traitorous tyrants. These Red traitors have made a mockery of all those who’ve fought and died for this country.
It won’t be long until you’re jailed for the comments posted on here.
I'm not sure where you work, but here in the private sector we've had computers for 22 years. We had portable computers from Compaq. Admins worked on Wang word processors 10 years before that.
The last time I even saw a typewriter was in 1983.
It's so much fun to reminisce. ;)
Stop me before I go on about tape readers...
Can someone summarize? The first three paragraphs were all blathering and don’t communicate anything, so I gave up.
I didn’t say there weren’t computers. I said most offices had typewriters, and they did! That’s hard to imagine now
So, Net Neutrality equals the Fairness Doctrine. It will be interesting to see how they try to enforce the concept.
Okay, maybe I am just incredibly dense about this...
I thought the idea of net neutrality only applied to preventing situations such as if you have Verizon as your ISP, they could not screw with your access to Skype (which competes with Verizon phone service) or streaming video on Versus.com (which is owned by their competitor, Comcast). If there is more to it in terms of regulating content, etc. I was not aware of that (though I don’t doubt they would desperately love to clamp down on free speech and tax web sales)
Satellite feeds, gives us what we needs.
Even regulation will not work.Too many ways around it, and too much demand for freedom.
Let them bring it on. It will be a riot.
That's basically it, in a nutshell.
The FCC is WAY out of its jurisdiction....
Brilliant.
That applies to almost everything I read. The art of writing has almost been lost.
I have firm rules on everything I *start* to read:
1. Basically ignore the title as it usually is just a sensationalized attempt to get you to read the article and has little to do with reality (especially when in ALL CAPS), like “THE DAY THE INTERNET DIED.”
2. If the first sentence doesn’t engage me, I’m done, especially in cases where nothing about the sensationalized title is explained.
3. If the first sentence test is passed I’ll read the first paragraph. If that doesn’t engage me, I’m done.
That takes care of about 97% of what catches my eye.
This article is a major FAIL on all accounts.
I tend to agree with this assessment. Throughout history governments have tried - no matter what they say otherwise - to control the distribution of information. This is a camel/nose/tent move.
Hopefully the courts will protect the internet as we’ve known it.
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